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.

Deep condition | Co-Wash | Black Tea Rinse

I neglected to wash my hair on Saturday because I had a cold (well i still do, but need to wash my hair), so today (25.09.12) is the day.  I mixed HE Hello Hydration, ORS Replenishing Conditioner, and a £1 conditioner together with argan oil and avocado oil to make my deep condition mixture.  Now, there is NO science to my method, I just figure that a combination of conditioners and oils will do the trick i.e: promote soft manageable hair and I run with it!

 

I used my fingers to separate my hair into 4 sections and then proceeded to apply the mixture to my hair using the relaxer method.

I never seem to mix enough - or I use too much, either way, I am always struggling to make it last (I couldn't be bothered to mix some more).  I made sure to add the mix to the roots and ends especially, and then massaged it throughout the strands, applying more as required.  Below you can see it with one section completed and then the whole back section completed. 

  

  

Once my whole head was done I put my hair into a bun and clipped it up.  I then added the plastic cap and finally put on the heat wrap.  The heat wrap is placed into the microwave for about 2 minutes until the gel packs reach a desired temperature (be sure not to over heat the packs or they could burst!).  This pack stays hot for about 20 mins and then needs re-heating.  I re-heated it for about 1 minute and put it back on my head for another 20 minutes.

   

4 tea bags and hot water, brewed for 2-3 hours

In the past, I have used the black tea as my final step in my wash day process, but I find that this is too drying, so this time I rinsed the conditioner with the black tea - re-covered with a plastic cap, waited 20 minutes and then co-washed with HE Hello Hydration, my hair still needed cleaning so I did one shampoo with KeraCare Moisturising Shampoo.  I then let the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle sit on my hair for about 5 minutes.

Side view following wash - no product

Whilst in the shower I was constantly finger de-tangling, and made sure to rinse out all products in one direction (with gravity and the flow of water) I did not bunch my hair up at all.  I think this helps to keep my hair smooth and reduces tangles.  As usual, the final rinse was a cold water rinse.  I am not sure if this does any good to my hair, but don't think it does any bad either.

I t-shirt dried my hair for about 1 hour, added my leave ins (Aphogee Keratin Reconstructurizer, At One leave in conditioner then added some EVCO, de-tangled with my fingers only and air dried with the scarf method.  I just brushed down the edges to make sure my hair laid down flat.  It is now dark, so I will come back tomorrow with a picture of how it air-dried.  Well I came back tonight with it 95% dry.  It's just the roots that need to get dry and we are done.  At this point I have not combed through my hair once.

   

But on the plus side, my edges laid down really well thanks to the scarf method.  I am going to oil my scalp and then just put in a loose bun for bed, then I will M&S tomorrow.   My hair is also in need of a trim too.  Well... that's all folks!

Blessings
Naddy x

Wash Day | Pre Relaxer

I am planning to relax my hair next week, and I wanted to get it prepared for this process.  Yesterday was wash-day. I approached it reluctantly as I was dreading the detangling that loomed once the water had penetrated all of my hair strands.  But to combat that, I thought I would wash my hair in braids.  I usually wash my hair in one direction, all going back, but the thought of the knots and tangles that would result put me off entirely.  The braids worked a treat, although it was not a bump free road, there were a lot less bumps!  I'll share the pictures with you below.

I started off with hair that looked a bit like this, as this is how I had been wearing my hair all week.

Then I put my hair into plaits.  I think I ended up with 7-8 in total. I secured the ends with mini black elastic bands.  I only wrapped it around 3 times to minimise damage when I removed it at the end of the wash.

  

I washed with diluted ORS Clarifying shampoo and used the ApHogee Keratin 2 min reconstructuriszer.  The final rinse was a cold one to close up my cuticles and promote the look of healthy (non frizzy) hair.  Post wash, my hair looked a little worse for wear!

  

I then threw on a micro-fiber turban to dry off excess water, and left that on for about 30 minutes before I began to blow dry.

I detangled section,by section, added my leave in conditioner and heat protectant and blow dried.  In the picture on the left, you can see my hair half blow dried and half still awaiting it's destiny!  In the picture on the right, you can get a better idea of the amount of new-growth that I have going on in my head.  When I see this, I wish I had the guts and the confidence to shave it all off and go natural, but not for now.  I've got to reach my goal.

  

I wouldn't normally blow dry, but I did for two reasons.  I was going out and didn't have enough time to let my hair air dry, secondly, as I am going to relax this week, I will need to be able to comb through my roots so that the application process is as quick and smooth running as possible.  So this is how it looked once it was all done.  Sorry for the poor lighting, but it was dusk and the natural light was fading.

I am going to keep my hair in a bun for the rest of the week and get my dearest mother to relax my hair at the weekend.  She used to relax my hair when I first got a relaxer at age 14, I hope she remembers what to do?!?  She did say she would research LOL.

Till next time

Blessings

Naddy x

My first Video - wash day

Hey everyone, I have finally bitten the bullet and gone through the arduous process of recording and editing a video.  This one shows me applying deep conditioner, drying and moisturising my hair.  No heat was used as this is my typical routine for a wash day.  The video is agreeably a little choppy, but I will do better next time.  My hair is 8 weeks post relaxer and I am planning to go 12-16 weeks before I re-touch my new growth.

I was inspired by sistawithrealhair, on youtube to experiment.  On one half of my hari, I applied the conditioner to wet hair and on the other half I applied it to dry hair.  Once rinsed out, my hair felt just a little smoother on the 'dry hair' side, however on airdrying, my hair felt bushier and more wild on the 'dry hair' side, so the jury is still out on that one

Hope you enjoy

Blessings
Naddy x

I finally dyed my hair!

I have been wanting to dye my hair for such a long time and this morning I finally did it.  YAY!  I used the 'Adore' hair dye in 'Wild Cherry'.  I was a little nervous about the colour, but it turned out really nice IMO.  Please be aware that this post is picture heavy. :D

Apparatus used : Hair dye/applicator bottle, gloves, old t-shirt (for drying hair), old clothes, wide tooth comb, plastic cap, hooded dryer, blow dryer, and  a lot of PATIENCE!

Products used: Adore hair dye in Wild cherry, Hollywood Beauty Castor oil, Aussie 3 minute reconstructer, HE Hello Hydration, Organix Pomegranete Shampoo, aPHogee keratin and green tea reconstructuriser, Virgin Coconut Oil, ORS oil moisturiser, ORS smooth-n-hold pudding.

Firstly I shampooed my hair with ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo, I then towel dried my hair and split it into four sections.  I then took the castor oil and applied it around my hairline and ears to protect my skin.

I added the dye to my hair in sections starting with the front two sections.  I added the dye liberally layer by layer, parting my hair and saturating the strands in the dye then rubbing it through.  The bottle did say to comb it through, but I just rubbed it in instead.  I then added the dye to the back two sections but less liberally.  I was running out of dye and wanted to make sure that there was colour all over.  I think next time I will need two bottles.

  

I then covered my hair with a plastic cap and sat under the dryer for about 15 minutes.  This was the recommended maximum processing time for the dye.

I then rinsed out my hair with luke-warm water about three times, shampooed with Organix pomegrane shampoo.  The water was still quite red, but I figured that if I continued to wash my hair, all the colour would come out. Lastly I added Herbal Essenses Hello Hydration conditioner to my saturated hair.  I had no leave in conditioner, so that was my make shift leave in conditioner.    I then t-shirt dryed my hair, and a whole lot of dye came out on the t-shirt!  But this is how my hair looked.

    

Next I added the aPHogee Keratin and Green Tea reconstructer and combed it through.  As a heat protectant, I used Virgin Coconut Oil and I blow dried my hair.  After blow-drying my hair I moisturised with ORS Moisturiser and then gave my hair a well needed trim.  I LOVE IT.  I know it is not a great picture, but I have to use my phone and I have no-one to help me take the pictures.  

I put my hair into flat twists for the night, I used some of the ORS Smooth and hold pudding to help set the curls.  And here is how it turned out:

PS.  Dyeing/colouring your hair is messy - wear gloves old clothes and put down newspaper to avoid messing up your bathroom.

Relaxer Day - May 2012

I finally did it on Thursday 24.05.12 I relaxed my hair - whoop whoop!  It was a little unplanned, I called my friend and asked her to do it for me on the spur of the moment.  She was reluctant because she didn't want to do anything wrong - but I took that as a good sign, meaning that she would be even more careful and not be 'gung-ho' about it.  Despite her reluctance I think she did a really good job.

Two weeks before I planned to relax I washed my hair and did the ApHogee 2 step treatment to build up the strength in my hair prior to a chemical service. About 12 days later I was desperate to relax my hair but had no one to do it so I washed and blow dried my hair.  I haven't blow dried in since my last relaxer 4 months ago.

This time I used the Optimum Care Relaxer and I really liked this one.  My hair did get a bit tangled when I put the final thing in, I think it is called the leave-in, but this may be the way it was applied, or because I used too much.  However I am not put off I will try it again on my next relaxer day.  I will relax at 3 months post next time I think (So maybe the end of August), 4 months is just a bit too long of a stretch as my hair becomes unmanageable.

Now my hair is relaxed it is soo much more obvious that I need a trim, but I don't want the hairdresser to be scissor happy and cut off all my hard work.  What do I do?  Anyway, I am closer to my goal, I am grazing BSL and grazing line no. 6 on the hair length t-shirts.

  

My goal is to be full MBL or line no.9 on the length check t-shirt.  I am pleased with my progress because I am on my way there.  I think that I have about 18 months of growing left to get there.  It has taken me 2 years to get from shoulder length to here, so I think that is about right.

In preparation for bed I wrapped my hair to see if I could get some body in the morning, didn't really work for me though.  My hair is so limp when it is freshly relaxed.  I recon that when I wash in a week, I will have the body back.  Not least because I won't be blow drying or flat ironing my hair.  Or I could try a roller set - yeah right, pull the other one.  LOL.

PS.  My sister saw my hair the next day and asked me if I had a piece in my hair - when I proudly declared that it was my own hair, she said it looks like weave.  I quickly retorted - who would get a weave this bad!  IMO the ends look awful and need trimming.  Plus when my mum saw my hair, she said I look like a white girl! I was not offended, I was just shocked. I guess I have got to expect this kind of thing.

Anyway, if you are interested in how I will be styling my hair, please let me know.  Enjoy your day

Blessings x

Update

So I had my hair in braids for about 4 weeks, and it was looking rough so I decided to take 'em all out.  So On Saturday 5/05/12 I took out my braids and washed my hair.  This was a mess, because I had newgrowth and the demakation line was just messing with my emotions!  I waited a week and decided to do the aPHogee 2 step protein treatment on Tuesday 15/05/12 in time for my relaxer at the end of May.  I decided then to blow out my hair in order to make the application process for relaxing a lot more straight forward.  I don't usually blow dry my hair, but my roots were really tangled and craving a blow dry.  Here is a look at my hair blowdried.  I will update you with the relaxer pics and length check when I relax next weekend.

I have been moisturising each night with s-curl and sealing with grapeseed oil (I have run out of my beloved olive oil).  During the day I have been wearing it in buns and that's it really.  I oil my scalp every couple of days or as needed and massage in the oil.

I won't wash my hair again now until I relax, this will mean I have waited 11 days to relax my hair after the last wash.  I will be sure to come back with an update.

Heatless Length Check and Wash day!

My hair length t-shirt arrived! I got it from the shop at justgrowalready.com, I really wanted the green one, but that didn't come in the size I wanted :(  It says 'my hair is my hobby' and that is such a true statement for me.  I also got one for my sis who is natural, her's says 'loving my kinks, coils and curls' and is in red.  She is really pleased with it. My other sister want's one now, but I told her she has to be on a 'hair journey' otherwise it's a no-no.  We'll see whether she's committed!

I washed my hair today too.  This time I decided to omit the PPO to see if that was contributing to my itchy head.  So far - no itching, but I'll see how it goes throughout the week.  To start I mixed up ORS hair mayonnaise and EVOO, put that on my hair and put on a plastic cap, left it on for 30 mins whilst I fumbled around the house.



I washed it out and conditioned with HE Hello Hydration, then did the t-shirt drying method.  This pic on the right is with my hair dripping wet immediately after coming out of the shower.  I let it air-dry all day in a pony tail as I had to run some errands.  When I came home I put on my length check t-shirt to see what line my hair dries out at.  Sorry I didn't think to put on the length check t-shirt when my hair was wet, so this is not a very good comparison.




As you can see in both pics both dripping wet and bone dry, I suffer with very frizzy hair, I don't know what to do to lay down my cuticles.  I did do a black tea rinse last week, maybe I should make that part of my regime and see how that works out.

Till next time...

Blessings
Naddy x

My First Blog Post...EVER!

Welcome...

So I decided to start a blog!  I have been on a hair-care journey for about 20 months now, and although I am far from being an expert on hair-care, I thought I'd track my progress this way and share some info about what I have done to grow my hair.

It all began with Hairlista and since then I've been addicted.  I have had ups and downs, but my progress pictures remind me that it's all worth it.  I am 5'3 and my ultimate goal is to be Full Mid Back Length.  I hope to reach this by December 2013.


STARTING LENGTH JUN 2010

I started at shoulder length hair.  My hair had never grown beyond Full Shoulder length, so I was determined to retain my new-growth using the tips I learned from YouTube and Hairlista.  This was the first time I had ever air-dried my hair.  Back then, If I didn't have a blow-dryer, I simply would not wash my hair!!!  I soon learned.







CURRENT LENGTH - FEB 2012

This is the length of my hair following a relaxer.  Relaxed with ORS, blow dried and flat ironed by my friend.  I don't intend to relax again until my 2 year anniversary in June 2012 where I hope to be Bra Strap Length.  I have ordered a spread shirt and so I will be doing length checks in a more reliable t-shirt.

Yesterday 03/03/12 was wash day.  I deep conditioned with a mix that I saw fgrogan use in one of her videos but I adapted it slightly - ORS hair mayonnaise, Olive Oil and Peppermint oil.  I let that sit on my hair for 1 hour with a plastic cap and did a Tae-Bo work out (that really did heat up my hair).  Washed out the conditioner and shampooed my roots with Cream of Nature moisturising shampoo.  Then I did a black tea rinse and let that sit on my hair for about 10 mins, rinsed it out and conditioned with Herbal Essences (red).   Then did the t-shirt dry method a-la Sunshyne added Cantu shea butter leave in, and air dried with the scarf method also a-la Sunshyne.  Once fully dried, I added moisturiser and sealed.  Ready for another week!

I'll be back to update my hair adventures.  Till next time...

Blessings
Naddy x