A second pair of hands...

This past wash day went down without a hitch! One thing I realised (again) is that my hair LOVES deep conditioning, and I mean, intense deep conditioning!

Being 28 weeks post (woo hooooooo!!) is not the easiest thing, so I am keeping my hair straight for the most part, protecting it as I go along and then giving it super love on wash day and so far, even though the heat usage have been more than say 6 months ago, my hair has not been hating me. I am becoming a little bored with my pony tail and buns though...So, I've decided that I going to switch it up a bit and give it some Greek rebel flavor:

Naevia - Spartacus: War of the Damned

Naevia from Spartacus. I still need to perfect the trio of flat cornrows for this style. And I need to just get a clip in or two give volume to the ponytail part of the style. 

So, wash day again took a long time but this time it didn't feel like torture. I applied my prepoo of Tresemme Naturals Moisturising Conditioner mixed with a LOT of sunflower oil (ceramides!! Lovely ceramides!) with my hair in about nine sections. I then covered my hair with a plastic cap and a scarf and out the door I went. I felt a little self conscious with my head covered whilst in the shop but then I remembered - this is Africa baby! No one cares! Especially not if they can't see what's happening underneath the pretty scarf, lol.

I then headed to my friend's house - we decided to collaborate on Sunday lunch and do our hair together. So when I got there I started with my dish (a thai inspired chicken stir fry) with my hair STILL being conditioned by the prepoo. When I finally rinsed it off I think two hours have gone by.

In any event, I then shampooed with my Organics Shampoo for Dry/Damaged Hair. My hair felt SO soft and fluffy! The prepoo really gave it a big shot of moisture. I then applied my DC of ORS Replenishing Conditioner, my hair still in sections. I again covered my hair with the plastic cap and scarf to trap heat and then we proceeded to have Sunday lunch. After that, I treated my friend's hair. She has a type 2c curl, but her hair is very thin. She likes to joke that she only has 3 hairs on her head. So deep conditioning treatments after a shampoo leaves her with oily looking strands. But her ends started looking like straw. It wasn't split but it was clearly very dry. So I grabbed her treatment mask, which was the L'Oreal Fibrology Moisture Masque, mixed in a good two table spoons of glycerin and applied to her dry hair like one would a prepoo. Shen shampooed with the Fibrology shampoo and instant conditioned with the Fibrology conditioner. Her niece Andrea then roller set her hair, which she then left to air dry in the rollers. Once dry Andrea flat ironed her hair and she was happy as a clam! The dryness that she had the last two inches of her hair was GONE, her hair was super shiny and it was flowy and not oily or heavy at all.

I then proceeded to rinse my own DC after sitting with it for 90 minutes (it is such a staple, it is not even funny! ORS should bring out 1.5 liter bottles of the stuff!) and then Andrea roller set my hair as well after I applied Avon Soft as Silk Serum with silk proteins as my leave in and protectant. Since I make a point of detangling at every step she had it quite easy despite the 28 weeks of new growth. She was gentle but fast! I lost next to no hair during the process, but she was still DONE in TWENTY minutes!!!! Remember, it took me TWO HOURS last week! I give credit to her fast hands AND the fact that my hair was like butter after the two intense deep conditioning sessions.

I left my hair to air dry in the rollers after which Andrea flat ironed it with a GHD straightener. My hair felt awesome!! Strong, soft, no breakage and ready for the week to come. I neglected to take pics on Sunday and I promise to remember my next wash day. Point is though - even with the heat, the fact that my hair was so super conditioned cancelled out the potential heat damage from the straightening process.

Regardless, I realised that having an extra pair of hands can really pay off, because even though the wash day stretched through out the day I didn't feel like I was torturing myself. The second thing I realised is that I should NEVER EVER skimp on the deep conditioning. My hair has been happy all week so far, and I don't see a change in the status quo any time soon even though my next wash day is only this coming weekend. The last thing I realised is that I might continue my relaxer stretch until summer at least. And only THEN decide whether I am going to relax or not. I'm kind of proud of myself for stretching for so long already, so I figure I might as well see how long I can go. Who knows, I might decide in September to touch up. I might decide to continue stretching. I might decide to start transitioning. The one thing I know for sure is that I need to stock up on my DC's and I may NEVER wash my hair without deep conditioning it, that now officially equates to a hair sin for me.

How has everyone else's wash days been? What have you realised is the most crucial step in your wash day routine?

