Knots and matting hell!

Hey there everybody. I have had the wash day from hell this past Saturday. My hair is behaving itself now, but trust me, my weekend was NO fun. Except for Sunday evening, which included a live show of Trevor Noah.

Twists still looking cute

Twists reaching expiration date. I got bored AND a  lot of growth, so they didn't look neat anymore. 

As y'all know, I had twists installed at the end of April and on Friday I decided that their expiration date has arrived. So I got home, grabbed my coconut oil, water spritzer, Tresseme Naturals conditioner, a pair of scissors and a plastic bag for all the synthetic hair that I'm going to remove. Friends have been informed that I am unavailable for any Friday night shenanigans and I mad myself comfy in front of the TV. Good thing that the Friday night TV line up doesn't suck - Intelligence, Almost Human and the grandaddy of good tv - Game of Thrones.

I began taking out the twists one by one and once I've removed about 4-6, I would concentrate on detangling that section of hair, using the coconut oil and conditioner and water and then twist it up before moving on to the next section. I don't know what happened - the last time I removed twists the process went rather smoothly and I lost very little hair, whereas this time I lost a hairball the size of a golfball. Murphy decided that my house was a good place to visit - SO MANY KNOTS, SO MUCH MATTING!!! I have no idea where I screwed up as my process was the same as last time...

In any event, I spent the whole night trying to be as gentle as possible, after Game of Thrones I even watched Penny Dreadful (I still don't know if I like this show...opinions out there?) and then I dove into my DVD collections and watched Thelma &Louise and Titanic, all whilst trying to get all the twists out and not cause unnecessary breakage. I finally passed out at 5 in the morning on Saturday, STILL not done, but after ELEVEN hours, I could not keep my eyes open anymore.

The Saturday morning I woke up at 10 o'clock, after about 5 hours of sleep and dove back into my hair. i FINALLY had everything out at noon, and ONLY because my bestie rocked and helped me with the ones at my crown.

See the look of frustration and sadness??!! All twists out, hair mostly detangled, about to receive its prepoo.  So much matting!! Blegh!

Although I made a point of detangling small sections of hair, I could not get all the knots out. So I decided to to prepoo with the rest of the coconut oil and the conditioner in the hope that it would soften the knots so that I can have an easier time getting rid of them.  Prepoo lasted a good 2 hours.

I then shampooed with Tresemme Naturals Shampoo. It may be low in sulfates but it lathers beautifully, without being stripping. I then instant conditioned with the Tresemme Naturals Conditioner and then proceeded to DC with ORS HAIRepair Nourishing Conditioner, for a good 90 minutes. I then proceeded to rollerset, and proceeded to lose ANOTHER mini golf ball worth of hair! (Que TEARS of frustration) Being 23 weeks post relaxer is not an effing joke, this I tell y'all! And this is despite being gentle, using my most trustworthy products!

I got myself some faux curlformers and when my hair was halfway dry in my regular rollers I decided I'm in the mood for real curls. It was my very first attempt at using curl formers, and the installation process wasn't too bad. After putting them all in, I left it to airdry completely. The packs I bought didn't have enough long curlformers to I struggled a little bit with my ends. I might try it again, but I need to buy another pack so that I have enough long ones.

End sticking out at places where the formers weren't long enough for my hair. 

The roots are PUFF CITY!!  

Curls immediately after removal. 

SO not impressed with those straight ends sticking out...

Some nice curls, some seriously wonky ones!

I had a date the Sunday evening - Trevor Noah live at the National Theatre, so I thought the curls would be the perfect kind of cute. Unfortunately the curls fell and so I ended up pinning them up into a 50's style pinup with a couple of tendrils around my face.

Curls pinned back, looking good. 

Come Monday and I am NOT happy with my hair. So, I suck it up, and go to the salon. There they detangle my hair and lo and behold, MORE KNOTS!! They were so gentle though, it was awesome. Had me hair washed and deep conditioned with HEAT (that only happens at the salon, I don't own a dryer), rollerset and then blown out straight. 

Almost 24 weeks post and swanging!

I lost very little hair at the salon and today I'm sitting on 3 day old straight hair which is STILL soft and feels strong and moisturised. I'm 24 weeks post, the longest stretch of my life!! And I have decided to see what happens on my next wash day when I'm on the DIY train again. If the new growth kills my soul, then next week I will be doing a touch up. If it doesn't, then I might just keep stretching and I have no conceivable goal regarding how long I want to stretch. I'm just gonna see what happens. Hey, I might end up also transitioning. Or I'm gonna relax my hair next week! Who knows? The beauty of this being a JOURNEY. 

