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)

Hairstyle #1: Curlformers

Hi Friends! I hope everyone is well.

The last time we spoke, I professed that my next hair journey goal was to wear my hair out for the entire summer (i.e. until my next relaxer at the end of August) and to experiment with different styles. Well I've been eyeing curlformers since seeing gorgeous heads of curls on youtube such as Naptural85. I waited until Sally's had a 25% off sale and ordered two packs of extra long, extra wide. I planned to try them while my relaxer was still relatively fresh so that I wouldn't have to battle with getting my thicker, harder to manager hair through the tubes. Welp, I loved the results (and still do), but DOUBT I will be trying these again.

Since I rarely wear my hair out and don't really do anything to it from a styling perspective, I felt the curlformers were much too taxing on my hair. I was pretty good with putting them in since I had watched so many youtube videos on the technique beforehand, but there were a few times when my hair got stuck going through the tube and I had to yank it out, as well as a time or two when I felt like I was ripping my hair out (even though there were no signs that I actually was). When I took the curlformers out, I lost quite a bit of hair (in my opinion, even though it may not seem like much) and that didn't make happy. I used ~72 because I had to put them in small sections in order to prevent trauma to my hair. It took me 2 hours to put them in, I "slept" in them to ensure my hair was dry when I took them out, and it took me about 30 minutes to remove them.

All in all, I'm proud of myself for sticking to my plan of "enjoying" my hair and experimenting with new styles, but I'm traumatized by curlformers. Next, I may try a bantu knot, or go back to my very first style when I first started my hair journey, a twist n curl. Below are a few pics:

Bottom middle: hair lost during take-out

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!

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.

I Figured it Out!!!!!!

Hey guys - I know I have been boring you for the last 3 weeks about my stressful wash day sessions. Just to recap, when I got my last relaxer in December, my stylist and I noticed I had breakage in my hair. Leading up to this appointment, I noticed my hair was breaking, but I couldn't figure out why and wasn't really proactive in trying to figure it out.

After my relaxer, my stylist loaded me up with products and I vowed to get back to the basics that I had stopped doing as 2012 progressed. Well I've been diligently taking care of my hair, using protein weekly (which was the big thing that I stopped doing in the second half of 2012), and trying to get my breakage under control. Nothing seemed to be working. This week I ended up not doing the every other day treatments that I had planned because I didn't think that it would make a difference.

Fast forward to today, I was in the shower washing my hair, noticing all of the small pieces of breakage and I again thought back to when the breakage happened and what I changed around that time. Last year, my hair was fine (and actually thriving) from March - September. So what changed after my September relaxer? OOOHHH CRAP.....I introduced 100% Amla Oil.

Amla Oil, really? That would cause breakage? I think so! I don't know for sure ladies, but that's one of the major things that I introduced into my hair regimen around September and have been consistently using. I first purchased Amla oil in May of last year and actually posted about it, but the first bottle I got contained mineral oil and I wanted pure Amla, so I ordered another bottle in late August that's 100% pure and went crazy with it. I put it in my scalp oil mix, of course in all of my sealing oil, and it was the main oil that I was using (as in 30-50% of all of my mixtures). Over the last two weeks I've made two bottles of Amla + Coconut Oil to seal with. It has been a staple since September, and my hair has been breaking since then.

So - since I just came to this realization today during my wash day, I'm going to only use coconut oil to seal this week and complete my normal wash day next week and see if my shedding decreases. Basically I'm cutting out all Amla on my hair for the next few weeks to see if I really did figure out the cause of my breakage. I'll keep you posted!

Wash Day Stress Continued

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and will celebrate Dr. King's holiday tomorrow!

This is a quick wash day update. I did follow through with doing a light protein treatment every two days after my last wash day in hopes that this would help curb my breakage. Welp, if this made a difference, it was very minimal. My hair is still breaking at a higher rate than normal and way more than I am comfortable with. The interesting thing is that my ends seemed a bit more pliable and easier to detangle this week than normal, but I'm not sure what that means in terms of whether the additional protein is helping or hurting.

I am going to try the same routine this week again (protein every two days) and see if there is a gradual improvement. If I don't see a difference next week, I'm likely going to try Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Hair Mask. I'm sure this seems pretty random, but my Mom has a sample of the Monoi Repairing Collection 3-piece starter kit, which is designed to prevent breakage. I have used the shampoo and conditioner before for mid-week washes and have no complaints. Before using this, I am going to research the ingredients to understand if it is a moisture or protein based product. If this does help reduce my breakage, it may provide some insight into whether I need more moisture or protein moving forward. (I clearly think I'm protein deficient right now). Wish me luck ladies!

