Wash Day Horror: Lost All My Relaxed Hair!

It's happened again! I've lost my hair due to my own carelessness...lots and lot of my hair and I'm wondering whether to cut it all off and start over, go natural (yes, I'm highly considering it under these circumstances) or just cut off the thinnest parts and continue. Want to know the details? Here goes......

I was just silly. I've always had issues with wash day in a salon or with other people's hands and for years now, I do my own hair. Even with doing my own hair, the right way,  I still have tangles to deal with. So a friend seeing my hair after so long a while went the usual " wow, it's so thick" , "eiiiiiiii, it's grown papa" (it's grown so much), and all that and offered to wash and style it for me. Not a hairdresser, but loves to do people's hair including my daughter, and does it very well; and had been offering to do mine for ages. Well, I explained as usual how I don't wash my hair anyhow and how it must be in sections and all the hair care mantra, but she insisted to do it carefully and my hair will be fine. So I finally agreed.

We detangled thoroughly and combed through to ensure there were no tangles. Then we went to wash, without me braiding in sections as she insisted my hair was too smelly for sections to be clean while in braids. Well it was really smelly so I accepted. It didn't take 5 minutes in the shower to realise that was a BIG, BIG, BIG MISTAKE. My hair matted and tangled so bad in many places especially the crown, like nothing I have ever experienced yet right after shampooing and we both tried everything to remove the clamps. Detangler, oil, double deep conditioning, picking at the tangles with a needle....my oh my nothing worked and we were at it for hours. Myself, my friend and my nanny. Oh, we did everything to no avail. Finally, my friend left promising to come help next day, offering apologies but I knew nothing will work anyways and didn't want to make her feel any worse than she felt so just told her it was nothing and I'll just work on it. Later with the help of my nanny,  we had to cut through some of the knots with a razor to save some strands and had to cut off a big chunk in my crown down to about 4 inches because nothing we tried worked at the knots. 

As you can see from my face, I had little sleep that night as I stayed up till almost midnight trying to work the tangles out as doing so the next day would only make it worse. The line of demarcation now shows so clearly cos my ends are really see-through now. Time to chop chop chop ......and go fully texlaxed or natural (still thinking). As I wrote this post, my memory card corrupted and all I have are these pixs I sent to one of my hair buddies earlier. My hair is in plaits now and at the weekend, will take time to do a better photo story. 

Oh, how I wish that day hadn't come, how did this happen, had I known, ......*quickly removes that thought* especially the first one!! That day not coming, no no no....each day is wonderful and no matter how bad it turns out, we need to appreciate once we wake up from bed, we live to fight another and victory will surely be ours one day! Looking back at the last time my hair was free, it was really, really thick with struggling ends and just a huge trim would have been all I needed. Now , I don't know what to expect after the cut. I am only looking forward to some vitamins and biotin I ordered from the US arriving soon after my cut so I can grow this hair right back. But, we focus not on the past, but we look forward to embrace new beginnings. That's just how I feel right now. I've lost nothing at all.

So, I'm moving forward and thankful I'm not totally bald. I need a huge cut. All the way close to the new growth I have because I lost a lot of texlaxed hair as well...My hair now is the thinnest in years but thank God I have about 2-3 inches of new growth. Well, I had already planned going fully texlaxed after my next texlax and have brand new scissors just for the job. So I'm sad, but not to tears...*I'm surprised I didn't even shed a single tear*  but I'm just going to seize the opportunity to just do the big chop once and for all. I'm going to follow the Lunar hair cutting days to lengthen which are 28th and 29th February. Can't wait and hopefully, I'll film it for my Youtube channel. 

Which way should I go? Natural or Texlaxed?


Cheers,
Star. 

Wash Day: Soft and Beautiful

Here again lovelies to update you on my wash at the weekend. 

The excitement I get from a great wash day lingers on for days and makes me look forward eagerly to the next wash day! How did it all go on Saturday?

1. Prepooed for about 6 hours with coconut oil and honey after detangling thoroughly. I applied the honey and oil mix to my scalp and massaged for a few minutes before applying over the rest of my hair.

