7 weeks post relaxer...

...and my hair is busted! I'm not sure if stretching is for me. With all of the breakage I'm having, I don't think my hair will allow me to stretch longer than 6-7 weeks in it's current state. I have a hair appointment on Saturday to get a relaxer and a trim. Yes, I said trim. I was going to try to hold out on the trim for a little while longer, but my ends are so bad. I want my hair to look nice again, and at this point I'm worried more about my hair health than my length. I also need a color- bad- my gray platinum hairs are really coming in at the edges. I don't think I'm going to have the stylist do it though. I'm either going to put in a rinse or take the plunge and try henna a week or 2 after my relaxer.

Yesterday, I did my final wash before my relaxer on Saturday. I pre-poo'd with a little amla oil the night before (yes, I know I said I would stay away from oils for a while). I also put a little Organics Hair Mayo on my dry hair before I shampoo'd. I shampoo'd with Dudley's itchy scalp shampoo (to clarify) and Elasta QP Moisturizing Shampoo. I did an Aphogee 2 minute treatment and deep conditioned with Elasta QP DPR-11 mixed with honey. I put some Paul Mitchell The Cream leave-in and a drop of Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum in before I rollerset. My hair was so tangled! I think it may have been the Paul Mitchell products, and maybe even the oil. The Cream definitely thickens my hair up a bit, but it's not worth it if I'm going to be pulling so much out while de-tangling.

My rollerset came out good for my ends, but of course my roots were thick, bushy and rough as hell. I still have not figured out a way to soften my new growth. I didn't do the saran wrap treatment, I just cross wrapped my hair and put a scarf on. Today I put it up in a clip, but it looks terrible. My roots and edges look thick. My hair doesn't feel as hard as it looks, so I guess that's a good thing. I'm trying really hard not to write how much I hate my hair because I promised myself I would stop saying and writing that.

My takeaways from this weekend's regimen: 1) really stop using the oils, 2) take a break from Paul Mitchell, 3) throw away the Organics Hair Mayo (I haven't really seen a difference, and I've head that this isn't as good as the ORS Mayo), and 4) possibly get rid of the DPR-11 and find a really good dc.

I'm tired of looking at other women's hair and wishing I could have it...

Okay, I try not to end my posts in such a down and depressing tone. At least my hair is growing. I know a lot of people with alopecia and other hair growing problems would kill to have my hair. So part of me feels like a brat for even complaining. It's just taking more time that I thought it would to find a good regimen and to be able to do my hair like I got it done. It was so much easier for me with short hair!