Update: Wash Day, Castor Oil Challenge, Stretching

Hey Ladies!

I washed my hair and deep conditioned my hair today. I sat under my steamer for 25 minutes and my hair felt luxurious!!

I air dried using the scarf method which helped keep my edges flat.

My hair is very thick during this stretch so finding ways to keep my hair in line is crucial.

I am going to continue with the castor oil challenge seeing that the past couple of weeks have been going ok. I think it has aided in the thickness as well.

I have decided to go on my second 6-month stretch! :)

I will be relaxing on DECEMBER 28th, 2013 at the conclusion of the castor oil challenge.

Stay tuned for updates on my stretch and I will check in periodically as the weeks go on as I did on my last 6-month stretch.

Any additional tips would be great for this stretch!
Thanks for your support!

Caramel Treatment Recipe and Review

As many of you know I have been having the time of my life dealing with my new growth.

Knots...tangles...dryness...the list could go on.

No matter how much I deep conditioned and moisturized and sealed my hair it didn't seem to help.

So I went online and researched different tips, recipes, or ideas to soften my hair.

I came across a recipe called the Caramel Treatment that helps to soften and stretch "kinky" hair. My assumption is that is a treatment that is famous amongst women with African American hair textures.

The ingredients are fairly inexpensive and was easy to prep.

The directions can be found at this link.

I followed the recipe and directions from start to finish.

I let it sit on my hair for  1 hour and 20 minutes exactly without added heat. The only thing I hated was the smell. It was not a pleasant smell but something that I could get over.

I washed my hair using the Organix Moroccan Argan Creme Shampoo and followed with their conditioner. I let that sit on my hair for 10 minutes and rinsed with cool water.

I applied my leave-in and grapeseed oil.

To my surprise I had great slip and my hair was actually manageable to the point that I could put it in a bun!!! I seriously have not been able to bun my hair since the beginning of my stretch because I hate fighting with my hair trying to fully detangle it. I found that though my hair is still very thick it is much softer and the curl pattern is slightly looser but the texture is very noticeable.

The website says that this treatment should only be done once a month and from these results it will be in my regimen for good!

If anyone has issues with the manageability of their hair or new growth this is definite must! You have nothing to lose and they don't call it a hair "journey" for no reason :)

Week 17 of 26 Week Stretch

I hit my 17 week mark on Sunday and I must say this experience is hair changing lol.

My hair is SO thick and it has become more and more of a challenge to wash my hair. No matter how many sections I wash in I find that my new growth is extremely challenging to work with.

I know this is a trial and error situation but it is very scary at the same time because when you're on a stretch you want to reap the benefits not the setbacks.

I noticed an increased amount of shedding but that could due to the fact that I wear a braid out for 2-3 days without any manipulation aside from fluffing. So I haven't completely freaked out yet. I don't wear buns because of the thickness of my hair and they start to look crazy. So I am still playing around with other protective styles until I can find something that really works. I am considering rocking my wigs for the remainder of the stretch but that is still sketchy.

I am tempted to straighten my hair and trim my ends now but I want to do that once I have finished my stretch but I know my ends are hollering and it is imperative that I keep them protected.

Breakage hasn't been terrible but it's certainly more than I am used to and I want to fix it now rather than later.

I have updated my regimen which will be in detail in a different post. Products are pretty much the same but I have fallen in love with grapeseed oil!

Stay tuned for more updates on my blog and on my YouTube channel.

17 weeks down...9 more to go!!!

Wash Day in Box Braids

Hello all!

I did my first wash in my braids on Saturday. Very successful might I add and I wanted to share my experience and hopefully be a help to someone reading this post about caring for the braids.

Once in the shower, I spent about 10 minutes just massaging my scalp with warm water to help remove some of the dirt before applying my conditioner. 

Then I applied a small amount of conditioner only to my fingertips and massaged it in small sections until my entire scalp was covered. I then took the length of the braids and coated them with conditioner and left it on for about 20 minutes. 

I rinsed it all out and towel dried as much of the water as I could.

Then I immediately coated the length of my braids with EVOO and oiled my scalp with my EVOO mix. This was to make sure my hair was moisturized and prevent any unnecessary dryness.

Once my hair was about 95% dry I spritzed my Silk Elements Silken Child Leave-In Conditioner over my entire head.

My braids feel moisturized and I count that as a plus considering how drying they can be without proper care.

Thanks for reading!

ASR

Week 9 of 26 week Stretch

Yes! I am a third of the way into my stretch and I'm actually doing really well.

Of course last week I got my box braids installed so I am in this protective style for a few weeks.

There really isn't much of an update aside from the fact that I oiled my scalp last night with the EVOO mix and used my moisturizing spritzed. With these braids I will be able to knock out 10-14 weeks of my stretch without worrying about my hair too much.

Of course I will still be washing, conditioning, moisturizing, and sealing these braids but my ends being exposed won't be an issue.

So here's to week 9!


                                   

9 weeks down...17 weeks to go!

                                      

Box Braids/ Sew-In: Hair Care

These are a few tips that I found very useful for me in terms of prepping for a braid or sew-in installation as well as care for the duration of having a long term protective style.

1. Wait 2 weeks after you have received a chemical treatment before you install any braids or a sew-in. When you apply a chemical treatment you are weakening your hair strands and immediately doing an install will cause extreme breakage or hair loss.

2. Do a good protein treatment and moisturizing deep conditioning treatment 1-2 days before your install. This will put that protein and moisture balance into your hair strands prior to the installation.

