Re-evaluating my needs

Hey there y'all! 

Trust everyone has had a great week behind them. I am having a good hair week, FINALLY, for the first time in a while. I'm STILL struggling with breakage and shedding, but my hair feels stronger and more moisturised and more supple this week than it has in a while, so clearly I did something right this past wash day. 

Now, just quick update on what's actually going on on top of my head. I did not document when I last relaxed my hair, but I do know that it was before my birthday last year, which falls in early December. So roughly calculating from the week of my birthday, I'm about 20 weeks post relaxer, which explains the mop of new growth that I'm dealing with. This was also a very much unintentional stretch - colouring my hair and putting in twists and going to London and my very trusty hairdresser moving to another town 800 km away all contributed to me not "getting my hair did". As y'all know, I am NOT a fan of multiple textures and trying to find the happy middle ground of dealing with them, so y'all can expect one of two things happening in the near future - a relaxer update or a big chop, cause I'm DONE! Note - I am not going to transition. Ever. If I go natural, it'll be a big chop. I truly cannot stand working with multiple textures, they drive me insane!

Secondly, I cut off about an inch of hair all by myself - the raggiest of the raggedy ends, in order to curb some of the freaking breakage. And I think it worked, I haven't seen short broken hairs in my hands since. But I'm still trying to curb the demarcation line breakage. I suspect that this past wash day was the first step into the right direction, as I'm starting to think that I have concentrated so much on moisture the past few months, that I have thrown off the moisture-protein balance in my hair and THUS it's breaking like crazy. 

Thirdly, one my of my best friends have a birthday party this week themed "Great Gatsby" and I'm planning to wig it up for the party. To do this I'm planning to have my hair cornrowed on Friday and then in the process also have a protective style for a week or two whilst wigging it up. Yes, I DO realise that this might cause me to stretch even longer and that the relaxer or big chop might not happen for another couple of weeks. BUT I feel that doing this is a healthier option for the themed party than trying to manipulate my own hair into a 1920's worthy style. It's also getting cooler this side of the world and protective styling during the winter has been my go to since I started this journey 3 years ago. 

Okidokie, let's get stuck into this week's #washdayexperience, which essentially led to the above realizations. 

My look the day BEFORE wash day - a little pompoudour and french plaited in the back - had this protective style for 3 days straight.

My prepoo mix - as y'all can see, EVERYTHING contains argan/Moroccan oil as an  ingredient. 

Hair lost during the prepoo and detangling process, primarily shedding, but still significant breakage. 

As the pics above detail, I wore a french braid with a pompoudour for 3 days straight as a protective style before my wash day. On my wash day I mixed up my prepoo mix, this time, as you can see, using primarily the last bit of all my AVON Advance Techniques conditioners as well as the last of my Sunsilk conditioner. I also added a CRAP load of sunflower oil, feeling that it's time that I reintroduce ceramides into my hair regimen. I finger detangled and applied my prepoo mix in six separate sections, twisting up each section as I go along. During the prepoo application process I collected every single hair and ended up with too much for my liking. After applying the entire prepoo mixture I wrapped up my hair in a plastic cap, my shower cap and my AVON microfibre head wrap and promptly became a lazy bum in front of the TV. 

Prepoo chilling - still cute though, lol!!

It was a LONG prepoo session, because I forgot to put on the geyser before I started, so after sitting for about 45 minutes I wanted to go shower and continue with the rest of my washday process, but I can't do cold showers, nope, nope, lots of nope. So I then switched on the geyser and proceeded to wait for the water to warm up, a time period during which I watched an episode of something. so essentially, at the end of the day my prepoo alone was 2 hours long!

My shampoo - it's the business!

Smoothing and detangling conditioner - I need more!!!

My deep conditioner - first time experience. 

Staple leave ins. HE Bee strong is on it's last legs though.

So, water finally warm and I'm in the shower. Shampooed with Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo. I forgot how nice this shampoo works - uber lather but my hair didn't feel stripped. 

