Goal Review | April Review, May Setting

April Review

1.       Continue not using heat (on a 6 month challenge 3 months down) – Pass - this month I started the journey into my 3^rd month of the challenge, the start of my 4 month will be on the 4^th of May. 2 months to go!

2.       Weekly protective styling– Pass - I usually had my hair in a bun for that first 2 weeks of April and other styles that kept my ends hidden all week.

3.       Use coconut oil every wash day– Pass – I did not realise how much I have missed coconut oil, seriously my hair is so happy! 

May Setting

1.       Continue not using heat (on a 6 month challenge 4 months down)

2.       Weekly protective styling

3.       Read one book this month

The book I will be reading

4.       Perfect my hand  stand Yoga move

How were your goals for April?

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :o)

‘You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life’ –Albert Camus

Keep calm! It's my golden birthday!

29 on the 29th......☺️😝😝😝😝🎈🎈🎈🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊🎊🎈🎈🎁🎁🎁

Wash day | Moisture boost #week 2

This week’s highlight was moisture levels

[1] Sectioned hair in 3 and pre-pooed with coconut oil, and walnut oil on my scalp, each section was then braided.

[2] Put hair in heat cap for 30 minutes, and detangled

[3] DC on dry hair with Aunt Jackie’s Anti Poof Softening and Moisturising Conditioner, and added ORS Replenishing conditioner to my ends, used heat cap for 1 hour, and detangled

 [4] Shampooed hair with Elasta QP crème and conditioning Shampoo mixed with walnut oil, rosemary essential oil and peppermint essential oil and diluted

[5] Tea Rinsed with ginger tea and added HEHH conditioner for 5 mins. Rinsed

 [5] T-shirt dried hair for 30 mins.

[6] Sprayed Aussie Hair Miracle Insurance Leave in and coconut oil to each section and left it to air dry for 3 hour, detangled then tension blow dried my head on cool air.

[7] M&S with ORS Carrot Oil and a serum. (L = leave in O = coconut C = Carrot oil O=serum method)

[8] PS for this week see below, relaxer girl version of the TWA popular style

Weekly PS

Left: Initial style Right changed it up to get rid of the 'hole'

Next week’s wash day will focus on maintaining moisture and tea rinsing same as this week.

How was your wash day?

Why don’t you join the wash day experience linkup with SOS and Just grow already every Wednesday.

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :o)

‘There are those who travel and those who are going somewhere. They are different and yet they are the same. The success has this over his rivals: he knows where he is going ’- Mark Caine

Fitness Friday |April challenge

At the start of April I undertook a challenge that led me to go cold turkey on

1.       Alcohol

2.       Chocolates

3.       Sweets

I am 3 days shy of completing my challenge, on my birthday (29^th), so how has it been.

The first week was the hardest, I did have very low sugar days moments, I got irritable and tired. My cravings were more for chocolates and sweets. After the first week then the rest were not that bad. I did have a red wine craving mid-way, as I was making steak, but I resisted that, easily!

My oops moment

In the first week I had a work conference and I was running late and didn’t have time for lunch. When I got to the conference I saw they were serving tea, so got a cup of tea and choc chip cookies and as I was taking my last bite I remembered I wasn’t having chocolate…oops.

Work

I realised that my workplace is not good for my waist line, or my health. During the month of April; there have been donuts, chocolates, sweets, more sweets, muffins and the lot, at a regular basis! I never noticed how many sweets people bring for everyone at work, it also did not help that April has so many birthdays and Easter! I counted out of 26 days so far there were sweets and chocolate on the snack table for 18 of the 26 days! We had a fruit basket 4 days throughout the whole month. With the exception of the fruits, I resisted all the other stuff, but it was not easy.  On a regular basis, I would not get that much junk, but because it is there I eat it! This was a real eye opener!

Missed opportunities

I had the opportunity to dine at the Savoy this month, I was really looking forward to amazing wine, but alas, it was day 3 of my challenge…poo! But am very not bitter, the food and experience was great!

It was free cone day on the 8^th of April at all Ben and Jerry’s outlets, yes I missed out, to make it worse, I actually escorted my work colleagues there during lunch, hoping to get my hands on some frozen yogurt, they only had chocolate and fudge stuffed flavoured frozen yogurt.

