Pre-relaxer Wash Day

Hey ladies,

This post is a day late because I fell asleep lol. This my last wash day before I relax my hair, at about 9 weeks post. Sometimes I'm just not sure when all this new growth comes in, but as usual it surprised me lol. My hair has been doing okay, my scalp has been a bit flaky but not particularly itchy which is def a good thing seeing as I'm planning to relax tomorrow. I washed and blew out my hair last night, in hopes of keeping the tangles at bay so no one has to rip through my hair while relaxing. Here are the steps:

1. Applied sweet almond oil to my scalp and dry deep conditioned with Aunt Jackie's Curls & Coils In Control Anti-Poof Moisturizing & Softening Conditioner (review on this soon, it does indeed moisturize, soften and it smells delicious!), for 30 minutes under a heating cap. 
2.  Shampooed twice with diluted L'Oreal Everpure Moisturizing Shampoo.
3. I then applied Aussie Moist and let it sit for the remainder of my shower and then rinsed in cool water.
4. After rinsing, I t-shirt dried for about 30 minutes, applied leave-ins (silicon mix bambu/ogx argan oil of morocco healing dry oil) and detangled.
5. I blew my hair out using the yellow bird hairdryer mentioned in a previous post, and after each section was dried, I sprayed some of the organix oil on my ends. 
6. After my hair was complete, I put 2 of the gray 11/16 gray flexi-rods on my ends, put on a sleep cap and went to bed.

Results!

 

I should be relaxing in the next few days, hopefully all goes well! I'm looking forward to a good trim, haven't trimmed since November... I think it's time lol

This is also my first wash day experience post, the ladies at Saving Our Strands are building a healthy hair community and I love it!

Thanks for reading :),

2.5 year update

Hello all!

It's been too long! Life has gotten shockingly busy, but it's time to get back to doing things I enjoy, like blogging. I'm going to jump right into it...

It's currently the middle of a super cold and snowy winter in nyc, so my hair has mostly been in a bun or under a hat, which has been excellent for retention! This weekend, I decided to blow my hair out to give my scalp and edges a break from all of the bunning, here's my wash day in pictures:

Pre-Shampoo Treatment:
I applied sweet almond oil to my scalp to help with the dryness from the week. To prep my hair for washing and heat styling, I decided to use the ORS Hair Mayonnaise as a light protein treatment on hair that had been lightly moistened with a spray bottle. I then added a light coating of sweet almond oil over the conditioner, put on a plastic cap and put on my heating cap for about 30 mins.

Wash:
I shampooed twice with the L'oreal Everpure Sulfate-Free shampoo (diluted with water in an applicator bottle for easier application). After rinsing, I used Aussie Moist conditioner and let it sit with a plastic cap over it for the remainder of my shower. I then rinsed and detangled my hair under cool water and did a final cold rinse. I then t-shirt dried for 30-45 minutes.

Post-wash and styling:
After t-shirt drying, I applied my leave-ins (silicon mix bambu and organix argan oil of morocco weightless healing dry oil)   in 4 sections to detangle. After that was completed, I began blow drying using the Conair Yellow Bird blow dryer on cool air for the length, and warm air to dry the roots. Before drying my ends, I applied a bit more of the silicon mix bambu. After each section was dried, it was pinned away and I spritzed some of the organix spray oil on the section.

Here are the final results:

  

Yay! So I was quite pleased by the final results. I haven't clipped my ends since November, but from all of the bad winter weather protective styling they've been doing quite well! I did a lot of trimming and cutting last year to get my ends together, and it seems to have gone well. The last pic im showing my bra strap, so i believe as of right now I am grazing bra-strap length! Fingers crossed for reaching bsl by my next relaxer (if the weather stays this bad I should be good, lol).

Thanks for reading :),

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 :),

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 :),

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 :),

New Product Preview!

Happy Sunday!

