Tuesday 25 September 2012

Deep condition | Co-Wash | Black Tea Rinse

I neglected to wash my hair on Saturday because I had a cold (well i still do, but need to wash my hair), so today (25.09.12) is the day.  I mixed HE Hello Hydration, ORS Replenishing Conditioner, and a £1 conditioner together with argan oil and avocado oil to make my deep condition mixture.  Now, there is NO science to my method, I just figure that a combination of conditioners and oils will do the trick i.e: promote soft manageable hair and I run with it!

 

I used my fingers to separate my hair into 4 sections and then proceeded to apply the mixture to my hair using the relaxer method.

I never seem to mix enough - or I use too much, either way, I am always struggling to make it last (I couldn't be bothered to mix some more).  I made sure to add the mix to the roots and ends especially, and then massaged it throughout the strands, applying more as required.  Below you can see it with one section completed and then the whole back section completed. 
  
  
Once my whole head was done I put my hair into a bun and clipped it up.  I then added the plastic cap and finally put on the heat wrap.  The heat wrap is placed into the microwave for about 2 minutes until the gel packs reach a desired temperature (be sure not to over heat the packs or they could burst!).  This pack stays hot for about 20 mins and then needs re-heating.  I re-heated it for about 1 minute and put it back on my head for another 20 minutes.


   


4 tea bags and hot water, brewed for 2-3 hours

In the past, I have used the black tea as my final step in my wash day process, but I find that this is too drying, so this time I rinsed the conditioner with the black tea - re-covered with a plastic cap, waited 20 minutes and then co-washed with HE Hello Hydration, my hair still needed cleaning so I did one shampoo with KeraCare Moisturising Shampoo.  I then let the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle sit on my hair for about 5 minutes.





Side view following wash - no product
Whilst in the shower I was constantly finger de-tangling, and made sure to rinse out all products in one direction (with gravity and the flow of water) I did not bunch my hair up at all.  I think this helps to keep my hair smooth and reduces tangles.  As usual, the final rinse was a cold water rinse.  I am not sure if this does any good to my hair, but don't think it does any bad either.


I t-shirt dried my hair for about 1 hour, added my leave ins (Aphogee Keratin Reconstructurizer, At One leave in conditioner then added some EVCO, de-tangled with my fingers only and air dried with the scarf method.  I just brushed down the edges to make sure my hair laid down flat.  It is now dark, so I will come back tomorrow with a picture of how it air-dried.  Well I came back tonight with it 95% dry.  It's just the roots that need to get dry and we are done.  At this point I have not combed through my hair once.


   
But on the plus side, my edges laid down really well thanks to the scarf method.  I am going to oil my scalp and then just put in a loose bun for bed, then I will M&S tomorrow.   My hair is also in need of a trim too.  Well... that's all folks!

Blessings
Naddy x

Saturday 22 September 2012

Versatile Blogger Nomination

I can't believe it!  I have been nominated by the lovely Tathiana of My Pound Cake. Yipee, and massive Thank You.  So, now that I've been nominated, I must do the following:  

To Do List
1. Thank the Blogger that nominated me.  (tick!)
2. Share 7 random facts about me. (see below)
3. Nominate 15 bloggers who are relatively new to blogging. (see below)
4. Let nominated bloggers know they have been nominated. (will do)
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award to my post. (tick)

Seven Random Facts
1. I am the middle child of three girls
2. I am studying Forensic Psychology
3. I have a cold right now (sniff sniff)
4. My bedroom furniture is white
5. My favourite colour is green
6. I have never had my nails done professionally - painted, acrylic or otherwise
7. I only wear make-up on special occasions - but want to start wearing it more, even if it is just lip gloss and mascara!

Nominate 15 Bloggers
1. Blutifulblaqhair
2. The Hatter's Hair
3. So This Is What They Call Life
4. Such is Leash
5. Wishful Lengths
6. Relaxed and Loving it
7. Healthy Hair is a Journey
8. The Jen Chronicles
9. I want long hair
10. Breaking the Myths
11. Mary's Hair Obsession
12. Naturalista
13. Hairtastic Ms. Henissi
14. Cakes of Dreams
15. A Curly Girl All the Days of My Life

So... over to you, who do you nominate?

Sunday 16 September 2012

Goodbye t-shirt

Well, it seems I am going to have to wave a fond farewell to my homemade length check t-shirt.  I made it at the very start of my journey over two years ago, but I made two mistakes...

1. I used stretchy material
2. The lines were not straight

For these reasons I don't think that I can use it as an accurate guide any more.  But fear not! I have already bought, and started to use my justgrowalready length check t-shirt, which is far more accurate.  So here is a comparison pic of my t-shirt vs an official one (and a scalp shot!).  From here on out, I will only be using my Just Grow Already t-shirt.

  
   
So please say goodbye to my green t-shirt, and hello to my white one!

Sunday 9 September 2012

Wash Day | Pre Relaxer

I am planning to relax my hair next week, and I wanted to get it prepared for this process.  Yesterday was wash-day. I approached it reluctantly as I was dreading the detangling that loomed once the water had penetrated all of my hair strands.  But to combat that, I thought I would wash my hair in braids.  I usually wash my hair in one direction, all going back, but the thought of the knots and tangles that would result put me off entirely.  The braids worked a treat, although it was not a bump free road, there were a lot less bumps!  I'll share the pictures with you below.

I started off with hair that looked a bit like this, as this is how I had been wearing my hair all week.

Then I put my hair into plaits.  I think I ended up with 7-8 in total. I secured the ends with mini black elastic bands.  I only wrapped it around 3 times to minimise damage when I removed it at the end of the wash.

  

I washed with diluted ORS Clarifying shampoo and used the ApHogee Keratin 2 min reconstructuriszer.  The final rinse was a cold one to close up my cuticles and promote the look of healthy (non frizzy) hair.  Post wash, my hair looked a little worse for wear!

  


I then threw on a micro-fiber turban to dry off excess water, and left that on for about 30 minutes before I began to blow dry.

I detangled section,by section, added my leave in conditioner and heat protectant and blow dried.  In the picture on the left, you can see my hair half blow dried and half still awaiting it's destiny!  In the picture on the right, you can get a better idea of the amount of new-growth that I have going on in my head.  When I see this, I wish I had the guts and the confidence to shave it all off and go natural, but not for now.  I've got to reach my goal.

  

I wouldn't normally blow dry, but I did for two reasons.  I was going out and didn't have enough time to let my hair air dry, secondly, as I am going to relax this week, I will need to be able to comb through my roots so that the application process is as quick and smooth running as possible.  So this is how it looked once it was all done.  Sorry for the poor lighting, but it was dusk and the natural light was fading.

I am going to keep my hair in a bun for the rest of the week and get my dearest mother to relax my hair at the weekend.  She used to relax my hair when I first got a relaxer at age 14, I hope she remembers what to do?!?  She did say she would research LOL.

Till next time
Blessings
Naddy x


Saturday 1 September 2012

The Aftermath...updated

I just thought I'd share a picture of how my hair looks now that I have taken out the braids.
Before                                      After
  

I'm gonna wash it, and then flat iron it.  I will come back with a photo.

I'm back...

So this is how it looked once I washed it (yes I had to deal with that tangled mess!)
First Part blow dried 
Fully blow dried (glad that's over, but still to flat iron)
All Done!

 It took me all day long...I will never leave 16 weeks between a relaxer again.  It is just too much tangles and knots to deal with.

Blessings
Naddy x

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