New treats I discovered

I did say I would be exploring healthy treats, I did not discover much really. This is what I tried

1.       Kale chips – did not like them one bite, but I love Kale!

2.       Whole grain chips / vegetable chips

3.       Nuts and raisins

4.       Fat free frozen yogurt – feel this was a bit of a cheat!

5.       Smoothies

6.       Fruits!!!

The alternative I have found to alcohol is…..ice tea and ice latte haha! I know they are not comparable but it is a drink I take as I relax; definitely sub to a glass of red or cider! J

What will I do going forward

The work sweet desk is really bad! I really need to resist this, the issue is when people bring in donuts they bring enough for 2 to 3 helpings and this is the same for sweets and chocolates. So 18 days of sweets and 2 to 3 helpings a day, this is not sustainable, not for my bikini body in the making #woop #woop!

I have also helped out my other half, if I don’t have snack and wine in the house he won’t have it either, I am his enabler!

So going forward

1.       More fruits

2.       Frozen yogurt/Sorbet are an amazing alternative to ice cream

3.       Stop being an enabler to my other half

4.       Ration myself with the work treats desk

5.       Bring in more healthy food for the work snack desk

Improvement see

1.       My belly has trimmed down significantly

2.       My skin has improved

3.       I have saved so much money from not going to the vending machine for chocolate and not buying alcohol!!

4.       I have a better relationship with alcohol, sweets and chocolates, from my challenge I have seen I am definitely not an alcoholic but I am a addicted to chocolates and sweets recovering chocoholic

I am over the moon I have been able to undertake this challenge the question is what will I bring for the treats desk on my birthday…..?

Happy Fitness Friday! :o)

‘The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give’ – Walt Whitman

Technique Thursday |Difference porosity levels on the same head.

I generally assumed if you had relaxed hair your hair was most likely HP, due to the chemicals processing of the hair.

I have now come to realise that the front of my hair that is texlaxed is normal porosity level and the back of my hair is LP, my bone straight hair is HP.

The back of my hair therefore tends to be super dry and this has led to me losing the bone straight hair at the back of my head area. This happened at the start of my hair journey. Since understanding this this is what I do differently

·         I apply relaxer to the back of my hair first

·         I always sections my hair to make sure I get enough product all over my hair

·         I use the LOCO method, with the first O as coconut oil, this oil penetrates better into my LP hair at the back, and sealing in with the second O makes sure the moisture that has entered my LP hair stays there.

·         Bagging/GHE – I try doing this at least once a week this helps my LP hair soak in moisture.

·         Add glycerine to my conditioner – glycerine helps the nutrients penetrate into my hair strands.

Since incorporating these new techniques into my regimen, the back of my hair which suffered in the past has improved drastically.

What new things have you discovered about your hair?

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies

‘You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do’ – Eleanor Roosevelt

Wash day | More moisture #week1 post

 

This week’s highlight was moisture to maintain my moisture balance.

[1] Sectioned hair in 4 and pre-pooed with coconut oil, each section was then braided.

[2] Put hair in heat cap for 15 minutes, and detangled

[3] DC on dry hair with Aunt Jackie’s Anti Poof Softening and Moisturising Conditioner, used heat cap for 1 hour, and detangled

 [4] Rinsed out the conditioner and applied PMSSDT for 5 mins and rinsed 

 [5] T-shirt dried hair for 45 mins.

[6] Sprayed Aussie Hair Miracle Insurance Leave in and coconut oil to each section and left it to air dry all day, detangled then proceeded to M&S

[7] M&S with ORS Carrot Oil and a serum. (L = leave in O = coconut C = Carrot oil O=serum method)

[8] PS for the week and went for a walk in the park.  

1 week post relaxer, everything is a breeze J my other half’s afro is now a TWA so I applied Aunt Jackie’s conditioner to it too, it was thirsty, next week it’s being cut off. J

First thoughts of Aunt Jackie’s conditioner: love it, definitely a new staple of mine, my hair is super soft and moisturised and the product is so inexpensive.

Next week’s wash day will focus on maintaining moisture.

How was your wash day?

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :o)

Protective Style for the week

Walk in the park top photos. Bottom left fat free frozen yogurt, top right, TWA conditioned.

‘He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.’ – Francis Bacon

Fitness Friday | Couch to 5k

This week I completed the 9 week podcast for the couch to 5k plan. I complete this week by running for 6km which is more than I even expected to get out of this plan when I started. At the moment I run 6km 3 times a week which is 18km a week!

I downloaded this podcast in January. The podcast slowly builds you up to be able to run continuously for 5km. The first few weeks of the podcasts are gradual, I started with 60sec jogs and 90sec brisk walks. In the first week I run for a total of 8 minutes, this was made up of 60 sec jog and 90 sec walks in between, by the end of week 4 I was able to run for 8 mins nonstop.

