The Washday Experience | Relaxer Update!

So this wash day post will be a bit different for me because I didn't actually wash my hair myself. For those who are not familiar with  my relaxer routine I leave it all in the hands of my beloved stylist. I did however make sure I paid extra special attention to what was done so that I could share with you guys!

First let's talk about my relaxer day prep process...

• Even though I rocked a fabulous roller set for the first part of the week my scalp was super itchy (am I the only one who experiences that only on the week leading up to your relaxer?!) so in the name of caution I did a quick cowash and bunned my hair for the rest of the week.
• On Friday afternoon I detangled using my Mane N Tail Detangler (shout out to Divachyk for giving me the idea to try this). I also applied JBCO to my scalp and new growth, but did not massage it in as I didn't want to risk irritating my scalp.

• After my detangling session I moisturized my hair in sections using my Giovanni Direct Leave In and sealed each section with a bit of my GVP smoothing serum (equivalent to the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum).

Overall my hair felt super soft and moisturized and quite frankly it hadn't felt like that in weeks. To put it simply, this stretch SUCKED. I believe it all started with a new product that I tried and my hair never seemed to get back on track again. I plan to cautiously give that product, which shall remain nameless for now another shot before I ban it from my hair forever. Either way between this last bout of winter and more shedding and tangles than normal I was happy to put an end to this stretch. Despite all of my hardships I did experience a bit of a growth spurt which was confirmed by my stylist! Now onto the actual relaxer day.

• Per usual my stylist assessed the state of my hair making sure nothing was out of the norm (breakage etc.) She also likes to keep an eye on my problem area (my crown since I experienced breakage in that area from not detangling properly last year).
• She then based my scalp thoroughly and proceeded to apply my nomral relaxer of choice, the Mizani Butter Blends Sensitive Scalp formula. I love how gentle this relaxer is.
• The total processing time was about 17-18 minutes. She noticed that I definitely had more new growth than I normally do (Whoop whoop!).
• After rinsing out the relaxer she applied the Mizani Moisturefuse to my hair (this stuff smells amazing by the way) for about 20 minutes or so.
• Lastly she neutralized my hair with the Mizani Phormula 7 Neutralizing and Chelating shampoo. She always shampoos twice to make sure all remanents of the relaxer are gone.
• Since I was not getting a trim she applied a bit of the Keracare Foam wrap and some of some sort of Mizani oil that I forgot to get the name of and roller set my hair. 

Overall it was a great relaxer day experience and based on an unoffiical length check I'm almost certain I've reached APL! I'm not doing an official length check until May so you'll have to wait until then for confirmation! How was your wash day?

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Wash Day...Back To The Basics!

In the name of using up products I somehow managed to get away from the wash day process that has always worked best for my hair. Well this wash day that came to an end and I got back to the basics! Here's how it went:

• Applied my Tropical Isle Red Pimento Oil to my scalp and gently massaged it in for about 2-3 minutes.
• Deep conditioned on dry hair with my Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner and my One N Only Argan Oil Deep Restorative Masque on my ends for a shot of protein for about 20 minutes using my heating cap.
• Rinsed and applied my As I Am Coconut Cowash to my scalp *newbie alert* 
  
• Rinsed and applied my PMSSDT to the length of my hair for 1-2 minutes.
• Did a final rinse and wrapped my hair in a t-shirt for about 20 minutes.
• Applied my leave ins using the LOC method (Chi Keratin Mist, Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum, Kimmaytube Leave In). 
• Sat under my dryer for about 25 minutes using the cool setting. 

Style: This past week I made the most of my flat ironed hair and wore my hair down almost every day and loved it since I don't get to do that often. Of course it was time to get back to protective styling because I've got goals to reach! This week's style was super simple AND I even recorded a tutorial for it *Yay!* I created a cute full high bun using kanekalon hair for added fullness. I promise to post the tutorial to the blog once it airs on my Youtube channel!

How was your wash day?