Then I dived for the HE Hello Hydration Conditioner as my smoothing and detangling conditioner. now, on a previous wash day I had massive tangles and knots, mainly due to the multiple textures and very thick new growth. So, I decided to go to my OLD method, that used to work 2 years ago, but I somehow abandoned - finger detangling at every step of the wash day process. So, starting at the nape I separated a section, pinning the rest up with a claw clip, and then with some Hello Hydration I started to finger detangle my hair. This conditioner has awesome slip, the knots easily slipped out, the tangles were not very big competition for this conditioner. I did this section by section, moving forward on my head until my entire head was covered in conditioner and finger detangled. Unfortunately, this method also means more manipulation and since my hair has not been in its ideal state, this also led to more shedding and breakage. 

Total amount of hair lost in the shower during rinsing, shampoo, conditioner detangling, rinsing, DC application and rinsing. 

After rinsing the Hello Hydration I deep conditioned with Elasta QP Intense Fortifying Hair Conditioning Treatment. I've only ever read about this conditioner as it is SO NOT available in my country. So on my recent trip to London I picked up a LOT of products that I've only been dreaming of and this was one of them. It was the first time using it and looking at the ingredients list and description it seems like a mild protein DC, but with plenty of moisturising agents. So, I applied it liberally in sections. It also has a nice slip but it also feels slightly tacky. I didn't really care for how it felt in my hands. It also did absorb or penetrate into my hair as quickly as I hoped, but I could see that should I go natural that my hair would LOVE it, because the curls in my new growth suddenly started popping a bit. I again wrapped up my hair and ended up on the couch. The instructions say to condition for 10 minutes, but I suspect I DC'd for about 45 minutes to an hour. When I rinsed, my hair felt quite strong without feeling dry.

I then applied my leave ins of MoroccanOil Treatment and HE Bee Strong Conditioning Creme and proceeded to rollerset my hair with my normal rollers. I used Ebony's, from Longing4Length, 3 comb method to again detangle and then rollerset, of course spritzing the hair as I went so to ensure that the hair is wet to ensure it be as smooth as possible. 

Hair lost during the rollersetting process. 

I then let my hair air dry in the rollers until completely dry. When I took out the rollers many hours later it was already getting late and I felt exhausted. I thus just combed my hair into a ponytail and wrapped it with my satin scarf. 

It's been a couple of days since that wash and my hair has been behaving better than it has the week before, that's for sure. It feels stronger, it looks smoother, it feels and looks softer. I've kept my styling and handling very simple - sleep with the satin scarf (that OF COURSE slips off in the middle of the night), use my rake comb when styling, wear a pony tail or pin up, massage a little bit of Jamaican Black Castor Oil pomade (also a London buy) into the roots and ends. 

Day 4 hair - pulled back into a ponytail with the bangs banging. 

My next wash day might be either tomorrow or Thursday, in preparation for the cornrows for the wig for Friday's party. BUT I am going to repeat all of the above steps and see if incorporating more protein on wash day via the Elasta QP might actually SOLVE my breakage issues once and for all! Hopefully, the hair balls will be significantly smaller. Here's to getting my hair back on track!!

Hope your wash days were awesome! If you haven't yet, join the Wash Day Experience and tell the rest of us how you keep your mane in check. 

Till next time ladies! Adios!

A whole new wash day experience!

Hey there y'all!! 

So, I promised you that I will be more active and prolific from now on, and I come to deliver with a wash day post. I haven't done one in a while basically because I haven't done much. I have been skimping on pre-poo and DC sessions (I know! Sacrilege!), I have SO much new growth even though I'm only a bit over 12 weeks post (I'm NOT sure how much, I just know that I last relaxed in December, between my birthday and Christmas, okay maybe I'm 14 weeks post)

So, I started off with a decent prepoo, using a little mixture of old conditioners and some kitchen basics. 

My pre-poo mix

So, I made a prepoo mixture of Sunsilk Argan Oil Conditioner, Avon Advance Techniques Supreme Oils Conditioner, honey, coconut oil and salt. The latter I have read about on a couple of blogs, that it also increases the moisturising abilities of conditioners. So, mixed it all together, slapped it on, rubbed it through and then covered my hair with a plastic cap and a beanie and started watching Troy. 

Amount of hair lost during detangling when I applied the prepoo mix.

My prepoo selfie, lmao!

