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|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!

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

Relaxer Update (Very Overdue)

Hey ladies! It has been a looooong while since my last post it seems.  Like many of you all, life has been happening and so I haven't been making the time to post any updates on my hair, although I have continued to stalk you all's blogs.  I get excited to see you ladies' progress. I feel like we are all in this together, supporting and rooting each other on.  It's amazing!



Length check before trim

So what's been happening with my hair since my last post?  Well, I ended my 12 week relaxer stretch back on August 9.  This stretch seemed so easy.  I've been incorporating a lot of the techniques I've learned from many of you ladies and it has made life so much easier. Seriously!

For my relaxer, I did the half and half method as I usually do.  I was worried that I ended up with bone straight results; especially on the left back side which is the side I started on, so it had a bit longer processing time than the right side.  The rest of my hair seems to have reverted a bit since my last wash, but the left back still feels a bit straight.  I'm hoping this will not cause any issues at my next relaxer. My plan is to coat my new growth with my Silk Remedy (Sally's comparison to Chi Silk Infusion).  I usually only try to coat my previously relaxed hair, but next time I will try to coat the new growth as well.  I also plan to begin relaxing on the right side instead of the left.

Other than the "over-processing" scare (well not really), my relaxer touch up turned out to be successful.  I did a regular roller set and tried out the saran wrap method again. I've tried this before unsuccessfully, but never posted on it.  This time was definitely a success.  It was like I had flat ironed my hair without a flat iron. Perfect!



Finger combed hair into bun

After my relaxer I decided to go for a trim at Super Cuts.  My ends were in pretty good shape as far as health, but I've mentioned before that my ends are much thinner than I like, so I've decided to gradually snip away until I'm happy with the thickness.  I snapped a length check pick before the trim but never got around to taking a post-trim pic.  The day I went for my trim it was raining and humid. My hair turned into a puffy mess so I didn't bother.  As far as length, it looks like I reached around line 6-ish again which was the length I was at before my last trim back in April. I think she took about an inch off for this most recent trim. Not too drastic.

Since relaxer day I have been in bun city and loving it! I've barely been manipulating my hair other than to moisturize or massage castor oil into my scalp.  I'm hoping this is good enough for my M&S-ing though it doesn't seem to be too thorough  I've been trying to get the moisturizer into most of my hair as much as possible without having to part or manipulate it into sections.  It seems to be working so far.




Back view

I'm hoping to do an update on my nape soon. It's not where I want it to be but definitely making progress.  I've definitely gained some length and thickness there.  I can even get some small rollers back there.  This was not possible before starting my journey.

So far so good on this journey of mine. I may be starting my wash day tonight. I have not washed in two weeks. I have been so busy studying I couldn't even take the time for my weekly wash and my hair is screaming for a cleanse.




I hope all is continuing to go well with everyone's journey!

Thanks for reading,

   Andrea

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

Thinking Out Loud



Wet wrap results - no flat iron used



I am SOOOO ready to be fully texlaxed. I almost thought about throwing out the idea because I miss my wet wraps so badly.  My hair always came out so smooth and soft with absolutely NO direct heat as seen in one of my previous wash days here.  But I know the benefits of texlaxing will be worth it. Stronger thicker hair.  And now that I'm getting my rollersetting skills down, this should be a breeze.

My hair is definitely growing at the average rate of a half inch per month.  It seems sooooo slow.  I am way too impatient.  I keep thinking to myself "why couldn't I have started my HHJ three years ago? I'd be at my goal by now."  Well if I had started 3 years ago I would have been saying the same thing then. Ha! Patience patience patience is key!

I couldn't even wait.  I've been wanting to get my hands on the Magic Star Jumbo Rake.  I actually purchased the set last night (Jumbo and Mini).  I'm super excited about this purchase.  I'll keep the mini in my purse for when I'm out and about. A perfect addition to my aresenal of hair care items! :)

 

Protective styling....what to say about this.  I need to experiment with more styles.  All I do is pull it up and clip it.  I'm just trying to be careful with my hair.  My hair is not very dense, which I hate.  I feel like a lot of styles don't look too great with my thin hair.  Plus I have very fine strands so I try not to do too much to my hair to avoid causing any breakage.  But I'm getting tired of my boring look.  When I'm closer to being fully texlaxed I hope to experiment a lot more.  But right now I feel like a wig may be in order.

Relaxer Update/L4LPSC Update

So I relaxed this past Saturday after a little over 6 weeks.  I know I know....to soon right.  Well I have been texlaxing so I wasn't worried to much about over-processing any previously relaxed hair.  The main reason was because I wanted my hair to be decent and manageable for my visit to to see my family next week.  I think I may have been able to go a little longer now that I've got my new ponytail roller set routine going.  My hair has been a lot easier to deal with since starting that and I've been finger combing a lot more as well.  Next stretch, I'm hoping to go 8 weeks.  Now on to the deets...

