At last, at last!

Hey there all!

So, my life has been a little topsy turvy, but I need to update y'all quickly on what's going on with my hair, including how my washdays have changed in general.

So, wash days: As y'all know I have been struggling with tons of new growth, shedding and breakage and just trying to get my hair under control! Being 6 months post is no joke, and in all honesty, I don't think I'm ready for transitioning, nor am I ready for a big chop. So, the past couple of wash days my mission was to infuse lots of moisture and to strengthen the line of demarcation with layers of protein. So generally lots of coconut oil during the prepoo process and strengthening leave in conditioners. Also, a bit of "experimentation" regarding deep conditioners, since I brought a boat load with me back from the UK.


So let's start with my experiences with a few of them, and first off Roux Porosity Control and Corrector.

As y'all know, I have always said that my hair is quite porous. When roller setting I ALWAYS need to have a spritz bottle of water nearby as my hair air dries quicker than i can roller set. So I got this and tried it for the first time a couple of wash days ago, and I must say, I like it. It's quite slippy and my hair did feel stronger and more supple after using it. Also, my natural hair (which at stage was about 2 inches worth, LOVED it. I have no discernible curl pattern but after rinsing the Roux it looked as if mini ringlets wanted to pop. If I ever go natural, I think that THIS must be a complete staple just for that fact alone!

The next issue that I felt needed to be seriously tackled was the SHEDDING. Like a husky in the summer baby, I was being driven nuts with the amounts of hair I had in my hands after every stage of my wash day regimen. Again I turn to something I found in London. 

So, I have never before heard of nuNaat as a brand but I have read of girls extolling the benefits of garlic in reducing shedding, so when I saw this in a little hole in the wall beauty supply store in Barking, I grabbed it. Also, LOVE! Going to use it again SOON - slippy, very light nice scent (no garlicky smell whatsoever) and it's been a week since I used it - i notice MUCH less shed hair in my comb, so that's a start!

Next up, my new staple leave in.

I have been reading about this leave in conditioner for years! I am about to add myself to the ranks of people who love this leave in. Why? Let me count the ways:

• Big ass jar!!! Generally I hate tubes and stuff where you have to pump out your product so THIS is awesome.
• A little goes a long way! I've used it three times now and the last time I opened the jar it still looked like it has never been used!!! 
• Did I mention BIG ass jar? Now combine that with a little going a long way - this thing is going to last a LONG time, which I am a big fan of!
• My hair has been feeling stronger and softer since I started using it. I still use the MoroccanOil leave in as well, y'all know that is a massive staple for over a year now, but the Cantu is here to stay. (Side note: i need to start a little fund for all these foreign products that I love so that I can import them at ridiculous prices when they finish.)

Other than that, it has been same old same old.

So, news is - I relaxed my hair! After 6 months, two of which I really struggled. 

I self relaxed with the help of my friend, using my staple ORS No Lye for Girls. 

As I've told y'all before, I have a sensitive scalp, even when I base the hell out of it and this kit has been perfect for me for years! Even though it is a milder formula I still add a good table spoon or two of oil to the mixed relaxer, not to texlax, but to give me a few grace minutes. This kit has everything you need, I however did add an additional step - a protein treatment after neutralizing and before using the moisturizing DC they include in the kit. I used Palmers Protein pack and i loved it. Left my hair a bit stiff but that was corrected once I applied the moisturizing DC. 

Then I applied Bone Strait as my leave in and roller set. I LOVE my hair right now. It's STRAIGHT and smooth and soft and all kinds of awesome. Also, now I have at least a good 3 months that I can pamper and take care of it and focus on length retention instead of worrying about the thicket of new growth. It does have that bit of stiffness though that FRESHLY relaxed hair tends to have from the mineral deposits. So this weekend I am planning to wash my hair with a good chelating shampoo and then I will also take lots of pics so that y'all can see what is currently going on on top of my head. 

In meantime, tell me about your experiences with the above products that I've been using? 

Have a great weekend!

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! 

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!

I'm back! And a pattern is emerging...

Good morning everyone. Yes, I know, I have been missing. I went on a training workshop and simply did not have the time to blog, or even take proper care of my hair as I would have at home.

Regardless, I'm home now, and yesterday, after coming straight from the road, I dived into my wash day routine, and I will quickly share it with y'all, especially as my hair is super soft and feels amazing, despite being over 12 weeks post.

1. Prepoo with the last of my Tresemme Thermal Protect Conditioner and sunflower oil. This conditioner is very thick and I did not put enough oil in to give it a lot of slip, so I separated my hair into 4 quadrants and then applied the mix section by section. I then covered my hair with a shower cap and watched about an episode of Bones. I made sure to get plenty of the mix on my new growth so as to keep them as soft and supple as possible.

2. Rinsed off the prepoo mix and shampooed with my Tresemme Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo, still in sections. However, since I was standing bent over the bath, I ended up loosening the sections when it came to washing the back hair. I really still love this shampoo. I had a little bit of shedding whilst shampooing, about 10 hairs in total. Breakage was also less than a couple of weeks ago. Oh happy day!

3. I then proceeded to slather my hair with my now beloved Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Conditioner. Oh, the slip! Oh, the moisture! This is officially a staple!! I took a little more time applying the conditioner this time, again carefully dividing my hair into quadrants. It also means that the conditioner was in my hair for about 5 minutes, instead of the usual two. The quadrant thing also means that my roots get plenty of product without excess manipulation.

4. After rinsing, I grabbed my staple DC - ORS Replenishing Conditioner - and went to town! Again in four quadrants (I'm thinking of doing the quadrant thing every wash day from now on) and I saturated my hair. A bottle truly does not last me long, my hair SOAKS up the stuff. I covered my hair in a shower cap, a satin wrap, another plastic bag AND a towel. And then proceeded to watch two whole episodes of Bones.

5. I rinsed the DC first with warm water and then blasted it with cold water to close and smooth the cuticles.

6. Because my hair felt so coated on a previous wash day I was very light handed with my leave ins on this wash day. Just a couple of drops of Kair Serum, TCB Bone Strait and Avon Miracle IQ. I then proceeded to roller set, spritzing my hair with my water and Naturals Conditioner mix (1 part conditioner, 4 parts water) as I went along. Breakage was minimal, but I lost about 10 hairs at every stage of my wash day routine, which is not that much, but it is more than I'm happy with. It is much less than  a couple of weeks ago though, so thank you to the hair gods!

7. I decided that I am going to straighten my hair. Yes, i know, to most hair journeys, heat is the devil. But when I'm deep into a stretch, if I don't straighten my roots (max once a week, at wash day), I suffer massive breakage. So, after taking my hair out of the rollers, I parted it in half horizontally, and instead of spritzing my Tresemme Heat Defense (yes, I too see a pattern emerging!) all over, I spritzed some in my hands and proceeded to smooth it over my hair as if it was a serum. I then proceeded to flat iron my roots, one small section of hair at a time, using one pass only. (personally, I don't get it when people use three to five passes on a single lock of hair. It's so unnecessary!)

The end result - soft, straight, bouncy hair, which I then proceeded to cross wrap, cover with a satin scarf and then went to bed. This morning my hair is still beautifully straight, soft and strong, but it is so hot my side of the world that hair in my neck would have been a horrible idea, so I am wearing a ponytail. PS, my pony is getting longer and longer, I love it!! My ends need a bit of a trim, but I will take care of that when I touch these bad boys up.

How was everybody else's wash day?
Happy Monday everyone, and happy growing!