2015 Hair in Review

Here are a few of my highlights from this year

1. Tried Henna once. Liked it but haven't done another treatment this year.
2. Had my hair highlighted and also touched up. The color is no longer burgundy. I can't quite pick the color that it is now.
3. Tried lots and lots and lots of new products. Fell in love with some and others were just infatuation. lol
4. Got rid of the majority of my product stash. Not by using them up but by either giving them away and also throwing some out.
5. Found some staple products but I will always continue to try out new products.
6. Completed my transition to natural. Yay
7. Finally trying out flat twist outs and having the nerve to wear them out even if I don't find them to be "perfect".
8. I trimmed my hair. A LOT this year.
9. Then I cut my hair. Not trim but cut. lol

Let's get back to this cut and the condition my hair is in now.

(top) The first picture is from the beginning of my journey. I was still relaxing but stretching them out as long as could. The only thing that is the same about my hair from 2012 to today is the length. After cutting my hair in October, I am back to shoulder length. But now my hair is thicker and fuller.

(left) These pictures are comparing my hair from January of this year to today. Such a length difference. I chose the health of my hair over holding onto length. No need to hold on to hair that is breaking off. I do miss the length but I will have fun growing my hair back but also growing it longer. I will say that I am loving the fullness and how much thicker my hair is after this cut. It always amazes me what a cut can do.

Next length check will probably be in April. I plan on getting some twists in January and keeping them until sometime in April. Between taking my vitamins, applying Wild Growth Oil a few days a week and massaging my scalp I hope to see some decent growth.

How was you journey this year?

Wash Day Chronicles

Despite my ongoing battle with my hair believe it or not I actually enjoy washing my hair.  Even on days that washing it isn't going the greatest. Today's wash day was one of the great ones. I just hope my twist out reflects that. lol

1. Instead of co-washing or shampooing my hair I reached for my Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay (purchased from Vitamin Shoppe). I put 3 spoonfuls of clay into bowl and mixed it with distilled water. I ended up with a chunky consistency. That wasn't what I was going for but it didn't make a difference. I applied it to my hair in sections to make sire that every strand was covered with the masque. I let it sit for about 20 to 30 minutes. Once it was rinsed, my hair felt very clean and soft. My coily hair was very defined. No shampoo or co-wash defined my hair like this clay did.

2. Next I applied Naturelle Grow Mango and Coconut Water to my super soft hair. lol Sat under the dryer for 20 minutes then rinsed the conditioner out with cool water. I forgot how much I enjoyed this conditioner.

3. On damp hair, I applied Creme of Nature's 100% Argan Oil to seal in some moisture. I proceeded to use my leave-in of choice for the day, Kinky Curly Knot Today to detangle my hair. I used a little of my Mane Choice Doesn't Get Much Butter Than This Hair Butter to flat twist my hair. My hair will air dry over night in hopes that I will have a nicely defined twist out by then. They have been hit or miss lately. One day it's nice and fluffy the next it's a frizzy mess.

This is what the clay mixture looked like. I made way too much. I think that 2 scoops will be fine next time. I'm gonna use it again at the end of December. After that I will do a full review of the masque. I use it as a facial masque as well.

How have your wash days been going?

Averting Another Hair Crisis

I have been over manipulating my hair lately. Twist outs, braid outs and the like are low manipulation styles. I average re-twisting my hair almost daily for the last two weeks while trying to get these twist outs together. Doing that is no where near being low manipulation. My goal for the week is to pull my hair back in a loose ponytail to (1.) stretch my hair and (2.) to preserve my twist out for the week. My hair isn't long enough to pineapple. I will wash and redo the twist on Friday and start the process all over. I am doing what I can to not cause any damage. If I continue to re-twist at that frequency I will undoubtedly cause damage again. 

How do you preserve you curly styles? Any tips?

Taking A Break From Bunning...Finally

I love my buns. That's all that I do with my hair. With my hair being shorter now and the shrinkage being out of control, it makes putting my hair in a bun a difficult. I have been trying my hand at flat twists and regular two-strand twists. They have been the bane of my existence. lol Enough of the dramatics. But they have been difficult to master. I believe I have figured out what my obstacle has been. Doing twists on wet hair doesn't work for me. The back of my hair was always super frizzy and undefined. I am 3 months heat free and want to keep it that way for a bit. I will make an exception for using the tension method. Doing that has changed my life. lol This is the first time that I have been confident enough to wear a curly style and not put it directly into a bun.

 

Earlier this week, I dampened my hair and then used the tension method to stretch it and did two strand twists. My hair turned out pretty good. I wanted a bit more definition. So I used the following products to reset my hair and give flat twists a try (pictured above). The twist are by no means perfect but they are a work in progress.

I spritzed my hair with a bit of distilled water and then applied Camille Rose Naturals Curl Love Moisture Milk to make my hair pliable enough to flat twist. I did a total of five flat twists.

This is a picture of what my hair looked like earlier today. (I know it's not the best picture) I've worn my hair in this style majority of the week and have gotten compliments from a couple of the parents at my job and also a few coworkers. I look in the mirror and I can honestly say that I liked my hair. Styling has been a major challenge for me during this journey. I swear that at least once a day I have the urge to relax again just so I can have an easy styling day. Just so I can wear my hair straight and go on with my day. If I can perfect this style. I think that I will be ok. After my hair was blown out, I loved the fullness of my hair. I can't wait until I straighten my hair so I can see how my hair looks like with this shorter cut.

