Bantu Knot Out - Day 2

9:39a

Right side gone a little awry with the winter weather

I reknotted my hair last night and I must say that I am loving this look. The right side took a bit of a beating since I had a hat on to guard myself aganist the 8-12 INCHES OF SNOW they have forcasted for today and tomorrow. On top of the 73 inches we have already had this winter.

Wait...what was I talking about? Oh yes, the bantu knot out.

I've been moisturizing like crazy and I think my hair is thanking me. It looks extremely quenched and healthy. I have to make sure to pay special attention to my edges and my ends. Those tend to be my trouble spots.

Bantu Knot Out

2:06p

Bantu Knot Out

Last night I decided to give my limp flat ironed hair some interest and body with bantu knots. I only did four, dividing my hair into quadrants and securing the knot with a bobby pin. I moisturized really well and am seeing the benefits of that moisture today. I have been neglecting my edges so I made sure to really give them a nice drink of moisture and sealed with castor oil.

Love the curls. Will be reknotting tonight to preserve the style and most likely will pin up since rain/snow is in the forecast.

Deep Conditioning Tip

I heard this tip way back at the beginning of my hair journey and totally forgot about it. I came across it again today and will definently try this for my next deep condition this weekend.

TIP:

Try microwaving conditioner for 10 seconds and applying it to freshly shampooed hair. Allow to sit on the hair for 5 minutes and then rinse.

Your hair still gets the benefit of the heated conditioner but you don't have to sit under the dryer for 30 minutes or leave the conditioner on for hours. I rarely have time to sit for that long without interupption so for me, this may be a life hair saver!

9 Weeks Post Update

Happy with my Hair!

4:05p

Today I am 9 weeks post my last texlax and so far so good. Stretching seems to be getting easier for me. I have been either washing every week or two, depending on the condition of my scalp. I've had some flakes and some itchies which make me want to wash sooner. I am seeing a bigger difference inbetween my textures now that the majority of my hair is texlaxed. I will need to up both the moisture and the protein to stave off any breakage. I do think that my hair is thriving and I'm really enjoying it.

Still not so great on the styling end. I need to experiment more, which I have been doing. I tried a twist out that fell flat...literally. It just didn't take. And I tried pin curling, but they didn't come out great either. I need to revisit my technique. I have been wanting to rock curly styles lately so I need to invest in some new rollers {as my girls had a fun day with my rods and destroyed them!}

I tried a new conditioner that was INCREDIBLE which I'll post about later this week. What I've learned about my hair is that it loves organic!

I also tried a new flat ironing product {low budget CHI Silk Infusion} and I used it on my daughter when I blow dried her hair and it turned out incredibly!

So I made two great purchases this week. I'm satisfied!

Doin' the Bump

I was playing around with ponytails and I decided to try doing a slight bump in the front. I don't normally do anything but a slicked back pony for fear that anything ontop of my head will draw attention to my Tyra-esque forehead.

I wasn't brave enough to wear this outside my bathroom.

Any thoughts on the bump?

Unhappy Hair

4:37p

This is pretty much how I feel about my hair right now. My hair is uphappy. I am unhappy.

I realized something earlier today. I have really let myself go. Hair wise, that is {don't get me started on the rest of me}.

I have been rocking a pony everyday. I've been so uninspired. I'm too tired {i.e. lazy} to really flat iron my hair so my hair has been in a pony tail everyday this week.

I keep saying that I'm going to try twist outs and braidouts, but the truth is I just want someone else to do my hair so that I don't have to deal with it. But I know that's not the answer.

I am realizing that being lazy with my hair is only hurting my hair. My ends aren't looking to hot and my edges could use some attention too.

I wish I could say that I was turning over a new leaf for this upcoming week, but that would be a lie.

I am going to wash this weekend and attempt to do a twist out or a braid out. I'm not going to make any promises to myself though. I always end up disappointed.

