Wash day

Alter Ego Garlic Treatment Giveaway open 'til the 15th!

Hey there,

I've been a bit under the weather the past few days, but I finally got together some energy to do my hair on Wednesday. It was feeling a bit coated since my last wash and it was also dry as a desert -__-. I also realized I couldn't remember the last time I actually clarified my hair, so I figured it was definitely about that time.

1. Pre-pooed with sweet almond oil on the scalp and the length for a few hours without heat. Not sure how many hours, def took a nap :).
2. Shampooed once with Neutrogena Anti-Residue and then shampooed again with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo. 
3. Deep conditioned with Aussie Moist with heat for 20 minutes.
4. I allowed the conditioner to cool, then rinsed and finger detangled in the shower under cool water.
5. I applied my leave-ins, Silicon Mix Bambu and argan oil and detangled using my seamless combs. 
6. I then airdried my hair loose, and put it in a bun to go to sleep.

On Thursday night, i had enough energy to do a full flexi-rod set. It certainly has been awhile, here are the results:

 

  

 This set was done on dampened hair  (using a spray bottle) and the following products:

1. Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk
2. Bee Mine Hair and Scalp Moisturizer (scalp only)
3. Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream
4. Optimum Amla Legend 1001 Oils Cream Night (canopy, edges and nape only)

My hair was super soft after the initial wash day, and I actually got to skip a night of moisturizing (almost unheard of for me!). It still feels pretty good now. These pictures were taken at the end of a humid, rainy day. I think my little curls held up quite well.

Thanks for reading :),

Random Hair Pics

Hey guys,

I've been having a ton of fun this summer with hair styling. Now that I have found my fav hair styling product ever, the Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream, I have been doing the most lol. On Wednesday night, I decided to co-wash my hair with aussie moist and giovanni smooth as silk conditioner and then do some pincurls. Thursday's pin curls were a fail because there were too big, so I popped a banana clip in the back. I tried the look again today, just with better pin curls and I was pleased with the outcome.

 

Products used:

• Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk
• Bee Mine Hair and Scalp Moisturizer (scalp only)
• Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream

Thanks for reading :),

Blowout and Flat iron at home!

Hey there,

The original plan was to do my hair Friday night in preparation for an evening out on Saturday, but that totally didn't happen. Jenna got sleepy lol. I did, however, begin my wash day on Friday, it just didn't end there ;)...

1. Overnight deep conditioning with coconut oil and Alter Ego Garlic Treatment applied to the length, along with sweet almond oil applied to my scalp.
2. The next morning, I shampooed twice using the L'oreal Everpure Moisturizing Shampoo.
3. I then deep conditioned with Nexxus Humectress for 15 minutes using my heating cap. I know, it's been a while since Humectress and I have been together but I brought it out in preparation to heat style!
4. I allowed my hair to cool for 5 minutes, then rinsed out the deep conditioner.
5. I then applied Aussie Moist to my hair as a final rinse to check my pH and to assist in detangling.
6. After rinsing, I t-shirt dried my hair for about 10 minutes and got started.

Since I did my hair in the morning, that meant there was no time for overnight air-drying, or any of my usual low manipulation styles (I find when I use heat I get unpredictable results from some sets and twist outs), so I decided to straighten my hair! I haven't blow dried my hair since I began this hair journey in July '11, and I haven't flat ironed my hair since my birthday (end of October), so I figured why not!

1. To begin, I applied my leave-in, Silicon Mix Bambú and began to detangle after t-shirt drying. I used my Jumbo Rake comb to get out the big tangles and then blow dried in sections. I used medium heat, high speed on my roots to dry and straighten them faster and cool air on the rest of the length to make sure it didnt dry out.
   Where was the heat protectant? There is a ton of silicone in Nexxus Humectress as well as the Silicon Mix leave-in. I opted to skip additional heat protectant to avoid heavy hair.
   Also, why no oil after applying my leave-in? I avoid heat styling with most oils. I'm aware that that many of the oils I use are safe up to the temperatures that I use to heat style, but since silicone is safest, I just stick with that.
   
