Like, I promised - A LENGTH CHECK PHOTO

I promised on that I was going to change my length photo with a more current picture. Well, here it is. This picture was take Sunday, July 15th. I used my heat pass then. I washed my hair using  my new found shampoo technique, conditioned with no heat for ten minutes and applied my leave-ins: Keratin and Green Tea spray, Dark and Lovely deep conditioning moisturizer, a little setting lotion and a small amount of wrap lotion. I air dried for a while then got under the dryer with my hair hanging. I stayed under there for about thirty minutes. I air dried the reamining spot which took about ten minutes. I flat ironned my hair start, with no curl or bump. And here I am:


I trimmed a very minscule amount of my hair, so little that I couldn't put a measurement on it. But I am trying to keep a somewhat even look to it. The picture is not that good, but it was the best I could do. My brother did not want to take this picture of me. Anywho, I am way shorter than what I was in the previous length check photo. In this pic, it looks like I am barely grazing APL. :( I hate looking at this picture, and I am going to hate more that I am going to have to replace my previous picture with a pic with where I have back tracked. However, I am going to used this pic as my inspiration. I have been this length my entire HHJ. It is frustrating. This is the crap that makes me want to give up. But, I am holding on until August 31, remember. So, I am going to see what is going to happen then.



Ok, after I i flat ironned my hair, I out satin rollers in. This is the outcome. It looks gorgeous. My hair had so much body and it was so soft. I acheive this with six jumbo satin rollers. I really like it, but I am going to give a much more detail experience about my satin rollers in a few weeks. I am still working on that blog.

I wanted to share this photo with you all. I have become this person who has all her hair products and styling tools EVERYWHERE. Thank the Heavens that I have this space behind my bedroom door. Now, ALL of my things are stacked behind my door at 5 feet. This area is holding everything: rollers, combs, brushes, pins, accessories, products, etc. Whatever you think of EXCEPT my hood dryer, flat iron and blow dryer.
Alrighty, well, I will catch you at the next one.

A Sneak Peak of My Store

Hello, everyone. I hope this post finds you all in great spirits. I am writing this quick post because I wanted to alert everyone with samples of the products that I am going to carry in my online store. My official store is not opened for business yet, but I am selling my product now. I have a couple of things posted on this blog. After reading this post, please go to my blog. Under my blog title, you will see a link called Shop My Store. Here is the link to that page:
http://lovingthisgirl.blogspot.com/p/shop-my-store.html

I will be posting samples of my product every couple of weeks up until the grand opening of my store, which is September 30th. If you are interested in anything, please email me at alexismoore611@gmail.com

The email address is on the page as well. There are further details on that page. Please take a look and support me. If you cannot support me with your own purchase, please pass the word about the things I am selling. So, thank you in advance. I will see you at my next post.

Operation: OMI - Proper Shampoo Technique

Ok. I am going to be the first one to admit out loud, in the open, in public, on the internet, for everyone to see. I DID NOT KNOW THAT SHAMPOO WAS ONLY FOR YOUR SCALP. Call me special it you want, but I absolutely did not know this information. I was on a website about Black Hair Care Tips. A sentence read: Remember, Shampoo is for your scalp and conditioner is for your hair. I was like, hmm. Ok, let me learn more about what is really going on. After reading that, I really went back to the basics. I went and looked up the definition for SHAMPOO. Sure did. Of course it said something about how it is a hair product that rids the HAIR of dirt, oils and dandruff. and Then, it talked about how the job of shampoo is to clean the scalp without stripping the scalp's natural oil.

Of course, I had to see what were the bad things to stay away from when washing your hair. There were three things that stuck out: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, DEA and TEA. What in the so-so are these things and why are they so bad???

SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, DEA and TEA
So, how about this chemical is said to be on the chopping block as a possible CARCINOGEN. Like, I said before, I was a biology major in college. Baby, that mean CANCER CAUSING!!! What is really going on? How in the world are we allowing ourselves to put this in our hair??? Before I really lose my mind, I am going to continue. Anywho, this ingredient is harsh, this is why if you use any shampoo containing this susbtance, why your eyes burns. Websites are warning us to stay away from this and the following ingredients:  ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium xylene sulfonate and TEA lauryl sulfate. Whether or not the cancer-causing theories are true or not, these ingredients are harsh. If all of these are combined in one product, what are we really looking at? I believe that I am more than convinced to read up more on my shampoos. I know that my ORS Clarifying Shampoo has all of these. And I really love this product. It is a really good shampoo. My scalp feels clean EVERYTIME I use. I am wondering do I need to cut this product out entirely or a small amount. Hmm. The bottle does direct one to use a small amount of the product. I don't know how many people out there who were like me, but when I use to shampoo, I had to have a handful of product to feel like I was getting the job done. I am considering doing any experiement, using my old shampoo versus an organic shampoo with little to none of these products in it. I am going to take this new information about how to proper shampoo hair and see what will happen.