Have a happy Wednesday y'all, we're over the hump!

Sunshine Blogger Award

So, I have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award!! I love these! It encapsulates the randomness that is me and parts of this blog. And I love talking about myself so there's that, lol.

Shout out to Yvette of Hard Mashona Type, thank you oodles for the nomination.

Now, there are a number of steps that must be followed in the accepting of the award, the first being to tag the blogger who nominated me (see above).

The second would be to share 11 random facts as requested from Yvette, and here goes:

1. Which countries have you been to?

Well, I'm not as well travelled yet as I want to be, but I have been privileged so far to have been to The United States, South Africa, Malawi and my home country of Namibia. Germany and England don't count as I have only ever seen the insides of their airports. I am going on a little Eurotrip later this year so the list shall be growing in the very near future.

2. If you were a member of the opposite sex for a day, what is the first thing you would do?

This question is DEEP! Well, I already have a very masculine energy for a girl so there's a quite a lot that would take up my day - I would be the fly on the wall and ask my male friends all the questions that they would not answer if a girl asked it. But the FIRST thing I would do??? Pee standing up!

3. Which languages do you speak?

English and Afrikaans, the latter being my mother tongue.

4. What is your favourite social media platform?

To browse - Pinterest. To interact - Facebook. To rant and rave - Twitter.

5. How did you and your best friend meet?

Through mutual friends on the social scene.

6. If you were having a dinner party and could invite anyone, alive or dead, who would you invite?

This is not easy. Well, I could answer with the usual responses of Nelson Mandela, JFK, Ghandi, MLK, Bill Gates, Oprah, but that has been done to death,it has actually become a bit trite. SO, at my dinner party would be my real friends and then I would add to the mix Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Miles Teller, Rihanna, Theo James, Dylan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Robert Downey Jr, Melissa McCarthy and Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. THAT would be a PARTY!!!

7. Dogs or cats?

Both, but right now I have none. I don't have a yard and I will not subject any pet to apartment living.

8. Favourite form of exercise?

Dancing. But when I am actually working out, I like to mix up a bit of cardio with weight and resistance training.

9. What food do you have to be forced to eat?

Uhhhhmmmm...nothing. Okay wait, I'm lying. I DO NOT eat tripe and offal. Other than that - bring it on! Food is good. I like food.

10. If you had an unlimited budget, where would you go for your next vacation?

Unlimited budget? I would do a tour of the fashion capitals of the world and go on a shopping spree! I'm talking New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo. Of course whilst in those cities I would do more than just shop, I would do EVERYTHING else as well. And then to rest I would go to Santorini, Greece and lie on the lily white beaches for a week or two before returning to reality (with a whole new wardrobe and couture galore!)

11. If you won the lottery, what would be the fist thing that you spend, invest or donate it on?

Honestly, if I won the lottery tomorrow the very first thing I would do is scream my head off, take out my bestie and party like a crazy person. THEN I would pay off all of my own debts first, and then I would send my folks a big chunk of money so that they could cover what they want to. After that I would buy myself a new car and then I would go house hunting. Property is ridiculously expensive in Windhoek, Namibia, so buying a house would definitely be VERY high on the priority list.

There you have it folks!!!

The next step is to nominate 11 other bloggers worthy of recognition. Here are my nominees:

• Bee of glamlushhair.blogspot.com
• Melissa from haircaregy.blogspot.com
• Neisha from www.neishajo.com
• Andrea from www.lengtheninglocks.blogspot.com
• Tomi from http://tomesedition.blogspot.com 
• Candice from myhealthyhairdiary.blogspot.com
• Southern Girl from http://www.pecanpieandpincurls.com/
• Harlem from http://harlemhhj.blogspot.com/
• Lydz from http://crowningglorymine.blogspot.com/
• Jackie from http://adventuresofanappychica.blogspot.com/
• Jas-Sherese from http://lengthylovelylocks.blogspot.com/

And the final step is to figure out 11 questions for each of them to answer. Here goes:

1. Your favourite song at the moment and why?

2. TV show that you would recommend to anyone to binge watch?

3. What injustice in this world makes your insides burn with rage and sadness?

4. What is your hidden talent?

5. What is your guilty pleasure?

6. Describe one room in your dream home - remember money is in abundance in this little architectural fantasy. 

7. What was your personal motivation behind the decision to go on a healthy hair journey?

8. Who is your favourite Disney princess?

9. What is your favourite city in the world?

10. How long is your hair right now and what is your ultimate hair length goal?

11. Who is your favourite Avenger? 

ENJOY!!!

