Liebster Award Nominee

This morning, I see that Random Nesha listed me as one of her nominees. I just want to say that I really appreciate the love that she and the rest of you give my blog. I am grateful for the interactions and the communications. Healthy hair has become a big part of my life, like an extreme hobby, lol. But it is so wonderful to have people to discuss my love with. SO, with that, thanks to all subscribers of my page.

I see that there is a list that comes with accepting the nomination. So, here are the rules"

1. Each person must post 11 random things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions that the tagger set for you.
3. Choose 11 bloggers who you would like to give the award too.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you have tagged with the award to answer.

So, here is the list of Random things about LEX!
1. I have no tattoos.
2. My favorite color is PURPLE.
3. I am a member of a sorority (Zeta Phi Beta).
4. I only have one brother, and we look nothing alike. I am darker than him. He is extremely tall, and I am so short. BUT all of our moles and birthmarks are in the same exact spots on our bodies. o_O lol
5. I am in love with Mocassins!
6. I love tribal jewelry.
7. I make most of my jewelry.
8. I love to sew and paint.
9. I am in a relationship with my best friend.
10. My boyfriend and I live five hours away from each.


My Nominated Questionaire!
1. What do you want enjoy about blogging?
---I really enjoy reading other blogs and blog posts, ESPECIALLY ones that are so similar to my story.
2. What guilty pleasure makes your day go right?
---My guilty pleasure is a good cup of sweet coffee, a hot cookie or a cold glass or milk.
3. Who is your hair influence?
---My hair influence is anyone who has worked hard to get her hair from a horrible and devastating state to absolute luciousness. So, any and all ladies with this kind of struggle.
4. Do you have kids?
---I have zero kids.
5. What do you want to be when you grow up?
---When I was a little girl, all I wanted to be a was judge. Now, all I ever want to do is work in the medical or dental field.
6. What's your favorite fruit?
---My favorite fruit is watermelon.
7. What's your favorite vacation spot?
---If I am at home and in the bed, that is all of the vacation spot I need.
8. What charity would you like to contribute to?
---American Cancer Society
9. What would like to see change about the world?
----More acceptance
10. What's your favorite season?
---Fall
11. If you could go on a date with any person in the world, who would it be?
---but Sydney Portier from back in the day...hmm, hmm, hmm!!! (I sound creepy, lol.)

Here are my Nominees!!!
1. Wura's Secret Hair
2. Longing4Length
3. My Long Hair Journey
4. DessyGT
5. Caught Between A Cream and Curl
6. Blutiful Blaq
7. Wishful Lengths
8. The Bliss List
9. The Jen Chronicles
10. Just Grow Already
11. Courtnea 2001

Ladies who I have nominated, here are the questions I have made up for you to answer!!! HAVE FUN!!!

1. What is your favorite place to get away from everything?
2. What was your favorite subject in high school and/or college?
3. What is article of clothing will you immediately notice if missing out of your closet?
4. What accessory are dying to have right now?
5. What do you have planned for your hair next week?
6. Do you have pets?
7. Do you have any talents?
8. What is something you have to check at least ten times a day?
9. Who is your hair crush?
10. What is that one hair product would break your heart if removed from stores?

 

REVIEW & Comparison - Queen Helene and Proclaim Cholesterol Conditioning Creams

Hello, ladies. I woke up this morning and decided that I wanted to finally do an itty bitty review on my cholesterol conditioning creams. I have been using Queen Helene for about two years. BUT I went to Sally's about a month ago, and saw the Proclaim Cholesterol. I really wanted to try it just for comparison. So, I bought it and tried it out for a while, and I believe that I am ready to review and compare the two.
I will be reviewing and comparing these products as a pre-poo and a DC.

This product has been in my regimen for a couple of years. A friend of mine introduced this to me. She told me that this product gives her hair alot of body and makes her hair soft. I let her put the product in my hair. She told me that the best results would be achieved if I applied this product into my hair like a relaxer. The first time I used this product, I was excited about the over all results of the products. BUT, I did not get the same results when doing it on my own. BUMMER!

When I am using this product on my own, I have come a across my own regimen as far as applying it. I have used this product as a DC. I have applied this product as a DC on both wet and dry hair. This product, in my opinion, is wonderful when going on to dry hair. I have been disappointed everytime I put it on wet hair. When I apply this to dry hair, I used to just plan that wash to be a cowash day. I will apply this product on my hair, root to end. I will sit under a dryer or let it sit with no heat for a couple of hours. I will get great results after rinsing. But when this product is put on my wet hair, my hair always seem to feel like it is dry. I hate that. So, I try not to put this product on wet hair. This product, in my opinion, is extremely hard to wash out. I am always missing spots, and I mean huge spots. It takes about five to seven washes to wash this out. By that time, my hair really gets stripped, and I feel like I have wasted time, effort, money and product.
I really love the smell of this product. I do not know how to articulate the smell into words, but it is good smell.
This product costs about $3 at the dollar store. I do not live in a big town, but I do have local dollar stores only minutes away. So, it is great that I can run out and get this product immediately.


PROS:
-I love the smell.
-This product is readily available at your nearest dollar store.
-This product is reasonably priced.

CONS:
-This product does not mix well with oils.
-This product has left my hair dry on several occasions.
-This product is drying with heat.

When I first bought this product, I had this overwhelming feeling to use it as a pre-poo. But I decided to try it as a DC first. This product works wonderfully as a DC. I have used it on wet and dry hair. I have had the same experience: moisturized hair with no drying.
When working this product as a pre-poo, I like to mix this product by itself with oils. It has worked wonderful this way.
I have also have manipulated this product into a light protein: a dollop of this product, hair mayo and oils. This mixture has yet to disappoint me.

