Last Wash 2011 & Happy New Year

Hey!

I'm so happy that I started this hair journey 9 months ago and that you all decided to stay with me thus far!
This is just a general thank you to you all for subscribing to my blog and reading it. Thank you for the comments of encouraging words and advice.

*                                                                            *                                                                                *

So onto my wash day. Last night I washed my hair, not because it was necessary, but I just didn't like how it felt. I had used this hemp oil thing that contained mineral oil and I'm not sure if it was mind over matter or what but I just hated how it felt.

So I washed my hair with diluted shampoo and used some Aphogee Two Minute Reconstructer...again. I did say my hair takes protein very well. Then I used a moisturizing conditioner.

I had a comment on my blog recently about mixing honey with ann oil, so I mixed the honey with grapeseed oil, olive oil and coconut oil. I also added some ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner to make it pasty. The mixture had been sitting there for about 3 days because I was a little lazy, but that seemed to bond the ingredients well. I just stirred it a little and it became a smooth mixture with no honey stickiness.

I left that on overnight and didn't rinse till late afternoon (out of pure laziness of course lol).

After that, I sprayed some Aphogee Keratin & Green Tea Reconstructerizer. I always wonder if these people who make these products have some affinity for making up their own words, or if they simply don't like using real words.

I then applied some leave-in conditioner and did a braid-out.

Now I'm sitting here with my braids in hoping that they will be completely dried in time for church later.  I plan to do my regular cute little braid-out updo.


After church I will be spending the first few hours of the year with the bf and a few friends. I'm not really feeling the party thing....

So I hope all of you have an awesome night/morning and I wish you all the best for the year to come!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Love,

Aly

End of year Length Check

Hey Ladies!

Ever since I came back to Jamaica, I've been wearing my hair out with insufficient moisture and less deep cons. The pool and the beach had been regular destinations for a few days. Lets just say "fun" has been more of a priority than hair. So you know what that means? Split Ends. whomp whomp :/

So I went in on haircare this weekend, on Friday I slathered my hair with conditioner and left that on from in the evening to the next morning (Greenhouse type thing). When I woke up I did a Betontite clay hair mask, rinsed and applied my Aphogee 2 minute Reconstructer. I left my scissors at school so I'll have to get one to clip my ends.

Since today is my official end of year length check I decided to blow dry and flat iron my hair.

I recently purchased the Fantasia Hair Polisher Heat Protectant Straightening Serum (the rose pink bottle).

So I applied that before using any heat. My hair now feels super thick after blow drying, that made me super happy. I wish I took blow dried hair pics.

The heat protectant made my hair super easy to straighten with the flat iron and you can feel a layer on top your hair once its applied. Good stuff!

Anyway on to the pictures, I guess I'm a tiny bit disappointed because I wanted to be full APL but the end of the year, but I am proud of myself thus far.

Not bad for just a 9 month hair journey huh!

The patchy looking part of my ends look like that because I didn't comb it through properly. 

I think even if my hair was all the way full to the purple line, I still wouldn't be super excited because I think APL should look like APL even without the process of combing through for a length check. I hope you understand what I mean.

I should be able to see my hair as arm pit length even when I'm not in length check stance, with my head facing forward for accuracy. It should just look APL while even just walking around. 

I'll get there soon though :)

As always thanks for reading and Happy New Year when it comes!! 

Just a short sweet Honey post

Yea corny headline lol. 

Hey guys!

I have been using honey for about 3 weeks now as a pre-treatment type thing when I did my co-washes/shampoo wash. Lets just say I'm not exactly sold on it.

I'm not sure how my hair feels, it's not dry or moisturized like I expected, it's just blah!

I think maybe its because I used store honey and not RAW honey, apparently thats what I'm supposed to be using.

I do use it on my face, however and I like it for that purpose.

It does leave my face feeling soft and it clears up my "bacteria based" pimples. :)

Do you like honey? Do you use a special kind? What do you use it for?

Review: Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment

Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment      Price: $4.29

They say:

Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment prevents breakage before it starts by penetrating and moisturizing the hair from root to the tip.

Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment is made with pure shea butter and essential oils to replace vital oil to your hair leaving it stronger and healthier with a natural shine.

Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment helps…

• strengthens fragile, weak and brittle hair to stop breakage
• moisturize dry brittle hair with deep penetrating oil and emollients
• protect hair against heat and styling damage

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycine Soja Oil (Soybean), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) (Shea Butter), Laneth 15, Polyquaternium 37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PPG 1 Trideceth 6, Steareth 2, Lanolin, Steareth 20, Dimethicone, Phenyltrimethicone, Panthenol, Benzophenone 3, BHA, BHT, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil (Corn), Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Collagen, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Propylene Glycol, Fragrance (Parfum) (parfum)

My take:

I don't like it.

I'm not sure what happened but the first time I used it I liked it, but then after a few more uses, i found it to be terrible. 

The only positive thing about this product now is the smell. It made my hair feel dry and it weighed down my hair. Its supposed to moisturize but it completely failed to do so in my hair. I used it all the way to the end to give it a few more chances, plus I don't like wasting products, even if I don't like them.

I won't be trying it again.

Aly

Oils for scalp issues/ Free oils!

Hey Ladies,

I know I've been MIA for what seems like a long time, to me, but I'm back. I just needed a break to recuperate from the stress I've been under from school and personal stuff. I just had a whole week of doing nothing, which felt awesome! :)

Back to business

I wanted to talk about itchy scalp issues. Now I've never really had an issue with my scalp since the beginning of my hair journey, but lately my scalp has been begging me to scratch.

This is literally how I feel. Its so frustrating because I don't want to scrape my scalp but I just have to. lol This probably sounds gross, but I know for a fact that its not a dirty scalp issue.

Solutions

Well I went online to see what I could do about my problem and I also consulted Jeni's blog to see what she came up with (she had this issue a while back).


The verdict is, for now, oils!

The oils that Jeni spoke about were eucalyptus and lavender oil. Other sites suggested avocado, olive, tea tree, peppermint oil and german chamomile oils, along with the aforementioned two from Jeni.

Just incase you wanted to know how to use these products for an itchy scalp, you can check that information HERE

Also if you want to get some eucalyptus oil or avocado oil for your itchy scalp or other purposes, here is a chance to get it for FREE! (the oils are generally cheap on here so the coupon below should cover it)

Vitacost has been one of my go-to online stores to get vitamins and some oils when the grocery store isn't a possibility. CLICK HERE to register to get a $10 coupon to shop at Vitacost! Hurry because this link is only good for the next 60 days.

If you guys sign up and get the $10, I get $10 too! Happy shopping!

I hope the information and the coupon helps.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the support.

Aly

Search and Destroy

Hy Ladies!

I've noticed over time that my ends have been pretty good. They aren't thinning and split ends aren't glaring at me in the mirror. *knocks on wood* I don't want to jinx myself lol

I attribute my nice ends to my regular Search and Destroy/Dusting sessions. Aside, of course, from regular deep conditioning, protective styles and other healthy hair "do's". Yep I do a fair amount of Search and Destroy (S&D) sessions, and they help me to avoid a big trim.

I trim every six months.

S&D's are relatively easy, depending on how long your hair is. It comprises of taking hair scissors and trimming the hairs that have the dreaded splits or are broken and are about ready to fall off.

You can get good hair scissors from Ebay, Walmart or Sally's.

These ends are generally what I look for. 

If your hair is longer it will be easy to see. If its on the shorter side, maybe you can ask someone you trust. When my hair was shorter, I would strain my eyes to see the itty bitty ends till my eyes hurt.

S&D allows you to single out and cut the bad hair, that way, you avoid cutting perfectly normal neighboring hairs. 

With that said, here's how I do it:

• First I properly detangle my hair and separate it in two halves.
• I put a hair clip on one side and put my focus on the other side.
• I take tiny sections of the loose side and start searching. 
• I scan the tiny section; the ends and along the shaft.
• I look for any signs that indicate those splits displayed above.
• I make sure not to cut hairs that don't need it.
• after getting through the loose side I put i clip in that side and head to the other side repeating the aforementioned steps.

This process can take a little over an hour for me to complete because I seriously go through the hair with precision.

