August Goals Recap + September Goals

Oh, August! How I was supposed to reach my predetermined goals and failed miserably. That's right!!! I didn't do anything like I was supposed to. I started off good and ended up failing miserably. There isn't even no need to specify what happened. It all fell through. It was a combo of things: starting school again, looking for a job, not finding a job, getting braid installations, taking them down shortly after they were installed. August was a very hard month for me.


I am almost 7 weeks post, and I plan on relaxing at 20 weeks post. I have 13 weeks to go, lol. Usually at 6 weeks, I would be losing my mind, but I am doing excellent. I love feeling my NG. I am not in a rush to relax my hair. I have a goal and I am trying to reach it. I have been doing a lot of research and reading, and I believe that I am on the way to a better regimen and a healthier head of hair (but that is for a different post, I promise).


I promise to be more successful with my goals in September. Here are the goals:

1) Wear my hair off my shoulders five days a week (Saturday and Sunday will be my down days)
2) 3 bottles of water will be consumed a day
3) Pre-poo with warmed conditioner and/or oils with every wash day

I will begin TOMORROW.

S/N WHY ARE MY TWISTS OUT?

Well, I was doing good with oiling my scalp, washing my hair and moisturizing my roots. However, I do not believe that the installation was a good one. I was constantly re-twisting unraveled twists. It got frustrating. When I took down the twists, I experienced horrific shedding. It filled up two hands. I was terrified that I would suffer a setback. However, I took time and went over my entire head and did not find any obvious weak spots. I did notice that my ends were looking very raggedy. I dusted my entire head, knocking off only a tad bit of hair. The difference is insignificant. When I washed my hair the first time, I still experienced a lot of shedding. After a couple days, I re-washed my hair and added my black tea in that wash. My shedding ceased, and I was so happy. Lately, I have been rocking up do's at work, mainly due to the fact that I work with children and I am always on my feet and this Alabama heat is no joke.

I am going to continue to read The Science of Black Hair and try to adjust my regimen accordingly.

Have a great Labor Day!

Current Read: The Science of Black Hair

I am sooo late, but I was browsing on my Nook and saw that I had plans to buy this book. Well, I finally purchased it on my e-reader Saturday. Honestly, I cannot believe that I am just getting this book so late. It is so hard to put it down.

I am not far into the book, may page 50, but I am taking my time reading. Additionally, I am going back over portions and sections over the book to gain a better understanding. Being a science major in college, I can appreciate the science behind hair, but I absolutely had no idea! Every time I turn the page (or tap my screen), I am learning something new. There are a few things that I have learned that has really opened my eyes thus far.
1) I have learned about how the body's state of dehydration can have an effect on the scalp. I cannot make this up.
2) I have learned about how hormones help hair in regards to growth.
3) All hair follicles and hair strands are not in the same cycle and will not go through the same cycle together.

I am taking this book to heart. I have been on a HHJ for years with very little progress as far as length. After reading these few pages, I plan on continuing to create the best regimen for my hair type. I struggle with a hair regimen horribly. Since starting my HHJ, I have never had an implanted regimen. When I think something is going to begin work, it never works out and I end up having to change it. I am hoping that this book will help guide me on a path of truly understanding my hair where I can FINALLY have what I have always wanted: a regimen.

Thanks for reading.

Wash Day - in my braids

Hello! So, last night I did my first wash with my braids in. 

The first thing I did was separate my hair into two big sections. I took my ACV in a nozzle bottle and went through my entire scalp with it. I only concentrated on my scalp. After waiting about 10 minutes, I took a spray bottle of hot water and sprayed onto my scalp and dabbed dry. After this, I made a mixture that consisted of water, setting lotion and  my CON Argan Oil Moisturizer. I mixed this up, and sprayed this onto the roots of my actual hair as my leave in. After spraying this, I took a bottle of mixed oils and spayed on to my hair. 

That's was pretty much my braid-wash routine. The entire thing may have lasted about 25 minutes. 

My braids do not look disrupted nor do they feel like they have been disrupted. I plan on using this new mixture everyday while I am in my installations. I hate that moisturizer and I hope this is my way of finally ridding myself of it. Since I plan to use this everyday on my roots, I will be using my diluted clarifying shampoo with the next wash. I plan to wash these braids every five days. It has only been four days, but my scalp was so itchy. Now, it's a drastic difference since I washed it. 

Thanks for reading! 

.:Lexis:. 

My Protective Style (pix included)

So this is the results of my new style. I like it a lot. Right now my head hurts lol and I cannot do much to my hair right now. Lol. But as soon as the initial shock and pain wears off, I will try out some type of styles with my new extensions. My goal is to leave them in for at least 8 weeks;12 weeks is my long term goal. I will also keep up with a HH regimen while in these twists. Follow me as I learn how take care of my hair while hidden. 

.:Lexis:. 

Wash Day + prepping for protective styling

Today I am saying goodbye (temporarily) to my hair. I am extremely frustrated with my inability to style my hair. Products play a role in my problem. Some of my products have left my hair hard and unmanageable. Another thing is retaining length. My hair has come a a long way as in health but not as far as length. December of this year will make 5 years since being on my HHJ and I have only grown my starting SL hair to a budding APL hair. That's extremely sad but I have come to learn a little something along the way. Sorry for the ramblings but there is a source for this. On to wash day tho: 

1. I prepooed with Suave Shea butter and almond oil conditioner with almond oil, grapeseed oil and jojoba oil. I lightly covered all of my hair with this mixture. After it stay on for about 15 mins, I rinsed it clean. 

