Wash day 9 weeks post

My wash day was done on the Saturday morning as I had a wedding in the late afternoon

1.     Pre-pooed with grape-seed oil for 15 mins with a heat cap.

2.    Detangled before washing hair.

3.    Shampooed hair with Elasta QP creme conditioning shampoo

I skipped my usual tea rinse step to experiment, my hair has not been shedding excessively and I wanted to see what would happen if I skipped this step for a week. 

6.    I deep conditioned with Vatika Deep Conditioner, adding peppermint oil, lavender oil and grape-seed, I sat with a heat cap for 15 mins and rinsed with cool water.

7.    I t-shirt dried my hair for 30 mins.

8.    After removing the t-shirt I applied Aussie Miracle Insurance Leave in Conditioner and proceeded to detangle.

9.    After detangling applied some coconut oil and tresemme heat pritector to my hair and roller set it  

Verdict: I am currently 9 weeks post relaxer, my stretch is going well so far, haven’t had an issue with my NG, so hoping for a smooth stretch, if I can extend it past 13 weeks that will be great! My wash day was significantly shorter, I didn't not have much shedding, but slightly more than on tea rinse days, I can afford to skip tea rinses here and there as I feel like the shedding is normal, the only think I like about tea rinses is it gives my hair a nice brown reddish colour! 

How was your wash day and what are your wedding go to styles?

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :-)

‘You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough’ – Mae West

First hair set back - Protein overload & lack of M&S

Signs       

Ø  Hair that was dry

Ø  Brittle

Ø  Breaking at the line of demarcation

Story

Ø  I noticed that 2 to 3 weeks before my last relaxer (June 2013) my hair was breaking off like crazy, the hair that was breaking off was long, therefore it was breaking at the line of demarcation and I had breakage mid shaft too. My hair felt dry and crunchy.

Ø  Due to not M&S my new growth my hair was dry, and having protein overload made it worse.

Cause

Ø  I was using ORS Hair Mayonnaise to DC my hair every single week

Ø  I was not moisturising my new growth and length of hair sufficiently enough

Solution

Ø  I got a moisturising conditioner straight away. I thought that ORS Hair Mayonnaise was both a protein and moisturising conditioner, which is probably true, but I was lacking moisture in my regimen, I did not have a proper leave in (before the days of Aussie Miracle Insurance Leave in Conditioner in my life), my shampoo was not a moisturising shampoo, it contained sulphates (I had not started co-washing), my M&S was extremely poor, I would M&S at best twice a week, and not with enough attention. Thinking of it the other thing that saved me was prepooing with a conditioner (Tresemme and Herbal Essence), really that was the only moisture I was getting!!

Ø  When I realised I might be suffering from protein overload (after thin ends and tears and crunchy dry hair on my relaxer day) The funny thing is the breakage from the new growth obviously stopped but my hair was still breaking, and it was still crunchy and felt dry and brittle! I DC with a moisturising conditioner Vatika Deep Conditioner, this instantly reduced breakage. The other funny this is I wasn’t M&S well enough, so my hair was still breaking, not as much as before but it was still breaking nevertheless, I have only just recently had a light bulb moment with my M&S!! At the moment am moisturising my new growth with S Curl No drip moisturiser and my lengths with ORS Carrot oil, I find I don’t need to seal with ORS Carrot oil as it has but a cream and oil, correct me if am wrong. I think my hair is responding well, and I moisturise more often

Things am looking to change

Ø  Buy a moisturising sulphate free shampoo – ElastaQP creme Conditioning Shampoo

Ø  Keep on moisturising with ORS Carrot Oil

Ø  Buy hair bands with no silver clip

Ø  Repurchase Herbal Essence – Hello hydrations for my co washes

Ø  At the moment as I felt I was just getting on my feet with the hair journey I was scheduling my protein and moisturise DC, for now I will be moisturising DC when I feel my hair needs a protein treatment.

I found this very interesting post on Just grow already, which helped me so much in understanding the whole concept of moisture and protein

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies :-)

Product Review – Sensationnel Instant weave Lorena

Price - £11 Local India Hair store; eBay £20

Pictures

Verdict:

Now I have been looking for an instant wig for a while and I saw this on eBay but wasn’t too sure about buying a wig online, I finally found it for half the price at my local Indian hair supply store.

