SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - Herbology Lesson 2 : aloe, aloe, hair-loe

Shanners · 03-15-2020, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Claudine had actually been poking the gel, which to her, felt rather cool, when Rainwater called to them. Yes, she did remember when he spoke of that earlier. Yes, she knew that the cold was very, very bad for hair and skin. No, she did not get that dramatic about her hair which she was currently wearing in a ponytail. Actually, she never got that dramatic about her hair or about anything.

Her hair type? Um… “Straight, thick,’’ came her reply when it was her turn. As for ingredients… “I think water is a natural ingredient.’’

Typically the first hand in the air was Claudine during his lessons, and Gus never knew what to expect from her. Or so.. He hadn’t, because he was coming to understand her learning styles more as the year went on. ”Water is a natural, yes. Not so much what I was thinking of, but thank you.” He supposed it was listed on ingredients lists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Mmkay, well, suit yourself, Rainwater. She thought he might like a few extra pieces for the beauty routine he seemed to enjoy, but apparently he already had what he needed. She gave him a smile and a nod anyway. Isla watched as the dehydrator sprang into action. Well...it didn't exactly spring into action. It pretty much did all its work quietly, which fit in nicely with a lesson going on.

She hadn't exactly ever thought about the weather playing into her skin and hair, but it did make sense. Maybe it was the fact that she was twelve years old now, but those type things were starting to occur to her whereas they didn't before. "My hair's not too thin or too thick. I think it's somewhere in the middle," she said, raising her hand to chime in. Natural ingredients in hair products? She was guessing he meant other than aloe vera, since that had already been brought up. "What about shea butter? I see that on a lot of the labels."

Whilst the students were giving their answers, Gus was looking at their hair a little more intently than he probably should have. Just to see if he thought different about their hair type. Which, he had done with every student. But then he didn’t know their routine or the ins and outs, just what he could see from afar. ”Shea butter. Excellent, Isla. Shea butter is excellent for hair and scalp health. It works for dry scalps and also for oily scalps. And with a healthy scalp, comes healthy hair growth! These things are LINKED. And if your hair is reallllllly damaged… then you can leave it in overnight! Like a MASK!!!!!” And oh ho ho did he have a TREAT for these kiddos!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

This was interesting. Professor Rainwater seemed to be very in tune with his hair. Naya thought maybe she should ask him for some beauty tips. Clearly he was very knowledgeable. Anyway, to the question. What could they share about their hair? Well that was complicated. Nonetheless, Naya raised her hand.

“My hair is wavy.......naturally.” That was before she took a flat iron to it. “It’s kind of a medium thickness and tends to be dry. I know that there is coconut oil in my hair products.” Among other things.........nice moisturizing things.

Wavy, yes. Good observation, Naya. Gus had a couple of more things he could say about her hair, but they were things he’d hope she’d notice more through their homework assignment. ”Absolutely, yes.” A typical marker squeak from behind him as it was added to the new list they were working on. ”Coconut oil, much like shea butter is GREAT for moisture. It’s an oil, of course. But one of the biggest things it can help with is the prevention of hair breakage and split ends, and therefore works on giving you longer luscious locks. If that’s what you’re lookin’ for anyway, kids.” Coconut oil was a very versatile ingredient and he knew it had a lot of uses, much like the subject of their lesson right now. Aloe. Maybe they were use friends. HAH.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Was it really bad for his hair that he washed it every day? Gunnar paused for a moment to consider Rainwater's words. He felt the need for a daily shower after his morning runs, so he wasn't sure he was going to change that part. And even though he thought he took at least a small amount of pride in his hair, he wasn't sure he noticed any problems. Hm.

He thought it kind of a strange question but he raised his hand after he thought about his hair....and his hair products. "I suppose my hair is a little wavy and a little thick." Or at least it wasn't thinning or anything like that. "I'm not sure about my shampoo because I haven't read the ingredient list in awhile," he admitted, not remembering exactly what was in there. "But I'm pretty sure jojoba oil is used sometimes." And that came from a plant that he wouldn't mind studying a bit closer.

”I always suggest reading the ingredients list. The more natural, the better. Avoid sulphates!” Or don’t. It was a personal choice, but Gus thought it was the best decision he had made for his hair in a very long time. Outside of cutting it from that very strange shoulder length he’d grown it out to when he was twelve. That was a time he didn’t want to think about or ever see pictures from. No thank you. ”But, yes. Jojoba oil, like those previously mentioned is great for moisture. It also contains a LOT of vitamins and minerals that are FABulous for your hair. It strengthens it. AND prevents hair loss and gives you thicker hair! A wonderful choice for an aging man.”

