Stretch Ended.....

Yeah, you read that correctly. I ended my stretch at 18 weeks post. I was ready to texlax my hair. I was ready for easier wash days and to enjoy my length for a little bit. Of course, as soon as I made the decision to get my touch up my scalp started to itch. lol I prepared for relaxer in two parts.

Part 1:

Sunday, January 20

1. Clarified once with the ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo. I realized that my new growth does not like being clarified. It started to tangled almost instantly and i only lathered once. I have to find a better clarifying shampoo.
2. I followed that up with a moisturizing shampoo, my Shi-Naturals Olive and Almond Oil Softening Shampoo.
3. Used the Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor for a little bit of protein.
4. Deep conditioned for 30 minutes w/ heat with the Shi-Naturals Olive and Almond Oil Softening Conditioner
5. Detangled with the usual duo, TreSemme Naturals and Garnier Fructis
6. Air Dried

Part 2:

Thursday, January 24

1. Based my scalp with Summit Scalp Base
2. Applied Roux Porosity Control on the length of my hair

I went to the shop to get my relaxer/texlax touch up. I didn't burn but I did feel a tingle and believe it was from her trying to get through my new growth, which was a little rough, and that disturbed my scalp a bit. It has been 8 weeks since I used direct heat on my hair and that continued today. I got a roller wrap but I did flat iron my roots when I got home because they were puffy from being underprocessed. I did that in big sections. Nothing major. I didn't do a length check because I know that my hair didn't gain much length in 8 weeks. I will do a length check when both the Shi-Naturals and Deep Conditioning Challenges are over in July.

I will maintain my straight hair by pin curling. I watched a video by AccordingtoChloeC and really liked how she pin curled her hair. The way I had been pin curling my hair was to start rolling at the ends. My hair never came out right. Her way of doing it is to start at the scalp and curl the hair that way. Her way worked better for me. So this is my go to technique for pin curls.

So my "'All' Natural" Challenge will officially begin when I wash my hair a week or so from today. Can't wait but until then I am going to enjoy the fruit of my hard work.

My personal ALL NATURAL CHALLENGE...well maybe not completely natural

I saw a video on YouTube, but I cannot remember the young lady's name, about an All Natural challenge that she wanted to try out. All it is using nothing but natural products for the next two months. So I decided to give it a try. I want to see how the state of my hair will be using MOSTLY natural products. You noticed that I put mostly in CAPS. I will be tweaking this. My TreSemme Naturals Conditioner, maybe the Proclaim Olive Glossing conditioner, and Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum aren’t going anywhere. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? But the Crème of Nature Argan Oil products will be put on hold for awhile. So here is plan:

Ø From now until March 23rd 96.5% (I’m pulling that percentage out of my ass lol) of the products I will use will be natural products.

Ø On shampoo wash days, only use natural products with the exception of TreSemme Naturals and Garnier Fructis to help detangle.

Ø My natural products of choice are, of course, my Shi-Naturals and Silk Dreams products.

Ø Moisturize and seal every other day with Shi-Naturals Creamy Leave-in and Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum.

Ø I will still use the Shi-Naturals No-Poo Co-wash Conditioner and maybe the Proclaim Olive Glossing Conditioner to co-rinse with but I will use a natural conditioner to deep condition with.

That’s it. Very straight forward.  

I’ll post updates every couple of weeks.

*note: I will be using the ORS Creamy Aloe to clarify once a month and the Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor every other week for a bit of protein. 

Continuing My Stretch

So my plan was to texlax my hair @ 16 week post. That deadline has come and gone. This stretch has been going pretty good. So why relax? In my eyes, there is no need to just because I’m finally 16 weeks post. I am going to continue my stretch this time pushing it back to 24 weeks. If my stretch is still going well at that point, I will continue stretching. No I am not transitioning but I want to stretch for as long as I can. If I decide to transition, there will definitely be a post about it. Buns/ponytails have been best friend during this stretch and they will continue to be.