HHG

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!

New Products!

Hi ladies! After my June relaxer, I decided that it was time for me to start using a different shampoo because my Phytolium Energizing Shampoo felt really drying to my hair. Also, Phytolium is for thinning hair (i.e. to promote growth), but I didn't really feel that I needed to use a shampoo specifically for that purpose. I also wanted to try a less expensive conditioner because my hair loves Phytosesame Express Hydrating Conditioner, but I use a lot during each wash day when I'm detangling and it's expensive considering how much I use!

With that, I asked my stylist for a recommendation. Of course because she thinks Phyto is the best product for my hair (i.e. that's the only line she uses and sells at her salon), she recommended the following products for my shampoo replacement and a detangler to help minimize the amount of conditioner that I use:

The bottle on the left is the missPhytospecific Magic Detangling Spray and the one on the left is missPhytospecific Magic Detangling Shampoo. As I'm sure you've figured out, this is Phyto's children's line for African American hair (BTW - I love the packaging, it's so cute!). Anyway, my stylist thought these products would work well for my hair considering I have a texturizer and still have a good amount of curl pattern.

So my thoughts - I really like the shampoo - it's very moisturizing and gives a good lather. My hair and scalp feel clean after using this, but still moisturized. The consistency is quite interesting - it's very liquidy (kind of like liquid soap, but thinner), but it gets the job done. On wash days, I shampoo my hair once with this because I'm lazy and it does the trick! I also really like that this comes in a pump - it makes it easy for me to control how much I use (1 pump per section), and I can squirt a pump of shampoo directly on my scalp.

I did not like the detangler at all - it didn't work!!! The instructions say to apply it generously to your hair and do not rinse out. I did that with one section and thought I was going to lose my hair, lol. So instead of wasting the entire bottle, I decided to use it as a leave in conditioner after my full wash day process. It may have softened my hair a little, but overall I don't think it did anything and would not buy this again. I joked with my stylist that I have grown up curls, so the magic properties that work for the children do not work for me!

Both products have a really nice smell - along the lines of a light shea butter + coconut + something else sweet, but not overwhelming. I'll be back with more product updates that I have backlogged from the last few months! HHJ

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!

ORS Herbal Cleanse

So ladies - I went ahead and tried it. I purchased ORS Herbal Cleanse and dry shampooed my hair. This stuff is basically just alcohol with a few essential oils (lavender and basil). The consistency is similar to hand sanitizer (it's basically a gel in the bottle, but when applied, it turns into a liquid). I followed the instructions and applied a generous amount to my scalp, let it sit for a little over a minute, and then took a warm, damp cloth and wiped it off of my scalp. 

It was nice to feel like I was cleaning my scalp, but I definitely miss running water through my hair and cleaning my hair and scalp by lathering shampoo. I didn't add any oil to my scalp right away because I like to let my scalp breathe for a bit before slathering stuff on it again. BUT - my scalp itched quite a bit after I used this. I'm not sure if it's because it dried my scalp out a little, but I definitely had heightened itching. 

In addition to cleaning your scalp, you can also apply a generous amount of this to your actual braids, cover your head with a warm, damp towel for a few minutes, and then wipe your braids off to remove the residue. I would like to try this, but because the primary ingredient in the cleanse is alcohol, I'm not sure if it will be a bit too drying for my hair. 

Overall, I think I will use this again in order to avoid washing my braids with water, and hopefully minimize the potential for tangling.

To Wash, or Not to Wash?

So I've been debating recently whether or not I should be shampooing my hair, with my cornrows between salon visits?

When I first started wearing cornrows, I went to the salon bi-weekly to get my hair shampooed, treated, and re-braided. I figured I could save a few dollars if I cut down my visits to every four weeks and just care for my hair myself in between. My stylist told me that it's not a good idea to shampoo my hair while in cornrows because this causes tangling. However, I decided I would shampoo my hair anyway because I thought she was wrong. In my mind, I don't understand the difference between wearing a sew-in weave and shampooing your hair with the sew-in, and wearing cornrows and shampooing your hair? When I asked her, she responded that the braids are smaller for the sew-in, so that helps reduce the tangling. I'm not sure that I completely buy that rational.

Long story short, I have been paying close attention to my hair when I remove my cornrows because if I'm going to torture myself go hard with protective styling, then I want to reap some rewards. I have noticed that my hair is a bit tangled when removing the braids, so perhaps there is some truth to what my stylist said. The dilemma then becomes, do I go back to my bi-weekly visits so that I can keep a clean scalp and my hair in decent shape? Or do I seek alternative options such as using a dry shampoo?