I do not have an organic shampoo, but I have decided that I am going to purchase Hair One shampoo. It has no sulfates in it, so I am going to give that one a try whenever I get a chance to purchase it. Until then, the shampoo that I am going to ride with is going to be Suave Almond and Shea Butter Moisturizing Shampoo. I went out and bought this shampoo and applied my new washing technique.

THE TECHNIQUE
Ok, so the first thing I did was rinse my entire head and scalp with water alone at the hottest temperature I could stand. By doing this, I was saturating my hair with natural moisture, riding my hair of the week worth of moisturizer and oils. Before I washed my hair, my hair had gotten quite greasy. After I finished with the water, my hair felt clean just from that. So, that was a plus. Next I got a large amount shampoo in my hands (about larger than a quarter) and tried my best to just apply it to my scalp. I rubbed and massaged my scalp good, only concentrating on the scalp and not the hair. I rinsed it out, making sure that I did not leave any product in and repeated using way less shampoo the second time. I rubbed, massaged and rinsed. My hair had that squeaky clean feeling: gift and curse, right. It felt very clean, but it was like it was stripped of everything. But, no worries. I followed up with my Suave Keratin Infused Conditioner for Color Treated and Frizzy Hair. I applied quite a bit of the conditioner to my hair. I let the conditioner set in with no heat for about ten minutes and rinsed with cool to cold water. THAT WAS IT!!! I could not tell you how great the experience was.

WHAT I AM TAKING FROM THE EXPERIENCE
I feel like I have really learned alot with researching about the proper way to shampoo my hair.
I learned that I should use the hot water to open my pores and cold water to close them when shampooing and conditioning. I can really see the importance in it and the difference. I will continue to wash my hair this way.

CONCLUSION
I really wanted to stray away from shampoo, but that was probably due to the fact that I did not have this knowledge. I am so glad that I have decided to look into shampooing. I feel like I have really tackled an issue in my hair journey that will make alot difference time and time agin. So, I am going to stick to shampooing my hair, but I am going to read my labels a little closer to be aware of what I am putting into my hair.
Below, I put a link where I got my bad ingredients from if you want to read further. Also, in the next two posts, I am going to have the results of my research on proper leave-ins, proper flat ironning technique, length check plus photo, plans for future relaxer and hair vitamins. So, be on the look out for those. I have really put everything into these researches. They have really benefitted me, and I hope that I have at least helped alert anyone who was on a destructive path as I was. Well, that is all for this blog post. I will see you really soon!!!

Read more: Bad Ingredients in Hair Shampoo | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6873158_bad-ingredients-hair-shampoo.html#ixzz20QmplIx6

Update on New Way to Moisturize

If you have read my previous blog post, I have learned how to moisturize my hair in the "right way". Right way, to me, being that I am using the appropiate products that ensure moisture and nothing to dry out my hair. I refuse to go back doing wrong by my hair when I have been fed this incredible knowledge.
So, I moisturized my hair with my moisturizer that contains no alcohol, pertroleum or mineral oil. Then, I moisturized my roots and length with coconut oil and my ends with castor oil. Why the two different oils in two different places. One because castor oil seals entire better than coconut oil, in my opinion. I would rather the better sealing oil on my ends. Also, coconut oil adds the more shine to my hair. So I rather use coconut oil on my roots and length and concentrate on those areas with it. Not too complicated, right? I believe that this will be an excellent start to a great moisturizing relationship. So, the results??? Well, I moisturized my hair this way for the first time last night. When I unwrapped my hair this morning, my hair was 1) not over moisturized 2) not greasy at all 3) light and full of swing 4) 50% better shine 5) full of body 6) everything I always wanted.
I am so grateful. I give this moisturizing tip five stars!!! Kudos for research! I cannot wait until I crack my other issues. I am doing research on a few other issues. So be on the look out for me to disect these problems ASAP. Toodles!

Operation: OMI - My Research On Moisturizing

I have not given up on my healthy hair journey just as yet. Just because I am disappointed in my hair growth and retaining length rate does not mean that I am going to be half doing it this summer. This summer is crucial to whether I am staying in the game or not. So, I decided to really disect the problem. Ok. What is one big issue I have with my hair journey...other than growth and retaining? Moisture. I have an issue with moisture, oiling and shine. So, I decided to do some research to help me gather more insight on my issue and possible consider new products to promote more healthy hair.

First thing I learned is that there are three things that are definitely not goood for your hair: pertroleum, mineral oil and alcohol. I was like o_O. There is mineral oil in some of my greases. I use pertroleum to base my hair for relaxers. I don't know what I use alcohol for, lol, but I was surprised about the other two. I researched each one more specificially and found out whether I should really stay away from each of these product ingredients.