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MEGA Wash Day!

After being out of town for almost 2 weeks my hair was in need of a really good washing. While I was away enjoying my Christmas holiday I cowashed my hair several times, but that was it. So Friday after work I hankered down and decided to get to work. Here's how my wash day went...

• Massaged Tropical Isle Red Pimento Oil into my scalp and olive oil onto the length of my hair.
• Applied the last big of my GVP Nexxus Humectress conditioner mixed with a bit of VO5 moisture milk conditioner to the length of my hair and prepooed for about 20 minutes. 
• Rinsed and spritzed my hair with a mixture of my CC's Natural Marshamllow & Burdock Root Hair Tea mixed with aloe vera juice. I left it on for a total of 5 minutes. 
• Rinsed and shampooed with my Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo. 
• Deep conditioned with Kenra Moisturizing conditioner mixed with JBCO for about 30 minutes under my heating cap. 
• Rinsed and applied my Paul Mitchell Daily Treatment. 
• Did a final rinse and applied my turbie twist for about 20 minutes. 
• Applied my leave ins using the LCO Method (Chi Keratin Mist, Kimmay tube leave in mix, and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny serum). 
• Sat under my hooded dryer for about 30 minutes
• Moisturized and sealed using my Giovanni Direct Leave in and Coconut oil and JBCO. 

Style: I was inspired by a lovely photo that fgrogran of youtube posted on Instagram and decided to try and recreate it. She is natural and created a beautiful flexi rodded puff updo. I gently gathered my hair using my fingers and a very soft bristled brush. Using a head band comb I secured my hair and then lightly spritzed my hair with aloe vera juice and applied a few pumps of my lotta body wrap lotion. I randomly grabbed sections of hair and wrapped them around an unused pack of perm rods I had laying around. I used end papers to prevent any damage from the teeth on the perm rods. After sitting under my dryer for about 15 minutes I tied my hair up and went to sleep. The next day I carefully removed the perm rods and separated the curls. I absolutely love this style and will definitely be doing it again! What do you guys think?

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Wash Day!

I thoroughly enjoyed rocking my hair out this past week, but it was definitely time for a good ol washing! Here's what I did:

1. Mixed an egg with grapeseed oil and some of my GVP moisturizing conditioner and applied to the length of hair. 
2. I left my homemade protein treatment on for about 15 minutes and then rinsed with cool water. 
3. Next I cleansed my scalp with my Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo
4. Wrapped my hair in a towel for about 20 minutes to absorb the excess water
5. Deep conditioned with the Macademia Natural Deep Repair Masque (*Newbie Alert*) for 20 minutes under my Gold N Hot conditioning cap.
6. Rinsed and applied a bit of the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment. 
7. Rinsed and wrapped my hair in my turbie twist for about 30 minutes
8. Applied my leave ins using the LCO method (Chi Keratin Mist, Kimmaytube Leave in mix, Macademia Natural Healing oil). 
9. Sat under my dryer on a low cool setting for about 30 minutes.

Results: Incredibly soft, fluffy, shiny hair! My hair felt AMAZING! In fact it felt so good that I almost skipped moisturizing and sealing, but I know better so I didn't. Overall this is the most successful wash day I've had in a while. Let's hope I can get these type of results consistently! Here are some pictures of my hair with nothing except my leave ins. 

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Bed, Bath, & Beyond's Health and Beauty Section!!!

So I am so excited to share what I discovered today in Bed Bath and Beyond today!!! Lately when reading some of my favorite beauty blogs I keep seeing people mention that they've spotted some of the latest and greatest makeup items in Bed Bath and Beyond. Who would've thought! Well I happened to be near one today and out of curiosity decided to check out the health and beauty section. Y'all I was blown away! Not only does Bed, Bath, and Beyond have a great makeup section, but they have a HUGE Hair product section! AND to make it EVEN better they also have their own generic brand called Harmon Face Value of some of the top product such as Paul Mitchell's 'The Detangler' and Matrix Biolage's 'Detangling Solution'. To top all of this off if you are signed up to receive Bed Bath and Beyond's coupons like I am we are talking about HUGE savings here! I also noticed that the prices seem to be better than Walmart or Target. Oh and did I mention that Bed Bath and Beyond accepts any competitors coupons! I was so mesmerized that I had to take a few pictures!

