Post Panama recap

So, I believe I've survived my first vacation south since my hair trip began.  I spent a week in beautiful Santa Clara, Panama on the Pacific Ocean.  I loved it all, the food, the warm weather...and yes...the water.
Whether it was the pool, the hot tub, or the ocean itsself my hair went from wet to dry to wet again...day after day.

From my experience getting wet isn't a bad thing, but i know that the strands are weakest when wet, so I'm realizing that it's time I start finding ways to reduce the manipulation at these times.  On top of the effects of salt and chlorine, I enjoyed a couple of brief workouts.  I know that physical activity is good for hair growth, but I have yet to see if the net effects of my trip are good or bad.

Here's the regimen when I was away.

Morning:
Wet hair for easy styling, brush back into a bun using: infusium 23 leave in (moisture formula), live clean argan oil, and slick down with gel.  I forget the brand, but it's an inexpensive clear, large tub i get from any black hair supply shop.  (no alcohol)

after swimming, pre-wash condition with hotel brand conditioner.  Wash with Live Clean Argan Oil sulfate free shampoo, condition with Mango Shea Butter Cholesterol Conditoner (i ran out in Panama).  The old formula of the brand that everyone loves.  Pardon me, my brain is fried right now.  Sometimes I would air dry, and blow dried only twice that week.

I didn't notice irregular breakage.  In fact the hair seemed thick and long.  I continued to take my hair vitamins more or less daily, and a daily iron supplement.

this is truly just a rant, but I think it's time for a bit of a trim.  All i need is a dusting.  My husband says he hardly notices any split ends, but I really just want my hair a little more even. It's the story of my life.  It grows at different rates in numerous textures. I know it will never all grow together in perfect harmony, but I would like the shape to appear as though it did!

No pics right now as my hair was always in a pony tail or bun.  Probably not the best bet for wet hair...but with all these lengths, it was my only real option.

P.S.  Gotta deep condition this week.

k

How Am I handling Growth

So for the past two weeks growth has been taking over my relaxed hair and having two different hair textures can be at times very challenging. But Tuesday I went to purchase my hair products and saw cold wave rods for 4.00tt and thought to myself how about I style my hair like this every now and then to avoid passing a comb through my hair due to amount of growth and stay away from the irons.

But not being a hair expert did in fact present a challenge because I was not sure as to how to go about it and how it may look.

So like any modern age woman I youtube it and came across this link which motivated me more to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCivt4TEXIY

My end results look like this!

What do you think? I did not cut my hair, the rods made it style into a short look. I LOVE IT!

October 2010 Update

So, I know it's not October yet.  We have a week to go, and therefore, my hair still has plenty of growing time left before I ought to update.  However, one of the things I have been doing is cutting back on heat usage.  I say that to also say that as a result, I can only properly assess length when straightened.  That just happens to be right now!

 The above shot gives an idea of length.  I still haven't sent my boken Avanti flat iron back for service, so my hair never looks straight to me when I do it at home.  I can see that my hair has grown almost to the length of where I cut it from in March.  Only this time, the ends are not so badly broken, and there's less over all breakage.

Here in the front you can see that ends are still fairly blunt.  I think the last trim was in June.  Can't remember I may have dusted since then.  But yeah, it seems to be stronger, and definitely longer.

Don't get too excited though!  I think this pic will show you that I am still struggling with slower growing areas in the back, various textures and a bit of thinning due to what I refer to as ponytail stress.

I think I'm going to continue Co-washing twice weekly, Spraying daily with Infusium 23, and sealing either with EV Coconut Oil or "Live Clean" Argan Oil.

I have a couple challenge for October. I will be vacationing in Central America, and want to maintain good hair practises while I enjoy the beach and scenery. Sun and salt water are likely to negatively affect my efforts.    

My only plan is to read a little bit about good deep conditioning regimens and I will travel with protective and conditioning products.

September 2010 Update

I got my hair relaxed just 2 days before those photos were taken and I must say I was happy to see my hair appearing full with a touch of shine. Yes , though the journey is long moments like these remind you it is worth it! Love your hair!

What I am trying

Like Karen I have no expertise in the hair care department and if you know me long, you would have known "hair care+Rochelle NOT COMPATIBLE!"

