To Weave or Not to Weave?!

Lately to be frank I have just grown exhausted of the constant care and I know this feeling would lead to the detriment of my hard work over the past few months. So the question to weave just the back which we all know is going through a slow growth process and touch up the front as it is easier to care for. And this question lingered and I began researching on how to care for your hair under the weave and also your weave, because I am sure ladies we all want to keep it looking "dapper fresh" hence this informative blog with information I have researched on. Please share your thoughts on it. It is alot of information and maybe flawed as it isnt any expert opinion but reasoning it makes me say it does make sense.

Caring for the Hair under the weave

Source http://blackhair.about.com/od/colorenhancements/tp/haircareunderweave.htm

Shampoo and Condition

Yes, you still need to shampoo your hair on a regular basis. Concentrate the shampoo on your scalp and work it in with the balls of your fingertips. Then work the shampoo down the weave hair, but do not ball it up on the top of your head. Instead, work your fingers straight down through the hair to the ends. Let the water help guide the shampoo down. It's important to keep the weave hair as straight as possible to prevent matting and tangling.

Apply Oils to Your Scalp

Your hair and scalp still need nourishment. Work natural oils beneath the weave onto your scalp and massage them in. If the weave is made of human hair, getting a little product on it won't hurt it, but synthetic hair doesn't require additional products, so you'll have to be careful not to get oils on it.

Don't Neglect the Weave

Also, when caring for your hair, you must care for the weave hair as well. Just because you'll eventually remove it doesn't mean you can neglect it. Besides cleansing, weave hair needs to be combed to work tangles out. It should be secured at night, either under a satin cap or scarf.

Remove it After Six to Eight Weeks

Your hair will likely grow about ½ to 1 inch beneath the weave. Near the end of the recommended time frame for wearing it, the hair growth will cause it to be looser. Listen to your stylist's advice on how long to leave a weave in. If you extend this time too much, not only will your weave begin to look old and ragged, your new growth may begin to mat and loc.

Hair Care for the weave

(Source

http://www.lfhair.com/html/weave_care.php

• Wash the hair in the shower taking care to keep the hair hanging loose.
  
• Avoid cheap shampoos as they tend to contain more detergent than conditioners and will dry out the hair. Use a salon quality shampoo. Not all salon products should be used with hair extensions. See our list of recommended products below.
  
• Avoid cheap conditioners as the conditioners tend to be watered down giving less than the needed amount of conditioning to keep the hair from drying out. Remember that this hair is not growing out of the scalp and is not being replenished with natural oils.
  
• Distribute shampoo and condioners evenly throughout the hair. Squeeze the product through the hair. Avoid scrubbing, rubbing or bunching the hair together. Condition the hair well with a good creme based conditioner.
  
  NOTE: If you are planning to use a hair bonding product, shampoo the hair well but do not use any conditioners or styling products prior to applying the extensions. Condition the hair well after the extensions are in.
  
• After washing and conditioning apply a good spray leave on conditioning product. Use this product to freshen the hair between washing. Never use plain water.
  
• Pat excess water from the hair and allow the hair to dry completely before going to bed. Never sleep with with the hair wet or damp.
  
• Let the hair air dry whenever possible
  
• If you use a blow dryer, dry out the wefted part of the hairpiece first. Then finish drying the hair from the ends up. Avoid pulling the hair while wet.
  
• Avoid using excess heat
  
• Loosen hair every morning and before going to bed. Most tightly curled styles should never be combed. Shake out curly styles, comb through straight styles and use a wide tooth comb or fingers to loosen wavy hair.
  
• Avoid applying direct heat to the bonded area.
  
• Salt from perspiration, if allowed to buildup on the hair will strip the hair making it hard and brittle. If you excercise, make a practice of rinsing and conditioning the hair after each workout. Shampooing after a workout is not always necessary.
  
• Use a mild stringent on the scalp in between washings. Witch hazel works well.
  
• If you use a blow dryer use one with a diffusing tool to better circulate the heat.
  
• If you have bonded extensions, avoid applying heat to the bonded areas
  
• Most hair extensions have been processed. For this reason, we don't recommend you color hair extensions. If you find you must color to get a better color match, try coloring your natural hair to match the hair piece. Additional chemical treatment on hair extensions can make the hair frizzy dull and difficult to manage.

Satin Rollers...trying a ting

How on earth do people use heat in their hair once for the week and keep it looking good?  Rochie!?!? Any ideas?  When I try...it looks flat and terrible at the end of day two, usually before. And because most of my hair is chemical free, I also get poufiness that is kinda not cute, when you're aiming for a straight do!