3. NEVER BRAID BREAKING OR DAMAGED HAIR! Too many times people think the solution to damaged hair is hiding it under braids or a sew-in. This is a recipe for disaster when you take down your install. Correct any damage before putting braids or sew-ins into your hair by conditioning and trimming any dead ends.

4. Don't braid your hair too tightly. Braiding hair too tightly will cause hair loss along your edges and nape. Ensure that the braids are secure without excess pull.

5. Alternate between a protein and moisture spray. Again, keeping the protein and moisture balance is imperative even though your hair is hidden. Spritz your hair 4 days with a moisturizing spray and 1 day with a protein spray.

6. Lightly seal hair with an oil. This is the same as moisturizing and sealing your hair. Find an oil that will light enough not to create build up.

7. Oil scalp as needed...not daily. You don't want to create build up on your scalp because you won't be washing your hair as often since it is under braids.

8. Shampoo and condition every 7-10 days. Once a week is enough to shampoo/condition your hair. Any more than that will of course create frizz. If you choose to still deep condition it is recommended that you dilute the products with water to help with the process of rinsing all of the product out.

9. Cover hair with a satin bonnet. Treat your installs like you would treat your real hair. You wouldn't go to bed with a scarf so why would you go to bed without one since you have an install?

Hopefully these tips will help you to retain as much length as possible with your installs!

Week 4 of 26 Week Stretch

Hello All!

I am officially 1 month into my 6-Month Stretch!

I'm seeing some growth so far and I've been doing great.

I have been following a low manipulation routine to help keep my hands out of my hair. Washing once a week and moisturizing and sealing twice a week has been doing great things.

I have been wearing protective styles 99.9% of the time (braidouts as a bun, bun, granny plats, french braids)

I only comb my hair once a week on wash days and I'm deep conditioning with every wash.

I noticed less breakage and shedding with this regimen and I'm sure as the months go on I will change it to fit what my hair needs.

I am considering a long term protective style but that won't happen until I am 3 or 4 months post.

Basically I am keeping it simple for this stretch but I am keeping track of changes along the way.

4 weeks down...22 more to go!

Week 2 of 26 Week Stretch

Today was such a great wash day!

Detangled on damp hair using my spritz that I mixed up. 

Placed my hair in 4 sections for easier detangling later during the process.

Washed using my Roux Porosity Control Shampoo.

Deep conditioned with a plastic cap and sat under the dryer for 45 minutes
          --I don't know why I stopped deep conditioning with heat but my hair LOVES it!

Rinsed with cool/cold water (SO HARD TO DO IN THE SHOWER! FREEZING! lol)

Kept my hair in 4 sections and detangled again.

Applied my Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner and Coconut Oil.

Now my hair is braid in 10 plats to air dry and probably leave in for my protective style for the week (with a beanie)

My hair feels really good and my scalp feels clean.

2 weeks down...24 more to go!

Tangled Hair...Wash Day Woes

I have no idea what the heck is happening to my hair but days like this I look at my scissors and contemplate shaving my head! OMG!

Ok so Sunday I noticed my hair was a little more dry than usual so I went ahead and detangled my hair before washing and applied my deep conditioner on dry hair. I used a hot towel to use heat. I washed my hair in 4 sections and detangled again in the shower under running water. I get out and my hair was STILL a hot, tangled, ghetto mess!! It took me almost 30-45 minutes to get it at least halfway decently situated before I finally gave up and bunned. The following day I reexamined my hair to make sure I actually detangled properly. Moisturized and sealed and put it in 6 granny plats and left it like that until tonight.

So after my experience Sunday I tried another route. I detangled on dry hair. Washed in 4 sections and detangled again under running water. The front did ok but the back is like WTF! I couldn't even properly detangle it under the water. So I get out the shower and start applying my deep conditioner and the back is just OFC (out of freaking control). I tried detangling a little bit more before applying the DC to the back. 

So I am crossing my fingers that when I rinse this mess out of my hair it will be more manageable. Otherwise I might just lose it!

How do you ladies manage tangled hair or knots on wash days?

Hot Summer Days Tips and Tricks

I live in Bloomington, Indiana and the weather here has been nothing short of unbearable! Highs in the 100s DAILY!


What does this mean for my hair? Gross! I have had to wash twice a week instead of the original once a week that I had planned for my wig challenge. And now I think I may need to save the wig challenge for colder months because with this heat I can't take anything extra covering my head lol.


I'm upping the amount of times I moisturize and seal daily to twice a day sometimes three times depending on how my hair feels.


When I air dry I spray my Tresemme heat protectant over my hair and moisturize to make sure the sun won't make my hair dry. (Works wonders!)


Also another tip that I learned from one of my fellow Listas for pool days is applying a good amount of a cheapie conditioner to your hair BEFORE going swimming. I tried this and to my surprise my hair didn't have that stripped dry feeling that it usually does when I get out of a pool. I guess I'm too cool to get a swim cap lol (Honestly I may just buy one)



SUMMARY:


- Co-washing adds moisture to your hair and removes sweat from your scalp without completely stripping your hair of natural oils.
- Moisturizing and sealing multiple times a day may be necessary to retain moisture throughout the day.
- Applying a heat protectant over your hair before you go out can prevent dryness from the sun.
- Before going swimming coat your hair with a conditioner to avoid the stripped feeling from the chlorine.

Hope this helps someone!!

HHJ!