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!

2013 is behind us

And I need to kick butt in 2014.

Good morning everyone, and I trust that you all said a hearty goodbye to 2013 and welcomes in 2014 with open arms.

Let me quickly tell you how my 2014 started, literally on the 1st of January. My car's window got smashed and everything that wasn't nailed down, was stolen. On top of that my car's electronics decided to pack up and the car won't start. It won't move an inch. I spent a fortune having it towed back home, and the workshop isn't open until next week, so for the next couple of weeks I will be cabbing it and relying on the goodness of friends to get around.

Because of all of this stress (you go and stand at the offices of Home Affairs to apply for a new ID and tell me that is not stressful) I haven't really been taking care of my hair as I should have and also the stress is coming out IN my hair, as in LOTS of breakage and shedding. I don't even have a decent pic of what my hair is doing right now. I know though that the nape on my right side has broken off badly. It is an inch shorter than the left. I also have demarcation breakage, especially around my crown and where I part my hair. I'm struggling to keep my new growth soft and moisturized and my ends are ugly and straggly, at least to me. What makes me extra sad is that it seems as if all of this has only been happening in the last couple of weeks, because in general I have had a pretty good year.

Here's my 2013 in quick review:

HITS:

1. Protective Styling. I retained QUITE a bit of length during Ebony from Longing4Length's Protective Styling challenge. I realise now that I need to be more diligent regarding protective styling and then I will kick ass again in 2014.

2. Bagging my ends. I did this quite often in 2013, but I have been slacking the past few months and my ends are testament to that. Must step it up!

3. Dark & Lovely Amla Legend 1001 Oils Wrap Cream. This moisturizer is the bizniz! My tub ran out and I need to stock up again. Since it has run out, I have been struggling to maintain my moisture/protein balance, but Clicks didn't have stock. Seems like I'm not the only one who loves this product. On the next trip to the store I am going to get at least two tubs of this stuff.

4. Tresemme Naturals Conditioner. This stuff is AWESOME! Who would have thought that a silicone free conditioner would have so much slip? It is great as an instant smoothing conditioner, and it puts oodles of moisture in my hair prior to a light protein DC. It is is officially a staple for me.

5. Sunflower oil. Yes, normal sunflower oil that one usually cooks with. My hair loved this stuff, although I have only prepoo'd with it so far. Will be stocking up on nice BIG bottles because I wanna try oil rinses very soon!

MISSES:

1. Stretching too long between relaxers. I am currently a little over 3 months post, and I already bought my ORS Olive Oil No Lye kit. Planning to tackle my head tonight after work and gym. Stretching too long leads to trouble for me and it is NOT worth it.

2. Keeping in twists for longer than 6 weeks. My hair does like protective styling, but long term protective styles can only be kept in for 6 weeks at a time, otherwise my hairline and nape HATE me.

3. Trying too many new products all at once. I scolded myself HARD for doing this, and my hair hated the assault of a LOT of new things at the same time. Never making this mistake again. I am really going to try and get OFF the product junkie wagon.

4. Aussie Conditioner. NEVER AGAIN. It is expensive and my hair hates it! It freaking CREATED knots instead of smoothing them out. And on top of that, it didn't penetrate my hair al all, it just SAT there.

5. Amla Legend Deep Treatment. Not a big fan. It also just SITS on the hair, even when heat is applied. Hair does not feel extra smooth, soft or strong. It does cause damage the way the Aussie did, but it's not worth it. Will not repurchase.


So, I have a couple of goals for the year of 2014, and the first thing I am going to do is to have a trim. Yes, I don't want to lose length, but right now, my hair is not at optimum health. Health ofer length, otherwise the length will NEVER come. So, I am going to make an appointment with my OLD stylist, give her VERY strict instructions regarding the trim and then start 2014 fresh hair wise.

Further goals:

1. Reach APL by March damnit!!!!!!!!!

2. Reach full BSL by December 2014 latest.

3. Ensure the health of my hair and body by drinking enough water, exercising consistently and eating well.

4. Following on #3 - be anal regarding going to the gym. Minimum 3 times a week. Add to that daily brisk walks around the block every day. Lose 10% of my current body weight by end of February 2014.

