Ulta & Sally's Haul

Ulta's Liter sale is what brought me into one of my favorite beauty stores, however 30 minutes later I left armed with several goodies!

1. REDKEN All Soft Shampoo- I was a bit leery of this shampoo because it has sulfates, but after reading the reviews I decided to give it a try. It honestly does what the title says. It leaves my hair clean yet soft. I believe I may have found a new staple shampoo and now I can't wait to try the conditioner!
2. Shea Moisture Oil Hydration Intensive Serum- Youtube made me do it! At first I tried to use this as a sealant after applying moisturizer and that didn't work very well. I then tried to apply it after my deep conditioner and that was a fail too. Then finally I decided to use it as a refresher on my ends when they start to feel a bit dry. Bingo!
3. Purity Facial Cleanser-This cleanser is all the rage on any social media site and also according to the reviews. After using it for about a week I really like it. It leaves my skin feeling clean, but not dry and the best part is it doesn't include a lot of the damaging ingredients that can be found in some skin care products.
4. Shea Moisture Post shave cream- I'm still testing this out.
5. End Papers-I love my perm rods, but they do not love my ends!
6. Castor Oil- Castor oil is the one thing that keeps my new growth soft and supple. I've been applying it every few days to my scalp and edges. I always have a major growth spurt when I'm consistent with this!

Can y'all believe that I went to Ulta and forgot to get the REDKEN Anti-snap leave in treatment?! No worries, I went back the next weekend and snagged it with my 20% off coupon. The cashier raved about it so I'll definitely be doing a review once I've used on a consistent basis for a while. Have you all picked up any goodies lately?

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Reigniting My Passion

While sitting in my stylist's chair staring into the mirror it was obvious to both her and myself that I have not been kind to my hair over the past few months. Again my ends were thinned out. I could blame it on some random product or the change in weather, but if I'm being honest with myself the damage was ALL my fault. I haphazardly moisturized and sealed my hair and when I did it wasn't in sections. Rarely protected my hair when lying around and without a doubt wasn't the gentlest when it came to detangling. Thankfully while my hair did suffer damage I'm grateful that I didn't lose any of the length I already had. After seeing the state of my hair it really reiginited my passion for healthy hair care and taking care of my hair to the best of my abilities. So what's my plan going forward?

• Getting back to regularly doing wash day posts to keep myself accountable and because they are some of my favorite posts!
• Moisturizing and sealing every day and oiling my scalp every other day at a miniumum.
• Clarifying my scalp every 2 weeks to prevent product buildup
• Airdrying until it's too cold
• Purchasing a human hair wig to help with the weeks leading up to my relaxer 
• Reducing the amount of manipulation with combs and brushes. I'm really trying to embrace the hair smoothing with my hands only life! 

Has anybody else fallen off the wagon a bit? If so what are planning to do to fix the situation?

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How To Cheat Your Way to Perfect Pin Curls!

When I first started my hair journey I saw countless blog posts and youtube videos about pin curls and how it was a great way to get curls without using heat. Well I tried and tried and TRIED, but for the life of me I couldn't get my curls to look like they were worth anything. Everytime I would take down my pin curls I was left with bumps and honestly my hair didn't resemble anything close to a curl! Eventually I gave up and decided that maybe pin curls just weren't for me. Fast forward a few years and a setback later I decided to give it a try again, but this time I had a little bit of help.

On Saturday I went to the salon to get a wash and set, however the weather was not too kind to me. It was quite humid so my hair frizzed. Normally in the past I make a failed attempt to wrap my hair and I say failed not because I can't wrap my hair, but because it does nothing for me as far as preserving my style and helping my hair to hold a curl. Wrapping has and never will work for my hair. Instead a light bulb went off and I decided to set my hair with my beloved caruso steam rollers. Doing this helped me to create the perfect pin curl with minimal effort. To hold my pin curls in place I opted to use double prong metal clips instead of the traditional bobby pins. I find these hold the pin curls in place without leaving horrible bumps in my hair. Lastly instead of wrapping a scarf around my head I threw on my bonnet which protected my hair without squishing my curls!

