Another September Wash Day

This week has been pretty hectic. I protective styled every day of the week - updo 2 days and halfwig 3 days.

I couldn't take the itchies anymore so I went ahead and washed and conditioned my hair today. here's what I did:

• Applied Amla Oil to my hair and detangled
• Shampooed with diluted sulfate shampoo (1 part shampoo to 2 parts water)
• Conditioned with Aphogee 2 Minute
• Rinsed, and applied my leave-in (Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin)
• Air dried with a scarf until my edges were dry, then blow dried

Thoughts: During the whole wash process I was losing a lot of hair. I know it's shedding because majority of the strands are long with a little white bulb at the end. At least its the lesser of the 2 evils (shedding is better than breakage). But my shedding is excessive right now so I'm going to pop a couple garlic pills and hopefully that stops the shedding.

I'm currently 9 weeks post and hair is starting to get tangled more, and harder to work with. I have a good inch of new growth so I'm glad about that. 


Plans: I'm planning to wear my hair straight this week. I haven't flat ironed since August 22 so I'm looking forward to using heat finally.

Due to the new growth and excessive shedding, it may be time to relax soon.

Things They Don't Tell You About Being Relaxed

...the good and the bad:

1. We still have to straighten it. Just because a relaxer chemically alters the strand to make it straighter, doesn't mean the job is done until the next relaxer. Still gotta use a flat iron if you want the polished look.

2. It's not easy. We always hear about how hard transitioning is. Well being relaxed is literally transitioning over and over again.

3. It's easy. On the other hand, it's pretty easy to get relaxed hair to do what you want it to do. For example, detangling is not a challenge when you're a few weeks post.

4. Kink & coil envy. Every time you see healthy, nicely styled natural hair in real life, you're intrigued. Sometimes you start thinking about what your own hair would look if you went natural. This is when braid-outs, twist-outs etc come in very handy.

5. Natural products work for us too. This emergence of the "natural" hair care market is benefiting relaxed heads too by giving everyone better alternatives and quality ingredients. The products that drench natural hair in moisture do the exact same thing for relaxed tresses.

Weekend hair plans

Here are a few random pics:

Work bun

I flat ironed at the end of August. Sorry for black on black but you can see the silkiness of my hair in this pic. I applied a little DAX Light Pomade before flat ironing. I still am loving and using this stuff. My hair also had some CHI SIlk Infusion in it. Those are the only 2 products I used after my hair was dry.

Crappy pic but you can kinda see how long my hair is after I trimmed it a little while ago

I don't think I've so much as moisturized and sealed my hair since Monday. It's been a pretty hectic week back to school and I've decided to wig for convenience. Well my hair is still feeling great and today I'm looking forward to pampering it:

Pre-poo with Queen Helene Cholesterol + Honey
Shampoo (Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo)
DC with heat (Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner)
Apply leave-in (Aphogee Provitamin Leave-in - trying this for the first time. Lets see if my hair likes it)
Air Dry w/ scarf method

What are your weekend hair plans??

Wig it or not??

I'm debating between whether I want to wig it for the rest of the year or not.

On the one hand, I can save a LOT of time every morning and it is soo convenient to just throw on a halfwig, blend a little, and go. I wont have to worry about bad hair days or anything. Also, my hair will be 100% protected for maximum length retention. If I want a change I can always just do an updo with my real hair every once in a while.


On the other hand. My hair is at a length where I feel comfortable with wearing it out. Halfwigs are pretty expensive over time.

What to do?? How are you wearing your hair this fall/winter?

Random Hair Thoughts

• So after major shedding, breakage and dryness issues this past week, my hair is back to normal for the most part. I shampooed with Queen Helene Garlic Shampoo and conditioned, that helped but I still had a lot of shedding and breakage going on. I tried deep conditioning with Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner -- that helped bring my hair's moisture level back but I still had a lot of shedding. It wasn't until I took 2 garlic softgels that my shedding literally STOPPED in it's tracks. 

