Wash Day!

Hey there! I got around to washing my hair  today, although a few days late. I felt like my hair needed a protein treatment so I gave it one. Nothing major. I just whipped up an egg and let it sit in my hair for about twenty minutes. Then I rinsed it out with cool water (didn't want scrambled eggs in my hair) and proceeded to wash it. I used my normal products, herbal essences shampoo and suave conditioner. After deep conditioning, I roller set my hair and sat under the dryer for forty minutes. Once my hair was dry, I took out the rollers, applied some coconut oil, and wrapped it. This week, instead of flat ironing it I decided to try the Saran Wrap method. Let's just say that was a fail. Not an epic fail, but still a fail. So right now my hair looks like it normally does. I may or may not decide to flat iron it. We'll see how the week goes!

Major Problem Area

Hey! So today I figured I would put my hair in a bun since it is a protective style. I kept some hair from when my hair was braided and made a ponytail out of it. After I was done I decided to take a picture to make sure everything was in place. This is what I found... 

I have a huge patch of hair missing! This is a major problem for me. And the worst part is that I can't be mad at anyone but myself. When I had cornrows a couple of weeks ago I knew they were too tight and I should have taken them out. Instead, since it was a protective style, I kept them in for two weeks. Clearly they did more harm than good. 

So now I have to take extra special care of my nape and hope that it grows back nicely. I'll be doing lots of scalp massages with JBCO in that area. We'll see how it goes!

The Importance of trimming.

Current Wrap

Last night, I was wrapping my hair for bed and it made me think about the state my hair was in prior to going natural. There were times when I would wrap my hair and no matter how much i brushed it, the ends just would not lay down. I would brush like crazy then quickly tie it up before they jumped out of place again. In the morning the hairs would be laying in place, but was it smooth? Definitely not. 

These were the days before I knew (or cared) about split ends. And don't even bother asking me to get a trim! All I knew was that my hair was a decent length and I wasn't cutting it. Shame on me. In this case, ignorance was not bliss. 

I, like many people, didn't understand the importance of trimming my ends.  My hair was the same length for what seems like forever but I didn't think anything of it. Now, I hear people say "Why won't my hair grow?", and my answer to that is this. Your hair is growing every day. If it was not, there would be no new growth to relax. The problem is that the hair is breaking off at the same rate it's growing so you can't see the progress. The solution would be to take care of your ends. Regular trims can make all the difference in the world. Couple that with moisturizing and sealing, some protective styling, and you'll be just fine! Until next time...

Update on Imani's Hair

Hey! Back in November, I mentioned that myself and my one year old daughter would begin using JBCO. It has definitely made a change in both of our hair. 

At the time you could look right at Imani's scalp without even touching her hair. This is what it looks like now. 

I don't have any direct top shots, but you can clearly see that her hair has thickened up. You can't see the length of it because of shrinkage, but it's gotten longer as well. 

I don't really use the JBCO as much for her hair but I do moisturize and seal it every day. That seems to work for her. So that's about it, I just wanted to give a quick update... Eight months later lol. Until next time!

Relaxer Day!

Today is the day! I finally sat down and relaxed my hair. I used Africa's Best again and once again, I am not disappointed. My hair looks and feels amazing just like the last time I used this brand.

This is what my hair was looking like before I got started. Luckily, it looks worse than it felt. Thanks to moisturizing and sealing my new growth was nice and soft. I had to include the picture of this shed hair. I was looking at the hairs in my comb (like I always do) and I came across this one. I know what my natural curl pattern looks like so I knew that this hair was pretty much all new growth. The picture on the bottom is of me and my son stretching it so see just how long it was. I thought it was pretty interesting.

01/24/14

07/16/14

Here are my results! The picture on the left is my relaxer in January and the one on the right is from today. I am EXTREMELY happy! I did do a minor trim and fortunately there wasn't much that needed to come off. The picture below shows what I trimmed off. There is more hair there than it looks like, it just looks like less because I had already started gathering it when I remembered to take the picture.  

