February 2010 Relaxer

I wanted to wait 12 weeks to get a relaxer, but with all this shedding, I didn't want to go another week. I went 11, which I think was just as good. My hair sheds when it's time for a relaxer anyway, so I'm sure that was part of the problem. I just knew that my stylist, D, would tell me that my hair was in terrible shape and that I would have to get an inch cut off!

When I washed my hair this weekend, I did the Aphogee 2 minute protein treatment and used the Roux Porosity Control treatment. For the last 3 nights, I based my scalp with my Softee Castor Oil (I really like the Hollywood Beauty kind, but the bss didn't have it the last time I was in there; this one is pretty good too). D bases my scalp well, but I like to have another line of defense! I didn't burn at all when she applied the relaxer.

I'm not sure what kind of conditioner she used. She usually uses Humectin, but we were talking, so I didn't notice. She then dusted my ends and roller set my hair. She used the ORS Wrap/Set Mousse to set my hair. She said she likes it better than the KeraCare. When she took the rollers out, she said she was loving how my hair felt. I couldn't believe it! She said that my hair is doing well and not to worry about the shedding- not only am I postpartum, but she said when your hair is longer, you experience more shedding. There was another woman in the shop with beautiful, long hair, and she said she sheds a lot too. That made me feel better, but I do want my shedding to decrease a little, because I hate seeing all the hard work and hair go down the drain, literally!

It was cold, windy and rainy out, so she pincurled the top, and wrapped the sides. I combed it out when I got home, but I moisturized and pincurled it back and didn't take it out until I got to work this morning.

I'm really happy I went yesterday, and even happier that D liked the condition of my hair. I may pick up some ORS Wrap/Set Mousse for my next set and compare it to the KeraCare.

Product Review: KeraCare Foam Wrap Set Lotion & Essential Oils for the Hair

I just bought some more Lottabody for my rollersets last week. I usually use diluted Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum, but it doesn't seem to work as well for me lately, and Lottabody works well for me when I'm due for a relaxer. I was at the outlets this weekend and the hair outlet had some KeraCare products. I bought the Foam Wrap Set Lotion and the Essential Oils for the Hair.

Product Description
Produces full, incredibly lustrous wrap-set and wave-set styles.Deep conditions and moisturizes during dryer setting.Leaves hair with a healthy sheen.Contains natural lubricants that provide protection from the heat of dryers and other thermal styling appliances.Provides superior manageability with remarkable bounce and body.Detangles for easy wet combing and effortless combouts.Does not flake.

Directions: Shampoo and condition with Keracare products of choice. Shake Foam Wrap set lotion vigorously and distribute throughout hair. Comb Through for even distribution. Proceed to wrap set, sculpt or mold hair.

Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Polyquaternium-22 TEA- Lauroyl Keratin Amino Acids and others

My Experience
I pre-poo'd with coconut oil, tea tree oil and a little garlic juice. I shampooed with Creme of Nature Detangling shampoo and deep conditioned with KeraCare Humecto. I diluted the lotion with water and rollerset my hair. Although it says it's also a conditioner, I still used a leave-in. My hair came out shiny, moist and bouncy- probably one of my best rollersets. This is definitely now one of my staples. I rubbed a drop or 2 of the oils in my hair and my hair looked even better!

I also bought some Moroccan oil. I'll use it later this week and post a review.

Random Hair Thoughts

When I was on the subway this morning, I had some thoughts about my hair:

• My shedding is from hormones, but I've talked to a lot of other women lately who are experiencing shedding. I think it's the time of year.
• I just realized that I'm 9 weeks post relaxer, and I usually shed some at this point. Not this much of course, but I shouldn't be too surprised.
• The dry, cold air has made my hair extremely dry. I need to increase the moisture! The other day I applied coconut oil all over my hair (not just the ends like I usually do), and it made a big difference in the look and feel of my hair.
• I read on one of the boards about some women who never comb their dry hair. I've just been using my fingers for the past couple of days, which has decreased the amount of shedded hair I see.
• I'm nursing my baby so I can't take garlic supplements, but I'm trying to drink a lot more water and eat more fruits, vegetables and proteins.
• I'm only doing protective styles until my next relaxer. Even though I keep my hair in a silk scarf and hat when I'm outside, I need to keep my ends protected.

Big Hair

I love big hair. I have been pincurling my hair consistently because I feel like I get so much more volume. I only wrap my hair after a relaxer, and after my last relaxer, I only wrapped the perimeter and pincurled the top for bigger hair. Some times I'll do 5-6 pincurls for a lot of curls, while other times I'll just do 3 (2 on each side at the front, and one in the back).

I haven't been wearing my hair up as much as I planned, but last week I wore it up in a bun or a ponytail with a front "poof" all week.

I know I've been slacking on photos, but I'm going to try to do better. The first picture is from today, after combing out 3 pincurls. The second is the day after my relaxer in December when I pincurled the top and wrapped the bottom:

Still Shedding...

I'm still shedding a million hairs a day! I got really freaked out when I washed my hair on Sunday, but history has taught me that stressing out about my hair just makes it worse. I'm going to relax and let nature take its course....my hair still doesn't look any thinner, so I'm just going to keep conditioning and moisturizing.

I put in a rinse this weekend, and did not like the results. The color is fine, but my hair was tangled and felt hard for a day afterwards. (It's much better today) I think it's because I used a color from the Beautiful Collection when I've been using Adore for the past year or two. I was going to wash and deep condition it again this week, but I don't want to see any more hair in the comb. I only bought the BC rinse because Sallys didn't have the Adore. Another thing I don't like about the BC is that the color runs so much- I had so much color in the sink when I rinsed it out, and when I was rollersetting my hair, a lot of color dripped on my shirt- that never happens with the Adore. I don't plan on using the BC again!