Week 15 Update

First my wig...Oakland Girl by FreeTresses.

I got the wig. Tried it on and was super super impressed. I could hardly believe how natural it looked. But alas, I think I'll save it for special occasions because I haven't mastered the whole scarf then wig cap thing - it kept sliding off. Plus I messed with it all day the 2 days I wore it. Distracting. Always checking if it was on correctly and running to the bathroom.

Yes ppl, it's my face again. It pops up every now and again.

Then my hair....holy roots!

Last night during my detangle, I was just super overwhelmed by my hair. I know it has some texlax to it but it is very very slight. Actually it just prolly makes my hair another natural texture. It is nowhere near a normal texlax. I like it that way but I think calling it texlaxed is super misleading. I will be taking pics of my texture as soon as I have a working camera. These pics have all been taken with my iPhone...

Anyhoo, I bought a couple new prods in the last month. So here are the reviews:

1. Nature's Gate Jojoba Revitalizing Conditioner for damaged hair

I always buy prods for damaged hair so my hair can get mucho nutrients. I've been using this for the last 3 weekends. I don't DC with it, I condish with it after my DC. It really softens my hair and makes detanging a breeze. One weekend I ran the comb through my hair in the shower it was so soft. I almost never do that - I have been detangling in 6 or so sections recently. I think I'm gonna start washing in plaits pretty soon. Anyhoo, all I can say is I double triple recommend this conditioner (even tho it has cetyl alcohol...).

2. John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair Serum Extra Strength formula

Yea, like I said, I always get the strongest protection or whatever for my hair. I got this because I decided to be bold and flat iron my hair last weekend. I airdried with only it in my hair and then used my IC fantasia heat protectant and flat ironed in tiny pieces with one pass on the second to highest setting. It took forever. I did okay for my first time - The roots weren't as flat as I'd like. Also, my flat iron is a cheapo (Bed Head Tigi) so I may hold off flat ironing till I can get something better. I do think it was too small...I couldn't bump my hair. Maybe I need a bigger one to do bumps??? Next time I want straight hair, I'll go to the salon. I have no complaints about this product but I am no pro so what can I say...

Because my hair was still thick at the roots, I had to put it up. This bun made me proud all day!!! Used those 2 small combs at the side and pins :)

3. Nature's Gate Organics Herbal Blend Moisturizing Conditioner - Chamomile and Lemon Verbena

I am using this as a leave-in. Used it last night to detangle...worked fine. It is def not as thick as my HE LTR leave-in so I felt shafted for some reason but it worked well I think to detangle my hair. Won't say anything yet re: recommendations since I only used it once.

Soooo, in other news, the back of my hair felt like a dry matted mess last night before my wash. This week, I will be trying to do my spray at least every other day to lock in moisture.

Update

Just some pics.

First my Sat braid out...I did 6 plaits on 80% dry hair Thurs night and then pulled them out a day later. I really need to learn how to braid. I tried but it was too lose and uneven. Not even near what I could do in someone else's hair.

Sunday bun and off to Barnes & Noble :)

This is my hair tonight after a m&s session with wave nouv and carrot oil, mango butter at the edges and IC fantasia gel (use at night so I don't have to use in morning or have a tight ponytail to get the slickness). I am still combing once a week so I finger combed this. I have a new product - conditioner - I plan on using this weekend.

Where is my hair? Product reviews and updates

This is gonna be looooong.

So first of all:

My relaxer. I am 4 weeks and a couple days post relaxer and my roots feel like 6 weeks or more. I will admit I rushed my hairdresser last relaxer so I'll be relaxer early this time, maybe 8 or 9 weeks to compensate and I won't be rushing anyone lol.

New products...Organics shea butter and tea tree oil moisturizer. When I first used it I thought it felt like water. Not very greasy or oily like I probably think Wave Nouv finishing lotion feels. It was strange but I thought why not? It's supposed to be moisture and then I seal so it should be ok. Two weeks later my hair was breaking and no matter how much product I used to moisturize my hair, my hair just felt wetter and not more moisturized. Then I panicked. Yesterday morning I washed my hair after an overnight DC with all my old favorite products and it felt strange and I saw some breakage and said heck no! Hauled ass to Sally's bought my Wave Nouv last night, moisturized and seal and I won't lie, my hair feels better.

My hair this morning:

Then I showered and I have no clue how the hair escaped the shower cap. Ruined! I was so annoyed! So it ended up in a roll.

Nexxus Emegencee. This heavy protein tx is so much easier than the 2 step by Aphogee! It feels like a gel, very slick on the hair, not hard. I don't know if I feel like it did anything cause I'm so used to the hardness and the long process and I only used it once and won't be using it for a long time so we'll see...I'll keep you updated.