Up until leaving High school my hair was natural and I always had

t in small plaits or conrows. At that point my hair was very thick and growing healthy. Then going into 17 I relaxed it for the first time and there was no turning back. I tried my best to care for it but it was not enough. My hair started breaking and appeared damaged and I was very unsatisfied with it. To me, it was pointless having my hair that length when the ends appear dry , when my hair lost all its body so on my 19th birthday I chopped it into a bob style and up until 2009 maintained that hair style.

But this summer I decided I should challenge myself and use the coming months as a comeback story for my hair. And just try my best to grow it out as healthy and full as possible. Therefore I adopted my own regime which is slowly changing every now and then (which I will update you on those as time goes).

I shampoo and steam my hair every week. I use the Dr.Miracle's Intensive Deep conditioner (as my steam) which in the hair for an hour before washing out. It leaves this nice tingling sensation.

I have put away the curling iron and flat iron and strictly turned to the good old fashion ROLLERS and I must say I am enjoying the body it gives! Everyday I massage my scalp with carrot oil and Vitamin E oil to maintain shine and help with any damage.

I have also stopped the bad habit of going to bed without either my hair being wrapped or in rollers. And Karen did mention below the pro's of letting go of this bad habit. Admittedly I prefer the rollers to wrapping , but that is just me.

I am also consuming more water as well as multivitamin supplements as a boast because as I have read the hair does need those nutrients to thrive.

My journey has just began so I am not as well informed on a lot but I am enjoying the learning process and as Karen said I want to grow my hair to lengths it has never seen.

Let the hair journey continue beautifully.

What I'm doing right, September

This is a little about my regimen.  Unfortunately, I haven't found the discipline to tell you precisely how often I use various products, but I've found a few items that are worth sharing:


RIGHT  Live Clean Shampoo.  I stumbled upon this Canadian beauty company on a visit to Walmart some time ago. I was looking for a sulfate free shampoo, and there it was.  Live Clean Exotic Nectars Argan Oil Shampoo.  I skipped over the conditioner, because only a handful of things work for me.  First off, I was impressed by the ingredient list.  I can pronounce everything.  It's full of natural oils and extracts from plants known to improve your hair's condition.  No harsh chemicals.  I gave it a try...and I like it.  I don't get that squeeky clean feeling, but I've learned that is a good thing.  It means my hair still has some of it's natural oils protecting it.

RIGHT Live Clean Argan Oil  - Everybody and their mama is a fan of Morrocan Oil these days.  I'm sure it does good things for many people, but upon reading their ingredient list, I found that it is heavy laden with synthetic silicones.  While silicones do coat your hair and give it a smoother feel, they can also lock out moisture since they to not wash out easily.  Because I have switched to mild shampoos, I'm of the opinion that silicone use should be limited where possible.  So I didn't want to get in the habit of coating it daily with the very same culprit.  ( i know it works wonders for a lot of people...but for now, I prefer natural products)  Anyway, all that is to say Live Clean has an Argan Oil product that is Silicone free.  It's a light oil, that I apply from roots to ends on wet hair, or simply to seal my ends after moisturizing before bed.  It's very smooth.  I've used it before heat styling and leaves me with soft bouncy results.  Not a scientist here, but I love it.

RIGHT Virgin Coconut Oil.  I have to thank the ladies on Long Hair Care Forum for this one.  I have never been a big fan of grease, but I recently learned of its virtues for protecting your hair ends against wear and tears.  I remember my mom putting grease on my hairs after styling before school.  I had thick beautiful hair as a child, and I don't doubt "sealing" my ends helped to achieve that.  So, I decided I need to start doing that again.  The problem is, most oil products I have tried weigh down my hair and need to be washed out in order for me to style my hair the way I desire it to look.  Then Virgin Coconut Oil came along.  It smells so delicious.  It's light and smooth, and you can use it all over your body.  This is what I'm using, and I believe it will continue to be a staple.



RIGHT  A couple months ago, I discovered that I may be using too much protein in my hair, so I felt the need to cut back.  I had an old bottle of Lustrasilk Shea Butter Cholesterol Plus.  To be honest, I like the feel of Le Kair Cholesterol Plus better, but this version is protein free (my old bottle) anyway.  I heard the new formula is different.  It seems to make my hair feel softer, which was a good thing in my case.  The over use of protein formulas left it brittle.