Review: Gold N Hot Jet Bonnet Dryer Attachment

12:00pm

A few days ago, on wash day, I tried Gold N Hot Jet Bonnet Dryer Attachment. I was in the BSS shopping for barrettes for my girls and I saw this. I have been with out a table top dryer since I started the journey and haven't invested in one yet. So when I saw this {for $9.99}, I decided that it was worth a try.

I usually blow dry my hair, so my purpose for using this was mostly for deep conditioning. I liked the fact that it's mobile, so wherever I can plug my blow dryer up, I can use it {including lounging out my couch watching Project Runway - with the captions on}

Once I removed it from the box, I saw that it was basically just a bonnet with a large tube attached. Easy enough. Wasn't scared away yet.

I attached it to my dryer and turned on to high. It almost burned my head off, the heat was so intense. Then I read the directions, which specifically say to use only on low heat. I knew there was a reason my second grade teacher always said to read the directions first...

One thing that I did not care for about this dryer was that the force of the air from the dryer makes the bonnet part blow off, if it is not pulled all the way down. If it is pulled all the way down it becomes difficult to see. I grabbed a book and was able to deep condition and read at the same time. So that wasn't a deal breaker for me at all.

Overall, I have to say that I really do like this for it's mobility, low maintenace and how well it heats up. It did a great job deep conditioning my hair. I will definently use this with all my deep conditioners.

My Texture

3:15pm

My blackberry doesn't take the best pictures, but I wanted to show my texture. My hair is almost fully texlaxed. There are a few inches of relaxed ends that I do plan to cut at some point in time.

Wash Day and Deep Condition

9:41a

So after a week of dealing with itchies in my scalp, I washed on Sunday. Since my scalp was itching so bad, I did want to do a prepoo. Something that focused on my scalp so I did a mixture of olive oil, peppermint oil and tea tree oil. I parted my hair into small sections and applied the oil to my scalp. I used my new bonnett dryer for about 20 minutes on low heat.

The peppermint oil tingled nicely and my scalp really felt moisturized. After I washed out all the oil, I used Mane and Tail Moisturizing Shampoo to really cleanse my scalp. It was pretty bad. But after the wash, it was nice and clean.

For my deep conditioner I used Elasta QP DPR 11 mixed with coconut oil and Lustrasilk Cholesterol. I left it on for about 30 minutes with heat.

After washing out the dc, my hair felt extremely strong but also very moisturized. I think it was the coconut oil! I love that stuff.

I blow dried and pincurled. My hair turned out fabulous and I was thrilled that I could achieve a decent hairstyle without using my flat iron.

Picture: Hair Today

Blurriness aside, I love how the pin curls create these bouncy waves. And yes, that is Obama on my bulletin board.

Pin Curls...Again

11:10a

Last night I did pin curls again. I'm falling in love with them. They are so easy and turn out amazing results. This time I did them smaller and tighter and they look amazing. Been getting lots of compliments on my hair today.

My plan for the weekend is to wash {paying special attention to my itchy scalp}, deep condition with heat and then try the twist out. It's going to be a major trial run for me considering I haven't done a twist out at this length and I'm not sure how it's going to turn out.

I'm not going to be discouraged about my lack of styling skills. Instead I'm going to go for it and know that practice makes perfect.

Protective Styles on Texlaxed Head

12:05pm

When my hair was a longer length, I found it super easy to do protective styles that looked nice and didn't take much effort. Now that my hair is shorter {shoulder length} it's harder for me to achieve styles that look great and don't require alot of time.

I've been extremely bad this winter with blow drying and flat ironing every other week. I have been deep conditioning, but not the way I should and I have noticed that my hair is dry, brittle and I have seen breakage. I freaked out.

So, for the rest of the winter {which here in Philly may very well last into April or May}, I'm going to wash weekly, deep condition weekly and incorporate air drying protective styles as much as possible. I still want to flat iron, but I will see how this goes first.

Pin Curls!

9:25a

Monday of this week, here in Philly, was a balmy, humid 60 degrees. Such a weird phenomenon when the temps have been in the 30s. But that humidity really did a number on my flat iron. It got puffy and it began to revert so since then I had been wearing my hair in a pony tail.