PROS:
-This product mixes well with oils.
-It is extremely inexpensive.
-This product has yet to leave my hair dry.
-This product works well with heat.
-Four dollars can buy me a 32 oz jar.
-This product is more effective penetrating product.

CONS:
-I hate the smell.
-I have to drive at least 30 minutes to get this product (location problem on my end, I guess, lol).


IN CONCLUSION, I believe that I will use the Proclaim Cholesterol than the Queen Helene. I have this full jar of it over here. I will use this product as a PRE-POO, and try to get rid of this product faster. Other than that, I hate to say goodbye to a product that I have been so faithful to, but life does go on. Lol. To be honest, after one wash with the Proclaim, I knew that Queen Helene did not stand a chance. I am going to use this last jar of it to try to see if I can get better usage out of it as a mixture product instead of a straight product. If this succeeds, only then is where there is still hope for the Queen Helene.

Sunday Random Hair Chat #5 - Critcs Versus My HHJ

When I first started my HHJ, I didn't get any support. My mother wasn't feeling it. Alot of my family was wondering what was wrong with my hair. When I first started, I was in that novice stage. I was learning styles and tryinng to find myself in my HHJ. I lost alot of support. People were telling me that I shouldn't be walking around looking wild by the head. But I saw braid outs and twist outs as beautiful styles. No else did. No one could understand why I stretched my relaxer so long. "4 to 6 weeks is plenty." The comment I continued to get was YOUR HAIR IS GOING TO FALL OUT WAITING THAT LONG FOR A RELAXER. I was extremely tired of the comments, but they kepy coming. Family and friends alike do not believe that hair can grow past SL and APL. That is the capping off point.

People seem to fail to realize that my hair was extremely long before. I mean, WL. Did we forget that? Sadly, I did not appreciate my hair and decided to cut all of that hair off. I have been trying to get back to length for the longest, to no avail. Four long years on this HHJ and my hair has done little progression as far as length. I told my mother and my brother that I was going to grow my hair back to where it used to be. They scoffed in my face and told me that it would never happen. Since that convo, I have never brought up growing my hair back down my back again. I am just dreaming silently. I rather they see the proof for themselves. It will happen, one day.

I have been experiencing with roller sets for about a year. That has gotten my fam somewhat off of my back about how my hair looks. I would love to hide my hair for a month of two, but my family was like, YOU HAVE ALL OF THAT HAIR; YOU SHOULD JUST GET YOUR REAL HAIR DONE INSTEAD OF WEARING WEAVE. Being that they do not understand the benefits of hiding hair, I just let them talk. They have been the biggest part of why I do not wear weave  to do this day.

Critics are out there ready to throw salt on everything you stand for. Just today, I was talking to someone about me going off to do something in the medical field. Her response was that I am too old and I might as well settle down and find me a job now. Critics, boy. They will not stop until they bring you down to their level. But my mind and my dreams are too high to be brought down to average level. That goes for hair, careers, talents, whatever. If you have thick hides and skins, good for you. But I was born with a sensitive skin and my heart on my sleeve. So when the critics began to talk, I was really offended and really hurt by the comments. But eventually the thick skin grew, and I have been able to handle also everything that has been thrown at me.

My advice to anyone: please do not give up. Please continue to dream, but dream silently. You will never know how much more silent the critics are when you are actually doing your thing undercover. By the time they realize you were up to something, it will already be in full fruition. So, good luck and continue to grow.

Wash Day at 10 weeks post (sprucing up my salon style)

I paid $30 for this style. My stylist told me that it will last for about 2 weeks. After five days, my hair really needed some TLC. One, my curls were completely destroyed. Two, I was starting to get an itchy scalp. Three, my hair was hard, dry and dull-looking. Four, I was not ready to deal with my hair yet.

PLEASE EXCUSE THE LOOK ON MY FACE!!! I LOOK SO CRAZY, LOL. BUT I AM SICK AND SPENT ALL DAY AT THE DOCTOR'S THE PREVIOUS DAY, SO I AM RUNNING OFF LITTLE STEAM. I HAVE SOME REALLY BAD BUG THAT COULD TURN INTO THE FLU ON PNEUMONIA AT ANYTIME. I STILL LOOK CREEPY!!!! I WAS NOT GOING TO LET EITHER ONE OF THOSE ILLNESSES HIT ME WITH ME LOOKING LIKE THIS, BWHAHAHA! I ALREADY WENT TO THE DOCTOR LIKE THIS, BUT I PINNED MY HAIR DOWN TO LOOK A LITTLE LESS SCARY.

The only good thing that my hair had going for it is that my twists were holding up mighty nice. YES!

MY TWISTS LOOK REALLY GOOD AFTER FIVE DAYS. PLUS, I HAVE BEEN RELYING THIS SIDE TO SLEEP COMFORTABLY.

 So, today, I decided that I was going to wash my hair, the side with the curls, not my entire head. So, here is my wash day:

1. I decided that a pre-poo was in order. I got a dollop of Proclaim Cholesterol Conditioning Creme, a couple of drops of JBCO and a couple of drops of EVOO and rub it in my hands. I apply this all over my once curly hair. I bagged my hair for about thirty minutes and rinsed. My hair felt so good after rinsing, soft and manageable.

2. I shampoo'ed my hair using the Salon Care Honey and Almond Moisturizing Shampoo I mentioned in a previous post. Man, that stuff smells great. While lathering that stuff onto my scalp, I could feel my scalp becoming so clean with stripping my hair. After an amazing shampooing, I rinsed this out (review on this product in a few weeks).

3. I conditioned my hair with Suave Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner and rinsed. My hair felt alive and like butter. No more hard hair for me. The picture of my wet hair is before I detangled.