   
    
   
   
   
2. My roots were still a bit damp, so I let them dry naturally for about 2 hours. When they were finally dry, I began the flat-ironing process.
• In small sections, I applied a bit more of my leave-in to my ends to ensure a more moist result, and then along the entire length I applied the Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide.
• After allowing the remaining leave-in to dry into my hair (never flat iron wet or damp hair!), I took my 1'' Solia flat ironing and got to work.
3. I was pleased by the smooth results and how silky and soft my hair felt. Pheww, gone are the days of bone dry, stiff heat-styled hair!
   
   

For some reason I forgot to take a pic of the back of my hair. My hair held up pretty well for the evening; when I returned home I lightly applied the Mizani Butter Rich hairdress to my hair, very lightly sealed with pure argan oil and then wrapped my hair into 3 big pin curls. I'll snap a few pictures and return with those in a bit!

three pin curls 

 

The final results!
I am also happy to report that after taking down the pin curls and combing my hair out, it was still super soft and even after using a water based moisturizer the night before my ends were still smooth and straight. I'm hype! Maybe I have finally mastered heat styling! I'll see how my hair holds up for another day or 2 ;)

Thanks for reading :),

Wash Day

Hey all,

It's been a while since I have done a wash day post, but then again it's also been a while since I've had an interesting/amazing wash day. Mostly co-washing and styling, which is actually pretty boring lol. So I'll just get right into it...

1. I applied sweet almond oil to my scalp, and macadamia oil to the length. Over the macadamia oil I applied the ORS hair masque to dry deep condition. I proceeded to sit under the dryer with a shower cap on for 10 minutes.
2. I rinsed my hair in warm water and shampooed twice with L'oreal Everpure Moisture Shampoo. Why? I ran out of the Shea Moisture shampoo and haven't been able to find it! The good news is, this shampoo actually wasn't half bad. May add it to my rotation, cheers L'oreal!
3. After which I followed up with Aussie Moist for the remainder of my shower, and then rinsed and finger detangled under lukewarm water. This combo left my hair buttery soft and tangle free, detangling after only took 15 minutes!
4. I applied my leave-ins Silicon Mix Bambu and argan oil, then detangled with my favorite detangling combs. Seamless combs for the win - Hercules Sägemann HS5580 Styler Comb and Magic Star Jumbo Rake. Jeni of Just Grow Already and Ebony of Longing 4 Length rave about these combs, and their reviews are accurate. I've had them for months and they have completely revolutionized my detangling process.
5. I then let my hair air-dry loose and I moisturized with Toque Magico Emergencia w/Avocado Rinse Conditioner. Now this is clearly marketed as a rinse-out conditioner, but it has no slip and my hair is too thick for that nonsense. It does, however, make a fantastic silicone free moisturizer, cheap too lol. On the canopy and most of my crown, I lightly applied the Silk Dreams Satin Smooth Hair Cream, which turns my new growth and texlaxed hair into silk and smells amazing.
6. I then wrapped my hair into three large pin curls, put almond oil on my scalp, put on a satin bonnet and called it a night. 
7. In the morning, I removed the pin curls and applied grapeseed oil to the length and sprayed the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Weightless Healing Oil on the ends and nape to protect it from my clothes and the cold air. 

Final results:

 

This wash day left me with ridiculously soft, smooth, bouncy hair. It's shiny and flowy, i'm so hyped lol. There was only one weird draw back, I shed like a dog. I can't remember the last time I shed this much. It may either be due to the shampoo (which was the only thing introduced on this wash day), or perhaps because my scalp wasn't shampooed for about 5 days and was very itchy, and my scalp does tend to remind me that it likes frequent washes by shedding excessively--quite a reminder lol. Other than that I was very pleased. I also dusted a bit, so my ends are looking much better than they have recently. Though I have to say, after my last relaxer, my ends were still looking pretty good. I'm pleased with how my hair is progressing. Can't wait to see what my hair will look like for my 2 year anniversary!

