Wash Day | Getting Steamy With It

Hello all! Another week has gone by and another wash day post has been created around these parts.  This time I made sure to get in as much conditioner as possible on this wash since I pretty much skipped any conditioner on my last wash day which you can read about here. I don't know...it just felt wrong somehow. I just had to make up for it in this weeks Wash Day Experience. 

DEEP CONDITION

This week I decided to revisit deep conditioning on dry hair after receiving a tip on speeding up my wash day from Lizzy over at Lisa's Journal. It's been a long time since I started my wash day with deep conditioning, so I figured I'd give it a try. I mean, I'm not really feeling the shower hopping life, but it has been my life for the past....hmmm...how long have I been on this hair journey?? LOL

I started off by massaging my scalp with coconut oil.  I then applied She Scent It Banana Brulee Moisturizing Deep Conditioner.  I had almost forgotten I had this and decided I'd finish off the jar. Another empty from the stash! YES!!!

For an extra boost of moisture, I decided to dust off the old steamer.  My hair was sectioned in four. I twisted each section into a large bantu knot and sat under my steamer for about 20 minutes.  I allowed a few minutes for my hair to cool off.

***Table Top Steamer Tip***

If you have a table top steamer, using an ironing board is a great way to easily adjust the height.

SHAMPOO & CONDITION
Next I shampooed my hair with 40 Carrots Retinol Rich Shampoo.  This shampoo is very gentle so I opted for this shampoo to keep me from feeling like I washed out the benefits from my dry hair deep conditioning session. I followed up with Herbal Esscences Naked Moisture Conditioner and rinsed thoroughly. I actually exited the shower without having to jump back in. Yay!

LEAVE-INS & STYLING
I decided to do another twist and curl with larger flat twists and larger perm rods.  For my leave-ins I used Annabelle's Perfect Blends Moisturizing Hair Cream and Macadamia oil to seal. I set my twist and curl with Eco Styler gel.

I was worried that my hair was not dry when I took it down the next morning. I felt a slight bit of dampness so there was some frizz going on; but I was still fairly happy with the results. I guess it wasn't too bad. I had a few compliments at work. Also when I was at Walmart a woman complimented me and asked if I had done my own hair.  She wanted to know if I could do hers. LOL! I am definitely no stylist. Just practicing and having fun. Ha ha!

Well how was your wash day experience?  What fun styles have you tried lately?  Please do tell. Head on over to the Wash Day Experience Linkup and share!


Thanks so much for reading!

Wash Day | Bantu Knots to High Puff

Hello there ladies and gents! Coming at you guys with another wash day post. It seems that I can never keep my wash days quite consistent. Always making adjustments based on what's going on.  My intent was to wash DC and try out the jumbo perm rods that I recently purchased, but instead I ended up going with bantu knots to save some time.  So let's get into the deets of my most recent Wash Day Experience!

PRE-POO
I parted my hair into four quadrants and applied my Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Bath, Body, and Massage Oil. I say it's good for more than just your bath and body. I love this in my hair and it smells lovely.  I applied this to my hair and sat under my heat cap for maybe 20 minutes or so.

SHAMPOO
I shampooed with Herbal Essences Wild Naturals Rejuvenating shampoo which is a new product for me. I picked it up on sale at Walgreens.  I figured since I love the conditioners maybe the HE shampoos might be worth a try. I also bought the conditioner for this line as well, but I haven't tried it yet.


DEEP CONDITION
I totally skipped my deep conditioning treatment ya'll!!! I didn't even use a rinse out conditioner while I was in the shower and I wasn't about to hop back in!!! I had every intention of deep conditioning my hair. I had actually planned to apply it and leave it in over night because I started on my hair so late. I started dreading having to get up the next morning to rinse and style. The perm rod idea was out the door by this point. I was also expecting my cousin to stop through on her way back to Atlanta so I knew I wouldn't have the time to mess with my hair on top of everything else i had planned to do.

My sister had done bantu knots on her hair earlier that day so I thought maybe I'll just apply a good moisturizer and do some quick bantu knots. So bantu knots it was.

