Has it Been a Month Already?

Yes.  I have been MIA for about a month and a half now.  Any particular reason? Nope.  So hopefully all is forgiven and I can give a brief run down of the past few weeks.

So about a week after my last post I did a relaxer.  I made it about 7-8 weeks.  I had a terrible experience with my relaxer though... I don't burn easily or normally at all, but that time was ridiculous.  I'm not sure what was going on, but prior to the relaxer, I had soreness out of this world and I'm assuming the tenderness also meant some types of sores/bumps on my scalp that lead to the easy burn.  I had been giving myself extra head massages because of the tenderness of the new growth...

I had some very successful going out hair styles after the relaxer.  I was very pleased.  I kept the regimen for the weeks after that.  Continued with the pony/bun.  But I got bored.  I was tired of not knowing what to do with my hair.  The limpness.  The same old/same old.  So last weekend, I decided to switch things up.  I got a hair cut.  Not really a "hair" cut hair cut, but I got my ends trimmed, a few layers put in around the face and in the top, and I topped it all off with a bang!  I haven't had a bang since middle school.  So far, I'm loving the variety in styles - I can wear it up, down, bang, no bang, curly and fluffy, or straight.

I'm about 6 weeks post relaxer again and I'm hanging in there.  My head is tender, but it's manageable.  I have lots of different styles - some protective, some not - so I don't feel like a fluffy head all the time.

Until next time ; )

It Feels Good - Ya!

My hair is doing lovely this week!  Monday I wasn't too thrilled about my ponytail/bun.  It came out okay, but I needed a clean head.  So I ended up working out and sweating SUPER hard.  My hair was a complete mess!  So when I returned to my room, I immediately jumped in the shower and co-washed with my Tresemme (Yes, I'm still using it because I would just hate to throw it away - it's almost gone).  I only used one conditioner (I don't have another travel conditioner yet).  However, I did use the Aphogee balancing moisturizer that came with my protein that I bought (I already have another bottle at home).  You leave it in for 3-5 minutes and rinse it out.

After I got out the shower, I towel dried a bit and then used my Biolage and Neutrogena leave-in conditioners.  I wanted to try something different this week and since I had the space in my luggage, I packed my blow dryer and brush.  I blow dried while my hair was still mainly wet becuase I've found that I get better results that way.  I did make sure to use my Redken Anti-Snap as my heat protectant.  I blow dried like I noramally do now - no sectioning and just brush it down first and then underneath to get it all dry.  When I finished my hair looked okay, but I wanted more.  I wanted to know how on earth the Dominican lady got my hair so silky smooth!  So I hit the net and went to youtube.  I found many videos and I noticed that everyone started with DRY hair first.  Then I noticed that you had to section the hair, take your time and get really close to the scalp, and then brush the rest.  I decided to test it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JtyB-HrEHg&feature=related - relaxed hair blow out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-cMEThw0Os&feature=related  - natural hair blow out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVe224cKe4&feature=related - at home styler

I made sure I used Anti-Snap and the Shea Butter oil on each section that I did.  I started in the back and worked my way to the front.  It wasn't hard, but I did burn my fingers a few times.  My hair turned out great!  I did not feel like I'm 7 weeks post at all!  More like 2.  It didn't come out as shiny and silky as when it was done before, but I'm hoping to get it there soon!  When I finished, I just wrapped it and when to bed.  When I woke up in the morning, I flat ironed and it was so pretty, I wore my hair down!  And it looked great!  Additionally, I made sure to moisturize and seal before I went out the door. 

Overall, it was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again!

Back to life, back to reality

I took a short break from my hair care regimen this holiday season, just to enjoy life and not deal with the constant hair management. It felt good. But the holidays are now over, I'm back on airplanes, and its time to get serious again.

Brief update - I resisted the temptation to either cut or relax my hair! I cannot believe I made it the entire month of December without relaxing. I would like to say it feels good... But it doesn't. It feels okay and a lot better than what it used to feel like around this time. Additionally I must add, since the layers are long gone and I feel like my hair has been style-less, I've found the a wrap is becoming my weapon of choice again.  It's easy to maintain, doesn't require me to use any heat, and it looks great layer-less.  Over the break, I didn't co-wash at all.  Actually, I only shampooed once.  In the between time, I just moisturized and sealed.  Over time, my hair got softer and looked better even though I hadn't done anything at all to it.  I did use heat and blow dry and I found that it made my hair incredibly more manageable.  