PERTROLEUM
First thing I learned about this ingredient was it is water repelling. Hmm...hair loves water. Water is a source of moisture, right? I learned that pertroleum is a very easy way to add oil and shine to your hair. But it is false advertisement. Because we think hair is healthy when it is shiny, but pertroleum is like makeup over bad acne. Pertroleum makes hair LOOK moisturized. The hair is far from it. Especially if the hair is being packed day after day with this substance, it is actually drying the hair out more and more. Pertroleum on the scalp does not allow the scalp's natural oil to produce which can cause scalp issues, mainly dandruff. I used to be fooled that if you grease your scalp you are fighting the battle against dandruff. However, with pertroleum on the scalp, you are producing dandruff. HUH! Another thing, if pertroleum is applied to the shaft, or length, of your hair, it stops moisture from entering here, too. Well, I have learned my lesson. No pertroleum for me. When I looked in my bundle of hair surplies, nothing I use on a daily or weekly basis contains pertroleum. Thank Heavens!!! I do use vaseline to coat my hair for my relaxers. Since I only use it then, I have decided to continue to base my scalp with it, but to coat  my hair really well with it. I do not want the relaxer to over process my already-processed hair. So, I am convinced.

MINERAL OIL
So, I learned that mineral oil comes from pertroleum. STRIKE ONE! Mineral oil has been deemed as one of the best moisturizing sealants. However, it does not take that much mineral oil to see its effects. So, there is some misconception about this oil. But it is probably the over use. I look among my prodcuts and see that half of my products contain mineral oil. So, my goal is cut down the use of these products by half. Mineral oil is useful and important, only due to the amount you use. Any amount in the excess could suffocate hair. I am learning, learning big time.

ALCOHOL
I would appreciate some additional information on alcohol in hair products because I found little information. In one study, I read that alcohol was horrible. In another study, I read that alcohol was another word for organic. o_O Now, I was a biology major in college. There is no way I would say that alcohol was in the same catergory as organic. So, I am alittle lost. Please feel free to comment below. You will be helping me out.

IN CONCLUSION
I have decided to take a new approach to moisturizing my hair now that I am educated with this information. I'M READY!
So, I first divided my hair in half, straight down the middle. Starting with one half, I moisturized it with a small amount of my African's Pride moisturizer, which contains none of the three listed above (I also learned that it doesn't take an entire bottle of moisturizer to do the trick). I applied coconut oil to my roots and the length of my hair. I applied castor oil to the ends of my hair. Ta-da! That was it simple as pie. My hair is wrapped and tied down. I cannot wait until tomorrow when I unveil my hard work from just one night. Toodles. Goodnight!!!

Roller Set on Gray Rollers

I have been thinking about attempting this big, beautiful, shining roller set on my head for about two weeks now. I have played out what I want to use and how I will perform it for so long. It is like I am training for the hair olympics or something, lol. First thing I did was washed my hair with Suave clarifying shampoo due to my visit to the beach. Next, I conditioned my hair with Suave Coconut Conditioner I sprayed my hair with Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea Spray. Then, I sprayed my towel dryed hair lightly with LottaBody Setting Lotion. Next, I applied my Dark and Lovely 5 Moisture Leave In Conditioning Treatment. Last, I applied a small amount of foaming wrap lotion made by Shine. I rolled my hair on the gray rollers, using all of the 12 pack and  no additional rollers. Finally, I began my long journey under the dryer.

2 horribly long and hot hours under the dryer gave me sleek, crisp curls. I applied a small amount of African Pride Moisturizing Lotion onto my hair and wrapped my hair for bed. This morning, I unwrapped my hair and these are the results:

The top photo is a combed straight look and the bottom photo is after I messed with it with some finger combing. My hair looks shorter than usual, but I do have a LOT of shrinkage at my roots. I am not even three weeks post yet, but my hair was stripped of its relaxer due to pool water. So here is the lowdown on how I feel about this roller set...

Pros about my roller set -
1. I love how soft my hair is.
2. My hair has some body and movement.
Cons about my roller set -
1. My hair does not have shine and looks dull.
2. My hair is not have much moisture.
3. This roller set did not produce the body that I wanted.

Overall, I give this roller set 3 stars. Only because it isn't the body I wanted and my hair did not have the moisture and shine that I was strying to achieve. However, my hair is light and moves. ALSO, to have this much shrinkage, my hair laid pretty straight. other than the thick roots, my length of my hair turned out pretty good. So, I cannot totally fail this set. It gets a C.

I haven't used this Aphogee spray in about a year. I think I am going to start back using this product on a consistent wash and set day. The bottles says that this particular product is to improve strength and body. I would love to have both of these improved and look forward to use this in future washes.
See you all at the next post.

Small BSS Haul

Hello, everyone. I am back from my mini vay cay. Like I stated in an earlier blog, I said that I was going to the BSS in that area to find some rollers. Well...when I got there, I wanted to buy so much more. I found my rollers. They were 2.49 for that 12 pack. I also bought more satin rollers. They were 2.49 for that six pack. I also bought some aphogee keratin and green tea for almost SEVEN DOLLARS!!! I cannot believe how high that has gotten. I bought me some jumbo hair pins for 1.99. So that sums up everything that I bought, besides the biotin. I did get that from a local Walmart.
Like I promised, I am going to do a blog-slash-review on a product and/or styling tools. I am going to get started on that and I will have another blog posted in a few hours.