Relaxer Touch-up at 11 weeks post

So yesterday I finally relaxed after an 11 week stretch.  I decided to end my stretch mainly because I just wanted to get my relaxer out of the way and I was ready to have some "straight-er" hair.  Relaxer day was pretty long of course, but I think it went well. It was a long day/night I'll just say.

I started out by detangling and sectioning my hair into four parts.  I then coated the length of my hair with  GVP Silk Remedy that I got from Sally's (it's supposed to compare with CHI Silk Infusion) and Roux Porosity Control to protect from relaxer runoff.  I planned to begin with the back half (doing the half and half relaxer method that I've used before).  I placed metal duckbill clips along the horizontal part between the front and back half to separate the front section of my hair.  I clipped the two front sections with butterfly clips and covered with a plastic clap.

Used metal clips to separate front half

Clips help to keep plastic cap in place

I finished prepping the back half by parting each section into one inch sections and twisting to keep them separated.  I based my scalp with Vaseline as I went along.  I relaxed the back half using my green sprush. For my relaxer I used the same on that I used the last time: ORS Lye Relaxer in Normal Strength. I had my timer set for 11 minutes but I went quite a bit over.  I immediately jumped in the shower and rinsed then applied Redken Extreme Strength Builder for my midstep protein treatment.  Neuatralized with ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo 3 times and then I used my Elasta QP Neutralizing Shampoo to double check that all the relaxer was gone.  This particular shampoo turns pink when there are still traces of relaxer so it made me feel better to see the white lather.  I followed up next with French Perm Stabilizer Plus for extra precaution (low pH conditioner that also aids in stopping the relaxer process.  Man oh man does my hair feel smooth after using this stuff!

Next I relaxed the front half in the same manner, first making sure that my hair was not damp from working on the back half.  Since I am texlaxing, I was almost worried that I'd left the relaxer on too long.  The roots in the back half seemed to be straighter than I expected, but I'm hoping to see some reversion there after my next wash.

I deep conditioner using my ORS Curls Unleashed under my heating cap for several hours.  I fell asleep wearing the heat cap then I just took it off and went on to bed.  When I rinsed again my hair felt so soft and smooth.  After rinsing the DC I t-shirt dried for maybe 30 min and then applied Darcy Daily Leave In and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum.  I allowed my hair to air dry with my silk scarf tied around my edges and then ended up pulling it into a bun.

Looks a little thicker and fuller than usual :-)

I think this relaxer day went well even though it was long.  I can't wait to do another almost 3 month stretch.  I figure I'll wait a little bit before going for another trim/dusting since I just had one last month.  Planning on a lot of PS-ing and no heat during this stretch next stretch.  Well until the next post folks! :)

How was your most recent relaxer touch-up?  Do you self relax and if so what's your method?

Thanks for reading,

   Andrea

Wash Day

I started off applying a little hempseed oil for ease of detangling my hair with my Magic Star Jumbo Rake comb which I love! It makes it so much easier to get through my new growth and texlaxed hair. I then parted my hair into four sections securing with separator clips.

Next I jumped in the shower and shampooed each quadrant with my Redken Hair Cleansing Cream to remove any build up.  I then followed up with a moisturizing shampoo (It's A 10 Miracle Moisture Shampoo; will do a review after a few more uses).

I then hopped out of the shower and t-shirt dried my hair for about 30 minutes or so and then applied Kera Pro Restorative Treatment.  I let the DC sit on my hair for a while then eventually sat under my heat cap for an hour.  I then allowed a few minutes for my hair to cool off and then jumped back in the shower to rinse.

I tshirt dried for about 20 minutes and then applied my leave-ins.  I used Darcy Daily Leave-In and then I applied a new product, Matrix Biolage Thermal Active Repair Cream.  I think this is used to blow dry but I decided I didnt want to both blow dry and flat iron.  I ended up air drying; my air dried hair felt a little dry for some reason.  I've noticed this the past couple of washes that I allowed my hair to air dry.  Not sure what that is about.  I then flat ironed my hair using my Sedu Revolution on 230 degrees.  I used my Catwalk Haute Iron Spray for additional heat protection to be on the safe side. 