5. Look after myself better. When I feel sick, actually go to the doctor!! I have excellent coverage (I'm pretty sure I can't exhaust it) so this self medicating thing and not going to my very excellent GP, needs to stop. (As I'm typing this, I have a KILLER headache. Note to self: call Dr. de Villiers!)

6. Buy a new car. My French love affair is over. Me and my Citroen have had a good run, but it is time to move on. I'm not saying that I'm going to buy a new car next week, but before 2014 is out, I will have new wheels.

7. Travel. I don't care where to, but I MUST go somewhere far away this year. Here's looking at you Europe!

And then in general, just be a better person. Love more, give more, stand up for what I believe in more, work harder, laugh louder, dance more and just live my life to the fullest.

What are your goals for the new year?
Here's wishing all of you a fantastic 2014! Be blessed and happy growing!

The verdict is in

So, a few weeks ago I spent a ridiculous amount of money on hair products, a few of them I bought simply based on some online reviews and the intense desire to see if they would also work magic on my own tresses. Alas, at least one of them is a major bust!

Let me relay my most recent wash day and you'll see what I mean. 

1. Prepoo with the last of my Tresemme Split Remedy and sunflower oil. I can't believe how brilliant sunflower oil is! I used is only for cooking in the past, thinking that only the more expensive oils are suitable for one's hair. Boy, was I wrong - ceramide rich sunflower oil is brilliant. Tangles disappeared as I covered my hair in the prepoo mix, which was oil heavy, I was a complete oil slick when I was done. I chilled with this for about 20 minutes and then headed to the bath. 
2. Shampooed with Tresemme Ultra Moisturising Shampoo. I really dig this shampoo, it really doesn't take much to get my hair nice and clean, but my hair never feels stripped. Ever. My hair was SO soft after shampooing that I skipped the instant conditioning and moved straight to deep conditioning. This might have been a mistake. 
3. Yeah, this is where the crap starts. I couldn't find my bottle of ORS Replenishing Conditioner so I grabbed the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Long & Luscious Conditioner. Since I felt like it was a bust the last time I used it (no slip, hair didn't feel moisturized) I also grabbed my bottle of Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Conditioner and I mixed them up. The Tresemme Naturals provided slip and so I slathered on the mixture, trying to cover every strand, covered my hair and then shilled for a good 45 minutes. Once I go to rinse though...oi vey! Aussie truly is not for me. Or rather for my hair. Considering that a bottle costs close to a 100 bucks, I am very very pissed and disappointed. Even with the addition of the Tresemme, my hair did NOT feel like they received a miracle! It felt better than the time I used only the Aussie, but my hair felt clumped together and slightly straw like. I was NOT happy. 
4. I applied my leave ins of Kair Serum, Bone Strait, Moisture IQ and 2 spritzes of the Tresseme Heat Defense. I then proceeded to finger detangle my hair. I lost way too much hair for my liking, and my hair simply didn't feel 100 percent. After finger detangling, I parted my hair into three vertical sections and started to roller set, detangling each section separately before placing the roller. Again, too much clumps and knots. I swear, it feels like the Aussie CREATED the knots. I had a mix of water and Tresemme Conditioner that I spritzed on my hair (it was drying quickly) before placing the rollers and this helped a BIT. 
5. Once I was done, my shoulders were killing me, and it was getting late. So I whipped out the hair dryer to speed the process along, and it still felt like it took forever for my hair to become dry. 
6. Once dry and out of the rollers I wrapped my hair and went to bed. And my hair feels thick, like the strands are coated. Not liking it. 

Conclusions - I saw demarcation line breakage. And I don't know what to do to stop it in its tracks. Advice?????? Secondly, I will never repurchase Aussie conditioners. They might work like the bomb for other ladies, but my hair does not like it! And it is too bloody expensive! I also think that I need to adjust my leave in product application so that my hair stops having this heavy feeling right after being freaking washed. Overall not a happy wash day. 

How did yours go?

Happy Tuesday

Trying everything at once - huge mistake!

