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 :),

Product Review: Alter Ego Garlic Treatment

Hey ladies,

If you have been hanging around the healthy hair care world for a little while now, then I'm sure you've heard of the Alter Ego Garlic Treatment. It's touted as one of the top ways to reduce hair fall; along with tea and coffee rinses, garlic when either applied to the scalp or taken internally via tablet, has been shown to reduce excessive shedding. To be honest, shedding is less of my concern than breakage because shedding is a natural process, some circumstances like stress, hormonal changes, illness and dietary changes can lead to excessive hair fall which goes directly against the goal of fuller, longer hair. A few months back I suffered an massive shedding incident (hormonal causes, more on that soon), which I knew I would have to wait out, but I figured I would at least try to decrease any additional/unnecessary hair fall during that time. I wasn't expecting much from this conditioner, but it certainly blew me away with its ability to decrease shedding.

I absolutely never use it the way the ingredients suggest lol. I typically leave it on overnight as a pre-poo treatment and then shampoo it out the next day. There is usually considerably less shed hair after using this treatment than my normal conditioners or any other conditioner when left in overnight. It has somewhat of a lotion-y consistency (similar to that of the Neutrogena Triple Moisture leave-in), and a strong, cologne smell which I really like. The Garlic Mask also has pretty good slip, but it's a little strange while rinsing. When I apply the conditioner to dry or damp hair, it is great at easing detangling, but upon rinsing it does little to keep hair detangled in the shower and after the wash process is complete. This may be due to the fact that this product is not pH balanced (ideal hair product pH is 4-5.5); were it not for this fact this would've been the perfect conditioner. That aside, I still like the conditioner a lot, and would happily recommend it to anyone that would like to reduce their shedding temporarily. 

Rating: 4/5
Claims: This special cream, rich in peptides, vitamins and mineral salts which derivate from wheat and garlic represents an excellent substitute for hair treatment with animal extract. It leaves hair soft and strong and it is ideal to use on treated hair, such as bleached, dyed and permed.

Instructions: Use after shampooing the hair, apply the treatment all over the scalp, wait for a few minutes then rinse with water. Recommended to be used after shampooing, leave it on for about 15 minutes to have the best results.

Ingredients: Water, cetearyl alcohol, centrimonium chloride, dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, parfum, methoxy PEG/PPG-7/3 aminopropyl dimethicone, limonene, benzyl alcohol, propylene glycol, linalool, amyl cinnamal, citric acid, triticum vulgare sprout extract (wheat extract), yellow #5, methylchloroisothiazoline, red #4, methylisothiazoline, allium sativum extract (garlic bulb extract), cochlearia amoracia extract (horse-radish root extract), ferula assa foetida root extract, blue #1
pH: 7
Type: Moisturizing deep conditioner (protein-containing)

Have you tried this conditioner? If so, how do you feel about it?

Thanks for reading :),

Wash Day/2 Year Hairniversary!

Hey there,

It's been quite a while since my last wash day post, so it's about time I got back to it! I relaxed my hair on July 4th , and by last night my scalp was crying out for a wash. Here's what went down:

1. Pre-shampoo treat with sweet almond oil on the scalp and aussie 3 min miracle with sweet almond oil on the length. I left this in for about 1.5 hours without heat (the house was hot anyway, lol).
2. Shampooed twice with diluted L'oreal Everpure Moisturizing Shampoo.
3. Conditioned with Herbal Essences Honey I'm Strong rinse off treatment for the remainder of my shower and then finger detangled while rinsing. This is actually my first Herbal Essences purchase and my first time trying it-- the slip was insane, i actually said damn! Lol. It had an odd smell, but it cut through the tangles. I'll have to see if this is still as efficacious later in my stretch before I can recommend it :).
4.  T-shirt dried for about 30 minutes (had to finish up some TV :).
5. Applied my leave-ins, Silicon Mix Bambu and argan oil, then proceeded to detangle using my seamless combs. 
6. I then let my hair air dry loose and put it into 5 big pin curls before bed.

These are my results:

look! i got new glasses! lol :o)

It also occurred to me that I completely missed my 2 year hairniversary! On July 1st, 2013 it has been officially 2 years since I began this journey towards healthier, happier, longer hair. I'm pleased by how far I've come and certainly didn't expect the results that I have achieved. My hair is a constant reminder of what hard work, research and a strong routine can do for every aspect of my life. This is where my hair is currently:

I will be spending some time this year clipping off uneven ends, but I'm where I was hoping to be by now--grazing bra-strap length. I look forward to full bra-strap by the end of the year, and hopefully midback by my 3 year anniversary.

