Fun Day at Sajuna Beach Resort

It's been a great month for me! I'm having so much fun this last month of the year ....hhhaaaahhhhaaa...! I'm usually indoors during weekends and holidays, sleeping ....but I did say that's gonna change in 2015. How lovely it is to check out how my 2015 is gonna be....seriously, I'm making it my Year of Fun...

I forgot to charge my fon the night before so I couldn't take more photos as planned. I've been to the resort several times, but I had the most fun this time around. You could feel my excitement, and it was a great day. 

Have a Happy New Year! 

Cheers,

Star.

Hairpiness This Season!

I'm so excited about this Xmas season and I intend to have all the fun I can have within the next few days! I was very, very ill last year all through the Xmas season and I have cause to celebrate...on the double this year.

I went to the beach with my sisters, friends and kids on Sunday and we had a really good time. Want to share the joy of the season with you!

May your heart be filled with happiness, love, joy and may all your expectations in the coming be met a thousand fold!!

Which places do you intend to visit this Christmas?

Cheers,
 Star

New Protective Style: Short Weave

Hey hairmily,

I just realised I did not update you on my current hairstyle. My hair has been in a weave for the past weeks and I am keeping a pretty simple regimen that saves time and will allow me to rest during the holidays.

I just wash once a week, or when needed. I dilute my products before use. I apply my moisturising mix and oil mix to the tracks where my hair is as best as I can using an old dark and lovely anti-itch applicator bottle . I found the bottle very useful so I just decided to keep it after I used up the product in it.

I am making plans for 2015. I have written down a lot but I am reviewing what I have written down and will put up a final list before the year ends. I do not want to make plans I might not work at achieving. Even if I end up having only one goal, I would put it up.

I am just feeling bored right now but I do need a lot of rest and would just have to keep my hair in this weave. I have no plans of taking them out though they look and feel terrible now after a beach day out and a swim. I had enough sand in my hair to fill a small cup by the time I got home. I spent more than 30 minutes washing it out yesterday...and I still have some sand in it. Will wash on Wednesday because I have plans of swimming tomorrow...but in a pool this time.

Counting the days.................seriously.


What hairstyle will you wear this Christmas?


Cheers,
Star.

Tales of my Waist Length Hairventure or Hairventure to Waist Length?

I had been thinking of changing my blog title for a long while because it is similar to another blog title I found a few months after I started my blog.

I've finally come up with two titles and hope you help me choose one. 

1. Tales of my (Waist Length) Hairventure 

or

2. Hairventure to Waist Length

Hairventure is Hair Adventure shortened, and it sounds cute like all the other words like hairmily, hairdie, hairven, etc that I use in chats with hair friends....and I would want my goal to appear in the title but option 1. sounds nicer without the waist length...lol

So as I make plans for 2015, I just decided to carry out one plan I hadn't achieved in 2014. 

2015 is going to be a great year..in all things and I do have some nice plans I'm writing down which I would share with you soon. I'm so hairxcited!!

Which blog title do you like? 1 or 2? 

Cheers,

Star.

A Beautiful Soul Gone: Titi Branch (Co-Founder of Miss Jessie's)

OMG!! She's too beautiful to be gone! 

Another hair sister gone......just like that! This is Titi Branch; co-founder of Miss Jessie's Hair Products, a very successful natural hair care line who died at 45 on 4th December, 2014 and whose cause of death is rumoured to be suicide. Then again, you wonder why such a beautiful and successful woman would take her own precious life. You can read her life story here. 

Source: www.blackenterprise.com

I'm just sad that sometimes, depression can get people to such a point of no return. Suicide. Throw away life and all it has to offer. Just like that. One is said to be depressed when one feels deeply dejected, unhappy, sad, dispirited, heavy-hearted, lonely, moody, and hopeless..................just to name a few. And when one doesn't seek medical attention, anything can happen. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!! 

Source:www.styleblazer.com

My heart goes out to the family and friends, especially her sister and business partner Miko. May she keep the fire burning and if there were some dreams yet to be achieved, may she rise to the occasion. 

We all have sad and lonely times. Times when our spirits are down. We may have encountered hopeless situations and think there is no light at the end of the tunnel. It may be at work, school, home, neighbourhood, even church..... but what we have to keep doing is rise up and move on. Let go of the hurt. Let go of the pain. Let go of the sadness. Talk to someone. Make new friends. Find ways to make yourself happy. And best of all, TALK TO JESUS!! 