4. After my conditioning, I used the following products: Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea Spray, ORS Setting lotion diluted with water, Dark and Lovely moisturizing leave-in conditioner, aloe vera and Tressemme Heat Protectant.
-I sprayed the Green Tea Spray lightly over my hair.
-I sprayed my hair with setting lotion all over, including my twists.
-I applied aloe vera to my edges and my twists to refresh them.
-I sprayed the leave-in conditioner lightly over my hair, concentrating on my ends, to help with detangling.
-I carefully rodded my hair on orange cold rods.
-After rodding, I sprayed my hair with Tressemme Heat Protectant.

DRYING TIME! Boy, I was ready to come out from under there. After 30 minutes, I needed a break. I took a 20 minute break and was back under there for another torturing 30 minutes. What was bad was there was this one naked spot on my scalp that seemed like it was getting all of the heat. It was so uncomfortable. I was hoping this last 30 minutes would do the trick. WRONG! 40 minutes more, totaling at 1 hour and 10 minutes. AND MY HAIR STILL WAS NOT DRY!!!

Finally, it was dry. I took my hair down, apply alittle holding spray on it and got under the dryer for five additional minutes. I pinned pieces of my hair back. HERE ARE THE RESULTS:

It is not as full as it was when I left the salon five days ago, BUT my hair looks alot better than that above photo, lol. I am extremely happy with what I cam up with. My curls are soft and bouncy. My hair is extremely clean, plus my scalp. No more itchy scalp. I am exxtremely happy. I could not tell if my hair is damaged by the detangling of the stylist. I will know next week. I am going to practice twisitng my hair at home and see if I can get this style at home. It stays off my clothes. Its extremely youthful. NO COMBING! If I would anything different, I would use more rollers to achieve a fuller look.
I will review the shampoo that I used in a few weeks.

I believe that I am going to start doing a post on every week on a wash day.
I may be sick, but my hair looks sicker (in a good way). Enjoy your Sunday.

OH! Be on the lookout for This Sunday's Hair Chat. It is coming up soon.

10 weeks post today!!! 2 more weeks to go! Ramble, Ramble, Ramble!

Today, I am 10 weeks post. I haven't been this long without a relaxer in a while. What would happen is that I would get between 6 to 8 weeks and feel obligated to relax. So, this is the first time this year that I have made it to 10 weeks. Yay, me! I am so happy. If you have been keeping up with my blog, I have decided that I will not relax my hair no sooner than 12 weeks. I would like to be able to tell what is NG and what is previously relaxed hair without difficulty. Unstretched, I believe that I have about 3/4 of an inch of NG. I have been consistently using my JBCO. My mother has slacked, and I believe that her hair is going to start slipping back because she isn't trying to take care of it anymore.

I haven't wrote a rambling post in a minute, so what has been new with me. Well, first I had purchased a few things from Sally's. One of these things being a drying bonnet that attaches to the hand dryer. #Fail The stupid thing would not stop coming off my head. It was a horrible investment: 12 dollars. So, I dug up my receipt and returned it. Instead of getting my money back, I decided to buy this industrial bottle of moisurizing shampoo that my stylist used on my hair. It smelt so good, and I wanted that salon hair feeling at home. So, I bought a huge container of Salon Care Almond and Honey Moisturizing Shampoo...10 bucks. I am going to try it for a month, and I will give a review on it some late December or early January.

I have also bought a container of Cantu Shea Butter Leave In conditioner. I used to use this product before, but I didn't have much success with it. Now that I am alittle more hair knowledgeable, I believe that I can work this in my regimen and achieve maximum results with this. I will do a review on how I incoporate this in my leave-in, moisturizer and baggy treatment. All of this will be in future reviews.

It has been five days since I have gotten my hair professionally done. My curls have fallen and they are looking kind of rough. I am actually going to refresh my hair in a few hours and I will have a separate post, showing before and after pictures. I am trying to keep this style up for two weeks total, so I have one week and two days to go.

I am also thinking of a few protective styles that I can do for an upcoming challenge at the beginning of the year. I have been putting alot of thought into it, because the likely hood of me using weave in my hair during this challeng is going to be slim. Also, because buns do not look flattering on me, the likelihood of me using them as a protective style EVER is even more slim. So, I have been thinking of a few things.

Well, I hope this hasn't been a boring post, but I rarely get to ramble. As you can see, my mind is all over the place.
OH! In about ten days, be on the look out for my relaxer prep wash day.
Also, then, I will see if my hair survived the rough detangling.

Well, Happy Hair Growing!!!

Sunday Random Hair Chat #4 - I used to be an ugly duckling

So, this post is slowly going to turn into a hair post. Bear with me.

That is a horrible thing to say about yourself, I USED TO BE AN UGLY DUCKLING... but its true.
I used to be a very insecure; insecure about my looks, my personality, my choice in friends, my choice in boyfriends. It never seemed like what I did appeared great in anyone's eyes, family included. My choices were not to be trusted. I still do not know why.

I always tried to fit in, but at the time the girls were into different hair styles and makeup, and mother didn't allow these certain things within the house hold. Since I wasn't apart of that trend, my look was all wrong in the eyes of others. So, I later began to have this overwhelming feeling that my entire look and appearance was wrong, so my self-esteem suffered. My friends weren't cool. My BFs weren't cool. They were all "nerds", lol. We played video games and did our homework and talked about "nonpopular" things, so we were looked upon as outcasts. I envied my friends's ability to not care what others think. I begged them for their secret, but they constantly told me that you have to let it all go and let it all roll off your back. Me being me, I couldn't accept that as an answer. I felt like there was magical word or phrase I could say to make all of the bad feelings and negative thoughts go away. But there wasn't. So, still I sunk into this dungeon of despair that was within my own mind.


Some people told me that I tried to hard, but that was only to please everyone because I didn't want anyone against. My biggest fear in grade school was to have a negative comment said about me. Boy, I was really reaching then because everyday was a struggle to keep the tears from falling from all the hurtful things that were said to me on a daily basis. I had bullies, tons of bullies. Boys and girls used to terrorize and torture me. I could never shake. It was always a negative comment. It was always something I could never do right.

