Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Length Goal Reached!

I have been wearing my hair straight this week, and I noticed yesterday that I'm full arm pit length. I still want my ends (and the rest of my hair) to be a little thicker and fuller, but I'm really excited that I have reached my length goal.

I've been on my hair journey for 3 years. I have experienced setbacks, cut my hair to a tapered cut, and shed a tremendous amount postpartum. However, these issues have forced me to deal with the problems, and find solutions. I have learned what my hair does and does not like. I'm still learning, as I work towards my goal of more thick and moist hair.

It would be great to reach bra strap length, as I think I'm only an inch or 2 away, but my focus now is working on the health of my hair. I don't want my hair much longer than bra strap, as this is the longest my hair has ever been, and it is sometimes challenging to style.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Leave-in Booster

For the past few months, I have felt like my hair:
+ is thinner than it should be,
+ should be retaining more moisture,
+ doesn't stay together, especially at the ends, and
+ doesn't hold a curl like it used to.

I have increased the amount of protein, and it is helping, but I also think it's a porosity issue. I did the porosity test, by putting a couple of strands in a cup of water. Most of my hair floated, but the ends sunk to the bottom of the cup. I decided to "Kimmaytube" my leave in to help balance the pH level of my hair. My ends are also bushy and dry when I air dry, which is a symptom of the cuticles being lifted.

I used Salerm 21 leave-in conditioner. I didn't measure it exactly, but squeezed about a quarter-sized amount of it into a bowl. I added one tablespoon of aloe vera juice and one teaspoon of jojoba oil. I applied it to freshly washed and conditioned hair. This week, I did not deep condition with heat. I roller set my hair using just the leave-in mixture. I actually had some leftover. I set my hair on my regular rollers, but this time I used smaller sections. My hair came so nice! My hair was moist, shiny and smooth, and my ends looked so much healthier. I didn't even need to add moisturizer after I took the rollers out. It's been 2 days, and my hair still has body, which I haven't seen in over a year. I will continue to do this every wash. I hadn't used Salerm 21 in a while, but I will alternate it with Infusium, since it has silk protein in it.

Update 4/11/11: I added aloe vera juice and jojoba oil to my Giovanni Direct Leave-in this past weekend, and the results were not as good as the Salerm. I will continue to use the Salerm 21 since I liked my hair so much.

I'm pretty sure I need a hardcore protein treatment, but I'm afraid of doing it. Maybe I'll have my stylist do it the next time I go to the salon.