Rookie Mistake

9:32a

So I made a huge rookie mistake. And I probably would have never figured it out were it not for my best friend stepping in and knocking some sense into my head.

I overloaded on protein. Yes, protein is a permed woman's friend, but only in moderation. Protein is like one of those friends who you love when you haven't seen in ages. But if they are around constantly, they get on your nerves! I know I'm not the only one with a friend like that.

Anyway, my hair was brittle. So fragile. If the wind blew too hard my hair was breaking off. I've probably done a lot of damage and it will take some time to correct, but I'm glad I realized my error early enough.


What was my error, you ask? I was co-washing with several cheapy conditioners, all of which were light protein conditioners. Me, being oblivious to this fact, notices my breaking hair and assumes that breakage means my hair is weak so it must need strength. Intro my deep protein conditioner. So I've been doing that all week, only doing daily moisturizing and sealing, thinking I would do the deep conditioner on the weekend as I normally do.


My hair was really bad. So yesterday, I had to stop by the beauty supply store and grab me something to fix my problem. I grabbed this:



Elasta DPR-11. It cost about $7, but the way my hair was, it was more than worth it to find something that would breathe some life back into my hair. I'd previously heard very good things about this product and wanted to give it a try. I had been previously using Dr. Miracles Tingling Scalp deep conditioner. That worked great, but I knew I needed something heavy duty to combat my thirsty strands. Most reviews that I read, people added EVOO, honey, or other things to up the power of this deep conditioner. I would have added EVOO but we were out and I didn't add honey because I was in a rush to get it on my hair. So I used it by itself.

The consistency is thick and has a mild fragrance that I found very pleasant. I needed something thick so this worked perfectly. I sectioned my hair into four areas and applied pretty liberally from root to tip, really focusing on my ends and the middle of my strands. I covered with a plastic cap and then wrapped it in a scarf to keep the heat in since I don't have a hooded dryer. I let it sit on for about 2 1/2 hours while I bathed the girls and read a book.


I showered and rinsed and I could immediately feel a difference. My hair felt moisturized and soft and immediately nourished. As I finger combed my hair, I did notice a lot of breakage, but I'm attributing it to the damage that was already done.


This morning, my hair is very moisturized and it looks a lot healthier than it did yesterday. I know the process will be a little longer for me to get my hair into shape but I'm in it for the long haul. My little set back had me thinking of quitting, but again my best friend stepped in and told me to keep going.


So my plan of action as is follows:

• Deep condition 2x a week with Elasta QP DPR-11
• Absolutely no ponytails
• Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize
• Low manipulation hair styles {I'm still working on a non pony low manip style}

So this morning, with those rules in mind, I threw my pony tail holder to the side and did a style that required no tight pulling of my hair and also protects my ends at the same time. I forget where I saw this style, but basically you moisturize your ends very well, fold your pony {without the holder} over, tucking the ends inside and pull the two sides over your ends and then clip. I'm pretty sure that explanation was confusing, I'll search for the inspiration to this style. I'm loving it as my hair is off my shoulders and my ends are protected. Even better, no pony tail holder breaking my hair!