Relaxer Results

Hi friends, happy Sunday! I hope everyone is well.

I got my hair relaxed today, and unfortunately had to get 4 inches cut. Talk about a set-back. I wasn't surprised because my hair has been breaking on a consistent basis since the beginning of January. I noticed the breakage early on, but I hadn't changed any part of my routine, so I wasn't sure what to do to try to stop the breakage. I finally chalked it up to the weather (I live in Philadelphia). I had this same issue last year this time, but before the breakage was mainly because I was using Amla Oil and my hair had a bad reaction.

Fast forward to today and my stylist could see the damage. She initially wasn't going to cut much (and do a normal trim), but I'll ALWAYS choose health over length, so I told her to cut it! It really hurt my feelings/ set in when I threw my length check t-shirt on and saw that my hair was at line #1 and I was on pace to be at line #5, which is BSL. However, I had to remind myself that last year this time I was at the same length and by the end of the year I was at line #4, so I can certainly do it again this year. It's not an ideal situation, but at least I know that I can grow my hair.

Moving forward, I'm going to experiment with my conditioner and see if that changes anything. Although I'm blaming my breakage on the weather, I'm still not 100% comfortable with my conditioner. I exclusively use Phyto products because that's what my stylist uses and I'm too lazy I find it easier to stick with a product line that she knows well and can provide recommendations for based on her knowledge of my hair. However, Phyto did a major overhaul of all of their products last year and they discontinued the conditioner that I previously used. I used one replacement and immediately thought my hair was breaking a little as a result, so I changed to another and had the same results. I've been using the new conditioner(s) for about 1 year and I did retain length, but I still think it's playing a role in the breakage.

Following are some photos:

3.9.14_Line #1

3.9.14_Line #1

Left: 3.9.14 line #1; Right: 12.1.13 line #4

Looking at these photos, I should have gotten a cut sooner, but I thought the thinness in my ends was the result of styling and not bad ends. Anyway, you live and you learn. My goal is to maintain this thickness throughout the year and reach line #4 again!  I'll keep you all posted :-).

HHG

Relaxer Results

Hi Friends! It has been a while, but I'm still around...lurking and keeping track of everyone's wonderful hair journey.

As you all know, I've had my hair braided for the last 8 weeks. It was great to have braids because I was able to be lazy with my hair (in terms of styling) and still look presentable :-). I'll definitely miss my braids as I jump back into wigging in order to protect my hair through the winter.

Overall, I had a decent relaxer experience. No breakage issues, or any other matters that would require me to adjust my routine. I can confidently say (while knocking on wood, lol) that I've mastered my hair routine, products, etc. and have no intentions of changing unless something stops working. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" It's such a good feeling to know that I know my hair, what works well, what doesn't, and that if I treat it right, it will grow.

On to the fun stuff...below are a few length check shots. I always get my hair trimmed with each relaxer - I am a stickler for health over length and love the feeling of well kept ends. I retained a little more than an inch since my last relaxer, which I think is primarily because I've been working out HARD. I exercise daily, but decided to take the summer off. I definitely saw the difference in my growth rate and barely got an inch over the summer. Fortunately I'm back to my routine and my hair is thanking me for it. The one thing I will note is that my hair/ ends looks a bit thin in these shots. I think it's because of how my hair grows. I talked about this in an earlier post, but basically every other relaxer, my hair looks full/ normal. I think my sides grow slower than my back, so until my sides get a little closer to the length of the back, my hair looks thin.

I'm going to keep an eye on it to be sure. Until next time!

Left: 8.13 (~line 3); Right: 12.13 (line 4)

Relaxer Results

Hi friends! I apologize because I have not done a good job of posting over the summer. In my last relaxer update, I mentioned that my goal was to wear my hair out over the summer in order to “enjoy” it a bit more and give myself, and close family and friends a break from my wigs. I had planned to post my hairstyles, but only shared the details of my curlformers.