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE my pony tail. That hasn't been what I have found to be true since I cut my hair back in September. So I had to do something.

I saw something on Youtube about pin curls and I knew that was the solution for my problem so last night I finally tried them. I have to admit, I was afraid of pin curls. I was afraid that they would come out looking crazy and then I'd be stuck with jacked up hair in a pony tail. I was afraid of how long it would take to do them. I was afraid that it wouldn't work.

But I pressed forward and decided that I would do several large ones since I was short on time and tired as I don't know what. I started with totally straight, flat hair with no curl whatsoever.

First, I moisturized my hair really well with my Elasta QP H-Two leave in, also used a bit of Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship leave in as well and then sealed with a bit of castor oil. I went a little heavier on the moisturizing that I normally do because my hair was dry and I wanted to make sure that my hair had moisture to set with.

After I moisturized I started curling. I loved that my only tools were a comb and my fingers. I combed my hair into the style I was going to wear it into then grabbed large sections and began to curl them around my fingers.

Once I had all the hair wrapped around my fingers, I slid my fingers out and continued to curl the rest of my hair until it reached my hair. I laid the curl flat and pinned with a hair pin. I had to use two hair pins for each curl since my sections were so large. When my whole head was finished I tied down with my scraf and covered that with my bonnet.

This morning, let me tell you, I was terrified of what I was going to unveil but I really was pleasantly surprised with the results.

This picture shows my hair right after I had taken all the pin curls out. What I learned is that I will need ample time to play with the curls to make sure they come together well.

I ended up pinning up the top half of my hair with a large hair pin and leaving the bottom half down. I really love the results and that I got them without heat. I will definitely continue to pin curl my hair.

Stretching

9:53a

I stretched my last relaxer for 14 weeks and I was surprised at how easy it was. I could have never imagined stretching 3 1/2 months before now, but I had no problems at all. I actually felt that I could have gone longer, but really wanted to relax before I went home for Christmas.

I have been wearing my hair straight (flat ironed) consistently and that really helped to aid in stretching. I didn't deal with a ton of shedding as I normally do when I need a relaxer and my new growth was managable.

I would venture to say that I am close to being fully texlaxed and I really want to see how my texture will be as I can't really tell since a lot of my ends are still relaxed. I know that being texlaxed helped in regards to being able to strech because of the strength of my strands, I didn't see much breakage at all.

I have found a few products that are my staples and currently are the only things that I am using right now. I will update my regimen for 2010 tomorrow, including the products that I use. There are only a few products that I want to try that fit in with my regimen and I will update as I begin to acquire those as well.

My next texlax is scheduled for the very end of March. I think I will try 15 weeks as my goal.

It's been a long time...

9:10a

It's funny how life can come in and take you away sometimes. I must say that 2009 was a rough one and I am so glad it's over. The end of last year didn't allow me much time to focus on my hair as I was focusing on the loss of a pregnancy and the gallbladder surgery. I did mention that it was rough.

But it's 2010. The start of a brand new year. I don't know that this year will be any better, but I do know that I have a positive attitude about it.

I'm looking forward to getting back to talking about hair and putting into practice all the things I learned in 2009 {the start of my HHJ} and looking for new things that will take my hair care to the next level.

Far From My Mind

10:08a

Hair has been the furthest thing from my mind. I have been doing my hair though, and it looks freakin amazing this week, but hair has been overshadowed by life.

Seriously overshadowed. Like expecting my third child overshadowed. My mind is no longer focused on this product and split ends and shedding.

I'm keeping that in mind. I haven't been neglecting my hair by any means though. I have tried the Lacio Lacio and one word A-MAZING!!!! It's def going to be a staple for me. Nothing has made my hair shine and look as healthy as this product. And it also claims to repair hair over time. So this one is great.

Still haven't tried the CHI Silk Infusion. But that is to come.

This weekend I plan to deep condition and then blow dry and flat iron...again. I'm using a heat protectant so Im not worried about damage.