I trust everyone else had a better DIY wash day than mine. It's almost the weekend, I'm looking forward to a much needed rest, so let's strap in everyone!

I've been doing it all my life!

Hola everybody.

I trust everyone has had a great weekend. Today was a wash day for me, but I went to the salon again because my life is running away with me. And I have WAY too much new growth to DIY and rush through the process, I would just end up regretting it. So, I grabbed my own products and then headed to the same salon that did my hair after removing my weave. And again, I was not disappointed with the way they treated my hair nor with the results. I must mention this though - because the used MY products that I brought from home, in the order that I requested, my hair feels stronger and softer than it did when they used THEIR shampoo and conditioner and leave in. I have made a decision that whenever I go to a stylist in future I shall take with me my anal nature regarding how they should treat my hair (I grabbed the wide tooth comb and detangled myself prior to roller setting!) as well as my own products that I know work well for me at home. The ones shown below are the ones I grabbed today.

Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner

Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo

D & L Anti Breakage Healing Treatment - I used this as a protein DC and it is amazing, as it is not a hard protein, but hair feels quite a bit stronger. Wide mouth tub - Jeni, your kind of thing, lol.

How the DC looks coming out of the tub. Very  thick and creamy, but it sinks in well.

Moroccanoil Treatment - this is a leave in treatment that has the consistency of a serum but acts as a conditioner and heat protectant. It is HELLA expensive (It amounts to 2 months of groceries!) and I received it as a gift. I guard this with my life, and I lend it to NO ONE. It works like a charm and it is NOT readily available in this country.

No make up selfie!! Hair results are on point though. 

Results - smooth, soft, strong. I do need another colour rinse though, this natural brown is a little boring to me.

However, what I really want to talk to y'all about today is rollersetting and how to get a good set, thus stretching your hair without the detrimental direct heat of a blow dry or a straightening iron.

Now, I know that in general every head of hair is different, and believe me, I am not trying to dictate the "right" way. I am simply sharing my life long experience, as my hair has been roller set every wash day since I was teeny tiny baby. I remember a picture taken of me at the tender age of two years, running around in our back yard on chubby legs, massive smile on my face and a head full of rollers.

So, I have had a LOT of practice to perfect my roller setting technique and it would be remiss of me to not share with like minded ladies.

On any normal wash day I follow my normal routine of detangle, pre-poo, shampoo, instant condition, detangle, deep condition, leave in condition and then final detangle. Then the roller setting process starts. I divide my hair into three sections, usually recognized as the mohawk method.

Picture provided by Fancy Flair Lady 

I start my set with the middle section, but I start in front with my bangs and not at the crown, as I've seen a few ladies do. Always remember to keep a spritz bottle of water close by. It is always better that hair be more wet than damp when roller setting as to get a good stretch at the roots and to get a smooth result.

Each section of hair that I use per roller I make sure is completely detangled. I also make sure that each section fits the width of the roller and that stray strands of hair aren't slipping off the ends. This helps to ensure that the end results are smooth and well stretched.

Make sure to pull the hair nice and taut as you roll the hair over the roller. Do not pull it TOO taut as this will cause the hair to snap as it dries. Remember. hair stretches more whilst wet. Just ensure that the hair is pulled tautly enough so that one's roots mesh well with the relaxed lengths. If you are natural, ensure that the hair is evenly pulled taut around the roller.

Once I finish up the middle row, I move to the sides. Now, by this time, due to high porosity issues, the ends of  my hair has air dried quite a bit and requires gentle handling. I take my spritz water bottle (which usually contains a little bit of moisturising conditioner) and spray the hair until it is nice and wet again. Mind you NOT soaking wet, yet more wet than damp. Out of habit I move to the left side of my head first before tackling the right. I divide the side into two parts, making a vertical part and then first rolling the front and then the back, using the same methods as with the mohawk. At the end of the day, THIS is what I look like when I'm done:

As you can see, I continue to roll my hair in horizontal lines parallel to the mohawk. I have found this method to be the simplest, yet most effective method for the results that I wish to obtain. Usually I let the hair air dry in the rollers, although if time is of the essence, I blast it with cold air to hurry the process along.

Drying the last sections that are still in rollers. As y'all can see, bigger rollers equals straighter hair. Smaller rollers equal more defined curls. 

