Wash Day Post/Hair Update

Hi lovies! So I know I kinda disappeared for a few weeks, but I have a really great excuse....MOVING! I forgot how much I hate moving. All of the time and energy it takes not to mention all of the accumulated stuff that seem to have. Yeah...needless to say it kind of took over my life for a few weeks, but now I'm back! Since I've been gone for a bit I thought I would do a wash day post and hair update rolled into one.

Here's What I did:

• Briefly detangled (I went to the salon last week therefore detangling was a lot easier).
• Shampooed with the Keracare Hydrating detangling shampoo
• Deep conditioned with the Keracare Humecto conditioner for about 20 minutes.
• Rinsed and towel dried my hair
• Applied my leave ins using the LCO method (L-Chi Keratin Mist, C-Kimmaytube Leave In, O-Chi Silk Infusion).
• Blow dried my hair using the cool setting
• Moisturized and sealed using Giovanni Direct Leave In and Coconut Oil.

Style: At first I rocked a bang, but on a whim this weekend I decided to french braid (very messy braids because I'm not that great at braiding!)

 

my hair into 2 pig tails. I pinned them up and pin curled my bangs just to jazz up the style. I think I'm going to redo this style every 2 days and rock my hair this way for the rest of the week. It's starting to get a bit cooler outside so I want to protect my ends as much as possible.

Update: I'm currently 6 weeks post and have quite a bit of new growth, which I believe is due to these new Gummy vitamins especially formulated for women, which a lot more biotin *SCORE!*. My old multivitamin on had 10 mg of biotin versus the 300mg I'm getting on a daily basis now. My hair definitely seems to appreciate it :) Other than that I honestly haven't been doing too much to my hair. NO length check updates or anything. I think I'll do an official length check update around February. I'm thinking of possibly trying my first sew in this winter, but we shall see. I'd like to get a feel for how sew ins work since this is how I'm hoping to style my hair for my wedding. I think that's about it for now!

How was your wash day?


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Washday | Uncharted Territory...Spiraling Out of Control

This past Saturday I headed to the salon to get a touch up. The same products were used, but since I've got some new readers (Heyyy y'all!) I'll go ahead and mention them below. Here's what my stylist did:

• Based my scalp
• Applied the Mizani Sensitive Scalp relaxer. Total processing time was about 20 minutes. 
• Rinsed and applied protein treatment for about 30 minutes. 
• Rinsed and shampooed several times. 
• Applied leave ins (Keracare foam wrap lotion, Chi Silk Infusion) 

Style: I decided to try somethng different (which so happens to fit this week's wash day them

perfectly). Instead of my usual rollerset I decided to get a spiral rollerset. At first I was unsure of how I felt about the style, but as my curls fell the more I liked it. I tried the pineapple method to preserve the curls, but the next day the boo and I went to a theme park where it was ridiculously hot and humid and I ultimately decided to pin up the back of my hair. By day 3 my curls were barely holding on so I set my hair with flexirods overnight and my curls are back in action! How was your wash day?

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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 | Same Ol Same Ol

Unfortunately this week I don't have any pictures of voluminous curls to show you because I did not wear my hair down one day. The in laws were in town so I spent the week spending time with them and this past weekend was spent running errands and being completely lazy. It was awesome! Needless to say between all of that I wasn't left with my enthusiasm for styling my hair so I just rocked a bun jazzed up with a bang and kept it moving! Here's how my super late washday went:

• Rinsed my hair with warm water for a few minutes and proceeded to shampoo with my Keracare Hydrating Detangling Sulfate Free Shampoo.
• Rinsed and shampooed a second time to ensure that I had no product buildup left.
• Used my turbie twist for about 25 minutes to soak up most of the excess water.
• Deep conditioned with my Keracare Humecto conditioner on the length of my hair and Giovanni GPB conditioner on my ends (I found a sample packet that I'd never used!) for about 25 minutes.
• Rinsed and applied a small amount of the generic version of the Matrix Biolage detangling conditioner.
• T-shirt dried my hair for about 30 minutes.
• Detangled with my Mane N Tail and applied my leave ins using the LCO method (Chi Keratin Mist, Kimmaytube Leave In Mix, GVP Smoothing Serum).
• Blow dried my hair on cool until my hair was about 80% dry.
• Moisturized and sealed using my beloved Giovanni direct leave in and coconut oil and applied JBCO to my scalp.

Style: A bun jazzed up with a bang (I promise to take pictures next time!).