But overal my hair is in great condition. I'm 7 weeks post and things are going smoothly.

Slacker

12:54p

I have to admit it. I have been slacking majorly in the hair care realm of my life. I am glad that the manipulation of my hair is down to almost none, but I have been worse than worse. I have been skipping mositurizing and sealing. Well, I almost always moisturize, but I slack on the sealing. I'm not sure why that extra step has been feeling like it's too much for me to handle.

But this weekend, I do plan to make amends with my hair. I'm going to pamper it with an extended deep conditioner and make sure I really wine and dine it. This will be a blow dry {maybe air dry depending on my time} and flat iron week, so I will be sure to protect and really pamper it.

I will do better!

Itching

2:19p

Not literally. My head isn't itching. Much.

I just am itching to wash it and to try my new products that I know will make all the difference in my blow out and flat iron.

Yes, the elusive CHI Silk Infusion and Star Lacio Lacio leave in are still stuck at my post office, held hostage by tyrant postal workers who wouldn't release the package to my husband because it has my name on it. Even though he has proof that he resides at the same address. Ah, what's not to love about great old Philadelphia? United Postal Service. That's what.

But I have convinced myself that not being able to get the packages until Saturday (only time we have time to go to the post office during their hours), isn't really a bad thing. After all, I dont want to put too much heat in my hair. I did just flat iron last week. Plus, wasn't I on this whole thing about low manipulation by going longer in between washes? I sure was.

So, as of now, that's my plan. Wash this weekend. Keep on my schedule of every two weeks. It looks like it's going to be, one week hair out. Second week, hair back in a clip.

Works for me. I hope.

Look No Further

8:19a

I had to look no further than my own medicine cabinet to find a moisturizer that works for what I needed. I had really been sleeping on the Elasta QP H Two leave-in for some reason. I bought it about a month ago, used it once and decided I didn't care for it.

In dry, ashy hair desperation, I decided to try it. It is in a spray bottle, which I knew wouldn't work for my hair, so I sprayed 3 squirts in my hands, rubbed my hands together and distributed the product evenly throughout my hair.

Voila! Perfecto. It worked. I sealed with castor oil and all was right in the world.

I've been moisturizing with the H Two for the past two days and my hair still has movement, but it is visibly moisturized. That was exactly what I needed and I didn't even have to buy anything new...though I did...

UPDATE - 5 Weeks Post

2:13p

As of October 20, I am 5 weeks post. I can't believe that in the past, next week would be when I'd be getting a touch up. Actually, I generally went longer than 6 weeks, but I never kept track of how long I went. Usually two months because my hair is so fine.

5 weeks is great. I'm not struggling to control my new growth. My new growth is extremely managable and I'm noticing that my hair is actually getting some length since my cut. My goal was to stretch to 10 weeks this time and I think I am right on track for that.

This time around, I'm not washing my hair every few days as I am trying to maintain a straight style. This seems to be working very well for me as it is lower manipulation than me washing every 2-3 days and I also think that wearing my hair straight reduces tangling.

Deep conditioning with heat has been crucial for me. Weekly deep conditioning treatments will be crucial in my stretch. I'm also thinking of switching week to week between flat ironing and wearing a roller set. I'm not too concerned about heat damage as I have been using a heat protectant and only flat iron once a week.

I have also been using a mild protein MIXED IN with my moisturizing deep conditioner and that has been positive for my hair. I have realized that heavy proteins don't work for me, but I know that my hair needs some type of protein. This solution is working very well for me.

One thing I am lacking in my regimen is a good moisturizer that's light weight and doesn't weigh my hair down when I'm wearing straight styles. The Dove works great as a light moisturizer, but I have been experiencing reversion when using it on my flat ironed hair. I just purchased CHI Silk Infusion and Star Lacio Lacio High Shine Leave-In, so once they arrive, hopefully one of them will work as my light weight moisturizer.

Alls well with my hair for once. I'm very happy with my cut and the overall condition of my hair.