The biggest joy for me came when I was able to run for 20 mins nonstop and slowly built up to 30 mins nonstop. Week 7 and 8 were the hardest for me, the whole idea of running 20 mins and more non- stop terrified me. But after I conquered my fears I have been able to run for 5K and more.

I am happy beyond words that I have gotten to this place, when I started I was sure I would not see this through, and I am so happy I have proved myself wrong. I have developed an amazing running habit, now that I have been able to run 18km a week, I can do anything.

I highly recommend if you are trying to get into running, these podcast have been so amazing and I really do encourage you to try them out. It has taken me more than the intended 9 weeks (maybe 11 to 12 weeks in total) but I have now set myself to a rhythm I can run to.

Has anyone tried the couch to 5K podcasts?

‘Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.’ – Samuel Ullman

Discovering the already found | Keeping my edges layed

When I was 10 weeks plus post I started using gel to keep my edges flat. The gel did not keep my edges tames for too long. As I texlax my hair, I never really have the after relaxer effect, my hair is always ‘poofy’

Last weekend I got a soft bristle brush to use for taming down my edges. I will never look back. The result this has given me has been amazing.

I have the Eco style gel and a cheapie gel which I got for Wilkinson, however, the results I get with this cheapie gel is much better than the Eco style gel. My edges are never dry; I can use it every single day all week long and not have any issues with flaking or dry hair at all.

This is what I do:

[1] Apply gel to my edges

[2] Using the soft brush bristle brush to comb the gel into my hair (edges)

[3] Place a scarf on my edges hair for 5-10 mins

My edges are layed!!! The soft bristle brush has been one of the best additions to my HHJ.

These edges were like this all day!!

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :o)

‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increase; it will never pass into nothingness.’ – John Keats

Mini Haul

To treat myself for getting to 14 weeks post I got some hair goodies over the weekend.

1.       Professional cutting scissors – I used to do my trimmings with a paper scissors, however, I was reading of the dangers of this as it can cause more split ends. I got my scissor for £3.99.

2.       Aunt Jackie’s Coils and Curls – in control- Anti Poof Moisturising & Softening Conditioner – I have heard nothing but great reviews from this product and at £3.79 I could not resist. My battle to find an inexpensive moisturising conditioner has been a challenge; I still ‘love’ my Vatika products.

3.       Titan Soft Brush – during my last stretch I tried to tam my edges down, but without a soft brush to help me blend my gel down, I think this is an invaluable tool to my hair journey

What new products have you guys got recently?

Happy Hair Journeys Ladies! :o)

‘The way to make your dreams come true is to wake up – Paul Jackson

Wash Day| Dry Crunchy Hair

I was not planning on washing my hair mid-week, my last touch up was on Saturday. The reason for this wash is because my hair is dry and crunchy; the reason for this is due to the mineral oil products I used all other my hair during my relaxer day to prevent relaxer overlapping.

Mineral containing products have an important role in my hair journey, during my relaxer days.

To remove the build-up that these products have left my hair with this is what I did.

[1] Sectioned hair in 2 to get ready for shampooing.

[2] Shampooed hair with HEHH Shampoo mixed with walnut oil and diluted (contains sulphate),

[3] Followed up with Elasta QP crème and conditioning shampoo diluted with walnut oil.

 [4] Let hair to drip for 2 mins and squeezed off excess water

[5] DC hair with Aunt Jackie’s Anti Poof Softening and Moisturising Conditioner, used heat cap for 7 mins

[6] Rinsed out conditioner and t-shirt dried hair for 20 mins.

[7] Sprayed Aussie Hair Miracle Insurance Leave in and coconut oil to each section and blow dried on cool.

[8] Bunned hair for the rest of the day, planning on M&S with ORS Carrot Oil and a serum. (L = leave in O = coconut C = Carrot oil O=serum method)

My hair was soft and the product build-up was gone.

This weekend’s wash day will focus on maintaining moisture.

How was your wash day?

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :o)

‘Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Relaxer Day #2 2004 (#5 HHJ)

I relaxed my hair on Saturday at 14 weeks posts, as soon as I got a open weekend after 12 week post I pounced on it.

Coated my relaxed hair with Vatika Extreme Moisturising Hair Cream,
Second ingredient Paraffium

                                         

Relaxer method was very similar to this only that this time round I sectioned my hair in twist of about 6 in each quarter to make the application process easier. For all DIY relaxer ladies, this has been the best thing I have learnt to date see a full youtube video from the lovely VivHair Therapy Ja

My hair has still maintained a lot of texture, my application time from start to finish was 10 mins and 2 extra minutes so smoothen down the relxer.