Fortunately, I did stick to the plan of wearing my hair out for the summer, which I’m SOO proud of myself for! After I did the curlformers, I did bantu knots a few times, followed by twist and curls, followed by braid and curls. My favorite styles were the curlformers and braid and curl. It’s funny because the braid and curl was a HUGE hit with everyone! Literally – it was to the point where complete strangers (ex: middle aged white man) would approach me to compliment my hair and/ or ask how I achieved the style. It was also interesting because everyone commented on the length of my hair, stating that if my hair was shoulder length, or a little beyond with the curls, then it must really be “long.”  I’m sure you all can relate in that when you’re on a hair journey, you often don’t think your hair is that long considering the many women who have MBL, and longer hair. However, I’m now a little past APL, and am finally starting to feel like my hair is long!

I got my hair texturized on Saturday at 12 weeks, and it was business as usual (texturizer + trim)! At one point when I was roughly 6 weeks post, I thought I was experiencing more breakage than normal. I kept an eye on my hair and stopped using JBCO (Jamaican black castor oil) and eventually gave up EVCO (extra virgin coconut oil). Fortunately, I didn’t actually have any unusual breakage (based on my stylist’s assessment), so either eliminating the oils did the trick, or I was being overly sensitive.

One last note – I exercise daily, with the exception of the first two weeks post relaxer (I need to get my money’s worth out of my straight hair, lol), but this summer I ended up taking the entire 12 weeks off from exercising  and I decided to track the impact on my hair. I noticed that although I’m close to line #3 on my shirt, my hair should actually be at or slightly past #3 based on my normal growth rate. So overall, working out makes a difference for my hair growth! Fortunately party time is over, so I’ll be back to Insanity, and wigs in two weeks J.

I’m really happy with my hair health and feel like I’m seeing length progress. If all things remain consistent I believe I’ll hit my next goal of BSL, between lines #4 and #5, by my 3 year hairversary in March 2014. I’m hoping to reach my final length goal of MBL, line #7, by next year this time (September 2014). Until next time…

Left: 8.2013 (~line 3) ; Right: 6.2013 (line 2)

Left: 8.2013 (~line 3); Right: 9.2012 (~ 1 year ago)

Relaxer Results

Hi Friends! I hope everyone is well and staying cool during this heat wave (I'm in Philadelphia).

I texturized at 14 weeks over the weekend and had a pretty uneventful experience, which is a good thing. I hope I don't jinx myself, but I think I've finally mastered the best way to care for my hair leading up to my texturizer to ensure that it's a good experience. I was especially nervous this time because I took my braids out last week and texturized 2 weeks later than my normal 12 week period. I didn't have amazing growth results (not that I normally do), but in tracking my results through pictures, I've noticed that every other texturizer I see length progress in the back, and the alternating texturizers show length progress on the sides. What I mean is when I compare these results to March, the back of my hair is touching line #2, which is just about where it was in March. But now the sides are longer and closer to lines #1 & 2. Basically it looks like my hair grows in a U shape. I'm not sure if it's because it was cut like this at one point and now my stylist maintains the shape, or if it's natural. Makes me no difference either way, just an observation. I had my normal trim as well and am satisfied with my hair!

Left: 2.24.13; Right: 6.1.13

Top: 6.1.13; Bottom: 2.24.13 (this is to show the side comparison)

You may remember me mentioning this before, but since I've worn wigs 99% of the time over the last year plus, I've decided to try to wear my hair out this summer. I told myself that after my June relaxer, I would wear my hair out (i.e. no wigs) until my September relaxer. This is a HUGE deal for me. For my new readers, the main reason why I wear wigs is because I work out daily in the AM, sweat heavily, and have to go to work. With that, I have yet to find a style that allows me to look presentable while maintaining my active lifestyle.

In the beginning of my hair journey (in the summer of 2011), I wore my hair out before I discovered wigs, but I just don't know how things will be now. Nonetheless, I think wearing wigs has made me lazy and a bit scared that once I stop wearing them, I won't retain length as well, which is probably not true. While I haven't tried it yet, I feel like most women on hair journey's have been successful using primarily buns, and other protective styles to retain length. If they can do it, why can't I?

So wish me luck ladies. I'm going to try to post pictures weekly to help keep me accountable. Until next time!

Braids, braids, braids!!!

Hi friends! As promised, I wanted to write a quick post about my box braids.