I chilled for a while, then shampooed with Avon Advance Techniques Supreme Oils shampoo. When I rinsed the prepoo, my hair felt SO ridiculously soft!!! I then just did a quick smoothing conditioning with the Sunsilk conditioner and THEN I did my first HARD protein treatment ever!

Remember I told y'all that I bought a bunch of new products in London that are generally unavailable in Windhoek, and one of those beauties was the Aphogee Two Step Protein treatment. 

Guys, this thing stinks! I swear, it smells like rotten eggs and smelly feet mixed together. It also has a very runny consistency. i didn't have a spray bottle this time, but next time I will definitely rather use a spray bottle to apply this stuff. 

So I applied it all over, concentrating on my ratty ends. I kept it on for about 5 minutes until I started feeling my hair getting hard from the product. I then rinsed it as gently as possible. Even after all the protein was gone my hair still felt super stiff, so I gave it another quick smoothing with the sunsilk conditioner before deep conditioning with another self made mix. 

Amount of hair lost during the shampoo, protein, rinsing and DC application and rinsing processes. 

My DC mix

As y'all can see, my DC mix mirrors my prepoo mixture, with the conditioner changing to Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends, also picked up at Boots in London. Side note: Honey, coconut oil and salt are now officially staples to add to ANY conditioner to up it's quotient into DC territory. 

Same routine - plastic cap, beanie and continue watching Troy. I cannot recall how long my DC session was, I get lost in time when I watch Troy (I mean, who wouldn't??)

Then rinse, my hair feeling super soft, but stronger than it's felt in months. Thank you Aphogee!!! Also shout out to Ebony and KLP for the advice last night via Twitter!

I then applied my leave ins - MorrocanOil Treatment and Herbal Essences Bee Strong Creme, the latter also a London pick up (I told y'all, I LOST MY MIND) and proceeded to rollerset on big orange perm rods (yep, also new. Judgement free zone).

Leave ins

I'm tired, it's getting late and trying specific rollers for the first time is always a little bit of a bitch

Not bad for a first time I thought.

By this time, it was closing in on midnight, so I decided to just sleep with the rods. It wasn't too uncomfortable, actually WAY more comfy then curl formers AND flexi rods. 

So, this morning I took out the rods and then separated the curls just a little bit and that's all she wrote. Lord knows how long they will actually last since as you can see i didn't use a drop of holding product. 

BTW, I apologise for the pics quality, my phone suddenly takes not as cool pics as a week ago, need to have it checked out. 

Anyhoo, my hair LOVED all the products I used and ESPECIALLY loved the actual attention I gave it for a change. Complacency is officially out the window, I'm back in the hair journey saddle! Be sure to check out all the posts from The Washday Experience where we all learn something new every day.

Have a great Tuesday everybody! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM! 

Almost two months...

Hey there everyone.

I just realised that I haven't written a blog post in over a month, almost two months actually, and I apologise for my disappearance. I have been feeling a disconnect to my hair. It's still breaking. And I'm exhausted trying to get it back on track. I am strongly considering simply putting it into box braids or twists this coming weekend and be done with it for the summer. I just can't deal anymore. Moisturising, protein treatments, minimal heat, nothing is working and helping. So I am kind of throwing in the towel and going to protective style through out the heat and humidity that is an African summer.

On another note, I told you ladies that I have started actually looking better after myself with the help of a dietitian and biokineticist. I had an evaluation yesterday and the results are in. Centimetres lost around my waist, lower abdomen and upper arms. Centimetres gained (muscle though, so yay!) around my chest. No change with my legs though, then again it doesn't surprise me, I have always had muscular calves and big thighs even when I was at my slimmest. 5.5 pounds lost, which sound like very little BUT I still did the happy dance yesterday because I shaved off a whole FIVE percent of BODY FAT!!!!! Which means that the scale is a bit of a liar, considering that clearly I've gained muscle. Don't believe the scale ladies!!

So here's my action plan for the majority of summer:

"Forget" about my hair - I am going to protective style using either box braids, twists or cornrows. This will also help to not stress about it during my workouts. Whilst in protective style, I'm going to moisturise like a crazy person using a spritz. Hopefully when fall hits, my hair will be in a much better condition than it is currently as well as actually be full APL. I will keep each protective style in for 4-6 weeks at a time, with a two week resting period in between. I'm sick and tired of struggling! And the most important reason - I don't want my hair interfering with my exercise regime anymore!