I will be having an official length check end of July. But after drying my hair on cool air I had a look at how my length was looking, and I am happy that I have definitely retented length. I am no long grazing APL, I am APL! :)



Sectioned my hair is twists for easy application

Hair after relaxer, loving the thickness

Hair dried on cool. the faded line is where my hair was in January. Official length check
to be done end July 2014

(P.S I will be working on improving my photo quality :))
Happy Hair Journey Ladies.

'He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.' - Francis Bacon

Fitness Friday | The struggle with my sweet tooth

I have always had a sweet tooth, I was at my heaviest when I was only 10 years old, all down to my poor eating habits with sweets, I love ice cream, I love fudge, I love chocolates, hell I even love liquorice, if it is sweet I will eat it.

I was fortune enough to go to boarding school and the boot camp exercise routines trimmed me up completely, at the age of 13 I lost 10kgs (22lbs) in 2 months, it was intense.

Though I managed to lose all the weight, I still struggled with my sweet tooth gene and it has followed me into my adult life and adding wine and sweet Scandinavian ciders to the list, the struggle is really on!

I have accepted, this is a real problem of mine and I need to tackle it down (feel a bit like an addict). So far the mini steps I have taken are:

1.       Only have alcoholic drinks at the weekend. It’s the likes of cider and Rose Wines that are loaded with all the calories and too easy to drink.

2.       Avoid buying sweets with weekly food shopping.

3.       The 1 rule; first I will try my best to resist the craving; if I can’t then I can only have 1 for the day. This helps me keep my craving at bay and avoids binge behaviour.

4.       Substituting the sweets for more savoury snack, I love almonds and cashew nut.

5.       Drinking water. Water makes my body think it’s full and avoids the midday snack bug

The struggle is on, my sister, older brother and I got the sweet tooth gene, it has been a struggle, but we will overcome it, one way or another! The older one gets the complications with sugar with the likes of diabetes and weight gaining are so real.

30 day self-challenge

I was speaking to my sister the other day and she gave up alcohol for lent and after 3 weeks she has noticed that all the clothes that were tight have been fitting her comfortably, I was very surprised with this, I mean I know alcohol has loads of calories, but I did not realise how a change like that could make such a big impact.

After this I decided I could really benefit from a self-challenge for the next month where I will be cutting out all alcohol and chocolates and sweets from my diet.

This is to give myself an internal cleanse as well as see how much these foods impact my overall health and appearance of my body.

I started it on the 1^st of April, as I have a birthday this month I will put the 29^th as the only exception day! A girl has to have her birthday cake! So because of this my final day will be the 29^th.

So this will be all alcoholic drinks and candy!

I will still have sugar in my tea and will be allowed a pudding once a week, but it has to be able to fit into a ramekin bowl and not bulge out. Though the puddings have to be ‘health’ so will research for healthy puddings for my once a week treat. Will have to get creative

Please leave me suggestion on how you have tackled the sweet tooth.

Happy Fitness Friday Ladies! :o)

‘If you are going through hell, keep going.’ – Winston Churchill

Wash Day Experience |12 weeks post

This week’s highlight was tackle shedding = black tea rinse

[1] Sectioned hair in 4 and prepooed with coconut oil, each section was then braided.

[2] Put hair in heat cap for 15 minutes, and detangled

[3] DC on dry hair with Vatika Black Seed Deep Conditioner, used heat cap for 2 hours, and detangled, rinsed out the conditioner

 [4] Black tea rinse my hair

 [5] Applied PMSSDT and walnut oil for 5 mins and rinsed

 [6] Rinsed out my hair and t-shirt dried hair for 20 mins.

[7] Sprayed Aussie Hair Miracle Insurance Leave in and coconut oil to each section and left it to air dry for the rest of the day, detangled my hair the next morning, it was still slightly damp

[8] M&S with ORS Carrot Oil and a serum.

[9] PS for this week is a bun using kanekalon braiding hair. This style has been so good to me.

I had some SSK during my detangling session, mainly on my crown area, but not too bad. Next weekend I will be supporting my better half at an Africa Summit with LSE (London School of Economics) so I will put the relaxer off for another week. . My relaxer day will likely be scheduled at 14 weeks post.
My hair has been so manageable and moisturised ever since I reintroduced coconut oil back into my regimen, when I got lazy with coconut oil in the first place I do not know, its a disservice to my hair.

Next week’s wash day focus will be maintaining moisture if I will extend my stretch or protein if I will be relaxing.

How was your wash day? Share your wash day experience every Wednseday at www.savingourstrands.com

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :o)

‘What would people think about if people weren’t taught what to think about?’ – Arthur Morgan