I decided to buy myself an early Christmas present a few days ago. I have heard so much about Kérastase products, but because of the $50+ price tags on their deep conditioners I felt that maybe that was a bit much to spend on some hair products. Well, this has been a messy year and I figured I'd try something new and entirely too expensive to cheer myself up lol. I purchased the Kérastase Nutritive Masquintense for Thick Hair a few days ago, and I tried it out last night.
I followed the directions online on the Kérastase website and left it in for 5-10 minutes without heat and then rinsed. It felt soft, smelled amazing but I am not yet blown away. I will try it a few more times and a few different ways before giving a full review. I tried it after a normal wash day, with a coconut oil pre-poo treatment, clarified and shampooed with Aussie moist shampoo and Shea Moisture moisture retention shampoo and then conditioned in the shower with Masquintense. I'll return with pictures of how my hair turned out and more info on this product coming soon :o).

Those are the results of pincurling air-dried hair after applying my Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk. I didn't separate the curls yet, just let them fall out of the clips and I also didn't use any oil or anything yet. I'm hyped. My hair is soft, smooth and it looks nice and full. Hopefully Kérastase and I will live happily ever after lol.

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 :),

Relaxer Update #4

Hello all!

I know I'm late but I certainly do hope that all of you had a delightful thanksgiving! I relaxed my hair on the 18th after a 12 week (!) stretch. This stretch didn't go too badly. I had very little demarcation line breakage, which for me is rare (I usually start to get that around 10 weeks). I was reflecting on what was different this stretch that seemed to leave my hair in better condition. I increased my co-washing, reduced shampooing to once a week, utilized styles that ensured smooth ends while air-drying (flexi-rods, pin curls, etc) and mostly just low manipulation styles. My ends held up well, but since I wear my hair out most of the time, I will dust my ends just to reduce tangling and for aesthetic purposes :).

As for my relaxer, it was the same process outlined in my last relaxer update. The relaxer processed well, though I did burn a bit, and that of course is something that I certainly could live without lol. Here are my relaxer results:

(looking the crankiest lol)

I let my hair air-dry and bunned for a few days until wednesday night. On wednesday night I co-washed with aussie moist and let my hair dry to about 80% and then put in flexi-rods (the 11/16'' gray ones for the body and the 3/4'' blue ones for the front of my head). Those were my results :). My hair seems to be past armpit length and I think it may be below shoulder blade (BSB) at this point. I'm hyped! I think I finally found a great way to manage my hair while being able to enjoy the progress I've made. I will be dusting, straightening and doing a length check shortly. I want to see how this stretch treated my ends. If they aren't too crazy, 12 week stretches may be my new thing :o).

Thanks for reading :),

Birthday Time ;)

Happy Sunday!

I turned 24 on Thursday, so I celebrated the occasion last night :). Good thing I did a trial run of heat styling the week because a few adjustments needed to be made. I basically followed the same wash day techniques from last time (excluding Keraphix because that shouldn't be used weekly), including deep conditioning with Nexxus Humectress, rollersetting and then flat ironing. I then flat ironed just my roots since the rollers left my ends so smooth. I have a hair pic from the party, but since I was running late (as usual lol) I couldn't take pictures before I left :p.

And some pictures of second day hair. The first time I flat-ironed, I completely forgot how to maintain straight hair and I used the wrong moisturizers and didn't set it at night, mostly due to laziness yet again lol. This time around I remembered to set it, and what to use and I didn't go too crazy. I do now remember why I hate heat styling my hair, my hair is sooo much drier after. This time, however, I put small 3/4'' flexi-rods in my bang and I pin-curled the rest of my hair. At night I applied coconut oil to my scalp and some argan oil to keep my ends moisturized. This morning I used a small amount of Mizani Butter Rich Deep Nourishing Hairdress on my nape and ends and sealed with argan oil and applied Organix Moisturizing Macadamia Oil Dry Styling Oil to my nape (which btw, smells super good, is very light and I love it :). Here is my second day hair:

 

I think I did a better job of managing my hair this time. It's still soft, flowy and moisturized. Although I love the look, my hair just isn't a fan of direct heat so I won't be doing this often.

And to all of my ladies on the East coast, be safe!!


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 :),