Like himself.

Or not.

He wasn’t old !!!!!!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Uhhh… well, this went in a completely different direction than expected! Heath didn’t know why he was surprised by that fact; nothing in herbology class ever turned out the way he thought it would. He was somewhat listening as the professor started talking again but quickly tuned out when the topic turned to hair care. Um, no, he didn’t know how bad cold weather was for his hair, nor did he particularly care. His appearance was a touchy subject for him, so he tried to think as little about it as possible. Why did this matter anyway?

Oh, so there was a point to this after all… Heath considered the question. He knew exactly how Kylo Ren would answer; he would either give a sarcastic reply or else absolutely lash out at Rainwater, neither of which were happening right now. Behind the act he put on to escape his own emotions, he was still shy, self-conscious Heathcliff Jones. There was no way he was going to risk embarrassing himself twice in one lesson, and even if he weren’t terrified of saying the wrong thing, he genuinely had no idea how to answer the question.

The extent of Heath’s knowledge about his hair was that 1) it was dark and sort of wavy. 2) He grew it long to give himself something to hide behind when he was scared or sad, and 3) it tended to get flat and straw-like if he went too long without washing it. Was that the kind of answer the professor was looking for? He didn’t know, and he was just as confused by the second part of the question. He just used whatever kind of shampoo his mum gave him; he never really bothered to read the ingredients label. He sort of remembered his sister going on about some coconut papaya shampoo - she said it smelled like a tropical paradise; he thought it smelled more like a fruit salad - but he didn’t know whether those ingredients were actually good for hair or just added for scent. Either way, he was keeping quiet this time. No chance of saying the wrong thing if he said nothing at all!

No answer from Heath, but Gus spent a couple of seconds analysing the hair type of the boy before looking around the greenhouse for the next student to get an answer from. He couldn’t change his behaviour in class if Heath said nothing to him or expressed his discomfort with things in Herbology. It was obviously something they needed to talk about before the subject got too much for Heath to continue with and it hindered his education.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

The discussion about uses of aloe vera wasn't particularly surprising considering they had started the lesson by writing down their thoughts, but what was surprising was when Chloe McCarthy mentioned using it for hair care ????? She was was well aware about the benefits for skin care and burns, even constipation, but somehow never realized people used aloe in their hair? Was that a thing? Did it help keep it moisturized?

Carsyn wasn't phased in the least about her dormmate either, because after lessons and rooming with her since first year, she was practically immune to her antics. As long as she didn't do anything dumb like get them killed. She did roll her eyes when Cora started talking to her plant instead of partaking in the activity. But somehow after knowing someone for so long, you begin to realize that ignoring them and not encouraging such behaviors is really best for everyone.

Slipping on her dragonhide gloves, the Gryffindor Prefect used her wand to point at the largest leaf she could find on her plant and cast diffindo to cut it free. Easy task, really, as the severing charm was one she'd used before. Nothing new here. With her own cutting tool kit, Carsyn took hold of one of the knifes in there and then held the leaf firmly onto her desk. Kind of like slicing vegetables, which to be honest was one of Carsyn's least favorite kitchen tasks - she was a baker, not a cook. Once she had several slices, she placed all but one on a tray, scribbling her name 'Carsyn Rose' onto a small tag next to the leaf slices and inserted the tray into the dehydrator.

Back to her workstation, she removed her glove to feel the gel that had oozed from the remaining slice, before rubbing it into her hands. Winter was a rough time on the hands, quite literally. Her light eyes fell onto Professor Rainwater as he continued the discussion again and she felt mesmerized for a moment when he pushed his hair back. Focus, Carsyn, focus

When he started talking about his personal experience with the Scotland climate and the stress, she half wanted to comment about how teaching a bunch of rowdy teenagers probably didn't help matters in terms of stress.

"Straight. Somewhere in between thick and thin." Cause she wasn't sure she had super thick hair, but she also didn't think it to be thin either. "Coconut oil, sometimes...." There was also a whole lot of ingredients that she couldn't pronounce when she'd looked at her shampoo bottle before, but that was one that she was pretty sure she remembered seeing on the list and it made her hair smell good too.

Something he wondered when Carsyn answered was how different her hair type was to that of her twin. Obviously, there were differences between their looks, so he just wondered if hair types was one of them. Did one have coarser hair? Finer? Thicker? Thinner? Heavier? Lighter? Knottier? Oh! He had all the questions about it, but it was perhaps a little invasive to ask it all. He’d just have to launch into research of twins hair types.