I really can't complain at all about this progress. The pictures of the back of my hair show a significant amount of growth over the last six months. 

I took the same steps I always take when I do a relaxer. I parted my hair in four sections before applying it, rinsed it out, deep conditioned for fifteen minutes under the dryer, rinsed again, roller set my hair on my purple rollers (my hair is long enough for them again!), and flat ironed. After I deep conditioned, I applied my Creme of Nature Argan Oil leave in conditioner, moisturizer, and some grape seed oil. After sitting under the dryer for 45 minutes on medium heat, I flat ironed and trimmed my hair. I used my Babyliss Pro flat iron on 15 (310 degrees). After it was all said and done, I just wrapped my hair and covered it with my silk scarf. 

Now that my relaxer is done, I can definitely say that my 25 week stretch was a success. I'm not sure if I'll be going a full six months again but I know for sure that I won't be doing another relaxer until at least November 7th (16 weeks). Either way, I hope I continue to retain everything I grow!

I **think** I have an obsession...

... With nail polish!! The first two rows are all new, bought within the last two weeks. Now I know there are people with sooo many more but I'm buying like five bottles a week! Anyway, this post has absolutely no relevance at all but I was excited :).

Why My Six Month Stretch Was a Success

Hey! As you all know, it has been six months (or 25 weeks) since my last relaxer. Someone asked me how I made it so long without the creamy crack. My answer to that is protective styling. That has been the absolute biggest help during this stretch. I've had box braids, Senegalese twists, cornrows, and of course my trusty wig. All I had to do was moisturize and seal every day, oil my scalp, and wash my hair every other week. It's great to know that I can still baby my hair and protect it at the same time. 

Another reason this stretch was a success is because I limited my heat usage. In fact, I didn't use heat at all for four of those six months. It might make your hair slightly less easy to manage, but the benefits outweigh that by far. 

When I say this was a success, I don't say that because I made it this long without relaxing. Because if you think about it, you can go six months without a relaxer and not retain a bit of hair (trust me, I see it all the time). So to me, I was successful because I retained what I grew, my hair feels moisturized, and it feels healthy in general. That is my main concern. So for anyone who wants to do a stretch, do it! It's not as hard as it may seem. 

Regimen

Here it is guys! I finally sat down and wrote one up instead of keeping it all in my head. I have to give the credit for this one to my little sister. She's decided to go on a healthy hair journey  and I told her I would show her my regimen. Anyway, it's pretty basic. Not much has changed other than the length of time between my relaxers. As for trims, I have every six months because that's what works for ME. Everything won't work for everybody so this is just my personal preference. I know people who trim every time they get a relaxer and I just don't get it. That's basically cutting off the hair you just grew. Oh well. So for me it will be every six months or as needed. 

For my relaxers, as you can see, I have a minimum of every 16 weeks. Right now I'm going on 25 weeks. I think I'll see a nice amount of growth since I spent a lot of that time doing protective styles. As much as I wanted to stretch through the whole summer, I don't think it's going to happen. I went to Walgreens and picked up a relaxer yesterday (along with the biotin). I didn't do it yet but I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I MAY do a tiny trim, and I may not. I saw a few split ends and I want them gone. It's definitely not like it was last time I did a trim and I don't want to get to that point. On top of that, it's been six months. So we'll see. Like I said, it won't be anything major. If I do decide to do it, it will be done tomorrow since I'll be home all day. 

So there's my regimen! I'm excited to finally have it all mapped out. Now all I have to do is stick to it! Until next time...

Biotin!

Hey! Today I decided to go and pick up some biotin. I've been planning to get it ever since my bottle of hairfinity went missing. Anyway, I think it's about time I give it a try. I have read mixed reviews so I figured I would start off with the 1000mcg tablets. Since the bottle has 100 tablets in it, I'll be documenting my progress. Think of it as a biotin challenge. I have to say, I'm excited! Anything that promotes healthy hair is good in my book. I started taking it today so hopefully we see a good change in 100 days!