Hi there everybody! I know, long time no see. So, last time I told you about my massive hair haul and how I lost my mind just a little bit. Well, it seems as if my mind remained lost for longer than I contemplated. Reasons why a) I'm craving MORE products (the product junkie in me is craving another fix!) and b) on the wash day following that haul I basically tried everything that I bought and my hair was not happy and now I have NO idea which product is to blame!!

To give you a quick recap on that stupid washday:

1. Prepoo for 30-45 min with a mix of olive oil and Tresemme Split Remedy. As I told y'all, I am not crazy about that conditioner and now I just wanna use it up and then I shall not repurchase. 
2. Rinsed out the prepoo and shampooed using the Amla Legend Shampoo. This shampoo smell divine and is uber thick, which means it'll last forever. That's what I like, What I don't like - for a shampoo containing sulfates, it didn't lather much. In actual fact, it barely lathered. I shampooed my hair 3 times because it just didn't really feel clean to me...next time I'll try the shampoo in an actual shower instead of bent over a bath tub, maybe that'll make a difference. 
3. Instant conditioned with Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Conditioner. Okay, off the bat, I think I really like this. Silicone free but SO MUCH SLIP!! My finger glided through my hair, tangles melted away, my hair felt soft. Over all I think not a bad buy at all. 
4. Deep conditioned with Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Luscious Long. This conditioner is also uber thick, which translates into not much slip. I don't like lack of slip at all! I however persevered and deep conditioned with it under a plastic cap for 45 min. When I rinsed it off though - my hair did NOT feel as conditioned as I would have liked. But it was the first time, I'll revisit the Aussie, since there's still quite a bit left in the bottle. 
5. Put in my usual leave ins of Bone Strait, Moistur IQ and Kair Serum, but then also lightly sprayed my hair with the Tresemme Heat Defense. I then proceeded to roller set my hair. (Note to self: Must buy bigger rollers! Yippee!!)
6. As it was getting late I dried my hair in the rollers with the hair dryer. When I took out the rollers my hair felt coated and stiff. I was not a happy camper, but I don't know what the culprit is exactly. 

So, lesson learned - do not try a whole arsenal of new products all at once!

Foregoing heat...till my birthday!

I haven't done a wash day post in a while and partly it's because my washes have not really been THAT special, AND becuase I've been running out of my staples, and my hair has been suffering as a result :-( I am planning a major hair haul shopping trip end of this week, hopefully, I'll have the sense of mind to do a post (with pics) because I'm going to attempt to both simplify and streamlining my regimen whilst also making sure that I have ALL the tools I need - I am still pushing for APL by 31 December 2013.

Well, my most recent wash day occurred yesterday at my friend's house, in actual fact, it happened a little on a whim. Piece of advice to self - do NOT wash hair on a whim, since it means using your friend's products, which may not be as awesome as your own. Regardless, here we go.

1. So, I did a prepoo with a bottle labeled Amla Oil. Now, I don't know exactly how much true amla was in this bottle, but it was the cheap BSS variety, practically brandless. I used it to very gently detangle my hair, since its been in a braid out for four days straight. I didn't lose much hair during the process, but it was definitely more breakage than shedding. I am NOT a happy camper.

2. I then proceeded to shampoo and instant condition with Protein Feed Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner. I didn't see much hair hair flowing down the drain so this step wasn't a disaster at least. After rinsing the conditioner I proceeded to apply Tresseme Keratin Smooth Mask as deep conditioner.

3. About the Tresseme Mask - I'm in two minds. I looked at the ingredients and it looked pretty balanced between moisturising and protein. Becauseit wasn't MY jar I used less than I normally would have, but I still made sure to cover my whole head with the DC by applying it in about 6 quartered sections. I then covered my head with a plastic showercap and towel so as to trap as much heat as possible. I kept it in for about 20-30 minutes, even though the jar says 3-5 would be sufficient.

4. After I rinsed, my hair felt a little stiff. I think the Mask will truly be at its most efficient with a shorter time span, and thus I am in two minds and will try it again and see whether I like it or not.