After I finished I wrapped up my hair and went to bed.  I was going to take a pic of my results but the humidity from all this rain got to my hair before I got a chance.  Trying to figure out how to style it tomorrow for my interview. Wish me luck ladies!

Thanks for reading,

   Andrea

Wash Day

I am 4 weeks post today so I decided to clarify to begin this wash.  I never ever thought about clarifying or even knew that it was necessary.  Who knows, I may have been clarifying all the time and just didnt know.  Before my HHJ I would just use whatever shampoo or whatever conditioner but now I understand that there are different types of shampoos(moisturizing, clarifying, chelating, sulfate free, etc.) and conditioners (moisturizing, protein) etc. and they each serve a specific purpose.

Clarifying shampoos are used as a means of removing product build-up from your hair.  As you continue to add products to your hair such as hair sprays, gels, serums containing cones,  or if you live in an area with hard water, etc. your hair shaft can become clogged which prevents additional nourishment from penetrating the hair. You're basically getting rid of the "bad" stuff to make room for more "good" stuff.  When using a clarifying shampoo, you should always followup with a moisturizing shampoo as clarifying shampoos are usually somewhat harsh and drying.  It is best to clarify at least every four weeks.

My Wash:

1. To clarify I used Redken Hair Cleansing Cream Shampoo, it was gentle yet my hair still felt squeaky clean.

2. Next I followed up with Lavender Mint Moisturizing Shampoo (this was a generic brand that I purchased from Sally's Beauty Supply a while back).  It's supposed to compare with Paul Mitchell products. It does the job. :)

3. Next I decided to do a protein treatment to reinforce my tresses.  I used Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus for this step. I didn't use heat but allowed it to sit on my hair for maybe an hour and a half to two hours.  I'm hoping it will also help curb some of the breakage I've been seeing.  I have split ends now since I unfortunately missed out on my trim after my touchup. I want to wait until I can straighten my hair before getting a trim.  Heat in the L4L Protective Styling Challenge is a no no, but I need want a trim ASAP!

4. Deep conditioned using Redken All Soft Heavy Cream ( I guess it was a Redken kind of a day).  Lol! I wanted to DC using my steamer, but it was late and I wasn't in the mood to get it out and put it together....another reason that I wish I had one with an adjustable stand.  Maybe one day I will upgrade.  I ended up leaving the DC in overnight.  I was just too sleepy to fool with my hair anymore.

5.  The next morning I rinsed out the DC and I applied Roux Porosity control to each section (I've been doing everything in 4 sections) for 30 secs then rinsed.  My hair did not have any slip at all after the DC or the Roux, which I was unhappy about. 

6.  I then squeezed my hair dry with a t-shirt (NEVER rub dry!!!) then I let it air dry for a while so I could detangle on dry hair before my rollerset.
7.  I applied my leave-ins (DB Daily Leave-In, PMSS Serum, and I put a little Carols Daughter Monoi Repairing Split End Sealer on my ends) and re-wet my hair for my rollerset. After putting in the rollers I sprayed some heat protectant on my exposed hair before sitting under the dryer.  I was a little more frustrated with this set.  This is my third time rollersetting since my earlier post which you can read here.  Here are the results:

I managed to get a pretty good texture shot of my texlaxed/bone straight.  This was taken right after shampooing before I applied the protein conditioner.  My texlaxed hair is pretty wavy but you can't really tell too well in the pics.  



texture shot

 I'm so excited to see the amount of texlaxed hair I have.  So eager to be 100% texlaxed soon.  I keep picturing myself wearing big fluffy buns.  I actually think buns are really cute.  A bun on me now just looks really pitiful...lol. Anyway, who knows maybe texlaxing will help me work my way to natural if I decided to go that route.

How was your most recent wash day? Are there any beginners giving rollersetting a try? How is that going for you?