Thanks for reading :),

Product Review: Jane Carter Nourish & Shine

Hey there :)


Throughout the course of my hair journey (almost 18 months!), I have battled with solving various hair and scalp concerns along with trying to select the appropriate products and techniques to remedy my concerns. I had an easy time finding my staple shampoos, conditioners and pre-shampoo products, but my moisturizers and styling products were much harder to come by. Due to my skin's sensitivity to sulfates, I have to be careful with my use of silicone, and I also chose to avoid mineral oil/petroleum for much the same reason. I finally secured some moisturizers from Bee Mine and Giovanni that fit the bill, but styling products took far longer. Commercial hold products were always a thing I stayed away from due to the high silicone and/or alcohol content. A popular ingredient in many natural styling products is beeswax. I found that beeswax would irritate my scalp and create a lot of buildup in the areas where styling products were usually placed (nape and edges), and I also noticed more breakage in the length when these products were added for textured styles (twist-outs, bantu knot outs, etc).

I gave up on styling/hold products for a while until I saw that my Rite Aid was selling the Jane Carter products and I decided to take a chance. Well I'm GLAD that I did. While I have also tried shea butter in the past, I also found that leads to some breakage in the length (after doing research I found that some people found shea butter based products to be very drying; who knew!?). Nourish & Shine turned out to be the exception; from the day I started using it up until now, it gives me soft and smooth hold and rinses out clean, I don't even have to shampoo it out. My skin loves it too. It has a light grapefruit scent that blends well with the smell of my other hair products. It melts quickly when rubbed in your hands for a smooth application and a little really does go a long way. Nourish & Shine also does a great job of slicking down edges, holding textured styles and moisturizing skin with minimal buildup. Basically I'm saying, I love it and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is in search of a good natural styling product.

Rating: 5/5--Staple!
Claims: Nourish & Shine is made of all natural ingredients. Use a small amount to add shine to hair, to nourish and repair dry hair. It's great on dry skin. It will repair, soften and keep skin moist and supple.

Ingredients: Organic illipe, mango, kokum, and shea butters, grapefruit, (vegetable derived) sources of vitamins A, D & E, squalene.
pH: 7
Type: Sealant (butter)

Thanks for reading :),

 

Abbreviated Regimen

Good morning!

So, I think I've finally gotten my regimen to be less time consuming and I finally have simplified my product usage! It took almost 1.5 years but I finally got it lol. After the regimen changes I mentioned a few posts ago, I clipped down the product selection and here is what I've settled on.

Dry deep condition/hot oil treatment prior to shampooing
Shampoo once a week
Conditioner wash one-two times per week (usually after work outs)
Detangle on 50-60% wet hair after applying leave-in and argan oil
Style

Here are the products that I currently have stocked. Some of them I haven't done reviews on, that's coming soon :):

Shampoos:
Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo, Aussie Moist (clarifying), Nexxus Therappe (mild clarifying prior to heat use, protein treating or rollersetting)

Conditioners:
Aussie Moist (co-washing and DCing), ORS Hair Masque (light protein), Nexxus Humectress (for rollersetting, heat styling), Nexxus Keraphix (medium-heavy protein treatment)

Leave-ins:
Rusk Smoother, Silicon Mix Bambu, Rusk Healthy Treatment (light protein spray)

Moisturizers:
Giovanni Direct Leave-in, Mizani Butter Rich, Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk

Stylers/sealants:
Jane Carter Nourish and Shine (for smoothing updos and hold for curly styles), Organix Macadamia Nut Dry Styling Oil, Argan, Coconut and grapeseed oils, Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide (heat protectant)