All of this was hell on my self esteem. When I tell you it has suffered, you can't find a band-aid big enough to shield my wounds. I have stories on top of stories. One story is that family used to dog me about my hair. My hair could never stay in a neat style because my hair was so frizzy and bushy and would draw up. I really didn't care about the upkeep of  my hair and my family reminded me everyday of how I would look by the head: crazy. From hair not looking to hot...came why I didn't look like I was growing up, lol. Pretty much, I was a late bloomer. While everyone was hitting puberty and into boys and clothes and makeup, I was still trying to make that one good friend, trying to experience a relationship for the first time, trying to learn how to comb and style my hair.

You will not believe what I began to do. I purposedly made myself look homely, I purposedly start to slack on things I would do and I slowly began to appear as what they said I already looked like. Pretty much, I molded myself into the very things they told me that I was: lame looking, not cute, nerdy, below average. I couldn't believe that my actual self was so bad, so I started to become what they already thought of me. Its sounds extremely crazy, but the comments didn't hurt that bad because there was no way I could be this without physically making myself appear this way. So, I began to see then that I was not really what they thought of me.

Still, the bullying pressed on. I had this boy who was my biggest bully. He used to hold me down and sit on top of me. He used to throw my things out of the bus window. He would say horrible things about my face, which was my weak spot. I suffered from horrible acne. He told me that my entire face looked like a yeast infection. OH! He made me crack that day. I was one big ball of emotions, crying and fighting. I really didn't get anywhere fighting, but he had saw me cry and I was so mad at myself when I cried in front of him. He and his other band of bully friends saw that my face was a sensitive subject. So they continue to talk about my face, and they were going in hard, lol. The comments were getting worse and worse. I didn't shed one tear in front of them, but after I endured all of that, I would go to the bathroom and cry it all out. It was only so long that I could hold it.

There was another girl who used to call me an ugly little girl, and she used to beat me so bad on the bus. I have never said anything to this girl, but she would beat me hard with her fists. For no reason. That was the saddest thing about this case, this girl did not have one reason to hit me. But it never failed, she would hit me.

One day a girl cut my hair in class for no reason at all. I was so upset, but I felt like there was nothing I could do, because she dared me to get in her face for all the things she dished out. So, I stayed quiet, dying emotionally on the inside. My heart was crying out for a chance to get over whatever it was I was going through.
But I couldn't shake it. I accepted my place and title: ugly duckling. I felt like I was being beat because I was this horrible looking thing. Beat the outcast, I would think to myself. That must have been what they were doing, beating up the individual that did not belong.

After I admitted to myself  that I was an ugly duckling, it became so much easier to deal with the bullying I went through. Its like math. You can try and try and try. But when you admit to yourself that you are not good at math, it becomes easier for you to become more receptive. The same went for this. After it appeared that it didn't faze me anymore, some people began to subside with all of that crap. I was able to go through my junior and senior year in high school with little issues. My self esteem slightly got better. I discovered this nonchalant attitude that has stuck with me. Its more like, "Your opinion is your opinion but it isn't my reality," mindset. It really helped me through those last couple of years. My feelings about my appearance did not change, but I was not going to let anyone's opinion of me shake me....or at least appear that it has shaken me.

When I began my freshman year of college, people from pre-college assumed that I was "re-inventing" myself because they couldn't recognize me. It was far from that. I was finally allowing ME to come out. I let the Alexis that was shielded by so much pain and embarassment free. I love my personality. I went through what I went through and I have became such a compassionate person. I have so much compassion that I feel bad when basketball and football games are blowouts. I hate it so bad for either team that is losing so horribly. I have such a soft spot for people who have been bullied. Of course it hits home for me. People tell me I have a humble personality, that I am extremely modest. I allowed the creative, inspiring, motivating me emerge from the shells of my broken spirit. Once I hit the hearts of receptive souls, I have yet to look back. Actually, I just left. Truth is, I think about all of those people who hurt me all the time. Ex-BFs, Ex-BFFs, bullies, family. I hate how they did me, but I have to admit, they have became my stepping stones to a better me. They will never know that I have thought so much of them were they have became a constant reminder that I have to pick up the pieces of what I call a person. The wounds they cut so deep help mold me. But where are they now?

The girl who cut my hair went on to have a baby by a guy who doesn't want anything to do with her. She bounces from job to job. Her baby is beautiful, though. I do speak to her every now and then. No further conversation.

The girl who used to push and beat me on the bus...well, in a grocery store about two years ago, she said in so many words that she was sorry for what she did. She has actually done ok for herself. 2 kids and a great husband.

My most biggest bully of them all....jail, for a long time. After being in jail for four years, I decided to write him September of this year. He told me that he cried when he saw the one person who he knew he absolutely tortured in school who be the one  AND ONLY ONE to write him. I have forgiven him.

I have forgiven them all. There is no way that I can harbor in hate in my heart all of these years. The urge is strong to do so, but won't they win in the end if I do so? Will I have not learned anything from the lessons that were put before me? The way I see it, I was the perfect person for this mission of God. I hope I passed his test, or continue to pass it or will eventually pass it.

All I know is that I once considered myself an ugly duckling. I couldn't bare to look into a mirror. I  believed all the comments that were said to me. I believe that my reality was to feel like crap. In the end, I feel like it was meant for me to go through this to learn my self-worth. I am grateful for this lesson. I once was an ugly duckling. Slowly, I began to feel better about myself. The one thing that makes me feel so good is my hair. I have this long, thick hair that makes me feel so pretty and so feminine. When people from my past see me, the first thing they see and talk about is my hair. My hair has not made me, but it has made me feel  better about myself. I realized that if I am going to take care of my hair like this, I am going to need to take care of all of me like that, inside and out. I have never felt better and I am hoping for even more greatness in the future.