I was browsing through Sharday's blog, The Awkward Stage and reading about how she cared for her hair in 2010 when I believe she was wearing cornrows under a wig. I noticed that she used ORS Herbal Cleanse, which is a dry shampoo designed to clean the scalp and hair without water. I am considering using something like this because I know I must keep my scalp clean while wearing my braids, but it seems as though shampooing weekly isn't the best solution.

Have any of you ever used dry shampoo? If so, how did it work and what did you think? Should I try this? Decisions, decisions...

Mid Week Wash

I decided to wash my hair on Wednesday because it just felt icky. I know that probably sounds really gross, but I think in my quest for maximum moisture, I had been going a bit too heavy on the oils and moisturizers. As a result, my wig was greasy, the scarf & wig cap that I wear under my wig was greasy, and it just wasn't good. So I washed everything - wig, scarf, cap, and hair.

I decided to do a clarifying shampoo with my Phytopanama + Intelligent Shampoo because I am out of the Phytolium Energizing Shampoo. After clarifying, I intended to shampoo with a sample that I received, but I grabbed a sample conditioner instead of shampoo. I ended up conditioning with Phytodensium Anti-Aging Mask. I realized while I was using this that my stylist uses this on my hair every now and again (I recognized the smell which is yummy!), so fortunately I wasn't using anything that my hair wasn't accustomed to.


All in all, I'm glad I washed my hair because it felt A LOT better afterward. It was more moisturized, softer, and just better. I always love the way my hair feels after washing, conditioning, etc., but I'm too lazy to do it more than 1X per week. However, since I'm washing in corn rows, it's a lot easier and quicker, so I think I may start washing my hair 2X per week on a regular basis. 

Wash Day

This weekend was another wash day experiment. For the most part I did my normal routine which includes a hot oil + conditioner treatment with heat for 30 minutes, followed by a clarifying shampoo, regular shampoo, conditioner, and twist n curl.

The main issue this time is that as always, I washed my hair after work and ended up going late into the evening and went to bed with wet hair. That's not a problem, but I thought my hair would have been dry by the time I was ready to go out at 12:00 the next day. WRONG! My hair was still damp and as a result, my normal twist n curl turned into a twist n bend.

I did not undo the twists so that I could roll my hair again at some point and get the the results I'm used to. It's really important for my hair to be curled tight because I'm generally able to get two weeks out of this style, but the curls gradually fall as the week progresses, which is part of what allows me to wear it longer.

I've learned yet another lesson on my hair journey - my hair takes longer to dry than I thought! I'm actually about to start wearing a wig again so that I can be lazy and go into protect mode. I just have to go wig shopping because I threw my other one away (I wore that baby out!). Till next time!

Greenhouse Effect Update

The last time we met, I had just taken an oil bath in EVOO. Well I tried the Greenhouse Effect again on Saturday night and I woke up with better results. My hair felt a bit more moisturized and I didn't have oil dripping from my curls, but I knew I would have to bite the bullet and wash my hair on Sunday evening.

I have been experiencing breakage and haven't been able to get it under control so I decided to try a homemade protein treatment. Traycee from KISS posted this on her blog and I decided to give it a go. 1 egg, beaten until frothy, mixed with 1 c of water and 1 tsp of oil of your choice. I made the protein mix and it seemed like a lot (I later learned that the 1 c of water was way too much). I added the mixture to a spray bottle because it was watery and I wanted to ensure that I covered all of my strands from root to tip. I covered my hair with a plastic cap for 15 minutes and then rinsed. After I rinsed, I deep conditioned for 30 minutes to restore the moisture and then went through my normal wash day routine.

I did 1 clarifying shampoo just in case my hair had some build up, did a regular shampoo, added my conditioner and then detangled in sections. As I shampooed my hair, it didn't feel any different after the protein treatment so I don't think the treatment worked. I think it was too watery. Not to mention that as I was detangling my hair, I found pieces of cooked egg in the back. After I detangled, I twisted my hair, rinsed with cold water and then added my protein leave-in and regular leave-in.

All in all, last weekend was NOT a good weekend for my hair and various bright ideas/ experiments! Hopefully I'll have better luck moving forward. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude because I'm still learning my hair and what works well, but this stuff is for the birds!

5 Hours of my Life Back :-)

As you know, this weekend was my wash weekend. I don't have very many posts, but about half of them have been on the topic of wash day and how long it typically takes ~8 hours). Well this wash day I was determined to cut off some time, even if it was just 1/2 hour because I absolutely cannot afford that much time on my hair.