That was a lot so here's a quick recap!  

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Washday | Preparing My Hair For Travel!

This week I'm traveling back home to take care of wedding planning details! I'm super excited to see my family and do all of the fun wedding stuff that soon to be brides get to do! I already know my trip home will be jam packed with appointments and spending quality time with my family. As a part of getting ready for my trip I decided to prepare my hair. Here's what I did:

• Rinsed my hair thoroughly for about 2 minutes with luke warm water
  
• Clarified my hair with the Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo
• Rinsed and shampooed with the Keracare Humecto Hydrating Detangling Shampoo
• Followed up with a protein treatment using the ORS Hair Mayonaise (I sat under my Gold N Hot conditioning cap for about 15 minutes)
• Rinsed and deep conditioned with the Keracare Humecto Conditioner while I worked out. Check out my turban that I used to camouflage my shower cap! 
• Did a final rinse with cool water
• T-shirt dried my hair for about 20 minutes
• Applied my leave ins using the LCO method (L-Chi Keratin Mist, C-Kimmaytube Leave In, O-Macademia Healing Oil)
• Blow dried my hair (about 70 % dry) using the cool setting

Results: Thick, soft, fluffy, moisturized hair! And this was before moisturizing and sealing! It looks like the few extra steps I took in this wash day was just what my hair needed! 

Style: This weekend I rocked my go to style, a super curly caruso roller set. While away on travel I'm planning to rock this half up twisted bun. I will jazz it up with flowers, a cute head band, or a cute hat. The humidity this time of year in Louisiana is no joke so I will be bunning the entire time I'm home! 

How was your wash day? Have you checked out our wash day link up yet? Join us!

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Washday | Inspired by 42

It's time for another wash day post. These are seriously my favorite posts to read and write! I  switched things up a bit this wash day and also went back to some of the basics that have worked for me in the past. Just because I'm loving my cut doesn't mean I'm trying to make a habit of it! Here's what I did:

• Cleansed with KeraCare Hydrating Detangling Sulfate Free Shampoo
• T-shirt dried my hair for about 20 minutes
• Applied Keracare Humecto to the length of my hair and ORS Hair Mayonnaise to my ends. 
• DC'd for about 35 minutes
• Rinsed and applied a quarter sized amount of the generic Matrix Biolage Detangling Conditioner
• T-shirt dried my hair for about 30 minutes.
• Applied leave ins using the LCO method (Chi Keratin Mist, Kimmaytube Leave In Mix, GVP Smoothing Serum).
• Blow dried my hair in sections using cool air only
• Moisturized and sealed using my beloved Giovanni Direct Leave In and Coconut Oil.

Style: My Fiance is a huge baseball fan, which means that everytime HBO shows the Jackie Robinson movie 42 we watch it! I love the movie so I don't mind, however while watching it this time I was fascinated with Rachel Robinson's (Jackie's wife played by Nicole Beharie) hair in the movie. I loved her 60's inspired curls! While I rocked a bun on Saturday due to time constraints I decided to recreate her style on Sunday for church. I seriously loved my results!

How was your washday? If you haven't yet, check out our Washday Experience Linkup!

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Washday/Relaxer Update...Ending With A Bang!

So I feel like I've really been slacking on my washday posts and in reality I've been slacking on my hair too. As some of you already know I recently got engaged and have jumped head first into wedding planning and house hunting! It was a bit intense at first and my hair took a backseat. Needless to say my hair literally felt like straw no matter what I did, no matter how much moisturizer I used it felt awful. Partly because I was neglecting my hair and partly because I was trying to make a product work for me even though I knew it wouldn't. Needless to say that resulted in a minor set back that ended in a small cut *GASP* I know...y'all are probably thinking I had heart palpitations and broke out into a cold sweat. The other part to this story is that I've been bored out of my mind with my hair. I was tired of buns and my overall feeling about my hair was just blah. I was itching to make a change. I bravely walked into the salon and explained my dilemma to my beloved stylist (she cut me some slack due to wedding planning). It turns out that my hair wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Shrinkage told me a very dark and twisted tale. Thank God for shrinkage! I ended up only getting 1/2 inch cut from my ends, which I was totally happy with because it also gives my layers a chance to catch up! In addition I decided that I missed my bangs and needed something to jazz up my bun life so I got side swept bangs cut! Overall I was super pleased with my hair cut and basically I just cut off what I grew this relaxer stretch! How about a hand clap for the happy ending to this story! Now that I've told y'all what went down here's how my wash day went:

• My stylist based my scalp and the perimeter of my hair as she always does. 
• She sectioned my hair into four sections and began applying my relaxer (Mizani Sensitive Scalp Formula). Application and processing time took about 16-20 minutes. 
• She rinsed thoroughly and applied my protein treatment for about 20 minutes. 
• She then shampooed and sat me under the dryer for about 15 minutes. 
• Next she removed the remaining moisture with a blow dryer and showed me what needed to be cut using the white paper method (the easiest way to spot thin ends!). 
• She trimmed my ends and cut my bang :)
• Because I'm in a I don't care what length it is as long as it's healthy mood I decided to get spiral curls! 

Oh I almost forgot to mention that I got to show my length retention pictures to one of my stylist' clients. She couldn't believe how far my hair has come in less than 2 years! 

Overall I really had an awesome experience as usual. While I did have a minor setback I'm back on track and back in the right mindset to keep my hair on track. Stay tuned for a product review about that product that attributed to my straw like hair dilemma! How was your wash day? 

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Wash Day With A Little Pinspiration

I'm finally back! It's truly been a crazy week so please forgive my absence. I'm getting a relaxer this weekend, however I did a protein treatment last weekend so I didn't worry about doing one this week. I also plan to do a protein treatment at 1 week post relaxer. I kept my wash day extremely simple. Here's what I did.

1. Deep conditioned on dry hair with Kenra Moisturizing conditioner mixed with grapeseed oil for about 1.5 hours (I fell asleep!)
2. Rinsed and applied hair one to my scalp to gently cleanse.
3. Did a final rinse
4. Wrapped my hair in a turbie twist for about 30 minutes.
5. Lightly detangled with Mane N Tail detangler and then applied leave ins using the LOC method (Chi Keratin Mist, GVP Smoothing Serum, and Kimmaytube Leave In Mix)
6. Sat under dryer for about 30 minutes

Style: I've wanted to try this headband hair style for a while. Pinterest was my inspiration and quite frankly I need a break from bunning! I love this hair style!

How was your recent washday?

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Where Have I Been?

Hey y'all! In case y'all haven't noticed I've become quite the ghost on my blog for the past week or so! I promise I have a great reason which I'm so excited to share with you guys! This past weekend I got ENGAGED! The honey (well now Fiancé) and I took a weekend trip to D.C. and had a wonderful time being tourists! Needless to say the past few days have been a world wind affair between telling family and close friends and lets not forget telling the proposal story 1000 times! Either way I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm back in action and regular blog posts will be arriving soon :) Oh and for those who are wondering how I wore my hair....I rocked a mean caruso rollerset of course!









 
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Washday | Keeping It Simple

This washday I kept it really simple. Honestly I didn't feel like washing my hair at all so I just stuck to the basics and moved on with my week. Here's what I did:

• Prepooed with coconut oil
• Detangled with Mane N Tail detangler
• Deep conditioned with Keracare Humecto Creme Conditioner under Gold N Hot conditioning cap for about 25 minutes
• Rinsed and shampooed with Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo
• Rinsed and applied a dollop of the generic version of the Matrix Biolage detangling solution
• Rinsed and t-shirt dried my hair for about 20 minutes
• Applied leave ins using the LOC method (Chi Keratin Mist, GVP Smoothing Serum, Giovanni Direct Leave In).
• Sat under my hooded dryer for about 20 minutes
• Moisturized with Giovanni Direct Leave in and sealed with coconut oil

Style: A plain ol bun! My new growth is starting to kick in which means that my hair doesn't like to be manipulated too much. My hair was super soft and fluffy so I just rocked a low bun. How was your wash day?