For now I would say these are my mainstays, I have done a few prewash treatments with oliveoil, conditioned with bananas, eggs, coconut milk to name a few.  I have the ApHogee 2 minute reconstructor, and Essential oils, I have hair and nail multivitamins.  I believe they're all beneficial to different stages of the journey, but are not being used consistently.  So, I'm not sure what I really think about all of those ideas.  When I figure it out, I will let you know!

What I'm doing wrong ... part 1

Having a negative outlook gets you nowhere, but being realistic produces the opposite.  I can tell that my hair is growing, but I'm not doing the best job possible to get great, lasting results.

I'll list a few of my shortcomings.  Maybe they will help you on your journey.

WRONG  Tight ponytails daily. I am starting to see breakage on the hairs that go from just above my sideburns, and get pulled back by an elastic. 


WRONG  High manipulation when wet.  I regularly wet my hair and slick it back into a ponytail (when it's in it's weakest state).  Hair is stretching from just above the sideburns into a low pony, and breaking where it use to meet!

WRONG  Flat ironing without a heat protectant spray.  I tried one once, and thought my hair came out bushy, and kinda sticky, I hated the results and instead of looking for one that works, I've been using IC hair polisher.  A friend of mine with beautiful hair uses it.  I know they may a heat protector, but I won't buy it till this is done.  I figure it's better than using NOTHING (which is what my stylist and I were doing since age 15).



WRONG Cotton pillow cases! I know I should have silk or satin ones, at the very least, something smooth that won't grate against my hair.  This would reduce stress on my hair from tossing and turning when my doo-rag falls off. (A nightly event)


WRONG  Forgetting to wrap my hair!  When i'm tired, I don't really care if my hair is wrapped.  I know this is just a routine change.  So, I can get in the habit if I stick to it. When I was wearing my hair pressed more often


WRONG  Not deep conditioning.  I know I can use any good conditioning product to apply a DC treatment, but since I started my hair journey, I believe I have only actively deep conditioned on two occasions.  


WRONG  Not drinking much water.  This is a constant overall health issue with me.  I drink water...I love it.  I just don't drink a lot of it...or a lot of other liquid for that matter.  My whole body needs it, not just my hair, but I need to up my game from 2 or three glasses per day to at least 8.  Again, this is about getting a routine started.


WRONG Tucking my ends into an elastic.  This is a bad habit I picked up in high school.  When I don't like the way my hair falls, I double it over  in my pony tail, and allow the elastic to sit right on the ends.  I do this in an effort to "Protective Style".  However, I believe my hair growth suffers because the extra stress on the ends weakend and eventually breaks them.  I need to invest in some decent rollers, and hair pins..and do something to stop the continuous pulling and pinching of my ponytail.




this list could be much longer, but i think these are the items i need to address right away.

September 1st update

Thanks to Rochelle,

I snapped a couple pics of my hair in its current state. Here's the back. Please note, I am transitioning out of a no-lye "Just for me" texture softener - texturizer. Please don't be fooled. Texturizer is perm. I didn't realize that...and my hair suffered. I lost my natural curls. In fact, even when I used to perm my hair in high school, it was never as straight as that box made it. My stylist was applying it maybe every ten weeks. I couldn't understand why no curl was left. I think "No Lye" is the culprit. In my perm days, we always used Lye relaxers which resulted in a loose ringlet texture to my wet hair.

N E Wayzzz, no one asked about all that. I have several inches of natural hair, and in these photos, it has not been straigthened out or "Stretched" to show length.

Here is how the front looks.  According to the chart below.  The hair at the front of my scalp is type IV in it's natural state.  At the nape, and lower part of the sides it is type V.  At the centre of the back it is time VI.  My favourite areas to style are type V.   Using other charts I usually see, I believe that the texture at the front of my hair is 3b, while the back it 4a, with some 4b.

Knowing your hair type is important if you want to grow it.  The hair with a looser texture appears to grow like a weed, and never seems to break.  It is stronger, but it is also better maintained because I can see it.  I tend to pull my hair back often.  The "IV" hair gets regular watering from leave in conditioners and styling gels used to slick my hair back.  The rest of my hair is often neglected.

the more fragile hair at the back suffers from contact with my clothing, my pillow, and from heat.  Because it's coarser, I take longer to flat iron this portion.  That really dries out each strand.  So yep, the front is much longer than the back.  But we're working on that!

Late July Press out.