One year later

You guys! Can you imagine how happy this makes me??? This obviously doesn't show my complete length because it's not relaxed or straightened  but look how much my hair has grown since 07/04/13! This is one year after cutting and 24 weeks post relaxer and trim. I am definitely pleased with my progress. The last year has been major learning experience and I'm so glad I got back on this hair journey. Otherwise who knows what condition my hair would be in. 

My last protective style was the cornrows. I literally just took them out right before this post. I liked the look of them but they were extremely tight. To the point where I have a few scabs in my head. For the health of my hair and my peace of mind, I had to take them out. My worst nightmare (hair wise) is not having any edges. I'm not about that life lol. I'm not sure what my next style will be. I did take some of the hair from the braids and made a ponytail. That will come in handy on the days where it's just ok hot for my wig. Let's face it, in the middle of July that will be almost every day. When I go down to the city I will probably go and get a wash and set just so I can really see the length of my hair. I don't feel like I need a trim right now, my ends seem to be in pretty good condition. As far as a relaxer, I want one and I don't. At 24 weeks post, this is the longest stretch I've done since I natural. The good thing is that my hair isn't at a place where I just can't manage it. So we'll see how that goes. 

Over the next year, I would like my hair to continue thriving. I KNOW I can make it to shoulder length by 7/04/15. So I want to challenge myself to make it to APL. It will definitely take some dedication. I want to limit direct heat, which shouldn't be a problem for me. I haven't used a flat iron or blow dryer since March so it's not a new concept to me. It will be much easier for me now that I have a little bit of length again. My main problem when I first cut my hair was that I didn't know how to manage it. I had never had hair so short so it was completely foreign. I thought it would be easy and it turned out to be the opposite. As far as my current length, I've been here before. This is a little bit longer than my hair was when I got my last relaxer before going natural (02/2011). The difference is that y hair was so damaged then. I was constantly coloring it so it was always dry and seemed much thinner and brittle. So I'm already doing better. 

I used to stick to a regimen. Perhaps I should start doing that again. Things always seem to work better for me when I have a routine. I'm just excited to see what the next year brings. Until next time!

New Hair Style

Here is my new protective style, as promised. I will not lie, these braids are EXTREMELY tight! I'm planning to keep them in for two weeks but if they don't loosen up in the next day or two, they will be coming out. I need my edges! When I take these out, I will be at 24 weeks post. Yay! This is the longest stretch I've done since I started relaxing again (November 2012). I have no idea what my next step will be. My husband wants me to get a relaxer... I'm not so sure. I like the fact that with protective styling, I can still take care of my hair (moisturizing and sealing) without manipulating it so much. I've never had a weave, and I love my wig but it was just way too hot. Maybe I'll go for some more Senegalese twists... who knows? At least I have some time to decide! 

Protective Styling Update, Unofficial Length Check!

Hey! So I managed to keep the Senegalese twists in for two months. I got them done on April 13th and took them out on June 17th. For the first month I was taking hairfinity, but my bottle for the second month mysteriously disappeared so I didn't get to take them. That's another story for another day. Anyway, even without taking the vitamins for the month of May, my hair definitely grew a lot.

I didn't get a picture of my hair right after I removed the twists but these were taken right after washing and conditioning. Even though there is some shrinkage, you can see that my roots are pretty thick and full. This Friday makes 22 weeks since my last relaxer and I don't plan on getting one any time soon. To me, it's pointless in the summer time. I'm going to straighten my hair just so I can go out and have it stuck to my forehead? I think not. SO, tonight I'll be getting another protective style. I'm being simple this time around, just getting some cornrows braided up into a bun. That should hold me over for a couple of weeks and then I'll be deciding on something else. My goal is to wear protective styles throughout the summer. I'm not sure how that will work out but it's worth a shot. 

