2 years natural as of May 2011!

I am happy to say that despite one too many hair cuts, I am finally APL (armpit length)! The greatest part is I didn't even realize it for a while. Actually, I was getting frustrated because I didn't think I had retained much length since my last cut/color in March.

The nape is apl and the front (bangs) is midneck. As soon as I get a chance, I'll post pics.

Current products: not much has changed though I do try random stuff every once in a while.
Poo: any of the Organix brand.
Condish: Herbal Essence brands (hello hydration or ltr)
Moisturizer: Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie
sealant: Grape seed oil (love love love more on this later)
DC: DRP -11, ORS, and whatever other conditioner or oil I feel like adding

Styling: still not that big on styling but I've tried a few things and I'll make separate post about those. Still mainly wash n go. I'm going to post my wash n go routine also b/c everyone seems to have these extremely difficult or long processes and I just don't understand why. *shrug*

Shea Moisture Hold & Shine Moisture Mist

With Target selling products for natural hair and my hair being dry, I figured I'd check out the selection. Of course, they had Ms. Jessie's but that's out of my price range. I looked at the Shea Moisture brand and saw they have moisturizing spritz. This line claims to be organic but like many others, it's just mostly organic. One of them actually had alcohol in it so I clearly didn't pick that one. I didn't want to contribute to the drying issue.

The one I selected says it's for thick, curly hair. The bottle says: Our all-natural moisture mist eliminates frizz, while hydrating hair and creating brilliant shine and curl control.

I really love the smell. It's got that coconut smell but not too strong. It's light weight and actually helps add shine to my hair. I guess my curl pattern does not promote shine but this definitely gives it a bit of shine. I've applied it to wet and dry hair, getting great results each time. It keeps my hair moisturized and helps it stay soft. I normally use it after I used water to fluff out my wash n go. I love the fact that it's not really greasy also.

This is will stay in rotation for me.

Suave's Professionals Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner

After reading MSatch's review of Suave's Professionals Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner, I had to run out and buy me a bottle. I was just about out of conditioner anyway.

Product Description: Salon proven to moisturize your hair as well as Aveda® Dry Remedy® shampoo and conditioner. Infused with 100% natural almond and shea butter, which are known for their rich emollients. The shampoo and conditioner system replenishes lost moisture, leaving your hair well-nourished and beautiful. (I straight jacked this whole section from MSatch's blog! lol!)

First, I love the way it smells! It's sooo yummy. I really wanted to lick it off my fingers. It's nice and creamy which Jessi Rose loves and the slip is great. I've used it 3 times I think and it has made detangling really easy. I do have to use a lot of it though. More than any of the Herbal Essence conditioners. And did I mention I love the smell!

Although it smells good and is nice and creamy, I don't think it works well for JR. I've had it for about 2 weeks and am not pleased with how it leaves my hair. When I wng, I leave some in for hold. This products isn't holding anything. My hair ends up frizzy and curls undefined as if I washed all the condish out. I even added a little extra after I rinsed yesterday and ended up with the same results. And the worse part is, I think it's sucking the moisture out of my hair. I always end up with rough feeling and dried out hair by the time it's dry. I applied more Elasta QP mango butter than I normally do and it still ended up really dry. The only time I retained moisture is when I had my hair in two strand twist. But about an hour after my twist out it was dry and dull again.

So despite the great things, I won't continue to use it. I'll be making a trip to the store for some of that good 'ole Herbal Essence. I'll probably get the Hello Hydration. I miss that stuff and I know JR loves it! (And MSatch, this is another condish I'll be passing on to you and the girls next month!)

Random

I don't think the overnight dc caused the itchy scalp issue. I'm feeling that since my hair is longer and I wearing it in more stretched styles, not as much product is reaching my scalp. No moisturizer on the scalp obviously leads to dryness and the itchies. I'm going to incorporate some type of moisturizing spray for my scalp or "greasing" it directly while wearing two strand twist. Shea butter will act as grease.

Speaking of two stand twist. I love them. I've begun to wear them often. I knew before I did my bc I would love wearing the twist. I am surprised at how much I love twist outs as at one point, I had a strong dislike for them.