* Make sure to NEVER do this when you are tired. It may cause you to be lazy and cut hairs that don't need to be cut. I have done this before.

I do this when I'm bored, or if I see one split end, I just assume there must be more and I go at it again.

   Thank You for reading and I hope you find this helpful!

*How Often Do You S&D/Dust?*

Relaxer Update!!

Hey Ladies!!

Yes I did it, I may be a week earlier than planned but I just wanted to. After dealing with almost 13 weeks worth of new growth, I gave in.

I did a hard protein treatment the week before so doing it this week was perfect. Before going to the salon, I coated my ends with moisturizer and raw shea butter. I am now at my dad's house in NY so I barely had any products with me.

The lady at the salon was super rough with my hair, I had to tell her to calm down! I mean this was 13 weeks of growth but she was combing like she had never seen natural hair before.

here's what it looked like before

And a close up:

there was this old lady who came in for a touch up and I literally wanted to send her home. She had what looked like only 3 weeks of new growth and the hairdresser lady told her she badly needed a touch up. Then she coated all of the lady's strands with the relaxer! So glad I supervised my relaxer.

Anyway,  she put some  deep conditioner on and I sat under the dryer for several minutes. Then, while she was roller setting my hair, she started to rake the comb  through. I was like "Uh Oh Lady back up!" I'm joking I'm way too demure to speak to someone like that lol. But, I did ask her to comb my hair from the ends up. She seemed to be fed up with me telling her what to do with my hair, but I didn't care. 

By the way, good news! I'm now using a full head of grey rollers! yaay 

Here Is the after picture :)

This experience confirms my love hate relationship with Dominicans, I hate the process but I love the results. I'm sort of like an addict, you just can't beat the 'gorgeousness' of your after a session with them.

I don't want to do a real length check with all the lines and stuff just yet. I won't do it until the end of the year. I am excited about how full it looks though! 

New full ponytail that is super bouncy! 

I really love how my hair feels and yes I am going to go back to the Dominicans before my flight. I want the blown out, flowing in the wind look for when I see my family, Some people may have to eat a few of their words haha!

Thanks for reading!

Hair Ramblings

Hey Ladies!

This week was super stressful for me (what's new? lol). I write for my school paper and a story I just happened to come across blew up into something really big. That meant bigger story= less "me time".

Anyway, it usually takes me about 20 minutes to completely moisturize and seal my hair at night, which I still do. However, this stretch is making that turn into about an hour or more every time. I honestly don't have that much time to spare, so this is making me want to end this stretch even more.

Maybe I'm only seeking a reason to get my relaxer lol, but truth is I just want to get it done.

I still have about 2 weeks of school left, so the plan is to relax it the first week in December so I can have it straight for when I go home to Jamaica! (yaay its confirmed I bought my plane ticket!!!!)

I was also thinking that a few weeks after my relaxer, I should go to the Dominicans on the weekend of my flight to get a blow out, that way I can look extra fly when I see my boyfriend. :D
I've also been thinking about getting a black rinse. I'm so tired of brown hair, but I'm wary of the effects it may have on my hair. I don't want to affect my hair just to change a color. I just think black hair looks fuller and shinier.

I will have to be really particular about my hair when I go to the Dominicans. They sometimes rake the comb through the hair from root to ends, without detangling with a wide tooth comb.

Thanks for reading my ramble!

Aly

Stretching my Relaxer

Hey Ladies!

I went googling to find tips on how to safely stretch my relaxer.

 If you've been reading/following my blog, you would know that this isn't my first relaxer stretch, but I am preparing for the longest relaxer stretch ever. 

As I said in my last post, I don't plan on relaxing until the end of the year. Hopefully by then I'll be back in Jamaica for Christmas break! :D *fingers crossed*

It is now week 11 of my stretch and I am experiencing some breakage, but not the long strand breakage. That usually indicates breakage from the demarcation line which is where your relaxed hair and new growth meet. My breakage is the tiny pieces from the ends. To be honest, they frustrate me so much! I hate seeing the breakage and I don't know what to do to stop it.

Here are the tips I've gathered from various sources on the net.