I have been trying to use less heat on my hair. I actually really love curly, natural hair, but in my transitional state ....it looks kinda whack with nappy roots and stringy ends. So, on occasion I heat style it to wear it out.
These were the results of my 30 min press out in July. I could have done a better job showing the condition of the ends. They were last (self) trimmed on June 18, and I was pleased to see how little damage there was a month or so later.
Karen Richardson

June update

please ignore the vex look on my face. it was frustrating trying to get pics of my hair.

I took these on June 18. I only recall the date because my fiance proposed later that night!
This day I washed, deep conditioned, air dried, cool flat ironed, and gave myself a trim. I remembered being surprised at the length acculation since the late March chop.
At the time I was conditioner washing every other day using Le Kair Cholesterol Condtioner. I used infusium 23 leave in strengthening formula daily. I also had this Just for me conditioning detangler. I haven't figured out if my hair likes silicone products or not. Because I wash often, I think they're ok. However, my regimen is becoming a little more "natural" nowadays.
Looking back my hair was getting too much protein from the Le Kair, and the infusium. I was starting to get hard and a little unruly.
Karen Richardson

May growth check.

May 7th

Not much to see here. I just was wrapping at night, Drinking water, switched to sulphate free shampoo. Live Clean Argan Oil, sometimes and Johnson's baby shampoo at others. Funny, but the baby shampoo seems to be the harsher chemical. It's probably naïve to think this, but it's my clarifier. It seems to wipe my hair clean of all buildup and residue.

Anyway, I found it interesting. You can already see that the front of my hair is definitely outgrowing the back. I'm not surprised by that. It has been the case since childhood. This is about 5 weeks after my big cut. The hair at the front was cut shorter than the back, with a bit of a side bang. You can see it still in this picture. The bang seems to be trying to catch up to the rest. The sides appear to be one full inch longer. The back (if you look close to my neck on the left side) is still thinner, and is now shorter than the front.

I always have to remind myself that the hair at the back needs the most attention, and the tenderest care. It's very fragile. Moisture, moisture moisture. I'm doing a better job of doing that now.

Karen Richardson

Hair vacation

At the beginning of June, the man and I went to Montreal for a few days to visit my friend.

Admittedly, I wasn't treating my hair well. I remember being very determined to wrap my it at night. I may have been the only black girl on earth who never really bothered with that. I'm sure that explains many of my breakage issues at the back.

Because my hair was pressed and I wanted to keep it that way, moisturization was not on the agenda. Only additions to the regimen were a Denman style paddle brush, a do rag.

Oh and water. I was trying to hydrate from the inside out. I'm not doing the best job of that right now.

Anyhow, I posted the pic so you could see that my hair seemed to be evenly growing out from the March chop. In later posts you'll see my usually unevenness emerging. The hair on the left side of my head grows faster than the right. (Wonder why). Post if you have any explanations!!
Karen Richardson

Snip snip

So here's my starting point. I decided to cut my hair. The ends were a mess and my pony tail was thin. My hair was dry from too much heat....and oh so damaged. The only thing was winter wasn't quite over and I kinda wanted to keep some length. It looks longer in this pic than it was.  The collar on my coat went up past my chin.  My ends when pulled reached to down to my could not reach the my collar bone at the base of my neck.

You can see the length better in the next pic.  So I had the stylist take off a lot from the front where it was in better condition, to match (more or less) the apparent length of the back. The truth is, the back had very little length to speak of.


 It was so damaged that it was all different lengths...and still is. Just now, many of those strands actually make it to my ponytails!

See the hairs sticking up at the back? Yep. Poorly broken off!

I think the girl who chut my hair was feeling my pain.  I think another 2 inches off would have left me with the healthiest portion of my hair only.  None the less, as my hair grows, you will be able to see how this hair compares to the un-abused new growth!

It's a new year!

Who needs to wait till January 1st to make a resolution, if you want to change something for the better, the time is always now.  The other day, I was chatting with my girl Rochelle about my new addiction:  Healthy Hair Care!  Over the last 5 months I have been re-educating myself on hair care techniques.  Growing up, I always had a head of hair that seemed to bounce back from regular cuts and trips to just beyond shoulder length in a short period time.  However, since 2008, I have had a bit of a roller coaster ride.  What used to be thick, strong and plentiful started to look straggly, weak and thin.  Not what I wanted, but I can now appreciate that what I was seeing in my hair was a direct link to what was going on in my body, health wise>

So now I'm on a trip, a hair journey, if you will...to grow to where no hair has grown before.

Care to join in?