Also, 07/04/14 makes one year since I chopped all of my hair off! When I cut it I had all intentions of wearing my hair short forever but I'm just not about that life. Which is how I ended up back on this journey. It's not as long as I would like, but if I hadn't trimmed it in January the length I have now would be worthless. Since my hair is not relaxed and also because I'm braiding my hair up tonight, I won't be able to do an official length check on that day. So here is my length as of today, in comparison to the day I got it cut!  

07/2013

07/04/2013

10/2013 Relaxer

01/24/2014 Relaxer and Trim

06/25/2014 Length Check

I'm pleased with the steady progress I'm making. Hopefully I'll continue moving in the right direction!

Hairfinity Update: Month 1

I finished my first bottle of HairFinity today! So far, so good. If you remember, I began taking the vitamins the day i got my senegalese twists done. As you can see, exactly one month later my roots are looking pretty thick. I am planning to keep these in for another month (while I take the second bottle of Hairfinity) but I really don't think the style is going to last that long. My hair usually grows pretty fast but not THIS fast. We'll see how much longer I can hold on to this style.

My first month taking these vitamins was not too bad. I did have a few minor breakouts at the beginning for about a week, but after that they cleared up. Clearly my hair is growing, and I'm pretty sure it's helping my nails too. They seem to be much stronger and thicker so that's a good thing. I start month two of my two month supply tomorrow, and we'll see how much growth I retain when it's all said and done. I don't know what I am going to do with my hair after I remove the twists. I love this style, it has been my absolute favorite protective style to date. I'm thinking maybe I'll take them out and redo them a week or so later. I do not want to get a relaxer just yet. My last one was on January 24th, so this week makes 16 weeks post and by the time I take these out I'll be 20 weeks post. If I can make it to 24 weeks that would be great, possibly even longer. I may just wear my wigs for awhile. Who knows? I guess we shall see...

Senegalese Twists

I got my Senegalese twists done today. I paid $140 and it took five hours to complete. I love them! They are very lightweight, much lighter than box braids in my opinion. I'm planning to keep these in until June 8th (8 weeks) which will take me to 20 weeks post. At that point I'll decide if I want to do a relaxer or another protective style. Also, during the eight weeks I have the twists in I will be taking hairfinity. I purposely waited until I got my hair done to start taking the vitamins because I want to accurately track my growth. Of course I will be moisturizing and sealing as usual so we'll see how much length I retain!

Hairfinity, protective styling, and update!

I know, I know... It's been forever. But here I am with a quick update. So my hair is doing well. I'm still moisturizing and sealing daily. I haven't washed it in a couple of weeks, which is strange for me, but I'll be getting that done tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to prep my hair by doing the GHE. I have not used heat on my hair since March 14th. This is huge for me because I usually feel like it's necessary to flat iron at least once a week to maintain this short hair.

I know for a fact that the only reason I haven't used heat is because I've been wearing sighs. Yes, me in wigs! I have to admit, there was a time when I wouldn't touch a wig but now I don't leave the house without putting my hair on. I love them! I do make sure that I always put on a silk wig cap before putting it on. The point is to protect my hair, not pull it out.

My next protective style is going to be either box braids or Senegalese twists. I love the look of Senegalese twists but I'm not sure if they will last the full eight weeks that I'm planning to wear the style. I was originally planning to get a relaxer on April 18th but I really want to stretch this relaxer and retain some length. I'm planning to get my hair done next week so that should bring me to about 21 weeks post. At that point I'll decide if I want to do a relaxer or another protective style.

Now, on to Hairfinity!  I ordered a two month supply on Monday and it arrived today (Friday) which made me happy. The packaging was also really nice. I probably won't begin taking it until after I get my hair done next week. Only because I'll be able to see exactly how much growth I get in those eight weeks.  I'm excited to try it and I hope it works!!

