Relaxer Day & Length Check: No. 2 of 2015!

This post is long overdue, but better late than never. This is my second relaxer for the year. I texlaxed my hair at 18 weeks post relaxer on 1 August 2015, my longest stretch to date.. It was abit difficult to part my hair with all the new growth as I applied the relaxer, but I would like to try a 20-week stretch again and see if I can improve on my relaxing technique. I have definitely found that my hair thickened up a bit, and I think that this relaxer stretch came with more benefits than disadvantages for my hair. This is how it went down:

0.) Parted my hair into four parts, spritzed with water & Kinky Curly Knot Today to detangle my hair gently. This took about 1.5 hours, YES 1.5 hours,  handling new growth is alot of work! Slept after doing this and decided to continue the next morning.
1.) The next morning, I applied Vaseline to my scalp, edges and ears.
2.) Applied Olive Oil to the length of my hair and sealed with Black Magic Castor Oil.
3.)  - Used the half and half method and applied Mizani Butter Blends HG Relaxer - Normal Strength. I mixed 2 teaspoons of olive oil into the relaxer I used for each half. 
- It took me 18 minutes to apply+smooth my left half, and 20 minutes for my right half which always seems to have more growth than the left half. 
- I smoothed my edges more than I usually do, because I wanted to try more hairstyles that look better with smooth edges.
4.) Rinsed the relaxer and shampoo'd with Elast QP Stop Action Shampoo. It took about 40 25 minutes to get the lather from the shampoo to turn white! This time I thoroughly rinsed the relaxer as much as possible before using the shampoo. I then washed & kept the shampoo 3 times in my hair for 5, 5 & 10 minutes. Shout out to Kim of fancyflairlady.com for giving me this tip in my last relaxer post, it definitely reduced the amount of time I spent removing the relaxer from my hair.
5.) Applied ApHogee 2-minute Keratin Restruturizer, and left it in my hair for about 10 minutes (I did this step after rinsing and shampooing each half)
6.) Rinsed and applied my DC: Silk Dreams Vanilla Silk Cream Moisture Dream. I still love this DC, but I keep it for the first few weeks after relaxing, so that I can get more uses out of it than when my hair has lots of new growth.
7.) Sat under the dryer for 25 minutes, and then I rinsed the DC out with warm water.
8.) T-shirt dried my hair for 20-25 minutes, and then detangled each of 4 sections with Kinky Curly Knot Today + OGX Anti-breakage serum. 
9.) Wrapped my hair after detangling using some ORS Wrap Mousse, and then sat under my hooded dryer for 30 minutes on warm heat setting. My hair was not fully dry so I combed it out and left it out to air dry.

10.) 2 days later, I flat ironed with my BabyLiss Flat Iron in sections. This time I only applied Olive Oil & Mizani Thermastrength Heat Protector to 4 sections of my hair & ends before flat-ironing. The last time I flat-irond my hair, I used CHI Silk Infusion and I did not like how thin it made my hair feel, maybe I used too much I don't know..

Overall I am happy with the results, my hair was a bit more relaxed than how I wanted in some areas, so I know that I need to cut down the application + smoothing time for next time.

Length Update: I have not retained any length since my last relaxer, as I trimmed/dusted about 3 inches off during this stretch :-(. I am trying to get rid of thin ends, and I actually like how my hair is looking a bit thicker than my last length check pic. I hope to grow & retain 2 inches for this stretch which I aiming for 20 weeks.

Have I reached APL yet? Grazing APL: YES, at least this time more of my hair is reaching line #4 which is the APL line on my length check t-shirt! Woohoo, I am really excited for the remaining part of the year, I am hoping for more volume to my hair more than anything else. I just love big hair! Then the length can follow :-)

Excuse the poor quality pic, iPhone camera is still not as good as a DSLR!

Hope you had a good wash day!

 

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Where have I been? + protective style challenge pics

One month & 4 countries later, and I am feeling like I could do with another holiday... I was away for a few weeks and enjoyed every bit of our mini-tour of Europe. While I was travelling, taking care of my hair was actually easier than I imagined. I worried about it only in Italy where the temperatures soared to as high as 38 degrees, but thank God for water! It was probably the most important hair product for me during this trip; spritzing it on my hair every few hours kept it from drying out.

I also kept my hair in protective styles 80% of the time, which helped in minimising the time that I spent styling my hair.

This is what I packed in my travel bag: 
- Lots of bobby pins
- Spray bottle with wrap mousse
- Wide tooth and mid-tooth comb
- Denman brush
- 10 flexi-rods
- Shower cap
- Creme of Nature shampoo
- ORS deep conditioner (for me it works as moisturizing + protein so no need to carry another conditioner)
- Creme of Nature Leave-in Spray conditioner
- Some coconut oil in a small container
- Pura Body Naturals MuruMuru Moisture Milk - travel size bottle
- Shea butter 
- Hair clips, for separating my hair on wash days
- My Aphrodite Heating Cap (not in picture, which is really awesome by the way)

This bag weighed much less than my other cosmetic bag, which surprised me! The secret is to keep small bottles and sample packs that may come in handy if you are travelling and you want to pack light. I also packed only the items that I usually use on wash days + moisturizing days + 1 curly style. Everything else remained at home! 

Here are a few protective/ semi-protective styles I tried out as part of the 30-day challenge that Jen & Jay are hosting:

Some more pics:

I have singled out my favourite style of the holiday. I flat-twisted my hair overnight, and put my ends on about 6 flexi-rods. I will definitely be trying out this style again :-)

I am yet to do a post on my relaxer update & length check, which will be up by the end of the week...Ciao

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Product Review: OGX Anti-Breakage Serum

Price: +/- 5 USD 

Purchased at: amazon.co.uk

Size: 118ml/ 4 oz

Promises: Our weightless blend of coconut oil and silk will wrap a fragrant layer of protection around each strand, so your hair is ready for the wear and tear of daily styling.

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Cyclotetrasiloxane, Dimethiconol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein, Albumen, Silk Amino Acids, Fragrance (Parfum).

Directions: Apply a small amount of Coconut Milk Anto-Breakage Serum to palm, rub hands together, then apply evenly to surface of damp, (towel dried) hair working through ends.

My review

Pros:
- it smells heavenly, like a toffee! The fragrance is not overbearing, just the right balance.
- the bottle comes with a pump, which is just great because I only need 2 pumps if my hair does not have much growth, and 4 pumps when it has lots of growth. This also helps to use the product economically.
- It has strengthening properties in the protein ingredient, so it helps strengthen the hair and can be useful before using direct heat on your hair.
- It is a lightweight oil so its great to use after washing your hair when it is still slightly damp, no risk of hair being weighed down.

Cons:
- I have tried using it during the week as a sealant on dry hair, but I did not feel like it was sufficient to protect my hair. Anyway the directions state that it should be used on damp hair, so I didn't expect it to work the same as when I use it on damp hair.

Overall I give this product a 8/10. It lives up to the few promises made, i.e. weightless and protection against wear and tear during styling. I still have some breakage when I comb out my hair after applying my sealing my hair with this serum so I wouldn't say that it completely prevents breakage but it does a good job protecting my ends.

I have used it on every wash day since I purchased it, so it has its place in my regimen!

Have you used OGX Anti-Breakage Serum and how did you find it?

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