1. Love your new growth
2. practice air drying instead of using heat
3. moisture is absolutely necessary (especially for new growth)
4. do a protein treatment when you think your hair needs it, for some its every six weeks, for others (like me) its every other week.
5. deep condition your hair
6. Use conditioners instead of shampoo or dilute your shampoo if you must use it
7. detangle your hair to prevent the "coily" new growth from causing major knots
8. use low manipulation and protective styles

I have been doing all of this even before my one week hiatus when I wasn't paying attention to my hair. I find it unlikely that my hair would be breaking that bad because of one week of neglect. I really wanted to go at least 6 weeks more but I'm not so sure anymore.   

I could probably go till the beginning of December. I don't know

Whatever I decide though, I will be sure to let you guys know.

Thanks for reading!

Hair Ramble + "Do you notice this too?"

Hey,

Lately I haven't been in the best mood, I suppose It's from being on this small campus for so long around the same people. My circle is super small. So usually how I feel is reflected in other things that I do, which unfortunately spills over into how involved with my hair I've been.

When I moisturize my hair at night, I haven't been going through it to ensure my strands get some attention. I just put one glob of moisturizer all at once and then the same with oils. Lets not even discuss the state of my roots.

I didn't wash my hair once this week, which is bad because my hair loves the regular wash thing.

So because of this neglect I've notice breakage. This is just what I DON'T need! I really would be disappointed if I didn't make it to APL by the end of the year.

I was thinking about stretching my relaxer for another few weeks. I'm already 10 weeks post and I usually relax my hair about this time (10-12 weeks). This breakage is making me think twice about it.

So my game plan is to treat my hair well for the next two weeks and then based upon its breakage rate, I'll decide if I'll stretch any further. The truth is that I don't want to relax my hair till the end of the year. That way I can do a proper length check.

So the "Aly Hair Attention for Retention" boot camp starts tonight! LOL!

I'll do a deep condition on dry hair, shampoo and condition. I will probably do a braid out or roller set, I'm not sure.



                           *                                       *                                       *
SN: I always wonder how come some women with relaxed hair treat their hair so badly, but yet their hair won't break. But if I go for a short time without doing the "right stuff" my hair goes crazy!

I just don't get it! Have any of you ladies ever thought about that?? Or is it just me?

As always thanks for reading!

Aly

Things revisited and braid out pictures

Hey guys!

On Sunday I had my co-wash day. I revisited aloe vera juice, revisited black tea and also revisited the braidout.

I don't know whats wrong with my memory sometimes. I forgot that I had experience with all these "new" things (black tea and aloe juice). I also incorporated the advice received for my last post. thanks guys!

I began with a hot-oil treatment that consisted of coconut oil and sweet almond oil for about 3 hours. I did my co-wash, I used HE LTR conditioner on my hair and rinsed. I had already brewed my black tea so I poured that onto my hair and left it for about 5 minutes.
I rinsed that and applied my ORS Replenishing Conditioner with grapeseed oil and coconut oil and left it on with a plastic bag (I ran out of caps lol) for about an hour.

After that was done, I rinsed my hair with cold water to help seal the hair. then I t-shirt dried my hair.

Whoever thought of black tea rinses, God bless you! I saw little hair on the comb after detangling. I did a little happy dance in my mind.

I mixed aloe vera juice, grapeseed oil and olive oil in a spray bottle and sprayed my hair.

I had already tried the hairstyle featured on ECP's blog over the summer. I liked it then and when I saw it on her blog I decided to do it again.

I parted my hair in 5 sections and did a 4 big braids. for the final section in the front I did about 6 little braids. I put the rollers pictured below to keep the ends from frizzing.

the front braids got me the tight curls below

personal #win: my braid outs now touch my shoulders :)

I put the back in a bun and pinned back the bangs.

For bed I re-did the braids and covered it with a satin scarf.

I hope you like it!

Thank you for reading!

Aloe vera juice suggestions Anyone???--> and wash day update

Hey!!
 So I'm back with my usual excuse. School is taking over my life!

I literally had a short time to dedicate to my hair this week.

Yesterday (my wash day), I did a pre-poo with coconut oil and sweet almond oil.
I shampooed with Garnier's Pure clean shampoo and then used the Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructer while I showered.
I used conditioner, even though the Aphogee bottle said to rinse and style as usual. I don't know, I thought I should do that just in case.
I applied my leave-ins and let it air-dry using the scarf method.