Until next time... 😘

Wash day

I finally got around to washing my hair yesterday. I had gotten into a routine of washing it on Wednesdays, which was annoying to me since that is the middle of the week. So this time I waited until Sunday so I could get back to my normal. One thing is for sure, I will not go that long without washing my hair again. I just knew I was going to scratch my scalp away. I have no idea how I used to go two weeks at a time. Anyway, that's in the past.

Saturday night I decided to do the green house effect (GHE). I usually use coconut oil but my hair was feeling especially dry (my silk scarf refused to stay on last week) so I used JBCO. I used it to oil my scalp like I usually do, then I coated my ends with it as well. After that I put on a plastic shower cap and covered both with my silk scarf. I left it that way overnight and the next day my hair was very damp. I decided to wash my hair in the shower so after I shampooed I put in my conditioner and covered it with a plastic cap. It stayed like that for about an hour because I decided to get some chores done. After I rinsed my hair, I applied my leave in conditioner and applied some grape seed oil. I don't usually blow dry my hair, but since I was not planning to flat iron it I wanted it as straight as possible. So the grape seed oil served as my heat protectant (as you know). After my hair was dry, I wrapped it and covered it with my silk scarf.

On the subject of flat ironing, I haven't straightened my hair since the day after Valentine's day. I haven't had a reason to, so I didn't. I don't plan on flat ironing it until it's necessary. I started noticing a bit of breakage around that time and now that I decreased my heat usage, it has slowed down significantly. I REALLY try to avoid the flat iron, but with my hair this length I feel like I HAVE to use it to achieve the style I want. When my hair was longer, it was easy not to flat iron my hair because I could easily wear it in a wrap or throw it in a bun. It's a work in progress and I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

So there's my quick update. I am still washing my hair weekly, moisturizing and sealing daily, and reducing the amount of heat I use (or at least trying to).

Progress: Almost 7 months after cutting my hair.

I was just looking through some old pictures and I realized how much my hair really has grown. It's not back to where it was before I cut it obviously, but it is noticeably longer. The hair on the sides wasn't even touching my ears in the first picture. Also, the middle section of my hair was cut above my eyebrows and now it reaches my top lip. So there has definitely been progress.

I'm the type of person who, when it comes to my hair, wants to see results immediately. Then I have to remind myself that it took two years for my hair to grow from less than an inch to just about APL. It takes time for sure, but the hard work pays off in the long run. I was just complaining about how my hair was too short, and I still feel that way. But after looking at the pictures I can say that yes, it is still short, but it was much shorter less than a year ago. So I can't really complain. All I can do is hope that I'll be back at APL sooner rather than later.

Babyliss Pro Ceramix Xtreme Flat Iron Review

My flat iron finally came!! I've been practically stalking the mail man the last few days. I ordered it on Amazon.com for $29.95. So here it is.

Like the box says, it has 25 heat settings. I set mine on 15 which is 310 degrees since I wanted to see how it works on a low setting. Also, I didn't feel the need to turn it up any higher because my hair is freshly relaxed so it's pretty manageable right now. I think the highest setting I'll ever use it on is probably 20 (375 degrees). 450 just seems insanely high if you ask me.

So two things I love about this flat iron is that it has a really long swivel cord, which is great because I always had to untwist my old one when I was curling my hair. The other thing is that the plates come almost to the edge so I was able to curl even the shortest part of my hair in the back. It also heats up really fast, so be careful.

I had already flat ironed my hair once after my relaxer but I HAD to try this out. That's the only reason it got done twice this week. The next time will be when I wash my hair on Sunday and then it will only be once a week. So I used my wide tooth comb and of course my trusty grape seed oil. Like I said the flat iron was hot in no time and it only took one heat pass to curl my hair. Literally, I only went over each section once... that never happens to me!! I always have to do it at least twice to get the look I'm trying to achieve.

Overall I really like it. It got the job done in record time and I didn't feel like I was frying my hair. I give it an A+!

Combat Breakage!