Work out like a beast! I recently moved to a new apartment complex. Right next to it they are in the process of building a small lifestyle centre which will include a gym. One of the incentives for new tenants was a 3 month gym voucher if you move in. So, apart from going to biokinetics 3 times a week, I plan to work out an additional 2-3 days a week in the gym right next to my apartment building. I plan to shave off at least an additional 3% body fat by January 2015 at least.

Right now I am very much focusing on shedding fat, gaining lean muscle and losing centimetres. The scale is not my friend and it actually depresses me, so I'm throwing away the scale. Besides, skinny girls look good in clothes. Fit girls look good naked. I wanna look good naked, lol. In addition, since it's summer, I am going to try and get to a swimming pool as much as I can. Swimming is an AWESOME full body workout, and it's way more fun than throwing the weights around. (Although I must admit, I do like strength training way more than cardio.)

Not sabotage my diet during the festive season. This is a tricky one. As it is summer here and the majority of us take our annual vacation time during December, there will be braai's (barbecues to my American lovelies) galore, so heaps and heaps of red meat (I'm African! There's no such thing as veggie burgers for us, lol), potato salad, garlic bread and cocktails. In addition to that, Christmas is only 4 weeks away, and we cook (and eat) like maniacs on Jesus' birthday. Which can be detrimental to ANY diet/eating plan.

So, first of all, I am going to substitute whiskey or scotch for all the sugar laden cocktails and ciders. It, along with vodka, has the lowest calorie count of all alcoholic drinks, especially if paired with water instead of some soda mix. Luckily I like whiskey and scotch, lol.

Secondly, I need to stick to my plan and routine as strictly as possible during the week, as the braai's and frivolity usually occur over weekends and thus I may indulge a little more than if I were cheating during the week.

Thirdly, I need to take charge of potato salads and make the German version instead of the traditional mayonnaise laden version. Because the German contains no additional fats like mayo but vinegar instead, its GI count is lower and thus healthier. But still yummy!

And lastly, I am going to incorporate smoothies as much as possible. It's refreshing and if self made one is assured of what you take into your body. Unfortunately Christmas day might be a big bust up to the diet. Then again, Christmas comes but once a year!

So, for the next few months I think I may focus a little more on my health and fitness and weight loss journey than my hair, I will however try to start writing wash day posts again, just to motivate myself regarding what's going on on top of my head.

What's everybody else's plans for the festive season and summer? And to my lovelies States side, what are your plans for the winter?

Have a good one!!

No more splits!

Heya y'all!

Yeah, I've been a little quiet, partly because I have been sick as a dog! I will update y'all on EVERYTHING bit by bit.

Right now though I am informing y'all that I am joining Jeni from JustGrowAlready in the 30 Days without Split Ends Challenge. I haven't been part of a hair challenge in a long time and I think this will help me get back on track where my hair care is concerned.

The rules are simple. Apart from the sign up it basically says that one should simply change one's regimen in at least one way to help reduce/prevent split ends.

Here's some of the changes I'm going to make:

1. ZERO direct heat for the rest of the month. Thus no blow drying, no flat ironing and NO going to the salon!
2. Intensify deep conditioning by doing overnight prepoo sessions and by adding sunflower oil (ceramides) to all conditioners.
3. Protective styling as much as possible. As much as I love showing off my length (come on! I never could before) I need to step up my pin up and braiding game to protect what I have gained.
4. Have a dusting at the end of the month if necessary.

I am hoping that the results are that not only am I rejuvenated in my journey but that I can enter summer being past APL.

What changes would you make to your regimen?

Happy Monday!

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!

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.

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!

Back in twists

Hi there everyone.

Last we spoke I told y'all that I'm going home to my folks to have a bit of a rest, and boy, did I!! I got in a good 8-9 hours of sleep every night, I had NO social responsibilities and I lazed in front of the television like a person only does when you're on a lazy holiday.

Whilst I was home I squeezed in a wash day in preparation of having twists installed and long term protective styling for the next 4-6 weeks.