I did plan on relaxing my hair this past weekend, so midweek I did a protein treatment.  I couldn't find the small bottle or sample packs of the Aphogee protein (plus I ran out of eggs because I was at home cooking!) so I ended up paying the $20 bucks to get the big bottle of protein.  On the brightside, it was buy one, get two free, so I also got a bottle of holding spray/shine and the balancing moisturizer.  I also bought a small bottle of ORS Olive Oil moisturizer and a small bottle of Shea Butter Oil - I'm growing tired of the curl activator...

This week I plan to get back on track, 2 co-washes and a Friday shampoo.  And no relaxer! 

Looking Good!

I had a very good co-wash this week!  So since last week, I've started using the Tresemme first and the Herbal Essences (or what's left of it) second.  This past Tuesday (I traveled on Sunday night, so it threw my schedule off), I started with a quick shampoo because we're I'm staying at this week has Bath and Body Works products - which smelled great - so I used the shampoo.  I did everything quickly, but I did allow the Herbal Essences to stay on a tad bit longer - I was watching The Office on TV. 

I did a towel dry for about 10 minutes and then added the usual travel leave-in conditioners.  I finally went back to the scarf method and let my hair air dry.  When my hair was dry, it looked great, felt great and soft, and I liked the look that the scarf caused.  I felt semi-natural and I loved it!  But I did moisturize and seal, which caused some of the fluffiness to unfluff, and then I had to tie my hair down so I could sleep, so when I woke up in the morning, the only option I had was to wear a ponytail.  However, my hair doesn't feel extremely dry (at the moment it's somewhat dry).  I'm thinking of maybe somewhat wetting my hair in the morning so I get that sexy natrual look, but that would require me to wake up early... Maybe one day. 

My Magic Potion

This past weekend, I did a Saturday shampoo instead of Friday.  My hair has been EXTREMELY dry lately (moisturizing and sealing has not been working so well), so I wanted to make sure I moisturized and deep conditioned a lot more than I normally do.  The dryness is that serious. 

So I started out by wetting my hair and using ORS Hair Mayo with a splash of olive oil and the heat cap for about 15-20 mins.   I rinsed it out and then I shampooed with my sample size bottle of Cream of Nature Moisturizing shampoo that I got when I bought the leave-in conditioner.  I shampooed quickly and then I decided to shake things up for my deep condition.  I've been watching some ladies on youtube recently on how they deep condition.  They mix their conditioners with oils and vitamins and veggies and stuff... So I said hmmmm, what can I mix together for my extra dry hair?  I knew I wanted protein, so I cracked open 2 eggs and mixed them in the bowl.  I wasn't sure if 2 would be enough, so I figured I'd rather have more than less... I also put in a dab of regular Olive Oil since I didn't have any EVOO.  Next, I ran and grabbed my conditioner and poured some in.  It didn't look as thick as what I'd seen on the internet, but I didn't want to use all my good conditioner, so I mixed in another conditioner that I had.  It was the rest of my dark and lovely conditioner for extremely dry hair.  After mixing that in, it still wasn't as thick as what I had seen in the videos.  I assumed it was because I had too much egg.  So I had to kind of pour the conditioner onto my hair - which was a huge mess.  I was still able to section my hair and add it all in, but it took forever and the conditioner kept dripping all over me and the bathroom.  Not fun :(

After that, I put a cap on my head and used the heat cap for about an hour.  I got in the shower and rinsed out, but my hair did not feel soft at all.  In fact it felt quite dry.  And a little dirty... Just by chance, I ended up air drying while spending time with the hubby, in which he commented on the flaky build up in my hair... As I was moisturizing and sealing, I noticed chunks of crusty build up in my hair... More uncoolness...

So I do a quick blow dry with the brush, which I'm still having trouble getting used to, and just pulled it back into a bun.  I did notice less breakage in the blow dry, which was great, but overall, I give Saturday two thumbs down. :(

Trying to Get into the Routine

I always read everyone else's regimen and wonder, how on earth do they have time to do all that they do to their hair? If I didn't work from home on Fridays, there would be no way in the world that I could find the time to do so much for my shampoo days.

FYI - I'm 2 weeks post relaxer. I began last night by applying a generous amount of olive oil to my hair and scalp and I covered it with a plastic cap. When I got up this morning I applied my Hair Mayo and put the cap back on. I only intended to leave it in for 15 mins, but I had a few meetings this morning and I didn't get to rinse it out until an hour and a half later, LOL. I rinsed and then shampooed with my Aphogee Olive Oil shampoos. I only lathered once for both. When I finished, I applied the DPR-11 deep conditioner and used my heat cap for about 45 minutes. I applied the conditioner by sectioning my hair and making sure I applied it root to tip for each section. I then rinsed, applied my Aphogee leave-in conditioners plus the Cream of Nature creme conditioner and combed my hair down. I'm now letting it air dry for a while, before I attempt to use my new Tourmaline Ionic Ceramic blow dryer. I'm just damp at this point, so I think I'm ready to dry.