• My hair has outgrown regular shower caps. It doesn't all fit in the shower cap so when I'm DCing or baggying, there's heat/steam escaping from the perimeter where the elastic isn't snug against my head. So I'm going to start applying a layer of plastic wrap first, then put on a shower cap. I did it for today's DC and it works pretty well. I got the idea from Shorty2sweet59 on youtube.

• Today is wash day. I deep conditioned on dry hair with Queen Helene Cholesterol (LOVE this stuff...When my current jar is done I'm gonna just suck it up and just get the $20 tub). I left this on for about 3 hours while working out and just doing stuff around the house. Now my plan is to wash it out with Dove Damage Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner, apply Aphogee Green Tea & Keratin Mist and air dry.
• The search for a daily moisturizer might STILL be on. I thought S-curl would be the end-all but I read http://longing4length.blogspot.com/2011/08/time-to-shelve-s-curl.html Ebony's post and come to think of it my s-curl hasn't been as moisturizing lately and it makes sense for the reasons she mentioned. I may just need to clarify my hair. But I will keep using it until I notice a major difference.

Tangles

Ever since I did the brahmi treatment and conditioned afterwards, my hair has been super dry and hard to detangle. During yesterdays wash there was way too much hair in in the wide tooth comb while detangling in the shower. My hair was saturated with conditioner and even though I was under the stream of the shower, it was really hard to detangle and I lost a lot of hair :(

How NOT to detangle...I really wanna hand this lady a wide toothed comb and tell her to start from the ends and work her way up gently lol

What have I learned from this...let's see...don't use things my hair doesn't like for the sake of using them up. I've used the brahmi treatment before and it made my hair strong just like last time - but this time it was just overly strong? which led to the dry, tangled hair I'm dealing with now days after. I think this happened because the mixture I used was way more concentrated (I didn't use water this time, only oil and condish). I even did a co-wash just now but no luck. Hopefully it gets better when it dries. Until then, no combing, and lots of deep conditioning.

Actually come to think of it, I've been using a lot of protein products lately so maybe I have protein overload?? *lightbulb*  Tomorrow I'll wash with a diluted shampoo, and do a long moisturizing DC session. Final rinse with Porosity Control Corrector and Conditioner. Hopefully this helps.

TGIF: Weekend Hair Plans

Well it's Saturday now and I really hope everyone is having a great weekend so far...I plan on getting much needed R&R after this hectic week...here's my hair plans:

Friday: Shampooed and conditioned with Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Shampoo & Conditioner (bought it because it was on sale for $2.99, regularly $8). Moisturized with S-curl.

Saturday: Moisturized with S-Curl a few times...Dove's "weightless moisture formula" made my hair feel dry...but soft and flowy. Also loving the soft, clean scent.  Anyway I knew the s-curl wasn't cutting it so I sealed it in with Dax light pomade and that did the trick. Yes I'm still using and loving this stuff. Earlier this week I flat ironed my hair and Dax did the trick to give my hair some extra weight and shine. As opposed to being slightly dull, dry and frizzy (I think it was like this because I clarified right before flat ironing..note to self: for sleek, shiny results, hair needs some type of moisture left in before you flat iron so don't use a clarifying shampoo).

I was organizing my product stash and I have a few bottles and things that are almost finished...So yeah...it's Brahmi treatment time! I used up the rest of my brahmi powder in a treatment consisting of: Brahmi powder + the rest of my Tresemme Naturals conditioner + the rest of my Vatika Oil + One n Only Argan Oil Moisture Repair Conditioner. I applied the mixture to my hair outside in the backyard because I remember how messy the treatment can be. And it was quite messy and unappealing but I just kept thinking how much it would help my hair in the long run...

Benefits of Brahmi Powder:
- Cools the scalp and induces sound sleep
- Controls dandruff
- Makes hair long, dark, Dense & lustrous
- Strengthens hair roots

So now as I type this, I'm sitting with the Brahmi in my hair. Random sidenote - all of my hair doesn't fit under this shower cap :o guess I'm gonna have to upgrade to grocery bags? or use 2 shower caps at a time (one to cover the front and one to cover the back, with overlapping between the 2 caps. I dunno yet.

