I've been on hiatus for a while, but I'm back!!

Hello there everyone

Apologies for not having checked in in a while, I haven't truly felt very motivated to write about what's going on inside my head, or on top of it really. I have been feeling very tired and run down, and it took all of my energy just to focus on getting through each day. Thank the Lord though, I did get through each day and although I still feel tired (I need Easter weekend to hurry up and get here!) I feel a little better about life in general. It might be because the weather is cooling down my side of the world, which means less energy zapping scorching heat. I love summer as much as the next person, but remember, I practically live in a desert! When it gets hot, we all feel like limp lettuce leaves!

In the beginning of March I finally did what I have been threatening to do for a WHILE and I got myself weaved up. I did a full weave with no leave out and used a pack of Bobbi Boss hair. The lady that did the install was GREAT. She listened to my needs and attended to them. My tracks were done nice and securely without feeling tight or uncomfortable in any way. I told her beforehand to treat my hair as if I had the scalp of a five year old. After she did the install I did feel a little weird, but it was all good at the end of the day. I got quite a few compliments from friends and I felt good about doing intense protective styling for a change. I needed to rev up my retention and I thought that doing the weave during the last hot humid month of summer is the perfect time, as it is before my growth rate slows down a bit. I decided to have a realistic length that is not THAT much longer than my own, and it paid off, as it looked a little more natural than a superlong weave would have looked.

Weaved up at a St Patrick's Day party. 

During the month that I was wearing the weave I washed my hair 3 times, making sure to massage between the tracks and to get conditioner on not only my own hair but also on the weave. I also made sure to spritz me hair with a moisturiser and oiled my scalp a couple of times a week. I did make a mistake regarding the colour of the hair (colour 1) as in the beginning it made me look very much like a lost member of the Addams family. The black dye however washed out every time I washed my hair and after two washes it did not look as stark against my relatively fair skin. I doubt that I will buy this hair again though, as it shed HORRIBLY. I felt like a chia pet - every time I got up from the couch I found hair on the pillows!! But considering that I only wore the hair for a month, I guess it was okay considering that the hair was not very expensive, and also I don't see the sense in spending thousands of dollars (in my country's currency) if I'm not going to wear the hair for longer than 6 weeks. And after 4 weeks I got BORED.

So last Friday I went to the salon to take the weave out and for a wash and blow out. The same girl who did the install also took it out. I explained again to her that I am anal and paranoid about my hair and about breakage and that she needs to be uber gentle. She responded in kind and worked with soft hands, which I guess explains why it took quite a while to get the hair out and my tracks loose and detangled. And holy smokes!!!! The amount of shed hair that came out of there!! See below - I looked at it from all angles to make sure that it is indeed all shed hair and glory hallelujah! There was a little bit of breakage, which I guess is to be expected, but it accounted for maybe 10 % of that hair ball, so I'm pretty happy. It DOES confirm to me though that I need to revisit tea rinses for the shedding.

Check out that hairball!!

After detangling my hair I went to get my hair washed. I was silly and did not check what shampoo and conditioner they used. The shampoo girl continued to work with a gentle hand and even though it FELT like my hair was breaking when she detangled again whilst my hair was soaked in conditioner, she showed me the comb and there was VERY little hair in it. Cue happy dance!

She deep conditioned my hair with ORS Replenishing Pak with heat by parking me under the dryer for about 15-20 minutes, after which she rinsed, applied Bone Straight Conditioner as leave in and heat protectant and and then proceeded to roller set my hair. I'm about 3 months post and have quite a bit of new growth, so it was nice to have it handled by someone else other than myself. After my hair was set in the rollers I was parked again under the dryer, again for only 15-20 minutes, after which my hair was dry. Yes, that dryer is AWESOME, it warms uniformly and it hit even the rollers by my nape.

After removing the rollers I was given a quick blow out before my hair was completely straightened by a GHD flat iron. Yes, it's a lot of direct heat, but it happens so rarely in general that I felt okay with it. And I loved the results! My hair LOOKED as if I had a touch up done when she was done. And I am claiming APL!!!!!! Irony of course - my hair still doesn't FEEL long - it feels very much medium. But I'm happy, because I think I actually have Olivia Pope length hair now, heehee.

 Even ends! Oh happy day!

Office bathroom selfie!!

I'm getting there!! Slowly but surely, I'm getting there!

So now that I'm dealing with my own hair again, I will be more active on this here blog, especially since I feel even more inspired now, by the fact that I NEVER thought I could even reach this current length that I am. I am planning to protective style normally for the month of April by means of French and Dutch braids, buns and pin ups. I want to see if I can stretch to 16 weeks without breakage, so I'm also planning to be very active regarding keeping my moisture-protein balance in check. I shall be revisiting tea rinses for the freaking shedding and I shall also consider picking up a wig, but with regard to the latter, I need to sort out the budget first, as the month is filled with family birthdays AND a friend's wedding, which is out of town.

Essentially, at the end of the day, I am happy with the progress I made this past month and I shall be protective styling more intensely more often so as to up my retention.

What has everybody else been up to??
Have a great week ahead y'all!