My start:

 

Cheers to progress! I look forward to seeing what this next year will bring. To see the progress from year 1, click here.

Thanks for reading :),

Checking in

Hey all,

It certainly has been far too long since my last update :(. Life has officially gotten in the way of my blogging. If you've been following me for a bit, you may have seen my post about Hurricane Sandy. Well, the madness is finally over post-hurricane, and I am back home! I've been settling in for a few weeks and have completely dropped off the face of the earth lol-- but what can I say, it's good to be home! In all the commotion, I've still been taking pretty good care of my hair, though I've been doing way more overnight deep conditioning due to exhaustion than I normally do lol. It's summer time, and it's been pretty hot in nyc, so I've mostly been living in twist-outs, buns and half-up/half-down styles to keep from getting too hot.

 

I'm about 10 weeks post, so deep conditioning and moisturizing and sealing have been the only things keeping my hair happy. I've found a few new products that I'm currently loving, but I'll save that for the next post :o).

I also wanted to say hi to my new subscribers! It has been brought to my attention that google friend connect is going to be shut down by July 1st :(, so I'm on bloglovin!

So follow me on Bloglovin instead!

My blog also celebrated its one year anniversary on April 22nd, which I so clearly missed by a mile lol. I will be doing a giveaway shortly in honor of the day though. 

Thanks for reading and I'm so glad to be back!

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 :),

Update and Product Preview

Hey gorgeous,

I have to admit, I have been the laziest with my hair recently. I've been super busy with work and my personal life that while I have been keeping up with general care, I have certainly been slacking on my deep conditioning and protective styling. I spent most of this week bunning in an attempt to make up for the slackness lol. I have mostly been managing my hair straight for my own sanity--as much as I love textured styles the detangling is far too much work for me these days :o). I have also had to go back to more frequent shampooing, my scalp is really not a fan of shampooing once per week. So though my hair has been out far too much and I have been slacking on a few things, overall I think my hair is still doing okay. I will most likely cut an inch off with my next relaxer, it's honestly been a long time coming and it would be nice to fix up my hemline. So, that is really all that's been going on with my hair, and that's fine by me lol.

Now onto my product junkie ways ;)...

I have recently purchased the Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner and the Mixed Straightening Serum. They smell great, and absolutely turned my hair into butter with the first use. Now as for the second use, that was horrifying; I got a tangled, dry mess. The jury is still currently out on these products for me, but I have hope!
I have also finally purchased the Alter Ego Garlic Mask after my cousin's rave reviews (hey cousin Gizelle!), and I'm a fan of that as well, it has excellent slip. I'm having fun experimenting with mostly moisturizing deep conditioners, as I often run into trouble when I begin to mess with too much protein. I will post some images of the products tomorrow.

So have you tried the Alter Ego or Mixed Chicks conditioners? 

If so, how do you feel about them?

Thanks for reading :),

p.s. - To my new followers: hello!! I should be posting more frequently soon. Thank you for following :o). If you have any questions or want to request a post, feel free to email me - jenchronicles@gmail.com

It's been too long...

Happy New Year all!

I'm horrified by how long it has been since my last blog post! I have been extremely busy with work, life, etc and I have completely slacked on my blog flow. Well, I've decided to get it back together and I have a few ideas for upcoming posts. I do want to first quickly update you guys on what my hair and I have been about...

First off, I am about 10 weeks post relaxer, since I have been slackin' on my gym regimen due to lack of time and I have been eating much less than usual, I have slightly less new growth than I usually do at this point, which is actually not a problem for me, when my new growth goes HAM it eats up a lot of time that I just don't have at this point.

For a few weeks (between Christmas and maybe a week after new years), I had the craziest dandruff ever. I first assume it was either product buildup or mineral deposits (I was visiting my sister and she has hard water), so I clarified and that made no difference. It continued even using sulfate-free shampoos, oiling my scalp and even just only co-washing for a few weeks. I also noticed my eczema was getting worse as well, and that's when it hit me, I wasn't drinking enough water!! So as a reminder, don't slack on your water intake--within a few days my scalp stopped flaking, the rest of my skin returned to normal and all was well.

