Washday Fun

So as much as I've been enjoying my 1 week post hair it was definitely time to wash and deep condition it. Here's what I did...

1. I applied my oil mix (grapeseed, olive, and coconut oil) to my hair in 4 sections and sat under my gold n hot conditioning cap for about 10 minutes. 
2. Next I detangled each section with my hercules Sagemann comb.
3. I spritzed my hair with my CC's naturals Marshmallow & Burdock root tea (you can read my review here) focusing on my roots.
4. I then applied a mixture of my Silk Elements Kera Minerals DC, Silk Dream Vanilla Silk DC, with a splash of glycerin and a squirt of my oil mix mentioned above. 
5. Next I sat under my conditioning cap for about 20 minutes and then hopped in the shower and thoroughly rinsed my hair. 
6. I applied hair one to my scalp and the length of my hair and left it on for about 1 minute and then rinsed.
7. After squeezing the excess water from my hair I wrapped it in my turbie twist for about 30 minutes while I did odd chores around the house. 
8. I applied my leave ins (Kimmaytube leave in mix w/ a twist and some GVP Paul Mitchell Skinny serum).
9. I tied a satin strip around my edges and allowed my hair to air dry (I didn't have time to sit under the dryer because Mother is coming to visit and I like to have my house spotless! yay!)
10. After my hair was about 80% dry I gently detangled my hair again and then applied my normal moisturizer (Giovanni Direct Leave in) and sealant (coconut oil).

Length Check #2!

So I'm totally late with my length check post. I apologize, but blame it on a growing crazy work schedule! This is my 4 month update. Overall I'm very happy with my progress although I think my growth cycle did slow down slightly, but I've recommitted to apply my JBCO on a regular basis. I definitely did not stick with it the way I should have during my last stretch! Check out the pictures and the video :)

I've Been Featured on the JustGrowAlready Blog!!!

I'm soooo excited because I've been featured on Jeni's JustGrowAlready blog sharing my healthy hair story! Please go on over and check it out :)

Wash Day and a Growing Bun!

So I'm officially 1 week post relaxer, which means that the main focus of my wash day is protein! Here's what I did...

• I did a quick hot oil treatment with a mixture of grapeseed oil, olive oil, and coconut oil. Instead of sitting under my heated conditioning cap I threw on my shower cap and placed my turbie twist on top of that to create a natural heat. 
•  After about 20 minutes I detangled each of the 4 sections of my hair with my new hercules sagemann mini rake comb (see post here)
• Next I applied my One N Only Argan oil Restorative mask mixed with a small amount of the GVP Joico K-pak and sat under my conditioning cap for about 15-20 minutes.
• I thoroughly rinsed out my deep conditioner and spritzed my CC's naturals Marshmallow & Burdock root tea on each section of my hair (See the review here) and allowed it to sit for about 2-3 minutes. 
• After rinsing out the tea I applied my hair one cleansing condition to my scalp as well as the length of my hair. 
• I did one final rinse to rinse out the hair one and then applied my turbie twist for about 5 minutes. 
• I applied my kimmaytube leave in mix with a twist (see post here) as well as my GVP Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum and sat under my bonnet dryer for about 45 minutes using the cool setting.
• Lastly I applied a tiny bit of my ORS smooth N Hold pudding and Eco styler argan oil gel to my nape and edges and tied a satin strip to smooth out my edges.

After finishing up my wash day process I decided to venture out and get myself a pedicure. In need of a quick style that did not require too much hassle (because quite frankly I didn't feel like it!). I smoothed my hair into a bun and was pleasantly surprised to see that my bun is growing in size and thickness!!! Check out the pictures below :)  On the right is my bun right now! 

My first tiny bun that I did a few months after my hair cut

My bun right now! 

Weekly Find...sort of (Hercules Sagemann Seamless Comb)!!!

I've been debating purchasing a seamless comb for probably about a year now. I remember when I first saw the prices of the Hercules Sagemann seamless combs I scoffed and vowed to never purchase one! However, 9 months into my revamped hair journey I slowly became convinced that I needed this comb in my life! I'll admit EbonyCPrincess of Longing4Length and Jeni of JustGrowAlready helped to convince me (see posts here and here). I purchased the 'Magic Mini Star Rake comb from www.hotcombs.net for $14.95. So far im very impressed with the sturdiness of this comb and if I love it as much as I think I will I definitely plan to purchase more in thr future. I plan to do a full review soon! 

 

CC's Naturals Marshmallow & Burdock Root Hair Tea Review

I know I have been promising to do a review on the CC's Natural's Marshmallow & Burdock Root Hair Tea for like the past month! Well here it is :)

Price: $6.00 + Shipping & handling

Place of Purchase: www.ccsnaturals.com

Ingredients: Organic Marshmallow Root, Organic Peppermint, Organic Lavender, Organic Burdock Root 
Directions: Add 1 large tea bag or 3 tablespoons of herbsto a large pyrex glass cup or bowl and fill with boiling water and cover. Steep for about 30 minutes. When the tea is warm, apply to scalp and hair and massage thoroughly. When pouring tea onto hair and scalp, hold a bowl at the end of hair strands to catch the tea and reapply. Repeat several times. Leave In or rinse out if desired. If you use a conditioner, use this tea rinse after you condition your hair. And then move on to your final styling regimen... 
Promises:Organic Burdock: Maintains and Promotes healthy Scalp, encourages hair growth, Improves Hair Strength, Shine and Body.

Organic Marshmallow Root: relieves scalp irritations, provides moisture and slip which helps detangle hair. 

