This Weekend's Wash Day!

So this past weekend's wash day was all about change. I decided to try a couple of different things for my wash day and for the most part I was pleased. This weekend was my protein wash day. Here's what I did...

• I applied coconut oil to my scalp and deep conditioned on dry hair with my kerapro DC, but this time I added some random oils I had lying around in my arsenal along with some glycerin and tea tree oil. I noticed a huge difference in the way the conditioner left my hair feeling just by adding those few ingredients! 
• Next I rinsed and then applied my beloved hair one focusing on my scalp. I don't know if I'll ever leave that stuff alone :). I let the hair one sit on my hair for about a minute and then rinsed. 
• I applied my GVP matrix biolage conditioning balm and detangled in the shower with this. This is still a great rinse out conditioner in my opinion. One of these days I'll have to try it as a cowashing conditioner (when my schedule permits). 
• After this I applied my normal leave ins which consisted of my kimmaytube leave in mix with a twist and a dime sized amount of the chi silk infusion. I also ran across my aphogee green tea keratin mist and decided to give it a try. I'd tried it previously and hated it, but I was also trying 50 other things at the time so I really don't know if I hated it or not. I sprayed a liberal amount on my scalp/new growth and some on my ends.
• Once this was done I sat under my dryer (using mainly the cool setting) and dried my hair.
• After my hair was done drying I moisturized with my giovanni direct leave in and sealed with coconut oil

Overall I was very pleased with my wash day results, however I don't believe I will use the aphogee green tea keratin mist on my ends any more. They were left feeling a bit more rough and dry than I'm used to. Other than that I believe I may add the aphogee green tea keratin mist to my daily wash day. I'll keep an eye out to see if it helps with shedding and this gives me a way to use up the product! 

Here's a picture of my air dried hair...

                         

For church I decided to pin curl my hair and pin it up. This is a great protective style for those who may not be quite able to bun yet! 

7 Tips To Successfully Stretch Your Relaxer

I think it's safe to say that I have successfully been stretching my relaxers for the past year or so. When I first started my hair journey stretching my relaxer for any length of time would send me into a frenzy because I was convinced that my hair was not capable of going great lengths of time without a relaxer. So instead of learning how to deal with my hair I relied on braids to get me through every stretch. Well once I graduated from college and moved away from home that was not an option any more. With a lot of trial and error and a bit of frustration mixed in between I've finally learned how to successfully stretch my hair. I've put a lot of thought into these tips and believe that they can work for anyone trying to stretch their hair whether it be for 8 weeks or 6 months.

1. LISTEN to your hair. Your hair will let you know what it needs when it needs it. It's up to YOU to listen. Sometimes while stretching your hair may need a bit more moisture or a bit more protein. Or maybe it just wants to be left alone with minimal manipulation. The signs are always there. Learning to listen and figure out what your hair needs can make a huge difference in length retention and avoiding setbacks. 
2. Be CONSISTENT! I can't stress this enough. Early on in my hair journey I was constantly trying a new method, a new wash day routine, the frequency of my washes, etc. I was so all over the place that my hair was not growing and thriving to it's maximum potential. Now I'm not saying that you can't try a new product or method every now and then, but your hair needs consistency. If you want to try some new products or methods I would suggest only trying one at a time. This way you'll be able to monitor any changes both good or bad in your and immediately be able to pinpoint the cause if necessary. 
3. Eliminate Excessive MANIPULATION: The further you get along in your relaxer stretch the more difficult it may be to manipulate your hair. With that increased difficulty comes a greater risk of breakage, unnecessary shedding, and possible thinning. For me personally the easiest way to avoid this is to manipulate my hair very little within the last few weeks leading up to my relaxer.  Combing, brushing, detangling, and even styling can all be considered forms of excessive manipulation if you're not careful. My advice is to do them in moderation with care and patience. 
4. Deep Condition Regularly- I don't think there's anybody's hair whether it be relaxed, texlaxed, or natural that doesn't enjoy Deep conditioners! What deep conditioning does for the hair during relaxer stretches is it helps to soften the new growth while leaving the hair smooth, soft, and manageable. I think weekly deep conditioning treatments are definitely necessary to have a successful relaxer stretch. 
5. Be PATIENT! Stretching your relaxer is not always an easy process and definitely can have it's frustrating moments, but adding a little bit of patience to the mix goes a long way. 
6. Know Your Hair's LIMITS: Just because someone else can stretch with no damage for 85 million months does not mean that you can. Find a stretch time that works for your hair. For example, I've tried long term stretches (3-6 months) and found that my length retention was a lot less than when I just stretched for 10 weeks. So now my stretch time is 10 weeks. 
7. What Works For Your Relaxed Hair May Not Work For Your New Growth! I found out early on in my hair journey that just because my relaxed hair loved my moisturizer didn't mean that my new growth did. Often times, my moisturizer of choice would leave my new growth feeling sahara desert dry. Currently I use Giovanni Direct Leave in for my relaxed hair and a castor oil/EVOO mix for my new growth. 