I got them done on Monday, March 25, so I've had them for exactly 3 weeks tomorrow. I LOVE them! My stylist did them and it took roughly 5 hours. She actually started out braiding hair before she moved to becoming a stylist focused on hair health. I love the fact that I have one stop shopping with her because she knows my hair and is gentle with it. It took less than a week for them to loosen. They weren't too tight to begin with, and after the fourth day I had really good movement with them that wasn't uncomfortable. That was a BIG relief.

I have been caring for them just as a I would my normal hair. I moisturize and seal them daily, wash them weekly with my normal products (including my normal oil pre-treatment and protein leave-in). So it's business as usual even though I have braids. The other great benefit is although I follow the same process, it takes about an hour (if that) for my wash day because I don't have to detangle!!!

I would like to take more photos, but here is one that I posted on Instagram (they are pretty long...about waist length and I'm 5'7 for reference):

Until next time!

2 Year Hairversary!!!

3/31/13 marked 2 years ago that I started my long, hair journey. Boy how quickly time flies! Looking back, I've realized that the first year was a year of hiccups and lots of experimentation while this last year I truly got the hang of things.

I was natural for the first 5 months of my hair journey (I had been natural for a little less than 2 years before beginning my hair journey) and then realized that I love straight hair and straight hair styles, but I couldn't achieve and maintain them with natural hair. This was the case primarily because I work out daily. Natural hair + a desire to wear straight hair styles + daily sweat sessions do not work well. Three months after beginning my journey I got a brazilian keratin treatment (June 2011), and then two months later I decided to get a texturizer (August 2011). This was the perfect solution for my hair, but it took a few months and some trial and error to get there.

After I got the texturizer, I committed to washing and doing my hair myself weekly, but this was definitely new for me. Then life took over and I ended up back in my stylist's chair every week, getting my hair corn rowed because I had started wearing wigs. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't feel like I was making much progress in terms of length. Nonetheless, I stuck with this routine and figured I needed to be patient.

Fast forward to March of 2012 when I had a bad texturizer experience and that was it. I decided that I needed to make time to care for my hair myself because I hated the last experience I had and I thought after one year into my journey, I should be able to do my hair myself. Thank God for that experience because between March 2012 and my next texturizer in June 2012, I retained the most length since beginning my hair journey. It was almost like a growth spurt, but I know better, it was just good ol' length retention!

Since March 2012, I've been doing my hair myself with the exception of my quarterly texturizer and trim. I have no desire to be a DIYer with chemicals, or scissors...that's where I draw the line, lol! With the exception of my recent almost set back, I have retained length and feel like I FINALLY understand what my hair needs and how to maximize length retention. It took 2 years, which seems like a long time, but I'm glad I was forced to truly understand how my hair thrives.

Following are a few things that I've learned:

• Patience, patience, patience! 
• When experimenting with products, try to change only one product at a time and take note of when you introduce the new product. For example, I have my staples, and I only introduce new products or experiment with changing things after a relaxer. This helps me track/ monitor the effects on my hair.
• Focus on learning your hair and the length will follow!

Finally, this post wouldn't be complete without progress photos! 

Left: 3/31/11; Middle: 3/31/12; Right: 3/31/13

South Africa!: Part 1

This post is so overdue, but I figured better late than never! Where do I begin....?

For any new readers (waving hi!), my family and I traveled to South African and Kenya at the end of 2012 for one of my closest friends' wedding.

I had the honor of being in the wedding, but as any hair enthusiast, I was a bit nervous about how my hair would be handled since I, nor my stylist would be doing it for the wedding. Fortunately, after a little negotiation, I allowed my friends' stylist to do my hair. The stylist did not have Phyto products, which is what I normally use in my hair, but he did carry Paul Mitchell, so fortunately good products were used. The woman who ended up doing my hair did a really good job - she gave me a nice wash and scalp massage and she was gentle. I was definitely anxious about the blow out because this is the part in the process that can go extremely wrong. I was pleasantly surprised though - she coated my hair really well with a heat protectant and used a round brush. Even with the round brush, she didn't pull my hair through like the Dominican's do, she used minimal heat (just to dry my hair, not to straighten) and she was gentle. So overall, I have no complaints.