I'm happy that I have found a way to cure my hair styling woes. I should have done this a long time ago. Would have saved me some headaches.

Mielle Organics Babassu Oil Mint Deep Conditioner

I finally got my hands on the Babassu Oil conditioner from Mielle Organics. I have been wanting to try this and now I am. I attended the Living No Lye Tour Chicago stop last month and the M.O. team was there. They weren't selling anything but I got a business card from one of the Reps that had a discount code on it. That night I ordered a bottle.

Description: Our Babassu Oil Mint Deep conditioning protein/moisture replenisher will restore dry/damaged hair. This native Amazonian palm fruit is high in sterols and tocopherols which are healthy for the hair and scalp. Enriched with fatty acids that provide a rich softness to the hair. Derived from natural oils and cetearyl alcohol which helps reduce frizz and fly aways. This deep conditioner is filled with two complex amino acids from wheat and soy and other natural sources that actually mimic the function of hair amino acids helping ton restore the function and moisture to damage and dry hair. Safe to use on color treated hair.

My thoughts: This conditioner has a 50/50  moisture/protein balance. It has a medium thick creamy consistency. The smell of the conditioner is very minty with a hint of citrus. It's a bit strong for me and it lingers for a couple of days. But the softness that I get from it is worth it. It goes onto the hair very smoothly and it helps with detangling. I love conditioners that melt into my hair and this one does just that. A little bit goes a long way. The first time I used it I was good and didn't use a lot of it. Oooh but the second time I use way too much. lol If I use a light hand with it I can get another 3 to 4 uses out of the 8oz jar. Both times I sat under the steamer for about 20 minutes and it left my hair very soft. It probably did strengthen my hair but it felt more moisturized than anything. I love this conditioner. It has been added to my list of favorite conditioners to use.  

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts? Let's chat.

Operation: Grow My Hair Back

I know that I touched on this in the post but I wanted to dedicate a post specifically to my efforts in growing my hair back. It has been quite the adjustment with dealing with shorter hair.  The benefit to this new cut is that I can get an accurate read on what my actual texture is. I thought that the back section of my hair grew in looser. I couldn't be more wrong. It's 4c along with the rest of my hair. I think between the color and heat, the front section of my hair needs a lot of TLC. My edges can stand to be thicker as well.

The picture is of the items that I will be using to give my hair a bit of growth booth.

1. Wild Growth Hair Oil: I use the regular formula. I apply a quarter size amount throughout my head. I also focus it on my edges. Then I massage it in using the next item. I use this every other day to avoid a lot of build up.

2.Scalp Invigorator fromVanity Planet: I use this to massage the WGHO in. I also focus on my edges for about 45 sections each. I also use it when I shampoo my hair. The Invigorator helps to clean and exfoliate the scalp to lift dirt and dead skin cells from the scalp.

3. Mane Choice's It Doesn't Get Much "Butter" Than This: This butter is suppose to help strengthen the hair and stimulate the regrowth of thinning edges. On the days that I moisturize and seal my hair I put a bit on my edges and massage it in.

4. Manetabolism Vitamins: Doubles your hair's growth rate. If you get the average half inch of growth a month than the vitamins help you to get up to an inch a month. I take two pills at night with a full bottle of water.

5. No heat. You all already know that I am taking a break from heat. My long tern goal is to go a 6 months heat free. When I want to pamper myself, I'll go the shop and get a professional flat twist out done. If I can manage the 6 months, I just might go a bit longer.

It's time to get my hair in order!

Starting Over...Sort Of

You ladies already know that I have decided to cut heat from my regimen for a while. It's a decision that I'm happy to be making. I have been heat free since August 29th. I almost caved in today. Let's start from the beginning.

Lately I have not been completely happy with my hair. I feel as though my hair could be in a much better condition than it is in. I have been secretly wanting to cut my hair. So I decided to make an appointment to get my hair done. The style option I chose was the "flat twist-in". Meaning that I left the twist in and went on home. My appointment was on the 11th and I had a different stylist this time. My stylist name was Taylor and I was very satisfied with the job that he did with my hair. Since he has never done my hair before, we sat down at his station and had a consultation. I just explained the issues I have been having and we decided that I might need a cut because their was a drastic length difference. The bottom of my hair was much longer than the top. I thought my hair had to be straightened in order to get a really good trim/cut. He assured me that that wasn't the case. He proceeded to wash and deep condition my hair and also blow dried it. When he was done blow drying my hair he took a paper towel and placed it on the back of the cape. He showed me what my hair looked like. There was the biggest gap right at the back. I ended up cutting the longest layers back to shoulder length from a little past arm pit length. The shorter layers got a trim. In the pictures you can see how short my hair is now. I decided not to rock the twist out because my ends were too frizzy for my liking.

 

I would post some pictures of the how my hair looked with the twists in but the angles I have made me look like a walrus. Those pictures won't see the light of day. lol I am in the process of growing my hair back but most importantly getting my hair healthier. I will make another appointment in about two months to get my hair trimmed again so I can start to get rid of the thinner areas at the top of my head.
My overall regimen will not change. I will continue to wash and deep condition my hair w/ steam once a week. Moisturize and seal every other day. That part is especially for my color treated hair. I will add prepooing with coconut oil to my regimen. Continuing to take my Manetabolism vitamins and every other day and I'll add Wild Growth oil to my scalp every other day as well.  Believe it or not I'm excited about getting my hair back into shape. I had no qualms about cutting as much of my hair off as I did. I'm not playing around about my hair. lol

How is your hair journey going?