Wash Day!

So today it was time to do my midweek cowash, which I avoided doing yesterday out of sheer laziness!

• I massaged the Tropical Isle Red Pimento oil into my scalp and spritzed aloe vera juice on the length of my hair. 

• Applied a mixture of Silk Kera DC and the One N Only Argan oil hydrating mask to the length of my hair followed by my grapeseed/olive oil mixture. 
• I placed a plastic shower cap and my turbie twist on my head and DC'd while I cooked dinner. Y'all know as of lately I've become quite creative in figuring out ways to DC while doing something else. Surprisingly I really liked this method because it allowed my DC to heat up naturally. 
• After about 20 minutes I rinsed the DC out thoroughly and applied my hair one to my scalp for 1-2 minutes and then rinsed.
• Applied Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment to the length of my hair for about 3 minutes and then did a final rinse.
• I wrapped my hair in my turbie twist for about 20 minutes and then applied my leave ins (Chi Keratin Mist, PM Super Skinny Serum, and Kimmaytube Leave in)  using the LOC method. 
• Using a head band from forever 21 to tie down my edges I air dried for about 1.5 hours.

• Lastly I detangled my hair in four sections using my hercules sagemann comb and moisturized using my Giovanni Direct Leave In and sealed using coconut oil. 

Final results: Big fluffy soft hair! I plan to bun tomorrow and try out a bantu knot set for this weekend! 

How I Prepare My Hair For Relaxer Day!

So as promised in my last wash day post I have a video detailing not only what I do the day before my relaxer, but what I do the entire week leading up to my relaxer. In addition I mention my favorite products and techniques that have consistently insured an easy relaxer application for both my and my hair stylist!

Wash Day!

So on Saturday I went to the salon and got a touch up/relaxer. Please don't fuss I promise to have my relaxer update video/blog post up soon! I'm actually doing a series of videos/posts documenting how I prepare for my relaxer, my actual relaxer update, and a 1 year post cut length check! Anyway on to what I did this wash day!

I massaged some of the tropical isle red pimento oil onto my scalp and spritzed the length of my hair with aloe vera juice. I then applied a mixture of the One N Only Restorative mask and GVP Joico K-pak to my hair. I sat under my heating cap for about 5 minutes and then hopped in the shower and thoroughly rinsed my hair and scalp.

Next I applied my shea moisture raw shea butter retention shampoo (diluted with water in a bottle with a nozzle tip) to my scalp and gently massaged. I then rinsed and squeezed the excess water from my hair and applied my GVP Nexxus Humectress conditioner to the length of my hair. I sat under my conditioning cap for about 15 mintues and then hopped back in the shower and rinsed. Lastly I applied my Paul Mitchell super skinny daily treatment and rinsed after about 1-3 minutes.

Afterwards I wrapped my hair in a t-shirt for about 15 minutes and then applied my leave ins using the LOC method and air dried my hair using an suber cute head band I bought from forever 21!  My final results were soft fluffy hair.  Oh and check out this wave action I've got going on...reason #562 why I love the Mizani Butter Blends sensitive scalp relaxer system :D

My Experience With The LOC Method

In the past few months I've read quite a few blog posts about the L.O.C method, which honestly before that I had never heard of before. The basis of this method is to apply a liquid (many use water) and follow up with an oil to lock in the moisture and then apply a cream to seal everything in. This method is used by many in the natural hair community, which may be why I wasn't quite as familiar with this method for a while. However as of lately I've seen more and more relaxed/texlaxed ladies giving this mehtod a try.