I've been wanting to wear a beanie style hat since winter. I could never find one that seemed to look right. I was at a bss and saw one. I grabbed it without even bothering to try it on. Gave myself a twist out. Let the front hang out like a bang. I loved it! I was really feeling myself and the outfit that accompanied the hat.

With the exception of when my hair is stretched from a twist out, I continue to detangle a couple of times a week. The really tight curls in the back demand it. The twist out allows me to go longer since I retwist often and sort of detangle when I do that.

There will be a product review and product mistake coming up later this week.

Renpure Organics Shampoo

I got the one in the green bottle: i love my hair! body and shine shampoo with hydrolyzed soy, wheat protein & chamomile flower extract.

I am not fond of the smell. It's sort of reminds me of a cleaning products. And unfortunately, the condish and deep penetrating reconstructor all have this smell.

Happily, that is the only thing I do not love about this product. Though I didn't think it possible, Jessi Rose has fallen in love with a shampoo! Normally, she's completely pissed after being poo'd. Curls completely gone, feeling wiry and rough. It would take a few days of extra moisturizing to get back on track. Even doing a wng after poo was a disaster. I have used this twice and for the first time after shampooing, my hair didn't feel completely stripped and lifeless. It felt moisturized and soft! I was shocked!

The first time I used it, I had a lot of product build up from playing around with different styles. I poo'd without using a prepoo and my hair felt great. 2nd time the same. No prepoo and my hair was soft and moisturized. This is a keeper! Love Love Love Love Love it!

Detangling

My hair is getting longer and with that, detangling sessions are getting longer. W-n-g's aren't so quick anymore but are still one of the styles I mainly wear. I've been getting fairy knots for the past month or two. I officialy despise those things! I'm also getting more tangled and knotted hair. They are easy enough to get out but still I worry about breakage and splits because of it.

Currently, I detangle using just my fingers. I prefer that to a wide toothe comb because right now, it's easier and it works. I did use a comb one day and felt like I was breaking off a bunch of my hair. It shed the same amount but I just didn't like it. Plus, I felt like it seperated my curls a little too much and gave me a jheri curl type of look. Lol! I love chunky curls. (Guess I won't be investing in a Denman after all.)

I shed a lot so I'm going to continue to detangle a couple of times a week. Stretching detangling sessions would probably be horrific. I'm going to stick with HE conditioners for detangling sessions. The slip they have is awesome. I'll only stray from this line when I go organic (meaning when I have more $$$$). I will continue to use my fingers as I am most comfortable and less scared about breakage as I have more control over what's happening to my strands. I will reincorporate monthly deep protein condish into my regimen because I'm noticing a lot of elasticity when detangling. My hair has too much moisture and very little strength. Gotta get over that protein fear because my hair is telling me she needs it. I will listen!

Other random things

Here's a few other random things that happened while my hair was straight.

It rained Tuesday. I forgot that I needed a hood or umbrella. There is an umbrella somewhere in my Jeep. Not sure where. I was literally lol-ing as I ran throught the rain to my Jeep. Luckily, my hair didn't revert.

My supervisor (black woman) is always asking me when I'm going to loc my hair. I tell her at least once a month that I'm not. Apparently one of her relatives when natural via locs and she has it set in her head that I am too. When I straightened, she commented that it looked nice but she preferred my hair the other way. She said that it suits me and shows the amount of confidence I posess to wear it that way. I don't require anyone's approval to wear my hair any particular way but it pleased me that she likes it.

After the bantu knot out, I needed to dc, poo and do a w-n-g before work. I used my new favorite dc mix and let that sit for an hour. One thing I found interesting was the amount of dc I needed to use. My hair was straight and dry when I applied it. I used less than half what I normally use. I was shocked and it felt weird. But the dc took very well and my hair was soft and moisturized as always.

I got tons of happy compliments from family and friends once my hair was curly again. Also got a few request to never straighten my hair again because my natural is so becoming on me and it makes me, me. A few people who really pay attention to my hair commented that my hair seemed even curlier after that first w-n-g. It actually did. Not sure why.

WTF was I thinking?!?!?!?!?!