STYLING
My hair was in my usual 8 sections (each of the four quadrants parted in half).  This time I did twists instead of braids. So I just unraveled each twist section, applied my Pura Body Naturals Muru Muru moisture milk, sealed with avocado oil and applied my Eco Styler gel (since I couldn't find my Carol's Daughter styling creme) detangled and twisted the section into a knot. I had 8 knots total. I slept in those and prayed they did not take long to dry. Unfortunately they were still a bit damp even after having them in over 12 hours. So I just wore the knots as is the entire day and took them down the next morning.

I ended up turning my BKO into a curly High Puff using a banana clip since I wasn't completely happy with the take down results. It wasn't bad, but since the sections were so big i felt like my hair was more frizzy than I liked.  Fortunately my hair felt super soft even without a conditioning treatment; but I definitely won't be making it a habit of skipping my DC..

fairly decent definition on the curls

I had to play with the camera a little bit. =]

So that was my wash day. Didn't quite happen how I planned. I always feel like I have to rush...maybe because I tend to put it off because I just don't feel like it. #WashDay #ICant  LOL!!!

Did anyone else have a wash day that didn't turn out quite how you hoped? Do tell. Head on over to share your post on the Wash Day Experience link-up if you have one at Saving Our Strands or Just Grow Already. Can't wait to read about how your wash day went!


Thanks for reading my lil old post! :)

Wash Day + Giveaway Winner Announced

Hello all! Just coming at you with a quick wash day post after almost 2.5 weeks since my last wash. I washed my hair yesterday after I got home from work and since it was a bit late, I needed to make it a quick one.  Here's how it went down!

I used my Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Bath, Body, and Massage oil for my prepoo.  The mixture contains several excellent oils including Safflower, Vitamin E, Jojoba, Coconut and Olive.  I then detangled my hair in the shower with running water and did my usual 8 braids.

SHAMPOO & CONDITION
I shampooed with Mane and Tail shampoo.  Since I didn't have much time to DC and I knew I wanted to add some protein back after my flat iron session over 2 weeks ago, I decided to condition with Nexxus Emergencee,  I let it sit in my hair while I showered and then thoroughly rinsed.

LEAVE-INS AND STYLING
I used Pura Body Naturals Muru Muru Moisture Milk and sealed with Argan Oil.  I also used Proclaim Olive Foaming Wrap Lotion and Regis Design Line Enchanted Blow-Out lotion and blow dried my hair. Since I was in a rush, I did not use the cool setting this time around.

For work I threw my hair up in one of my usual buns. I where a lot of buns these days!

And that's it. Another boring old wash day! Sorry it was so quick, but I 'm trying to get back to my show. Empire! What!!! LOL

****************GIVEAWAY WINNER***************
On to more exciting news. The winner that was selected at random for the Lengthening Locks Blogiversary was.....drum roll please....Jas Sherese of Lengthy Lovely Locks! Congratulations, Jas! I hope you enjoy the gift card and can't wait to find out what products you decide to try!

A big THANK YOU to all who participated and for supporting.

Okay..back to my show now! Ummm...why is Hakeem tripping though?! LOL. Okay I'm done! :-P

Wash Day + Length Check | (Giveaway Reminder - $25 Ulta eGift Card)

So here we go! Another wash day post. Well this wash actually occurred two weeks ago. I'm trying to hang on to this work I put in, since I ended up doing a flat iron and length check! And it was definitely work! But let's get on to the deets.

Detangling
I did the same method I did the last couple of wash days. I parted my hair into the same four sections and saturated with Mane and Tale Detangler.  I then hopped into the shower and used my detangling brush along with the running water to detangle my hair. I had to grab my Aussie Moist to help with a few knots from the twist and curl set.

Shampoo
I shampooed with Mane and Tale Shampoo. At this point my hair was in 8 braids as shown in this post here.

Deep Condition
Overnight with my new favorite conditioner TGIN  Honey Miracle Hair Mask.  I'm planning to stock up. I will have to do a review soon.