Hello again. I just want to say a few things about breakage. When I decided to get back on a healthy hair journey back in November, one of my main concerns was stopping the breakage I was experiencing. It was really bad, I would even say severe, because after I got my pixie cut I completely abandoned my hair. Aside from not moisturizing and sealing, I was flat ironing daily with no heat protectant. I don't have any pictures but I'm sure you can imagine what it was looking like.

Anyway, back in November I decided to buy the ApHogee two step protein treatment. I figured that if I did that, the breakage would stop. WRONG. It did nothing... literally. I still had hands full of little broken hairs each time I touched or ran my fingers through it. At that point, I was back to moisturizing and sealing daily but it made no difference. Fast forward to this week. After taking out my patra braids I washed my hair and did the ApHogee treatment again. It seemed to help at first, but after my hair was dry and I combed it, it was back to the same thing.

After not one, but two failed protein treatments (that people swear by), I knew the only solution would be to cut all of the split and damaged ends off. I was planning to trim my hair anyway, but it was now a necessity. As you know I trimmed my hair yesterday, and after combing and wrapping it, I haven't seen any hairs in my comb at all. Now I just have to make sure I don't let it get that way again.

Some things that cause breakage:

1. Not moisturizing and sealing. Dry hair becomes brittle and breaks off. The solution? MOISTURIZE AND SEAL!
2. Using too much heat. Too much heat is very drying to your hair. Try to limit direct heat, and when you do use it, (flat irons, curling irons, blow dryers, etc.) always apply some type of heat protectant.
3. Moisture / Protein imbalance. Sometimes too much moisture is used, which leaves your hair limp and prone to breakage. In this case, you would need to do a protein treatment or use a protein leave in conditioner. On the other hand, you can have protein overload. Some people continuously do protein treatments to strengthen their hair, not realizing they may be weakening it. Too much protein is not a good thing. To correct this, you would need a moisturizing conditioner. I usually follow my protein treatments with a moisturizing deep conditioner.
4. Too much manipulation. Combing, brushing, and styling your hair too much will lead to breakage. Sometimes it just needs to be left alone. Try protective styling or low manipulation styles such as braids, buns, twist / braid outs, weaves, wigs, etc. Also remember to take care of your hair under the protective style.
5. Overlapping relaxers. Doing relaxers too close together can cause over processing and weakens the hair. Stretching between relaxers leaves you with more new growth, which makes it easier to distinguish from previously relaxed hair.
6. Split ends. Holding on to split ends because you want longer hair is not a good look. A split may start at the end, but it can travel all the way up the hair shaft and break off if it's not dealt with. So clip your ends. Besides, nobody wants long hair with stringy ends right?

There are lots of resources available for learning about healthy hair ( relaxed and natural). Hairlista.com, k-i-s-s.biz, and longhaircareforum.com are a few of my favorites. Check them out!

Relaxer / Trim results!

Let me start by saying that I will probably be using Africa's Best Relaxer from now on! I love the way my hair turned out. It's soft, shiny, and bouncy... although the trim could have something to do with that also. Anyway, I parted my hair in four sections, applied the relaxer, rinsed, applied the deep conditioner and sat under the drier for ten minutes, then rinsed.

01/24/2014

Now, I can see that I retained a nice amount of length when looking at the top right picture. But even though it did grow, there are a lot of split ends that needed to go. So after rinsing out the deep conditioner, I applied my leave in conditioner, a small amount of moisturizer, and some coconut oil. Then I roller set my hair using purple rollers (I got these when my hair was longer, I need to invest in some smaller ones now) under the dryer for 40 minutes on medium heat. When I finally came out of the sweat box, I put a small amount of Grape seed oil on my hair as a heat protector. Then the fun (not really) began!

I know that we get split ends all over our head, so I didn't only trim the base of my hair. I know people who do that and even without having done it myself, I knew that's not the way to go. So I flat ironed my hair in tiny sections and trimmed the ends as I went along. I made sure to hold my hair up as well, making sure I got it all. I won't lie, at first I was trying to hold on to as much of my length as possible, but then I just started cutting what needed to be cut. And I'm glad I did. This is what my ends were looking like. And that's not even the worst of it.

