#Fitness Friday | Time to Get Back Into Shape

Getting and staying in shape for me has been a constant struggle. I can get on the workout wagon and even start to see some results, but,..somewhere...somehow...something always to throw me off.  Back in 2012 I was super proud of where I had come. I had joined boot camps, worked out on my own, ran my first (and last) 8K race. I had even achieved a personal goal of being able to do pullups/chin-ups.  Starting out, I couldn't even do ONE! I was slimming down and gaining strength. Now three years and 20+ pounds later, I am so eager to get back where I was.

It's been a slow start but I've been trying to get active and am hoping that joining the Fitness Friday linkup will help me get back and stay on track.

Since the start of the year I started off

Product Review | Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque

Product:  

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque

Price:  

$11.99 for 12 oz jar at Sally's Beauty Supply

Ingredients:  

Deionized water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Argan Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Emulsifying Wax, Sea Kelp Extract, Panthenol (Vitamin B-5),Essential Oil Blend, Avacado Oil, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Hyssopus Officinalis Extract, Salvia Officinalis (sage) Leaf and Equisetum Arvense Extract, Soybean Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil

Promises:

SheaMoisture's Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque deeply moisturizes and repairs dry, damaged

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!