Being an ugly duckling was my past, but it definitely do not have to my constant reality.

Wash Day

Five days ago, I decided to wash my hair using a new regimen. You can find my revised regimen here. I decided that I wanted to try out one part of my regimen last week, which was the Co-Wash Regimen. If you haven't had a chance to read up on them, click the previously mentioned links.

It was time for a good wash. My hair was really greasy and oily from the moisturizing, sealing, baggying, JBCO, I think that's everything. LOL, I have been doing alot. When I washed my hair last week using the Co-wash method, I experienced stronger hair immediately after washing. My strands were not stretching and stretching and stretching. After my hair was dried, from day 1 to 5 I experienced ZERO snapping/breaking hairs. I was and still am extremely thrilled. I would love to make this a consistent reality for me. So, I am going to continue with my regimen that has proven in the first week that this is the best decision for me and my hair. This week calls for my shampoo wash.

1. I started off with rinsing my scalp under warm/hot water. The water was extremely cloudy while I rinsed (TMI, lol). My hair was extremely gross feeling, so I totally expected it. My hair felt light immediately after the rinse. My hair did not feel limp or weak here.

2. I mixed 1 ounce of my shampoo with 5 five ounces of water. I mixed well and applied the mixture to my scalp with an application bottle. I rinsed with warm water. My hair felt great. My scalp felt better. It felt amazing. My hair felt strong here, too.

3. In my mixing bowl, I added one egg, 1 tablespoon of JBCO and 1 tablespoon of moisturizing conditioner. I mixed well and applied this mixture to my entire hair. This was left on for 20 minutes and was rinsed out with cool water.

4. I applied my cheapie conditioner to my hair, concentrated on my ends and rinsed with cool water.

5. I applied my DC, this week it is ORS Replenishing Pak. I applied to my hair and put on a plastic cap. I left it on with no heat for an 55 minutes. I did 5 minutes under my hand dryer bonnet (I made a huge mistake buying that). I rinsed with cool water.

6. I applied my leave-in, Dark and Lovely Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner. I put ten 7/8" size flexi rods in my hair. I am very disappointed in the quality of this flexi rods. My flexi rods do not bend in all the way where my hair is secured. I had to put ouchless hair ties around each one. I paid almost nine dollars for these flexi rods, so why can they not do their job. UGH! (If anyone wants to give me any advice on these rods, I would appreciate it.)

7. Drying time!

I spent 30 minutes under the dryer, did some homework and went to sleep.

 

 

The next day, I took the flexi rods out and fluffed my hair a little. This is the results:

 

 

It is no different than any other flexi rod set I have done before, but once again, my hair feels very strong. I did not have to handle my wet hair like before. Before I used to be EXTREMELY baby soft with my hair. Now, I feel like I can ease up alittle. I am still careful, but my hair does not stretch like it used to and my does not snap/break like it used to. I am extremely satisfied. This has been the second week in a row where my hair has felt so strong and healthy. I believe that my shrinkage is at 1/2 inch and an inch stretched. I am either going to relax in four weeks or six weeks. I would love it if I can get more NG.

 

Thanks for reading!!!

Sunday Random Hair Chat #3 - One Sided Hair

Does EVERY woman deals with the issue where one side flourished while the other side drags around. Yea, I certainly do. LOL! I used to be so pissed. At first, I was ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that wrapping was the cause of my hair thick/thinner on sides. So, I stopped wrapping and began wearing rollers to bed. Instead, my hair has continued to be in this odd rat race, one side blooms while the other side is plays catch up. I also wanted to concluded that it was that I slept more on one side than the other. But then I caught up to what side I was sleeping on, and it was opposite of my problem side. UGH! What is really going on?! LOL. I thought It was the way I was wearing my hair. Nope. To be honest, I am still lost. I have no idea what it could be. Before my HHJ, when one side was shorter than the other side, I would cut both side even. When cutting my front even, I had to take off a lot of length. In doing so, I have regrettably  allowed my back to reach nearly APL and my front is not quite touch my shoulders. It has been a struggle because my hair does not look as thick with my sides so short. It has been countless times where I have wanted to gut my entire head the length of my sides so my hair can look thick and even. But I would lose SO MUCH LENGTH :-( SO, with a heavy heart, I have yet to cut my hair, BUT there is an overwhelming feeling to do so.

My mother's hair is one sided, also. But her hair is one sided in the back. I know why my mom's hair is like that. My mother does not comb her hair out from end to root. She starts at the root and combs/detangles going down instead of working her way up. The result being that my mom's hair has thinned in the back on one side more than another.

Is your hair one sided, too? Tell me about it. What do you think has caused your hair to get this way? What are you doing to prevent it?

Revised Regimen with details

I was asked to give a detailed schedule of my regimen. So, here it is. I hope that it is understandable.


SHAMPOO DAY (every alternating week from CO WASH DAY)
- I rinse my entire head of warm/hot water with no product. By doing this, I preparing my scalp for effective cleansing.
- I apply my diluted shampoo (2 TBS shampoo/1 cup water mixture) directly to my scalp, massage, rinse and repeat.
- I apply my egg mixture (1 egg/1 TBS oil/1 2TBS conditioner) to my my entire hair, concentrating on my ends and length. This stays on for 15-20 minutes and rinse.
- I apply my conditioner (cheapie conditioner) to my hair, concentrating on my ends and length and rinse with cool water.
- I apply my DC (cholestrol conditioner or light protein conditioner or water based moisturizing conditioner). I leave this on anywhere between 1 hour to 4 hours and rinse with cool water.
- I t-shirt dry my hair until it is anywhere between 50-80% dry.
- I apply my Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin Spray.
- I apply my water based moisturizing leave in conditioner. I will seal this leave in with an oil.
- I will either style or allow hair to continue to air dry.


