Hair competitions entries

I have joined the GAHL length retention competition from the 01.02.2013 to 01.08.2013 it's a 6 months challenge. Rules are relaxers once every 3 month ( am waiting till 1st March for my 3 months mark) also 90% protective styling and no trimming, also once a month heat pass. This is my first challenge in my healthy hair journey so am looking forward to joining to hair going community. This challenge is opened to both relaxed and natural sisters!!

I am also going to take part periodically in the protective style challenge hosted my ebonyprincess! As I missed the start dates I will just jump in when I try out a protective style!

I am also thinking oh hosting a caster oil thickness and growth challenge from the 01.04.2013 for 3 months till 01.07.2013. At the moment I use sweet almond oil and I do love it, I have seen my growth has increased and my nape hair had blossomed. The 3 months of me using sweet almond oil will end on the 19.03.2013 then I will do a review of it. So far am very excited about this challenge and HHJ(healthy hair journey)

Weave wash day

Ok so today is my weave wash day. I last washed it 2 weeks again. It is unravelling and not in the best of weave condition but am hoping to give it a little bit of life for the next week until I undo it.

So I will oil my own hair with olive oil, this is the hair left out, and I will shampoo my weave and under hair will herbal essence hello hydration range, I will mix the conditioner and the shampoo together. I have put the product in a nozzle bottle and watered it down a bit, to make it easier to get to the hard to reach cornrow areas. After my wash I will towel dry my weave and hair and then air dry it. I will moisturise my cornrow with my sweet almond oil and massage it in (when dry) i twisted my front hair while it was still wet and air dried it in that way.

It's weave care time!!

I love love love wearing my weaves, but they really need to be worn well to keep stimulating hair growth and to have a healthy scalp. I tend to wear my hair for about 8 weeks, my last weave wasn't really done well and the thread is unravelling so I might have to call it quits at 6 weeks!! Ok these are the things that we all need to consider with wearing weaves.

1. Never put on a weave the same day as your relaxer, I have been so guilty of this not any more. Leave at least 2 weeks between weaving and relaxing.

2. If your hair is shedding don't weave it, it needs treatment, either deep conditioning or a black tea rinse. Another good product is peppermint oil if stops the shedding, 3 drops in your carrier oil will be so beneficial.

3. Wash your weave at least once or twice a month (every fortnight)

4. You should still moisturise your hair. Use a nozzle bottle to get in between the cornrows and massage the oil in. As the oil can travel up the weave moisture twice a week on the braided hair and every other day on the hair left out.

5. Avoid relaxing the hair left out, or treating it with heat very often. Try wrapping the hair instead or use ORS edge control.

4. Avoid using glue to for your weave. This weakens the bond between relaxer and new growth, and if you don't get it removed professionally you might lose a lot of hair from poor removal.

5. You can still condition your hair with your weave, so do it!!

6. Never relax your hair on the same day you remove your weave, deep condition it and use a chelating and clarifying shampoo for any product build up during the time you wore your weave, a good chelating and clarifying shampoo is ORS Aloe Shampoo.

7. Use an oil for moisturising instead of a greasy this will avoid product build up.

8. Always wrap your hair at night.

Ok I use Brazilian hair which I find is easier for washing the hair as it doesn't tangle, and I air dry my weave after every wash, and roller set my outside hair.

Happy weave wearing! X

Hair stats

I will be updating my hair stats results every 3 months, these are the starting ones:

Last relaxer: 1st December 2012

Next Relaxer: 1st March 2013

Last trim: can't remember

Current Hair Goal: Survive the 3 months stretch

Hair Length Goal: Bra strap length

Current Length: shoulder length

Just Purchased: Sweet Almond Oil

Needing: Essential oils

Trying out: Will be trying out a blend of essential oils with my sweet almond carrier

Disliking: Nothing yet.