2. Shampooed with Diva by Cindy stimulating shampoo (just love that soothing cool effect on my scalp).

3. Conditioned with Diva by Cindy stimulating conditioner (that tingles too.....love love ).

4. Soaked up excess water with t-shirt after rinsing out and applied Diva by Cindy ultimate hair treatment which I covered with a plastic bag and left in for about 30 mins.

5. Wrapped t-shirt around head to soak up water after final rinse. Once it was not dripping anymore, left it to dry about 70%, then applied Hawaiian silky herbal leave in.

6. Once 100% dry, I applied Diva by Cindy hair gro and T444Z to my edges. 

7. I applied Afroriri hair butter and Afroriri hair and scalp conditioner to hair and styled  in a simple bun with a comb band (I hope that's what it's called) after finger detangling thoroughly, and then detangling with a wide tooth comb.  

I do not comb my hair till it is 100% dry now. I realised my wet hair detests combs or finger detangling so I stopped wet detangling months ago..even soaked with conditioner. And the exciting news is that last week, I saw the smallest ball of hair I have seen in a long time.

The softness and shine of my hair is really amazing and I have far less tangles mid week. I have a harder time keeping my hands out of my hair because I love that "omg" feeling each time I run my hands through my roots. I don't struggle to put a comb through my hair like before. And I can do braid styles more easily now without fear of breaking my strands. That's the power great products hold over me especially when they are new in my stash. I just can't wait to have that amazing experience again and again and over and over again with the same "WOW"effect. 

         

                                                                               

I've definitely been feeling more and more like a Diva as the days go by. I've run out of Groganics shampoo and conditioner and will buy new bottles definitely...though my excessive shedding has stopped ......but I also want to see how much growth I get with this Diva by Cindy stimulating set. 

What range of products are you loving most right now? 

Cheers,

Star.

Wash Day: Weave out and Massive Growth!

Hello hairdies, 

No words can explain my joy when I finally took my weave out over the weekend. I had kept the weave in for 7 weeks.....a week longer than the last weave which was good. Means now I am pretty sure I can keep protective styles in longer. This time, the fear of the hot, dry harmattan weather wrecking havoc on my hair made it all the more easier to keep it in. My sister helped to take the tracks out and together, we undid the cornrows. The amount of shedding and breakage was not massive. Just normal for a 7 week period.

 I had to do a protein treatment immediately because my hair was just too soft and limp. Moisture overload! So I prepooed with ORS Mayonnaise mixed with jbco, coconut oil, honey and eggs. I left it on my hair for about an hour and washed with ORS aloe shampoo, and followed with Groganics shampoo and conditioner. My hair felt soft yet strong after that. I decided to use Kuza cholesterol which I hadn't touched in a long while to DC just to use up what is left as it is not a product I will buy again.

After airdrying, I used Creme of Nature argan oil leave in, I moisturised with AfroRiri hair butter and used the Afroriri hair and scalp conditioner, before sealing in with black castor oil. My hair felt and looked really really good. 

I then decided to check my length after I realised I had between 1.5 and 2 inches of new growth in the past 8 weeks which is AM-AAAAAAA-ZING!! Wooooooooooow! (I keep forgetting to use the length check Tee's I have ). I am officially Bra Strap Length. No doubt in my mind. 

I can give the credit to Manetabolism Healthy Vitamins because I wasn't really using any topical aids except my moisturising mix to oil my scalp. I also did inversion a few days to removing the weave...and knowing I don't get an inch from inversion, and the growth doesn't show till after a week of inverting, I am very convinced the hair vitamins really worked well for me. Besides, the first 2 months I used the pill, I didn't invert but still had awesome new growth. I'm out of bottles and currently using Groganics vitamins which worked amazingly well too though I took 1 a day. I am taking 2 a day as recommended this time. 