Thoughts: I think I'm going to go back to detangling my hair prior to shampooing. I've only switched up my detangling routine recently because I'm only 2 weeks post relaxer, however because I don't really 'comb' my hair during the week I don't want to create a detangling nightmare as I get further along in my stretch! Also, as of lately I've been on a kick of using protein conditioners on my ends to minimize breakage and ensure strength. This week I will be doing a full protein treatment though just to be safe! Lastly, I've seriously been loving my hair since I got my bangs back and trimmed away those thin ends that appeared. Because my hair is layered I feel like that extra trim has given my hair a chance to catch up and I swear my hair feels thicker!

How was your washday?

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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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Creamy Crack? Who Said I Was Addicted?!

I rarely pay attention to the natural vs relaxed debate because honestly I find it to be silly and pointless. I love relaxed hiar, I love texlaxed hair, I love natural hair...but above all else I love HEALTHY hair! I seriously debated on if I even wanted to do this post, but no matter how much I tried to let it go the thought just kept nagging at my brain so here I am. This post was actually inspired by an instagram posting by one of my beloved college classmates. I was happily scrollng through instagram and ran across her picture (she's natural and her hair is fabulous!). She'd just gotten her hair straightened and a fierce cut! I read her caption and that's when I saw the words 'Say no to creamy crack'. Now I've heard the phrase before and never really gave it much thought, but for someone reason on this day I really started thinking about the term and what that really means. Eventually I came to the conclusion that while I enjoy my relaxed hair I am in no way addicted. I truly believe that each person has to do what's best for their hair as well as themselves and their lifestyle. For me at this point I choose to remain relax. Does it mean that I'll never go natural...nope, but I could very well remain relaxed for quite a while. I think that the term creamy crack is used because some people associate relaxers with dry, damaged, brittle hair that won't grow. Well ladies I'm hear to tell you that I have seen so many wonderful ladies both in real life as well as in the blogging and YouTube world that are living testimonies that healthy relaxed hair does exist! So I guess I've said all of this to say a hair choice is just that...a choice...not an addiction...not some horrible habit that you must break, but a choice that works for you. After all, healthy hair is the best hair! Happy hair growing :) Until next time!


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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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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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Product Review | Keracare Humecto Creme Conditioner

Initially I tried this product a few years ago when I was a serious product junkie and serial regimen jumper (no wash day was the same!). While at the salon one day my stylist was applying conditioner to my hair and it smelled so amazing that I just had to ask her what she was using. When she said it was the Keracare Humecto Conditioner I was sold and immediately decided that I had to give this product another chance. The first time I used this conditioner I was using so many different products (none consistently) that I had no idea if this product was working for my hair. Needless to say this gal is all about second chances when it comes to conditioners because well I'm a sucker for a good deep conditioner and although I've tried tons I still haven't quite found the conditioner that makes me want to make it my one & only!







Price: $8 on sale (normally $13.50)

Place of Purchase: JC Penney Salon

Promises: KeraCare Humecto Creme Conditioner helps correct and prevent moisture loss due to exposure to chemicals and thermal styling appliances.

• helps correct and prevent moisture loss
• superior detangling
• helps prevent brittleness, breakage and split ends
• eliminates static charge
 

My Thoughts: **HOLY GRAIL STATUS** If those three words don't give you an indication of how much I seriously LOVE this product then allow me to explain. This product smells amazing...kind of like a tropical island (who doesn't want to have a mini getaway while washing their hair!). This product is thick (but not too thick) and very creamy. I love that this product completely sinks into my hair. My method of choice when applying this conditioner is to apply on semi damp hair. I have no idea if it helps with detangling because I thoroughly detangle my hair before I deep condition, but this product is extremely moisturizing for my hair. In fact once I started using this product even with a steady 3-5 day workout schedule I still only have to wash my hair once a week! This conditioner was the start of my new and improved 'no muss no fuss' regimen. I've gotten 7 good deep conditioning sessions from my 8 oz bottle.This product is a bit pricey, but I love this conditioner so much and remember Sunshyne of Hairlicious Inc mention the 5lb Amazon for $52.00. After doing a bit of math I realized that it's a lot cheaper and easier to purchase it in bulk. I feel like I just typed a lot, but this conditioner deserved every word. This conditioner will be in my regimen for a long time coming. It's compelely kicked every other conditioner I own to the curb!

Have you tried the Keracare Humecto Creme Conditioner.


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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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