Staples

I've been trying some new products over the past month or 2, but I've decided to stop experimenting. My hair was doing well with my staples, so why would I change products? I don't know, maybe I was bored. Last week, I did have a good roller set result, but I didn't like how tangled and hard my hair was when it was wet. My hair also got hard and felt like there was a film on it only 2 or 3 days after I washed it. I'm not sure if it was the amla oil, the rinse, the Infusium leave-in, or a combination of the three products. For this past weekend's wash, I decided to go back to my true blue products. My hair didn't look as silky, but it felt (and still feels) great. I also think it looks a lot thicker and healthier this week.

My staples for wash days:

• Pre-poo: Organix Coconut or Vanilla Conditioner
• Shampoo: Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo OR Creme of Nature (green label)
• Conditioner: V05 Moisture Milk
• Deep Conditioner: ORS Replenishing Conditioner
• Leave-In Conditioner: Giovanni Direct

I'm going to be sad when my green label Creme of Nature shampoo runs out. I know many people think that it's not discontinued and that it's in new packaging, but the ingredients are different. The Giovanni Direct Leave-In is also a different formula. I hated it at first, but this weekend, I diluted it with water in a pump bottle and it felt like my old stuff. As always, I would like to try new products, but I need to work on getting my hair long, and using up the products I already have.

I'm 9 weeks post relaxer today. I'm going to a family event this weekend and away for work next week, but I will not relax. My edges are a little kinky (it's all new growth since I lost a lot during my postpartum shedding). It's fine though. I want to make it to at least 11 weeks this time before getting a relaxer. My hair looks fine, other than my edges, but it doesn't bother me too much. I cover most of it with my hair, and I could use some gel or something if it really gets bad.

Best Rollerset

Last night I achieved the best roller set I've ever done. The only thing I did differently was that I pre-poo'd with amla oil. I actually mixed the amla oil with some garlic powder for shedding and a little evoo. Since my last garlic pre-poo resulted in drier hair, I thought I'd mix the garlic powder with oil instead of conditioner. I tried amla oil 2 years ago, with not-so-good results. My hair was in pretty bad shape though, so since I still had the amla, I decided to give it a try. I deep conditioned with Pantene Relaxed and Natural Breakage Defense Deep Conditioning Mask. It usually gives me a lot of "slip" but not yesterday. I noticed immediately that my hair was a little hard to de-tangle with a wide-tooth comb. After I sat under the dryer for 20 minutes, I rinsed it out and did a quick conditioning rinse with Pantene Relaxed and Natural Intensive Moisturizing Conditioner. I have to say, I was a little worried that my hair wasn't as easy to comb as it usually is. I proceeded to roller set. I decided not to use the extra thin rat tail comb I usually set with, because I didn't want to lose any hair. When my hair was dry, I noticed how shiny my hair was as I took the rollers out. When I combed my hair out, I could NOT believe how soft and bouncy my hair was! I really have never had such a good set, even when I professional did it. I'll have to research amla a little more and see if I can make the conditioning experience a little better. I did only pre-poo for about 45 minutes, so maybe I need to leave the oil in longer? I have also been battling a cold for the past 2 weeks, which shows in my hair, making it drier than usual. Here is how my hair looked after taking out the rollers:

I've also been smoothing my hair on the roller as I roll for the past couple of weeks, which has made my hair a lot smoother.

April 2010 Updates

I decided to give the garlic another try this weekend. I was reading how Traycee puts the powder from her garlic pills in a pre-poo to cut down on shedding, so I added some garlic powder from my spice cabinet to some conditioner as a pre-poo. I applied it to my scalp and new growth and left it in overnight. When I washed it out, I immediately noticed less hair in the drain. I also didn't have as much in the comb when I set my hair. So it just about stopped the shedding, but it also made my hair a little drier than usual. As I watched tv last night, I remembered that I usually change my regimen and products once I'm 6 weeks post relaxer. 7 weeks have gone by since my last relaxer and I hardly noticed! So I moisturized my roots and ends with B&B Moisturizer with Castor Oil, and my hair literally drank it up. Within seconds, my hair was moist and shiny.

Another reason my hair felt drier may have been the fact that I haven't put a rinse in my hair for a while. The rinses, especially the dark brown and black ones, moisturize and condition my hair so well. I'm thinking about trying henna, so I want to make sure that I get most of the color out before I henna my hair.

Also, my rollerset came out really nice this week, which I attribute to doing more smoothing on the roller as I rolled my hair. It took longer to set, but the results were worth it.

Now that I'm between shoulder and armpit length, I will start trying braidouts in the next few weeks. Since I started my healthy hair journey, I've always thought my hair was too short. Now I have no excuses to try it.

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.