That's it!

Next time I'll do a co-wash because it seems like forever since I did that.

I also got some aloe vera juice from my friend who had an extra bottle when she ordered too much. :)

If anybody has any suggestions on how to use the aloe vera juice, please let me know. I don't know If I'll have the time to do a thorough search, like I always do when I get something new for my hair. So the suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys!

And Thanks For Reading! :)

Kreativ Blogger Award!

Hey again! 

Yes I'm doing more than one post in a few hours. I know I'm shocked at myself too lol...but it's my first blog award *throws confetti*  I had recently done the seven things post, so I was wondering, "what other stuff could I say about me?" However, being that I am an AWESOME person (LOL) I can definitely find seven more!

Kreativ Blogger Award

RULES

Link back to the person who passed you the award
Complete the form below
Award 10 Blogs & drop them a line about it
Share 7 random things about yourself

I was awarded by Faye Oliver who reminds me of me, just last march, about 6 or so months ago. 

thanks for the award!

Name your favourite song: I don't have one, my music taste is just way too broad to narrow it down. I like Lykke LI though!

Name your favourite dessert: any chocolate dessert!

What pisses you off: people who say they'll one thing and do another, and selfish people.

When you're upset, you: stay silent and walk away, because if I stay at the scene something takes over me and I get out at people really bad.

Your favourite pet: none..jojo, my dog, ran away. :/

Black or white: Black 

Your biggest fear: Mediocrity/not living up to the standards I set for me, and not being apart of God's chosen ones.

Best feature: I suppose my smile, which includes my gorgeous lips lol (people think they're thin but I love them)

Everyday attitude: "Alyson, you are an Awesome person and you can accomplish what you want!"

What is perfection: Jesus.

Guilty pleasure: chocolate and fashion. 

7 random facts about myself

I have a hidden fashionista inside me, I never dress how I would love to and I follow more fashion blogs than hair blogs

-I can't speak the deep, hard to understand patios that rural  Jamaicans speak

-I have 35 beauty marks

-I am a cereal junkie

-I am in a 3 year (going 4yr) relationship (we plan to get married soon) hehe ;)

-I hate being treated like a child

-I watch TBN every morning, it starts my day off well. 

I don't have anybody to tag now since everybody I assume will pay attention to my tag has been tagged already.

Mid Week Wash

I have no idea why I used shampoo today...

I usually Co-wash and then air-dry. So now that I used shampoo, I conditioned after and I'm now onto my deep-conditioner step. I could have saved myself the trouble, but oh well! *throws hands up in the air*

I used a mixture of:

olive oil
grapeseed oil
coconut oil
Sweet almond oil
ORS Replenishing Conditioner
Roux Porosity

and I'm going to sleep with it overnight.

I'm not sure If it was a waste to use all those oils in my deep-con mix, but I did it anyway. I mean It can only do good for my hair, right?

So this was just a little check in for what I did with my hair today.    :)

Thanks for reading!

Protein Treatment Follow Up and a Little Update

Hello fellow hair lovers!

I know I said I would do a blogpost over the weekend about my raw egg protein treatment but my days have been soooo busy.

I have been preparing for days for an opportunity to go to NBC10 in Philadelphia to network and hopefully make strong connections to gain an internship *pray for me guys*. Also, the papers and assignments just seem to be continuous this semester. I can't complain though, many people would love to be in my place.

Anyway, back to the hair.

Since I was in New York without most of my products, I had to settle with the Olive oil and conditioner that was available. Daddy had eggs in the house, so I used one egg, enough conditioner to make the mixture pasty and a good amount of olive oil.

I stirred that well, then sectioned my hair into about six parts and applied my mixture.


I had read somewhere that I shouldn't wash my hair with water that's too warm, because the egg will solidify.

I really didn't think it would "cook" while left overnight in my hair. It Did! lol

I rinsed it out, and did a diluted shampoo wash (daddy's L'Oreal shampoo), a co-wash and there tiny egg-white particles in my hair.

It wasn't difficult to comb it out though.