”Yes, yes. Coconut oil, like Naya mentioned earlier. It’s also good for skin, if you want to look more into that. Hair is my strong point.” He knew bits about skincare, but not nearly as much as he did hair care.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Nina would have typically turned her nose up at a question such as this one. Though she could see the linkage he was trying to make her, it felt unnecessary to frame the question in this way because quite frankly? Nina didn't care about what type of hair her classmates had.

As it was, however, Nina loved this line of conversation. The excitement was clear on her face as her hand shot up in the air (also surprising because she NEVER spoke in class if she could help it). "I have thick hair, with natural curls," she answered before pausing for a moment. "Soft curls, not tight ringlets." Though she liked to wear her hair differently every day, which meant she was often wearing it straight or in a high-pony. "One of my favorite curl defining creams uses argon oil." With her answer, she tossed her hair behind her shoulder. See? It really worked.

Had Gus ever seen Nina light up like that? Nope. Was he thrilled by it? Oh absolutely. He didn’t even try to hide the GRIN on his face as she answered, but he did stop himself from hurrying over to stand with her to talk in DETAIL about her curls and the curl cream and what her wash routine was like and whether she was one of those curly girls that didn’t brush after a wash because it went crazy or if she was a brusher and a product tamer. OR IF SHE WAS A HAIR DIFFUSER. SO MANY QUESTIONS. But he kept them to himself even though he really didn’t want to.

”I love argan oil! I use it on my daughter’s hair! Brilliant for the shine and giving your hair some life and some pizaZZ.” PIZAZZ, OK?!!!?>!?!?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Right, right. Was that it? Were there any other hands in the air? No? Ok. Clapping his hands together again, Gus smiled at them. ”Thank you for sharing, guys. I’m always intrigued to hear about your hair types and what ingredients you’re aware of. I hate to say it, but there are SO many out there that everyone is oblivious to. Not just you guys, but the world. For example, in my shampoo there’s avocado, sea kelp, tea tree oil. As well as the ingredients you guys mentioned. Banana treatments are something people do for their hair, also. I find it really interesting to hear how things actually work for different hair types. What works for Nina, may not work for Carsyn. And what works for Gunnar may not work for Heath. Hair type is personal and reaction to ingredients is even more personal.” And he could probably stand here for hours to explain all of that to them.

But he wouldn’t, because he couldn’t. This wasn’t the last class of the day and people had places to be after being in here.

”The hair product business is large. There are so many brands, so many price points, so many conflicting theories and preaching people. I’m not going to preach about what I think your hair needs. I think I know what each of you needs, but I also want you to figure that out for yourself in the usage of your hair products or your routine.” Were they following him? Had they picked up on what his plan was for the rest of this lesson? No? ”SO. Hair products! We’re going to put together our own, build our own based on your hair needs. Are you a bit dry? So you need moisture. Do you have split ends? So you need something to help with your hair strength. Scalp problems? You need oil balancing. Oily hair? You need something mattifying and controlling. There’s always an answer. Always a solution to those problems. You just have to look into your ingredients and your routine. Overwashing dries out. But if you NEED to wash every day, then you can deep moisturise.”

”Oily hair usually happens because your scalp is dry and therefore your body is producing more oil to try hydrate. So in that case, you can add more oil and balance it out. Hair care is a balancing act. Easy to figure out, for sure.” But he was here to help and so were their ingredients. ”So, our task now is to put together a personalised hair product. A deep conditioning treatment, a dry shampoo in powder form, a shine control serum. Have a think about what you need, what you want and what you can achieve by yourself. Dry shampoo is excellent for getting from wash day to wash day and letting you take a break between washes. You can wash your body without washing your hair. That isn’t something we talk about, but it’s helpful, honest.” Had Gus began pacing? Yes. But he WAS placing a list of ingredients, the types of hair they were good for and what changes they would make to your hair onto every workstation. It was about five pages deep and things were listed in powdered forms and liquid forms or solid forms. Whatever form it could come in, it was listed. Like aloe. It was listed as a gel, but also in powder form.

”We’re going to get our aloe leaves out of the machine, grind them down into a powder and then apply them to our other ingredients to make our products. Obviously, the gel will start to bind together once more if you add liquid to it to create a deep conditioning treatment. I suggest you add the liquid or oil last before you transfer your product to your tubs and take from class. But that’s what we can do after we’ve decided on what you’re putting in there. That’s up to you though. This list” he gave the last few in his hand a wave and a smile. ”has everything that I’ve got in stock for you to use in the next room.” He figured this was a lot to take in and he’d already talked a lot, so he would just move on to putting the instructions onto the whiteboard.