CO-WASH DAY (every alternating week from SHAMPOO DAY)
- I apply my ACV mixture (1 TBS ACV, 1 cup water) directly my scalp. After 5 minutes, I will rinse my scalp with warm water.
- I apply my conditioner (cheapie conditioner) to my hair, concentrating on my ends and length and rinse with cool water.
- I apply my DC (cholesterol conditioner or light protein conditioner or water based moisturizing conditioner). I leave this on anywhere between 1 hour to 4 hours and rinse with cool water.
- I tshirt dry my hair until it is anywhere between 1 hour to 4 hours and rinse with cool water.
- I apply my water based moisturizing leaving conditioner. I will seal this leave in with an oil.
- I will either style or allow hair to continue to air dry.

I dust every six months.
I trim once a year.
I (am starting to) relax every 12 weeks. (Before it was every 8 weeks.) (ORS Normal Relaxer)
I am currently taking Biotin 1000 mg three times a day.
I am currently taking an adult multi vitamin.
I use direct heat once a month.
I (am starting to) baggy/greenhouse effect method three to four times a week. (Before it was once a month.)


*Products tend to vary due availability in stores


One thing people should know is that I do not put my hair on a schedule. I only wash my hair once a week. Washing my hair more than once a week strips my hair, regardless of the amount of moisture I put back into it. I rather work smarter and not harder. Meaning, I rather wash my hair once a week with ease and use less product than wash two or more a week, apply additional product in my hair while it is costing me more time. Others may wash their hair more than once a week, but my hair thanks me for only washing once a week. Isn't the purpose of a HHJ is learn to listen to what your hair is saying and adjust accordingly? Well, that is what I have taken from this experience.

I hope this is more clarifying. Thanks for reading.

I am relaxing every three months, but why???

I have found myself slipping: sneaking a relaxer in at 6 and 7 weeks post. The temptation to relax my hair can get extremely great. It is so hard to shake it sometimes. I have found myself wetting my hair when the going gets really tough where I am dressed with shoes on and keys in my hands headed to go get a relaxer. To avoid relaxing prematurely, I have wet my hair numerous times in the nick of time. Call it crazy, but it keeps me going one more week until I get that urge again.

Another thing that causes me to relax early is my mother. My mother hates when I stretch. She thinks that I am being lazy when my hair is not straight and crisp, every hair in place. When I relax her hair, I find her ridiculing me about how she can comb through her hair and I can't. Truth is, she cannot comb through her hair without my help, if we want to be technical, lol. So, peer pressuse has caused me to relax.

Sometimes, I just miss my straight hair. I will miss wrapping my hair. I will miss tamed hair. So, that will cause me to relax, too.

When I relax under 8 weeks, I have this overwhelming feeling of guilt that comes over me. I would feel like that I have let me and my hair down. But I have now decided to never relax under 3 months or 12 weeks, however you would like to put it.

One reason why is because I hardly can tell how much NG I really have.
Another reason why is because the more weeks I am, the more I can tell exactly what I am relaxing.
Last reason why is that I have this goal to relax four times a year.

And that is pretty much it.

My 2 month Strength Challenge!!!

In the last two posts, I have been talking about doing one of my own challenges. Anyone is more than welcome to jump on the bandwagon. I am on a mission for the next 7 to 8. This mission mainly pertains to strength. To be honest, my hair does not seem to be the strongest. If anything, my hair seems really weak. My strands can pull and pull and pull. My hair seems to snap really easy. With this last wash, I have not noticed any of this. I am so grateful that I am learning how to do better by my hair.

I am looking for stronger hair, which is healthier hair which gives me longer hair. You cannot grow longer, UNHEALTHY hair, right? Well, at least I can't, lol.

I am going to DC every week.
I am going to use moisturizing and conditioning leave-ins only.
I am going to take biotin every day.
I am going incorporate eggs in my washes.
I am going to do protein DC.
I am going to do my aphogee sprays.
I am going to do my hair mayo treatments.

It is extremely simple. I cannot wait to get started and to really notice a difference with my hair. This challenge will end Thursday, January 2nd 2013.
Good luck to every one who is striving for better hair!!!

Wash day - Renewed Regimen

If you have read my previous post, you would know that I have changed my regimen up. I feel like I have made a great decision about my hair. So, I have decided to try this regimen out last night. I shampooed my hair last week, so this week I decided to use the ACV rinse.

I used an applicator bottle like this with two tablespoonfuls of ACV and and a cup of water. I mixed well, and say hello to my shampoo alternative. I will be using this product every other week. For the other weeks, I will be using diluted shampoo. My goal is to get down on my hair being stripped to where it is brittle. So, applied the very tip of this bottle to my scalp and started applying the ACV rinse to my scalp only. Immediately after I applied it to my scalp, I had this overwelming clean feeling hit me. That was before I even rinsed. So, I let it stay on my scalp for about five minutes to open my open my pores and shaft so that I can get every crevice possible. I, then, rinsed with warm water. My scalp felt so good.

Next, I applied Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner to my hair. Talking about wonderful. My hair has never felt so good. I made sure I coated my hair good with this stuff. I see already that I am going to be using this alot on my Co-Wash days. I rinsed with cold water and my hair felt like butter. I allowed my hair to towel dry, and I applied my DC.