PS Anyone else who feels like taking on my questions, you are MORE than welcome, I LOVE getting to know my readers and fellow bloggers.

I did it myself...and it was a struggle.

Hola everybody. Yes, I know, I have been "off the air" for a bit. Multiple reasons - for example I went to a workshop in the bush cut off from civilization. During that week I realised that I truly am a city girl and NOT a country girl. I like the outdoors as much as anyone but can we limit it to 2 days and can we have wifi?

Also, the Soccer World Cup is finally over and thus life can return to normal. Yes, I am a rugby girl, but for this World Cup I decided to strap in for the ride and just enjoy. And it has been oodles of fun, this I admit.

In any event, regarding hair related things, I have been feeling a bit of a disconnect when it comes to my hair. I still do everything that is required on a daily basis - I moisturise and seal, I sleep with a satin scarf AND satiny pillows, I wear my hair in a protective style 95% of the time (either a French or Dutch braid, or a bun or a high pony) and I'm gentle. What I haven't really been doing is my usual wash day routines. Being 27 weeks post (longest stretch EVER) wash days are NO fun. So, I have been going to the salon relatively regularly since I found a stylist that actually cares about the health of my hair. That might also be the reason why I have been feeling a little disconnected...

In any event, last week I was sick (bronchitis) and didn't go to work for a few days. Day 3 of lying at home I decided to wash my hair so that I can feel better even though I wasn't healthy yet. So, I tackled 27 weeks of new growth, which is NO joke. I might actually do a touch up end of this month. I even find styling a chore with hair being as thick as it is now. At the same time I am fighting a bit of an internal battle...I've been surviving so long without getting a touch up, maybe I can push for 7 months...or a 10 months...or a year...or forever?? I don't know...

Anyhoo, I prepooed with a mixture of oils and conditioners - I basically decided to FINISH all those little bottles that only had about a 5th of product left in them. So I mixed up some Dark&Lovely Repairing Mask DC, some cheapie L'Oreal Mint & Cucumber Conditioner, some Coconut Oil, shook it up and then applied to my detangled hair in quadrants, braiding each quadrant so as to prevent further tangling. And BOY does my new growth LOVE single strand knots, d-d-d-d-damn!

Anyhoo, I then shampooed with Organics Shampoo for Dry/Damaged Hair quadrant by quadrant. If I didn't do this I probably would have ended up with a big ball of hair in my hand. Thank the hairgods that breakage was minimal and shedding was also not a problem. I then conditioned with ORS Replenishing Conditioner. I cannot talk enough about how much I love this conditioner. I deep conditioned for about 15-25 minutes. I then rinsed and then blotted the quadrants with my terry cloth towel until it wasn't dripping wet anymore.

I applied my leave in of MorroccanOil Leave In treatment and then detangled my hair quadrant by quadrant in preparation for roller setting. OMG!!! Now, THIS is why I have been going to the salon. The roller setting process alone took TWO hours!!!! Two hours of my life! Spent on getting what seems like a gazillion rollers in my hair, pulling it taught, stretching the roots whilst being gentle. Whilst rolling my hair was drying, so every time that I tackle a new section I would spray it with my water and Avon Quick Touch Leave In Conditioner mix. Hair needs to be wet whilst being placed in the roller otherwise you end up with a frizzed up hot mess.

After FINALLY being done rollersetting it was starting to get late and I was not in the mood to go to bed in the morning hours only. So I whipped out my hair dryer and dried my hair using the cool air setting. Once my hair was dry I spritzed on my Tresseme Heat Protectant and used the blow dryer's heat on  my roots. Even though the rollers stretched it, the roots were still very thick and not easy for my to handle so using the heat to stretch it a little more I can actually handle my own hair. When I was done my arms were killing me but at least my hair was clean, soft and felt strong. I cross wrapped my hair after applying a little Amla Legend 1001 Oils Wrapping Lotion and applied my satin scarf and then I crashed HARD.

This coming weekend I am planning to actually properly PLAN my wash day so that I can do a good job WITHOUT  it taking my SIX hours! I actually have some honey and Apple Cider Vinegar in my kitchen cupboard so I am planning to incorporate one of them in my next wash day, just haven't decided which one yet.