Just a quick post to say I was in the shower doing what was supposed to be a quick w-n-g that turned into a damn-near 30 min detangling sessionon my TWA. Why? Because crazy me decided to sleep on a w-n-g for 2 days without any type of scarf to protect my hair. This lead to a horribly matted and tangled mess. Oh, and I was having a severe case of HIH (hand in hair) syndrome which I tend to get whenever I do a w-n-g so I was playing in my hair for 3 days.

I was so mad at myself this morning. But in that seriously horrible detangling session, I realized that I needed a protein dc because my hair was feeling really stretchy (meaning too much moisture and not enough strength).

One of my new favs!

Elasta QP Mango Butter Moisturizer. I had been wanting some for a while but was having the hardest time finding. Not sure why. I finally found some and I was super excited to try it. I co-washed immediately so I could use it on fresh hair. The smell is divine!!!! Everyone in my house was oohing and ahhing over the smell (mainly b/c I was pushing it under their noses saying "smell this!).

It's really thick which is something I and my hair absolutely love. The thick moisturizers work so much better for me. I was already aware that EQMB has silk protein so I was worried about using it. My hair doesn't require a lot of protein and will quickly feel rough from the application of it. On the ingredient list, silk was pretty close to the bottom so I felt a little bit safer. There's probably not that much in it. I still only used a small amount and followed that with the shea/softsheen carson mix that I made before (hoping to offset any protein overload). Then, I sealed with castor oil.

I did this for a couple of days before realizing using all 3 of these was too much. My hair was feeling really good. Well moisturized and strong and soft but...it was too much product. You could feel it on my hair when you touched it. So I washed with poo to clarify and tried again. This time I used shea to seal (shea doesn't moisturize my hair) but still used both moisturizers (still have this protein fear). It was lighter with the shea instead of castor oil but I still felt it was too much. I cut back on moisturizing though. I normally have to do it every day. Esp in this cold weather. But with this combo, every other day or two was working perfectly.

I'm going to be brave and try just using the EQMB and shea and see how that works. Either way, I love this stuff and will be keeping it in supply. I love the smell and it really does make my hair feel silky smooth. (lol...silky smooth...so corny!)

Back to our regularly scheduled program

My hair was so mad a me a couple of weeks ago. I ran out of deep condish and due to lack of extra funds, couldn't purchase anymore. My hair has gotten used to the weekly dc routine and was feeling dry and nothing was keeping me moisturized. I had also discovered that wearing protective styles caused my hair to dry out more than when I wore w-n-g's. Stretched hair means less of the natural oils my scalp produced was making it to my ends (due to gravity) thus leading to more dryness.

I attempted to give myself a couple of different dc treatments that turned out horribly! First I attempted oil using melted shea butter and evoo. I guess I used too much b/c it was running down my face and was just a big mess. I also don't have a dryer so I was just hoping for penetration w/o the use of heat. I didn't notice any results but I know I did it incorrectly.

Second, I tried a mixture. I mixed Creme of Nauture condish with honey and the rest of the shea/evoo mixture. In an attempt to incorporate heat, I wet a hand towel with extremely hot water and wrapped that around my head which was covered in a shower cap. I rewet with the hot water when it cooled off. It worked okay but just didn't give what my hair needed.

In the meantime, I wore protective styles and moisturized daily. When I realized my hair seemed much dryer as it stretched more, I switched to w-n-g's daily. I was finally able to get more dc and another product I was exited to try. More on those things in my next post.

My regimine...

well....sort of. It's wha't I've been doing for the past couple of weeks and I'm liking it. There will be adjustments along the way I'm sure but this is the basics.

Day 1: Co-wash for the purpose of detangling. Once detangled and rinsed, lightly towel/t-shirt dry (just enough for my hair to stop dripping). Apply deep condish. I don't use heat so I let it sit for an hour or two if I get sidetracked. Rinse with luke warm water. I do this at night so no styling necessary. Also, I shampoo every two weeks and protein dc once a month. Those steps are done after I detangle.

Days 2 & 3: Wash n gos. Currently, my hair is at this weird length where my WNG doesn't last a few days like it used to. My hair gets tangled and looks crazy even when I fluff and spray with water the next day. It's unbelievable frizzy and I can't make it looke good even the 2nd day. So, I usually end up cowashing both days.

Days 4-7: Some type of twist out style. I spritz my hair with water until damp, apply Herbal Essence Long-Term Relationship as a leave-in, apply moisturizer and sealer and then style. It can be simply a twist-out or it can be flat twist design with a twistout in the back. How I maintain this is by retwisting every other day or daily if I don't like how it looks on a particular day. I love doing this though because the more I retwist, the bigger my hair gets. I alternate between flat twistout and two strand twistout. for instance, on thursday I did two strand and that saturday, I did flat twist. My one issue is retaining moisture. My hair dries out really fast when stretched. I have to moisturize everyday. I need a better moisturizer!

Picture time!

This is how my hair looks when I first styled it. I'll retwist like this some nights also.

This is retwisting at night with bantu knots for extra curl.

This is how the style looks after 2 days. Big!!!!!

Quick update

Just a quick update on adding shea and whipping the SoftSheen Carson moisturizer. The longer it sat, the thicker it got. I love the thickness right now because it is very creamy. Only downfall, its not mosturizing my hair enough.

2010!!!!!!!!!!!

My resolutions for my hair:

1. Improve moisture. I don't know what I need to do but I have to work on this. My hair dries out entirely to quickly. It's truly worse since it's winter but I need to figure out something to cure this before winter ends so I know what to do next winter.

2. Retain length. This hasn't been an issue thus far but I want to keep the growing going.

3. Do a slight revamp to my moisturizing dc and protein dc (as well as decide how often to use the proteing dc). I really like my current moisturizing dc but a few months ago while I was experimenting, I liked it better. I will go back and review past post to see which condish I was using that I like the most. For the protein, every one of them makes my hair feel rough for a few days. I have 2 and will find a way to incorporate them together with moisturizers and see how that works.

And, I got a new phone which has a wonderful camera on it. I'm sure I'll be able to post more of the picts I take....such as these two! lol! These are picts of wet hair with no product.

Liquidy yet creamy

If you remember, last week I was talking about the SoftSheen Carson moisturizer I purchased and how it was too liquidy for my hair. I was contemplating whipping it or something to thicken it up. Reason being, I'm broke so even when I get a product that doesn't give stellar results, I'll work with it and see how I can make it work with my hair. I have only purchased 2 products that I haven't used (because they had mineral oils) and even those, I gave away to people who wanted to use them.

Taking the advise of other naturals, I decided to whip the SSC with shea butter. I didn't want to use too much shea butter because I feel it doesn't act as a moisturizer for my hair, but a sealant. I melted the shea using the double boiler method (Or in my case, double cups. I use a microwave safe cup to heat up some water. I scoop shea into a disposable cup and set that inside of the heated water until shea is mostly melted). I poured both into an emptied and cleaned jar that once held Cholesterol deep condish. Since the mouth of that jar is really wide, I was able to blend them while in the jar. I have a hand mixer so just had to remove one of the blades to fit in the jar. I mixed for about 5 minutes and them put it in the freezer to help set it.

Initially I was disappointed. It was still pretty liquidy. I let it sit for a few days before using it and it thickened up a little bit. The consistency right now it okay but it's still not creamy enough for my personal preference. I'm thinking of whipping it again but I'm afraid to add more shea and end up with no moisture making it to my hair.

I've still got quite a bit of this stuff left though. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. Lessons learned from both moisturizers: 1. research before purchase to make sure it's not a protein since my hair doesn't like that stuff. 2. ONLY purchase cream moisturizers as the liquid forms aren't thick enough to work.

Still in control

Okay, so I know this post is late but here is my review of the SoftSheen Carson Strengthening Oil Moisturizer from the Roots of Nature Collection.

What the bottle says: Strengthens and increases hair’s elasticity to eliminate breakage and help prevent split ends. Provides long-lasting moisturization and conditioning to repair damaged hair.

What the forums say: I wasn't able to find anything.