As I've said many times, my hair loves protein, so of course my hair felt great after. My hair isn't breaking so much anymore (it started breaking recently) and it isn't one bit hard/crunchy.



On another note, I've also heard that glycerine shouldn't be used when its cold out, so I stopped using products with glycerine ingredients and my hair has been dry. Today I decided to give it a go and my hair is now smooth feeling, not crunchy at all.

I'll have to research that topic some more though.

If you have a comment please leave it, and Thanks for reading!

Here's to the weekend in NY!!

Hola chicas!

Oh my gosh this week was THE most stressful week of the semester so far! I didn't even check posts from my fellow bloggers (I'll have to catch up).

So to de-stress, I will be pampering Aly :)

I'm in NY for the weekend with my dad, so as far as my hair goes, I can now do the egg (protein) treatment my hair has been asking for. A number of bloggers and websites have been preaching the good news about ceramides, so I'll be purchasing something containing it. I'll definitely post what product I get.

I'm tempted to go to the dominicans down the street but I will resist. My hair is too thin for all that heat usage.

My eyebrows look atrocious, so that'll be done too, along with my nails. :)



I think I sound like my mind is all over the place but I'm just so glad to be in New York! Pennsylvania's country areas can do that to you lol.

I'll check in again soon.

Thanks for reading!  

Rant: I'm flat ironing!

Today I'm going to commit a self-proclaimed hair sin with no shame! Well maybe two.

After sleeping with no satin scarf last night, I plan to wash my hair, blow dry it (on cool setting) and flat iron it.

I just did a thorough search and destroy clipping session, so my splits are gone. I think I got the splits from brushing all week with a boar bristle brush, because mostly the front had split ends.

But back to the topic, I just don't like flat ironing my hair because the absence of the flat iron got me to the length I am at today. So I'm really picky about when I flat iron.

But I'm gonna do it, I'm tired of my buns and stuff. I miss straight hair. I'm not in the mood for braid outs or bantu knot outs.

Flat iron it is! :)

After a couple days I'll start my baggying/greenhouse effect to lead into the winter time and to reduce and repair any damage.

Thanks for reading my rant!

I've been tagged!! :)


Shika over by hairiamworld.com tagged me in the Seven Things tag. Go check out her blog if u haven't as yet!

All you have to do is:

Just list seven things about yourself, tag some folks and let them know they have been tagged!!

So let's get started!!

1. I love the color purple, I think it represents a lot about me. Its not too girly, but not boyish. You know? I'm not an all out pink loving, hair twirling type of girly girl, but I don't like sports either. I just have the right balance :)
2.  I'm a reality TV junkie. I'll watch reality shows over movies any day!
3. I think way too much for my own good. I will think about things that don't need an extremely deep thought process and that sometimes gets me into trouble. 
4. I have a slight touch of OCD, certain things out of place bother me so I have to fix it. I hate toilets--> like this is a legitimate phobia. I hate air excreted from other people's bodies (burps, farts) being inhaled into my body.
5. I love piercings! if I could re-do my brow piercing without being thought of as unprofessional, I def would. For the meantime I guess I'll just explore my piercing love on my ears. :/
6. I have a die-hard love for my Heavenly Father, sorry if this conflicts with anybody's views. This love sometimes causes conflicts within myself too lol because I like tattoos (I don't have any) and I'm not exactly a saint.
7. I like serenity, being at peace with people and with myself is very important, hence im laid back and sort of nonchalant about things, and i am level headed i think through situations before i act...usually. This is why I write, I love how words can convey certain emotions that I have, that way I won't act crazy with people, I just write.

Ok this was a task to find people who haven't been tagged or didn't do this already, so here goes... I tag:

Ms. D at 6footlonghair

Glenesse at absolutedoll

Shay at athickgirlscloset

Billie Munroe at classicrawbeauty

SheDel at mythriftedcloset

New love for oils :) and questions

Hey! If you have an opinion about the questions below please answer :)

So I recently tried the grape seed oil and sweet almond oil I bought recently. I mixed them together and proceeded to do a hot oil treatment.

I would just love to know why the heck I never used these oils before!!

I absolutely love them!