To save on time I considered skipping the detangling part and just finger combing, but I opted against this because I only comb my hair on wash days and felt that I wouldn't do a good enough job of getting the shed hairs out by taking the lazy approach. Also, since I was planning to do another twist n curl, I would have to section my hair any way, so it made sense to comb the sections.

Long story short, although I did decide to detangle, I repeated one time saving approach that I used during my last wash day + a new technique that I learned on You Tube (details to follow). These two elements combined literally saved 5 hours and allowed me to complete my hair from start to finish in 3 hours - HOOORRAAAYYY!!!!!! I can digest 3 hours on my hair every two weeks!

So what did I do? Well - to start yesterday was a really hectic day because of the impending hurricane (I live in Philadelphia), so I had to do my normal grocery shopping, hit the farmers market, etc. I know you're wondering what the point of these details are, but basically instead of sitting under the dryer idol for 40 minutes with my hot oil treatment,  I applied my oil treatment, covered my hair with a plastic cap, added my Turbie Twist towel, and did some things around the house.

I ended up keeping the oil treatment on for about 3 hours and then I was ready to wash my hair. I shampooed twice with my normal Phytolium, and then added a small amount of Phytosesame to my hair. This is where the time saver kicked in - I sectioned my hair, added 1 pump of conditioner, detangled and then used Naptural85's twist technique to twist my hair. This twist method is almost like cornrowing, but you're twisting instead. I like this method because I was quickly able to detangle and twist large section of my hair. After each twist, I rolled the ends as I normally do.

Once I finished detangling, twisting, and rolling my entire head, I rinsed out my conditioner with cool water. At this point it was 1:15 AM and I didn't want to go to bed with wet hair, so I hopped under the hooded dryer for 15 minutes, then applied my PhytoSpecific Energizing Concentrate protein leave-in. I got back under the dryer for 15 minutes and then applied my Phytomist leave-in. I got back under the dryer for a few minutes just to remove the excess water and went to bed!

I still have my rollers in and won't remove them until it's time for work tomorrow morning. When I remove my rollers, I apply moisturizer (Phyto 9) and seal with extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO). I hope my twist n curl comes out well considering I changed the method a bit. I doubt it will look bad, but even if it's less than desired, I can deal with it considering the time saver!

The one other item that I think may have played a role in the reduced time is my texturizer! The only reason why I don't think it was the main contributor is because the day I got my texturizer done I did a twist n curl and it took way longer to complete than it did last night. Hopefully I can keep this going moving forward :-)

Wash Day Round 2!

Where do I begin...so the last time I posted, I talked about washing my hair for the first time and the adventure that ensued. I was hoping that my second wash day would be less eventful and more importantly, less time consuming. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky. I tried to do things a little different such as sectioning my hair before wetting it, finger detangling while applying my conditioner, etc., but the entire process still took forever!

This is what I did from start to finish:

1. Sectioned my hair in about 12 sections
2. Did a clarifying shampoo with Phytopanama
3. Did a regular shampoo with Phytolium
4. Added Phytosesame conditioner to my hair in sections while finger detangling
5. Covered my head with a plastic cap and deep conditioned with heat for 45 mins
6. Detangled with a wide tooth comb, twisted, and rolled in sections
7. Rinsed out the conditioner with cool water to close the cuticles
8. Sprayed my hair with Pytomist leave in conditioner

I ended up sleeping with wet hair which is not the most comfortable thing to do. The next morning my hair still wasn't dry (although I wasn't expecting that it would be), so I just took out my rollers and kept my hair in the twists while I ran errands. I figured I would just keep my hair in twists until Monday before work in an effort to make my twist n curl last longer (the last time I got a measley 3 days out of it)!

Quick side story: I was in Whole Foods with my hair in twists and a lady came up to me to inquire about my hair. She said it looked cute and wanted to know how I did the style because she was looking for new styles to try. I explained what I did and she said "That's nice. I can tell you've had them for a while because I can see all of the new growth." LMBO - I kindly smiled and replied "I just did this last night - it's actually not even 24 hours old, but I'm natural so that's probably why it looks so thick at the roots." I think she felt a little bad and went on to explain that she's natural as well and has been exploring YouTube for ideas. We had a nice conversation and went our separate ways. I wasn't offended or upset, just found it funny!

So...I'm scheduled to get my relaxer on Sunday, which means the next time I post will likely be after that! I have mixed emotions because there are aspects of my natural hair that I'm sure I'll miss, but I think this is best. Who knows - if I don't like it, I'll just do a big chop and call it a day! Until next time...