”This is the plan. It’s a lot. I’m here to help. I’m here for ingredient choices and opinions. Utilise me. But also, your choices will ultimately be your own. Because your homework is to test your product, come back and adapt it each month until the end of term if something isn’t working for you. And to keep a diary in those journals I gave you. Part of your final grade this year will be based on this project.”

Enough chatting.

Whiteboard time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteboard Instructions

HAIR PRODUCT CREATION

1 DECIDE WHICH PRODUCT YOU ARE CREATING, COLLECT TWO TUBS FROM THE SHELF UNDER YOUR WORKSTATION AND LABEL IT WITH YOUR NAME AND WHAT YOUR PRODUCT IS. ONE WILL BE YOURS TO KEEP, ONE WILL BE MINE TO SAMPLE AND GIVE MY THOUGHTS BACK BY NEXT WEEK.

2 COLLECT YOUR DRIED ALOE LEAVES FROM THE DEHYDRATOR AND USE PULVERIS (WAND MOVEMENT: CIRCLE AND A VERTICAL LINE THROUGH THE MIDDLE) TO TURN LEAVES INTO POWDER

3 COLLECT YOUR OTHER INGREDIENTS, KEEPING DRY AND ‘WET’ APART

4 PUT YOUR INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN YOUR TUBS, MIX THOROUGHLY TO INCORPORATE THEM ALL AND ACTIVATE THEM TOGETHER INSTEAD OF INDIVIDUALLY

5 APPLY LID TIGHTLY. AIR TIGHT WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND WITH THIS.

6 RECORD YOUR ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS IN YOUR DIARY

7 LOVE YOUR HAIR

”I know you could use a mortar and pestle for the dried leaves, and you’re welcome to, BUT in my experience, I’ve found that it doesn’t grind the aloe into a fine enough powder compared to other powdered ingredients and that affects how they bind when wet or can cause leftover debris in your hair in a dry product. Pulveris has always been my go to for getting aloe leaves into a powder. Remember, a clockwise circle and a vertical line through the middle is the wand movement for that one.” Was he forgetting anything else? ”Two tubs like the instructions say. Labelled. I’d like to have a list of your ingredients, but that isn’t a requirement for my feedback. It’d be nice to give you recommendations that aren’t already in there.”

Pretty sure that was it?

OH OH. THE DEHYDRATOR! HAH.

With a laugh, Gus hurried to the back of the greenhouse and opened up the doors on it. ”Careful with your trays. Gloves on is necessary.” And once they were open, he darted over the the side of the greenhouse opening up the room that he usually used for practical activities (like the whizzing pot game) to reveal a fully stocked store room of powdered and oil ingredients. ”BE FREE, MY LITTLE HAIR BABIES.”

"Oh. And Cora, you can have my dried leaves."

OOC: Sorry for the extra 24 hour wait, guys. Yesterday was hectic and I didn’t leave myself enough hours in the evening to put a cohesive post together and I definitely didn’t want to rush this as...well, it’s a lot of information. Maybe too much information. BUT. I’m going to post each day until I close the class in five days to work alongside you guys if you need it or your character wants help. It’s a big thing and I don’t want to overwhelm you and Gus also wouldn’t want to overwhelm the students. Like this would have been a double lesson in the day and a whole hour would be left for this portion so no need to IC rush with it.

I broke it down into steps on the whiteboard for you guys to follow through - Gus would have taught the Pulveris spell back in October or November, around the time he taught Venenum Hortus (lesson 1 from this term) when he was teaching the topic of resources outside of research, chance and physical tools. There’s a lot of information online about natural ingredients for hair (honestly, so many different things can be used!!) and Gus would have a huuuge store of all these things. He was collating them and preparing them for a while before this lesson so the kiddos had access to anything they could want. Be wild with your imagination, and if there’s something you think he may not have, feel free to mention it in a post and we can see if he has an alternative. Or maybe he has it in store elsewhere! No idea is too crazy.

Soz for how much he talks. Soz for how much I talk. We're erratic. You’ve got between four and five days to get things done, but I’ll give 24 hours notice before I close the class <3 Uh uh uh uh uh uh idk what else to say lol ily.