Leave-Ins Plus Blow Dry
After rinsing and thoroughly detangling I applied my leave-ins and blow dried my hair on the cool setting.  Once my hair was completely dry, I flat ironed using my Sedu Revolution and trimmed as I went through each section. So I don't have a before trim pic, but I wasn't too worried about it.

Leave-ins and Heat Protectant

On a side note - I really like the blow dryer I've had for the past couple years. I don't really mention it much, but I love that it has a cool air setting; not the cold shot button like a lot that I've seen, but it actually has a cool air setting and you can change the speed of the air as well.  On the cool setting the display screen turns blue, when off the display screen is orange. I rarely use it on the heat setting; only if in a rush.

I tried to get a decent length check pic. (My sis took this. I had to beg her so I took what I could get. LOL!) My hair did not stay flat at all after I finished. By the time I got home from work my hair just felt frizzy and dull. To get a true length check I tried to stretch it the best that I could. I think I'm around line 12 which is right at the top of my bra strap.  I haven't retained much length which is to be expected with me transitioning and all. I still have some bone straight ends that need to be chopped away; and then to grow out the texlaxed section!

Wearing my JGA Lengthcheck Tee

Length Check

Looks like BSL

And there you have it! My Wash Day Experience!  Which I'll be sharing on the Wash Day Experience Link-Up hosted by S.O.S and JGA! Head on over and add yours too!

BTW Don't forget about my 3 Year Blog Anniversary Giveaway. Click here to find out how to enter! I am giving away a $25.00 Ulta Gift card. The giveaway is eligible for U.S. residents only at this time. But I will try to include my International friends on the next one for sure!  


Thanks for visiting and for all your support!

Wash Day | Flat Twist and Curl

Has it been a week already? Time sure flies when you'r having fun with your hair. And I did just that in my most recent Wash Day Experience. Here is how it went down.

DETANGLING
Just like with my last wash day I sectioned my hair in four and saturated with Mane and Tail Detangler.  I then hopped in the shower with my detangling brush to thoroughly detangle my hair with running water.  I parted each section in half since detangling in smaller sections is easiest and I braided each section once I was done.

SHAMPOO
I wanted to thoroughly clarify my hair so I used my Redken Hair Cleansing Cream and massaged into my scalp and hair (which was still in braids), then thoroughly rinsed.

PROTEIN TREATMENT
Since I noticed a little breakage I decided to finish off my jar of ORS Hair Mayonnaise.  Yay!!! I emptied a product!! But sadly I will probably just replace it with something else that I don't need to buy. Ha!

I used my Hot Head Conditioning Cap for a deep treatment.  Love this thing! After my hair cooled, I rinsed out the conditioner and followed up with Herbal Essences Naked Moisture Conditioner.

Love my Hot Head Conditioning Cap

TIME TO STYLE
I couldn't make up my mind how I wanted to style my hair, but I wanted to give my hair a break from the blow dryer and wanted to do something fun.  Since I have fallen in love with perm rods, thought I'd try my hand at a flat twist and curl.  I had no idea how this was going to turn out, but it wasn't too bad.  Some spots were a little frizzy but I actually liked the results. I thought it was going to be a big mess!

For my leave-ins I decided on Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Leave in Conditioner, coconut oil, and Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Styling Pudding.  I massaged a little castor oil mixed with peppermint oil to my scalp before taking down the twists.

I will definitely be doing this style again. Loved the curls and the volume! I realized that I've reached a point in my hair journey where I feel more comfortable with doing more with my hair and trying new styles.  I'm doing a lot more than I used to in the beginning.  Finally having fun with my hair!

So how was your wash day experience? Did anyone try any new styles lately? Please do tell and share your post in the Wash Day Experience link-up hosted by S.O.S. and JGA.

Thanks for reading, my friends! Until the next post. :)

Another Wash Day, Another New Product

It has been a while, so I'd figure I'd come at ya'll with a wash day post.  I don't enjoy posting about my wash days so much, because I feel like it will come off a bit boring.  But being a transitioner, sharing my changes in technique might help some one else going through their transitioning phase. So I figure why not.  So here we go....

Well, before I jump into this past wash day, just let me say that I am constantly tweaking my technique.  I am still experimenting with what I think will make my wash day a little easier and a little bit quicker than the last. This has def been a struggle.