On the morning of the wedding, I had my hair done by the head stylist and he went with spiral curls. He used the old school barrel curling irons, which I wasn't that thrilled about just because I know the technology in flat irons is better for hair. Aside from that, the experience was much better than I anticipated it would be, and my friend was happy with the outcome, which was most important! Also, my hair ended up working really well with the fascinator that I wore for the big day. Following are a few pictures. I'll come back with Part II! HHG

Relaxer Results

Happy Sunday friends!

As planned, I got my texturizer today at 11 weeks. It was uneventful - in a good way - and I managed to maintain some length. You may remember that I was expecting a deep trim considering my breakage issues. Fortunately, I got a normal trim and my stylist believes that my hair health is back on track, my breakage is under control (and will continue to subside), and things seem in order. I restocked my products and got 2 new items that I'll share in another post. Overall, I'm committed to sticking to the basics and closely monitoring what products I use.

The other exciting news is that I scheduled my appointment to get my box braids!!! I'll get them done in 4 weeks, and wear them for 8 weeks for my normal 12 weeks between relaxers.

Below is a comparison shot vs. last relaxer. Sorry for the lack of photos this time, but this gives an idea. Also, the photos are in different lights and angles because my sister, who is about my height, took the one in December and my BF, who is taller than me, took the one today. I'll try to take more consistent photos moving forward. My hair looks a little weird, but I don't have a random chunk missing (as it appears) and the trim is similar to the December photo. Guess what...I'M FINALLY TOUCHING THE LINE ON MY SHIRT!!!! I didn't think I would get there today, but I'm pretty excited! Until next time :-)

Left: February 2013; Right: December 2012

Relaxer Weekend

Hi friends! I will be texturizing my hair this weekend at 11 weeks post. I typically texturize every 12 weeks at minimum, but I decided to do so one week early because my stylist couldn't fit me in next week, so my options were to texturize one week early or one week late. My hair seems to have grown a bit faster, or thicker since my last texturizer, and I'm over dealing with it right now, so I'm more than happy to get it done this weekend. As I mentioned in my last post, I anticipate having to get a deeper trim than normal due to my breakage issue, so we'll see how that goes. At this point though, I just want my old hair back that was breakage free and thriving, so length is not much of a concern.

In other news, I decided that I want to start to enjoy my hair a bit more. For those of you who don't know, I wear wigs 100% of the time because I exercise daily and like to wear my hair straight. This has worked well for me over the last two years, but it has made me SUPER lazy and not interested in doing much with my hair. When I was in South Africa (I know I'm lame and still need to fill you guys in on the trip), I wore my hair out for the first 10 days or so and LOVED every minute of it! It was so nice/ fun to have my hair blowing in the wind, and brushing on my shoulders....

But on the flip side, I started to freak out and think that damage would ensue because I'm not used to wearing my hair out and didn't want my ends to be compromised. I think I'm a little off and just need to find a balance. So I'm going to force myself to wear my hair out after my June relaxer. At that point the weather should be consistently warm again and I won't have to worry as much about my hair rubbing on different materials.

Leading up to my June relaxer, I want to get my hair braided. My stylist did beautiful box braids on a young lady who I saw the last time I was at the hairdresser. I haven't had braids in probably 6+ years and want to bring them back! I would like to get them half way through my next stretch, so that's about 6 weeks from now. After that, I'm going to step away from the wigs...or a least try to ;-)

Breakage Update

Hi friends! It has been a little over two weeks since I posted that I think I discovered what is causing my breakage. Immediately after I wrote that post, I poured out all of my oil mixtures and washed the bottles with boiling water (literally) and dish detergent (I used detergent because it cleans oil/ grease). Then I made new mixtures using coconut oil as a base. I have been using coconut oil since the beginning of my hair journey and have not had a problem yet (at least I don't think). I did a clarifying wash the following week and have rid myself completely of Amla.

So fast forward two weeks and I am still seeing breakage. I believe it has subsided a bit, but it's still way more than I'm comfortable with. Also, now instead of a bunch of really small pieces, the pieces are longer. I don't know what the heck is going on. I keep reminding myself that although I thought it would happen immediately, I had been consistently using Amla oil on my hair since September (roughly 5 months), so I shouldn't expect to reverse the effects immediately. I certainly don't think it should take months for the breakage to stop, but I'm just trying to be reasonable and give my hair a chance to adjust and rebalance.

