introduction to my personal challenge

I've decided to challenge myself to some intensive hair growth treatments!

Even if they don't REALLY work, they make anyone feel like they're pampering themselves, right?

Here's the story. My brother has about a month until he goes back to college, during which time I will probably join him for a visit. There's a stylist up there I found just before I graduated, and she seems pretty great! I figure that if my hair grows enough to be able to cut it into a legitimately cute style--not just "I'm still growing my hair out, this week I look like a medieval prince so let me curl it a little bit"--I'll treat myself to a brand-new haircut to continue growing from!

This is a pretty huge deal, because as anyone who has ever had a pixie cut, a bob, or in my case, sort of both, can tell you, growing out that particular style is a bit of a hassle. The back sort of does this mullet thing while the pieces in the front grow at their own pace--usually uneven and completely irrelevant to one another. Seriously, I've learned that even though in theory your hair would grow proportionately to the layers it was cut into, this is almost never the case. My brother keeps finding pictures of 1970's folk singers and saying I look like them.

It's been a long couple of months.

But, anyway, that's why I've decided to try this! I'm noticing some increased hair growth with my new vitamins, but maybe doing a couple of these will help it along a little more. Worst case scenario, I use a lot of items from my pantry without really accomplishing much aside from a sense of spa-day indulgence. Not a bad deal!

So far, on my list for the next month or so:

• Mustard hair mask (I'm going to try my first one tomorrow, I think!)
• Rosemary and green tea rinses
• Egg and honey masks
• Gelatin protein masks
• Hot almond oil massages

I'm usually up for trying anything once, as long as it isn't completely over-the-top, so there's a pretty good chance I'll find more things to throw into my hair between now and then.

Additionally, I'm thinking of posting the recipes I used and some progress pictures, just for fun! Who knows, maybe I'll actually see a difference!

Has anyone actually tried any of these aforementioned treatments? I've done a couple before--they do seem to make a difference, even though they aren't all necessarily meant to encourage growth (that gelatin mask is wonderful for thickening/increasing curl factor!) 

I'd love to hear about anything you've tried, along with your results!