Tools:
Solia 1'' Flat Iron, Magic Star Jumbo Rake

Have you made any regimen changes recently?
Thanks for reading :),

Salon Visit and Length Check

Good evening,

I planned to wash my hair this weekend, air-dry it and then trim it but I was feeling lazy and now that I am much closer to the dominican salon I went to during my pre-hair journey days, I decided to stop by. I figured I would carry on my wash day the way I normally do, pre-poo, wash, DC, etc so I did some work at home and then brought my desired products with me to the salon. Here are the steps and the products used for this wash day:

1. Pre-treated at home with coconut oil on my scalp and coconut/sweet almond oil on the length.
2. Shampooed 3x (she slipped that last one in smh lol) with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo.
3. Deep conditioned for 20 minutes under hooded dryer with ORS Hair Masque (love this!).
4. Rinsed.
5. Applied leave-in (Silicon Mix Bambu), rollerset on gray rollers (2''?) and sat under the hooded dryer again for an hour.
6. Since I hate wrapping my hair, I just had my hairdresser apply argan oil and comb out the curls.

After I left the salon, I realized that my roots still had the dents from the rollers and I also needed to trim my hair. I applied Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide to my hair in sections and flat ironed my roots with my Solia 1'' flat iron on 300 degrees, dusting each section as I went along. So here are the final pics, and I guess this is my first length check since July. 

I would say that I'm mostly at armpit length, and now the layers in the back are a bit past that. While I still have way more trimming and maintenance to do, I am still hoping for bra-strap length by the summer.

Thanks for reading :),

Wash Day + Flat Ironing!

I hope everyone is having a delightful, or at least productive, Monday!

This was kind of a big weekend for me, my birthday is in a few days, and although I've been meaning to get to this for weeks, I've either been too busy or too lazy to begin the process lol. My plan was to do a full rollerset with magnetic rollers, let it air dry overnight and then flat iron my roots after it was dry. Last night I remembered why I put this off so long, because it really does take forever lol. Anyway, here are the wash day steps:

1. Pre-shampoo treatment with grapeseed oil and Carol's Daughter Tui Moisturizing Hair Smoothie on the length and coconut oil on my scalp. My hair was super dry, so I figured I'd add conditioner to my pre-poo to soften my hair prior to washing.
2. Shampooed once with Nexxus Therappe. To remove build up prior to heat styling.
3. Shampooed once with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo.
4. Applied Nexxus Keraphix to damp hair and left it in my hair for about 10 minutes without heat while I showered. My hair felt super smooth and strengthened after use, Keraphix really is the best.
5. Deep conditioned with Nexxus Humectress for 15 minutes with heat, let it cool and then rinsed with cool water.
6. Then t-shirt dried, added my leave-in (Rusk Smoother, no argan oil this time) and then finger detangled. 
7. I then rollerset my entire head on medium sized rollers.
8. I left the rollers in for about 18 hours and then took them out.

 

The rollerset after it was completely dry.

Now after I took the rollers out, I did something that I haven't done in about 15 months, I used my flat iron! I used my 1'' ceramic Solia flat iron (it's pink!) on 300 degrees and began to flat iron sections the same way they were rolled the night before--that saved a lot of time. To each section I applied a small amount of Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide, combed through and then flat ironed. I am a huge fan of the results as well as this heat protectant!

My nape - the first completely flat ironed layer :)

 

The final results. This actually turned out far better than previously expected ;)

I am thrilled with my results. My hair is super smooth, light and my roots actually got pretty straight, so for 8 weeks post I am extremely impressed. This was an experiment to see how my hair straightened this many weeks post relaxer, as well as a trial run for birthday weekend. Prior to my hair journey this would've turned out to be a disaster. Hmm... now to see how I can manage this for the week (including gym time) will be fun lol.

Thanks for reading :),

Product Review: Silicon Mix Bambu Leave-in

Good morning gorgeous :),

If I could rate the most important part of my hair regimen that has drastically cut down my breakage, before deep conditioning, moisturizing + sealing and protective styling, I would have to rate no direct heat as the #1 thing that really changed the game for me. Along with the elimination of direct heat, comes alternative methods of drying the hair in less damaging ways. Since I'm far too lazy to sit under a hooded dryer, I quickly became acquainted with air drying. When I first began air drying, I was faced with  poofy results that led to detangling and breakage issues. Rusk's Smoother leave-in conditioner was the first leave-in cream that I fell in love with for giving me sleek, detangled results from air drying, my one issue with it was that it wasn't pH balanced.

