Two Year Relaxed Hair Care Anniversary!!

Yay me!!!!!!

What can I say? I stumbled upon hair care regimens for relaxed hair, 2 years ago, after being tired of the rat nest that I called hair! I have not looked back since. One thing that I have learned is that besides longer hair, healthy hair just really is easier to maintain than unkept hair. Duhhh right??? Lol 

Another thing is that, caring for hair is not at all as hard or difficult as it would seem. Some ppl may hear the weekly routines & cringe, but once it becomes routine, & repetitive it easily becomes apart of your lifestyle. 

 

One of my first braid outs, compared to today's BraidOut :-)

 

I remember hating to wear my hair in curly styles bc I was NL & so badly wanted to be SL. Curly styles of course makes your hair look shorter, now 2 years later my curly styles are SL!!! I love it!!!

How I Stretch My Relaxers

Hi all!!! I know it's been a minute and my posts have now been few and far in between. Life has been pretty busy for me, being too tired to even breathe and still managing to be mommy to 3 very busy boys and trying to even meet the basic criteria to being anything of a wife! LOL. Luckily my husband understands when I am just a ball of nothing, still he travels for work so when he is gone...it's just me, belly and the kiddos.
I am now 35 weeks along 5 MORE WEEKS TO GO!!!!!

Second picture is primarily because my hair looked a hot mess in the first pic :-/ LOL...anyway on to the topic of this post:
 

STRETCHING RELAXERS

What is "stretching"? 

Stretching is distancing the time between each relaxer. I will say pre HHJ, I used to relax my hair every 4 weeks, I thought it was routine to relax your hair once a month. Once I began my HHJ, I began stretching them out to every 20-24 weeks.

Typically you would want to stretch each relaxer out to at LEAST 10-12 weeks...some say 8 but I personally don't see "enough" new growth showing at that time.

Most beginning stretchers, begin by stretching one or two more weeks than usual. For example, if I were to normally relax my hair every 8 weeks, I'd attempt to stretch my next relaxer day to 9 or 10 weeks after that, then 11 or 12...and so forth. 

Some call me a "Super Stretcher" because I attempt to only relax my hair 2 or 3 times a year. I would loooove to relax my hair only once a year, during the Summer, but I like to straighten my hair too much for that. Which brings me to the tips when attempting to stretch.

Keep in mind the longer you stretch the more new growth you are accumulating and having to deal with 2 different textures (your natural coils and your relaxed ends). 

Because of the difference in protein structure, the new growth being stronger than the relaxed ends, it makes it extremely sensitive to breakage. Learning to carefully manipulate your hair during lengthy stretches is crucial. Which is why I have yet to make it past the 24 week mark, I always seem to get breakage at the very top of my head and in my nape area....I know that I am too rough, heavy handed with my hair...anywho, I am rambling, let me get on to the tips. I feel qualified to offer these tips because I have been stretching for 2 years now, have learned from a few mistakes and still make a few :-/ Don't judge me!lol

Tip 1.  MOISTURIZE YOUR NEW GROWTH!!!!

Being on a HHJ we know moisture is important at any rate, relaxed or natural. However keep in mind that these two different hair textures has two different needs. Your new growth, naturally full of protein will require more moisture, while your relaxed ends, whose protein bonds have been altered will require more protein.

Tip 2. WHERE LOW MANIPULATION or PROTECTIVE STYLES!!!

This is my personal downfall! I know at 12-16 weeks post I can probably get away with flat ironing my hair and wearing it straight...but for me to complete that feat at 16 weeks and beyond without experiencing some breakage is probably possible, but I just have yet to find the technique to do so, soooo about 20-24 weeks, I begin planning for a relaxer. The less you manipulate your hair the lower your chances of receiving breakage at the line of demarcation.

Tip 3. DETANGLE IN THE SHOWER.

Its soo much easier...PERIOD!!! TRUST ME!!!!

Tip 4.

 I would say DC weekly...that does help with moisture, however that contradicts the low manipulation, having to wash (or cowash) your hair weekly. After 20 weeks, I begin stretching my wash/DC days to biweekly, just to further limit the manipulation. Soooo I will just say incorporate more deep conditioning than once a month, it helps add moisture and flexibility in your tresses.

Well those are my top 4! I was trying to think of another to make a TOP 5...but in my personal experience I think this is the best that I have lol. Feel free to drop your advice, tips or questions in the comment section & as always

THANKS FOR READING!!!