Mastering relaxer stretching can take some time and practice, but I truly believe that following these 7 tips make the process much easier. Happy growing :)

Clarasonic Unboxing!

So I finally got a clarasonic!!! I'm so excited about this product because I've been lusting after it for at least 6 months. Check out my clarasonic unboxing video. It's chocked full of information about the clarasonic and what to expect from this product. Of course I  plan to do a full review on this product once I've used it for a while! Stay tuned...

This Weekend's Wash Day and Hair Style

My original plan was to wash and rollerset my hair this weekend, but after working a week of night shift and being just downright exhausted rollersetting went right out the window. Ultimately I opted to wash and and semi air dry my hair. Here's what I did.

• I deep conditioned with my Silk Element Kera Minerals Smoothing Deep conditioner on damp hair. You can check out my review here.
• Next I rinsed out my DC and applied my hair one. I massaged the hair one into my scalp and let it sit for about a minute and then rinsed it out. 
• After this I applied my GVP version the matrix biolage conditioning balm. This stuff is a great rinse out conditioner and detangler for my hair. I let the conditioning balm sit on my hair while I showered and then detangled and rinsed while in the shower. 
• I wrapped my hair in my turbie twist for about 10 minutes to soak up some of the excess water and then applied my leave ins (kimmaytube leave in mix with a twist and Chi Silk Infusion). 
• After applying my leave ins I sat under my Gold N Hot bonnet dryer for about 1.5 hours and alternated between the cool and hot heat setting to dry my hair.

That about sums up my wash day! However, after my hair was done drying I decided to try out this pin curl bantu knot out combination hair style that I saw on Evelyn Thomas' youtube page. I loved my results...especially since my last bantu knot out was a disaster! I'm considering this a protective style since my hair isn't quite where I want it to be to make a big juicy bun and my ends did not come into contact with my clothing or anything else! However, this is at least a low manipulation hair style that would be great for the spring and summer months! Here's a picture of my results...

It really came together after the curls fell. Next time I will do more individual pin curls to give it a fuller look! 

My Goals for 2013!

Ok so I figured if I wanted to do this post I'd better have it out before January's over! I actually made a list of my goals both hair related and non-hair related back in December and just never got around to actually posting them, but hey better late then never right?

Since healthy hair is a serious passion of mine let's start off with that.

• Reach APL by August 2013
• Maintain My Healthy Ends
• Continue being consistent with my hair regimen
• Use up some of the products in my arsenal before I go purchase any more
• NO SETBACKS

My Fitness and Health Goals: 

• Get back to tracking (I'm a weight watchers girl!)
• Tone my arms, stomach, and thighs
• Consistently work out 4-5 days a week
• Lose my holiday weight (actively working on that now!)

My Cleaning/Organization Goals: 

• Clean my bedroom dresser off
• Go through my summer clothes and give away pieces to goodwill

My 2013 Wishlist: 

• Shower Caddy. I'm tired of having shower items sitting around my tub!
• 5 Hair Archetypes book by Ms. Kibibi
• Pebco Hair Dryer
• Resident Evil for my Wii 

This about sums up my goals for 2013. What goals have you set for the new year?

Length Check #1!

I've finally posted a video on my first official length check! As I've previously mentioned I only plan to do length checks twice a year and this is the first one that I've done since my major cut. To say that I'm happy with my progress is an understatement! I believe consistency and simplicity has played a huge role in my success so far! Check out the video below :)

Relaxer Day Prep

Ok so as you guys know I received my relaxer at 10 weeks post on last week. The relaxer application process was so easy for both me and my hair stylists simply because I made a few tweaks to my relaxer day prepping process. I washed my hair on Wednesday and received my relaxer on saturday. Here's what I did.