2. After my hair was rinsed clean, I shampooed my hair with my cheapie shampoo and rinsed it clean. 

3. While my hair was rinsed clean of shampoo, I sprayed my hair with black tea due to some shedding. It stay on for 20 minutes and rinsed. 

4. After rinsing my hair clean, I DCed my hair with generic Nexxus Humectress Conditioner. It stayed on for about 40 minutes. And I rinsed it clean. 

5. After conditioning, I tshirt dried for about 10 minutes. After removing the Tshirt, I air dried my hair up to about 40 percent and then applied a homemade moisturizer mixture. (Review to come)

With this wash, I prepped my hair for some weave installation that I am having done in the morning. I am so excited. I haven't had any done in months. I am hoping that this set of installations will help me retain length. I have no idea how long I am going to keep them in. But my goal is 2 months. 

Here is a pic of my hair air dried. 

Goodbye, wrestling with unmanageable hair. I will deal with you in a few months!!! Pix will be added tomorrow. I am so excited!!! I hope I can sleep tonight, lol. 

This is my last length photo four weeks. I am hoping great retention and growth. 

.:Lexis:.

Purging My Product Stash

Maybe my title isn't that interesting, but it is what it is. I am purging my stash. I was supposed to be doing IMPORTANT research today, but I found myself on youtube channels about hair (which is just as important in my book). I watched this one lady who had a beautiful back story. In a very stilted and shorted version, she struggled with her natural hair. At its longest, I would say it was inching towards TBL, which is amazing to me. Well, she decided to cut it to almost Full SL. She said that its healthier since cut. After watching more of her videos, I saw her talk about ingredients she watch out for in her products.

HONESTLY, I have NEVER paid attention to the ingredients on the back of hair products. I have seen some of you ladies do so, but I have never brought myself to do so. Well, tonight, I decided to go through my stash and eliminate or find a different way to use these certain products; whether half full, full or near empty it was getting out of my house (well, my parents' house LOL).

Before I go through my products, I did research on "bad" ingredients. Out of all the ingredients I researched, these where the main ones I looked out for and to avoid: Isopropyl Alcohol, Mineral Oil/Petroleum, Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Now that I have found the products, I went through my stash.

Disclaimer: I am not being sponsored in any way for the products I am about to name.

1. Motions Moisture Plus Conditioner:
Pros - Panthenol ingredient

Cons - Mineral oil ingredient

Previous Use - I would use this product as a DC. I found that this product would hit and miss. I would have good DC days and bad DC days.

Previous Results - It is not a consistent DC. I would have soft wet hair some days and hard wet hair on other days.

Improved Use - Instead of discarding this product, I am going to use this product as a pre-poo
eventually.

Expected Results - I am expecting better, moisturized pre-poo sessions when I begin to use this product as a pre-poo.

2. Blue Magic Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner:
Pros - Coconut oil ingredient

Cons - Petrolatum and Fragrance ingredients

Previous Use - I would use the product on scalp a few times a week and seal my moisturizers.

Improved Use - I will ONLY use this product for basing my scalp and my previously relaxed hair during relaxer time. I have no other use for this product. This product is practically full. After I use this product up, I will have NO reason to purchase this product again.

Expected Results - I am hoping that this product will help with relaxer preps. Other than that, I am not expecting anything further.

***Products that I am just throwing out***
-ORS Edge Control - - -> I did not care for this product at all. I did not slick my edges down. All it did was add extra product on my edges and cake up. Goodbye!

-Proclaim Professional Care Cholesterol ---> Not only did this product contain petroleum and mineral oil, this product was extremely hard to rinse out. It has left my hair very dry, I do not know whether this is from the constant washing out this product or the product itself. Goodbye!

-Suave Max Hold Volumizing Mousse ---> This product did not do anything to my hair but leave it weighed down and take up room in my stash. Goodbye!

-Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream ---> This product is supposed to mend breakage and leave hair soft, shiny and manageable. This product has not done anything to my hair. Realizing that this is a protein leave-in conditioner, I was hoping that I could find a different way to use this product. I saw a youtube where some ladies were using this product as DC instead of a leave-in. I tried it. I did not work. Goodbye!!!

At the end of my purging, I threw away four (4) product bottles, whether full or near empty, and used up an additional product bottle which totals at five bottles/containers thrown away tonight. Am I excited? Of course I am. I am ridding my stash of products that did nothing for my hair, will not do anything for my hair and that was taking space in my stash area. Do I notice a dent being made in cleaning my stash. That is a big NO! Lol. I even bought a product today. However, I have no  reason to buy any other product. I plan on ridding myself of more products. Remember, my goal before the new year is to HAVE ALL OF MY PRODUCTS IN THEIR RIGHT PLACES, NO PRODUCT OVERFLOW. I have a while to go. The product junkie struggle is real, but I plan on not letting it be my reality anymore. I am working hard.

Until Next Time!!!