I've also spent some time experimenting with other shampoos that could potentially replace my Shea Moisture Shampoo just in case I couldn't find it or something and honestly, I still haven't found anything even close. Epic fail :p. The only shampoo that I've tried that I don't mind is the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil shampoo, it doesn't irritate my scalp at all and it doesn't strip my hair, however it fails when it comes to detangling (and if your a fellow thick-haired individual you know detangling is a big deal). So basically the Shea Moisture shampoo is still king... lol

Aside from that, I was experiencing some breakage, so it was time for Keraphix. As usual, Keraphix stopped the breakage and my hair was basically on point after that wash day (2 weeks ago). I should be relaxing tomorrow, and honestly, it's about time for me to cut my hair. My ends are looking a little crazy, so I should be removing about an inch, the good thing is, it will be the same length it was last time I relaxed (around BSB) just fuller. I have about an inch of new growth and its not like my hair broke so much that I lost length.

In terms of styling, I stepped up my protective styling game back to about 70% of the time due to how crazy the weather has been recently. My edges started to feel tender earlier this week though, so I had to kick the bun for a bit so I'm currently rocking a flexi-rod set, which I pin-curled last night for comfortable sleeping :o).

Thank you for reading (and for bearing with me in my absence),

Winter Hair Changes

Hey there,

The cold weather has been here for awhile and my hair has let me know recently that she isn't happy. I'll be bringing back a few things techniques and products that my tresses have always loved, namely the things that got me from shoulder to armpit length in the first place ;).

Protective styling - Now that my scalp has fully recovered and my hair is longer, I can revisit protective styling. I've mentioned previously that protective styling is one of the holy grail methods of length retention and that really is the truth-- it keeps hair away from the elements and keeps it balanced for extended periods of time with less work. I'm glad my scalp issues have calmed down just in time for cold weather. I have chosen to adopt a 50-50 protective-low-manipulation styling routine. This should keep my ends in reasonable shape, while avoiding any damage done to my hair and scalp caused by repeated tension.

No direct heat - I had some fun with my flat iron in the fall and my ends were not pleased with me. That was like the first time I had more than a handfull of split ends at once. My hair also got super duper dry and since that was the only thing that changed in my regimen, I can only assume that was the cause for the trouble. On that note, no direct heat for me until probably all of the pre-hair journey hair has been removed (1-2.5'').

Protein conditioning - Since the air is so dry during the winter, I have to use a protein-free moisturizer the majority of the time. To ensure that my hair remains balanced, I make sure to condition with protein at regular intervals to prevent any breakage due to over-moisturizing my hair.

Serum/Butter use - In the warmer weather, my hair is generally fine with a just argan or grapeseed oil to seal. In the winter time, I can't use heavier oils due to my oily skin, but I try to make good use of butters and serums which tend to have less of a greasy feel. When I am bunning, I go crazy with oil because my hair isn't touching my face or trunk, but when my hair is out I have to be more careful. I tend to seal the body of my hair with just argan or grapeseed to avoid heavy hair, but for the ends and the nape (i.e. the parts of my hair that will actually be touching my clothes and that can dry out fast) I use a serum or butter. Currently my fav products are the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Weightless Healing Dry Oil (it's a spray, that ensures even coverage and encourages my laziness ;) and the Jane Carter Nourish & Shine to keep my nape and ends from hating me lol.

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 :),

Co-washing and Scalp Update

Good morning!

My wash days have been more scattered than usual, but I have just been focusing on paying attention to what my hair needs and low manipulation styling. A few post ago, I mentioned that I chose to pare down my regimen due to time constraints, seems I made that choice at the appropriate time. I have less time, and I am now in a different environment with fewer hair products than usual. In my next post I will detail my abbreviated hair regimen.

Now to update about changing my routine from shampooing twice a week to shampooing once and co-washing at least once, but usually twice. The first week didn't go so well, with a lot of flaking and some itchiness. I used coconut oil on my scalp and prior to co-washing I either add some coconut or grapeseed oil to the length. The coconut oil seemed to contribute to the flaking, so I stopped that and remembered that since I'm going to be using surfactants less often that I will need to do fewer moisturizing things for my scalp. I swapped the coconut oil for aloe vera juice (which is an astringent for skin, and it also curbs shedding #winning) mixed with water and spray it on my scalp prior to co-washing. Success! So my scalp stays clean, my hair gets to smell like Aussie Moist (mmm) and I don't have to spend most of my week in the shower lol. So far adding the aloe vera juice has made shampooing only once weekly bearable, but in cases where I have far more time, I will probably go back to shampooing and deep conditioning twice weekly.