Have a wonderful Easter weekend,
and thanks for reading!

     Andrea

Wash Day - 2/7/2013

So I did a wash on Thursday.  I was not very happy at the end of this wash I must say.  Still can't figure out what to do with my hair since I have about 2 inches of texlaxed hair.  I suck at protective styling and roller setting, plus I've been trying to avoid doing anything that will put any stress on my nape, because I'm still trying to nurse it back to health.  Still leaning toward purchasing a wig.  I need to do a lil research before I do this.  It may be my number one option for protective styling and relaxer stretching at the moment.  So on to my wash details.  I kind of switched up my routine this time.

1. Started off prepooing with oils:  Argan Oil (contents:  argan oil and sweet almond oil) on my roots and Matrix Biolage Delicate Care Organic Certified Oil (contents: olea europaea oil/olive fruit oil, isopropyl palmitate, argania spionosa oil/argania spinosa kernel oil, lavandula angustifolia oil/lavender oil, linaldol). The Matrix Biolage oil is part of their color care line; the instructions say to apply from mid lenghth to ends, so I used the argan oil closer to my roots.  I sat under my heat cap for about 20 minutes.

2. After prepooing I detangled my hair with my seamless comb, parting my hair into 6 sections and braiding each section.  I secured the ends with ouchless ponytail holders.  I decided to try this out after reading about the  technique on Miss Kibibi's blog (author of the Five Hair Archetypes).  It's a great way to keep your hair from tangling while shampooing  Next time I will use more braids.

3.  I hopped in the shower and shampooed using Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger shampoo.  Another trick I got from Miss Kibibi's blog was to dilute the shampoo with water in an applicator bottle so you can apply the shampoo directly to the scalp.  I'm trying to put more focus on cleansing the scalp since this is the purpose of shampoo.  Shampoo is harsh on your hair strands.  Doing my shampoo this way I can focus more on cleansing my scalp and of course some of the shampoo will run down my hair gently cleansing my tresses in the process.  I think it would have been easier to cleanse my scalp if I had done more braids.

4.  Next I did my black tea rinse and let it sit on my hair for a few minutes.

5. I then rinsed out the black tea and applied PM Super Skinny Treatment to my hair.  Man let me tell ya....this stuff is the truth! lol! My hair feels oh so soft afterwards.  Love it!!!

6.  Finally I DC'd with my Kera Pro Restorative Treatment.  Another fave of mine!  I sat under my steamer for about 20 minutes.



7. After DC-ing I applied Roux Porosity control for about 30 seconds and rinsed.

I tried squeezing my hair dry with a t-shirt.  Next I applied my leave-ins:  Darcy's Daily Leave In and PMSS Serum.  My hair was about 75% dry at that point.  I could figure out what I was going to do to my hair.  It was getting  late and I had to be at work the next morning.  I always worry about my hair looking decent for work.  I thought I could get away with doing a wrap, so I tried wrapping my hair and spraying a little water to get it back wet again.  This was sooo difficult and remember I have thick texlaxed roots.  I definitely experienced some breakage. :(  When I took down my hair in the morning after letting it air dry overnight, it was not what I had hoped.  Puffy roots galore!  I ended up clipping back as usual.

I'd wanted to try out a roller set, but didn't have time for that.  I wasn't sure how plain air drying would turn out.  I just didn't know what to do.  Sigh.... A wig or sew-in is sounding better and better by the second.  Ah well, maybe the next wash will be better.

How was your most recent wash day?  Is anyone else having texlaxing issues?  What are you doing to combat this problem?

Thanks for reading,
Andrea

Wash Day - 12/20/2012

So I just recently had a wash day and am posting late. I kind of like to do my wash day on Thursday so my hair is fresh for the weekend or if something is going on Friday night. ha ha! 

All my goodies came in earlier this week so I started out prepooing for about 30 minutes with grapeseed oil and my new conditiong cap! yay! So excited about this, i hate sitting under my hair dryer.

