VISIT TO SINTIA'S

I went to Sintia's to get a DC last night but was a little disappointed.

The lady who washed my hair, Elise, was just fine. However, she only put me under the dryer for about 10 minutes. After about 5 minutes of being under, the lady that usually relaxes my hair asked me to come out. I told her I had only been under for 5 minutes. Then, this big lady, used to work at the Bowie Dominican place that shut down, said that 5 minutes is fine, to which I responded that I planned to stay under a little longer. The dryer soon shut off and because all the ladies were busy with other people's hair, I sat for another 5 minutes with conditioner for almost a total of 20 minutes. I mentioned to the evening manager, Heather (I think) that I did not appreciate having a conversation on the matter.

I did not get a blow out and am very happy about that. My hair did not need the extra heat and it swangs and has incredible bounce without it. Based on this experience, I don't think I will get a blow out EVER again. It just isn't necessary unless there is something going on.


Anyway, before going to bed, I put some oil on my scalp and wrapped my hair. I left my hair wrapped the next day until it was time to pick TE up from school. My hair looks and feels great. I am convinced that my hair is doing okay. It could be doing better but so far so good. I will do a seek and destroy/dusting this weekend and when next I wash my hair, I will use the Silk Elements con I purchased. I wish I had a hooded blow dryer so that I could sit under for a little bit. I think that would help prepare my hair for the next relaxer which is in 2 weeks.

Well, overall, I am happy with my hair. The shedding/breakage of earlier this week has stopped for now. The thinness I was experiencing for all these months is done for now and I simply need to keep my hair happy between now and my next relaxer. I hope to accomplish that with head massages, low manipulation and not exposing my ends and hair to the elements as much as I can.

Once I get relaxed, I will go back to BT and use it 2-3 times a week for the first 8 weeks. For the last 2 weeks, I plan to relax before traveling to Nigeria, I will moisturize my scalp once a day with oils.

Hoping for the best

PROTEIN OVERLOAD IS NO GOOD!

 It appears I gave my hair too much protein over the weekend as I am experiencing significant shedding.

I have been managing the situation with moisturizers and just blow dried and straightened my hair so that I can determine what my hair will look like for an interview this weekend (wig or no wig).

Oh boy. I plan on going to get my hair washed and DCd at Sintia's as soon as possible so that  I can rectify the situation.

I will not get a blow out, but will simply have my hair wrapped and leave.

I am 10 weeks post today and hoping to go another 2 weeks before a relaxer.

PROTEIN SUNDAY

I had planned on doing a henna treatment this weekend, but the weekend flew by so quickly, it just never happened. So instead, I turned to what I had at my fingertips and got it cracking.

I did a KOProtein DC for almost an hour. Once I rinsed, my hair felt alright but it clearly needed some more strength. So I mixed some of my oil mix, an egg, and some Silicon Mix, put it in my hair for about 25 minutes. The results were what I was looking for. My hair felt heavy and strong. After that I put some more Silicon Mix in my hair and combed it out. Lots of shed hairs, which was disturbing as usual. But my hair felt so silky smooth after that, it was amazing.

I let my hair airdry and then applied some moisture mix. I am going to put some silk infusion in it later and hope for the best. Because of an upcoming interview, I will put some heat in my hair this week, just to see how it behaves, as it has been a while since I have applied heat myself. If it works out, then I will style my hair for the weekend. If not, I will go to Sintia's to get my hair done.

Hoping for the best.

HAIR STILL FEELS GOOD

It took me 2 weeks to finally wash my hair because i was sick. That, combined with extreme dry conditions in the house, left my hair super dry.

So, I did a quick wash with TJCS, followed with a cowash. Then, I applied th ORS RP Con and left it in my hair for over an hour. After washing it out, I again did an ACV rinse.

Post wash, I sprayed Keratin mix, moisture mix and then left it to dry. I later sealed.

My hair ended up feeling a tad dry still, so I continued to add moisture mix until it felt better. I sealed with Jojoba oil. IT seemd to take a whle, but my hair feels good. Not as great as it did the last time, but it still feels very good.

We are going to NC this weekend, so if I don't manage to wash my hair on Friday, it won't get washed ntil MOnday at the latest. I plan on going back to my old method of doing a protein DC followed by a Silicon Mix DC. I will then do an ACV rise and hope for the best.

NEW PRODUCTS

I re-upped on conditioners. I purchased the KO protein con that works on my daughter and I's hair. I also bought Silicon Mix con. It was $9.99 instead of the normal $12.99, so I bought it instead of the Silicon Mix Perla con.

I also boght a dye applicator comb for use on TE's hair when I need to part her hair for plaiting. I need to keep it out of the boy's reach however, because the rattail comb on it is pure metal and thus, dangerous.

FANTABULOUS HAIR

So I washed my hair yesterday and got some fabulous results!

My hair was a mess after lots of running during the week. I washed with my TJCS and made sure to remove any buildup on my scalp. I then put an ORS Replenishing Pak in my hair and left that on for over an hour. I rinsed out the conditioner and then did an ACV rinse.

I let my hair air dry a bit and then put some Keratin Mix in it because as usual with ORS RP my hair seemed a little too soft for my liking. After that, I sprayed a little bit of my moisture mix (which now includes grapeseed oil and almond oil). I let that airdry for about another 2-3 hours and then I sealed with my oil mix (olive oil, castor oil, grapeseed oil) and then wrapped up my hair for the night.

This morning, I combed out my hair and it was incredibly soft, luxurious and shiny. It felt the way it did in Dominica after getting it done at the salon, but of course, I added no heat. I am very pleased with the result. The last few weeks, I have wondered whether this ORS RP is a good fit, and apparently it is. I will still purchase my Silicon Mix, KOProtein and Silk Elements CONs over the next few weeks. But, this last experience with ORS RP has me convinced that for the winter time, it is a good product for deep CONs and so I will purchase it (saw small bottle for about $6 at supermarket).

POTENTIAL NEW PRODUCT

ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner.

I currently use the pak (1.75 oz) which costs $1.22 at Safeway and I think it has the right balance of protein and moisturizer for my hair, particularly in the winter. Additionally, it allows me to skip an entire process, as I used to dc with protein and then moisturizing con.

It seems to be available for about $12 (12.25 oz) so I'll look to buy it when I run out of paks. There is also a larger bottle (23 oz)

HAIR LENGTH UPDATE

Seems I need about 1.5 to 2 more inches to graze APL. I don't like how long it is taking me to get to APL. At this rate, I will not be fully APL until August/September 2010. =(

IT'S BEEN A WHILE...

I didn't wash my hair for 3 weeks! And when I did I used the ORS Olive Oil Replenishing pak (45 minutes deep condition) and it left my hair super soft. However, I used my Keracare foaming wrap lotion and followed up with my moisture mix to horrendous results. I ended up with a sticky film in my hair but it seemed to evaporate each time I went outside and that cold air whipped my hair.

Anyway, as of today, my hair feels great! I have been moisturizing since Wednesday and sealing with my grapeseed/olive/castor oil mix and that seems to work. I will likely wash my hair again on Monday. I need to dust my ends though because in the last few weeks, I haven't hidden them as I should.