As for my scalp, it's been temperamental, but the aloe vera juice has been helping. I've had a bit of flaking, but it hasn't been too bad. I've also used sulfate shampoo two weeks in a row and I'm sure that hasn't helped my scalp's condition. I will be shampooing this weekend, so hopefully that will reduce the flaking and stop the itch. In terms of tenderness, my scalp has been a champ. It was protectively styled for much of the last week (buns and updos) with minimal tenderness and no excessive shedding. I even mastered my first high bun for today (!!!!) after last night's co-wash. I haven't had the patience or time for too much styling, so I'm glad that bunning hasn't caused any problems yet, but I am sure to vary the position of my buns, make sure that they aren't too tight and I still try not to bun more than 3-4 days a week.

It seems that the changes I've made to my regimen haven't affected the condition of my hair, and I seem to still be retaining length. I am almost 11 weeks post, and around now I usually start to get a lot of demarcation line breakage. So far, that seems to be minimal and I am willing to chalk this up to the increase in co-washing and decreasing manipulation. I will be relaxing in a week or so, and I hope that this next relaxer goes well, so that I won't have to focus on my hair too much for about a month or so.

Thanks for reading :),

What's going on currently...

Hey all,

I was born, raised and still currently reside in a coastal section of South Brooklyn, unfortunately this area as well as the other low-lying areas on the East Coast were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Sandy. My own home was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, but I have to say that I am truly blessed that my whole family is safe and that we have a safe, comfortable place to stay. I am praying for everyone in the regions affected by the storm and I hope all of you are safe and healthy. As far as posting goes, I will try to post whenever I get the chance, but internet and cell phone service has been spotty and I'm not sure how much longer it is going to remain that way. I have been trying to keep up with my regimen to keep my mind off what's been going on, and so far I think it has helped.

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Regimen Changes

Hey there,

Now that fall is officially here, I can comment and honestly say that this was a great summer for my hair. I learned a lot, experimented and I think I have found a way of managing my hair that will give me consistent, reliable results that isn't so time consuming that it is unsustainable. I am currently in the process of applying for a few post-baccalaureate programs, so next fall I may be back to school. This has me seriously considering my regimen and the time I devote to my hair, and how much of this I can realistically keep up with when my schedule becomes more hectic. Rather than wait until that occurs, I've decided to start making some adjustments while I still have the time to alter techniques if necessary. So here are a few of the things that I have either added or re-instituted into my regimen while making adjustments:

Combing - I stopped using combs for probably about 6 months at some point during the last year. While not combing certainly reduced the amount of breakage I encountered on a daily basis, my detangling sessions were taking entirely too long and I would become either frustrated or tired. I opted to reintroduce combing about 2 months ago with the arrival of my seamless combs (thanks to Ebony of L4L for the idea :). I have to admit, seamless combs changed all of the expectations I had of combs prior to use. Although I only comb damp hair on wash and co-wash days, regular combing has seriously decreased my detangling burden and keeps my hair smooth and managable throughout the week. #winning.

Flexi-rods - These rollers truly are bananas. They make my ends as smooth as magnetic rollers, for a similar length of time with about 25% of the work. I'm not really sure if that can be beat. I find that my ends remain smoother for a few days at a time so I experience less dryness, breakage and way fewer tangles. Flexi-rods will certainly be a new staple in my regimen.

Silicone - I'm going to be honest, my hair and silicone have always gotten along well, it's really my scalp and silicone that can't seem to see eye-to-eye. Even since the beginning of my hair journey, I opted to keep my silicone-containing deep conditioners because they aid in detangling, as well as my leave-ins because they aid in moisture retention. However, I kicked silicone out of my daily routine because I didn't want to have to use sulfate shampoos more than once or twice a month. Recently, I added a daily moisturizer that contains dimethicone (gasp! lol), Mizani Butter Rich Deep Nourishing Hairdress, it works fantastically. It keeps my hair smooth, and moist for the entire day all while smelling simply delicious. I just have to be sure to clarify more frequently now.

Less Shampooing - Let me just say, this isn't completely by choice. I've always shampooed my hair twice a week because my scalp is oily, I work out often and my scalp gets pretty irritated when left dirty for extended periods of time. However, since my wash days take so long now (pre-poo, detangle, shampoo, DC, detangle, air-dry/style...), I will absolutely not have the time to do my second wash during the week. I have decided to co-wash twice a week and do my full wash day routine (including shampoo) once a week. This is a fairly new addition and I am still evaluating how my hair and scalp feel about this. I have to co-wash more often because my scalp has never gotten completely clean from co-washing, but at least its a much shorter process.

These are just a few ways in which I am cutting back on the more time consuming parts of my regimen; less time spent styling due to more co-washing and flexi-rod use, more combing fewer marathon detangling sessions and smoother hair and silicone is well, awesome, when used moderately lol.

Thanks for reading :),

The Favorite Series: Leave-in Conditioner

Happy Labor Day!
Prior to my hair journey, my hair routine was wash, condition and blow dry two times per week. Clearly that wasn't working for my length retention, so the first thing that I changed when I began to take better care of my hair was to cut out heat styling. Although, I must admit it was a hard habit to kick; as of today I have not heat styled my hair in 14 months and I don't see myself heat styling anytime in the near future. I am 100% addicted to air-drying. When I think about how my hair used to look, it occurred to me that I get smoother results from air-drying than I ever did with my blow dryer so I'm gonna stick with it lol. Air-drying didn't always work out for me in the beginning though, but I can honestly say that one day it all turned around.

Rusk Smoother Passionflower and Aloe Smoothing Leave-in Conditioner

This leave-in conditioner is probably one of the most important parts of my hair care routine. It instantly smooths, detangles and strengthens my hair to ensure optimal moisture retention. The first time I started using it was during the winter when I was having a hard time retaining moisture in cold, dry conditions. After a good moisturizing deep conditioning, this keeps my hair balanced with a shot of protein to improve manageability and keep my hair strong while manipulating during damp styling, detangling and air-drying. On t-shirt dried hair, I use this on the length in conjunction with pure argan oil on my ends to get smoother results from air-drying than I have with any other leave-in I've ever tried (and since I'm quite the product junkie I've tried a few ;). Recently I have been working on my rollersetting skills, and I came to find that this works better than any of the serums I have ever tried. It keeps my hair smooth, and makes detangling easier to create smooth, soft, strong sets that last for days without the aid of a setting lotion or other styling product. All in all, this product is just amazing. It has a smooth lotion-like consistency and an awesome light fresh smell. If they were to change the formula of this product I don't know what will become of my air-drying routine lol. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has trouble with post-wash detangling, moisture retention or attaining smooth hair from air-drying.


Rating: 5/5--Staple!

Claim: Rusk Sensories Smoother Passionflower and Aloe Smoothing Leave-in Conditioner awakens the sense, while smoothing and texturizing the hair. Smoother Leave-in Conditioner contains protective sunscreen, and eliminates static, while providing body and a healthy natural shine. All Sensories products feature Compress Formula Technology. CFT enhances and expands the user's sensory experience. Use 30-50% less product and achieve twice the performance.


Ingredients: Water, cyclopentasiloxane, cetearyl alcohol, dimethicone, propylene glycol, polyquaternium-37, stearyl alcohol, panthenol, behentrimonium methosulfate, hydrolyzed wheat protein, aloe leaf extract, passion flower extract, centrimonium bromide, dimethicone PEG-8 meadowfoamate, PPG-20 methyl glucose ether, cinnamidpropyltrimonium chloride, propylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, hydrolyzed wheat starch, fragrance, PPG-1 trideceth-6, DMDM hydantoin, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, orange 4, yellow 6, hexyl cinnamal, linalool, benzyl benzoate, limonene, butylphenyl methylpropional, hydroxyisohexyl 3 -cyclohexene carboxyaldehyde, citronellol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal
pH: 7
Type: Protein Containing Leave-in Conditioner

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Product Review: Carol's Daughter Tui Moisturizing Hair Smoothie

Good evening gorgeous!