What I say: It smells just like the other moisturizer I was using from SoftSheen Carson. The smell doesn't bother me but it's not something I love. This moisturizer is not in the cream form like the ones I normally use. It's similiar to the hair milk from Palmer's but a little bit thicker. I don't think it's thick enough becuase I have to use quite a bit to give my hair the amount of moisture I need. Since the moisturizer is white, it makes my hair white and also doesn't mix well with pure shea. It made my hair really white but went away as my hair dried. It works okay but I think I'll stick with cream moisturizers, My hair seems to like them better.

Sidenote: I'm thinking about whipping this moisturizer to make it creamy. If it works, I'll let you know. Also, if you have suggestions or comments about trying this, please let me know.

Moisture Control

After a week of dealing with dry and rough hair, I finally made a trip to Walmart to purchase a much needed moisturizer. I bought two new products. Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula Replenishing Hair Milk and SoftSheen Carson Strengthening Oil Moisturizer from the Roots of Nature Collection. *both items purchased without prior research*

As for Palmer's, I gave that a try first. Actually, I looked on some hair care forums while I was sitting for an hour with a deep condish in my hair.
What the bottle says: Formulated with Pure Coconut Milk and Coconut Oil, Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula Hair Milk is a lightweight hair lotion that replenishes essential oils and adds incredible softness and shine.
What the forums say: Although some like, most do not because this product has protein. Protein is not something that most naturals need. Permed heads do need it as the chemicals in the relaxers weaken their hair. Naturals don't have to balance this out as much so protein overload is easily caused from even small amounts.
What I have to say: Okay, I love the smell because it smells just like the Cocoa Butter lotion that we've all used at one time or another. The smell was just as strong and long lasting as the lotion. I was smelling it for days until I washed my hair and I only applied it once. The consistency also reminded me of the Cocoa Butter lotion which I personally found to be a bit watery; not creamy enough. The protein was unfortunately too much for my hair. When it dried, my hair felt rough and wiry. Also, when I applied pure shea butter to my hair after the Hair Milk, they didn't mix well and left my hair white for a while. I'll just be using this as a backup if I run out of moisturizer and haven't been able to make it to the store. But once this runs out, I won't purchase again. (But I really love the smell and how long the smell lasted!)

I'll review SoftSheen Carson's product on my next post.

Mixtress

I know I haven't done much lately but complain about these twist in my head. So I promise not to do that...for a few days. LOL! Actually, I really am not going to post anything about them until I write the words "they are finally out."

So I've been thinking about my role as a mixtress. I've tried a weak mixture with my shea butter. I was looking to make a combo of moisturizer and sealer. I ended up with just a sealer. I know this is because of the HCO. It's too heavy and I think I used a lot.

There are so many products I wasnt to incorporate into a mixture: mango butter (i'm dying to try this) JoJoab oil and Coconut oil being the top of my list. I also want some type of scent to add. Like...strawberry kiwi or something. But I realized something very important: I don't have the funds for that! It's rare that I come across extra money and although I love my hair, this would be an unnecessary purchase. I don't have to purchase these things.

I am in need of a moisturizer. That is a need, not a want. In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to scrap together some money and purchase some Aloe Vera gel so that I can make some Shealoe. I have never heard anyone say a harsh word about the mixture. I'm going to give it a try. And it won't break my pockets!

Moisture....or lack thereof

I'd been saying for a while that I would make a mixture with my shea butter. I made a mix but didn't say anything about it. Although I was feeling okay about the mix, I wanted to add som EO (essential oils) and other butters to it. I just never got around to doing it.

Currently the mixture is Shea, EVOO and Hollywood Castor Oil (it had a bunch of stuff that I can't pronounce mixed in it. I'm sure I won't be using it in the mix but I needed to add something and it was what I had. I have a lot because it's so heavy and thick, only a small amount is needed. I'm thinking I'll use it on my scalp this winter while I have the Senegalese twist in so I can try and get rid of it.)

Since I had the shea and HCO in the mix, I figured it would work as both moisturizer and sealer like pure shea does for me. WRONG! It wasn't doing any type of moisturizer, just coating my hair. My hair has been dry and rough for weeks and I couldn't figure out why. At first, it was feeling this way and the suddenly...dryness. I talked to MSatch and tossed around ideas like maybe it was because of my monthly cycle (she laughed at me) and that I wasn't drinking enough water and eating properly.

