Relaxer Update 2

So I was 10 weeks posts (about 2 months), when I relaxed yesterday.  This stretch was a bad one for me.  I traveled a lot for track and school began to kick my butt.  As a result, I became inconsistent with my regimen.   Then I ran low on products, and just started to improvise.  By the last few weeks, I was praying time would go by faster so I could come home and relax.  I’m very happy to say, my first year of college is officially over.  I got home yesterday, and immediately got to work on my hair.

I used ORS Olive Oil Professional Creme Relaxer (Extra Strength).  I’ve found that the regular formula in most relaxers leave me with under processed/texlaxed hair, which isn’t what I’m looking for at this stage in my hair journey.  I grabbed this to try it out, and I LOVED it.  I know for a fact I haven’t gotten better at applying relaxers (I’m still pretty sloppy, and I still need to work on my speed), but the results so far look great.  I got the bone straight results I wanted and it looks like I didn’t over-process my hair.  I’m so proud of myself, and will definitely stick with this relaxer from now on.

Here’s how my relaxer day went.

Hard Protein

Today I decided to do the hard protein treatment that I’ve been putting off for two weeks.  On some levels I regret it because my hair may have suffered a little, but on the other hand I loved having my hair out and enjoying how easy and simple it was to deal with.  Anyway, I used the Aphogee 2 step treatment for the first time.  I looked up tons of youtube videos before I attempted it, and so far it looks like it went well.My thoughts on it were:

• Everyone was right.  It smells disgusting.  I was expecting the smell to be bad, but it literally made me gag when I first smelled it. 
• I didn’t have a spray bottle, so I just squirted it in my hair and spread it like I would a deep conditioner.  I then used my hand dryer on it for about 40 minutes until it was hard.
• I made sure to be extra careful when I rinsed my hair.  I didn’t want anything to happen to set me back and A also made sure to use the balancing moisturizer afterwards.  
• I decided to deep condtion my hair with a moisturizing deep conditioner.  I was almost out of my KeraPro DC, so I mixed that and some Aussie 3 Minute Miracle, a squirt of Roux Porosity Control Conditioner, and a teaspoon of jojoba oil.

 

I am currently letting the conditioner sit in my hair right now.  I’ll rinse it out in about 30 minutes.  I don’t think I’ll rollerset today, I’m way too tired and lazy.  I’ll attempt a ponytail rollerset again next week, and see how that goes. 

HHJ

<3 Gemma

February Updates

• Relaxer Update 1:  I relaxed!  I don’t think I can stretch more than 3 months, not because it’s impossible, but because I’m still learning about my hair and how to deal with it in its stretched state.  It was getting very hard to deal with my two/three textures so my friend who likes to do hair did my relaxer for me(at a bargain, might I add).  We used the Optimum Care Relaxer, Regular (the one in the deep red box).  It was great because not only did she relax my new growth well, she was also able to get my texlaxed hair bone straight.  I know not many people like this because they like they’re hair to be thick, but I was blessed with already having very thick hair already, even when relaxed.  It’s why stretching for really long is harder for me, because my new growth is extremely thick, and trying to deal with both of them takes a lot of time, patience, and care,  lots of things I have to sacrifice while being away at college.  I’ll probably try to stretch for more than 3 months over the summer, when I can actually dedicate time to my hair more.
• Rollerset Update:
  I was able to rollerset my hair twice this month.  I tried the ponytail method, and it was much quicker and easier.  My results weren’t ideal because I didn’t have access to a good dryer, but I still enjoyed the process.  I wanted to take pictures, but my camera died and I have no idea where my charger went.  I’ll try to find it so I can take some for this month.
• I’m trying to enjoy my newly relaxed hair for a little longer than I should.  I got it done last Wednesday, and I’m trying to enjoy it until the coming Saturday.  The Sunday after that I plan on doing a doing a hard protein treatment, as well as a moisturizing deep treatment.  That means I’ve been being extra careful with my hair at the moment.  Moisturizing and sealing every night, and making sure to keep it wrapped or in a bun when I’m not wearing it down.  Also, when I do wear it down, I make sure to seal my ends very well, because I know it will be brushing my shoulders/clothes more.  As far it seems to be doing well, though.