Whenever I decide to rinse this out, I'll do the usual routine: shampoo, condition in the shower, and apply my leave-ins and air dry as usual.

Sunday: I plan on co-washing and air drying....haven't done that in a while

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As for my hair, it's doing well. I'm 6 weeks post tomorrow...wow how time flies it feels like I just got one last week or something. I don't feel a lot of new growth yet. I'm thinking about going to the salon to have my hair done (washed, blow dried, flat ironed) for back to school next week.

Tip: Diluting Shampoo

I've been diluting shampoo by putting it in an applicator bottle with some water, and applying it directly to my scalp.

Benefits of diluting shampoo:

- Applicator bottle lets you get directly to the roots and scalp
- Shampoo becomes less harsh
- Makes thicker shampoos easy to spread and lather
- Use less shampoo and save money in the long run

I think I first found out about this method from Traycee from KISS, but I forgot about it and didn't think of trying it until I saw one of BuildableBeauty's youtube videos recently. I must say this is a great tip so had to share!

Back to School Hair Regimen

 School is starting back up again in about 2 weeks. I already know from now that my hair will take a back seat to everything else. So here is my bare minimum regimen for the fall semester:

Weekly:
1) Prepoo and baggy before washing (optional)
2) Shampoo with a sulfate shampoo
3) Protein treatment or deep condition with every shampoo
4) Apply leave-in conditioner
5) If doing an air dried style (braidout, twistout, bantu knots etc), then moisturize and seal. If using a hot tool to style, then only use heat protectant and/or CHI SIlk Infusion.

Nightly (maintenance depends on hairstyle):
Straight: apply serum, wrap, scarf overnight.
Curls: no product. Do pin curls and wear scarf overnight
Air dried style (braidout, twistout, bantu knots etc): Moisturize and seal, re-braid, and scarf overnight.

As Needed (maybe weekly, maybe never...depends on how my hair feels and what I have time for): Co-washing, Porosity Control, clarifying, black color rinses, trims.

Weekend Wash Day

Pre-pooing overnight with JBCO+pep oil in a bun

Last night I doused my hair with vatika oil and a mix of JBCO+peppermint to scalp only. Put it in a high bun and let it soak in overnight under a plastic cap. So I guess this is baggying, pre-pooing and hot oil treating in one step, cool beans.

Now it's the next morning. Time for wash day, here's the plan....

1) Shampoo with diluted HE CMH shampoo (2 lathers)
2) Condition w/ One n Only Argan Oil conditioner
3) Final rinse with Porosity Control C&C
4) Leave-in Aphogee Green Tea & Keratin Mist
5) Air dry with a scarf and let the back hang loose

Thoughts/Blabber: It's been 6 days since my last hair wash. I'm glad I could go so long without washing considering the amount of products I caked on during the week. Next wash I will only use 1oz of shampoo diluted with 1oz water...this time I used 2oz shampoo diluted with 1oz water (3oz total) and it was too much

JBCO makes my hair ridiculously soft. I need to repurchase a new bottle soon since my current bottle is almost done..

I did a lean back in the shower and my hair reached waist :o I should be there before 2012. Or blunt MBL if I become scissor happy. Either way, I'm excited

School is starting soon. I'm going to tweak my regimen for less washing and less manipulation in general. The semester gets so hectic and I already know from now that my hair will take a back seat to everything else. So I need to think of a solid bare-minimum school regimen...

Moisturizing and Sealing Combo (unpopular)

Today my hunt for a cheap, protein-free, effective daily moisturizer ended. I decided to revisit S-Curl. I also purchased an unpopular sealant to match: grease...