First I deep conditioned with my kerapro deep conditioner. I chose this conditioner because it contains protein which in turn would provide my hair with added strength prior to my relaxer. I plan to do a review of this product soon in a later post!

After rinsing out my conditioner I cleansed my scalp with my beloved Hair One cleansing conditioner being very careful to use only the pads of my thumbs as I did not want to irritate my scalp. I let the hair one sit on my hair for approximately 2 minutes and then rinsed it out.

Next I applied the GVP version of Matrix Biolage's 'Conditioning Balm'. This is a great rinse out conditioner that I use to detangle my hair. After rinsing I wrapped my hair in a turbie twist for about 2-4 minutes and then  applied my usual leave ins which consists of a bit of my kimmaytube leave in, keracare foaming wrap lotion, and a dime sized amount of the GVP Chi silk infusion.

After applying my leaves ins I decided to rollerset my hair in an attempt to help my new growth lay down. This was the best decision I could have ever made! It made detangling the night before my relaxer so easy and it also made it easier on my hair stylist as she did not have to try and carve through my unruly new growth!

In the past I've just washed my hair and left my new growth alone, which always made it harder on myself and my poor hair stylist. Even though rollersetting was quite time consuming at 10 weeks post I've decided to make this a permanent part of my relaxer prep day! I loved the results and the smoothness of both my hair and new growth.

This is the amount of hair I loss from detangling the night before my relaxer

Here's a texture shot of my new growth

Protective Styling Challenge Sign Up!

Ok so I've decided to participate in the Longing4Length Protective styling challenge! Honestly I've been protective styling since winter reared its ugly head. I'm really excited about this challenge and can't wait to see everyone's results including mine! Here's my starting length...

If you guys are interested in participating in this challenge check out the post here!

Relaxer Update!!!!

Saturday I received my second relaxer since my cut in August. I absolutely LOVED the results. For those who may not know I get my hair professionally relaxed. I tried self relaxing and it just wasn't my thing (but kudos to you ladies who are doin it and doin it well!). My stylists uses the Mizani Butter Blends Relaxer System on my hair, which so far I am very happy with. I decided to get my hair flat ironed this time simply because I wanted something different. Also, I received my first trim/dusting since my cut. I can't believe it's been 5 months already! 

While I was sitting in my stylist's chair she told me that whatever I'd been doing to my hair in between visits was doing wonders because my hair was thriving! *insert ear to ear grin here* There's nothing like having others notice your hard work! I love my stylist because she does what you ask her to do NOT what she wants to do and she's all about healthy hair! We discussed my trim before she did it and even showed me exactly how much she would cut.  Overall I'm pleased with the results. Now I can't wait to compare my length check pictures. I'm not expecting a huge amount of growth because I've always been a slow grower anyway, but slow and steady can still win the race! 

Weekly Find: 10 Drawer Rolling Cart

Ok guys I know I've been away for quite a while, but I was on vacation visiting my family and friends for the holidays and since I don't get to see them very often I wanted to make the most of my time at home, hence the reason I only posted one measly post in the last 2 weeks!

Now onto this week's 'Weekly Find'. I'm super excited about this week's find because I've been eying this cart for months! After looking both online and in stores I realized that the normal price for this thing is ridiculous (in my opinion). I even searched online on Amazon (one of my favorite websites) and the lowest price was still $50.00. I'd mentioned to my mother that I really wanted this cart because I was sick and tired of having my hair stuff all over the place. Currently I have a 3 drawer cart from Walmart and it's just not doing the job for me anymore. Anywho, my mother mentioned that Michael's had these carts on sale this week for 50% off the regular price! As soon as I got home from my vacation I went out to get the cart in fear that if I waited until this weekend Michael's would be sold out. Thank goodness I did because I snagged the last one! At Michaels this cart is regular price $74.99. With the 50% off sale going on the price was reduced to $37.49. In addition to that I had a coupon for $5 off of a purchase of $25 or more (to be used on Tuesday and Wednesday only) so the final price was $32.50! I'll put the link here for anyone who may be interested in reading the reviews, etc. As soon as I get a chance to set this bad boy up and organize everything to my liking I plan to post a Youtube video and blog post on how I organize my hair essentials so stay tuned!