Next day, my kinks had shrunk so much and I knew I would give in and relax if I had to deal with styling daily. I just threaded my hair up and I've been wearing wigs since Sunday. Right now, I might just leave my hair alone for a week or 2 and then relax. I did say I wanted to stretch no less than 12 weeks this year, but I do have the growth I would have had in 16 weeks so I think anyday is a good day to relax and the chances of overlapping would be slim.

I got invited to speak on "Hair and Health" at an event on the 14th of February in Accra and I want to wear my hair out that day so I won't install any long term protective style till then. My monthly goal is to reduce manipulation , minimise breakage and retain any growth I get. Every strand counts, always.

Did you reach your hair length goal for 2014? 

Cheers,

Star. 

Wash Day: ORS Mayonnaise Egg Recipe Mix

I had been whining over the past week after I took my weave out and washed; about how my hair didn't feel and look right. It would break at the least touch...like "don't touch my hair" kind of attitude to me too? Hey hair, I own you ooooooooo. My shedding had gone a notch up again and it was like I was pulling strands out of my scalp just by touching the hair. I used Groganics shampoo and conditioner my last wash day and so I was surprised, but then again, I had not been using it for the past 4 weeks so I couldn't blame it on those. 

Then I thought it was heat damage, from the last flatiron in August. But a heat protectant was used and though the hairdresser wasn't so gentle; yeah I saw a gazillion hairs (my hairy-greedy eye) on the floor when she was done blowdrying and flatironing, but it wasn't a head full of hair on that floor. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.....think some more.

Then it hit me. "It is moisture overload"!! I hadn't done a hard protein treatment in 6 weeks. Mercy me!! I literally run out of my room screaming at my sister to get  me some eggs NOW NOW NOW! The drama that goes on around my hair at home....hilarious!! I rushed into the shower and washed my hair with ORS Aloe Shampoo. Yes, it was best to clarify. Once I was done washing, I wrapped my hair in my old T-shirt. 

I then poured some ORS mayonnaise, edible mayonnaise, honey, castor oil, olive oil and coconut oil into the egg my sister had beaten up for me. I was so in a hurry to repair my hair that I just mixed it all up fast fast fast with the tail of my hair brush. I couldn't find the plastic spoon I usually use and I was in no mood to hunt it down. I oiled my scalp with my roots only applicator bottle....that's priceless....and massaged for a few minutes. I then parted my hair into sections and applied my mixture to the roots and then to the ends. I made sure I made enough and applied thickly all over. Every strand was covered for sure. I then covered with 2 plastic bags and wrapped my hair with my towel turban style. 

Detangling in sections.

I left it in for 30 minutes and rinsed it all off. As expected, my hair was hard. VO5 Moisture milks and Roux Porosity control conditioner to the rescue. I used the Roux first, followed by VO5. Super!! My hair felt soft but not limp. I wrapped my hair up till the water was all soaked up and then I sprayed in my CON Argan oil leave-in. I then applied Aphogee Pro-Vitamin leave-in and then turned on my standing fan to hasten the drying process as it was late.

Once my hair was almost dry, I finger detangled as the air blew my hair. When I was comfortable enough, I applied Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 Moisturiser to my hair concentrating it on the texlaxed parts which tangle most. I then detangled with my wide tooth comb from ends to roots in small sections....stopping and using my fingers whenever the comb got stuck. I lost so little hair during the detangling process I had to find some hairs on the floor to pick up. My comb didn't contain any hairs at all with some sections. Completely amazing!

I then moisturised again and sealed with coconut oil, wrapped my hair up and tied down with my scarf...my good old scarf.


I styled it loosely this morning but then again, hair-sense knocked and I grabbed some bobby pins to tuck it all away.

I was so pleased I'm sure I smiled all through my sleep and I'm beaming this morning so much you could fry eggs on my face ....hahaahaha. Thank God my hair is OK. 

Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!! 

Have you suffered moisture-overload? What corrects it for you? 

Cheers,

Star. 

Weave Wash Day

Weave wash day? Hhahhahahhaha...I know right!