When washing my hair on yesterday the L.O.C method popped into my head as something that I should try. I've recently added the CHI Keratin Mist to my leave in regimen and thought that this may be the perfect time to try this method. In the past I normally would apply my CHI Keratin Mist followed by my Kimmaytube leave mix and then my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. I decided to switch things up and use the CHI Keratin Mist as my liquid, the Paul Mitchell super skinny serum as my oil, and my kimmaytube leave in as my cream.

My hair air dried so soft and fluffy and felt very moisturized. Sometimes when I air dry my hair it takes an extra boost of my Giovanni Direct leave in before my  hair feels 'normal'. However by using the LOC method I found that I didn't need any added moisture (even though I did moisturize out of habbit not necessity). Overall I was very pleased with my results and plan to use this method a bit more to see if I consistently get the same results. I plan to do an updated post once I test this method out for a bit longer.

Quick Cowash!

 Ok so first of all I'm sorry I've been kind of MIA the past two weeks, but I have a really good explanation. I went back home to spend some time with my family and when I came back apparently I brought a lovely summer cold right along with me :/

Anyway after a week of intense rest I'm finally starting to kind of feel like my old selft again. This past weekend I went to the salon and got my hair washed and conditioned so I didn't have to worry about dealing with it, but as usualy by Wednesday I couldn't take it any more. In my true exercise fashion as of lately I applied my One N' Only Argan Oil Hydrating Mask to my hair and deep conditioned while I power walked for an hour. When I got back I hopped in the shower and rinsed my hair and then followed up with hair one for about 30 seconds just to give my scalp a light cleansing. Lastly I applied my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment for about 3 minutes. After doing a final rinse I used a  t-shirt to soak up the excess water from my hair and then applied my leave ins using the LOC method (more details to come in a later post!). After this I air dried my hair. This morning I moisturized using my Giovanni direct leave in and sealed using a few drops of the proclaim oil (it was the only thing near by and I used to love this stuff so I figured it would hurt). Now my hair is happily in a neat little bun until Friday when I attempt my first flexi rod set in about 2 years! I'm excited and nervous about it, but I figure since I mastered rollersetting why not set my sights on mastering flexi rod sets?! Stay tuned...

Wash Day Diaries: Something Different!

Hi guys! So today was wash day and for the most part I used the same products I've been using. I deep conditioned with my One N Only Restorative mask mixed with a bit of the Joico K-pak. After rinsing it out I cleansed my scalp and hair with my hair one and then followed up with my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment. Once I did a final rinse I wrapped my hair in a t-shirt to absorb the excess water for about 20 minutes. Next I applied my leave ins (Chi Keratin Mist, Kimmaytube leave in w/ a twist, and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum).

I let my hair air dry for about 40 minutes, but because I have somewhere to go I decided to blow dry my hair. I haven't done that in ages! So I pulled out my Hot tool professional ionic blow dryer and blow dryed my hair in small sections using LOW heat only. My hair was so light and fluffy afterwards not to mention I could really see the growth that I've been retaining!

After I finished blowdrying I moisturized my hair lightly with my Giovanni Direct Leave in and sealed with a bit more Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. I then pulled out my caruso steam rollerset and randomly applied the rollers to my hair using end papers to protect my ends and keep them from frizzing. After about 10 minutes I took the rollers down and let the curls settle and dry (my hair is always a tad bit damp and I've learned that styling a caruso steam rollerset immediately after removing the rollers leads to frizzy hair!).

I then decided to wrap my hair...something else I haven't done in ages! When I took my hair down I was left with light, voluminous, bouncy hair! I loved how my hair turned out! I may have to do this once a month or at least on weekends when I have somewhere to go. I think this was a great low heat alterantive that broke up the monotony of my normal wash day. Check out the results!

Wash Day With A Shot of Protein!