5. I applied a leave in of TCB Bone Strait and proceeded to rollerset my hair. My hair still felt a little stiff and clumpy and I tried to be as gentle as possible.

6. My hair then airdried in the rollers, after which I decided to flatiron my hair. When I got home I immediately wrapped my hair with a satin scarf and this morning my hair felt soft, strong and of course, it is hella straight! But this would be my last heat usage until my birthday in December. I have a halloween party coming up but I shall simply find a way to style my hair without heat for the party. If I want to hit APL, I need to be vigilant damnit!

So, how did everyone else's wash days go?

Blessed journey everybody!

Back to basics

Hi there everybody. Yes, it has been a while, but it has been a CRAZY couple of weeks. I have been running around like a headless chicken and trying to poop out little miracles at work. In general I am freaking exhausted and I very much need a long vacation. Due to the exhaustion levels I've been neglecting my hair a little bit, doing the bare minimum required to not screw up my hair journey. But doing the bare minimum is often not enough, and I noticed 2 days ago that I need to put in a little effort, regardless of how tired I am. so I got home after 2 glasses of red at a friend's and then started off, and here's how it went:

1. Finger detangle. My hair has been in the same pinned style for three days and thus needed to be detangled before any water or product touched it. 
2. Detangled further with wide tooth comb. 
3. Pre-pooed using Avon 360degrees Conditioner with Argan Oil. (I promise that I'll do a post soon showing exactly what my current hair stash consist of) Coated my hair section by section, braiding each section after coating it with the conditioner. I ended up making around 9 braided sections. Covered my hair with a plastic cap and then went and made myself a sandwich whilst starting to watch Phone Booth. 
4. After polishing my sandwich I went to go rinse the conditioner, loosening the braids with the help of the water flowing down. I then shampooed using Tresemme Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo. I lathered up twice, my hair and scalp needed a GOOD cleansing. Regardless of it containing sulfates, my hair did not feel stripped or dry, but soft and clean.
5. I used Tresemme Thermal Recovery Conditioner as my instant conditioner. I'm still a little on the fence about this conditioner, but it's not bad. I finger combed it through my hair and then rinsed. 
6. I used my ORS Replenishing Conditioner to deep condition, once again doing it section by section and braiding the sections as I finish. I LOVE this DC, it sinks into my hair, my hair doesn't feel coated, and then of course I love the scent. As I'm applying the DC I continue watching Phone Booth. Once finished I put on the plastic cap again and let the DC do its job whilst finishing the movie. I then cued up Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift and then went to rinse the DC. I had it on my head for about half an hour. 
7. By this time it's already 10 at night, I'm tired, but I need to get done. I let my hair air dry a little bit, about 10 minutes, then applied my leave ins of Kair Light Serum and Avon Moisture IQ Leave in Treatment. I then proceeded to rollerset. Now, I'm 12 weeks post and my new growth is making its presence VERY clear. I still don't know when I'm going to touch up. However, it let to the roller setting process taking a LONG time! It was eleven at night when I was finally done so I decided to dry my hair with the hair dryer to speed things along. Next movie cued up was Fast 4. (Yes, I love loud, fast screeching cars and Vin Diesel!)
8. After taking out the rollers I decided to lightly flat iron my hair. I couldn't find my Toni & Guy iron and so turned to my GHD. I realised that the GHD is actually gentler on my hair than my trusted Toni & Guy and that it operates at an optimal temperature - just hot enough without scalding my scalp or scorching my hair. I flat ironed my hair in small sections, again taking forever, but I wanted to do it properly. Before starting I sprayed my hair with a mix of water, the Thermal Recovery Conditioner and coconut oil to protect my hair from the heat. I really need to get myself a proper heat protectant. 
9. After finally finishing I wrapped my hair and CRASHED into my bed! 

Just a little bit of effort and my hair has been feeling GREAT the past couple of days. At night I lightly moisturize and seal, then wrap my hair and hit the hay. Breakage and shedding have been GREATLY reduced since just that ONE wash day of doing it properly! So, NO more skipping steps on wash day. No more "I'm too tired" or "it's too late". Just do it properly damnit! The rewards are awesome! I'm planning to wash my hair again this coming Sunday and spending a good 6 hours on it at least. I really wanna be APL by December and I only have 3 and a half months left to do it in. So it's ALL guns blazing from here on out. 