Silicon Mix Bambu Leave-in

The Silicon Mix Bambu Leave-in for me is comparable to the Rusk Smoother Leave-in in terms of ability to detangle, smooth and soften. It has a lotion-like consistency, is pale yellow in color and has a persistent, yet light, fresh scent. In addition to it having the qualities that i usually look for in a leave-in, it's also pH balanced so it closes my cuticles while my hair is damp leading to sleeker air dried results. This leave-in is easy to spread and a little bit goes a long way to ease detangling on t-shirt (or towel) dried hair. I will say that it feels a bit heavy when it is first put on the hair, but as it dries its weighless. I would say that the perceived heaviness when first applied is what makes detangling go even faster. I am a huge fan of this leave-in, I haven't yet tried it when doing a magnetic roller set, but it works just as well for flexi-rod sets as it does for air drying. For my protein and silicone sensitive ladies, this leave-in contains both. However, since this leave-in contains silicone and protein I would suspect that it could be used in heat styling as well. I would absolutely recommend this leave-in conditioner to anyone who needs help detangling damp hair or wants smoother results from air drying or rollersetting.


Rating: 5/5--Staple!

Claim: Contains Bamboo Extract a natural product to regenerate and nourish the hair and Silicones to smooth and give shine. Prevents hair breakage and split ends. Vitamins A, E, F, H (Biotin), H, Pro-Vitamin B5 (Panthenol), H8 (Inositol) and Horse Chestnut Extract improve the health and beauty of the hair, helping it to grow longer.

Ingredients: Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cyclomethicone (and) Dimethiconol, Isopropyl Myristate, Glycerin, Polyquaternium-70 (and) Dipropylene Glycol, Silk Protein, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, aqua, Polysorbate 20, Alcohol Denat, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, PABA, Inositol, Panthenol, Linoleic Acid, Biotin, Citric Acid, Diazolidinyl UREA (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance, FD&C No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6.

pH: 5.5
Type: Protein containing leave-in conditioner

Thanks for reading :),

Wash Day

Hey there ;),

My hair was due for a wash on Tuesday after a hard weekend of time spent at the gym. It felt a bit waxy, so I decided to use a mild sulfate shampoo to clean off the silicone. These were my wash day steps:

1. Pre-poo with coconut oil on my scalp and the length, with heat for 30 minutes. 
2. Shampoo one time with the Neutrogena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo. This is one of the few sulfate shampoos that I still own. It was mild enough to clean my hair without stripping it.
3. Shampoo one time with the Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo.
4. Deep conditioned with Aussie Moist with heat for 30 minutes.
5. Rinsed and t-shirt dried for 10 minutes.
6. Applied leave-ins: Silicon Mix Bambu Leave-in and argan oil on my ends. I have really been enjoying the silicon mix leave-in, review next post :).
7. Lightly finger detangled, then combed through when hair was about 70% dry to complete detangling.
8. I then let my hair air-dry to about 90%, applied the Giovanni Direct Leave-in and added seven 11/16'' gray flexi-rods to my ends.

I left the rods in overnight and put a hair net on to keep them all in place. I much prefer to add some type of roller on wash days now, even if it's just to my ends. My ends stay smoother for longer periods of time, I notice less breakage, fewer tangles and I don't have to moisturize my hair as often throughout the week when rollers are used. I'm most likely going to continue to set for the duration of this stretch, and since flexi-rods require far less manipulation than magnetic rollers I will most likely be using those.

