After last wash day's marathon detangling session, I flirted with the idea of cutting my hair into a sexy blunt long-bob. That's how bad it was, y'all. I also forgot to mention that about 2 weeks ago, I got the brilliant idea to dust my hair whilst I was sectioning off for my twist out. The intent was to take off no more than 1/4" but I managed to clip 3/4" - 1" off of one section. Smh.The twist out was banging but I'm so not winning in the hair department right now! So, when I went to trim my ends, I attempted to even everything out. I'm not sure how much I snipped, but I'm relatively content with the results.
Whilst flat ironing, I decided that I wasn't going to place any more length expectations on my journey. It's time for me to really put emphasis on health over length! If I'm stuck in BSL/MBL purgatory for life but have sexy blunt ends---I'll be a happy lamb! Last year, I gave up on using direct heat frequently and I'm happy to say that I've totally mastered the air dry. I went 20 weeks without using direct heat. Wow! That feels so good to say! Just a year ago, I was flat ironing at least once a week! *it's officially confetti time* And I'm actually surprised that how well my ends are
holding up since my last relaxer in July. Usually by now, I would be experiencing
complete and utter chaos but my hair feels so soft and my bangs are
arm-pit length.
Sometimes, I feel like I have so many shoulda, coulda, woulda moments with my hair. If I would have done this, if I hadn't done that, etc etc. Then I remember what progress is really about: a
forward or onward movement for gradual betterment. This hair journey isn't a
race nor will it ever be perfect. As long as I am learning
from yesterday to make today better, then there is progress.
Besitos!
KLP
A good moisturizing wash day before flat ironing is my secret to smooth and sleek straight hair. This flat iron was totally over due, as I haven't seen the length of my hair in nearly 4 months! Here's what I used to wash my hair this week:
- Pre-shampoo- I lightly detangled and slathered my hair in extra virgin coconut oil.
- Shampoo- Next, I hopped into the shower for 5 minutes to rinse the oil completely. I combined about 1/2 oz of Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Hydrating Shampoo with 4 oz of water in a narrow tip applicator bottle and applied to my roots only. I let the runoff cleanse my ends.
- Extreme Deep Condition- Then I applied Matrix Biolage Ultra-Hydrating Balm from root to tip, covered with a plastic cap and sat under my heat cap for 2 hours and left it in overnight.
- Smoothing Treatment- I rinsed the conditioner then let a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution marinate on my hair for about 5 minutes.
- Leave Ins- Here's where things got dicey. I decided to apply It's a 10! leave in and Sedu Anti-Frizz Serum then detangle.
My hair revolted. I'm not being dramatic y'all. It took me 2 1/2 hours to detangle. I was pretty much in tears by the time that I was done and very late to church. My hair felt awful and looked it. So, I called it a lost, pulled my hair into a bun, and thanked Jesus that at least I still had hair on my head. When I got home, I realized that there was no saving this wash session. I had to re-wash:
- Pre-shampoo- I didn't need to detangle again, so I slathered my hair in extra virgin coconut oil again.
- Extreme Deep Condition- Next, I hopped into the shower to rinse the oil completely. Ah! My heart felt normal again! I applied another helping of Matrix Biolage Ultra-Hydrating Balm from root to tip, covered with a plastic cap and sat under hooded dryer for 45 minutes.
- Smoothing Treatment- I rinsed the conditioner then let a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution marinate on my hair for about 5 minutes.
- Leave Ins- I kicked the Sedu Anti-Frizz Serum to the curb and grabbed my old faithful flat ironing combo of Chi Silk Infusion and It's a 10!
- Tension blow dry- Using my Solia dryer on cool, I applied a little tension to my roots to dry my hair.
- Flat iron- with my Ferrum flat iron and Sedu Carbon Flat Iron Comb.
The results (finally!)
Gloriously shiny straight hair. From start to finish this wash day lasted 30 hours. Smh. Not. A. Fan. But, I'm very happy that I decided to re-wash. If I hadn't, it would have been a waste of a flat iron because I doubt that my hair would have been smooth or flowly at all. The culprit was probably the newbie Sedu Anti-Frizz Serum. It left this weird filmy coated residue on my hair that I just couldn't love. Lesson learned (again): leave ins totally have to play well together. My new Ferrum iron did a marvelous job straightening my hair using 2 passes and it has tons of shine. I snipped almost an inch all the way around and I'll promise to post length check pictures tomorrow. Don't stone me!
How was your wash day? Using something new? Share with us below!
Besitos!
KLP