Hi guys!!!! I've missed blogging with you all this week, but those of you who read my last post know that I was working a graveyard shift at work this week which always throws my schedule all outta whack :/. In my last blog post I cowashed my hair with my Kera Minerals silk Elements DC and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment. Let me just say that my hair stayed moisturized and supple from Monday all the way until Saturday morning! For my hair that's not too shabby! I've always longed for a once a week wash day, but with my strenuous workout schedule and naturally dry hair washing my hair twice a week is necessary.

Anywho let's get to the real reason for this post! It's definitely time for me to wash my hair. As proud as I was of how long it stayed moisturized it was time to wash away the product build up from the week. Besides nothing beats the feeling of clean freshly washed hair! As many of you know my weekend wash day always focuses on protein and today was no different. I mixed my One N Only Argan Oil Restorative Mask with the GVP version of the Joico K-Pak reconstructor. I also threw a few splashes of olive oil, grapeseed oil, and JBCO into the mix.

Next I parted my hair into two sections and went about oiling my scalp and the length of my hair with my grapeseed and olive oil mixture. After gently massaging that in I applied my conditioner and left it on my hair while I cooked and ate breakfast and did pilates. I know you all have probably noticed that as of lately I have totally abandoned my heating cap! It's just that on the east coast lately we've been getting these serious heat waves and it's been so hot that when I work out it's hot enough for me to just deep condition at the same time! After probably about an hour I hopped in the shower and rinsed the conditioner out of my hair and followed up with my beloved hair one to cleanse my scalp as well as the length of my hair. I let it sit for about 1-2 minutes while I did my showerly duties.

Next I rinsed and squeezed the excess water out of my hair and then applied my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment. I let it sit while I finished up my showerly duties, which included a fabulous exfoliating facial :). I did my final rinse with cool water and then wrapped my hair in a white cotton t-shirt.

After about 30 minutes I applied my leave ins which included my Chi Keratin Mist (I am loving this stuff!), Kimmaytube Leave in w/ a twist, and my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. After air drying for about 1.5 hours I detangled my hair in four sections and then moisturized and sealed. I plan to throw my hair into a bun while I run my Saturday errands and will do a caruso steam rollerset tonight as I am supposed to be going out with the boo and a few friends. Hopefully I will be able to snap a couple of picutres of my steam rollerset!

Here are a couple of shots of my hair wet. I'm slowly but surely approaching reaching the top of my shirt! *Does a happy dance*

Monday Morning Cowash

Since I'm working the 'graveyard' shift at work this week it left me with a lot of free time today to do some chores around the house, exercise, and cowash my hair. This morning I decided to take advantage of this ridiculously humid weather we've been having by going power walking around my neighborhood. Before I left I applied my oil mix of EVOO, grapeseed oil, and coconut oil to my scalp and to the length of my hair. I then dampened my hair with water and applied my Silk Elements Kera Minerals DC to my hair. I placed a shower cap and satin scarf over my hair and went on with my exercise routine. When I got back home I was soaked and I could tell that my hair had gotten a really good deep conditioning treatment.

I hopped in the shower and rinsed my hair thoroughly with warm water. After squeezing the excess water out of my hair I applied some of my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily treatment to my hair and allowed it to sit while I showered. Once I finished I did a final rinse with cool water and then wrapped my hair in a cotton t-shirt to soak up the excess water. About 30 minutes later I removed the t-shirt and spritzed both my scalp and the length of my hair with my Chi Keratin mist. I then applied about a quarter sized amount of my kimmaytube leave-in w/ a twist and a dime sized amount of my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum and allowed my hair to air dry for about 3 hours while I did random chores around the house and caught up on my tv shows.

Next I detangled my hair in four sections using my fingers and then applied my Giovanni Direct Leave in and sealed with coconut oil. I applied my Liquid Gold sulfur based growth oil and JBCO to my scalp and gently massaged it in. Lastly I sealed my ends with a tiny drop of JBCO to lock in the moisture and voila I was done! Since I will be working odd hours this week my hair plans will be limited to bunning and a mid-week cowash! Here's the final product!