My thoughts, it’s not the best of wigs but hell its £11!! When I don’t feel like doing anything to my hair I just braid my own hair and put it on, I have received a few compliments while wearing it, and it’s a bargain wig, but don’t expect Brazilian type hair, you pay for what you get. It’s 100% synthetic and does tangle, but if you store it well and finger comb it’s a great wig! I have never worn it for more than 2 days at a time, so not sure if it would stand the test of time if I wore it for a month etc.

I love it enough to wear it when I was visiting my boyfriend’s family for the first time, so it’s a keeper in my books, will buy more wigs from this line at this price, but will also try their human hair range.

I would say if you want a quick hair style for those lazy days go for it, if you are looking for a wig to wear in the long term, my suggestions is this is probably not the one for you

Finally, I got it in colour number 4

Pros

1. Price

2. Length (BSL)

3. Quick and secure styling

Cons

1. It sheds and tangles if not stored correctly

2. It’s not human hair

3. As it has combs, be careful with the removing of this wig to avoid tearing your own hair out – this goes for all wigs!

Happy Hair Journeys Ladies! :-)

'Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind' - Bernard M Brusch



Picture of the girl on the weave box



8 weeks post relaxer - Wash day

 1. Shampooed hair with Elasta QP creme conditioning shampoo (new product) this product is a sulphate free shampoo

2.I then black tea rinses my hair using my spray bottle, so far this is my favourite way of doing tea rinses, it gets it right to the scalp and on every section.

3. Applied Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment for 5 mins then rinsed.

4. I deep conditioned with Vatika Deep Conditioner (this contains henna) and added some peppermint oil for my scalp and grape-seed oil and lavender oil. I sat with a heat cap for 15 mins and rinsed with cold water.

5. I t-shirt dried my hair for 30 mins.

6. After removing the t-shirt I applied Aussie Miracle Insurance Leave in Conditioner and proceeded to detangle.

7. After detangling I pinned my hair and left it to aired.

8. Sectioned my hair in 3 M&S with ORS Carrot oil and coconut oil.

Verdict: I am currently 8 weeks post relaxer, my new growth is too manageable at this time, this surprises me as during my last stretch I swear I was ready to relax my hair at this stage.

Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies! :-)

‘Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.’ Winston S. Churchill

8 weeks post, texlaxed hair - 1/2 inch new growth

Challenge Review – Month #1

Stretch

 My stretch has been going well, I am now 8 weeks post relaxer, and aiming to get to 12 weeks post this month

Expectation: 8 weeks post – Achieved

Issues: My new growth started acting up at 5 weeks posts, it was dry, I started using S Curl No drip moisturise which did help, I was moisturising my hair every day, which I think was a bit too much, as I had a lot of product build up. This month I will listen to my hair and moisturise when needed.

Goals for August: Get to 12 weeks post and baby my new growth

Nape

I have been M&S my nape with S Curl No drip Moisturiser and ORS Carrot Oil.

I make sure I also have a silk bonnet on and sleep on a silk pillow case. So far I think my nape is getting strong and I have not noticed any breaking off. No other issues with my nape, will continue doing what I am doing.

Ends

I have been M&S my ends and protective styling them. I have used direct heat once this month, but I don’t think this should be an issue. I will continue doing what I am doing and most importantly protective styling!

Protective Styling

I did do 2 new protective styles in this month.

One was for my friend’s wedding (midweek wedding in the Mountains of North Wales)



Protective style #1 Bun with crown

 The other is an instant weave, which I am loving the ease of. I will be posting a detailed review of this product soon.



Protective Style #2 - Instant Weave



Overall

I feel my challenge is going well, however, I have noticed that I am now a victim of improper bunning and protective styling! My buns have been too tight, my hair line has suffered because of it. So in addition to the 3 challenges I have for myself I will be doing a hair line challenge which I got from www.phrophro.com/hlc/. As it’s still a sensitive topic for me, I had noticed that my hair line was thinning but thought maybe it is in my head, and over the weekend my bf mentioned that I shouldn’t manipulate my hair as the front is thinning :-( prior to my hair journey I have not had issues with thinning hair lines and I use to weave my hair and straighten my hairline all the time!!!!



 I have taken a picture of my starting point and will show the results after 3 months to see what improvements I have made



Additionally to using castor oil and peppermint oil every-day I will also



1.     Not apply any relaxer to hairline



2.    Use hair clips for protective styling and not hair ties



3.    Use much looser protective styles.



Happy Hair Journey’s Ladies :-)



‘Preparation for old age should begin not later than one’s teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.’ – Dwight L. Moody