Any questions, as always… ask. I’m here. I’m so sorry about the level of info lol lol lol. Ily <3

03-15-2020, 06:27 PM	#49 (permalink)
Shanners DMAC & DMC Manticore Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: whoville Posts: 43,360 Hogwarts RPG Name: Mozart Bronwyn #ee6600 Gryffindor Sixth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Maebry Grimaldi #ff8d6d First Year x7 x5	∞ 17 \| RP entrepreneur \| defies gravity \| Miss George is flawless \| blanket burrito lyfe Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Claudine had actually been poking the gel, which to her, felt rather cool, when Rainwater called to them. Yes, she did remember when he spoke of that earlier. Yes, she knew that the cold was very, very bad for hair and skin. No, she did not get that dramatic about her hair which she was currently wearing in a ponytail. Actually, she never got that dramatic about her hair or about anything. Her hair type? Um… “Straight, thick,’’ came her reply when it was her turn. As for ingredients… “I think water is a natural ingredient.’’ Typically the first hand in the air was Claudine during his lessons, and Gus never knew what to expect from her. Or so.. He hadn’t, because he was coming to understand her learning styles more as the year went on. ”Water is a natural, yes. Not so much what I was thinking of, but thank you.” He supposed it was listed on ingredients lists. Quote: Originally Posted by Anna Banana Mmkay, well, suit yourself, Rainwater. She thought he might like a few extra pieces for the beauty routine he seemed to enjoy, but apparently he already had what he needed. She gave him a smile and a nod anyway. Isla watched as the dehydrator sprang into action. Well...it didn't exactly spring into action. It pretty much did all its work quietly, which fit in nicely with a lesson going on. She hadn't exactly ever thought about the weather playing into her skin and hair, but it did make sense. Maybe it was the fact that she was twelve years old now, but those type things were starting to occur to her whereas they didn't before. "My hair's not too thin or too thick. I think it's somewhere in the middle," she said, raising her hand to chime in. Natural ingredients in hair products? She was guessing he meant other than aloe vera, since that had already been brought up. "What about shea butter? I see that on a lot of the labels." Whilst the students were giving their answers, Gus was looking at their hair a little more intently than he probably should have. Just to see if he thought different about their hair type. Which, he had done with every student. But then he didn’t know their routine or the ins and outs, just what he could see from afar. ”Shea butter. Excellent, Isla. Shea butter is excellent for hair and scalp health. It works for dry scalps and also for oily scalps. And with a healthy scalp, comes healthy hair growth! These things are LINKED. And if your hair is reallllllly damaged… then you can leave it in overnight! Like a MASK!!!!!” And oh ho ho did he have a TREAT for these kiddos! Quote: Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 This was interesting. Professor Rainwater seemed to be very in tune with his hair. Naya thought maybe she should ask him for some beauty tips. Clearly he was very knowledgeable. Anyway, to the question. What could they share about their hair? Well that was complicated. Nonetheless, Naya raised her hand. “My hair is wavy.......naturally.” That was before she took a flat iron to it. “It’s kind of a medium thickness and tends to be dry. I know that there is coconut oil in my hair products.” Among other things.........nice moisturizing things. Wavy, yes. Good observation, Naya. Gus had a couple of more things he could say about her hair, but they were things he’d hope she’d notice more through their homework assignment. ”Absolutely, yes.” A typical marker squeak from behind him as it was added to the new list they were working on. ”Coconut oil, much like shea butter is GREAT for moisture. It’s an oil, of course. But one of the biggest things it can help with is the prevention of hair breakage and split ends, and therefore works on giving you longer luscious locks. If that’s what you’re lookin’ for anyway, kids.” Coconut oil was a very versatile ingredient and he knew it had a lot of uses, much like the subject of their lesson right now. Aloe. Maybe they were use friends. HAH. Quote: Originally Posted by emjay Was it really bad for his hair that he washed it every day? Gunnar paused for a moment to consider Rainwater's words. He felt the need for a daily shower after his morning runs, so he wasn't sure he was going to change that part. And even though he thought he took at least a small amount of pride in his hair, he wasn't sure he noticed any problems. Hm. He thought it kind of a strange question but he raised his hand after he thought about his hair....and his hair products. "I suppose my hair is a little wavy and a little thick." Or at least it wasn't thinning or anything like that. "I'm not sure about my shampoo because I haven't read the ingredient list in awhile," he admitted, not remembering exactly what was in there. "But I'm pretty sure jojoba oil is used sometimes." And that came from a plant that he wouldn't mind studying a bit closer. ”I always suggest reading the ingredients list. The more natural, the better. Avoid sulphates!” Or don’t. It was a personal choice, but Gus thought it was the best decision he had made for his hair in a very long time. Outside of cutting it from that very strange shoulder length he’d grown it out to when he was twelve. That was a time he didn’t want to think about or ever see pictures from. No thank you. ”But, yes. Jojoba oil, like those previously mentioned is great for moisture. It also contains a LOT of vitamins and minerals that are FABulous for your hair. It strengthens it. AND prevents hair loss and gives you thicker hair! A wonderful choice for an aging man.” Like himself. Or not. He wasn’t old !!!!!!