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Why I'm Enjoying A Simplified Regimen

Throughout my entire hair journey I've heard these 3 words 'Simplicity is key'. Well between all of the new yummy products and bandwagon regimen jumping I was doing at one time I never really got to experience that. However, recently I've been enjoying my most simplified regimen to date. In fact my regimen is so simple now that it's almost scary! The best part is that while I'm thoroughly enjoying my new found 'no muss no fuss' regimen my hair is thriving. It's so nice to not be all over the place with products and my regimen. What more could a girl ask for right?! Here's my updated regimen:










Monthly

• Hard Protein Treatment (Nexxus Emergencee)
• 1 visit to the salon (a girl needs a break!)

Weekly

• Deep Condition (Keracare Humecto Conditioner) Click Here to read my review
• Shampoo (Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo) Click Here to read my review
• Rinse Out Conditioner (Generic version of Matrix Biolage Detangling conditioner)
• Bun 5 days a week (protective style of choice)
• Enjoy my hair on the weekends

Daily

• Moisturize (Giovanni Direct Leave In) Click Here to watch my review
• Seal (Coconut Oil for length & JBCO for ends)
• Scalp massage with JBCO (normally every other day)

Relax (Professionally)

• Every 8 weeks (Mizani Sensitive Scalp) Click here for my latest relaxer update

Trim (Professionally)

• Every 4 months

Flat Iron (Professionally)

• Every 4 months

After typing out my regimen I almost feel like there should be more, but I've got all of my bases covered. Of course there are a few things that I am still tweaking like prepoos and the occasional cowash. I hope my dimmed inner product junkie stays supressed for a while because right now I'm seriously enjoying this. Be on the look out because I am planning to do a video soon detailing my updated regimen which may explain everything even further!


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Washday...Deep Side Part With Curls

Firstly, can we get a handclap for three day weekends! On a more serious note though I pray everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and took the time to reflect on the real reason for the holiday.

In preparation for Memorial Day weekend I washed my hair on Thursday. Here's how my washday went...

• Prepooed with coocnut oil for 20 minutes. (I'm participating in the Hairlista Coconut Oil challenge. Join us!)
• Detangled with Mane N Tail Detangler in sections.
• Shampooed with Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo
• Applied Nexxus Emergencee to my hair for about 5 minutes.
• Rinsed and applied Keracare Humecto Creme DC
• Sat under my Gold N Hot conditioning cap for about 25 minutes.
• Rinsed and applied a small amount of the Generic verision of the Matrix Bioliage Detangling Solution.
• Did a final rinse and gently detangled my hair in the shower
• T-shirt dried for about 30 minutes.
• Applied leave ins using the L-Chi Keratin Mist, C-It's A 10 Miracle Leave In, O- GVP Smoothing Serum method. 
• Air dried hair

Style: This week I decided to rock caruso steam curls with a deep side part. I pretty sure I got the
inspiration from Pinterest, but have no idea which picture! I aboslutely loved this style. It was an awesome way to jazz up my look for the weekend and just screamed summer to me. In face I loved this simple style so much that I am planning to rock it again this weekend with flexi rods instead!

How was your wash day? Have you checked out 'The Washday Experience' Linkup? If not join us!

Bonus: Check out my quick length check update video!

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I Finally Reached APL! Now What?...

It feels really good to finally say that I've officially reached APL! I've been so focused on reaching APL that I haven't thought of what Mini goals I want to achieve next. For those that don't know my ultimate goal is BSL (Bra Strap Length), but since I'm about 4-6 inchese away from that I'm going to set mini goals for myself. Here's what I've come up with so far:

• When my hair is pulled forward I want it to reach my Arm Pits (my ultimate goal is for it to reach boobie land, but baby steps! 
• My hair is cut into layers and my shortest layers only reach my neck. I would like for these layers to reach shoulder length. 
• I would like for my hair to reach the top of my length check shirt. I have about 3 inches to get to that point.
• When my hair is curly or flexi rodded I want it to be shoulder length. I swear I suffer from shrinkage even though I'm relaxed because the minute a curl hits my hair it shrinks like nobody's business!  