So I give up.  On Monday night, I headed to Sally, and bought satin covered sponge rollers.  I'm going to try and roll my ends before bed.  Maybe that'll give me some heat free bounce the next day.  I figure it's also a safe way to add moisture to my ends without worrying about ruining my do.

That's what I did Monday night.  Tuesday morning, I got some rave reviews.  Walked into the office to an exclamation of "whoa! new hair!"
...I think that's 'white guy' for, you got "your hair done!"
 I think he realized that I wasn't totally sure where he was going with that, so he came back with, "It looks great! I like it."  Well, that's a good way to start your day isn't it?  My hair kept its bounce right until bed time.

My hubby saw it on skype and told me he liked it, and I looked pretty.  That's good, right?  Made me feel good anyway.  Then when he picked me up from the train station later that evening....he said my hair looked like weave.  I'm gonna cross my fingers that it's a good weave (cuz I really don't like how weave looks). None the less, the rollers get a passing grade.

At my current length, it helps to keep my ends up off my shoulders and away from clothing.  My hair had lots of body and seemed not to get too dry, even though it was a cold, windy day.   I fell asleep without rolling my hair last night...but I'll be at it again.  Cuz, I'm back to the ponytail today. I only wrapped the elastic twice.  I'm doing better....little by little!

Raw Honey ...booo!

I'm back!  New week.  New gripes.....sigh... So I tried conditioning my hair with honey again. The last few times I have been so happy with the softness and movement. I really thought it would become a regular thing.  So, I went out and bought all-natural raw honey.  I was thinking that the less processing the better it would be.  Little did I know, that my hair wouldn't like it at all.  I didn't notice the same softness while it was still wet.  I dried and pressed my hair, but the outcome was not as straight as I like.  Boo!

Now, one night has passed.  I wrapped my hair to sleep, expecting smooth and bouncy hair in the morning.  It was actually looking the part when I got up this morning. Until....I'm not sure when.  But a couple hours later when i saw myself in the mirror at the office...I went looking for a hair elastic...cause the ends looked frizzy, dry...and well, unkempt. I don't know if I can blame all this on the honey.  Maybe it's the cold weather making life difficult again.  

I tied it up loosely, and will be sure to moisturize and seal tonight.  

New Year calls for more Discipline!

Happy New Year to everyone . Alas I am blogging, went on Christmas break on the 16th December and I cheated all the way through being home! Yes I did! There was none to little hair loving , disappointed? I am because a month can do so much reversal to my goal.

I relaxed my hair on the 15th of December and decided to add 3 track hair extensions. The middle (which broke years ago) has been recovering but I absolutely hated the

back of my hair on my back and the middle struggling to catch up! So I placed the extensions (glued though) , hardly anyone noticed. It felt like this freedom and so that is when I began neglecting my hair. I didn't stream often , I didn't grease often I didn't even apply my daily hair oils. Disappointed ! But it is a new year and calls for better discipline on my part.

Like Karen I am going to trim off my ends this weekend , although I do not want to I think it is necessary , almost like starting over ! Sigh the journey continues! I am unsure whether I will be placing the extensions in , but if I do I will be sewing it in as to make my hair rest for a bit.

I have picked up a few items that I use. I am a fan of the "TRIPLE GRO" brand products. My favorites is the Tea Tree Oil which I apply at least three times a week and I use the Satin Caps when I am just lazing home and for bed. Here is the link with a few products.

http://triplegro.com/ Thus far it has been helpful. So yes back on the wagon here is a picture of me Back in December .

Karen together we struggle but we will attain our hair goals soon!

So Cheers to the New Year!

P.S. I want to go fully honey brown! Thoughts please?!?

Baby Steps: looser ponytails

I'm a bun girl.  I have been wearing my hair in a bun since I learned how to create the style when I was 14. According to these hair blogs, that's a good thing...a protective style.  Right? Wrong.  While it's helpful to get your ends off your shoulders, so they don't rub against damaging, drying clothing...it doesn't really serve much purpose if your bun is soooo tight, you're breaking your hair of at the elastic.  That's what I've been doing.  I think that's the real problem behind my breakage issues. For years now.  I keep getting a decent length going...but I wanna hack the heck out of my hair because I have these short hairs at the back that look terrible, when I actually want to wear my hair down.

So, I went to the dollar store.  Haven't been able to find any hair elastics lately.  I thought that I would combat my problem by ceasing to 'bun'.  But that's just crazy talk.  It would be like telling Carrie Bradshaw not to buy shoes, or some such foolishness.

So I've decided I would buy new elastics....and vow to wrap them around my hair no more than twice.  My mom used to wrap bobbles around twice.  But my magic number was 3.  Always gotta have it in there tight.  There was also another kind of elastic with a silicone inside surface that is not supposed to slip and therefore not tangle.  I can't promise I will like them, so I bough both kinds.  At least if one doesn't meet my style requirements, it may turn out to be suitable for at home use.

Today, I've got the new kind inside the bun wrapped thrice around my ponytail.  ( I know, it was supposed to be twice...but these once are wider) The usual sporty soft elastics wrapped twice around the outside.

Not doing so great on day one....but alas, I still have my bun...and I have a plan.

k

So....I trimmed...

Ooops!! I did it.  Yesterday I spoke about trimming...and as soon as my hubby turned his head...I did it.  I clipped my ends.  It actually looks thicker, but shorter too.  I didn't want that...although I did say, I just want my hair to be thick and healthy.  I hope I got all the ends....cause I don't wanna have to do that again.

I was reading the upcoming appointments on my blackberry and saw that January 18th, was supposed to be my goal-meet date for Armpit Length hair.  I should have at least waited till then to measure.  I didn't cut off more than 2 inches at any one point, except in the bang area.  Still...I would have liked to see.  Grrrr...

So now the front sides i approaching shoulder, and the back hardly is.  I dunno.  I can't tell.  I'm gonna wash and deep condition tonight.  Gotta baby my new ends.  Winter is murder on my hair.  I need to find some kind of lazy style to give myself a break.  Hmmmm.

BTW i bought some Castor Oil.  Not the Jamaican black one.  Although, I hear that's the real stuff.  I'm not even sure how to use it.  Just wanted it in my arsenal for thickness and itchy scalp. 

I hope it does something.  Can you tell I'm getting very impatient???!

I really wanna see rochie's pics.  I need a little inspiration.  That, and I need to start steaming....moisture, moisture, moisture!!!

Happy New Year! vague resolutions and hair plans

So we're into a new year and I'm starting to get impatient for results.  My hair has been growing, as it always does.  It has been growing quickly too.  Even that isn't that big of a surprise.  My issue is that it's not as thick as I want it to be.  I remember being 15 years old, at the hairdresser getting styled for my auntie's wedding.  The stylist had to spend 3 hours putting ringlets in my hair with the curling iron....just because it was so thick.  I remember having fat ponytails even when I had a perm..and that is supposed to flatten and thin out the texture of your hair.  So why, now that it is mainly natural, and I've been attempting to grow it long and healthy does it seem to be thinner.

I'm sure youth plays some role.  Little kids always have thick healthy, strong hair.  my hair benefits sometimes from being left alone. however, I no longer work from home or in a funky artsy non-profit where I can rock head wraps on a daily basis...nor is that the style right now.  I feel like a brat for complaining, but I want more this year.  My focus has switched from length to strength.

So as not to get all stuck on the negatives, here are a few positive updates.  I have started to deep condition.  Rather, I have done so a few times lately.  I had time over the holidays and found it to result in leaving my hair so much easier to cope with.  The best beauty aid:  HONEY.  Yup.  I read about it online and tried it three times.  I made a mix using coconut oil, Roux Porosity Control Conditioner...and Live Clean Leave In condishAfter leaving the conditioner mix on my head for 45 mins to an hour under a plastic bag, I found shiny, wavy locks that had a lot of movement and bounce when dried and styled later.   I caved and pressed my hair like 3 times over the holidays.  I was trying to limit it to once a month.  I'm realizing that goal will be much easier in the summer months.  The winter is very tough of hair, and having it wet more often sucks in the first place, but combining that with air drying in the house and letting my hair shrink up really hasn't been working for me.  I feel like a beat my hair up more when I don't press it.  I fuss with it more.  Maybe that will change as it gets longer.  Which reminds me I need to pick up some soft elastics.  I can't find any of those things around.

i'm running out of Cocunt oil too.  It's really great stuff!i need to get more of that, and i'd like to try castor oil too.  I've heard that it's good for the scalp. I would like to try this since my scalp is dry and itchy in the winter.  BTW, as for the trim I said I would get....I gave myself a tiny one more for shape...but I need to go on a search and destry mission.  I have to get rid of the splits.  I sometimes wonder if that's why my ponytail doesn't seem thick....like if certain hairs just don't seem to be growing past a certain length.  Gotta do better!