1. Prepoo using my D&L Anti-Breakage Healing Treatment on my dry hair, taking a LOT of care considering that I was working with a two day old braid out. My mother gave me a little bit of a side eye, very much not understanding this thing of putting conditioner on dry hair before it was cleansed. I just smiled and carried on, sitting with my prepoo for about 30 minutes. 
2. I then jumped in the shower (YAY, a shower!!) and shampooed using ORS Aloe Shampoo. It really is a detangling shampoo! I love it. It also cleanses properly without stripping. 
3. I then used my Elvive Triple Resist Conditioner as smoothing conditioner before applying ORS Replenishing Conditioner as my DC. My mum wanted us to go into town later so I knew I can't take TOO long with my wash day process. And with being 18 weeks post, every step takes a little longer anyway. So I ended deep conditioning for 15 minutes with my hair covered in a plastic cap and standing underneath the steaming hot shower. 
4. I REALLY like ORS products - my hair felt SO soft, yet very strong. I think that I have this moisture/protein balance thing pretty much down, although I will never stop being vigilant about it. I then applied my leave in's of Avon 3D Rescue Treatment and MoroccanOil Treatment before roller setting. 
5. I let my hair air dry in the rollers before taking them out and lightly flat ironing my roots, using only one quick pass. I then spent the rest of the time in a ponytail as the wind was wreaking a little bit of havoc in my home town. 

I proceeded to moisturise and seal every night, preparing my hair for the intense manipulation that comes with having twists installed. On Tuesday I found myself at the salon, 4 packs of Darling braiding hair in hand and sat down for the long haul. Because my hair was stretched and well moisturised and I prepped with protein on my wash day the process went okay. Although I had to remind the braiding ladies to treat my scalp like that of a five year old. I walked out 3 hours later and N$ 300 (about 30 US Dollars) poorer. The residual mild tightness only lasted about 12 hours and today, 2 days after them installed the twists are comfy and I am chilled. Of course I got myself a good braid spray that is very moisturising with which I give my scalp and hair a good spritz in the evenings before bed. I still sleep with a satin scarf and I plan to wash my hair at least once a week. 

I'm planning to wear the twists for 4-6 weeks. If I manage a full 6 weeks then I would be 24 weeks post upon removal of the twists, which would be my longest stretch EVER!! Depending on how I feel at that time, I will then either touch up or continue to protective style through out winter. But, let me not count my chickens before they hatch. 

What do y'all do to assist in stretching longer? What are your go to long term protective styles? What are your staples on wash days? My staple brand is definitely ORS, no doubt. What's yours?

Have a great Thursday everybody, and happy growing!

Fitting it in between Grey's Anatomy and Scandal

Hello there everybody

Trust everyone had a splendid week and that it's just getting better. Easter is approaching and I also trust that we are all not just looking forward to a few days off, but also counting our blessings and amping up our gratitude.

In the world of my hair, yesterday I tackled it and washed it myself for the first time in 6 weeks. Yeah, yeah, I know that sounds kinda gross, but it's not that bad. Y'all remember that I was weaved up for four of those weeks, so even when I "washed" my hair during that time, it wasn't exactly like a regular wash day. And the last two weeks, I went to the salon for a wash and blow out. So, yesterday I thought that I need to tackle it myself so that I can FEEL what is going on on top of my scalp.

I got home and to save time, I decided to dry deep condition, which ended up just being an intense pre-poo. I grabbed a pack of ORS HAIRepair Banana & Bamboo Conditioner and applied that after dividing my hair into quadrants. I lost I think 3 shed hair during this process. After the entire packet was on my hair, I sealed in the conditioner with coconut oil, then put on a shower cap, a plastic grocery bag AND a scarf and settled in for Masterchef Australia(which is an hour long show).

After Masterchef I RACED to the bathroom, since I had 4 minutes before the start of Grey's Anatomy. In that time I rinsed off and then shampooed using my Avon Moroccan Oil Shampoo. I just lathered up once, and my hair felt phenomenal. I then raced back to the couch, Avon Moroccan Oil Conditioner and Dove Repair Conditioner in hand and as Grey's started applied the two conditioners, again sealed them with coconut oil, and again covered up with plastic bag, shower cap and scarf. During commercial breaks I made sure to eat a little dinner - a lamb stew with dried prunes reminiscent of Katniss' favourite Capitol dish from the Hunger Games trilogy.