How did everybody else's wash day go this week? Have an awesome weekend!

Procrastination is so not a good look

It has been a minute since I've posted. Partly, life is crazy. And partly because I'm in a hair rut. today I started realizing that procrastinating when I'm going to write a blog post most definitely will not help me move out of the rut, and therefore I must get my behind in high gear.

So, let's start with the fact that I touched up at 15 weeks post. I am not going to stretch that long again. It was my longest relaxer stretch yet and I was not doing my hair any favors, to be honest. I'm still not too adept at dealing with lots of new growth. Yes, I am a lot more able than I was a year ago, but when I'm dealing with two distinctly different textures, I fully realise how new I still am to this hair game. I was as gentle as possible, I provided my hair with plenty of moisture and protein, I attempted to manipulate my hair as little as possible on a day to day basis, and still I experienced demarcation line breakage. My goal for the next three months (12 week maximum stretch) is to make sure that I baby that demarcation line, reduce breakage and shedding and retain the length that grows out of my head.

In any event, let's quickly summarize my most recent touch up. I used ORS No Lye Olive Oil for Girls Relaxer kit. I love this kit. It already contains a scalp protector, a protector for previously relaxed hair AND nice tight fitting latex gloves. Personally I highly doubt that I would move away from this kit. The sad part of this relaxer day was the visual evidence of me stretching for too long. Relaxing one's hair in general requires quite a bit of manipulation and during the process I saw the demarcation line breakage hair going down the drain. And I repeated to myself - long stretches simply aren't for me. Each and every person needs to address their hair journey on a personal level. Long stretches may work for other ladies, their hair may even thrive, mine does not.

My next projected touch up date is the 17th of August at 12 weeks post. It's actually perfect considering that the following weekend I have a BIG wedding, to which we have all been looking forward to for some time already. A couple of things I know for sure - I can't stretch for longer than 3 months at a time; the ORS Olive Oil No Lye kit for Girls is the best relaxer I have used so far in my life and I need to baby my demarcation line at all times.

Until next time, happy hump day everyone!

It's been a minute...

since I posted a decent wash day post. I must admit, I've been going through the motions a little bit. Last night however I decided to do wash day RIGHT. I haven't broken any wash day rules, in general, but being in auto pilot mode, one simply is not as diligent, and last night I saw not only the not so great results of not being diligent, but I also have been loving the compliments I've been getting all day today because I made the extra effort last night.

Okay, let's start at the beginning. Even though the protective styling challenge officially ended on Monday the 15th, I was still rocking a french plait until Wednesday. So, I got home, loosened the braid and then started to lightly detangle. First of all, I realised that I need a much more intense moisturizer. My hair felt slightly straw like, despite the fact that I moisturized every morning.

I did my prepoo using the Dove Anti Hair Fall Conditioner, covered my hair with a plastic cap and watched 2 episodes of Modern Family. I shampooed using ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo. I lathered up a solid three times, massaging my scalp three ways from Sunday. and then again afterwards realised that I wasn't being very smart considering that I'm over 11 weeks post. I applied  Sunsilk Anti Hair Fall Conditioner (and a ton of it) and tried to detangle. I tried to be as gentle as possible and still felt that I lost way too much hair in the process. It took me quite a while.

After rinsing that off I applied Pantene's new 2 minute Intense Moisturizing Conditioner to DC with. Of course I kept it on for almost 45 minutes whilst wearing a plastic cap. After rinsing that off my hair did feel very moisturized and strong. I must admit that I love Pantene products and that I'm planning to stock up on more of them. After rinsing off the DC I applied my leave ins of Bone Strait and Kair Serum and then proceeded to roller set my hair. I'm telling y'all, 11 weeks of new growth is no joke! I used more rollers than usual so as to be able to pull the hair as taut around each as possible without breaking any hair. I had my hair air dry to about 60percent dry and then pulled out the hairdryer, using the coolest setting as it was getting late. When it was dry and I took out the rollers my hair felt soft and smooth. I however REALLY wanted t straighten my hair and thus whipped out the GHD straightener and flat ironed my hair in tiny sections so as to only use one pass each time. I then wrapped my hair and went to bed.