Fortunately, I was able to snap some pics of how my hair turned out during the day. Here are the results:

 

 

Note that one flexi-rod that was left lol, but thats about all the hair I roll on those rods for really loose curls,
and then put them into a hair net to keep them from flopping around too much

Thanks for reading :),

Wash Day -- New Products + Flexi-Rods

Hey there,

So I have been slipping on my posting a bit recently. My mind has just been all over the place recently, but luckily I have been keeping up with my hair routine even though I haven't been posting much. For whatever reason, this weekend's wash went extremely well. I feel like I've performed this wash tons of times, but it somehow turned out really well. This wash day went down on saturday afternoon (I know, mad late lol) and here are the steps:

1. Overnight pre-poo treatment with Kinky Curly Perfectly Polished Hair Oil (I've used this a few times, still not impressed--especially not for the price, but I'm making it work) and coconut oil.
2. I rinsed out like 15 hours later and shampooed twice with diluted Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo. I recently started diluting this shampoo, more on how and why next post!
3. I deep conditioned with Organic Root Stimulator Hair Masque for 20 minutes with heat.
4. After the conditioner cooled, I rinsed it out and finger detangled under running water.
5. I t-shirt dried for about 10 minutes, then applied my leave-ins: Silicon Mix Bambu Leave-in (love this!) and argan oil.
   I must confess, I think adding the leave-in may have been too much protein for my hair. It didn't break while detangling, but it was far more tangled than usual, it was also a bit dryer too. 
6. I finger detangled, combed my hair out and let it air-dry loose.
7. When it was about 90% dry, I moisturized with Deja's Hair Milk and sealed with a combination of argan oil and the Jane Carter Nourish & Shine. 

After doing that, my hair was super hydrated, smooth and tangle free and for whatever reason it remained that way until Sunday evening! On saturday night and sunday morning all I did was run a bit of argan oil through it and that was all. My hair had been straight all weekend, so when I arrived I decided to toss some curls in it because you see, i recently FELL IN LOVE with flexi-rods! Why didn't anyone tell me these things were so amazing lol?! It makes my hair look like a full magnetic rollerset in a fraction of the time.

So last night, I lightly sprayed my hair with water, finger detangled and applied Mizani Butter Rich Deep Nourishing Hairdress (I figured I'd give my Deja's Hair Milk a rest for a bit) in sections. I then rolled my hair onto eight, 11/16'' gray flexi-rods, put on a hairnet and called it a night. As usual I was running late for work (lol), so I couldn't snap pics this morning but I took some when I arrived home.

 

 

I'm shocked at how well these held up after being done on mostly dry hair! 

I'm sold on the flexi-rods :).

My hair is also super moisturized and still bouncy with a great smell. Mizani FTW lol. I'll use this a few more times and then I'll review it, but if the results continue to look, feel and smell this good, this may just become a staple.

Thanks for reading :),

My Sister's Update #2

Good afternoon!

Janelle hit me up with her 2 month update! Lol, she loves this hair stuff so much I don't even have to remind her to update me :). She sent me a pic of her wash day results a week after her relaxer.

She relaxed two weeks ago at 8 weeks post with a no-lye relaxer (she forgot to ask her stylist for which relaxer was used. I told her to get back on that! lol). I had her incorporate the mid-relaxer protein step (using a protein treatment after rinsing out the relaxer but before neutralizing) using the Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Pak. She noted that her hair had more body immediately after relaxing, she was pleased (apparently her stylist was too :).

She left her hair down for the week after her relaxer and bunned for a few days the next week. Here is her wash day run down down at 2 weeks post: 

1. Coconut oil pre-treat at home.
2. Rinse at salon. 
3. Organix Moroccan argan oil sulfate free shampoo
4. Aussie 3-minute deep conditioner
5. Under dryer for 10 minutes
6. Rinse and roller-set
7. 45 minutes under dryer
8. Wrap in a satin doo-rag and go! 

 Post wash day pic :)

 

A few bun shots

Janelle comments:

Much softer and stronger and growing at a nice rate. Great body only 2 weeks after relaxing!

It looks to me like she's retained a bit of length since she began. Stay tuned for another sister update in 1 month!

Thanks for reading :),