I switched from my mild relaxer to the ORS regular strength relaxer.  I mentioned that I was planning to switch this up a while back.  My synopsis is that ORS regular strength is similar to the mild relaxer I had been using, as far as the texture left to my hair.  I went over the 10 minutes per each half of my hair that I meant.  It may have been more like 15 or so but I still had some texture.  I think this should be labeled as a mild relaxer.  So I used the half and half method as I have previously.  This time I did my halves vertically instead of horizontal.  Once I rinsed the relaxer I did my protein step and neutralized using ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo.  After neutralizing I applied French Perm Stabilizer Plus to my hair (worked into a lather and let it sit for 1 minute).  This is a low pH (2.5) conditioner that helps return the hair to its normal acid balance after relaxing.  I will have to do a review on this to give a lil more detail.



Please excuse the mess in the background

  After rinsing the French Perm Stabilizer and the applied Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner and sat under my steamer for about 30 minutes.  After I finished DCing I wanted to let my hair cool off before rinsing a laid down to watch a little TV.  Well I was doing my hair kind of late so I actually fell asleep with the condish in my hair for a few hours. LOL!

 

After rinsing out my deep conditioner I applied my leave-ins (DB Daily Leave In Conditioner - Sweet Creme and PMSS Serum).  Finally I was able to pull of a wrap! Haven't been able to do that in a while.  I missed my wraps.  I tied on my silk scarf and let my hair air dry overnight.  The next day I flat ironed my roots because I had planned to go get a trim, but didn't quite make it that far.  Here were the results:



without flash; wearing my length check tee from JGA



with flash; I hate how thin my ends look; texlaxing should nip
this in the bud in time

L4LPSC Update
After mentioning the flat ironing, I think I am officially DQ'd from the L4LPSC.  I also used the flat iron at my last relaxer on Jan. 16. :-(  But those were the only two times.  I've been doing pretty well with the protective styling, though not creative.  I didn't even think about it until just now.  Oh well, I think I'm doing okay for a struggling newbie.  I will have to do better though.  Well, until next time. :]

Thanks for reading!

Andrea

I'm In the L4L Protective Styling Challenge

After a bit of consideration I have decided to go ahead and join Ebony C Princess's L4L Protective Styling Challenge.  My fear was that I've just started my HHJ and am a newbie at this.  I have no idea what I am going to do to my hair and have no protective styling ideas, AND I'm still not the biggest fan of protective styling.  However, now is a better time than any to start protecting my hair not only because of the harsh cold winter elements, etc. etc., but also because I am a newbie and I just need to be doing this! Ha!

Here's how to enter:

(1) Post your starting photo for the challenge on your blog and link on the first post of the challenge (which will be titled sign-up).

(2)  Have either the L4L Button (found at the bottom of this site) and/or the official Protective Styling Badge posted to your blog.

(3) Update monthly on your blog and link up here on the official update posts.

(4) Post a final length/progress comparison to your blog at the conclusion of the challenge and link up here on L4L within a week of the end of the challenge.

Click on the link above (the L4LPSC button) to see the official details for the challenge..

My most recent wash day was on Thursday.  I am at about 6 weeks post.  I blow dried my hair on a cooler temp setting and tried my best to get my roots as straight as possible to take my starting pic. Blow drying took FOREVER. lol.  I used my length check tee that I purchased from JustGrowAlready.com to mark my starting point.  It may not be very accurate as my roots are not 100% straight.  I also know I'll be needing a trim at my next touch up so I hope this doesn't set me back some in the challenge.  Anywho, here's my starting photo.

Here's what I was working with as far as my roots.  There is some new growth and some tex-laxed going on here. My hair is still damp in this photo.  I'm not quite sure where the texlaxed texture starts. I'm guessing maybe a half inch or so of new growth. No idea....

 

I'm kind of excited about this challenge.  I thinks it's going to be a lot of fun and I'm really interested to see what kind of styles I can come up with.  I'm going to try and force myself to be a little more creative. Here goes nothing!

Is anyone else doing the L4L Protective Styling Challenge?

Andrea



Today's Hair - Kind of Messy

Okay, so I'm trying to get this protective styling down.  Not very good at it as far as variety.  I usually will wear my hair down the first couple days after my wash, and then when it starts getting oily I just clip it up in the back. Very BORING.  Now I'm starting to get quite a bit of new growth and it is becoming unmanageable.  It's not even 6 weeks yet and I'm worried that I'm going to cave in and abort my relaxer streatch.  Last night I thought maybe doing a wavy look would help my length kind of match my roots.  I braided my hair (messily) in cornrows and used a little hair spray.



The next morning I took the braids down for a messy wavy style.  I think it turned out okay.  I still ended up pulling it back in a clip, but it gave me a different look to try.  I may try this again, but man putting cornrows in your own head can be tiresome. LOL!



Does anyone else know of any simple and easy protective style ideas to try for medium length hair?

Thanks for reading,

Andrea :)