After Grey's finished up, I raced to the bathroom once more. I again only had 4 minutes till Scandal starts. I rinsed like a woman possessed. My hair felt soft, but strong. Somehow, without REALLY thinking about it, I got the moisture/protein balance just right during this wash. In total I think I lost about 12-15 hairs during the washing, conditioning and rinsing stages, so I am a happy chappy.

I then wrapped my hair in a soft old towel, grabbed my leave-ins of Avon 3D Rescue and M Moroccanoil Treatment. As Scandal starts and (spoiler alert) and James get shot, I apply a peanut sized amount of the 3D Rescue and about a little less than double of that of the Moroccanoil Treatment to my hair, then sectioned it into three so as to start roller setting.

I roller set my hair, making sure to have a water spritz close. I then let my hair air dry in the rollers for an hour and a half whilst watching the rest of Scandal and the last three quarters of the MTV Movie Awards. (That award show seems like the biggest party!) After the award show I realised that time is getting away from me and I finished drying my hair with my hair dryer blasting it with cold air whilst the hair is still in the rollers. Once dry I took out the rollers and realised that over 3 months of new growth is NO joke and whipped out the Toni & Guy straightener. I flat ironed the hair in small sections, only using one quick pass over the roots.

Once I was done, I cross wrapped my hair, put on my satin scarf and passed out. This morning my hair is soft, super manageable and not a single shed or broken hair in my comb. I'm going to try and keep this stretch going for as long as I can since it seems like my hair is not suffering yet.

How did everybody else deal with their main mane this week? See y'all soon, have a cracking Tuesday!

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!

Took matters in my own hands

Hi there y'all. 

So, you remember me lamenting my busted ends? Thanks for telling me it's not that bad, but I simply could not take it anymore. So last night, I decided to wash my hair and give myself a slight trim, as it seems like a salon visit will have to wait a little due to budgetary constraints. 

So, last night I prepood for 20 minutes using Tresemme Naturals Conditioner, Amla oil and coconut oil. Shampooed with Tresemme Moisturizing Shampoo, instant conditioned with L'Oreal Elvive Triple Resist Conditioner. I then DC'd for 15 minutes with Gliss Ultimate Repair Anti-Damage Mask. (Review coming as soon as I finish the jar). I only had it on for that short time because I feared a protein overload. As it turned out, I did have a little bit of hardness on my hair, but that was pretty much fixed with my leave ins of Avon Moisture IQ and Moroccan Oil treatment. At least now I know that my hair's protein levels are a little higher than optimal and I only have to focus on moisture for the next month or so. I then roller set my hair and dried it with my hair dryer using the cool setting. 

When I took out the rollers, it took a while, because that's when I started dusting/trimming. As I removed one roller, I would cut off a maximum of 1 cm (less than a third of an inch) on that particular section. I did this with each and every section as I removed the individual rollers. When I was finally done I simply wrapped up my hair and went to bed. My phone's camera has the nasty habit of shutting off the phone when I try to take pictures, so I gave up on the idea of taking a pic of my hair itself. But, I at least got a pic of the amount of hair that was cut off, which is the following:

Now, I know that it doesn't look like much, but when I did my sideway French braid this morning, my hair just FELT so much better under my hands and I knew that I did the right thing. I will have a friend take a pic of my hair from the back in a few weeks and then we'll see if I achieved anything positive regarding the evening out of the hemline. Till then I am going to protective style up the wazoo and focus on moisture, moisture, moisture.

Have a great Thursday y'all. Just one more day and it's Friday!!

Yep, I definitely need to get a trim!

Good morning there y'all. I trust everyone had a good weekend. I envy everyone that was on vacation during December. I was part of the dreaded skeleton staff and thus, although it is only February, I am exhausted, drained and not very motivated about anything in my life right now because I am simply too bloody tired. I haven't had any true time off since December 2012 and 2013 was a tough year in general. I can't wait for the weekend of 21 March. 21 March is our Independence day and thus a public holiday, which to us means a lovely 3 day weekend!! And I NEED it! 

