Products Revisited

I was going through all of my products the other day and decided to try a couple that I haven't used in a while. The first was Infusium 23 Leave-in Conditioner. I used this faithfully when I had blond hair in college. It really kept my hair in good condition. I stopped using it when I grew the color out. For some reason, I had a sample size of it in my closet. Since the Giovanni Direct Leave-in is different now, I'm not so impressed with it. It does what it's supposed to do, but the new formula doesn't de-tangle my hair as well anymore. I will still use it as a moisturizer every now and then.

The other product was Lottabody setting lotion. I use it every once in a while to rollerset my hair, especially when it's almost time for a relaxer. Even then, I only spray it diluted with water on my hair a couple of times and use mostly water for my set. For my wash this weekend, I co-washed with V05 Strawberries and Cream and deep conditioned overnight with ORS Replenishing. I applied the Infusium 23 and then I saturated my hair with diluted Lottabody. I sprayed it on whenever my hair wasn't soaked. When I took my rollers out, I couldn't believe how moist my hair was. It was shiny and looked so thick!

I'm not sure if it was the Infusium or the Lottabody or a combination. The Infusium has some protein, and I think my hair needs more protein right now, especially since I'm still shedding a little. I've realized that the Aphogee 2-minute protein conditioner just isn't doing it for me. I don't know why I've been trying to force it to work- the reality is, it's never done much for me. So like Sunshyne says, I need to change and adapt quickly when a product doesn't work for me. I need to find my protein someplace else!

I found some other leave-ins in my closet that I want to try. I can't believe I haven't gone through my products in so long. My mother used to always tell me to go shopping in my closet before going to the store!

Mesh vs. Magnetic

I have always used mesh rollers to set my hair. Always. I use end papers, mesh rollers and pins. This picture shows the rollers I use. As my hair grows, I have to go up in size. Well, the red is the largest size I've seen, and I need a larger size so that my hair doesn't take 2 hours to dry. I haven't seen them larger than the red.

This weekend I decided to try magnetic rollers. I bought a pack of 10 and some clips. I used the magnetic rollers to roll the top of my head, and the red mesh ones to roll the bottom, just so that I could see the difference. It wasn't a total disaster, but my hair didn't come out as nice as I wish it had. I couldn't get the magnetic rollers to stay tightly, so my roots were a little puffy. The curls with the mesh rollers were perfect, since I could control how tight they were with the pins.

I guess I need to watch some youtube videos to learn how to get the rollers to stay tightly. If I can get the magnetic rollers to work well, I think I'll save a lot of time on rolling and drying my hair. I'll keep trying, but I will also keep searching for larger mesh rollers!

I welcome any advice!

Buns!

I've been really good at wearing my hair up in a bun lately, although I do need to experiment with different bun styles. It's not hard for me to put my hair up, since I'm obsessed with my ends not touching wool, and I've been wearing a lot of wool sweaters and scarves lately. I was going to join Traycee's Bunning Challenge, but I'm not quite sure I can commit to bunning 5 days a week. I usually wash on Sunday, so I like to wear my hair out the 2 days after. Even though I don't bun, I keep my hair wrapped under a silk scarf and a hat while I'm outside in the cold dry air. I have been moisturizing and sealing my ends with oil (castor, coconut or KeraCare Essential oils) twice a day. When I get home from work, I usually wear my hair out for an hour or 2.

It is starting to get boring, so I'd like to try some styles with the front or side out, maybe a twist somewhere, and some side buns. I also want to buy some hair accessories to jazz up my buns a little. I did get a couple of clips, but I need to get some more. I haven't been using any elastic things at all, so some days my bun is a little loose, but that's okay. I've been able to keep it together with 2-3 pins.

I took these pictures with my phone, so the quality isn't great, but here are a couple of buns I rocked this week:

The semi-high bun:

The bun kept together with a big clip:

I've been good at keeping my hair in a bun every day. I did wear it out on Monday since I washed and rollerset it on Sunday. I need to learn how to do some different kinds of buns, because all I do is twist it up in a bun and pin it. I really don't want to use any elastics, but I also want it to look nice. Here it is when I took it out of the bun yesterday:


My wash on Sunday went pretty well. I co-washed with Aussie Moist, which I'm not in love with yet, but I'll try it a few more times. I put in a dark brown Adore rinse, and deep conditioned with Silicon Mix. As my hair gets longer, I realize that I need to use more product in my hair. Products used to last me forever with short hair, but not so much anymore. I'm getting faster at rollersetting my hair too. I didn't use as many rollers this week, but that was okay since I had a fresh relaxer, and I knew I wasn't going to wear my hair curly. I love the results of a good rollerset. My hair looks so healthy and smooth.

My shedding has decreased a lot. I still had some hair in the drain after I washed my hair, but not as much as I did a few weeks ago. I can't take garlic pills since I'm nursing my baby, but I'm still taking prenatal vitamins, which are supposed to help. I have decided not to let it bother me. I'm doing the best I can, and it's mostly out of my control, so I'm letting it go.