I am scheduled to go to my stylist for my texturizer in about 3 weeks and at that point I will talk to her and make adjustments to what I'm currently doing. Unfortunately, I'm also preparing myself for the worst in terms of how much I'll have to get chopped off.

At this point, it's all a part of the learning process and I know better moving forward. I'll keep you posted.

Hair Inspiration: Angela Simmons

Happy MLK Day!

I'm not sure if anyone else is as addicted to Instagram as I am, but I follow Ms. Angela Simmons and hhooonnneeeyyyy...her natural hair seems to get better by the sew-in. I didn't know how else to get this photo aside from taking a screenshot on my phone, but I have included the source below (both she and her stylist posted the same photo):

 Source

Also notice that she has beautiful highlights. Can we say new hair inspiration??? 

Wash Day Stress!!!

Ok- instead of sleeping right now as I should be since I have to go to work tomorrow, I'm writing this post about my wash day/ night. I just washed my hair because it had been over a week since my last wash and I have definitely gotten in the habit of washing weekly.

So as I reported in my last two posts, my focus is on stopping the breakage issue I'm currently having and getting back to basics. Well honey, not only does it seem like my attempt to whip my hair back into shape has not started working, but my hair seems to be breaking MORE than it was before AND the pieces are LONGER!!!!! WTF - I'm not going to have any length after my next relaxer at this rate.

Today I didn't start out with the oil treatment because I needed to clarify and although my stylist advised otherwise, I think it sort of defeats the purpose to start out with an oil treatment and then do a clarifying wash...right? Anyway, so I did a really good job shampooing my hair and did notice some breakage, but wasn't too concerned. When I detangled though, all hell broke loose. I'm so distraught because I seriously feel like I'm headed to set-back city.

I decided I'm going to give it another few washes before I think of another plan, or talk to my stylist. I will admit that this is only my second wash in my process to get back on track, BUT it's quite scary when things appear to be getting worse instead of better. I decided that I'm going to implement a mid-week protein treatment. The oil treatment that I do before my shampoo is a protein treatment, so in about 2-3 days, I'm going to put this on my hair for 20-30 minutes with a hot towel (my hood version of a steam treatment, lol) rinse it out, and then apply my leave-in. A few days after that will be my normal wash day and I will start my routine with the same oil treatment as ususal and go through my wash day routine.

This is sooo stressful! I really feel like my progress is being threatened big time. Lord willing my hair will continue to grow, so I will be able to recover from the breakage, but I'm just starting to get some traction, UGH! Ok, until next wash day...

Have a great weekend!

Back to Basics Wash Day

Happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and new year.

I spent the majority of the holidays in South Africa, and returned home on new year's eve. South African was beyond AWESOME and I will do a special post on my trip, and of course my hair!

As a true hair enthusiast, the first order of business when I arrived home was to wash my hair, lol. I had been traveling for over 24 hours, but somehow mustered the strength to do my hair. If you remember, during my last relaxer and visit to my stylist, I confirmed that I had a breakage issue that I needed to nip in the bud by getting back to basics. I also said that I would do a better job of tracking my hair moves so that I could more easily pinpoint when things go wrong. So here's to beginning that process!

My wash day entailed most of the above products, starting from left to right:

• Phytonectar Pre-Shampoo Ultra Nourishing Oil Treatment: I usually use the Phyto Huile d'Ales Pre-Shampoo Intense Hydrating Oil Treatment, but my stylist insisted that my hair needed something stronger. She suggested that I apply this before washing my hair as instructed and then wrap a hot towel around my hair to create a "steam treatment." My stylist is a firm believer in steam treatments and I get them every time I go to her. I left this on for 20 minutes
• Phytoneutre Rebalancing Cream Shampoo: This is my clarifying shampoo - after taking the picture, I decided to forgo doing a clarifying shampoo this week because I want to maintain my schedule of doing it 1X per month on the first weekend of the month
• missPhytospecific Magic Detangling Shampoo: I followed the oil treatment with my regular shampoo. I made sure to not be lazy and did two thorough washes
• Phytosesame Express Hydrating Conditioner: I used my normal conditioner to comb and detangle my hair
• Phytospecific Energizing Concentrate: Phytospecific is the line of Phyto products designed for relaxed hair. The concentrate is a protein treatment that you leave on your hair. I think this is part I of why my breakage problem began - I got lazy started experimenting around June of this year with what products I thought really made a difference and those I thought I could do without. In that process, I got rid of my protein treatment...bad idea especially since I tend to go heavy on oils and overall moisture. After rinsing my conditioner, I sprayed my hair evenly with this, paying special attention to my ends
• Phytospecific Integral Hydrating Mist: This is my leave-in conditioner and part II of why I think my breakage started. I stopped using a leave-in around September because I finished my bottle and didn't think it was doing much for my hair. I'm still not necessarily sold on a leave-in because I M&S daily and feel like I'm just covering the leave-in with my M&Sing (not sure if that makes sense to you guys). Anyway, I sprayed this over the concentrate and called it a day

I've been paying close attention to my breakage when I M&S. I don't have much, but I don't normally have much when I M&S. The real test will be during my next wash day. I was supposed to wash today, but got tied up with other pressing matters, so I'll wait until next weekend. Hopefully I'll start to see some difference in my breakage.

Until next time, HHG!

Relaxer Results

Hi friends! I hope your Sunday is going well. This is a long post, so feel free to skip to the bottom for pics if you don't feel like reading! I got my hair relaxed today after 13 weeks. I usually relax anywhere between 12 and 14 weeks, so I'm right on schedule.

Overall I had a really good relaxer experience from start to finish in terms of tangling and the blow-out process, which can be horrible, BUT - I'm stressed! After my last relaxer, I was excited to see if I would make my end of year goal of APL, but over the last month or more, my hair has been BREAKING like crazy. Yes ladies - you heard me right, the dreaded B word. They were little tiny pieces, but that obviously adds up!

Initially when I noticed the breakage, I thought it would pass, but it never did. The one thing that I changed to try to combat the breakage was to stop using the detangling spray as a leave-in conditioner (although I stopped using it because I ran out, not because I thought it was the cause of the problem). I also used tea before shampooing for a few weeks. The reason I didn't change much is because I couldn't figure out what to change. When I reflected on my regimen, I couldn't think of anything majorly different that I was doing...kind of. Over time I was making really small adjustments to my regimen (for example different oils, using honey, etc. to pre-condition), so I think that is also what made it hard to figure out. Then I was thinking that maybe I just needed a good trim.

Well after my hair was blown out and it was time to trim, my stylist showed me that my hair is DEFINITELY broken in certain areas. My left side was shorter than my right, so I imagine the breakage I suffered came primarily from the left side, there is a section in the back of my hair with some breakage (it's minimal, but breakage nonetheless), and then there's a section on the front left side that's broken. Also, my ends on the left side were significantly more worn than the right, which is just weird.

While my stylist was showing me this, I immediately started stressing because my hair seemed to be doing so well earlier this year, and I feel like I had just gotten into a rhythm with understanding my hair and now it has some damage and I don't know why. Length goals immediately went out of the window because I will always strive for health over length.

I started thinking a bit harder and trying to remember what I was doing differently at the beginning of the year versus now. I think in an effort to keep the basics the same, I may have experimented too much with things that should have been a part of the basics, but weren't. For example, I used to do a weekly oil treatment with Huile d'Ales pre shampoo Intense Hydrating Oil before shampooing, and then go into my routine. Also, I used to shampoo 2X during a typical wash day, but I've been being lazy and only doing one shampoo on a given week. I used to do a protein treatment every other week (I think), but I haven't done that since April. Long story short, the small things definitely add up, and I've learned that the hard way.

So I purchased a few of the basics that I used to use and will start using again in an effort to get back on track. The other thing I learned is that I need to start journaling again! Part of the reason why I couldn't figure out what was different is because I haven't been diligent about recording my regimen and products (or blogging about it). I have a horrible memory and if I don't write things down, I won't remember. So without further delay, here are a few pics from today + comparisons. BTW - my BF thinks I made APL, while my sister says I'm grazing...I'm not sure.