Source: Google images

I posted this photo to my facebook profile today because I have made a personal decision that nothing is gonna keep me down for more than a day. Oh no no no no! Whatever happens, I have decided not to brood. I'll just take it as one of those things and shake it off in the morning with that happy jump right there. 

Life is beautiful! It is sweet and sour, life is tough but it goes on. 

R.I.P Titi! May you find eternal rest.

Cheers,

Star. 

Versatile Blogger Award

Hi lovelies,

My lovely blogger friends Bee of GlamLushHair and Kirsty of BlackHairSpice nominated me for this award and I'm mighty excited about this "knowing me" post.

Medaaaaase papaaaapa! (Thank you so much).

What's the Versatile Blogger Award? 

The Versatile Blogger Award is an award to "honor those bloggers who bring something special to your life whether everyday or only now and then."

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award.

2. Include a link  to their blog.

3. Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you have recently discovered or follow regularly.

4. Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award (you might include a link to VBA site.) 

5. Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself. 

Ready?......................Let's go!

1. Thanks Bee and Kirsty!

2. Check out their awesome hair blogs:  http://glamlushhair.blogspot.com and http://blackhairspice.blogspot.com

3. The following are great bloggers that I follow and nominate for this award:

    Jocel

    Annette 

    Ghanaian Emprezz

    Jay

   Tendai 

   TheManeCaptain

   Adeola

   Chan 

   West

   Violet   

Nerline

Tomi 

Shea

M Hall

Diandrea

Click on their names to read their blogs! Happy reading!

This is me!! 

Seven Random Things About Me:

1. I love sleep! Once I was got of university, I just got into the habit of sleeping early. I could no longer stay up to watch movies, read till midnight or spend evenings out. I just preferred sleeping to doing anything else...and still do. *covers face* The only time you find me awake after 8:30pm, on days that I don't have an evening class or close late from work is if my daughter is still up. I'm at a point where it has become a bad habit that I have to overcome. After all, there is more sleep after ...........................!

Wake up girl and burn the midnight candle! 

2. I love to talk and talk and talk when I meet new people. That's if they look interested in what I'm saying. And lately, most of the talk is on general well-being and hair growth. 

3. I love high heels! But more on my shoe rack than on my feet. I'm not sure if I should blame it on motherhood though, but I'm always in slippers like the above photo almost everywhere I go. I usually take a pair of heels when I have to play a role at a function and wear them only when "it's time". I take them off right after and go back to my slippers. That irritates my hubby but I always tell him "it's not my fault oooooo, I just get tired real fast in heels now". And that is the truth. 

4. I suck at sports! The only game I played well years back was lawn tennis...and this was over 10 years ago. Though I have the opportunity to find a soft spot for sports especially lawn tennis again, I just prefer to watch and cheer on. 

5. I always dream of South Africa. It's just a country I would love to visit real soon. 

6. I love to be cheerful and bubbly. I laugh loads and really loud. My friends and family used to say they just needed to be silent and listen for just a few minutes to find me cos my laughter was like their compass.....hahhahahhahaaahhaha. But, I make it known when someone annoys me real quick and snappy...say all I have to say, then I'm back to being me. No room to dull my shine; I'm a star after all. 

7. I have very few material things on my wishlist...most on my list are hair products. I barely think about cars, clothes, shoes and luxury vacations. Many ask me if I want to be rich? I say not really. All I plan to acquire is enough to live a peaceful, nice and happy life after I retire. And I look forward to continuing writing. Oh, yes...I'm already making retirement plans but I just turned 31 yesterday. 

Awwwwwwwwwwwww, would have loved to tell you more but that's 7 already....*sob sob*

Cheers,

Star. 

Relaxer Update: At 13 Weeks Post

Hello lovelies! 

So it was just me keeping it low to no manipulation till relaxer day. At 13 weeks post, I could not go any further and decided to throw in the towel and relax last weekend. On the 29th of November, I woke up and was mighty excited it was relaxer day for me.

I applied hair pomade heavily to my scalp the night before and applied Roux porosity conditioner over the length of my hair after I sectioned my hair. I used Soft & Silky (S&S) relaxer as I did the last time. I applied it very quickly with my gloved hands and then left it in a few minutes. I did not smooth with a comb as I prefer texture. I rinsed out after 15 minutes and proceeded to deep condition and then neutralise. I used the same products (minus the Vitale relaxer and hemp oil) and the same process as I used on most relaxer days . 

Read this post for more details here. 

Overall, I had a lot of texture again, but I love how soft and silky my hair feels each time I use this relaxer. I should probably check to see if there is a super strength as it is too mild for my hair type. It doesn't burn at all though it is a lye relaxer. I did not use any heat as usual and just airdried. 

I really love my texlaxed thickness. I have at least 6 inches of texlaxed hair now. Remember I started texlaxing at the beginning of the year and I love everything about being texlaxed except the detangling sessions which can get a little tough. I think it will get better once I snip all my relaxed ends off. I will not chop but will trim little by little if the ends remain OK. My hair still sheds, but it is not as crazy as it used to be and I will go back to Groganics DHT blocker products and vitamins ag to see if it will stop completely.

My newly texlaxed roots is 2 inches long. That's how much new growth I had in 13 weeks. Not bad at all!! Manetabolism hair vitamins really gave me a boost of growth in the last 8 weeks of my stretch when I took 2 pills a day religiously, almost. I missed just 2 days. I fell asleep with the pills in my hand one of the nights, can't stop laughing about that one....and I just forgot the other one night. My lil sister really helped me to take my pills each night. Those 2 nights were the ones where she was asleep by the time I got home from school, which is usually 10pm. I had no less than 1.5 inches of growth for sure from the pills and I might not have gained the full inch because my schedule was crazy in the past weeks, I had upcoming exams and I missed breakfast and supper an awful lot of days. I am onto my 3rd bottle, school is on break, and I would get a break from work before Christmas for 2 weeks so I hope to pamper myself this month in the hopes of getting my full inch. 

I have started making serious hair plans for 2015 and will fill you in on all those. I owe you all a couple of posts and will do well to write every other day to make up. I got a weave on Saturday and will tell you all about it too. 

Thanks for reading. 

Would I reach my Bra Strap Length goal by end of December? 

Cheers,

Star. 

Hair Musings!

I'm just at a point in my hair journey where I just don't know what next my hair wants me to do. It is growing, YES!, thicker and faster too. But is it me or it's just my regimen that I have to tweak to stop it from breaking, breaking, breaking , breaking anywhere beyond 8 weeks when it is free?

I beat myself a bit when I can't stretch beyond 8 weeks but I have come to the point where I think I should just listen to my hair, and my hair only. Having to tell others to relax no less than 8 weeks post and go only 6 weeks and relax has been hard for me. But my hair hates long stretches. I have had many setbacks in the past because I tried to stretch beyond 8 weeks. And having the texlaxed middle doesn't make matters easier.

I am 12 weeks post now and I had braids the whole while so it was easy. But my hair is free now and fighting with me. I can't wear a weave or braid because of an upcoming hair event next week, so I simply have to cave in and relax. 

My roots only comb (that post is coming soon, I promise) makes it so easy to apply my oils and moisturiser, but my issue is my hair tangles more by the passing hour. I apply my favourite detangler and moisturiser Hawaiian silky 14 in 1, and my hair feels so soft and detangled. I style and go to work. By evening, I have to detangle all over again. Like from scratch.........like what is this? It's taking so much of my time and I really want the easiest way out. And, my hands are always in my hair too...feeling my new growth ....which ain't too good either. 

And the puff too....need bobby pins and a "hold me down" song to keep my hair in place even after scarfing overnight.....like what is this.....hahahahhahhahahhahahahha.......but this time I'm not laughing! 

So my mind is made up once again. I will self-texlax (is that a hair word ?) on Saturday morning and give you an update as soon as I can. Wish me luck.

Does your hair like or hate relaxer stretches? 

Cheers,

Star. 

2 Years and Cheers On....

Praise God my blog is 2 years old.......I cannot express how grateful I am for all the support I have enjoyed on this hair journey. You reading this right now are my total motivation and I really, really thank you for spending time to read my blog.

Once again, thank you all for your support!!

Cheers,
Star.

How I'll Retain My Length

Our biggest issue especially for those of us with relaxed hair is how to minimise breakage and prevent split ends. Now, if there is one lesson I have learnt the hard way, it is to keep my hair, especially the ends well hidden after moisturising and sealing.

Once we get past shoulder length, we desire to show off a little. Just a little. And when the "is that your hair?" question keeps coming, we keep showing off and showing off. Maybe you don't do that, but I am so guilty of that......geeeeeez! I'm better now though...healing.

I am currently 9 weeks post and struggling with breakage. I had a weave in for 6 weeks, and now have cornrows. My hair needs more loving especially with protein. I need to retain length and these are some things I need to work on:

1. Protein-Moisture Balance: I need to get my hair balanced right away! Too much moisture leaves the hair limp and mushy, and in effect weak and prone to breakage. Too much protein also leaves the hair hard and brittle, and also prone to breakage. Until there is a fine balance between the two, hair is in trouble. Protein strengthens the hair and moisture retains elasticity of the hair. Too much of either is bad. I have to remember to do my hard protein treatments every month and do mild protein treatments weekly.

Test: Stretch freshly washed hair gently. If it snaps too quickly, your hair needs moisture. If it stretches for too long before snapping, your hair needs protein. If it is balanced, it will snap but not too quickly or stretch but not too long before it snaps. 

2. Low Manipulation and Protective Styling : This one, I have to work real good on. I have to comb my hair less within the week and keep my ends tucked away when my hair is free. For now, I'm gonna just stay away from combing. I have a roots only applicator bottle and my gosh! I've used it for some weeks now and I am so pleased with myself for buying it! I just poured in my oils and just got to work with it. No need to part hair into sections and all that. 

3. Stretch Stretch Stretch my Relaxer!! Since the beginning of the year, I have failed terribly at stretching. Terribly! I haven't gone up to 8 weeks this whole year which is a big shame. Though I ensure I do not overlap my already relaxed hair or over process the relaxer, it may still have affected my strands and they may be weaker than before. Surely, I will go beyond 12 weeks this time for sure. That's my new resolve. I have to work it out somehow. 

4.  Trim my Ends: This may sound counter productive but I just realised my split ends may have travelled up my hair shaft over the past months I didn't trim. So moving forward, I will snip off a little bit on my ends after every relaxer. That should keep the thin looking ends at bay. My texlaxed middle makes my ends look so miserable. If only I had the courage to just cut them all off. 

This is my "big"plan for the rest of the year. I'll take my Manetabolism Pills religiously; and these pills are really amazing. My hair is growing like weeds.......super satisfied! I will also henceforth do scalp massages at least 3 times a week with my new D.I.Y oil growth potion (every growth aid I have is in there! Will tell you about that soon) and draw up a hair regimen which I would share in another post once I'm done. My edges are also growing back nicely. I don't want a huge setback to mark the celebration on my 2 year anniversary. 

How do you prevent hair breakage?

Cheers,
Star.

Product Review: Cantu Sheabutter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream

Hello Hairmily,

Hope everyone is doing as well as I am. I promised I would review all the products I have ever used...yes, all of them in the next weeks so here's the next product up for review.

Image Source

Here's my video review of the Cantu Sheabutter Leave-in Repair Cream.

Don't forget to leave your comments and questions below. 

Have you tried the Cantu Sheabutter Leave in? 

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. 

Product Review: Dark & Lovely Scalp Soother and Anti Itch

Hello lovelies,

I just did a video review of the Dark and Lovely Braids and Weaves Scalp Soother and Anti Itch serum which I used for 6 weeks while wearing my weave. My weave is out now but just want to share my experience with this product.

Don't forget to leave your questions and comments.


When was the last time you wore a weave?


Cheers,
Star.

My Lime and Honey Facial Regimen

When it comes to acne and pimples, I've always been prone. I honestly didn't really mind until when I started looking at my pictures from my November 2012 when I started blogging. Then I realised it was getting worse as I had the dark acne spots increasing over time and getting more pronounced.

In April, I started trying to fade the spots. I read several blogs and checked with cosmetics shops. Black soap seemed popular in the blogging world. And honey and lime too. But I only tried black soap, and some other soaps and treatments (facial peels, lotions, scrubs) I got from shops. It started before I started taking women's and hair vitamins so I wouldn't blame it on those.

Before lime and honey regimen.

Then I decided to try the honey and lime facial scrub finally when I met a cousin who had always had bad, bad, acne issues and her face was almost clear. I asked the secret and she said, "Honey and Lime". That was the last push I needed and I jumped right on board.

2 months after using regimen daily.

I bought pure honey from Honey Lane Limited, because I wanted 100% pure honey and got some lime from the market.

My Regimen: I use a small bowl into which I squeeze the juice and mix with honey. I usually make just enough for 2 applications, morning and evening as I prefer it fresh. If there is any leftover, I keep it in the fridge. I wash my face and blot it dry with a face towel. I then apply my lime and honey mixture and leave it on my face till it's time to shower. I wash it off with facial soap. I do the same in the evening. Once in a while, when my face feels dry, I add castor oil and grapeseed oil to the mix.

I must say I am so delighted I finally tried it and after just 2 months, my spots have faded considerably. I still have a few tough ones and the occassional breakouts, but I'm sticking to this simple facial regimen for a long, long while.


What's your facial regimen?


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.

Giveaway Ongoing and I got Manetabolism!!

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all doing great. I'm currently hosting the post meetup giveaway as promised on my facebook page. I had challenges with filming the video for my Youtube channel. 

The link to my page is www.facebook.com/ghlonghair. These lovely goodies below are up for grabs!! 

The giveaway is sponsored by UrbanMakes online store and ends on the 15th of October, 2014. 

In other news...very exciting....I got my supply of Manetabolism Hair Vitamins yesterday and started with them right away! I looooooooove Groganics Vitamins...they gave me so much growth within the 3 months I took them...even though I took one a day instead of 2 but I run out of those and I had a friend in the US who helped me get Manetabolism to use in the meantime. Besides, the PJ in me just has to try it out! I would take 2 a day without fail for the first month and see if I really get an inch. In future, once Groganics is available, I will buy enough to take 2 a day and then compare results. Want to see which vitamins my body responds better to. I am determined to come up with a list of staple products by the end of the year so that I stop buying everything with a good review.....lol. 

My weave would be 4 weeks old tomorrow and I have a lot of growth for hair I kind of left alone. I bet I have almost an inch of growth! I just applied T444Z weekly, D&L Braids and Weaves Anti Itch daily, took one Groganics pill a day, washed twice with Groganics Deep Freeze shampoo and conditioner. I am so happy my hair is "growing" again. I was stuck at the same length for too long and looking forward to more growth with these Manetabolism pills. I also need to do a length check as I snipped off some ends before installing the weave. 

What are your favourite hair vitamins? 

Cheers,

Star. 

<manetabolism> <hairvitamins> <Ghanaianhairblogger> <hairjourney> 

Hair Musings

Hello everyone. It's been a long while. What has been up with my hair is pretty much nothing. That's primarily because it stopped itching!

Now, I hardly have my hands in my hair at all. I still use the Dark and Lovely Anti Itch and S.O.S hairline everyday. It is so easy and convenient to use. My hair is not smelly; according to my sister and the weave still looks good. I washed only that once I wrote about in my last post and I'm surprised after more than a week, it is not itchy. I could hardly go a week without washing my scalp in the past. I will do a full review of the products once the bottles are empty...that wont be long as more than half the bottle of the anti-itch is gone already.....hehehhehehhe. 

Is my hair growing? Yes it is as I feel new growth. I still apply T444Z Hair Food once a week. It is hard to have access to the front parts of my hair as the weave is across the cornrows but I still do my best to get a little where I can. It is easy to apply and massage in the back area of my head. I'm not happy I didn't complete inversion this month and will do it as soon as I get these weaves out. I'm not sure now when I will take these out because it's just sweet to rest a bit from all the washing and deep conditioning and airdrying and styling and everything else. I miss my hair routine but I just got so busy with school .....I'm in class almost every evening now. I just hope this anti-itch is moisturising enough and my hair wont dry out. I really should find time to wash and condition soon. 

Anything new? YES!

There is an ongoing edges and hairline challenge on my on my facebook page and the rule is to use either coconut oil or castor oil on your edges 3 times a week. Only one of the oils. The challenge started this Sunday and will end in December. I will use castor oil. If you have issues with your edges, you can join in the challenge. Both oils are growth aids. Just take starting photos and post to my facebook page wall or whatsapp to +233201979795. Let's regrow our edges! 

How is your hair doing? 

Cheers,

Star. 

New Protective Style: Full Head Weave

So what's been up with my hair? It's all tucked away...*feeling pleased with myself*. I am almost 3 weeks post relaxer. I relaxed at 4 weeks post...more like a corrective relaxer because my roots reverted so much I just didn't know what to do anymore. I will give details in my next post. 

Right after the meetup, I decided it was time to try out the Dark and Lovely Braids and Weaves SOS Hairline range of products I got from their office for free 2 weeks ago, to use and review. I fell completely in love with the packaging of the products especially the roots applicator bottles in which most of them came in. They gave me two each of the products pictured below. I really couldn't wait to use these as I liked the ingredients in the list...at least those I know. 

My regular hairdresser had travelled so I got this weave with a new one, but I liked her too because she was so gentle with the braids. She didn't pull tight at all and I even braided my edges...as there is a product that promises your edges will stay intact even if you weave it. 

I asked how she was going to braid and sew the tracks so I could have access to my scalp. She proposed the circular way. She added extensions to only the first 5 rows. From the 5th to the crown, she didn't add any as she said it wasn't necessary. In fact, I dozed off along the way...first time ever....and she was almost done by the time I woke. After taking this shot, I realised and then discussed how difficult it would be for me to access my scalp if the weave was sewn in a U-part way as shown below as the front part was sewn across the cornrows. However, it was quite late and I was too tired to have it done all over again. We agreed that next time, the part in front should be braided across so that the tracks be sewed along the cornrows. I think that is possible and we will try that next time. 

I made a huge mistake when I got the weave installed. I got home late that day and went to the salon after 6pm. I just grabbed the extensions and went to the salon. The extensions were in their packs but I bought them over 6 months ago so I really should have washed them and then rinsed with ACV solution. My scalp itched like crazy for the first 3 days even though I applied the Anti-Itch Scalp Soother all through twice a day. I was scratching like crazy and screaming...asking my sisters to take it off. I had to wash my hair by the third night. After washing and drying, I applied the Anti-Itch Scalp Soother and praise my soul it comes in an applicator bottle so applying is really, really easy. Today is the 3rd day since I washed but my scalp still itches. Not as crazily as before though. I still apply to my scalp 2 times a day and apply the SOS hairline to the hairline area as well. 

I'm looking forward to the itch stopping completely because I really would not have time to undo this weave till after 2 weeks as I will be away from home the next 2 weekends. I will continue using the Scalp Soother and SOS Hairline from the range till these weaves come off. I may not need to use the other two for now. I will wash my hair tomorrow and every 3 days as usual.  I totally think that either the weave is irritating my scalp as it's a synthetic weave, or the hairdresser though gentle, has "bad"hands for my scalp. However, I need this Scalp soother to soothe my scalp real soon and for the SOS Hairline to keep my hairline intact. 

What do you do to relieve an itchy scalp after installing a weave? 

Cheers,

Star.

Successful Hair Meetup: It's a 10!!

Yes!! We did it!! We scored 10!! The meetup last Sunday was a great success!! You all know how I can't hide it when I am excited, and I am jumping up and down * in my mind's eye* as I write this post and that makes it much harder to put my thoughts together and write everything I want to say. Hope the pictures tell the story better.

Registration time,  and first 50 ladies got these goodies from ORS Ghana. 

By 12:30pm there were about 15 ladies at the venue already and by 1:00pm, we were about 30. We started right on time and within an hour, the seats were all taken. We had 60 seats initially but as time went on, we had to add a few. We registered a total of 81 ladies. And there were more than 15 gentlemen who showed up to support us. 

          

We had 3 talks on Tips for Growing Long Hair by GHlonghair, Beauty Inside Out: You are What You Eat by Esther, a Dietician from the Korle-Bu Teaching , and Home Recipe Making by Benedicta. There was a session for Mira, a relaxed hair blogger and Nana Ama, naturalista to share their hair stories and how their hair journeys have been.

Then we had a runway session where we met ladies at various stages of their hair journeys, we heard their hair stories and shared their regimen and products that they loved. We had demonstrations of hair care techniques such as prepooing, stretching relaxers, deep conditioning, wrapping hair, green house effect, inversion, and many more.

The workshops were just amazing. We divided the ladies into groups and had facilitators for each group. The discussions went on and on and on.....there was just so much to learn and share. With time running out, we had to end the workshops though the ladies wanted more. 

  

 Everyone participated to the full!Everyone had fun!! Everyone wanted more and more and more!!


And the juicy part, there were giveaways from AfroRiri Haircare, Honey Lane, Ghana Soap School and my good friend Ella. The most support I got was from my family and members of my whatsapp groups who supported and encouraged me everyday!! They said, "You can do this, let's do this"......and we did!!
# TeamHealthyHair!!

           


























Many thanks goes to all the ladies and gentlemen who showed up, the vendors who came with wonderful products, and all who gave me wonderful feedback after it was all over....an hour later than we scheduled. They just didn't want to leave, and neither did I....hahhahahahhahaha! Oh yes, there will be more meetups!!

Want the video? It's ready and I am uploading it on my Youtube Channel now!! Subscribe now for updates.

Thanks for reading!!

Cheers,
Star.