That’s it, basically.  Next week is spring break, and I plan on giving my hair some proper TLC while I’m home. 

HHJ

Gemma

 

Hair Loves

Love 1: My hair has discovered the love of ACV Rinses. Well, I guess discovered isn’t the right word since I never tried to use them before, but now that I have I can’t get enough of them. I started doing the rinses two weeks ago, and immediately noticed a difference in how my hair dried and felt after my wash. I tried Roux Porosity Control when I was home, but it didn’t have quite the same effect as the rinses do to my hair. I do them once a week, as my final rinse after I deep condition, shampoo, and then use regular conditioner.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Here are a few Benefits of ACV Rinses:

gets rid of minerals, deposits and/or other harmful substances in our water
restores the PH in our hair
allows our hair to retain moisture because it seals our hair cuticles

ACV rinses have definitely become a new part of my regimen.

Love 2: A couple weeks ago I ran out of my usual moisturizer, the name escapes me at the moment. I bounced around using random things I had lying around, but finally decided to invest in something new. I decided to try the Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-in Cream. It was light enough that it wouldn’t weigh down my hair, but still able to moisturize it well.

NTM Leave-In

I think I’ve finally found something my hair really agrees with, I just wish the bottle was a little bigger. I feel like it will run out sooner than most other moisturizers.

Love 3: Last but not least, I splurged and ordered Dabur Vatika Coconut Oil.

Dabur Vatika Coconut Oil

My hair loves this stuff. After moisturizing with NTM and sealing with the oil over night, I woke up with hair that was much softer and still moisturized. This was a huge turnaround because I ran out of my regular coconut oil over the Christmas break, and have been sealing with either Jojoba oil, which is way too light for my hair and a mixture of EVOO and Castor oil, which just makes my hair hard and stiff in the morning. This is another thing I will be adding to my staples list. When I have the time (and money), I’ll have to order more and hoard them for later.

HHJ
Gemma

First Official Rollerset(Jan. 21)

I have been slacking on rollersetting, but with good reason. I left my rollers at home and I don’t have a dryer. Lucky for me, a girl who lives on my floor has both and was happy to loan them to me for the day.

Second roller set of ECPrincess’ roller setting challenge*

I deep conditioned overnight with a mixture of ORS Replenishing Pak, Tresemme Luxurious Moisture Conditioner, vegetable glycerin, jojoba oil, castor oil, EVOO, and vitamin E oil, shampooed with Neutrogena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo, then did a quick condition in the shower with a mix of Tresemme Luxurious Moisture Conditioner and vegetable glycerin . When setting my hair I applied Aphogee Green Tea Restructurizer, Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in, and sealed with Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine serum and a few drops of Jojoba oil.

It took me about an hour to rollerset. I did it in four sections instead of the mohawk fashion because the size of the rollers I used were pretty small. It was actually all pretty messy, and i missed a couple of hair strands here and there. also, some of the sections weren’t as tight as I wanted them to be, but it’s only my first time.

First crappy rollerset

I sat under the dry for about an hour on high, but got tired and decided to take a break. I ended up taking a nap (face down so the rollers were safe), for about an hour, and when I woke up they were dry. I went under the dryer again for ten more minutes just to make sure, then proceeded to take the rollers out. The curls were very small and pronounced, since the set was a small one. I really need to invest in bigger ones, since I’m not a fan of the tight curl look. They were also a little hard, but I think that was because of the protein that I added (the cantu shea butter and the aphogee green tea restructurizer). Next time I’ll settle for just the Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in and see how that goes. I brushed them out and put my hair into a ponytail, which made a cute style, I think.

I do enjoy that my ends came out very smooth, which is a huge improvement from my last two tries. I have to attribute this to the advice I got from ECPrincess about keeping my hair wet. Also, my new growth is a lot more stretched than usual, which will be great and easier to handle during the week.

Semi-stretched new growth

All in all, the rollerset was ok, but I can’t wait to continue gaining experience and perfecting my rollersetting ability.