My hair feels and looks SO much better now. And it's so nice to run my hands through my hair and all of it is soft, not just the roots. You know how you get a relaxer and no trim, but you REALLY need a trim, so you end up flat ironing the hell out of your ends (and further damaging them) so they blend in with the rest of your hair? That was me for the last few relaxers. But no more! Now that I know I can trim my own hair without looking busted, I definitely will. 

This is what it looks like now. I took off a nice amount but hey, it had to go (there's more hair on the floor, this is mainly from the front). And my hair is still longer than it was after my last relaxer. So I'm happy and it's healthy! By the way, I just noticed how much clearer my skin looks. Go me!

Change of plans and new relaxer!

Well, I've changed mind about going to the salon tomorrow. I went to CVS today for a relaxer and some shears. I've been using ORS Olive Oil relaxer since 2012 but this time I'm going to try Africa's Best Relaxer. 

What made me decide to switch? Long story short, it was only $5.49. I know a lot of people who swear by this relaxer and that's almost half the price of ORS so I figured why not? As for the shears, I just grabbed what they had. They're Conair so hopefully they're decent.

Now, I have never trimmed my own hair but I'd rather do it myself than go to someone I can't even find reviews on. So, my lovely husband is going to do the back and I'm going to do the front. I've been on YouTube all day looking at different techniques so hopefully it doesn't come out too bad. I'm going to have to hide these because I know they are only to be used on hair. And I can guarantee that if I leave them out then someone is going to use them for paper. 

On another note, I'm getting a new flat iron :). I let someone use my old one and lets just say I don't want it back. SO, I'll be getting the BaByliss Pro Ceramix Xtreme Red 1" Flat iron. It should be here Monday.  I really want the BaByliss Pro Titanium Nano but that will have to wait. 

That's all for now, until next time!

The Patra braids are no more!

Yes, it's true. I took my braids out. I originally planned to take them out on January 25th but I took them out last night (January 20th). Five days won't kill me. I've decided not to get them done again in February. I liked them a lot but I get bored quickly. So basically I'll just be babying my hair and giving it the TLC it needs. I have to admit, it looks pretty crazy right now but it has definitely grown. Excuse my expression in the first pic, it was late and I was ready for bed :).

Right after removing

I had no intentions of doing anything to my hair last night, so I combed it out and tied it down with a silk scarf. 

After wash, protein treatment, and deep conditioner

This morning I washed my hair after dropping Kaylin off at school. It was definitely a process. 

- Washed with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration

- Aphogee Two Step Protein Treatment (sat under dryer for 10 minutes)

- Aphogee Balancing Conditioner
- Deep condition with Suave Almond and Shea butter conditioner (added in JBCO and EVCO)

 After all of that, I decided to just air dry. I did bring my hood dryer home so I could have done a roller set but I didn't feel like fighting with my roots.

Hair is completely dry

Now... as you can see my roots are looking pretty thick. I am going to the salon on January 24th for a relaxer and a much needed trim. I'm a little nervous because I'm not from the area so I don't really know how the salons up here are. But I have to trust them because I don't know how to trim my own hair. If  I did I'd do my own relaxer and save a bunch of money. Anyway, the main reason for the protein treatment was to strengthen my hair before the relaxer. I know a week before is ideal, but I took my braids out on a whim and I don't have a week. The good thing is that I made it to my goal of stretching my relaxer to 13 weeks. In fact I'll be getting in done on the date I originally planned to. I'm proud. I'm hoping I can get a picture of my hair before the trim so I can see how much length I retained. Honestly, after the trim my hair will probably be about the length it was when I did my last relaxer. I say this only because I haven't had a trim since I cut my hair in July and I know there are a lot of split ends. It might be a minor setback but I'll take health over length!