DETANGLE

I sectioned my hair into four quadrants as I always do on wash day and spritzed with Mane and Tale Detangler before hoping in the shower. I rinsed and detangled my hair while in the shower with my detangling brush.  This was kind of a new technique. I noticed with passed wash days, if I had just recently moisturized and sealed my hair, it is SOOO easy to detangle in the shower before shampooing. I was also trying to use up product, so this was a good way to do it.

SHAMPOO

Another kind of new-ish technique; I split each quartered section of hair in half and braided it after detangling to keep it stretched out, leaving me with 8 braids total.  I then applied my Mane and Tail shampoo to my scalp and gently massaged.  I also applied a little shampoo to the braids to ensure that the length was thoroughly cleaned.  I noticed verily little shedding the past couple of washes also. I'm trying to determine what I owe that to. I haven't done a tea rinse in a long time, but I have been drinking green tea more lately as well as my bamboo tea.  Whatever the cause, I'm happy about it nonetheless. Ha ha!

Shampooing in Braids

Very little shedding from detangling and shampoo session

DEEP CONDITION (***New Product Alert***)

Well what else would you expect of a product junkie? ;)  I've been wanting to try TGIN brand products for a while and finally got my hands on it. I was super excited to try the Honey Miracle Hair Mask.  I unbraided each section of hair, applied the hair mask, then re-braided each section.  Sat under my heat cap for about 30 minutes and allowed my hair to cool off before jumping in the shower to rinse.  I rinsed with warm water and did a final rinse with cool water. I have done this before, but it actually even says it on the jar.

New Products

LEAVE-INS

For my leave-ins I decided to use the sample packet of TGIN Green Tea Super Moist Leave In Conditioner, coconut oil, Proclaim Foaming Wrap Lotion, and Regis Design Line Enchanted Blow Out Lotion to prep for a blow out.  I blow dried each section with cool air until about 90-95% dry and braided it back up.  Once I finished blow drying, I took down all the braids to pull my hair into a top bun. I kind of like the texture of my hair though, after I took down the braids, but I quickly lost the definition.

And there you have it! The wash day experience of a transitioner. I'm still tweaking my regimen, but it has improved a lot. Trust me! Because if it hadn't improved, you would probably be reading a relaxer update right now! LOL!

How well did your most recent wash day go?  Share your post on the Wash Day Experience Link-Up or share in the comment section below.

Thanks for dropping by!

Wash Day|More Experimenting with Tea Rinsing

In my last wash day post, I introduced tea rinsing back into the mix.  After noticing the reduced shedding, I knew that tea rinsing was here to stay.  I'm still trying to find ways to make it work within my regiment, however. I don't care for the drying stiff feeling that I usually get, so I've been playing around with my mix.  See below for the tea concoction that I used this time around. You'll notice that I used the same products as before with an extra addition....coconut oil!

Let's Get Into My Wash Day Experience....

1.  I'm not even sure if I should call this a prepoo. I applied Silk Dreams Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner on Sunday evening and detangled my hair with every intention of washing that night, but um....it was getting pretty late. Knowing how long it takes me to wash and blow dry, I knew I didn't have it in me. So in a bun my hair went. It wasn't until Tuesday night that I actually washed my hair. So I had a nice 2 day prepoo. My hair felt so moisturized.  

2. Shampooed with the last bit of ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo diluted in an applicator bottle. I get so excited when I empty product, because I know I have way too much (even after giving my mom several bottles of shampoo). LOL

3. I then applied my tea rinse mixture. This time I steeped only one tea bag instead of two and I added coconut oil to the mix.  My hair did not feel dried out or stripped. I really thought I was on to something with this mix.

4. After rinsing,, I deep conditioned under my heat cap with Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Hair Masque.

5. After t-shirt drying for a few minutes I applied my leave-ins which were Annabelle's Moisturizing Leave in Conditioner in the Vanilla Bean scent (My Giveaway win from Relaxed Thairapy. as well as Annabelle's Hair Creme in Birthday Cake Scent) and GVP Smoothing Serum.