A few days later, I realized the problem. I had stopped using my beloved NHCP because I'd run out and the store I get it from was out of stock also. So I was just using the mix hoping it would tackle both moisture and sealant jobs. It totally wasn't cutting it. My hair would feel soft the day of a cowash but after that, dry and rough.

Now that I see the issue, I have started using pure shea to moisturize and the mix to seal. I'm thinking it the HCO that is preventing the shea from penetrating and moisturizing my hair. That's a big reason why I will not use it again when I make a mix. Since my hair is going to be gone for the winter, I won't be able to experiment with this issue til spring. I'll probably purchase some EOs and mango butter this winter so I'll be prepared though. (oh, and I am drinking more water. have to start with the inside and work my way out!)

Love...hate...LOVE

I haven't written anything in a long time. It actually feels weird that I haven't. So...my last couple of posts were about the fight I was having with my hair. I wanted something different. I wanted my hair to be pinned up or something that looked different than the wash n gos I'd been doing. I was over it. When it wouldn't (because I'm too impatient to wait for it to grow), I got upset with it. I was even tempted to scrap some funds together to purchase a really good flat iron to straighten it out. (This being bad because I promised myself no heat until at least next spring. Maybe even longer.)

Once I got over the fact that my hair isn't ready for all that, I got realistic. I tried to create another flat twist design but that didn't work. It was really hard. I started looking at my fav blogs and photo galleries of the natural hair groups on Facebook. I came across a tutorial I'd seen before on flat twist with bantu knotted ends. I got up and tried it. It came out ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy because my hair did something I wanted it to do. I loved it! (of course i forgot to take picture.) I retwisted a few times because I took them loose while one side was still damp. That lasted a week.

After I wore a wash n go for one day, I flat twisted again. This time I did more twist, trying to get more definition. And I used HE Long Term Relationship conditioner as a moisturizer (I'm having moisture issues which I'll talk about later.) and a small amount of Shea butter and IC Fantasia gel. I loved the definition, however, doing them smaller meant more parts to cover. That was an issue considering my hair is short. Plus, more twist meant more knots which is cool but again, with short hair, it made for a wierd shape that I couldn't fix. I was doing too much manipulation and making my twistout frizzy. So I pulled it back with a headband. Above awesomeness. It looked great. I wore if for 4 days and it looked better with each day. I have learned that humidity from the shower helps make my twist outs better. Here's a pict from day three:

2 day hair

Everyone is always talking about how to make their styles last. From the wash n go to the twist out, everyone wants 1, 2, 3, 4 or even 5 day hair. I have to admit, when I did my twist out, I wanted it to last for a week. After all the work I did to acheive the look, I wanted it to last.

But there are two things keeping me from having lasting styles

1. my slight case of OCD. I have always been a perfectionist when it comes to my hair. Not a strand out of place, not a fuzzy curl, not a slightly tilted head band...none of that. I like fresh hair. the only time I was able to handle less then perfect hair was when I would crimp my permed hair and pin it up for that messy updo type of look. But even then, each strand was specifically selected to be imperfect. My hair is too short for a messy updo so the moment my twist out looked imperfect, I was retwisting to get the day one look.

2. HIHS (hand in hair syndrome) I did a really great wash n go yesterday. My curls were well defined, hair perfectly moisturized, thou maybe a little too much (will explain later). I should have been able to removed my bonnet, fluff and go. But alas, I keep playing with the curls. Twist, pulling, seperating and now my perfect wash n go looks crazy. I can probably make it work w/o a cowash by using a headband for a few days but I'll have to keep my hands out of my hair.

My goal for the next few days is to suppress my HIHS and not use a lot of water to restyle. I have to prepare myself for not using so much water this winter. I need to be able to make this cowash last until Friday or Saturday. I will attempt to only manipulate my curls if I have to do a few strategically placed coils to preserve the wash n go.

Even as I write this, I'm shaking my head and doubting my ability to make this happen. Lol!