My hair currently: Yesterday I got the shock of my life. I took my orange curlers out and went about doing my usual curly style then went to the bathroom to apply make up. My husband noticed something on me and said what is that...I looked down...it was like snow. I have no clue if I have dandruff or dry scalp. My scalp is itchy. I have never had to deal with it before but it was like whoa! So now something has to be done to keep up my scalp health. I'm not sure if JBCO can help but my first thought was to get an applicator so I could apply it to my scalp, or do ACV rinses every other week...I'm gonna make up my mind this week after some research. Otherwise, I think I've been experiencing some breakage and shedding. I hope going back to my moisturizer will fix the breakage and the shedding may just be seasonal - we will see.

Oh! My hair has been to Denver. Oh my goodness! Being so high up, the air is just dry dry dry and using that organics moisturizer was no good lol My skin is still recovering. Here's my Denver hair:

Lesson learnt lol

Bantu knot outs aren't as easy as they look. So I tried my first bantu knot out on 9 weeks post hair Fri night because I wasn't up to washing (gym Sunday and needed to do protein for my relaxer this week). OMG my roots! So first, I couldn't even part the sections, then I guess I didn't secure it properly because none of the ends were curled. So I had to abandon the whole plan for another time. Any tips? Feel free to let me know.

Disclaimer: excuse the mess! It was laundry day and we were sorting, etc but I wanted to grab some shots for you all. Oh, and these are iPhone photos so details may be sketchy.

I do have other pics from this weekend but I'll post when I have time. I'll tell you what I did though. I didn't have any 2 step left and didn't realize so I had to use my Mizani kerafuse instead for my protein. So here's what I did: clarified with CON, porosity for 1 min, DC for a couple hours with Mizani kerafuse, conditioned with my sedal ceramides then rollerset. It took me forever to detangle and rollerset. But I did it. Couldn't wrap the rollerset (roots lol) so I did a cross wrap instead. Rocking the banana clip today.

Relaxer update

So I got my trim and I think my hairdresser gets me. I'm back to APL but thank goodness that's all. I was starting to imagine the worst. Here are days 1, 2 & 3 of my relaxer. I put stamps on these pics. I really don't care too much if anyone steals them (I've never had stamps but maybe I should....). Day 1 I had no time to length check so you'll see from day 2 I'm APL (a tiny bit past). Hopefully next time I'll have a thicker BSB (if I ever really was there).

The Keratina Fix seemed to work good. I'll be doing a protein conditioner following my relaxers from now on. This stretch I will be very good to my hair. DC once a week. I skipped 2 or 3 last time. ::sigh:: No excuse for that.

Next relaxer? Approx Oct 14th @ 10 weeks.

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Happy rinser here! (long & pic heavy)

So it's been awhile. But I didn't forget you (hence the ton of pics)....I've been storing it all up :) Anyhow, I've been very curious about the various rinses and have managed to try 2 this past week. I would recommend both.

Black Tea Rinse

The black tea rinse is supposed to help stop shedding, add shine, and in some cases add color (temporary) to the hair. It can be drying but conditioning will help to prevent your hair from becoming dried out after use. To be honest I wanted to incorporate something new to my regimen. I wanted my hair to get an infusion of something new and refreshing. I loooove looove tea so I already had some in my cupboard. I used Stash Chai Black Tea this time but plan to buy a cheaper brand for regular hair usage. I boiled an entire saucepot and put 2 teabags in to steep last Thurs night. I poured it in a jug Fri morning and left it for later. Fri I cowashed with my Mane n Tail (seems like I forgot abt HE LTR but I haven't) then rinsed it out in the shower and did the black tea rinse. I left it on my hair while I scrubbed the tub and showered. Then I rinsed it out, and put my alter ego garlic cond in my hair, covered w a plastic bag and hat and headed out to choir. Approx 3 hours later I rinsed and roller set (w HE LTR leave in and JC Sol spray). I allowed my hair to air dry over night, then sat under the dryer for 20 minutes in the (Sat) morning. My hair felt dry right after the black tea rinse but after the DC was back to feeling soft.

What was different? My curls didn't hold one bit. I don't know if it was that my hair needed shampooing (product heavy - I hadn't shampooed in about a month or more at that point) but they curls died in minutes. Like 5 minutes. That has never happened before...

I wrapped my hair Sat night for a funeral I had to attend on Sunday. Loved the shine!

What didn't change: I still had the same amount of shedding I usually do.

I don't plan to stop doing this just yet. This was my first experience and it wasn't bad. I'll keep trying and see how things work out. Apparently I can incorp it into every rinse without ill effect. I'm gonna try in once or twice a month.