Super Light Dax Pomade. Sealing with natural oils is nice because they're light, but lately I need something heavier. Sweet almond oil and jojoba oil were too light, and JBCO is a too heavy to use as a daily sealant. Oyin Burnt Sugar pomade smelled so yummy and was nice but its super expensive where I live, and also I found it to be grainy and a little hard to spread. The dax spreads really easily and literally melts in my hands. So I think this product is the happy medium. It's unpopular, but I think my hair will like it in the long run...

Ingredients: Petrolatum, Lanolin, Sweet Almond Oil, Aloe Vera, Avocado Oil, Jojoba Oil, Sesame Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Safflower Seed Oil, Peanut Oil, Cottonseed Oil, D&C Green #6, Fragrance.

And here's what my hair looks like after moisturizing and sealing with S-curl and dax in 4 sections, then braiding each section and un-braiding after an hour. My hair feels soft and moisturized, but not damp or wet at all. I'm looking forward to seeing how this combo affects my hair over time.

After moisturizing and sealing with S-curl and Dax. I feel so old school lol. Not in love with the way my hair smells, but it sure feels good. I haven't washed my hair in 5 days so its weighed down in these pics.

What are your thoughts on grease? Anyone else using it?

My NLV's

NLV, a term coined by Ebony over at Longing 4 Length, stands for Non-Length Victory...which are other accomplishments that are made while you are caring for your hair in between those length goals.

So here are my NLV's lately....

- I've perfected the art of air drying. Depending on what products I use and how long I leave the scarf on for, I can get my hair to dry sleek and smooth for a nice bun. Or really big and fluffy with lots of volume. Or anything in between. No matter how I do it my edges are sleek and smooth just how I like it.

- I finally learned how to wrap. I always heard youtubers talking about how they've been wrapping their hair forever and how easy it is to maintain their hair when it's straightened. The first (and last) time I tried wrapping I was left with a sore hairline the next day. Well after my most recent relaxer I decided to give it another shot, and it worked great. Its because I used a wide comb to wrap instead of a paddle brush like how many youtubers do.

- I can safely say that I found staple products. The only reason I try new things is to keep it interesting. For example I'm more motivated to deep condition if it means trying out a new product. But at the end of the day I know the products that my hair adores.

- I'm no longer obsessed over showing my length. Actually I've been "over" showing length since APL. By this, I mean not constantly pulling at my braidouts all day to show more length. Or making sure every hair on my head is pulled tightly into a ponytail to create the fullest bun I could on SL hair. Nope, just throw it in a bun (usually with no comb, just fingers) and it's already full. I still care about length, but I'm not obsessed about showing it all the time.

- Thickness victory: it now takes 2 loops with an ouchless band and my hair is held tight. It used to take 3 or 4 loops. I've also had to upgrade my butterfly clips to the larger ones, because my hair laughs at the small ones now

Air dried ponytail

- My bangs can finally be tucked behind my ear! The awkward bang length is over!!

- 100+ people actually look at my blog. Thanks to everyone who checks out this blog, leave comments, give suggestions, or just lurk. It makes me wanna post more pics and update more often!

That Awkward Moment when...

...a guy says he likes my hair and I'm wearing a halfwig. LOL true story. I've had this experience with 2 guys in the last week. Awkward! I just thank them and let them know I have extensions if they ask. My goal is to grow my hair as long as the H/W in this pic (about waist length in the back).

Hair Wash/Condition Day

Here's how today's wash day is going to go...1) Cleanse with Hair One
2) Condition with Tresemme Naturals
3) Leave-in: Aphogee Green Tea & Keratin Restructurizer
4) Air dry with a satin scarf for a little while
5) Moisturize with anything I have available...not sure what I'm gonna use yet

Thoughts:
The no-poo thing is going well so far. My hair feels really moisturized. I'm heavy handed with products and as a result my hair is really weighed down and my scalp has the occasional itchies. But I don't mind since I protective style anyway.