Relaxer Results: December 2012

Left: December 2012, Right: September 2012

November 2011 vs. December 2012

Relaxer Results

Hi All!

I can't believe it's time for another relaxer update already - just a testament to how quickly the summer passed! I relaxed after 11 weeks, which is just one week shy of how often I prefer to relax at a minimum (i.e. 12 weeks). It went ok this time - not as well as last time, but not too bad. As I mentioned earlier this week, I wasn't expecting a lot of growth, but I did get some. I got my hair trimmed as normal and if it weren't for my photos and length check t-shirt, I probably would think that nothing changed. Fortunately I can tell that I'm getting a little closer to the first line on my t-shirt, so I think I'm on track to reach my goal of APL by December.

Picasa nor iPhoto were cooperating with me tonight (and they usually don't...), so I couldn't make a nice comparison of last relaxer vs. this one, but you guys will still get the gist. Until next time...

June 2012 Relaxer

September 2012 Relaxer

Scared...

Hi Ladies!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and will enjoy the additional day off (assuming you get it)!

I wanted to check in quickly because I am scheduled to get a relaxer next week and I'm sure this sounds weird, but I'm actually scared that my hair didn't grow since my last relaxer. I'm sure you think I'm crazy considering we all know that for the most part everyone's hair grows, it's more so a matter of retaining length. So I don't really think that my hair didn't grow, but I don't think that I will see as much length this relaxer as did after my last relaxer.

I didn't change much in how I took care of my hair since my last relaxer, but before my last treatment, I could literally tell that my hair had grown because I would feel my hair on my shoulders and back in different places when I was washing it that I didn't feel before. This time, there doesn't seem to be much difference in the length. To make matters worse, I feel like I've been seeing more breakage during my wash days. I typically don't freak out about breakage because I think it's inevitable, but since I feel like there's been an increase, that definitely has me nervous.

I guess I'll see for sure on Friday, but as I visit some of my favorite hair blogs and look at progress pics, there are ladies who get and maintain every inch, after every relaxer, and that's certainly what I aspire to do. So, I'll keep you guys posted, but just needed to vent a little...

Relaxer Results

Hi Friends! I know it has been forever, but I wanted to drop in with a quick relaxer update. I relaxed today and had a very good experience overall - it was much better than my horror story from March, which kept me out of the salon since my last relaxer.

Anyway - now to the photos, which of course is what we all want to see! Overall, I can tell that my hair grew, but I think it's most apparent in the front/ sides. I chickened out of not getting my hair trimmed as I discussed in this post because I'm a stickler for healthy ends, so I couldn't do it. I came to grips with the fact that I'd rather take longer to reach my goal, than get there and have to chop it off. I need to figure out how to present a nice comparison collage of my progress thus far (I need some tips from Jeni from Just Grow Already :-) ). Blogger is doing something funky with the first set of photos that I couldn't fix, but whatever. The first set are from March 2012 and the second are my most recent...

New Love

A few weeks ago I purchased Amla Oil. I was curious about this oil because last year I purchased Qhemet Biologics Amla and Olive Heavy Cream and really liked it. Although it took a few uses, the cream made my hair crazy soft and moisturized. With that, I figured that since Amla Oil was a key contributor in the hair cream, it would likely be great on its own.

I purchased the Amla Oil from a nearby Indian grocery store. I read that the popular brand, Dabur, contains mineral oil + other oils. I'm not overly anti-mineral oil, but I did want to ensure that I purchased the brand with the least amount of additives. With that, I purchased Bio brand. There aren't any ingredients listed on the box, so it was hard to confirm in the store, but I googled the brand once home and it seemed fine.