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Uhhh… well, this went in a completely different direction than expected! Heath didn’t know why he was surprised by that fact; nothing in herbology class ever turned out the way he thought it would. He was somewhat listening as the professor started talking again but quickly tuned out when the topic turned to hair care. Um, no, he didn’t know how bad cold weather was for his hair, nor did he particularly care. His appearance was a touchy subject for him, so he tried to think as little about it as possible. Why did this matter anyway? Oh, so there was a point to this after all… Heath considered the question. He knew exactly how Kylo Ren would answer; he would either give a sarcastic reply or else absolutely lash out at Rainwater, neither of which were happening right now. Behind the act he put on to escape his own emotions, he was still shy, self-conscious Heathcliff Jones. There was no way he was going to risk embarrassing himself twice in one lesson, and even if he weren’t terrified of saying the wrong thing, he genuinely had no idea how to answer the question. The extent of Heath’s knowledge about his hair was that 1) it was dark and sort of wavy. 2) He grew it long to give himself something to hide behind when he was scared or sad, and 3) it tended to get flat and straw-like if he went too long without washing it. Was that the kind of answer the professor was looking for? He didn’t know, and he was just as confused by the second part of the question. He just used whatever kind of shampoo his mum gave him; he never really bothered to read the ingredients label. He sort of remembered his sister going on about some coconut papaya shampoo - she said it smelled like a tropical paradise; he thought it smelled more like a fruit salad - but he didn’t know whether those ingredients were actually good for hair or just added for scent. Either way, he was keeping quiet this time. No chance of saying the wrong thing if he said nothing at all! No answer from Heath, but Gus spent a couple of seconds analysing the hair type of the boy before looking around the greenhouse for the next student to get an answer from. He couldn’t change his behaviour in class if Heath said nothing to him or expressed his discomfort with things in Herbology. It was obviously something they needed to talk about before the subject got too much for Heath to continue with and it hindered his education. Quote: Originally Posted by PhoenixRising The discussion about uses of aloe vera wasn't particularly surprising considering they had started the lesson by writing down their thoughts, but what was surprising was when Chloe McCarthy mentioned using it for hair care ????? She was was well aware about the benefits for skin care and burns, even constipation, but somehow never realized people used aloe in their hair? Was that a thing? Did it help keep it moisturized? Carsyn wasn't phased in the least about her dormmate either, because after lessons and rooming with her since first year, she was practically immune to her antics. As long as she didn't do anything dumb like get them killed. She did roll her eyes when Cora started talking to her plant instead of partaking in the activity. But somehow after knowing someone for so long, you begin to realize that ignoring them and not encouraging such behaviors is really best for everyone. Slipping on her dragonhide gloves, the Gryffindor Prefect used her wand to point at the largest leaf she could find on her plant and cast diffindo to cut it free. Easy task, really, as the severing charm was one she'd used before. Nothing new here. With her own cutting tool kit, Carsyn took hold of one of the knifes in there and then held the leaf firmly onto her desk. Kind of like slicing vegetables, which to be honest was one of Carsyn's least favorite kitchen tasks - she was a baker, not a cook. Once she had several slices, she placed all but one on a tray, scribbling her name 'Carsyn Rose' onto a small tag next to the leaf slices and inserted the tray into the dehydrator. Back to her workstation, she removed her glove to feel the gel that had oozed from the remaining slice, before rubbing it into her hands. Winter was a rough time on the hands, quite literally. Her light eyes fell onto Professor Rainwater as he continued the discussion again and she felt mesmerized for a moment when he pushed his hair back. Focus, Carsyn, focus When he started talking about his personal experience with the Scotland climate and the stress, she half wanted to comment about how teaching a bunch of rowdy teenagers probably didn't help matters in terms of stress. "Straight. Somewhere in between thick and thin." Cause she wasn't sure she had super thick hair, but she also didn't think it to be thin either. "Coconut oil, sometimes...." There was also a