 My hot oil treatment stayed on my head about 12 hours because I had a lot things to do. After that I used Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo (its been a long time since I used shampoo), then Herbal Essences LTR Conditioner.
For my protein treatment I used LeKair Cholesterol Strengthening & Conditioning cream --a 2 minute treatment-- (I read the ingredients about this product while I was in the shower and I have no clue why I bought it because it has alcohols, parabens and mineral oil but I still used it *shrugs*)

I rinsed that out and used my leave-ins and let it air-dry. By the way does anybody know the best way to air dry?
 My hair gets really curly when I do it. I think I have texlaxed hair now, but not on purpose. I don't have a good enough camera so I cant show how not straight it is but you understand right?

So how do you air-dry? 

and

Is it bad that my hair is curly then straight then curly then straight again?? example: ~~~__~~~_

I Got Some Stuff!!

Hi!!

I had to go get hair things last thursday, my stock was super low. I went to the grocery store near campus and picked up grape seed oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, ORS hair moisturizer and Herbal Essences LTR.

Its a little bit of stuff but I'm still excited about what I got! I've always wanted to try sweet almond oil and real grape seed oil (the last one I tried wasn't authentic).

Here's my stash:

I also got some multivitamins

Thanks for reading!

Betonite Clay for Hair- Wash Day!

Hey!

My wash day was actually Saturday and I used the betonite clay in this weeks regimen.

I started off with a hot oil treatment that was left on my hair overnight (friday). On Saturday, I added the clay mix to my hair without rinsing the oil.

Clay Mix:

betonite clay
almond milk (just enough to make it pasty)
olive oil (tiny amount)

I left it on my hair for about 1/2 hour and I did my clay facial in the last ten minutes of the "hair time" (I'm not gonna show the face part lol).
 I rinsed it out, which I may add, was not an easy task. It felt like there was clay left back every time I assumed I was finished.  I continued anyway and applied conditioner, I figured that while rinsing the conditioner it would rinse out in the process. I used Mane 'N Tail Conditioner and followed that with the Roux porosity and ORS Replenishing Conditioner mix.  I rinsed that after 45 minutes and then added my leave-ins and oils and left it to air dry.

It was a simple addition to my weekly routine but It took way more time than I wanted. I'm not sure if my hair feels way better or not. I just know that it felt clean but not dry, which is always good. I will do it again though because I never totally write off anything I'm unsure of. One more use should determine if I continue using it.

Thanks for reading!

Things I need to return to

Hola Chicas!

*I've been trying to cooperate spanish in my everyday convos since I want to be fluent by graduation so bear with me lol* Bueno!

Also I'd like to take the time out to say thank you to all the new followers I have received recently!!!! Thank you for joining the Journey :D

                         *                                                         *                                                             *
So I've been looking through past posts on my blog just to refresh myself of the practices that got my hair to where it is now. Lately I've just been doing the basics (co-washing, deep conditioning and moisturizing and sealing), but I know when my hair was in the trouble zone, I had been doing way more and I had been treating it like precious material.

So here are the things I need to get back into my regimen:

1. Greenhouse effect:

this has been awesome where moisture inclusion is concerned. I used to do this about 3 to 4 times a week and the damp hair wasn't a problem because I was protective styling anyway.

2. Vitamins:

 I was on my game with my vitamins when I started my journey late february. I mean everyday! Biotin, MSM and Multivitamins. I need to get more of these, recently I have been taking Omega 3, Garlic pills and a multivitamin, but I'm not consistent and If there's anything I learnt on this journey it is that consistency is key!

3. Regular posts:

this really has no direct effects on my hair but it helps with the journey. Blogging about what I did with my hair made me feel like I was keeping on track. It also helps me because I feel accountable to the people who follow me, so I stay in line and committed because of the support.

4. Oils:

I still use a natural oil for sealing and hot oil treatments, but I currently have only 1 oil (olive oil). I really liked coconut oil, I love castor oil (for thickness and growth) and I like grapeseed oil. I need to buy more oils.

5. Products:

Once I used to consider myself a product junkie, but no more. I only have a few products in  my stash. I need to go shopping.



So as you can see I need to get back on my game. I really want to be arm pit length by the end of the year, so I'm hopping back on the committed path as of now!!

