Relaxer update: Big Trim - Back to Armpit Length

Screams happily! Lol

So I finally got the courage to not only trim off those thin ends but I also flat ironed my hair... All by myself! *big grin*

(my sincere apologies to you my dear readers who have been waiting for this post since I shared some pictures of my trim on installation. The delay wasn't intentional I had a lot of problems adding pictures to this post and to top it all my new phone wasn't working well. I hope you understand :-)) 

Now I know you're probably  thinking, what's the big deal? Well flat ironing my hair all by myself feels like a big achievement to me lol. I simply got tired of seeing my ends look thin and break off by the day so I went out in search of my usual relaxer; ORS  no lye relaxer. Unluckily I didn't find it anywhere in the stores in my area.  I literally walked into all the stores  in my area but to no avail. At the last shop (a supermarket actually) I decided I'll still relax that day and so I got the one relaxer that caught my eye. Truth be told,  as much as its best to stick to one brand of relaxer there are still other brands I would love to try. Especially the straight from eden line from creme of nature. Oh well, enough of the chit chat. 

Texlax procedure

I used Creme of nature again oil from Morrocco No lye relaxer in normal strength. 

I followed my usual Texlax method

*Detangled my hair gently

*Based my scalp with vaseline

*separated my hair into horizontal sections which were 1inch wide and applied vaseline to the length of my hair. 

*I used a Lil above half of the activator mixed with a spoonful of avocado oil. 

Application and smoothing took me 12mins. I then neutralized with the shampoo that came in the kit. I think it was enough to create much lather for 4 times. 

*Deep conditioned  with the Creme of Nature argan  oil intensive treatment that also came in the kit. I loved this DC. These are the products that make you want to become a product junkie and it's another reason why I love no lye relaxers. They come with some good stuff :-) 

The Big Trim

On wet hair with deep conditioner in. 

I decided on trimming on wet hair while deep conditioning.  I didn't want to straighten. Forget the glory of getting to reach mid back length it honestly would have been more heartbreaking to go from Milbank length to Armpit Length or BSB. I didn't go for a professional trim. I figured that I prefer a straight blunt hemline instead of the U type so I put my hair in a ponytail at the back and had my boyfriend snip off the hair for me and then evened it out some more. The hemline is still not precise but that will be during my next trim. 

Also I didn't use hair shears. I had ordered from two online store in preparation for my trim but none of them had it in Stock at the time of ordering. Hopefully I'll get the right tool for the job so I could use it next time *fingers crossed*

After rinsing out the DC I wrapped my head in a t-shirt to soak up excess water, applied some Lotta body moisturise me curl and style milk then sealed with the argan oil that came in the relaxer kit. I Detangled my hair,  split into four sections and twisted it to air dry over night. 

The Flat Ironing

I purchased a flat iron *yaaay!* mostly because I wanted to straighten my sister's hair for her length check that would mark her 2year natural has anniversary.  But I just thought,  'why not try it on yourself first and learn?' So the next day, I applied some heat protectant to the sections and proceeded to flat iron my hair (I got a new one,  Kuza hair polisher and it contains lots of natural ingredients and even Indian hemp! Lol). I set the temperature to 180° and straightened my hair. I did two passes on the length of my hair and another two on the ends because the ends refused to comply. This is the outcome:

Overall it was a successful relaxer day.  The only issue I had was that my hair came out too underprocessed and I think it was because of the vaseline I used to base my scalp.  It must have gotten onto my new growth too. It's kinda hard to prevent it from getting on my new growth. Previously I used oil to base my scalp and I will be sticking to that.  In all I cut about 4 inches and I haven't been happier with my hair. I love the thickness and I will do everything to maintain these ends. As for the length,  I'm back to full Armpit Length.

From the sides

The back -  Full Armpit lengrh

To preserve the straightness I cross wrapped my hair at night and it remained straight for about 5 days before it started to shrink up. I may or may not do a corrective relaxer. It actually depends on if I would be able to handle my hair in this texture. As I type this post I'm already 4 weeks post relaxer and since I plan to wear my hair for the Xmas Celebrations I will be straightening my hair again and then I will have pictures to share on how I cross wrap and maintain my straightened hair. 

Thanks for reading through this post... 

*much love*