Trim Time!

I flat ironed my hair this week and as my hair has been really tangled lately  I thought it was an ideal time to trim my ends.  I did it myself, so it was a bit slap dash, but I am glad I did it.  I have always loved the look of blunt ends as I find it instantly makes your hair look healthier.  I started at the back and awkwardly worked my way throughout my hair snipping about an inch at a time.  I could have taken of two inches, but I really did want to hang on to my length.  I'll do another trim at the beginning of the year and hold on to my length for now.  The trim probably took me about 45 mins in total, but I am pleased with the results.

  

                                                   BEFORE                                                          AFTER

And here is the evidence:

Dry Brittle Hair :(

My hair has felt so dry and brittle lately, and I think that it has been breaking.  I think that the elasticity in my hair has gone completely and i really don't like the way that it has been feeling.  Now i did not wash my hair for 2 weeks as I put a rinse in it and I wanted to preserve the colour for as long as possible.  I figured that stretching between washes was the best way to achieve this.  This was not a good idea, my scalp was super duper dry and my hair was not thriving.  i will revert back to weekly washing for sure!

So I researched on the internet how to repair dry and brittle hair and figured that an oil deep condition would be the best thing.  I mixed up some HE Hello Hydration with copious amounts of avocado oil and saturated my hair with it - it was so much that it was dripping - maybe too much but hey ho!

I then twisted it up into four twists, pinned it up on top of my head and put a plastic cap on.  I left it on my head for about 3 hours whilst doing chores around the house, and also used my heat cap for 30 mins.  I washed it out in the shower and then used the CON Sulphate free shampoo (Love it!), did a t shirt dry, roller set my hair (which only took me 1 hr 15 mins this time) and sat under the dryer for about 1 hour (my hair needed more time, but I could not take the heat!).  My hair feels so much better, I will be doing more of these oil treatments throughout this Autumn/winter season.  I have been moisturising with my Shea Butter mix and it has really been thriving.

Ragging Red - Hair Colour

On Saturday 13/10/2012 I decided to dye/colour my hair red again.  I filmed myself whilst doing it so you can all see for yourself.  I dyed my hair Raging Red by Adore - a semi permanent colour.

If you have any questions please ask, I'd be happy to answer.

Maybe air-drying isn't for me?

Air dried hair at 1 week post

I am seriously considering whether air-drying is the right method for me.  I co-washed my hair on Wednesday night and then went to bed with my hair in a bun after applying my leave in conditioner.  The next morning my hair was not dry so I let it out at work so that it could dry fully, but my hair was just a big bush.  Similar to my last wash day (see the pic):

Last night I added my Shea butter mix and really smoothed it through in an attempt to tame my hair.  I then put it into 4 cornrows, smoothing it all throughout the process. I am hoping that this will help help it smooth out.  But whilst I was cornrowing my hair, it was so tangled, not at the roots (because I am 2 weeks post, and I used the scarf method) but from about 4 inches, right to the end of my hair it is so tangled, and almost 'sticks' to each other like barbed wire, unwilling to separate!


I have thought of  a few reasons why my hair is so tangled and listed them below:
- It may be because my hair is under-processed/texlaxed in places
- It may be because I didn't t-shirt dry this time
- It may be because I haven't found the right leave in conditioner/products
- It may be because I didn't fully de-tangle in the shower
- It may be because my hair is damaged (but I don't want to believe this one!)
- It may be because I didn't DC this time
- It may simply be that my hair does not respond well to air-drying!

I was reading Hairlista and think that roller setting may be the best way to avoid these tangles. But it is something that I find too time consuming, and a practice I have failed to master.  I could also try blow drying on a cool temperature, or doing flexi rods and sitting under the dryer.  Does anyone have any alternative solutions?  If not, I think my next wash day will be a roller set day (deep sigh).

Blessings
Naddy x

Hairstyles I've tried

So I have been relaxed for one week now and thought I would share with you the styles that I have tried with my now manageable hair. I love when it is relaxed after a stretch. There is such a difference and the styling options are everlasting! I went out to a family do on sat and thought I would do something different with my hair. I attempted to do the Banana Clip Pin Curl, as done by Sunshyne of Hairlista and Hairlicious Inc. I followed these steps as well as I could but it didn't turn out as good as I had hoped. I think the problem was that started out with flat ironed hair and not air dried. Anyhow, this is how it looked at the start

  

   Then I noticed that it had dropped so I tried to fix it when I got to my mum's house, but think I should have left it alone.  This is how it looked after I 'fixed' it...  Sorry, but the lighting in my mum's bathroom isn't so great, and I am still using my phone to take pictures.

  

So this is how I styled it on Monday.  It is just a simple sock bun with my fringe.  I really like having a fringe.  Kinda makes my hair look a little less boring.

Then On Tuesday I stopped caring! No...not really, it was wash day - click here to see how that turned out.

Wednesday I put my hair into four plaits and kept that in until Friday when I took it out for a braidout:

  

  

I'm gonna try not to use any heat until my next relaxer day - I really think this contributes to my length retention.

After a few days, the braidout was well and truly on it's last legs, so I just put my hair in a bun.

  

What works best for you?