How I Care For My Relaxed Hair'

I am writing this post because as I gain more length I am starting to get more attention/inquiries on my hair care regimen & what it is that I do & why. 

First I would like to reiterate that I DO RELAX MY HAIR!!!

Many people see that I am on a hair journey & automatically assume that I am natural. Being on a hair journey or developing a hair care regimen has allowed me to gain knowledge on how to maintain my hair relaxed as well as my kinky/coily new growth, which allows me to only relax my hair every 5-6 months. 

Another reason that I am writing this post is bc my blog is pretty much a journal for my journey. Some may reference it & find ideas here & there but it is not quite an informative hair care blog. I am only a year & a half in so I still consider myself learning. I post what I learn, as I learn. Then there are other things that I know of, but don't post because I don't utilize them. That is one thing you will learn if you are just starting out on your journey, there are MANY MANY products, DIY treatments, methods & hair utensils out here! There is no way that you will utilize everything that you read. So I don't consider this an informative blog bc I am a bit selfish...if I don't do it, I don't write about it. Perhaps one day I'll grow, when the traffic starts coming in & I have questions to answer & requested posts, but until then this entire blog is based on what I've learned & what I've found useful. 

Ok now down to what I do!!!

Daily:

 I take my vitamins bc my diet is not the best & I spritz my hair with a DYI Green Tea & oil mix.

I spritz my hair for a tad bit of moisture.

Every other day I oil my scalp with an oil. Sometimes (most times) it's Castor Oil, but right now it's Liquid Gold Sulfur BasedOil. Both are for growth aids.

I also moisturize my hair every other day & GHE.

What do I moisturize with?

Mizani Overnight Tx

Mizani ButterRich Hairdress or

ORS Moisturizing Hair Lotion.

What is GHE?

It's Oiling your scalp & moisturizing your hair, then placing a plastic cap over your hair followed by a head scarf for at least 30 minutes.

Weekly:

I cowash with V05 Clarifying Conditioner.

Cowashing is cleansing the hair witha conditioner opposed to shampoo.  I know it sounds sketchy but it truly does cleanse my hair while adding & reserving moisture.

DeepCondition: I deep condition under a hooded dryer weekly.

Monthly:

Clarify hair with an ACV rinse.

Apple Cider Vinegar rinses clarifies hair while closing the hair shaft creating a smooth & sleek look. 

I use 2 tablespoons of ACV w/ 2 cups of water. Pour over hair, allow to sit for 2-5 minutes then rinse in cool water.

Protein Treatment: I use Aphogee 2 min Reconstructor for protein. 

I also seem to flat iron my

Hair once a month. It's not my intentions to do it so frequently but I do love being able to show my hair off every once & a while. When ever I do flat iron I use the comb & chase method &ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use a heat protectant. 

After straightening my hair I use my Split Ender to dust for split ends. 

Outside of straightening my hair I use buns & wigs as protective styles & Bantu Knot Outs & Braid Outs as low manipulation styles.

My current length is APL: 

 

App for Hair Journey!!!

This is just a quick little post to let those of you who may not be aware that there is a hair journal app on the iPhone, I'm not sure if its available to Android users but you are welcomed to check!! It's called "Hair Journal"

I find it extremely useful to keep account of even the smallest details of what I've done to my hair.

It is set up to where you can have more than one profile.

That comes in handy if say you & your sister are both using the app on a shared device.

As you can see it has tabs for a hair diary:

Which contains a calendar to pick a date & allow you to write down any notes, measurements, or pics for that specific date. 

It also contains an entire photo album where you can see all if the pics collectively 

 But to only see certain pics for a specific day you would need to go to the calendar inside of the diary & click on that specific day.

Then there is a tab to list your favorite products, staple prods & what you like about them!

If you are anything like me, keep your phone at hand & have to FIND time to even physically write on notebook & paper lol, this may be the app for you!!! I have literally used this EVERYDAY since downloading!! Just thought I'd share :-)

HHJ EVERYONE!!!!

Protective Style Check In: Month 2

Well I have made it to the second month of Longing4Length's PSC. So far I used a pass to wear a cute Bantu Knot Out and one heat pass, even though I straightened my hair I still wore it up in a bun, way to cold to wear it out. Well now here I am March 1, and I am wigging with Creta Girl:
 She is synthetic, my synthetics USUALLY last me 2 weeks, the curlier ones, if I'm good, will last me 3. I am pushing fot 4 weeks this time lol, I would love to wig, without having to buy a new wig for the entire month of March.
I plan to continue my regimen as stated before with weekly cowashes and deep conditioning under the dryer. Typically I braid my hair underneath my wigs, I just want to make sure not to neglect my hair, which is soooo easy to do while wigging.

Most of Feburary I bunned:


I did try the flat twist protective style which came out OK for the first time doing it, but I don't have a pic (sorry). Oh I also wore my hair in actual Bantu Knots, not taken down into a Bantu Knot Out.

It hasn't been much of a challeng protective styling, as the timing is just right. I just cant stand the idea of wearing my hair down in the cold weather...it kills me. I am uber excited and kind of nervous about seeing my end results in April. I mean of course I would LIKE to win the prizes associated with the challenge, but there really is no losing when you hang in there and achieve your desired length retention!!

Hope All is well with everyone and as always THANKS FOR READING!!!!