Cold Hard Truth About The Journey; The Hair Journey.

Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated! I kind of fell into a hair funk, hair boredom. Which a revelation about the truth of our hair journeys is what spun the birth of this blog post. 

We know their are hundreds of rules out there! The don't dos, the do dos, & all that lies in between. Typically I use direct heat on my hair once a month, I've tried to stretch that out to only on special occasions, well at this point in my life the special occasions are far & few in between. That would seem like a good thing right? Less heat use! Well for me that SUCKS! Lol my hair simply air dries stupidly, no matter what method I try... This is what I end up with 

A relaxed hairfro!!! That makes styling it more difficult & bc it has SOOO much texture if I ever want a sleek look, heat has to be involved. So trying to go heatless & bunning, got me bored with my hair! I was beginning to become lazy, not wearing my bonnet while sleeping, using gel on my edges & a brush to sleek it down. I wasn't M&S'ing... So I decided to straighten it & once again fall in love with my hair. The truth is, starting my hair journey I depended heavily on Wigging for protective styles. Not being able to do that now & not having a variety of styles to choose from I get bored & lazy. So my revelation was "Right now, refraining from heat usage is not ideal for my hhj". I have to do what is best for me!! There is no reason to feel caged in or imprisoned by your hair & all the rules that apply. 

So what I use heat once a month, still my hair has thrived 

 So what if I don't retain the MAXIMUM length for the year, so what if I don't reach BSL by the end if the Summer. The most important thing is being happy & comfortable with my own hair.  So far this year I have straightened my hair & worn it straight for two weeks, most of which time it remains in a protective style, I only wear my hair down if I'm out & about. Then for two weeks I do heatless low manipulation & protective styles & that has worked for me. What doesn't work is.....trying to focus so much on following one rule that you end up breaking all if the others.  So that's my two cents for the week!!

Don't try to mimic anyone else's regimen.

Don't beat yourself up if you can't apply EVERY rule in the book!

& most importantly... Enjoy & have fun during this journey...you'll reach your destination whether you take the freeway or scenic route :-) 

 

 

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!!!!

Progress Update!!

Hi everyone!!! Hope we are all having a fantastic week so far! I just happened to realize that I never did update you all on my December trim! I got it professionally trimmed, aiming at evening up my hair....that went, uhhh, well, it just wasn't as even as I would have liked it to be, I am a fan of blunt cuts, the stylist wanted to do layers. She didn't do deep layers, because I told her that I wanted to keep as much of my length as possible.

I actually forgot all about that trim, and had been complaining about how my hair was not growing, despite my being pregnant, which is usually hair growth heaven for me!! Simply because last I checked in November, I was APL:

November:

This was the results of my visit to the salon, I'm not sure how much she cut off inches wise, but seeing that I had JUST made APL, it did put me back to SL.



After comparing November, the beginning of my journey from APL to BSL (new length goal WOOOO!!), with my December trim (minor set back, very minor) with Feburary's growth/length....I decided to shut up about my hair not growing, bc pics don't lie......well maybe sometimes they do lol, but not this time!



So there is the update to my growth! Back at APL, now in Feburary and HOPING (though I may be stretching) to be BSL by August or September.
As far as my regimen, I had been:

Cowashing weekly.
DC'ing weekly w/ added Castor Oil
M&S'ing  ehhh once a week, I was lazy.
Oiling Scalp w/ Castor Oil 3x a week.
Protective styling exclusively
1 Heat Pass 1x/month.
Taking daily prenatal vitamins
Exercise 3x/week

As for my regimen now, I have tweaked a bit for optimum growth & length retention, it's as follows:

Prepooing w/ Coconut weekly
Cowashing 1x per week
DC'ing w/ heat 1x weekly
GHE'ing 2x/week
Oiling Scalp with Liquid Gold's Sulfur based Hair Growth oil 3x a week.
Protective Styling Exclusively
1 Low Manipulation style 1x/month
No Direct Heat
Exercise 3x/ week
Take Prenatal Vitamins daily.

My PLAN is to follow this regimen until the birth of the baby. For the birth I plan on getting a really low maintainence protective style like sew in or braids, so that I can get away with minimizing my routine, while adjusting to becoming a mother of 4!!! Talk about a handful!!!

Well as always thanks for reading love faces :-**!