Mini Wash Day

The Mid-week co-washing sessions that I discovered last summer has been a God-send during this latest stretch. Oddly enough, I spend less time detangling even though I wash more, experience less SSKs than I expected at 14 weeks post, and I've had no noticeable increase in breakage. The weather is getting cooler and although my hair dries pretty fast, I don't want to be caught dead amongst the elements on a 40-50º day. Last week, I attempted to skip my mid-week co-wash. I failed. Miserably. No, no seriously. My tresses were about to call the hair police on me! I caved and {sorta} co-washed by rinsing my hair with water then detangling with with a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution. It wasn't perfect--but it allowed me to get to wash day unscathed. 

On with the wash:

Wash Day products

1. Detangled- with my fingers.
2. Extreme deep condition- with Philip Kinglsey Itchy/Flaky Scalp Toner and JBCO on my scalp. Next I spritzed a mix CC's Naturals Lavender & Chamomile Tea and Aloe Vera Juice on my dry hair. Then, I added Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Instant Recovery Mask on the length of my hair and sealed the conditioner with coconut oil, covered with a plastic cap and relaxed under my heat cap for a few hours. 
3. (Aloe) Green Tea Rinse- After rinsing the conditioner, I applied the same mix CC's Naturals Lavender & Chamomile Tea and Aloe Vera Juice to my hair, using a narrow tip applicator to my strands. I let it sit for a few minutes then rinsed.
4. Smoothing Treatment- with a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution and gently massaged into my strands.
5. Air Dried- 70% with a cotton t-shirt.
6. Leave-Ins- a few spritzes of the aloe green tea mix, Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner, my kitchenista Tangerine Vanilla Whipped Hair Butter, and the "faux" banded my hair to stretch roots while it dried.

The Results: 

Freshly conditioned texlaxed hair

Post wash fluffy air dried bun

This wash day, i experimented with deep conditioning with tea. Remember when I tried daily moisturizing with tea a few months ago? It was sorta a bust; I stopped because I just didn't see a big enough increase in moisture to justify the extra step. In fact, my last week with it left my hair super dry and kinda crunchy. Whilst, I didn't feel like hope was lost, I decided to stop until I figured out a better way. Enter this article about Aloe Tea Rinsing by Jenell and my mini research from moisturizing my straight hair. I thought: Why not combine the two? If I didn't need to wash my hair today, I probably would have stopped after adding the Aloe Tea Sptriz to my hair. It felt so soft and the tight curls at my roots were super springy. After rinsing the deep conditioner, I was delighted with the results: Fluffy, moisturized, and soft hair #ftw! I still can't believe that I didn't hop on the AVJ bandwagon years ago!

 
How was your last wash day? Have you ever tried deep conditioning with an aloe and/or tea mixture before?

Besitos!  
KLP

Relaxer Touch Up

Relaxer Drama

I used a new relaxer, ORS Olive Oil Professional Lye Creme Relaxer (Normal Strength), this touch up for the first time in almost 6 years. It was an interesting experience to say the least. So here's how my self-touch up yesterday went:

"Protect" Prodcuts

1. Prep- The wash day before my relaxer, I prep my strands with a protein treatment. Last wash day, I used a mix of One 'n Only Argan Oil Restorative Mask and Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Instant Recovery Mask because I'd already hit my hair with a hard protein treatment 2 weeks ago. 
2. Protect- The day of my relax, I first section my hair into four quads. Then I take each quad and split into 1" sections. Next, I base my scalp with JBCO then lightly cover my previously relaxed ends with Roux Porosity Control Conditioner, Chi Silk Infusion, and Joico Moisture Recovery. Lastly, I double strand twist each section, starting the twist at the line of demarcation, so that I know where to apply the relaxer. I cover the front two quads with a shower cap for each side then 2 more covering both sides to keep it from getting relaxer or water on it while I work on my front half.