whole lot of ingredients that she couldn't pronounce when she'd looked at her shampoo bottle before, but that was one that she was pretty sure she remembered seeing on the list and it made her hair smell good too. Something he wondered when Carsyn answered was how different her hair type was to that of her twin. Obviously, there were differences between their looks, so he just wondered if hair types was one of them. Did one have coarser hair? Finer? Thicker? Thinner? Heavier? Lighter? Knottier? Oh! He had all the questions about it, but it was perhaps a little invasive to ask it all. He’d just have to launch into research of twins hair types. ”Yes, yes. Coconut oil, like Naya mentioned earlier. It’s also good for skin, if you want to look more into that. Hair is my strong point.” He knew bits about skincare, but not nearly as much as he did hair care. Quote: Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Nina would have typically turned her nose up at a question such as this one. Though she could see the linkage he was trying to make her, it felt unnecessary to frame the question in this way because quite frankly? Nina didn't care about what type of hair her classmates had. As it was, however, Nina loved this line of conversation. The excitement was clear on her face as her hand shot up in the air (also surprising because she NEVER spoke in class if she could help it). "I have thick hair, with natural curls," she answered before pausing for a moment. "Soft curls, not tight ringlets." Though she liked to wear her hair differently every day, which meant she was often wearing it straight or in a high-pony. "One of my favorite curl defining creams uses argon oil." With her answer, she tossed her hair behind her shoulder. See? It really worked. Had Gus ever seen Nina light up like that? Nope. Was he thrilled by it? Oh absolutely. He didn’t even try to hide the GRIN on his face as she answered, but he did stop himself from hurrying over to stand with her to talk in DETAIL about her curls and the curl cream and what her wash routine was like and whether she was one of those curly girls that didn’t brush after a wash because it went crazy or if she was a brusher and a product tamer. OR IF SHE WAS A HAIR DIFFUSER. SO MANY QUESTIONS. But he kept them to himself even though he really didn’t want to. ”I love argan oil! I use it on my daughter’s hair! Brilliant for the shine and giving your hair some life and some pizaZZ.” PIZAZZ, OK?!!!?>!?!? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Right, right. Was that it? Were there any other hands in the air? No? Ok. Clapping his hands together again, Gus smiled at them. ”Thank you for sharing, guys. I’m always intrigued to hear about your hair types and what ingredients you’re aware of. I hate to say it, but there are SO many out there that everyone is oblivious to. Not just you guys, but the world. For example, in my shampoo there’s avocado, sea kelp, tea tree oil. As well as the ingredients you guys mentioned. Banana treatments are something people do for their hair, also. I find it really interesting to hear how things actually work for different hair types. What works for Nina, may not work for Carsyn. And what works for Gunnar may not work for Heath. Hair type is personal and reaction to ingredients is even more personal.” And he could probably stand here for hours to explain all of that to them. But he wouldn’t, because he couldn’t. This wasn’t the last class of the day and people had places to be after being in here. ”The hair product business is large. There are so many brands, so many price points, so many conflicting theories and preaching people. I’m not going to preach about what I think your hair needs. I think I know what each of you needs, but I also want you to figure that out for yourself in the usage of your hair products or your routine.” Were they following him? Had they picked up on what his plan was for the rest of this lesson? No? ”SO. Hair products! We’re going to put together our own, build our own based on your hair needs. Are you a bit dry? So you need moisture. Do you have split ends? So you need something to help with your hair strength. Scalp problems? You need oil balancing. Oily hair? You need something mattifying and controlling. There’s always an answer. Always a solution to those problems. You just have to look into your ingredients and your routine. Overwashing dries out. But if you NEED to wash every day, then you can deep moisturise.” ”Oily hair usually happens because your scalp is dry and therefore your body is producing more oil to try hydrate. So in that case, you can add more oil and balance it out. Hair care is a balancing act. Easy to figure out, for sure.” But he was here to help and so were their ingredients. ”So, our task now is to put together a personalised hair product. A deep conditioning treatment, a dry shampoo in powder form, a shine control serum. Have a think about what you need, what you want and what you can achieve by yourself. Dry shampoo is excellent for getting from wash day to wash day and letting you take a break between washes. You can wash your body without washing your hair. That isn’t something we talk about, but it’s helpful, honest.” Had Gus began pacing? Yes. But he WAS placing a list of ingredients, the types of hair they were good for and what changes they would make to your hair onto every workstation. It was about five pages