I used the tension method to blow dry my hair on cool/luke warm temp. My hair seemed to dry faster than usual and felt a bit dry. I'm not quite sure what caused this. I think I should have sealed with a different product. I don't think I've ever used the GVP Smoothing Serum alone as a sealant when blow drying.  I also noticed that the bits of slippery elm and marshmallow root that seeped through the strainer were still in my hair and flying out as I blow dried, which was frustrating. I didn't notice this on my last wash because I used curlformers.  So now I have to go back to the drawing board with my tea mix.

I decided to just keep it simple and rock my usual bun.  I love low maintenance styles. 

All in all, it was a decent wash day. I've most definitely had worse. If you haven't heard any relaxer talk form me, then it must have been a good one. LOL

So how was your wash day? Head on over to Saving Our Strands or Just Grow Already and share your wash day post in the #WashDayExperience Link Up.

HHG!

Final Wash Day of 2014 - Operation Cease The Shedding

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! This passed Sunday was my last wash day of 2014.  I notice that every wash day I start pondering about what I plan to do, which products I'm going to use, and finally, how I will style my hair.  My wash days are a lot more calculated; there's a method to the madness. Before my hair journey, I never put any thought into this. My how things change when you start to really focus on your hair goals and learning about your hair.

Lately, I have been experiencing more shedding than I care for.  I had not done a tea rinse in so long; in fact, I haven't done a tea rinse at all during 2014.  To be honest, when I was doing them I wasn't even really convinced that it was helping at all, but the main reason I omitted tea rinsing from my regimen was to save some time and steps on wash day. I really don't enjoy shower hopping.  Well, this wash day, I thought I'd bring tea rinsing back into the mix.

Green Tea|Marshmallow Root|Slippery Elm Bark|
Peppermint Essential Oil|Rosemary Essential Oil

My Wash Day Experience:

1.  I started off by massaging my scalp with a mixture of coconut oil and JBCO.  I then did a hot oil treatment with some Tea Tree Oil that I was trying to use up.

2. Next, I took a moment to prepare my Tea Rinse mixture which consisted of two bags of Green Tea, steeped with a little bit of marshmallow root and slippery elm bark. I also added a couple of drops each of peppermint and rosemary essential oils.  I was hoping that this mixture would help combat the drying effect of the green tea and help with detangling.

3.  I then shampooed my hair using ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo.

4. Next I applied the tea rinse using a color applicator bottle.  My hair still felt a little stiff despite my adding the marshmallow and slippery elm.  I may need to play around with the measurements a little more to get better results.

5. I deep conditioned using the last of my Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque which I mixed with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and JBCO.  I deep conditioned under my heating cap for about 45 minutes and allowed to cool before rinsing.

6.  I hopped back into the shower to rinse my DC and then applied It's A 10 Miracle Conditioner to help soften and detangle my hair because it still felt a little stiff after deep conditioning. It helped a little bit. I should have grabbed my Aussie Moist, but I was ready to get out of the shower and be done.

I then t-shirt dried my hair for a few minutes while I pondered back and forth on whether I wanted to blow dry my hair or go with curls. I decided on pulling out my CurlFormers.  My leave-ins were Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner, GVP Smoothing Serum, and Jessicurl Confident Coils Styling Solution(to help set my curls). It did take me a while to install the CurlFormers because I had to spend a good bit of time detangling each section.  I definitely think the Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner helped to soften my hair for easier detangling.

I left the Curlformers in overnight to allow my hair to air dry. It wasn't too bad sleeping in them this time around.  I think I had the CurlFormers too tight at the root last time so I tried to make sure they were more loose this time around. This definitely helped.

Tea rinsing was definitely the star of this wash day.  I can truly say that this time around I am 100% certain that tea rinsing definitely works for reducing shedding. For the past several weeks, whenever I would run my fingers through my hair I was constantly pulling out shed strands of hair.  After tea rinsing, this has not been happening.  Tea rinsing is definitely here to stay.


How was your wash day? Are you battling with constant shedding? How does tea rinsing work for you?

Wishing everyone a very safe and Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading,