Hair Musings - Relaxer Soon!

I apologise profusely for my loooooooooooooong silence in blogworld. The past weeks have been so challenging for me as a blogger. Had so many technical problems that brought my blogging life to a standstill. First, my laptop caught a virus and I had to format it twice to get it to do anything at all. The desktop I had available would not respond to anything internet-wise I wanted to do with it. The modem seemed to work but the reception was so poor that not even google search could download. Then worse of all, my camera lens got broken......thanks to my lil photographer-in-the-making trying to help mommy out.....lol!! 

Thought I could rely on my fon but no way either...couldn't write posts on the fon even though the page opened somehow. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....maybe it is time to switch to a wonder-fon that can give me all the blogworld luxuries on-the-go!!

Hair Update:

Lye relaxer I use....love results!

I haven't washed my hair in the past 2 weeks. Haven't green house effected in 2 weeks....Eiiissshh (shock)!! Shame, shame, shame on me. I just spray the tracks with my braid spray in the mornings. I intended to remove the weave last week but got swarmed by so many occasions I had to attend so I knew I wouldn't have a full week to treat my hair real good before I got my relaxer. Thankfully, my last to-go-to occasion is this Saturday and no more till mid September. That gives me a good 2 weeks to prepare for my relaxer and relax my hair. The anxiety is killing me. 24 weeks post is a looooooooooong stretch and I'm sure I have made some progress. I also really want to use the lunar hair cutting date and September seems to have so many good hair cut days...3rd to 16th...will book my relaxer on one of these days. 

My length goal for the year.....hope I don't have this much breakage.
Photo credit: http://daintyffany.blogspot.com

I hope my camera is repaired in time for me to take pictures and make a video on relaxer day. I'm keeping the date under wraps for now....very soon, one of my posts will show my new relaxed length. And who knows; I may reach my Armpit Length Goal 100+ days ahead of time. 

Have you subscribed to my channel on Youtube?
Please do so here  http://www.youtube.com/user/GhlonghairStar

When is your next relaxer day?

Cheers,

Star.

Never Wash until Completely Detangled

Seriously, everyone on a hair journey must heed to the signals of traffic lights in their heads before they do anything to their hair. (Rhyming in my head as I remember  kindergarten...RED means STOP, YELLOW means GET READY and GREEN means GO GO GO and GOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......!). 

You have to think carefully about what you are putting into your hair, how you are putting it in; what you are doing to your hair and how you are doing it. There are many Dos and Don't s, in the Religion of Hair Care too and you need to be sure you apply all information carefully. Talk about information overload.

Before I started my hair journey, I barely even looked in the mirror throughout a session with a hairdresser. Whether it was a wash, braid removal and or relaxer service. All was simply ok once I went home with some hair on my head.

Usually, after undoing our braids, the first thing that we may plan to do is to shampoo our hair. Believe me, don't even think about  it. Hair journey or not. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez....RED lights should flash continuously in your head should you intend to shampoo wash right after undoing your braids WITHOUT first detangling.

All the shed hair, dirt and product buildup during the time your hair was in braids or a weave is still in your hair and has definitely tangled and formed knots around the rest of your hair. Worse still, some are so tangled and matted that it seems the best thing to do is to simply cut it off. No, no you don't! All you need is time, patience and a few tools and products and you're good to go. A conditioner with great slip, water and oil is all you need. And you can make a cocktail and spray on the knots and detangle completely with your finger first before you comb through.

If you don't detangle completely to the point where a comb can easily pass through your hair without any barriers, you will end up pulling out clumps of hair with your comb. Detangling is one of the greatest DIY exercises. We all know how most hairdressers have no time to pause and detangle with their fingers. They rather comb-detangle your dry and knotted hair pulling and tugging along all the way. Results: Massive hair loss and teeny weeny, slim ponytails simply because of so much breakage.

Find below a short video to illustrate better how to detangle:

Happy detangling!!

Who detangles for you after braid removal?

Cheers,
Star.

Hair Musings!!

I will be 24 weeks (6 months) post relaxer next week and I'm feeling so good about my achievement right now I could reach the sky if I did a happy jump. I am particularly happy about the fact that I was able to do this stretch much more easily than the first stretch. I enjoyed my hair a bit more this time than the aggressive braid regimen I embarked on the last 6 month stretch. Now I am wondering if I should celebrate an anniversary by relaxing and checking how long a way I have come in a year. Yes...maybe I should. In fact, I'm convinced I should.

My hair was neck length a year ago and is now past shoulder length with a lot of new growth. I was seriously on a hair journey more than half this time. I took charge of my hair and decided it was time to grow it long. 

I really wanted to do a 36 week stretch but I am wondering what more I could want from myself if not to be happy with a 24 week stretch since I am not transitioning. I've bought my length check shirt now, I still have 137 days to my APL goal and I need to check-in, don't I?

Source.

My hair life has just been so boring in the past few weeks. No cowashing, no deep conditioning, no hot oil treatments, no moisturising and sealing....and so many other No..No..Nos! I feel so sorry for my hair. I really do. I'm wondering how it is really feeling right now. Probably very thirsty, dry and brittle. That can mean only one thing. Hair detangling session is probably not going to be as incident-free as always. All the other times I had braids, I did wash as often as I wanted. I have to undo this weave in time for a protein treatment a week before the relaxer, and think up how I will style my hair for a real special occasion in the first week of September. 

I have only 3 weeks! Dates must be attached pronto. And that includes a day for my product haul. I have to come up with a game plan..............................Musing!

 How often do you do your hair length checks?

Cheers,
Star.

Wash Day: Synthetic Weave

I woke up thinking I should just wash my hair and weave; knowing full well it could be a hair day gone bad!!

I had my pair of scissors and razor blade standing by as I parted and detangled the weave and threaded it. Just in case I need to undo the weave altogether.

I did this to prevent tangling and knotting and hoped with all my being that it would work. I then oiled my hair in the tracks with coconut oil and donned my shower cap for 30 minutes.

Into the shower I went and did a shampoo wash with Palmolive Naturals Milk&Honey Shampoo (I actually love it...it mimics Creme Of Nature Detangling Shampoo). 

I then applied conditioner (Reflexion Olive Oil Conditioner...not bad but nothing special) and left it in for a few minutes and rinsed it out. 

I diluted both products with water as I did not want any buildup. And boy, was I glaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!

Wash complete, curls intact!! I'm happy I took the plunge!!

Comrades, when on a healthy hair journey, drink deep or taste not.

What have you been told never to do by your hairdresser only to find out it can be done?

Cheers,

Star.

Cons of Full Head Weaves

Though a full head weave has advantages, it has many disadvantages as well. These have to be carefully looked at and solutions sought to remedy them before one installs a full head weave. Weaves are a great protective style but if care is not taken, it can result in massive hair breakage and hair loss. To be forewarned is to be forearmed so before you install your next full head weave, these are a few things you should take note of:

Painful to Install:  Well, this is relative but most braiders do not have "soft" hands. If you do not tell the braider to loosen their grip, you will end up having to deal with throbbing headaches for sometimes up to a week especially if you have a sensitive scalp. Not to talk about the sleepless nights you may have to endure for the first few nights. I have never unistalled braids due to pain; (I'm hard on myself after sitting for 2 hours or more to get them done) but I have a few friends who just couldn't stand the pain and ended up undoing their braids and weaves the same day. Always politely ask a braider to loosen their grip else you may end up with bald patches and thin edges.

 

Circular weave tracks.

Neglect of Proper Hair Care: This is the biggest disadvantage of full head weaves. This style offers little room for manipulation hence the tendency to totally leave one's real hair alone is very great. Many leave the weave in for more than 6 weeks and therefore that amounts to 6 weeks of no shampooing, conditioning, treatments, moisturising & sealing, or deep conditioning. Imagine 6 weeks without caring for your hair. That is a whole lot and can cause a huge setback. If the tracks are braided in a circular way or horizontally, it leaves room for some manipulation of one's own hair, but it can be very challenging getting to the hair and scalp if the tracks are braided vertically. This may result in extremely dry and brittle hair which may break off if hair is not detangled properly after weave removal.
 
Can Lead to Breakage: If the tracks onto which the weave is sewn is braided vertically, it creates a "mat" style which makes it very difficult for one to apply product to the scalp or hair. Forcing the fingers through may create tension and traction leading to breakage. If one does not comb the weave gently, the pulling and tugging on the tracks can cause breakage as well. After undoing the weave and cornrows, one must detangle very carefully especially if it is left in for more than 6 weeks, else massive breakage and hair loss can result.

High Cost: Being on a weave regimen may be costly especially if one installs high quality weaves and does it often. Not to talk about the cost of "real human hair" which has become so abundant that there should be more bald headed women on the face of this earth than ever before.....lol!! Maybe walking around with wigs! Maintenance cost may also have to be factored in if one wants the weave to look flawless all the time. And, depending on one's location, the installation service alone can be a whooping sum.....usually above $50. Here in Ghana, getting a weave installed is as low as $10 in most salons......*wink*.


Weave update:
I stopped gheing for a while since the challenge is over. I simply want to wash my hair though the weave I'm wearing is synthetic. I'm going to dilute my shampoo and conditioner; and spray on the tracks. I'm also going to prepoo for about an hour with coconut oil. I'm thinking of threading the weave in order to prevent knots and tangles. If things don't go as well as I assume, I will simply undo the weave, and keep the tracks. Back to my wigs, will I go then.

Tomorrow is wash day......wish me luck!!

Have you ever installed and taken down a weave or braids the same week?

Cheers,
Star.

End of 6 Month Challenges

Our 6 month hair challenges have finally ended.......pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew....*wiping sweat*... but I'm sure all the hard work y'all put in finally paid off BIG TIME!! All the massaging, dampening, spraying, moisturising, oiling, ..........oh, oh.....and all the plastic bags and shower caps y'all had to stock and keep handy!! Hhahahhahahaha......You should see the plastic bag collection I have!! All sorts and sizes; none escaped my hands.

The challenges were the Green House Effect (GHE) and Castor Oil Challenges. For the GHE, any natural oil of choice was permitted but the use of castor oil was encouraged for those who were taking both challenges. The challenges were aimed at the following;

                   1. Enhancing growth rate                                 2. Restoring moisture to dry hair

                   3. Reducing breakage                                      4. Reduce dandruff and scalp itch      

                   5. Eliminate bacteria and fungi from the scalp  

I'm dancing "Azonto" again......and I don't do this dance unless I'm really, really happy about something. YESSSSSSSSSSS....I achieved all the above benefits for my hair. I retained so much length and gained so much thickness. I relaxed in March and am currently 21 weeks post with a lot of new growth....probably about 3 inches when stretched. I have thicker but manageable new growth. I have far less breakage than ever in my life. My hair is not as dry and brittle as before. I have retained more length even during stretches where I have to deal with 2 textures. No dandruff at all and no prolonged scalp itch when I have braids. 

With new growth this much, 

And thickness this much,

I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY NEXT RELAXER DAY RESULTS.......

TO SEE IF I REACH MY ARMPIT LENGTH GOAL BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR!!

Have you ever reached a hair length goal ahead of time?

Cheers,

Star.