Random Review: 
I got a sample of Jane Carter Nourish and Shine. I've wanted to try this product for the longest. It's basically a hair product made with different butters, oils and vitamins. Overall my first impression is that I don't like it. It gives a nice shine but I applied it to my flat ironed hair at night, hoping it would soak in overnight and leave me with shiny, bouncy, moisturized hair. And it didn't :( it made my hair really greasy and weighed down. I'm also not too fond of the smell. So I won't be purchasing the full-size jar. Maybe this product would work better on braidouts/twistouts, but I already have a sample of Oyin Burnt Sugar Pomade for that (which will likely be repurchased, just a matter of when lol).

July Recap & August Goals

 Can you believe July is almost over??

 

JULY/AUGUST 2011 HAIR GOALS

1. Reach midback length. done!

2. Use up ALL "extra" products in my stash. This means streamlining it down to 15 staples or less. I'm down to about 25 products...good thing I lost that map lol

3. Relax in August. No sooner! (this will be tough) Fail. I relaxed 2 weeks early

4. Limited heat (minus my bangs). Flat iron once a month max, if that. Blow dryer is okay to use on cool. I did pretty good with no-heat...just flat ironed after my relaxer on July 18th and avoided additional heat by wrapping at night. 

August 2011 Hair Plan/Goals

- Reduce stash down to 20 products
- Personal Hair One challenge (Using Hair One to cleanse weekly instead of shampoo. Clarify once a month or as needed)

Must be a Sign?

In my last post I talked about planning a haul. Well I got my shoes, clothes etc; but nothing hair related. I lost the map that I prepared pointing out the hair stores I wanted to visit. Guess this is a sign to get rid of my stash before I buy more stuff. I used the money I would have spent on hair products to take my family out to dinner :)

Haulin'

I'm planning on doing a serious shopping haul soon. I've never done one before, so I'm excited. Why am I doing a haul? Well I'll be visiting the states and I want to take advantage of the lower prices & taxes compared to here in Toronto.

Being a student with a Finance major, it was natural to plan a budget for this trip. I want to focus on clothing, shoes, hair products, and a little makeup/skincare.


Note to self: Things to keep in mind while shopping:

• You're in a different country, so returning things is out of the question. Be sure about what you buy
• Quality, not quantity
• Shop at your own pace, and don't be impulsive

As for hair-related stuff, I want to stock up on Hair One which is not carried at the Sally's branches in Canada.

Oh and I also gotta stock up on NTM Silk Touch Leave-in Cream! Since it mysteriously disappeared in Canadian stores and I haven't been able to find a replacement moisturizer.

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As for my hair, all I've been doing is moisturizing with Darcy's Botanicals Coconut Lemongrass Transitioning Creme, and sealing with JBCO on the ends. Right now my hair is in about 12 plaits, and I plan on keeping it like this for the whole week. I'll be protective styling with halfwigs all week.

First Wash After Relaxer

It's a perfect Sunday to wash my hair. I'm officially one week post. Here's how my wash day is going..

Today's workout bun...my hair and itchy scalp is ready to be washed

Process:
1) Cleansed with Hair One
2) Protein treatment: Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor for 10-15 minutes
3) Final rinse: Porosity Control Corrector and Conditioner, and detangle with a wide tooth comb
4) Spray on leave-in conditioner: Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin Restructurizer

Now I'm air drying with a scarf. Will moisturize and seal when my hair is almost finished air drying.

Thoughts:
All of the products I used today (so far) contain some type of protein. Most people's regimen is based on moisture with a shot of protein as needed. My reggie is quite the opposite -- mostly protein products with a shot of moisture as needed.

I decided to skip the shampoo (sulfate-free or otherwise) for this wash. I really like the Hair One cleanser, this is my second bottle. It makes my hair really soft and I like the tingling effect it gives my scalp.

Next time:
The Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor always makes my hair feel soft after just 2 mins. So leaving it in for 15 would make it work better right? wrong. It made my hair a tiny bit hard after 15 minutes. So next time I'll stick to leaving it on for the 2-5 minutes as directed on the bottle.