Apply- I did a strand test, once this is a new relaxer, so I knew that I had about 7 minutes for the process. I started my application process on the front quads using a sprush (green). Because I know exactly where to apply the relaxer and I only apply the relaxer to my unprocessed roots, the fear of overlapping the relaxer is minimal. Once I apply the relaxer, I smooth with my fingers. HOWEVER, I got to about minute 5 and my scalp was on fire! Literally, I felt like my hair was falling out so, I immediately hopped the shower rinsed thoroughly and did a quick neutralizing. The burning sensation ceased and I woosahed enough to carry on.

Mid-relaxer fortifier

Fortify- Next, I applied Joico K-pak Reconstructor as my mid-relaxer strengthener and let it sit for 2 minutes.  

Neutralize- After rinsing the protein conditioner, I neutralized 3x with ORS Olive Oil Professional Neutralizing Shampoo plus a 5 minute ACV rinse just to be ensure that the relaxer has been rinsed away and the chemical process has been stopped. 

Deep condition

Remove- My old relaxer was no-lye and I would follow up with a chelating shampoo after neutralizing to remove mineral deposits. This time I followed with Roux PC Shampoo to balance my hair because I didn't know how my hair would react to the ORS. Better safe than sorry right?

Restore- Every relaxer touch up ends with an extreme deep condition. I applied vitamin e oil to my scalp, to soothe the irritation, KeraCare Humecto on the length of my hair and massaged Argan oil throughout. I covered with a plastic cap then DIY Steam conditioned with my heat cap for about an hour. 

I tea rinsed/applied a smoothing treatment, air dried, detangled, and used It's a 10! and Chi Silk Infusion as my leave ins then flat ironed.

Results: 
Ugh. That's all that I can say right now. After having so much irritation when relaxing the front half of my hair, I just knew that my roots were going to be bone straight. I literally told myself to man-up in the mirror so that I wouldn't cry. (I can be really emo when I get frustrated.) After deep conditioning, I saw that they weren't. But I'm still salty. Relaxing in two halves is tedious but I'm grateful for that process today because I was able to change my strategy for the back half of my hair. I added about 1/4 cup coconut oil straight to the relaxer creme and double triple based my scalp. This seemed to do the trick because I didn't have one bit of burning in the back. However, the back half of my hair has a little more texture than the front---I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.

I was so tired flustered by the relaxer process that I didn't even bother to length check. My ends looked like they were in decent condition: the one highlight of this touch up.

My hair was really flat and didn't have it's usual "post relaxer swang" so I haven't even worn it down. What was the point of flat ironing?!? To say the least, no soy feliz...*crosses arms and pouts.*

I understand that lye relaxers are better for the hair than no lye relaxers but I'm not sure that the irriation is worth it. Or perhaps my scalp is far more sensitive than I thought. 

If you use a lye formula, how do you prevent scalp burns/irritation?

Besitos!
KLP

Mini Wash

The sun setting on my last night on holiday

Protein Powered Mini Wash

I wanted to give my hair a quick shot of protein before I relax later this week to strengthen my hair after days of co-washing on holiday. Moisture overload is real! I totally didn't feel like doing a full wash (read: hopping in and out of the shower several times); Enter my quickie protein packed mini wash: 

Pre-wash Shed Hair

1. 

   Wash Day Products

   Detangled carefully and gently using my Magic Star Jumbo Rake seamless comb.
   
2. Extreme Deep Condition- with JBCO and my essential oil blend on my scalp then a mix of One 'n Only Argan Oil Restorative Mask and Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Instant Recovery Mask  on the length of my hair. I coated the ends of my hair with Grapeseed oil, covered with a plastic cap, and DIY Steamed an hour.
3. Tea Rinse- with 2 green tea bags steeped in 2 cups of water. I applied to my hair using a narrow tip applicator, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinsed.
4. Smoothing Treatment- Next, I applied a dollop of Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment, massaged it in from root to tip for a minute or two then rinsed. 
5. Air Dried- 80% with a cotton t-shirt



Hair after applying EDC

6. Leave-ins- Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner and Chi Silk Infusion. I really loved this combo from my last wash and wanted to try it again. 

Results:  
More of the usual big fluffy hair. I really love the way that my curly roots spring up at the delight of moisture. I'm praying that my ends are in good shape and that I don't get the urge to snip more than 1/2 inch after my touch up. Keyda's threatened to stone me if I do. Ha-ha! I'm excited that I made it heat free for 8 weeks. I don't remember how long I went heat free last stretch, but this time felt easier. Thanks to all of your suggestions, I'm going with ORS Olive Oil Lye Relaxer. Fingers crossed that my hair loves it!

Besitos!
KLP

Relaxer Touch Up

To me, tex-laxing isn't a product; It's a technique. Some ladies cover their hair in oils, others use milder strength relaxers, while a few, mix conditioners to intentionally under-process their relaxers. I simply don't soothe the relaxing cream to achieve my tex-laxed results.

I relax in two sections, which usually requires to kits and double jumping in and out of the shower. I first discovered this process from fellow blogger Ms. Kibbi of www.kibibihair.com.

It's tedious, but totally worth it. Now I have no fear of some over-processed and then some severally under-processed roots. Uniform tex-laxed results every time! So here's how my touch up today went:

1. Prepare- The wash day before my relaxer, I prep my strands with a protein treatment and extreme deep condition. Last wash day, I used Nexxus Emergencee. 
2. Protect- The day of my relax, I first section my hair into four quads. Then I take each quad and split into 1" sections. Next, I base my scalp with JBCO then lightly cover my previously relaxed ends with Roux Porosity Control, Chi Silk Infusion, and Joico Moisture Recovery. Lastly, I double strand twist each section, starting the twist at the line of demarcation, so that I know where to apply the relaxer. I cover the front two quads with shower caps to keep it from getting relaxer or water on it while I work on my back half.
3. Apply- I start my application process at the crown of the two back sections. This is where my curls are the tightest. I use a sprush to make the process go back super fast. Because I know exactly where to apply the relaxer and I only apply the relaxer to my unprocessed roots, the fear of overlapping the relaxer is minimal. Once I apply the relaxer, I smooth with my fingers. This takes about 9 minutes. (I use a timer every time to keep myself honest!) Lastly, I unravel the twists and prepare to wash the relaxer out. 
4. Fortify- In the shower, I rinse out the relaxer then applied a mixture of One n Only Argan Oil and Nexxus Emergencee. (I usually use Nexxus Keraphix as my mid-relaxer strengthener, but I didn't even notice that I was out! I nearly had a serious meltdown and considered postponing my relaxer. That's how serious this is! However, I figured that these two would do a decent job and luckily it did! But next time---I'm back to Keraphix!)
5. Neutralize- After rinsing the protein conditioner, I neutralize 3 lathers with the neutralizing shampoo that is contained in the kit plus a 5 minute ACV rinse just to be ensure that the relaxer has been rinsed away and the chemical process has been stopped. 
6. Remove- Have you ever felt like you loose a little shine and luster after a relaxer? This might be because of the dulling mineral deposits in most no-lye relaxer kits. To prevent this, I shampoo with a chelating poo. Today I used Kenra Chelating. Then I did my usual green tea rinse and Paul Mitchell Smoothing treatment. (Like I said--I'm quite habitual)
7. Restore- Every relaxer touch up ends with an extreme deep condition. I applied vitamin e oil to my scalp, just in case the relaxer caused irritation (which hasn't happened to me in years but its a hard habit to break), then Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioning Balm to the length of my hair and grapeseed oil, cover with a plastic cap then emptied a few shows in my DVR for about 2 hours. 

I rinsed, air dried, detangled, and applied It's a 10! and Chi Silk Infusion as my leave ins then flat ironed. 
Results: Awesomely wavy tex-laxed hair! I had a lot less shed hair than I was expecting and aside from not having my trust Keraphix for my mid-relaxer protein treatment, all went well in the land of relaxer touch ups today! Even though I don't use the sprush for smoothing, I did notice that my roots were a little straighter than I prefer---Something to contemplate for my next touch up. 

I snipped about an inch. Now looking at the pictures---I probably didn't have to...but no cutter's remorse. Yet. What do you think? Could I have gotten away with not trimming this go around?

Before Cut

After Cut

Un mil besitos
KLP
 

Wash Day

Notes: This is my last wash day of this stretch! *Throws confetti* I plan to relax on Wednesday night when I'll be exactly 15 weeks post. This has been a great stretch for me but lord knows that I'm excited to be done with it; I can't wait to welcome my straight tresses back (if only for a week). To prep for my relaxer, I treated my tresses to a hard protein treatment and deep condition. 

Pre-Wash Detangle Shed Hair

(0) Detangled with my Magic Star Jumbo Rake in vertical sections. 
(1) Shampooed first with KeraCare 1st Lather Shampoo to clarify and then with Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Hydrating Shampoo
(2) Protein Treatment- I saturated my hair in Nexxus Emergencee then did some chores. It air dried for about 3 hours.

Freshly Shampooed Hair (Texture Shot)

(3) Extreme Deep Condition: Next, I stood under the spray of my shower for about 5 minutes to rinse the Emergencee completely. Deep conditioning with heat after a protein treatment isn't suggested---it's mandatory! That is if you want to keep the hair on your head. I deep conditioned for 2 hours under my heating cap with Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioning Balm and then coated my strands in extra virgin coconut oil. 

(4) Green Tea Rinse with 2 green tea bags and 2 cups of water.  Then applied the green tea rinse with a narrow tip applicator bottle and let it sit for another 5 minutes.
(5) Smoothing Treatment- Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment to the rescue. The protein treatment and tea rinse combo left my hair feeling very brittle and the smoothing treatment completely reversed that. After massaging it into my strands for 5 minutes (and doing a little detangling in the process) I rinsed to find my hair soft and very strong again! It wasn't nearly as soft or fluffy as when I do my mini washes but I'm still calling this a win. I felt 5-6 knots in my hair as I was rinsing. I didn't have the time or patience to deal with them in the shower, so I just let them be. I realized that I do far more harm than good if I'm rushing with my hair and it's knotty. (Get it! naughty! Ha-ha. C'mon y'all--need I remind you? #judgementfreezone)
(6) Air dry- I let my hair air dry 100% then applied my leave ins.

Shed hair from the shower trips

(7) Leave-ins- Detangled with the aid of my Hercules Sagemann Contour Comb courtesy of  the"Loving My Hair" Giveaway giveaway. Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Split End Protector and argan oil. I only found 5-6 SSKs but it detangling them was a breeze once I had the time. I'm not going to lie---I'm not in love with this comb. Its tiny teeth scare the mess out of me. However, I didn't notice an increase in breakage with it and I plan on noting if my hair stays smoother or less tangled through out the week. Needless to say--a through review is in the works. Thanks again Age!

Post wash air dry fluffy bun

Results: I've been spoiling myself with mini washes. I was totally over this wash after the second time that I jumped into the shower! I had a little more shedding this wash day when compared to my last 4 mini wash days. I'm more than sure that it has something to do with me adding shampoo back in the mix and changing up my usual order of operations. Next time that I do a protein treatment (and thus use shampoo) I'm going to do my green tea rinse and smoothing treatment before my deep condition in hopes of keeping the soft fluffy hair that I'm madly in love with. 

One of the best things about keeping a hair journal (online and offline) is that it's excellent for documenting what works for you and what doesn't; Especially if you are like me and you can't remember what you had for breakfast! Looking back at my wash day here made me realize that maybe my hair either A. doesn't need two lathers or B. I'm shampooing all wrong! I think that the next time that I need to shampoo, I'm going to dilute and apply it to my scalp with an applicator bottle, just like I apply tea rinses, to prevent tangles.  

How was your wash day? Anyone else ending a stretch?
 
Un mil besitos!

KLP