Since I've stuck with washing my hair on Fridays, during the week (esp when I keep up with the gym) my hair can get limp and almost greasy. Tues I sat at work highly unhappy with my hair. It was DEAD. My bun looked sick, my braid was greasy. Worst part is I hadn't been to the gym yet so there was no reason for all this yucky-ness. So I decided that after the gym that Tues I'd cowash. However, I remembered how my hair came out Sat morning & how I was thinking it needed a poo. I just didn't want to shampoo my hair though...I really want to get away from it. So, I decided to take the plunge and do an Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinse.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

ACV rinses are acidic and because hair is acidic also (unlike most hair products which are alkaline), it is supposed to be good for our hair. Apparently, it is especially good for curly hair. Why? Because it rids the hair of product residue naturally without all the stripping of the shampoo, and because it helps close the cuticles of the hair (helps hair to retain moisture, and be protected from damage). I'm writing all this info (also for black tea rinse) from memory of what I read so feel free to add more info or google for more details.

I mixed 1/4 cup of ACV with 3 cups of tap water. I co-washed with Mane n Tail then did my Aphogee 2 min keratin reconstructor rinsed in the shower then did the ACV rinse. Now, some people leave it on their hair and other rinse it out. I'd like to think I did the in between. I rinsed it in the shower for like 5 seconds. I just wanted to get some out. I air dried using the scarf method from Sunshyne (w HE LTR leave in). My hair felt so soft! It dried soft too!

What was different? The hugest thing for me was little to no hair in my comb after detangling WOW. I have never seen this little hair at almost 7 weeks (7 weeks tomorrow)...I was impressed! It's been awhile since I took a pic of the hair coming out (I don't want to start obsessing again) but I was amazed. Oh, people complain about the smell but for me it was gone once my hair dried.

I love this! Some people do ACV rinses weekly. For now I think I may do it monthly.

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OMG I have 60 followers now!

The first giveaway is on it's way! I can't wait to share something special with you loves!

Thank you. You really are a great bunch. This blog is really a hair journal. I didn't know if my hair journey would be good or bad or if I would have any advice (since my hair is growing as I blog instead of me already growing my hair and then teaching y'all) so it may have been repetitive (since I'm journaling) and may not always have great info (but always photos lol) since I'm learning and undecided a lot but you still come and read & comment...I truly appreciate your support :)

My braid

Remember when I said I couldn't braid? Well I have been trying to learn. I don't think anyone would pay me to braid their hair but I did a pretty decent job of it this morning. It is secured at the end with 2 tiny elastic bands.

I am 6 weeks tomorrow (& I am still amazed that normally (that is, before Hairlista, Sunshyne, & Traycee), I'd be relaxing tomorrow...thank goodness for this healthy hair journey)

July 4th hair

Did my orange rollers Fri night for Sat.

Then wrapped Sat night for Sun.

Then the heat won on Mon lol.

Products: Alter Ego garlic cond for DC on dry hair all Dri, Aphogee 2 min reconstructor for my protein then rinse, HE LTR and JC leave in. Air dry over night plus 20 mins under dyer in the morning.

My gym regimen

You'll remember I complained that since I sweat in my hair, going to the gym is a hair challenge (soaked hair by the time I'm done). I needed some regimen to stick to where the gym was concerned.

First I considered & even tried the midweek cowash but it didn't last long, I think I did it twice. I just don't have the energy, time, or motivation; I can't believe I used to be midweek co-washing queen. Besides I go to the gym 3 or 4 times per week Mon-Thurs, so when would my midweek cowash be? Thurs when I'm done with the gym? That makes no sense because I do my weekly wash Fri eve/Sat morn. I was doing the midweek wash on Tues but that didn't last and by Wed/Thurs it was sweaty again.

Since I haven't been cowashing midweek, I had to do something to my hair after the gym. I decided to fall back on something at least one reader mentioned (or maybe I did, I can't remember). Anyhoo, post gym I moisturize with my HE LTR leave-in conditioner instead of my Wave Nouv. and then seal with my grape seed oil (or Proclaim 7). The following morning I go back to my Wave Nouv./grape seed or P7 m&s.

Here's my hair after gym - soaking wet with leave-in & sealant added

Next day for work - m&s and back in protective styling

Oh, I discovered my browser is preventing my photos from being clickable. There was a time I could click on them and they'd expand. Now they won't. I've been using Google Chrome recently. I don't have an alternative on this computer but when I'm on my other, I'll use Firefox.

Last Lap

Praise God! I cannot wait for Thurs morning.

Friday I pre-poo'd with NTM conditioner I had left over (done now) and some proclaim 7 oil. Then I clarified with CON Clarifying poo with Aloe, then did my 2-step protein and sat under dryer with that for about 30 mins, then DC with my Sedal SOS ceramides for about 40 mins (20 with heat). Not too much of my hair came out...regular amount. Roller setting was a trial...detangling after my protein is always hard.