Thanks for the continued support

And Thanks For Reading! :)

Betonite Clay for Hair

Hey!

So I did my daily routine of checking blogger.com for new posts from the people I follow (yes I'm on this everyday even though I don't post) and I saw a post about Betonite clay for hair on http://www.afrodeity.co.uk/. Then I thought, "Hey I have some of this!"

My friend had this and never used it and she knows I'm into anything health related stuff so she gave me a whole brand new container of it.

I have actually only used this for my face and afrodeity had mentioned that it worked great for her hair but not her skin.

As previously stated I used it for a facial and I loved it. I usually get breakouts around my period (sorry for the TMI), and I didn't get one pimple. It could possibly be with my new combination of using a salicylic cleanser and witch hazel for toner.

 (newlynatural.com)

I wasn't so sure about using it for my hair though because it seems like it would be a sticky mess, until I read this:

"Bentonite clay is a natural substance which is derived from volcanic ash and made up of its weathered deposits. This clay is rich in natural antioxidants and has been utilised by native people from all over the world because of its internal detoxifying properties and healing agents. Bentonite clay contains over 70 forms of natural trace minerals including beneficial elements such as Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Silica, Potassium, and Sodium. By combining water with Bentonite it quickly expands in a similar way as a highly absorbent sponge.

Clay features a negative electrical charge and therefore attracts particles which contain positive charges, which is often the case with the majority of poisonous substances and chemicals. As a result any toxic particles present will be automatically attracted to this clay and therefore will be bound permanently. Once the clay is removed from the body all toxic poisons will be removed along with it.

Bentonite clay is 100% natural and is therefore suitable for all skin types including combination, oily, and sensitive skin. This odourless clay has a fine and velvety consistency and is a light creamy greyish colour which does not stain. And for these very reasons Bentonite is commonly used innatural shampoo and hair conditioning treatments.

Because of its magnet like properties it helps to remove impurities and build up of dirt present on the scalp and on the hair. It has the ability to do this while still maintaining the moisture in the hair giving it extra shine and feeling silky smooth, you will be left with healthy clean hair that’s easier to manage. Try out these hair treatment recipes to judge the results for yourself, feel free to play around by adding or replacing certain items with your favourite natural ingredients."

revitaliseyourhealth.com

I think that's reason enough to try it, don't you?

I think I'll try it for my next wash day instead of shampoo.

the revitaliseyourhealth.com website has different methods for using the clay. Feel free to check them out.

Thanks for reading! 

Hey!

I know I've been missing for the longest while (feels like it to me), but I'm back!!

They said junior year would be way harder, in terms of work load, but teachers are really piling on the assignments.

I have still been committed to my hair but not with the intensity as the beginning of my journey (end of february) into summer. I do my regular co-washes, deep condition and hot oil treatment once a week and moisturize and seal every night. I just haven't been as committed to my growth aids, vitamins and supplements recently. Most times i just forget about them altogether.

I think I really need to step up my game because I really want to be arm pit length by the end of the year.

Also I want a weave. ...Yeah I think I do, I have always been against weaves, I just feel like if you can grow it why sew it??

buuttt...

winter is fast approaching and I figured this would be a good protective style, especially since I lose so much hair during the everyday detangling process and wear and tear.

If I get it I'll definitely post about it.

Thanks for reading!

You have to see this...

... little girl's hair!

isn't her hair lovely??!!

Relaxer Results!!

So I got my relaxer Tuesday night and I don't really have the time right now to expound on the whole process because of the millions of papers I have to do. bleh!

I coated my relaxed ends with conditioner to prevent relaxer from getting on them. I'm not sure how long the application process was, but I spent less than 5 mins waiting for it to "take".

I used the protein treatment that came along with the Dark and Lovely relaxer kit for 5 minutes, then I neutralized and left the conditioner on for 10-15 minutes.

I roller set my hair and let it dry overnight with no heat.

yea I'm not so good at it. lol

the next morning after it dried:

 combed out curls

flat iron results

^^I liked this one^^

Then at the end of the day I moisturized and sealed

 (last relaxer)

Thanks for reading and looking at a billion pictures!! ^_^