Good hair

Short weave or 'I just got my hair cut'

Gotta love the weave

I was speaking to my cousin today about my hair journey and she told me to watch 'Good hair'. I have heard about the movie and seen trailers but I have now watched the full movie and here is my review of the movie.... It is hilarious and sad at the same time, people buying $1,000 wigs which in my opinion did not look nice at all, a funny scene was when Chris put
on the $1,000 blonde wig, it looked hideous! The saddest thing is they can't even afford them, some of the customers are students, teachers and retired mothers. Looking back at myself in uni there is no way I could even afford £40 Remy weave, unheard of!!

Braids for a change.

The other funny parts was the secret society of weaves! Haha! I will admit I am a weave lover as well! It really is a multi million dollar business. It was funny how it really does get your foreigner colleagues, when you come in a weave from braids 'you straightened your hair', then, when you want the curly braids 'did you just wash off the straightener and this is your natural hair?' Then when you have a short weave ' wow you cut your hair'. I would agree to all the statement, then I found myself having to get medium size weaves to explain my hair growth, hahahahaha! Absolutely ridiculous. When I finally admitted these are all weaves, I was told about how so many of the other white girls used them too!! We are all in this dilemma together!!

Though it was funny in parts it did have some serious messages, with kids as young as 3 getting perms and the actual ingredients that are contained in a relaxer being investigated and it's effects on the skin and hair.

my hair!!

It was sad to hear statements such as ' why don't I have good hair' and when a 4 year old child said 'I don't like my perm, but you are suppose to get a perm'. The brain washing starts early on in our tender years. Our role models have straight hair weaves, and in my childhood years people had curly kit, so I found and still find super curly hair amazing too.

Do I overdo the weaves???

I will admit, I prefer relaxed hair and I know there many people with very unhealthy relaxed hair, having said that there are many people with unhealthy natural afro hair too.

My hair!!

My aim is to have healthy hair and scalp in its relaxed state, and hopefully a move away from weaves and just wear my naturally relaxed hair ;).

The good hair documentary was very informative as to what we put on our heads and the self worth that we associate with what we have on, the failure to feel pretty or sexy if we don't look like the Bond girls, with flowing bouncing hair. I have now started to be more aware of this and will enjoy my own hair more, as it's a part of my body but does not define me, with our without weaves, I still look and feel fabulous!!

Love yourself!

Oh the sweetness of sweet almond oil

I ordered some sweet almond oil off amazon for £2.99 250ml bottle and have quite a bit of oil in it, also ordered some nozzle top bottles from amazon for £2.60.
Just got them today. So it's been 3 days after my wash, I was using water to spritz my weave and coconut oil for my hair outside my weave. So today I oiled my hair with the sweet almond oil, hair looks shiny and its not grease at all.

I applied dabs on my scalp and massaged it in and a little in my hand and rubbed it in the exposed hair.

I am planning on applying the sweet almond oil exclusively every other day and see how it works.

My hair is the top one

Here goes another relaxed chic

Today is the 16/01/2013 been reading a lot of hair blogs and thought I should share my journey inspired by the blogs of my fellow relaxed sisters 'just grow already' and 'the awkward hair stage'. I currently have a weave on which I have had since the 21st of December, am about to wash it today, with my usual herbal essence shampoo and conditioner when I have a weave. Afterwards am going to air dry it, when it's almost dry I will put my herbal essence serum and flexrods.

With the hair that is left outside I will use a deep conditioner olive oil and will use coconut oil for the ends and wrapping mousse from olive oil and will set it with curlers.

My last relaxer was on 1st December 2012, so I am 7 weeks between relaxers and I am planning on stretching it to 12 weeks so am planning to relax on the 22nd February 2013.

I plan to remove my weave on 8th February and have an intensive tlc hair treatment for 2 weeks before relaxer. I have been reading up on conditioner treatments so am planning on a hask henna n placenta treatment, will write a review after I try it

So thar's the plan!!!