After prepooing I shampooed with Brocato Splassh sulfate free shampoo.  I put in Roux Porosith control for 30 seconds then rinsed and then did my black tea rinse.  This time I only used one tea bag and try to cool the temp before pooring onto my hair.  My hair did not feel "as" hard, not sure if it was the temp or amount of tea.  Most likely the temp is my opinion.

After rinsing I used my Ion Solutions Smoothing Conditioner with Keratin to soften my hair.  I left it on for about a minute and then rinsed.

Next I deep conditioned with my Kera Pro Restorative Treatment also under my heating cap for about 45 minutes.  Did feel like getting out my steamer.  Will use it my next wash.

Finally I rinsed my DC, applied Darcy's Leave In Conditioner and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum and wrapped my hair.  I sat under the hair dryer for maybe 45 minutes to get smooth results. I mainly wanted to get about 80% dry and let the rest air dry overnight. It was a long Thursday night! LOL!  My hair was very soft and smooth the next morning. 

People always ask me if I flat iron after I've wrapped my hair, but I don't.  My hair usually gets pretty smooth from just the wrap.  I am worried that since I'm using a mild relaxer now, and my hair is not so bone straight, that I won't be able to get these kind of results anymore.  My hair is feeling pretty wavy where I have most recently begun self relaxing....not kinky, but pretty wavy.  It feels soft and thick.  I'll have to take a pic.

Here are some next day pics. You can see how thin my hair is in the second pic. Not sure if I should just go ahead and get a trim CUT....  :o(

Is anyone else out there having thin hair woes???



P.S. I've also made another new purchases.  Looked at this a few weeks ago and couldnt help myself. I purchased Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Split End Sealer.  The carob seed oil in this product is supposed to bind split ends, reducing split ends by 93.3%.  The reviews looked good so I gave in....true product junky huh?



Has anywone else tried this? How did you like it?

Thanks for reading,

Andrea

New Purchases

So I've made some more purchases to incorporate into my HHJ.  I am so excited, I cannot wait until everything arrives! Super Cheesin!!! First off, I purchased 3 Jars of Kera Pro Restorative Treatment at Sally's last weekend (regularly $10.99, on sale for $5.00 each).  I am so glad I checked with the sales associate because there was no sale sign up and she said it wasn't in their sale paper, but sure enough she did a price check and there it was. Yay!  I had also ordered some more Darcy's Botanicals Coconut Lemongrass Transition Creme, but it hasnt arrived yet.  This was a Black Friday purchase.

Today I purchased a few items on Amazon as well. I am going to go broke fooling with my hair, but I am healthy hair obssessed!  I finally ordered a heating cap to do my prepoos and deep conditioning.  Currently I use a hooded hair dryer sitting on my ironing board so I can adjust the height.  I feel like I can't do anything sitting in this chair oddly placed in my room.  Now I can prepoo laying down, I can watch TV without the noisy dryer.  So glad to make this purchase.  I got the Mastex heat cap.  It had really good reviews and the price was reasonable. I'll probably look ridiculous in it, but hey as long as my hair is happy I am fine!

I also purchased grape seed oil and hemp seed oil to try on my hair.  I really like coconut oil, but it does seem to weigh my hair down.  I've read that grapeseed oil is fairly light it sinks into the hair.  And I've started to look into the ceremide benefits and these oils are packed with those so I'm giving it a try.

Finally I decided to purchase a humidifier to use during the winter.  I saw Jeni's post on JGA on Winterizing your hair regimen and having a humidifier is beneficial because it keeps moisture in the air preventing your hair from drying out from the cold dry air during the winter.

I can't wait until my orders come in.  I think my humidifier is estimated to get here Monday. I am so excited about this journey.  I feel like I'm moving in a positive direction.  The only thing I'm mainly concerned about is determining how much shedding/breakage is too much.  I am very paranoid and always have been about that.  I'll figure it out. 

Right now I'm in the middle of my wash day, so I am planning to post everything by tomorrow.  Off to rinse my prepoo.

Thanks for reading!

Andrea