Regardless, being on my hair journey, I know that I should not be neglecting my hair just because I'm in need of some R&R, so yesterday I did a wash day which included a length check, and people, I am going to get a trim, very very soon. (I just need to work it into my calendar and my budget) My hair feels nice, but my ends need to be evened out, otherwise I am never going to hit BSL by the end of this year. Right now I am grazing APL, ever ever so slightly. So any trim is going to take my back to barely collar bone length, but I can see that if I don't do it, my raggedy ends will not allow me to reach APL in the first place. 

Okay, so here's the recount of my wash day yesterday:

1. Pree-poo/dry deep condition - I mixed up Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Conditioner and Amla oil and applied it to my dry, detangled hair, in a total of six sections. I twisted each section after applying the mix to prevent any tangling while I work. I then covered my hair with a plastic cap and left it on for a good 4 hours. Yep, FOUR hours!! Which is why it ended up being a prepoo and deep condition combo. 
2. Shampooed with Tresemme Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo. I lathered up twice, making sure to concentrate on my scalp and not the length of my hair. This shampoo is definitely a staple, and I will need to repurchase soon, I think I only have about two uses left in that bottle (which I bought more than four months ago!! Talk about value for money!)
3. Instant conditioned and finger detangled with TCB Bone Straight. This conditioner is a jack of all trades. It works as an instant conditioner, a deep conditioner and a leave in. It is an amazing product and CHEAP, costing less than N$30 (about US$3) for a 500ml bottle. 
4. Wrapped my hair in my softest towel for a few minutes before applying my leave ins of Avon Moisture IQ Leave In Treatment and MoroccanOil Treatment, and then proceeded to rollerset. Whilst I was rollersetting I realised that the last 3 inches of my hair is extremely highly porous. I had to constantly spray it with my waterspritz (water, a little bit of Dark&Lovely Moisturizing Spritz and a little bit of Tresemme Naturals Conditioner) because it dried really fast, AS I'm busy rolling in my hair. I then also realised that it is the hair that I STARTED with when I began this journey and thus the oldest, least healthy, most damaged hair on my head. It is THEN that my hair actually screamed to me - CUT THOSE ENDS OFF!
5. I let my hair air dry in the rollers as I planned to whip out the flat iron because I wanted to do a proper length check, as my hair journey turn two years old last week, the 5th of February. (forgot to do an anniversary post, last week was quite busy at work, and when I got home from the gym in the evenings I would be so exhausted that I would pass out straight after dinner.)
6. I took out the rollers and then proceeded to flat iron. Luckily both my leave ins are also heat protectants. Regardless I flat ironed in small sections to ensure that I just do one quick pass on each section with the iron. 
7. After taking a pic of my hair I saw that its general state is healthy and shiny, but my ends need help. A good friend of mine's sister in law goes to a stylist that is NOT scissor happy, according to her accounts. This stylist is apparently also more concerned with the health of your hair than the styling of it. I am going to get this lady's number and make an appointment for a trim to simply even out the back. Anyhoo, after taking the pic, I cross wrapped my hair and put on my satin scarf and went to bed after a mini Pirates of the Caribbean marathon (Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest. I LOVE me some Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in these movies! Savvy?!)

So...here's where I am now ladies. Longer than CBL, barely (though not quite quite) grazing APL, and the ends (about half an inch to an inch, I refuse to lose more than an inch at this time) has to go!!

I must mention though - I never thought I would see the day that my hair is so long that it completely covers my tattoo!! (I love my ink though! I just never thought I would have hair that actually covers it!)

Anyway, I'm hoping to get that trim by this coming weekend (because then I will have my car back!!!! And I can move around much more freely! I really am not the biggest fan of cabs. As Sandra Bullock said in Speed whilst taking the bus, before the bomb was armed - "I love my car. I MISS my car!") Once I get that done I will update everyone on exactly where I stand. In the meantime, I am going to UP the moisturizing, baggying my ends every night (they NEED it) and protective styling. Any other advice ladies?

Hope everyone has a good Monday, with no blues, and a terrific week to come!

Blessed week everyone, and happy growing.