This morning my hair was so lovely and straight, and everyone has been complimenting me on how good it looks and commenting on how it's grown. Clearly I have retained a good bit of length during the protective styling challenge. I haven't taken any pictures yet, planning to do that with a salon visit as I also want my ends to be dusted, just a little bit. I am however loving the fact that I know that my hair is the longest now than it's ever been and I'm looking forward to having it grow to even greater lengths.

In the meantime I need to rethink how I handle my hair when I'm over 8 weeks post relaxer. In addition I need to re-examine my products, because the staples from 6 months ago simply are not cutting it anymore. I can't afford a setback now, not when I feel like I'm on a roll!

Till next time lovelies.

So I went swimming...

and it was absolutely awesome! 

I have holiday brain to a huge degree already and lounging in a pool for most of the past Saturday just made it worse. But it was so much fun and I can't wait for the next pool day.

Which brings me to my poor tresses. On Saturday, prior to plunging into the water, I was rocking my first braid out. i didn't come out THAT great, but it looked okay and I got complimented, so I will definitely try it again. Of course, after a few hours of just floating around on the inflatables (and a few Jagers!) I jumped in the pool, fully emerging myself and beautiful braid out all gone. No regrets, the water was too freaking awesome. The next day however...

After our swim I took a shower, washing and conditioning my hair using Tresseme products, honestly, the specific variants I can't remember right now. My hair FELT fine afterwards, so I simply let it hang loose and let it airdry while we barbecued. My the time I got home I was so exhausted I simply crawled into bed and that was the mistake of the weekend. The next day I woke up with this massive POUF of hair on my head, and I realised that I can NEVER just climb into bed with a damp head of hair. It needs to be dry and smooth and WRAPPED in satin before I dare get under the covers.

To remedy my faux pas, I detangled using my usual moisture spritz, first finger combing then going through with a wide tooth comb. I was VERY lucky. Even though my had looked disastrous, I lost very little hair. After detangling (which took FOREVER) I decided to prepoo using a cheapie Pro-Vitene Conditioner that  had on hand, diligently applying it little section by little section. After all of that it was night time and so i decided to rather put a plastic cap over my head, cover that with a cotton scarf and go to bed.

The next morning I washed my hair with my Repair and Nourish shampoo and conditioned my hair in the shower using a combination of Pantene Sleek and Smooth conditioner and ORS Olive Oil Intensive Treatment Masque for about 5-10 minutes. After I rinsed my hair felt ten thousand times better than the previous afternoon. I blotted my hair dry with a t-shirt, applied my usual leave-ins of Avon 3D Rescue and Bone Strait and proceeded to rollerset. I dried by hair with my blow dryer using the cold air setting, and after removing the rollers applied a bit of ORS Glossing Polisher Serum before putting it up with an EZ comb and headed out to work. My hair felt smooth and soft and I felt generally happy with it. Until the afternoon when I realised my ends look a little off. So I moisturized it using a combination of my usual spritz (water, cheapie conditioner, glycerin) and ORS Olive Oil Moisturizing Lotion, sealing with the ORS serum. Before bed I wrapped my hair and this morning they felt SO soft and nourished. For the sake of low manipulation I pulled it into a cute little ponytail with my bangs out and went on my merry way.

This coming Saturday it's the birthday party of my godson, which will also be next to and probably in a pool. In preparation for that I think that I am simply going to bun my hair for the day (no trying out new styles!) and if I am going into the pool, slather my hair in conditioner, bun it up again and only THEN venture into the water. I want my summer to be as painless as possible when it comes to my hair care whilst still enjoying it as much as possible.

Does anyone have any special "rescue methods" that they use on their hair in similar summer/pool/seaside situations??

Anyhoo, have a great week folks. And remember, just because we all have holiday brain, doesn't mean it's the holidays yet. Suck it up people, just a little bit to go!