After all that effort, I usually simply put my hair into a cute protective style that shows off the fact that my hair is shiny clean whilst still utilizing some of the volume and body and curls provided by the roller set, such as below:

So! There you have it. If anybody has any questions feel free to ask. at the end of the day I believe that rollersetting is one of the biggest favors that one can do her hair. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Have a lovely week everybody!

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!

First visit in over a year!

Good morning everybody, and I'm hoping everyone's having a good Monday so far.

Well, this weekend I went to the Salon for the first time in over a year! The stylist that me, my sister and my mom used for years has moved to my town. My sister texted me her deets and so I made an appointment for Saturday afternoon, just for a simple wash and blow. i prepped my hair by detangling at home and applying my prepoo, which consisted of warmed coconut oil, a TINY bit of ORS Hair Mayonnaise that I had left over and Revlon  Aquamarine Conditioner. I covered my hair with a plastic cap and a bonnet and after chilling at home for about an hour went into town for my appointment.

When I got to the salon she was a little behind schedule, but I only had to sit and wait for about 30 minutes whilst she finished with a blow out. When we got to the sink she was very impressed with the fact that I arrived with prepoo already applied, since she does care about hair health. She was SO gentle as she shampooed and conditioned my hair. And she gave me a nice head massage, I felt like I was in heaven. Due to budget and time constraints we didn't deep condition this time, but it will definitely be on the cards next time. (And yes, now that Didi is in town, I believe that there shall be a next time). She used Angel Haircare products.

To shampoo she used the A-201 Water Depth Spa Shampoo, described on their website as follows: The marine collagen can reconstruct hair cells and repair damaged hair to make the hair shiny and vibrant. To condition she used the accompanying A-301 Water Depth Spa Conditioner, leaving it on for about 5 minutes before rinsing. It is described as follows: Derived from the deep-sea plants, it forms a natural protecting layer to keep your hair moisturized and smooth. 

We then went to sit for the blow out. My hair felt SO soft despite not having had a DC. Before proceeding with the blow out, she spritzed my hair with the Angel A-303 Hair Soften Spray as leave in and heat protectant. She then started blow drying my hair. she's so gentle, I think all the Colombians I hear of on American hair blogs can learn a thing or two from her. She sectioned off my hair and detangled using a very nice wide tooth comb before blow drying each section using a round brush and the tension method. When she was done, she finished my hair with a little Argan oil. I had so much SWANG when I got out of that chair my ego boosted itself up!

And I believe that I see some REAL progress!!

Of course it was also awesome that I got TONS of compliments during the evening out (of course I went out, swang like that does not stay at home!)

Because a blow out is a LOT of manipulation and a lot of heat, it's not something that I would do every other day. But I can see myself visiting the salon a LITTLE more frequently now, like every 6 weeks or something. The good it did my ego and self esteem I think make it totally worth it. 

So?? How was everyone else's weekend?  Enjoy the rest of the day everybody!

I survived the weekend...and an official length check

It's Monday, I am at work, I definitely need to tackle the heap on my desk, and I made through the weekend. The first weekend. I'm still employing the same survival methods - focus on the here and now and let the future take care of itself. 

On another note, on Friday, after work, I went to the salon to a stylist that I know does awesome blow outs. I again realised why I haven't been to a salon in over 7 months - the wash girl shampooed and conditioned my hair in one big ball, did not detangle prior to me getting into the stylists chair and in my opinion the products used were subpar. I could feel my ends being dry and my hair being FULL of static electricity. While she was doing the blow out I feel that she could have been a little more gentle, but it wasn't that bad. The end result however was AWESOME. My hair had lots of movement, body and shine. And I could finally see that I have really had some good growth. Also, I am 7 weeks post and one would swear that I just had a fresh relaxer after that blow out. So, taking that into consideration, I decided to a very official length check compared to when I started on this journey. I apologise for the picture quality - cellphone, and taken in the bathroom. 

I think that I can technically claim SL due to the hair at the back actually reaching that length, but I do not wish to claim it until the front and sides at the very least reach chin length, and I really think that I'm not that far off from it. Also, the salon won't see me again for quite a long time, since I now know that me taking care of my own hair yields the best results. However, when I do go again (I never said never, lol)  will make sure to either take my own products and to detangle myself prior to the blow out OR I will wash and DC at home and then simply have my hair rinsed at the salon and then blown. This time, to counteract the dryness left by the subpar products and lack of proper detangling I moisturized and sealed a little heavier than usual and I have succeeded in parching the dryness in a 24hour time span. 

So ladies, am I entitled to give myself a pat on the back?