I am using the Queen Helene Cholesterol Deep Conditioning Cream. I sectioned my hair off in two parts. I concentrated on my ends and worked up my length to my roots. I bantu'ed both sections, secured them and clamped them secure. I DC'ed for an hour and rinsed with cold water. My hair has never felt that good from using that conditioner. I couldn't believe that this was my hair. I put a tshirt on my head and waited for my hair to dry up. At about 50% dry, I decided to apply my leave ins. First, I wanted to see how my hair did after all of this moisture. I pulled on a few of my wet strands. My hair did not stretch. It did not break. My hair was perfect, at least to me. I didn't feel like I had to be baby soft with my hair. For the first time, I didn't feel like my hair was too delicate to work with. It was a great feeling. So, I applied my Dark and Lovely Leave In Moisturizing Conditioner. I applied it to the ends and the roots. Next, I applied a new product that I am using: Dark and Lovely Moisture Hair Creme. It is a moisturizer. So I applied a small amount from root to ends, really concentrating on the ends. Next, I followed up with coconut oil for shine. Last, I put my hair into six flexi rods.  

 

 

This next photo is a texture photo of my roots. I am about to be 8 weeks post.

 

 

 

These are my curls before I pulled them a loose.

 

 

And here is the end results!

 

So, my flexi rod set is no different than any other set I have done. But my new mission is strength. And from what I have seen with this first wash, I believe that I am on the right path. In the next post, I will talk about how I am going to be doing one of my self challenges, which is a strength challenge. I will only concentrate on strength for the last 7-8 weeks that are remaining in the year of 2012.

I am very happy with my results. My hair is pretty moisturized, but roots are dry. So, I will moisturize and seal my roots tonight and bag my hair for about twenty minutes before I go to bed.

So be on the look out for that post tomorrow. Join me if you like!

Starting A New Regimen

I have been doing some additional research about hair care. Last night, I watched a few youtube videos and ended up making a list of things to pick up today. So, I got up today and went to my local BSS and bought a mixing bowl and a couple of applicator bottles. I also got my a 100% boar bristle brush. So, not a huge load, but it was over ten bucks. So, I am done shopping for the week, lol. I try not to spend too much money on my HHJ at one time. I do have other responsibilities, lol. So, I only hair-shop once a month. This is a mini hair haul, so at the end of the month, I will be right back at the BSS, lol.
I went to the BSS for the sole reason of revamping my regimen. I have realized that my regimen is simple and great, for someone who isn't that serious about hair health and length. I am extremely serious, so I realized that I needed to make a few changes.
For one, I believe that I am going to have to cut down the amount of times I shampoo my hair. I have officially decided that I am going to shampoo my hair every other week and I will do a apple cider vinger rinse the other weeks.
The reason for the applicator bottles that I purchased, I applied two tablespoons of ACV with a cup of water in this bottle. I will be applying my rinse like this. I rather not put it in the spray bottle because I am not interested in applying to my hair, rather just my scalp. The other bottle will be my diluted shampoo, my ordinary shampoo with the rest filled with water. I am trying to prevent as much drying, natural oil stripping, etc. from my hair.
I usually do not DC once a week, but I realized that my hair is in desperate need of it. When I touch my NG, its sounds like someone is kicking fallen leaves during the winter time. I AM SO SERIOUS! I am extremely embarrassed. So, I am trying to work as much moisture I can into my regimen. I have bought a new moisturizer that I am going review on next month. It is by Dark and Lovely. I am going to buy an additional leave-in conditioner/creme.
I am going to start applying eggs to my regimen, also. I have read someone's blog post and done further research about the benefits of eggs. My goal for my hair the rest of this year is strength, so I believe that eggs will help me here. I believe that I am going to incorporate eggs in my regimen every other week. I am also planning to do lots of DC mixes and masks, so I believe that my new mixing bowl will come in handy.
I bought my boar brush because I wanted a safer brush to use on my hair, and I must say that it is best brush I have ever had. I am talking about my 100% boar bristle brush. When I went to BSS, I was look for a small brush because I wanted it to be the tool I used when I am flat-ironning. I read that brushes help straighten hairs better than combs will when flat-ironning. I will do a post about that when I try this out. But the brush is like a little taste of heaven. It is so soft, and I do not have to put no pressure on it at all when I am brushing my edges. I am so happy that I made that purchase. I want to throw away my old brush now. NOTHING compares to my new found treasure.
As of right now, I am not sure of what products I am keeping and what products I am replacing. But I do have a great idea of what my new and improved hair regimen will look like. So, below is my new reg:

FIRST WEEK:
-Rinse scalp clean with warm water
-use diluted shampoo and rinse
-egg mixture for 20 minutes and rinse
-condition hair and rinse
-DC hair for an hour and rinse
-air dry hair
-apply leave in
-apply oils
-style hair

SECOND WEEK:
-apply ACV mixture and rinse
-condition hair and rinse
-DC hair for an hour and rinse
-air dry hair
-apply leave in
-apply oils
-style hair
RELAXERS - no sooner than every 3 months

This is pretty much it. Its a big change, but it is still extremely simple. My goal is for stronger, healthier and longer hair. But that is going to be a later post. I have tried out the ACV as we speak, and my very next post will be of how I am applying my new regimen to my hair. I am hoping for great results. I am super excited. I am sitting here with my flexi rods in now. While I am getting ready for work, I will blogging and taking pictures of everything. OOH!
The next post will be up in a few hours!!!
I can hardly wait!!!

p.s. - I am feeling another self challenge....;)

CASTOR OIL CHALLENGE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!!

Wow, did these three months fly by?! If you have seen my page, it says that today is the end of the castor oil challenge. It has been good. When I first got my JBCO, I couldn't believe how thick it was. I couldn't believe how small the bottle was for the price I paid for it o_O, lol. But I am not complaining. When I started this challenge, I only wanted length to be my outcome. However, I paid attention to my hair and realized that I had some problem areas that needed to get addressed. My temples were thinning and starting to recede backwards. OH, NO! That was not going to sit well with me. So, after a month and a half of using this product, my temples were practically back. Now, not only have my temples grown in and are thick, but I have length to my problem areas now. God is amazing, and patience is a virtue.