Ok - I most definitely notice a difference with the new blow dryer. My hair is dry, but it doesn't feel DRY. It just feels like my lovely hair. It looks great, it feels great, and I don't have that same puffy look that I always have. It just looks 'regular'. No it doesn't feel silky smooth like it did at the Brazilian's, but I haven't flat ironed yet either. Nevertheless, it is still very nice to the touch. My ends still feel healthy. It was somewhat difficult to get used to. I kept blow drying my neck and my face for some reason... It wasn't hard though. The steps I followed are:

1. I sectioned my hair in 4 parts.
2. I started in the back and sprayed heat protectant on that section only.
3. I brushed my hair from the top and then when it was dry, I blow dried it from underneath. Blow drying underneath was the most difficult part.
4. When that section was dry, I sprayed heat protectant on the next section and did step 3 again.

It didn't take long at all for it to get dry. Maybe 2 minutes per section at the most. I would just brush it a few times and it was dry. Also, I put the dryer on a Medium Heat but used it on High. I can report that I had a LOT LESS shedding than what I'm used to.

On to the flat iron!

Flat ironing went lovely. Whoever said heat doesn't add shine is a LIE! LOL. I haven't added anything to my hair and it's perfectly shiny and silky and bouncy. When it was done last week, it was very straight and flat. It didn't even look like I had a roller set. Now it's so full of life and super healthy looking.

It took me all day to complete, but I can say that I am very happy with my results!

I've Bought more Products... Ugh!

OK, so I've been talking into purchasing more hair products. However, this time it wasn't something to put on my hair, but to use for my hair. I purchased a:

• Gold N' Hot Professional Conditioning Heat Cap - $29.99
  
• Revlon Tourmaline Ionic Technology/Ceramic Technology Hair Dryer - $24.99
  
• Conair - Ceramic/Tourmaline/Ionic Hair Brush - $12.99

I just finished using Heat Cap and I have to say I like it. I didn't burn up like I do with a hooded blow dryer. My hair was heated like it was supposed to. It was a very nice experience. It's intended purpose is just for using treatments on your hair. Not drying. So it doesn't dry your hair out. It just allows the treatments to work. It's small and lightweight, plus it doesn't make any noise! So this will be perfect for traveling.

I picked the Revlon dryer for the obvious choice - more bang for my buck - plus the travel benefits. It has all the technology as the more expensive dryers, it came with two attachments: Volumizing finger diffuser, and a airflow concentrator, plus it has a retractable cord and the handle folds down. It has 3 heat and 2 speed settings, plus a cold shot button.

I wasn't sure what size brush to buy, so I picked the medium one. I remember when the Brazilians did my hair, she used a small brush, but she almost did it straight. I want body and a bit of curl, so I picked the mid-size one.

I'm going to air dry for about 30 mins or so and then give my new blow dryer and brush a try.

I had the BEST Hair Last Week!

As we all know, I relaxed on Friday, November 20th because I wouldn't stand to look at myself anymore... LOL. So I went on Holiday vacation during the next week, so I didn't plan on washing my hair until I got back home. After relaxing, I didn't put any heat in my hair (outside of the blow drying and flat ironing that day) and continued to wrap and oil my hair. I have fabulous hair during that time. It was shiny, silky, and didn't shed, wasn't itchy, and felt oh so right. That Wednesday, I joined the family and we went to a Dominican/Brazilian/somebody's hair shop. She did a quick shampoo and conditioner and had me in a roller set before I knew it. After I baked under the dryer for WAY too long, she used more instruments of heat in my hair. She used a blow dryer and a brush - along with a CHI heat spray - and brushed from my scalp out. She topped it off with a sweep of the flat iron and a dab of CHI gloss serum. I was worried about all the heat damage to my hair - until I touched it! My hair has never felt that soft before in my life. It felt like someone else's hair. I've never said that before about my hair. I had the most beautiful hair that I have ever had. She then wrapped it with bobby pins, which she called giving me a Dubie, and I've been good ever since.

I'm back in Pittsburgh and I think this cold, freezing air is giving me scalp itch. I haven't done much to my hair since having it done, but yesterday I did moisturize and seal and I will do the same tonight. Due to the extreme disappointment I've had in co-washing, I plan to only co-wash 1x a week (Wednesdays) and shampoo 1x a week (Fridays). I also haven't been wearing my protective bun (shame on me), but will pick it back up tomorrow.

Stay Fab

Pic post relaxer but pre-beauty shop: