Growing Long Hair the Healthy Way
So after this week's wash day, I maintained my curls by re-rolling my hair nightly on about 8 purple flexirods. Although I have about 1-1.5 inches of new growth, the resulting style was still pretty cute! Each night I've been using the LOC method with a bit of adjustment by moisturizing and sealing with OBI Naturals Curl Hydration Spray, followed by Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk, and sealing with the Vatika Enriched Coconut Hair Oil (which … [Read more...]
The Protective Styling Challenge officially ends on Monday, April 15th and I am so ready. I am so grateful for all of you hanging in there with me. For the OG's to my personal HHJ you know I am so not about that long term protective stylin life so you were the push I needed! So this is the last wash day before my touch up and I followed my normal pre-relaxer regimen: (1) Prepoo with warm coconut oil (for my own journaling purposes I would … [Read more...]
I received this question and comment from a lovely reader recently: Why do you not stretch longer than 12 weeks? I find that fascinating seeing as all the other prominent YouTube gurus make it seem like you are doing your hair a disservice if you do not stretch a minimum of six months. First of all - girl, did you just include me in the phrase 'prominent YouTube guru'?! Shut 'cho mouth! *doing the wop* (and if you are too young to … [Read more...]
As you know, I have been trying several new products from the Optimum Care Salon line along with my staple relaxer, the Optimum Care Salon Collection No-Lye (normal strength). During my most recent touch up I decided (for the first time in my life) to try using the entire line - no other products - as an experiment. I wanted to see if my hair responded better to using only one product line. Most women, regardless of race, use products from … [Read more...]
Welcome to the fourth and final part of my 'Self Relaxing Tips' series - aftercare. Once I've neutralized and rinsed my hair, my routine is not finished. There are certain steps that I follow to ensure my hair has been restored to normalcy as much as possible. Self Relaxing Tips - Steps After Neutralizing: Chelate to remove any leftover mineral deposits from the relaxer, especially no-lye relaxers (Learn about chelating shampoos … [Read more...]
Alright, alright alriiiiiiightttttt - we gone learn today, how I actually apply my relaxer! This is Part III of my 'Self Relaxing Tips' series, you've prepped your hair, gathered your tools, sectioned and protected your length and now we are ready to process! Honestly, there isn't much for me to say about how I apply my relaxer so please just enjoy the video. Pardon my face, my concentration and the lack of talking. I know it may not be … [Read more...]
Welcome to Part II of my 'Self Relaxing Tips' series! You should have learned how I prepare my hair the week before touching up, the tools I've gathered by this point and now I'm go into detail about how I section and protect my hair prior to applying my relaxer. I've been using this same method since February of 2012 and it has probably been the BIGGEST reason for successfully self relaxing my hair - which as you may remember me saying, I … [Read more...]
This is the first installment of my 'Self Relaxing Tips' series! In the brief time that I've been doing my own touch ups, I've gathered quite a list of tools needed. None are expensive, but all are a very critical part of the process and have made self relaxing SO much easier! ECP's Self Relaxing Tips: Tools Needed Small Latex Gloves: You can purchase a box of latex gloves from your local pharmacy for around $5. If you are in a … [Read more...]