Thanks for reading! Pix will come in a later post.

Sunday Random Hair Chat #2 - Are there parts of your HHJ that you have yet to tackle?

In other words, is there something about your HHJ that is troubling you still? After four years of hard work, patience and prayer, I have yet to tackle something. The one and only thing is hair retention. That was very hard for me to write that because I have felt like this entire journey I have never had a setback. But lack of retaining length is my hair setback. I have been setback with this issue since day one and it has not let up. I have seen people get to multiple lengths with a year or two. In my four years of working on my hair, I have been back and forth between Full SL and APL.

When I was natural, my hair was so long and so thick that I couldn't comb nor style it. My hair was constantly in a ponytail because it was a convienent hair style and it was pretty much all I could do with it. While I was natural, I did not have a flat iron, so the hot comb was a no-no. I refused to use. SO, I didn't and my hair got longer and thicker and unbearable.

Eventually, I made it up in my mind to relax and cut my hair. When I made those decisions, my hair became officially manageable. It was and is an amazing feeling to be able to run my finger through my hair without pulling, tangles and snatching. Since my hair is so manageable, it is always down and out. So, relaxed hair has spoiled me. I still love my hair as is, but why am I not retaining any length?

After countless months of pondering I believe that I have came up with a couple of possible reasons. One, I believe my relaxer plays a huge part in it. What I mean is when I rinse out my relaxer, I usually do not have anything to protect my length with. I have always been afraid that I would use something that would interfere with the relaxer and cause my hair to fall out on the spot. So, I have not used anything. I believe the run off from rinsing out my relalxer has affected my length. My hair literally will snap off. It is very discouraging. I believe that if I am to find something to coat my length with, I could be on the right path towards retaining length.

Having my hair on my clothes is another issue. The problem is when I try to do buns, my buns never look appealing. Also, I never look feminine with my hair pulled up. I would hate to have to make myself wear something that I am not comfortable with. But I am going to have change something if I want to retain length, right? I am ready and willing to try different styles pulled up.

My other possible reason for my inability to retain length is moisturizing. Do not get me wrong, I moisturize very often. However, I do not believe that my moisturizer is a very good one. It makes my hair oily and shiny. But my hair does not seem to really benefit health-wise from it. I believe that it is time that change moisturizers. I am not a great moisturizer shopper. My hair is constantly dry everyday. So if anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

Lord willing, I am trying to stretch 14 weeks, but I will stop at 12 if I feel like I can go no longer. My goal until then is to moisturize and seal like crazy. I am going to pick a new moisturizer tomorrow. I seal with JBCO and Kemi Oyl. I am going to have me a great pre-relaxer regimen set so that I can really cover my length good. I am still searching for something good and I am receptive to suggestions.

So this was my random hair chat on this Sunday. Tell me about you have lacked on tackling. What is giving you HHJ troubles? Got advice for me? Please give it. Hit me with your feedback.

XOXO

Pissed!!! But Motivated!

I am so angry this morning. I had this plan to get my very first sew-in this morning. I have brought the hair (I forgot to buy thread and a needle, though; that won't happen again, lol) weeks before. I didn't want a full sew in. I just wanted to back done so that I could be able to stretch my relaxer longer. I have been so tempted to relax my hair and I am only 6 weeks. So, whenever I start getting tempted, I will go and wet my hair. Sad, but it is the only thing that stops me from relaxing. Also, at six weeks, I do not have much NG, so any relaxer at this point would be pointless, lol.
Back to why I am mad. I have had this hair appointment to get this sew-in for about two weeks. Well, here it is, the day I am scheduled to get it done, and my stylist hasn't contacted me. She will not answer the phone. She will not answer any of my texts. I am beyond pissed. For a professional, she sure is not acting professional. I refuse to try anymore. I cannot beg people to do my hair. If I was a hair stylist, I would do things so much different. I would be on top of appointments, punctual, perform my absolute best work. Word of mouth is crucial. I am too angry to finish this post, I will come back when I calm down....

(This portion was written after the appointment)
But my stylist finally called, THE DAY OF MY APPOINTMENT. No explanation why I didn't get a call back. Oh, well. She started working on my hair immediately, so I was starting to cool down....
UNTIL I realized how she was doing my hair. First she braid only the back because I wanted my front out. She had my braids very big. Like, super big. They were so big that when she was sewing the first weft on, my braids were peeking from under the weave. Then, she started so high up on the braids. Why didn't she start a little lower, I do not know. But she started so high to where when she was done at the top, she had to go back in and add in more weave. That was also confusing and frustrating. After she was done, I went to look at my hair. I was very disappointed. For knowing her personally, I only paid 25 dollars. I honestly feel like I have overpaid for that mess. The way it was sewn it was horrific. If I wasn't care about how I was taking my hair out, I would have lost alot of hair because she sewn it in without even considering me taking it out. Sadly, after three full days, I removed that monstrous mess from my hair. I took it all out. I am totally disgusted in the time and money I have wasted. I did not take any pictures of what it looked like because I am totally embarassed by it. It was not flattering to my face or head at all. I looked really tacky about the head. The sad part about it, it was not cheap hair that I was using.

Yep, I am pissed, BUT I am highly motivated. I am more motivated now than ever to learn how to do my own sew ins. I know in my heart that if I was given the opportunity to fully learn the tricks of a good and simple sew in, I could do it alot better. I cannot bear throwing away anymore of my hard-earned money to someone who is not going to do a good job. She is a license beautician, but I guess it is true that you get what you pay for and the better things in life do not come at a cheap price. My very first sew in experience was a bust, but I am not out for the count. I am excited about learning to do my own. Hopefully, but January or February I will be ready to try again. This experience has really motivated me into becoming more independent. I am ready to rely heavily on myself again for styles.