deep and things were listed in powdered forms and liquid forms or solid forms. Whatever form it could come in, it was listed. Like aloe. It was listed as a gel, but also in powder form. ”We’re going to get our aloe leaves out of the machine, grind them down into a powder and then apply them to our other ingredients to make our products. Obviously, the gel will start to bind together once more if you add liquid to it to create a deep conditioning treatment. I suggest you add the liquid or oil last before you transfer your product to your tubs and take from class. But that’s what we can do after we’ve decided on what you’re putting in there. That’s up to you though. This list” he gave the last few in his hand a wave and a smile. ”has everything that I’ve got in stock for you to use in the next room.” He figured this was a lot to take in and he’d already talked a lot, so he would just move on to putting the instructions onto the whiteboard. ”This is the plan. It’s a lot. I’m here to help. I’m here for ingredient choices and opinions. Utilise me. But also, your choices will ultimately be your own. Because your homework is to test your product, come back and adapt it each month until the end of term if something isn’t working for you. And to keep a diary in those journals I gave you. Part of your final grade this year will be based on this project.” Enough chatting. Whiteboard time. Quote: Originally Posted by Whiteboard Instructions HAIR PRODUCT CREATION 1 DECIDE WHICH PRODUCT YOU ARE CREATING, COLLECT TWO TUBS FROM THE SHELF UNDER YOUR WORKSTATION AND LABEL IT WITH YOUR NAME AND WHAT YOUR PRODUCT IS. ONE WILL BE YOURS TO KEEP, ONE WILL BE MINE TO SAMPLE AND GIVE MY THOUGHTS BACK BY NEXT WEEK. 2 COLLECT YOUR DRIED ALOE LEAVES FROM THE DEHYDRATOR AND USE PULVERIS (WAND MOVEMENT: CIRCLE AND A VERTICAL LINE THROUGH THE MIDDLE) TO TURN LEAVES INTO POWDER 3 COLLECT YOUR OTHER INGREDIENTS, KEEPING DRY AND ‘WET’ APART 4 PUT YOUR INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN YOUR TUBS, MIX THOROUGHLY TO INCORPORATE THEM ALL AND ACTIVATE THEM TOGETHER INSTEAD OF INDIVIDUALLY 5 APPLY LID TIGHTLY. AIR TIGHT WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND WITH THIS. 6 RECORD YOUR ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS IN YOUR DIARY 7 LOVE YOUR HAIR ”I know you could use a mortar and pestle for the dried leaves, and you’re welcome to, BUT in my experience, I’ve found that it doesn’t grind the aloe into a fine enough powder compared to other powdered ingredients and that affects how they bind when wet or can cause leftover debris in your hair in a dry product. Pulveris has always been my go to for getting aloe leaves into a powder. Remember, a clockwise circle and a vertical line through the middle is the wand movement for that one.” Was he forgetting anything else? ”Two tubs like the instructions say. Labelled. I’d like to have a list of your ingredients, but that isn’t a requirement for my feedback. It’d be nice to give you recommendations that aren’t already in there.” Pretty sure that was it? OH OH. THE DEHYDRATOR! HAH. With a laugh, Gus hurried to the back of the greenhouse and opened up the doors on it. ”Careful with your trays. Gloves on is necessary.” And once they were open, he darted over the the side of the greenhouse opening up the room that he usually used for practical activities (like the whizzing pot game) to reveal a fully stocked store room of powdered and oil ingredients. ”BE FREE, MY LITTLE HAIR BABIES.” "Oh. And Cora, you can have my dried leaves." OOC: Sorry for the extra 24 hour wait, guys. Yesterday was hectic and I didn’t leave myself enough hours in the evening to put a cohesive post together and I definitely didn’t want to rush this as...well, it’s a lot of information. Maybe too much information. BUT. I’m going to post each day until I close the class in five days to work alongside you guys if you need it or your character wants help. It’s a big thing and I don’t want to overwhelm you and Gus also wouldn’t want to overwhelm the students. Like this would have been a double lesson in the day and a whole hour would be left for this portion so no need to IC rush with it. I broke it down into steps on the whiteboard for you guys to follow through - Gus would have taught the Pulveris spell back in October or November, around the time he taught Venenum Hortus (lesson 1 from this term) when he was teaching the topic of resources outside of research, chance and physical tools. There’s a lot of information online about natural ingredients for hair (honestly, so many different things can be used!!) and Gus would have a huuuge store of all these things. He was collating them and preparing them for a while before this lesson so the kiddos had access to anything they could want. Be wild with your imagination, and if there’s something you think he may not have, feel free to mention it in a post and we can see if he has an alternative. Or maybe he has it in store elsewhere! No idea is too crazy. Soz for how much he talks. Soz for how much I talk. We're erratic. You’ve got between four and five days to get things done, but I’ll give 24 hours notice before I close the class <3 Uh uh uh uh uh uh idk what else to say lol ily. Any questions, as always… ask. I’m here. I’m so sorry about the level of info lol lol lol. Ily <3 __________________ [Grimoire]__________________________________________________ ____________