Unless my scalp gets really itchy or my hair gets lots of buildup, I'll be using Hair One consistently as a cleanser until my next clarify which is Aug 17th.

21 Questions Hair Tag!

 Here are my answers!

1. Why did you start taking better care of your hair? This was in highschool. It was breaking off badly to the point where a friend noticed all the broken hair all over my shoulders. I finally thought enough was enough. So I asked a classmate who had long healthy APL hair what she did. She said nothing (I later heard that she did hot oil treatments regularly, what a hair snob!). Desperate for answers, I googled "black hair growth secret", found a hair forum, and the rest is history.

2. What are your 2 favorite products? CHI Silk Infusion and  Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor

3. Who's hair did you admire as a child? Aaliyah!!!

4. What is your ultimate goal length? Waist

5. How are you going to celebrate when you reach it? Maybe go on a shopping spree, or treat myself to a manicure/pedicure. Definitely will take a ton of pics! And maybe make a youtube video.

6. Two styles you want to try at your goal length? A braidout! and curls w/ a curling wand

7. Which do you prefer: Health or length? Health for sure

8. Which do you prefer: Hair ties with no metal parts, or butterfly clips? Clips

9. What products do you prefer: salon brands, organic brands, BSS brands or drugstore brands? BSS brands for the win (sally's counts as a BSS...right??)

10. Which product/technique do you think is over-rated? Washing hair in multiple sections

11. Which product/technique do you think is under-rated? Baggying, no one does it anymore lol but it's great for retaining length

12. What is your favorite part of your hair regimen? Moisturizing and sealing. There's something therapeutic about applying products to my hair

13. What is the most annoying part of your hair regimen? Shower hopping! This is one of the reasons why I don't deep condition as much as I should.

14. Oils or butters? Oils!

15. Bun or ponytail? Buns (braidout buns <3)

16. Wig or weave (or neither)? Halfwigs!!

17. What is your opinion on growth aids? I think people focus so much on growth that they don't realize it's only half the battle. Retention is key.

18. What length do you consider long? If it's the same length all the way around then I consider APL to be long. But BSL+ is for sure long

19. When is the last time you've been to a salon? Oh snap...definitely over a year ago, maybe two. I don't hate stylists, but I can do my hair nicely myself, so I don't wanna pay someone else to do it on a regular basis. Not to mention the horror stories I've read. If I could find a good stylist I trust, then I would probably go more often.

20. What do you like to surf the most: youtube channels, personal blogs or hair forums? I like to surf youtube the most. Then there are quite a few personal blogs I stalk keep up with.


21. And finally, what piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out their hair journey?
Have realistic expectations. Your hair will not grow long overnight. It takes time, patience and possibly a little investment in quality tools and products. Don't get discouraged if your hair doesn't grow as fast as the next person's. Just keep going and stay consistent and you are bound to make progress.

21 Questions Hair Tag!

I'm starting a hair tag. If you're reading this, and have a blog, and are trying to get longer healthier hair: you're TAGGED! So simply answer the following questions and re-post them on your blog so people reading it can get to know you better :)

1. Why did you start taking better care of your hair?

2. What are your 2 favorite products?

3. Who's hair did you admire as a child?

4. What is your ultimate goal length?

5. How are you going to celebrate when you reach it?

6. Two styles you want to try at your goal length?

7. Which do you prefer: Health or length?

8. Which do you prefer: Hair ties with no metal parts, or butterfly clips?

9. What products do you prefer: salon brands, organic brands, BSS brands or drugstore brands?

10. Which product/technique do you think is over-rated?

11. Which product/technique do you think is under-rated?

12. What is your favorite part of your hair regimen?

13. What is the most annoying part of your hair regimen?

14. Oils or butters?

15. Bun or ponytail?

16. Wig or weave (or neither)?

17. What is your opinion on growth aids?

18. What length do you consider long?

19. When is the last time you've been to a salon?

20. What do you like to surf the most: youtube channels, personal blogs or hair forums?

21. And finally, what piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out their hair journey?