Those are my top mini goals that I will be focusing on during my journey to BSL land. Having mini goals really helps me to stay on track and not get discouraged. What goals have you set lately?


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Wash Day & Relaxer Update!

This past Saturday I relaxed my hair at 8 weeks post. As always I went to my stylist. Here's what I did to prep leading up to my relaxer:

• 1 week prior used Nexxus Emergencee as a protein treatment.
• 1 day prior:
• Thoroughly detangled using my Mane N Tail Detangler
• Coated the length of my hair with the GVP Smoothing Serum
• Applied JBCO to my new growth and ends

These preventive steps help to protect my hair from relaxer run off. Here's how my visit to the salon went.

• My stylist thoroughly based my scalp
• Next she applied the Mizani Honey Shield to the length of my hair.
• She began applying the relaxer. My total processing time was 16 minues.
• After she thoroughly rinsed out the relaxer she applied the Pherphecting Creme Normalizing Conditioner for about 20 minutes.
• Lastly she shampooed my hair twice with the Balance Hair Bath Neutralizing and Chelating Shampoo.

I recieved a trim as I do every 4 months and got my hair flat ironed. This is normally the only time that I use direct heat. Overall I was pleased with my results. The biggest question for me was did I finally make it to Arm Pit Length?! Based on my length check picture below I believe that I did, however I believe that I am only grazing APL and am not full APL. Clearly I was having a my hair doesn't seem that long moment because based on the picture I've OFFICIALLY REACHED APL!!! **Throws Confetti** At first I was aggrivated with my progress until I looked at my progress pictures and realized that my hair is growing and while I'm not where I want to be I'm a lot closer than I was! With that said now that I've reached APL what's next? Don't worry I plan to dedicate an entire post to answering that question so stay tuned!

For more details check out my quick video!

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Ulta Love Your Hair Event!

This is just a quick blog post to tell y'all about a fabulous event that Ulta has going on from May 11th through the 31st! I would've told y'all sooner, but I just found out! Ulta is having different deals on various hair products each day so if there's been a product that you've been eying this may be the time to get it! For more details you can click Here.


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Washday | The Low Bun Experience

This past Friday couldn't get here fast enough. For some reason my scalp was itching like crazy! Well actually I know what the reason was. My hair just needed a good washing. Here's how the washday went:

• Detangled with Mane N Tail Detangler
• Applied Keracare Humecto conditioner
• DCed with Gold N Hot conditioning cap for about 20 minutes
• Rinsed and shampooed with Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo
• Rinsed and applied a small amount of the Generic version of Matrix biolage detangling conditioner.
• Did a final rinse and t-shirt dried my hair for about 30 minutes.
• Applied my usual leave ins using the L (Chi Keratin Mist) O (GVP Smoothing Serum) C (Kimmaytube Leave In) method. 
• Allowed my hair to air dry and then moisturized and sealed using my Giovanni Direct leave in and coocnut oil. 
• Massaged JBCO into my scalp and sealed my ends.

Style: I'm about 2 weeks away from getting my next relaxer and this is normally about the time my
hair decides not to cooperate. Meaning high buns, mid-cenetered buns, etc are out of the question. Previously I used to force my hair into a high bun, but this time around I decided to rock a low bun. Because I air dried my hair I had the biggest, softest low bun I think I've ever created without using a filler! I was so amazed I even took a comparison shot to see how far my hair has come in terms of growth! Oh and to jazz up my low bun I threw on a cute headband and a fun pair of earrings. I'm all for low maintenance no muss no fuss hair styles and that's exactly what this low bun did for me!

How was your wash day? Have you checked out our washday linkup? If not join us!

Sidenote: My latest beauty favorites video went live on my youtube channel! I mentioned some awesome affordable products! 

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Product Review: Roots Only Applicator Bottle

Ever since Jeni of Just Grow Already reviewed this product I've been itching to get my hands on it. Fast forward months later and I finally got around to getting myself 1! I'm sure most of you have heard about this product on either YouTube or on some of the hair boards. The reason it took me so long to get this product is because I didn't see it as an immediate need seeing as though I own several applicator bottles, BUT what I didn't know was how much this product would change the oil application game for me!