It's not a very common practice to wash your hair while in weaves or braids, and most hairdressers in Ghana would actually advise you against it. Well, I fell for that in the past. But now, after a year and more of washing my hair while in weaves and braids without my hair falling out or breaking, I'm totally hooked to wash days.

Once or twice a week, I wash my hair no matter what style I'm wearing. I don't prepoo or use oils when I'm in a weave. That's mainly to avoid buildup as it is difficult to wash the tracks well.

1. I shampooed with ORS Creamy Aloe shampoo.

2. I conditioned with ORS Replenishing conditioner which I left in my hair for 10 minutes.

3. I wrapped my hair in a T-shirt for more than an hour. By the time I took it off, my hair had stopped dripping of water. I then left it to airdry.

                                        

4. I applied Dark and Lovely Anti Itch and S.O.S Hairline to my edges, then styled. I usually keep the weave off my face and I hold it back with a clip.

I love the fact that I don't have to worry about people turning their noses away when my head gets close to them and I really feel good each time I wash my hair. I care about my hair and don't want it to "choke" on dirt and buildup. Something like that.

I am still growing my edges ....see how much progress I've made so far in that area. I'm really happy about that. I massage black castor oil made in Ghana 3 times a week on my edges. I am looking forward to taking my weave out this weekend. Praying for a miracle to find time to take it down as carefully as possible. My best day to do this is Sunday. I hope to pamper my hair for a week and then install braids.

I haven't been successful in stretching for more than 6 weeks since April which I know is because I still haven't learnt to deal with my thicker hair underneath. I have products that help to detangle and all, but I just don't have the patience to take my time with my hair. It's almost 2 years since I started my hair journey and I still have tons to learn about my hair. One day, I will know it all through and through. I hope.



Calendar check and I'm 7 weeks post. That's a big deal to me as I have failed at stretching so many times. I've taken my Manetabolism hair vitamins religiously for the past week. I'm also going to do a length check on my T-Shirt to see my length after my trim last month. I need to see if I will reach my bra strap length goal by December. 


How often do you wash your hair while wearing a weave?


Cheers,
Star.

Hair Update: Cornrows Out, Preparing for Next Relaxer

It's been such a long time! Yes, my hair life has been so boring. I took my cornrows out last week and have been wigging since then. Nothing has changed in my regimen and I am just looking forward to relaxing on Saturday.

Though I would be only 12 weeks post, I've decided to end my stretch because wash days are not easy at all. The texlaxed middle just clumps up though I wash in sections, and gets all tangled I literally have to pick at the hair strands one by one to detangle.

Combing is a no-no as my hair just begins to break off like crazy. I just thread my hair when I finish washing and detangling, wear a wig cap and my wig. I started inversion this week and will end this weekend. My shedding is literally non-existent now, it's at the barest minimum and I'm so happy Groganics is working real good for me. It's the breakage I can barely control. The less I touch my hair, the better till I retouch on Saturday.

I am loving how Groganics vitamins is growing my nails like crazy. I believe all the thick new growth is also courtesy of Groganics as I stopped using T444Z when I started taking the pills.  Just a month and my nails are so long and haven't broken off despite the chores I do. That is something!! I will still texlax though I'm hoping I get up to 90% straight this time. I will not mix the relaxer as always and just stick to the time. It is never enough to process my hair bone straight anyway...lol! My hair has a mind of it's own as to how it behaves on relaxer day. I have just decided to live with it. Smh.

Does your relaxer day always produce the results you want? 

Cheers,

Star

I Just Had Another Major Setback!

Bought new products!

I'm glad for all your support with the cornrows but I got a little frustrated with having to redo the individual braids because they kept falling out in twos. I just decided I had enough this morning and I took them out. I then marched to find a salon to get my hair washed. I am now asking myself, "Why the hell didn't you wash yourself"? Beats me , really. I have no clue why I went to the salon. I just remember picking my products, walking out of the gate and sitting in the chair of the nearest salon I could find. Maybe I was just got tired of bed resting and wanted an excuse to go out. I had a flu recently and had to bed rest.