So far, I love Amla Oil: 

• The greatest issue that I have is the smell - it is very strong. It doesn't stink, but I don't love it. Aside from that, everything else is cool. 
• Amla is a very thin oil - it's very liquidy and not as thick as a grapeseed, jojoba, etc. It has a green color, which apparently can darken hair over time, so if you are concerned with darkening your hair color, you may not want to use this. 
• According to the description of it's uses (listed on a website with details for this brand), Amla Oil creates a healthy environment for hair to grow and can help increase hair growth up to 7X faster than normal. I didn't purchase this oil as a growth aid and don't necessarily believe the claims, but if it does increase my hair growth as an added bonus, I'll take it! 
• I currently have Amla mixed with my scalp oil concoction (Amla, Vitamin E, Castor, and Jojoba), as well as mixed with EVCO as a sealant for daily M&Sing. Just as with the Qhemet cream, when I first started using the Amla, I didn't notice a difference, but after a few days, my hair was consistently soft and moisturized.
• Lastly, over the last 3 weeks I have used Amla with a new deep conditioner that I purchased (I'll talk about it in another post), and it has been great! I use a generous amount of conditioner and then spray the Amla oil on my hair, place a plastic cap and my turbie twist on for a few hours, and my hair is like butter!

I will continue to use Amla Oil moving forward and hope that my hair continues to respond well! HHJ

APL by 12/31/12?

My sister and I embarked on our hair journey together beginning in March 2011. As expected, we have stalked followed other women on their journeys and paid particular attention to those who started around the same time that we did. Although this is not a competition, my sister and I have noticed that we have not experienced as much length as our counterparts (here are a few examples: She started around Feb '11, She started around June '11, and the list goes on).

I refuse to believe that either of us are slow growers - at worse we are likely average (thank God we have never had trouble growing our hair, we've both gotten short hair cuts on a number of occassions and grown back to SL within a little over a year), BUT I think our stylists may be trimming cutting our hair too much and too often. We go to different salons, but my sister mentioned being frustrated about the frequency of "trims" that she seems to get on a MONTHLY basis. How can you expect to see the fruits of your labor if you're constantly trimming? I can even see dusting frequently, but all out trims negate length retention. Since I went back to relaxing, I get my hair trimmed with each relaxer (3-4 months), but I did notice that my last trim seemed to take off at least an inch or more in some sections.

So how do we fix this? While doing an impromptu length check today, my sister noticed that she has a section that's close to APL, so she thinks she can get there by December. Of course I jumped on the bandwagon! We decided that we are going to hold off on getting trims through the end of the year. I feel like this is a bit drastic and I'm REALLY nervous because if there is one thing that turns my stomach more, it's seeing some long, straggly, thin, ends with a smiling face next to it claiming APL, BSL, etc. - not cute, at all! But, in all honesty, at this point I protective style 100% of the time, M&S daily, wash weekly, and use direct heat on relaxer days only (4X/ year) so in theory there is no reason for me to have bad ends. After my June relaxer I was planning to wear my hair out over the summer, but if I'm trying not to trim, I may just keep it wigged up to avoid needing a trim.

Anyway, the point is, although it's best to focus on health before length, we had the health part down pre-journey, so we're long overdue for length! I guess we'll see how this turns out in December! HHG.

Roller Set #FAIL

After I relaxed my hair the last time and had such a traumatic experience with tangling as a result of wearing corn rows and not detangling regularly, I decided to start experimenting with different options to replace the corn rows under my wig.

My goal was to experiment with different ways of straightening my hair so that I could regularly remove the normal shedding and reduce the potential for tangling on wash days. I had the bright idea to try a roller set, not with the intention of wearing it out, but with the logic that it would be a nice way to get my hair "straight" without having to blow my hair dry. I washed and conditioned my hair myself and then hightailed it to the Dominican Salon to have them roller set it. 

Welp - here are the results of that idea: a hot mess!

Here's the thing, as I mentioned, my honest intention was not to wear this out as a style, but in my mind, I imagined that my hair would come out a bit straighter than this, but that just didn't materialize. The main issue is that because my hair has a lot of texture, it's too curly to actually straighten out on the rollers, so the ends were sort of clumped and confused when the rollers came out. The girl who roller set my hair told me from the gate that this wasn't a good idea, but I needed to try it to be comfortable with checking this option off of the list. This wasn't the worse experiment, but I definitely won't be trying this again because I still ended up putting two cornrows in my hair to wear under my wig. 

Mission unaccomplished!