Important notice: I'm looking for a heavy protein replacement. I'm just about tired of using this messy, complicated 2 step protein. I love the 2 minute reconstructor they make but the 2 step, I can't bother with. I'd appreciate suggestions.

Anyhoo, I wasn't the very best at protecting my ends this weekend. Sat night they escaped my bonnet so they looked awful Sunday - I had to give em some HE LTR leave in and sealant. Then this morning they seemed to escape again, so I sprayed with my Jane Carters (instead of aloe mix), HE LTR again, then sealed w grape seed oil.

I bought my relaxer for the year (huge container). I didn't get Mizani this time around - I bought the Motions...the professional one for regular hair. Click here to see it (oh, Ateeyah's video is on the site...big things for her: Congrats!)

11 weeks post relaxer pics...

Beginning of week: Quick wash on Sat morning...no DC. Had no time. Haven't washed since so no DC this week...what a thing. Good thing tomorrow my hair gets the full pre-relaxer treatment.

Tuesday. Bun. I bunned all week.

Thursday. Bun.

Friday (tomorrow) I'll be officially 11 weeks. Pre-poo all day, followed by clarifying poo (does it make sense to clarify after pre-pooing? click here to learn what other ladies think), then my 2-step protein, then DC - garlic cond mixed with honey I think. Roller set. Wait out the week. Thursday morning I relax. I have somewhere to be Fri so I hope I can steal some time to take my update pics before my hair gets brutalized by the great outdoors.

Healthy hair reminder

Let me start by saying I don't really discuss my hair journey with my friends because I told 2 about my changes at the beginning and 1 was supportive and the other was amused. So I basically have 1 friend who knows about my healthy hair journey. So when I mentioned I was 10 weeks post to some girlfriends this weekend (one was admiring the length of my hair), & one said I need to relax because my hair will break if stretched, I only said, I don't really experience too much breaking from stretching because I try to keep my hair moist. Nothing more. I really wanted to say more but didn't want to sound like a mad hair scientist.

Anyhoo, I'll share the rest with y'all...

There can be more breakage as we stretch the relaxer more and more. As we stretch, there is more new growth and that demarcation line between the two textures is very delicate. We have to be extra gentle and keep up the hair care - deep conditioning, regular protein, low manipulation, protective styling - as the stretch gets longer and longer to prevent breakage.

Remember though that if the protein/moisture balance is off, hair is going to break regardless of the length of the stretch.

One other thing. Can I tell you how much pain I was in as one of my friends put the Mizani conditioning moisturizer then Design Essentials herbal complex then proceeded to flat iron her hair? I offered her some of my heat protectant, trying to explain that the oily hairdress (design essentials) probably wasn't the best when she flat ironed. Didn't work. She absolutely loves the product so...I let it be. You can only help those who really are interested and I'm tired of ppl saying I'm weird or giving me the side eye when I'm trying to help. How you gonna see a difference in your hair if you don't do something different to your hair?

Pic time. You know I like to post random pics. This is very random. I woke up late this morning. When that happens, boring hair styles are the choice...this is from the BB since no camera today.

Stretch update: your girl's a JOKER

Now why on earth did I think I was 8 weeks yesterday when I'm in fact 10 weeks???! lol I swear I can be a blonde at times. I looked over at my ticker and realized I relaxed March 5th and not the 20th (then I checked my relaxer updates to be sure). Well that makes this stretch waaay easier for me. Woooooot!!! I only have 2 more weeks and I'll be done my first 12 week stretch. Last time I did 11 weeks and 5 days...almost there but not quite. The weirdest thing is my hair's been behaving so I didn't even notice. Even last weeks curly look, I thought was being done on 7 week hair but it was 9 week hair lol. I don't think I'll be pushing it past 12 weeks...4 relaxers a year is a great idea.

Pics are from Wed (2 on left) &Fri (bun)

Air dry...again

I'm air drying a lot for someone whose hair doesn't really like air drying. It's laziness and exams. So I detangled last night when I washed out the DC then let hair air dry with scarf for a couple hours then had to head to bed. Was a little damp this morning but I just bunned and covered with my scarf and hat till I got in to work.

Hair is completely wet here

What's in my air dry? HE LTR leave in and Jane Carter's Solution (JCS) revitalizing leave-in spray. Before I went to bed (it had been air drying for about 2 hours), I add a little more HE LTR and then sealed with grape seed oil. This morning I did my usual bun routine and head off to work. I am 5 weeks and 2 days post relaxer.

Sometimes life happens

Didn't get to do my hair care regimen Fri eve/Sat because my godson was in the hospital and staying with him was waaaay more important. So I just rocked my bun Saturday at church. Quite a few ladies wanted to steal my flower lol. There's more where that came from though - just check Target :)

I'm heading to a study group at school so I'm gonna co-wash, 2 minute protein then put in my DC and leave it in for the day.