Price: $6.19

Place Of Purchase: Sally's Beauty Supply

Promises:

• No Mess! Just comb and squeeze to apply solution
• Solution flows through hollow teeth directly to scalp and roots
• Distributes evenly; Easy to apply in hard to reach areas (back of head)

Roots Only Applicator is indispensable for applying any solution to your scalp and roots. Use less solution; No waste. Save money; Salon professional results at a fraction of the cost! Reusable; Buy once and use it again and again.

The Roots Only Comb Applicator is ideal for applying hair color, conditioning growth oil, hair conditioner, medicated shampoo, anti-itch medication and other hair treatment solutions to the scalp and roots. The Roots Only Application System comes packaged with our patented, 10-tooth applicator comb and a 4oz squeezable bottle.

My Thoughts: I seriously love this little gem. It makes applying my JBCO to my scalp 1000 times easier. Recently I'd been slacking on my JBCO applications because I just didn't feel like being bothered with the process (not that it was really hard). This roots only applicator bottle turned a 5 minute process into about a 1 minute process. Because of the comb like applicator tips it applies oil to the scalp easily and quickly. Now that this process only takes about 1 minute I've started incorporating scalp massages into my regimen again. In case you couldn't tell I'm totally smitten with this product and am well on my way to falling head over heels in love with it. I'm so thankful to the healthy hair obsessed person who saw this applicator bottle and realized it's potental beyond just touching up your roots!

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Pause!...Things I've Changed About My Hair Regimen

Spring is FINALLY upon us! For me that normally brings about a few changes to my hair regimen. Some things that work for me in the winter aren't necessary in the warmer months and some things...well they just aren't working at all! In addition to putting some techniques on hold I also brought back a few that my hair is totally digging right now!







Pause/Stopped

• Midweek Cowashes - Winter was ROUGH on my hair. The constant wind, snow, & below freezing temperatures left my hair always feeling thirsty! Between the harsh weather conditions and my daily dates with the gym I added midweek cowashes in addition to my weekly wash day to keep dryness and breakage at bay. Now that the weather is warming up and I've discovered an awesome conditioner that keeps my hair moisturized for longer I'm able to get away with 1 washday a week! However if I see where my hair needs that midweek cowash I will definitely add it back into my regimen 

• Tea Rinses - Quite frankly I've tried to make tea rinses work for me, but I don't see where they do much for my hair and I hate the way they make my hair feel. Since this was a no go this was an easy step to eliminate from my washday. 

• In/Out The Shower - For a while on every wash day I found myself hopping in and out of the shower 2-3 times. I soon realized that for me that's annoying and time consuming. By slightly rearranging the order of how I do things or just doing in between steps with my head over the sink or tub I was able to eliminate that. I'm LOVING it! 

• Being a Mixologist With Conditioners - I used to really enjoy mixing oils and conditioners together to create a magic concoction for my hair. Currently I'm so not feeling it! Right now I enjoy conditioners that can be used on my hair with no add ins, but still give me great results! 

Started/Resumed:

• Deep Condition on Semi Damp Hair - Somewhere along the way I started DCing my hair after shampooing. I'm not sure why, but eventually it dawned on me that it's not only easier, but my hair responds better when I DC first on semi damp hair. 

• Detangle Prior to DC - I used to do this and stopped because the detanglers that I was using would leave a yucky film on my hair. Well ever since I've discovered Mane N Tail I no longer have that problem. It melts my tangles like no other and makes my wash days so much easier. 

• Messy Buns - As my hair continues to grow my messy buns keep getting better and bigger. The bonus is that it's a super easy low manipulation daily protective style. 

• Weekend Hair Break - During the winter I was protective styling practically 100% of the time because between the wind and the harsh materials that winter clothing is made of it seemed best. However now that winter is gone I'm back to protective styling 5 days a week and enjoying the heck out of my hair on the weekend (usually with a dry flexi rod set or caruso steam rollers). I'm all for length retention, but a girl's gotta have a little fun too! 

Have any of you taken a pause on some things within your regimen? 

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