Now the salon:

From the outside, it looked cool. I met the hairdresser braiding outside and told her I wanted to wash. She then asked me to go in. Well, I wasn't too pleased with how it looked inside but I had walked quite a distance and just collapsed into the chair. I began applying Emily Millionaire coconut oil to my hair when she came in. I asked her for a shower cap to cover it. She told me I would need a shower cap to steam only after washing but I told her I preferred to do it before as I had to wait anyway . She didn't look too pleased as she handed me the shower cap and went out to continue the braids.

Poor dolls!

When she was done, she invited me to the wash area and I handed her my products. I honestly don't know why she rolled her eyes at me again this time but I said nothing. Then once done, she wanted to ruffle it dry but I told her to wrap my hair in the towel instead. Now she was pretty mad. I ignored her and went to sit in the styling chair. I took the towel off and then she started combing my damp hair. I kept moving my head and told her to be very gentle else my hair would break off as I never comb my damp hair. She said sorry and continued. When she picked the tail comb to set, I wasn't too sure I wanted her using that comb for me, considering she wasn't gentle with the big one so I opted for blowdrying. Big mistake.

Lost too much hair.

She picked the dryer and turned the heat on without applying anything. I asked if she doesn't have any product for blowdrying, she said she had shea butter but uses it afterwards. I told her I'd apply some of the Emily Millionaire as it wasn't cool to blowdry without any barrier to the hair. Now, she was clearly mad and I should have left. Too bad I didn't because when I got home and let my hair down, I was totally shocked at how much hair I had lost, but just angry with myself for sitting through it when I could have left. Especially after noticing how bald her dolls were (to the point of even taking pixs as though I was gonna compare with my hair afterwards); and seeing all the hair in the big comb she used, what else could I expect?!!

When she was done, she charged 1000 Naira, clearly outrageous. I asked her to reduce her price but she just kept saying that was the charge. I guess she noticed my accent and wanted to have a field day. I was so down and not in the mood for her games. I just told her I'd pay 700 Naira.....she talked a whole lot more, took the money, gave me change and I left. This does it for me. I should have known better really but I just thought it would be rude to leave considering she was fuming already. Thanks to my whatsapp "hairmily" for cheering me up......It will all grow back, I believe. Could have been worse!! Just look at those poor dolls!

DIY till I get back home.

Anyone had a worse experience than this? What would you have done differently?

Cheers,

Star.

Just Love Henna!

I remembered how my hair loved henna the 2 times I applied it after my relaxers and decided to do another application. I honestly think I need to henna every month or 2 because my hair really loves it and feels stronger when I henna my hair. 

I almost didn't do it as planned on Sunday because we had no water flowing in our taps for a long while due to repair works by the water company and I had little water left in storage by the weekend.

Thankfully, my hair buddy Ruby had loads of water and offered to help out so I went to her house and got a real good treat! It really felt nice to sit back and relax, and have your hair done with utmost care...........more tlc than ever imagined!! Ruby did the application from start to finish. After the application, I whiled away the time by installing some braids for Ruby's sister. I left the henna in for 4 hours.

I then washed it out with my onion infused shampoo and the followed with VO5 Moisture milks conditioner. I was mighty tired and it was past 10 pm so I didn't leave the conditioner in for more than 5 minutes and I didn't cover with a shower cap. I then T-shirt dried and then airdried the rest of the time, about 15 minutes with a standing fan after washing the henna out.

Each time I apply henna, my hair feels and looks awesome afterwards! I really should henna more often!! It's a keeper.

Have you tried henna?

Cheers,

Star. 

Post Texlax Update

Hello lovelies!!

Thank you all for supporting me on this hair journey of mine. You gave me the zeal to stay on this journey though there were times I felt like giving up. Your visits to this page mean a lot to me. God richly bless you. 

I should have washed my hair 3 days after relaxer day but shame on me, I got too busy to do it so I will wash tonight after work. I just can't wait to share my post texlax results with you. Been itching to for days now. I posted updates on my Facebook Page though. I just looooooove how much texture I have in my hair. It's extremely amazing how loose the coils got but without making my hair bone straight!! Feels like I used a texuriser or a kiddie perm. So that's it. It looks almost like new growth.

