Transitioner's Corner | What Have I Been Doing with My Hair Lately?

Hello there! I have been MIA yet again. I get so mad at myself when I've been away to long. I enjoy blogging, but sometimes "I just don't feel like it" *in my whiny voice*. When I get home from a long day of work and whatever else I've had to do, I just want to relax.  Getting on my laptop after sitting at a computer all day is the last thing I feel like doing when I get home, even for enjoyment. But I do like when I keep up with what's going on with me and my hair because I like to have that record that I can go back an revisit later on.

I'm usually pretty boring with my hair but I have been trying a few things here and there to switch things up a bit. I rarely stray from my everyday bun, but every now and again I get an itch to try something different.  I was going through some old photos (that I had intended to post) and thought I'd share them here.

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

I skipped washing my hair this weekend. I just didn't have the time and patience for it, so I've decided to go ahead and post on my wash day from the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.  I tried to keep it simple, but seems like it never is. Here's how thing went down:

1. Detangled my hair using Mane and Tail Detangler and my seamless comb.

2. Shampooed with CON Argan Oil Shampoo.

3.Deep conditioned with ORS Hair Mayonnaise.  My hair felt in need of some protein so that was a must for this wash.

4.Applied my leave-ins. I used Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner and It's A 10 Miracle Leave-In.

5. Blow-dried using the tension method.

Bun Fun! :-P

I keep trying different things to help improve my wash day.  This time around I thought I'd try loosely tying rubber bands at each section (I always do everything in 4 sections).  I was very careful with the rubber bands but I think ouchless bands or scrunchies might have been better to use.  The idea was to hold my length in place while I massaged the shampoo into my scalp. It seemed to work pretty well to keep my new growth from getting tangled; however, somehow I ended up having issues with my ends getting tangled which isn't really usual for my wash days. It's usually my roots that I'm fighting with.

I was up until the crack of dawn blow drying my hair. I still haven't mastered this yet.  It was so late/early in the a.m. that after I finished the third section I decided to get some sleep and finish the fourth section later. LOL! I grabbed a plastic cap and rubber band and tied it around the section to keep my roots from drying and matting up.  I have about 9 months of new growth.  I was SO tired, and I also had plans to drive 5 hours to my home town to visit family for Thanksgiving.  The day just wasn't going how I had planned.  I think it took so long because of the detangling and using cooler air to blow dry. Sometimes I cheated and turned the temp up to save a little time. 

 Once I finally finished, I finger combed my hair into a bun.

Without Flash

With Flash

Wash days like this definitely make me consider staying relaxed, but I am really trying to find ways to work with my hair so we can both be happy. I want to be very much sure that I don't want to go natural before I relax again. So I'm trying to hold out. My last relaxer was in February of this year and I was about 7 months post at that time. After I relaxed I really regretted it.  I would be about 16 months post right now if I hadn't. I'm trying to hang in there. It's all about trial and error and patience I guess.

So how was your wash day? Is anyone else struggling through a long stretch/transition? Do you have any good tricks to speed up your wash day? Please share!!

Don't forget to check out and share your wash day via the Wash Day Experience Link Up hosted by SOS and JGA!

Thanks for reading!

Messy High Bun

Just snapped some pics of the messy high bun I've been wearing for the past few days. It looks so full surprisingly. I really like it.
Very quick post sent from my cell. Lol!

 On another note I am currently 19 weeks post  relaxer and my wash day last weekend went well.   It  was very brief. I shampooed my hair in 8 sections with Mane and Tail original shampoo.  I've had it a while but this was my first time using it and I really liked it. It  seemed to have really good slip. I was very pleased that I didn't have problems detangling in the shower.  I think increasing the number of sections from 4 to 8 helped as well t was really late so I skipped everything I would have normally done. I  did not pre-poo or DC... YIKES!!!  I was so tired, something had to give. I figured the water and moisturizer woukd leave me a little moisture.  I blow dried my hair pulled it up and tied a scarf around my edges. I didn't use any gel. Hair looks and feels fine so far despite skipping some essential pieces to my regimen. This stretch or transition (cant quite define it yet) is getting back on track.

On an additional note,  writing/ editing a blog post on your cell phone is very frustrating. This  keyboard has a mind if it's own, so please forgive the quality of this post. ha ha!

Well until the next post. Thanks for reading!
 Andrea