One of the major issues that I've had since the start of my hair journey has been tangling. My hair tangles all the time, wet or dry and sometimes it's just one giant mess :p. In fact, relaxer stretching has always been a bit treacherous for me because of my issues with detangling. It was only during my last stretch that I finally figured out a technique that melted my tangles and helped my hair retain the moisture that it desperately needs during a relaxer stretch. After about 6 weeks post relaxer, I begin to use my detangling method to help me manage my new growth as well as my relaxed ends. My favorite conditioner to use for detangling is the Tui Moisturizing Hair Smoothie; this conditioner contains a ton of moisturizing and smoothing elements to ease detangling and soften the hair. Since I leave this conditioner in and apply heat (for 30 minutes or more) after detangling, I found it important to make that while this is a moisturizing conditioner, that it has some protein/strengthening aspects to ensure that my hair doesn't become over-moisturized and weak. The Tui Moisturizing Hair Smoothie completely fits the bill; it detangles, smooths and still leaves the hair feeling somewhat strong. It has a fresh smell, a lotion-like consistency and it spreads really well through the hair. I must confess, I have never used this conditioner the way its directions state lol. I typically use it during a stretch, on dry/moistened hair rather than on freshly shampooed hair. I will try it on wet freshly shampooed hair after I relax in a few weeks.
I truly do enjoy using this conditioner, it certainly makes stretching easier and it also smells amazing. As with all Carol's Daughter products, this also lacks mineral oil, petroleum, artificial fragrance and a number of other irritants. This conditioner isn't a staple just yet (have to try it on wet hair before I can give it that honor lol), but so far I've been very pleased with its performance :o).

Rating: 4/5
Claim: Deeply moisturizes to rescue extra dry and dull hair. The rich blend of Shea Butter and Pro-vitamin B5 intensely conditions your hair so it has a healthy texture and natural shine. Quickly absorbs into your hair so you’ll notice an immediate difference and hair will not get weighed-down.
PLUS, No Parabens, No Petroleum, No Mineral Oil, No Artificial Colors

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Brassicamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Helianthus Annuus ( Sunflower) Seed Oil, Amodimethicone, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Mauritia Flexuosa (Buriti) Fruit Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Panthenol ( Pro-vitamin B5), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Tetrasodium EDTA, Aspartic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Polyquaternium-37, PEG-40 Castor Oil, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum)
pH: 7
Type: Moisturizing Deep Conditioner (protein containing)

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Wash day

Good afternoon!

I found out the hard way (again) that laziness REALLY doesn't pay off lol! My last wash day prior to this one was late Saturday night, after the gym at 7 weeks post and it turned into a disaster! My hair had been in an old twist out, so the texture + the new growth + not detangling prior to washing = matted, greasy, TANGLED hair! My hair looked so short, and so thin that I thought I had lost half of my hair volume in like one evening; it was so bad, not even the supreme detangling conditioner (ORS hair masque) was able to cut through my tangles. After using a leave-in, moisturizer, oil, nothing worked so I just left that joint in a bun until I had the time to get to it. I finally got to it last night and it took 3 hours, a half cup of sweet almond oil, patience and a snack break (lol) to finally detangle my hair. Oddly enough, I feel like I didn't lose a ton of hair last night, of course there was more breakage than I would've liked, but eh, I def don't plan to make a habit of what happened last night. Here are the wash day steps that saved my hair last night:

1. Pre-poo and detangle in 4 sections with warm sweet almond oil and water. 
2. Apply Carol's Daughter Tui Moisturizing Smoothie to detangled sections.
3. Sit under heating cap for 30 minutes
4. Rinse in warm water.
5. Shampoo twice in sections with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo.
6. Condition for 10 minutes with Aussie Moist without heat.
7. Rinse.
8. T-shirt dry for 10 minutes
9. Apply leave-ins: Rusk Smoother Leave-in Conditioner and argan oil to ends
10. Complete detangling, spray aloe vera juice/water mix on hair while still damp, then air-dry with back hanging loose and front pinned up.

Now, at this point in my journey I'm well aware that after 6 weeks (whether my hair is texlaxed or relaxed bone straight) things start to get hectic. My hair is very dense, my new growth is very tightly coiled and the hair in most of the front and middle of my head is coarse--these factors alone make for rough detangling sessions, in addition to the amount of shed hair that I had from a low manipulation style at 7 weeks post. I was clearly trippin when I tried to avoid detangling before washing last week. I definitely paid for that poor decision last night when I had to painstakingly detangle new growth to make sure that I got as little damage as possible. The moral of this story is, if something works STICK WITH IT!! Lol, anyway, after all of the detangling drama, my hair came out buttery soft, smooth and tangle free. This morning all I had to do was put some of my Giovanni Direct Leave-in and seal with argan oil.

 

End of day pics... I think I'm doin' okay for 7 weeks post :)

As I type this post, a little before 4pm today, my hair still feels good, looks full again (phew), is detangled and is still soft and moisturized. So all I really needed was some patience, to detangle in sections and an epic deep conditioner. I just need to remember to stick to the products that I know work for me, that takes the guesswork out of wash days.

What wash day step can you absolutely not live without?

P.S. - I have a giveaway coming up soon! Stay tuned :)

Thanks for reading :),