I found my hair needs just about 12 mins of the relaxer cream to loosen up but not get anywhere near bone straight. So from now on, my texlaxing process is going to be 10-12 minutes from start to finish!

I have about 4 inches of texlaxed hair now but I find it very easy to comb. Somehow, the knots and tangles simply disappeared. My hair was just screaming for a relaxer....lol! I'm so happy my texlax results were great and I feel really awesome about it.

I feel so good that somehow, some creativity in me sudden surfaced and I am really digging the protective styles I seem to come up with everyday. I massage T444Z onto my scalp at most 2 times a week. I moisturise and seal twice a day using ORS moisturiser on my ends and Hawaiian Silky on my roots. I seal with Wonder 8 oil and Ghanaian black castor oil. I use Cantu sheabutter or CON Argan oil leave-in when my hair feels dry before applying the moisturisers. 

My hair looks really lovely and feels good to touch. I've been asked 4 times this week "Is that your real hair"?. Hhhehhehehhhehhehehe..........you should see my face light up and feel my joy when I say a proud "YES"! I'm loving the compliments I get......and loving my colleagues and friends getting more and more curious about what I am doing to grow my hair. I'm honestly happy with my length and thickness now. 

Though my hair is not that long, it is the longest MY hair has ever been so to me, it is AWESOME. I'm just going to enjoy my journey to bra strap length as I intend to make it as stress-free and fret-free as possible. No more extremely long stretches..........12-16 weeks maximum. I will do a henna treatment this weekend. Dunno how I will squeeze it into my schedule but we'll see. Wish me luck.

What are your thoughts on texlaxing?

Cheers,

Star.

Wash Day: 13 Weeks Post

I decided to make my wash day as simple as possible as I was pretty tired. I had kept my hair in 3 large braids under my wig all week so I knew I would deal with tangles.

1. I detangled all sections carefully with my fingers. I then combed gently with my wide tooth comb.

2. I applied Wonder 8 Oil and coconut oil to my hair from roots to tips, covered with a shower cap and sat under the dryer for 30 minutes.

3. Shampooed with my onion infused Creme of Nature Detangling and Conditioning shampoo.

4. T-shirt dried hair and applied Vitale Mayonnaise, covered and sat under the dryer for 15 minutes.

5. Rinsed out and did a black tea rinse. Left in hair for 3 minutes and washed out with VO5 Moisture Milks.

6. Wrapped hair with T-shirt to soak up water.

7. Airdried hair, sectioned and detangled with my fingers after spraying in Creme of Nature Argan Oil moisture and shine leave in treatment.

8. Combed and threaded up into 4 sections as my style for the week.

                                      

Though I am enjoying my stretch,which has been quite easy, I have a great longing to enjoy my hair just a little bit. I am quite pleased with having a 13 week stretch and I will texlax on either Saturday or Sunday. I will self-texlax and I will make sure I protect my ends and apply on new growth only. For this reason, I really do not see the need to stretch further as I have between 1.5-2 inches of new growth. 

Wish me luck....and keep tuned to my next relaxer update. 

At how many weeks post do you feel like giving up on your stretch? 

Cheers,

Star.

Pre Wash Day

I have not combed my hair in a whole week. I am pretty scared my hair may be matted underneath. I just sincerely hope it is not as bad as I presume. I did my last wash while my hair was still threaded and though the threads became loose, I still left it in and moisturised and sealed as it was.

My hair needs to get a balance between protein and moisture; and having skipped a protein conditioner last week, I intend to do a medium protein deep condition. I will use Vitale Mayonnaise mixed with coconut and grapeseed oil overnight in my hair. I want to try deep conditioning overnight again and will obeserve more carefully how my hair responds.

This wash day will definitely be completed tomorrow as I will get home after 9pm today. 

Do you deep condition overnight?

Cheers,

Star.