Organic Peppermint: stimulates your hair follicles and promotes hair growth, used as a moisturizer for the hair shaft, Helps rid the scalp of dryness and itchiness as well.. 

Organic Lavender: helps stimulate growth and balance oil production

My Thoughts: I remember the first time I attempted to do a tea rinse with black tea. It left my hair feeling hard, tangled and dry. From then on I vowed to never try tea rinses again! However after reading some very convincing posts from fellow bloggers Jeni of JustGrowAlready and Nadege of RelaxedHairHealth  I decided to give tea rinses another try. I must say that I was initially attracted to this product because of it's price as well as the versatility that was promised. I also love how quickly it arrived on my doorstep. When I received the product I had a question about the ratio of tea to water and contacted the seller via e-mail and received a very quick, friendly, and helpful response. I tried this product both as a leave in and as an actual tea rinse. My favorite way to use this product is by spritzing each section of my hair with the tea and then following up with my favorite deep conditioner. The biggest difference that I have noticed in my hair besides added strength is how my hair feels when air drying. I used to have rough dry feeling hair and now since using this tea I've noticed that my hair dries more smoothly and is left feeling much softer. I definitely plan to repurchase this product and even try some of their other tea blends! 

Wash Day Wednesday's!!

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I caught a spring cold that kicked my butt for literally a week! I'm finally feeling well enough to get back to blogging and to wash my hair! I will be getting a relaxer and a dusting/trim this weekend so today's wash day is all about protein! Because I'm relaxed I try to keep my tresses both healthy and strong and the best way to do that is to have protein as a steady rotation in my regimen. Here's what I did.

1. I parted my hair into 4 sections and very lightly detangled each section and then applied some random oils to my scalp and to the length of my hair. 
2. I sat under my Gold N Hot conditioning cap for 10 minutes and then detangled my hair a second time ( I try to remove all of the shedded hair before water touches my hair to prevent matting). 
3. I then applied my CC's naturals marshmallow (review should be up by the end of this week!) to each section of my hair and then applied the last of my KeraPRO restorative deep conditioner to each section.
4. Again I sat under my conditioning cap for about 15 minutes and then rinsed each section of my hair thoroughly.
5. Lastly I applied hair one to each section of my hair as well as my scalp and rinsed after about 2 minutes. 
6. After my final rinse I wrapped my hair in my turbie twist for about 45 minutes. 
7. I then applied my kimmaytube leave in and about a quarter sized amount of the GVP 'Paul Mitchell's Skinny serum'
8. I then tied a satin scarf around my shoulders to allow my hair to air dry straight. I got this idea from PrettyWitty77 and so far I'm loving it! 

That's it for this wash day! On Friday I plan to do my usual relaxer prep steps in order to prepare for my relaxer this Friday. You can read that post here. 

May Hair, Health, and Beauty Goals!

Here are my hair, health, and beauty goals for May! Some of my goals are based on April's (You can see the post here) while others are new goals that are things that I am looking to improve upon! What are some of your short term goals for May?

1. Apply my Jamaican Black Castor Oil 4-5 times a week
2. Lose my final 3 lbs! 
3. Perfect the 'laying down of my edges' routine
4. Work on fading acne scars 
5. Continue Babying my Crown
6. Re-implement my NO Buy challenge
7. Work out 4-5 days a weeks 

April's Hair, Health, and Beauty Goals Recap

Hi guys!!! Sorry that My April Hair, Healthy, and Beauty goals post is a few days late...blame it on this lovely summer cold and 101F fever I had going on :/ But I'm finally starting to feel a bit better so here's how I did!

1. Wash/Cowash hair at least once a week (possibly twice) if my hair needs it. I did a great job with this goal. Most weeks I managed to wash my hair twice that week. Not too shabby huh? 
2. Continue doing tea rinses at least once a week. Because I do my tea rinses when I wash my hair I was able to do this with no problems. I know I've been promising to do a review on the tea that I'm using and I promise it's coming soon! Like next week soon :)
3. Maintain my No Buy hair product challenge. Well I think it's safe to say that I FAILED at this goal, but I didn't fail miserably. I stocked up on my hair one because I'd run out and treated myself to the Eco styler argan oil gel, and set of clear jars for hair product storage, and a small set of perm rods. Overall I don't feel that I went overboard plus I managed an entire month of my NO BUY challenge before breaking it. I plan to re-start that challenge for May!
4. Continue to nurture my Crown. Many of you know that I suffered some crown breakage during my last stretch and I have no one to blame but myself. So now I've been babying that area to make sure that it comes back stronger than ever! I've shocked myself at how moisturized I've managed to keep my crown. 
5. Use up at least 1 hair product. Another goal that I met! I was able to use up the last bit of 2 products. Some Aloe vera jelly and matrix biolage (GVP) conditioner! 
6. Use up at least half of my bottle of random oils. Unfortunately I did not realize how hard it is to used up a bottle of oils! I swear I've been giving myself a hot oil treatment with these oils before I deep condition every wash and I still haven't reached the halfway mark! Maybe next month :/
7. Maintain my protein/Moisture balance (Moisture tues/wed & Protein Sat). Because I stayed on track with my washes I was able to stay on track with my protein/moisture regimen. Easy as pie! 
8. Exercise atleast 4 days a week. I was able to maintain this goal better towards the end of the month. So this was a FAIL for this month.
9. Lose 5 lbs! I'm super excited to say that I achieved this goal! I've been struggling with losing my Christmas weight simply because I wasn't focused, but I FINALLY got it together! Woohoo!