Relaxer update and length check...made it to Bra Strap Length!

                           

Hey cuties! Hope were all doing great today? Its finally here! My relaxer update and length check. Its my 1year and 6months hhj mark and I'm happy I have come this far. I will put up a progress picture post soon so you all can see where I come from.

I'd like to hint that this is just a brief relaxer day procedure as I plan to explain how I relax and why... I overlap my relaxers... I bet you didnt Know...

Alright here's what happened.
(1) detangled and twisted my hair into sections the day before relaxing...this took me 2 hours. Here is a pic of how much New growth I had.

Some ways i have styled my hair from 14-17 weeks post relaxer

Hey sweethearts! :-) I have good news for you! I have ended my stretch and I relaxed at almost  18weeks post (17weeks and 5 days) that post will be up next.

While still on my stretch I wore some styles that made my life easier. I also had a relaxer preparation washday and I blow dried my hair. The washday was my thoughest. Detangling was such a hassle and I lost sooooo much hair. For fear that I would face a setback it had to be my last. This was at 16 weeks post.

Here are the few protectivestyles that I rocked between my last washday post and now.

Natural Hair washday: A twistout without the actual twisting but with threading

Hello there! how do you do? Its been quite a long time since I updated you on my sisters washday and hair journey in general. Its going fine and her hair regimen has been the same. She's currently 3 Inches away from arm pit length and her goal is to be there by December. Here's a length check pic.

She's actually full shoulder length. We have plans on straightening her hair by December to mark her 2 year hair journey. We had washday at the end of the month of march and this is how it went...everything is as usual.

(1) prepoo with coconut oil 

(2) finger detangle gently to remove shed hair

(3) shampoo with ORS creamy aloe shampooon scalp and it was rinsed down the length of the hair. 

(4) deep conditioned with ORS hair mayonnaise for some strength as she plans to get a protective style with extensions for the Easter celebration. 

(5)wrapped it up for 15 mins to soak up excess water .

Fruit friday: Benefits of banana & my banana fruit mix

Bananas are exeptionally healthy as they
provide numerous health benefits. It is a
versatile fruit that contains many nutrients
including vitamins A, B, C and E along with
minerals like potassium, zinc, iron and
manganese. Just as eating a banana helps in
keeping your body in good health and great
shape, application of this fruit on your hair
and skin will help you to keep them in great
condition.


Nutritional Value Of Banana:
Natural sugars: glucose, fructose and
sucrose,
Vitamins and minerals: vitamin B6,
vitamin C, Vitamin A, potassium,
dietary fibre, biotin, carbohydrates,
magnesium, riboflavin and manganese.
[Source: www.stylecraze.com]

Bananas are very common and always in season... Its one of my favourite fruits and I don't know anyone who doesn't like it but if you don't love to eat it, putting it on your hair or as a face mask is another option.
Mashed bananas can do wonders to your hair by making it extremely soft and shiny.

So when you are picking up fruits for a lovely fruit salad you might want to throw in some banana slices like I did in this pic below... I like to sprinke little salt and toss in the fridge for a chilled fruit mix.

Fruits in the mix:
Banana
Pineapple
Papaya (paw paw)

Are you also a fan of bananas? 

washday at 14weeks post

Hey cuties! :-) hope all is well at your end?! All is well for me too and we thank God for that! I'm home now that means you will be getting a natural hair washday and update soon enough.

I had my washday yesterday and it was ok (at least till it was time for me to detangle...lol). Here's how it went...

(1) The prepoo: I parted my hair into 3 big sections then applied pre heated coconut oil to my scalp and a little down my hair. I then added some VO5 conditioner and then sprayed detangler ontop. I did all these because I feared detangling will be stressful since I didn't detangle it the past week and I haven't washed my hair for 2weeks plus.

I don't know why the ends in the first pic looks invinsible..lol but take this as a first quarter of the year length check...that's if you ignore the plenty new growth  :-)


(2) Detangling: I used my wide tooth comb to detangle the length of my hair thoroughly and then tried my best to detangle the roots with fingers alone.

(3) Shampoo: I shampooed with ORS creamy aloe shampoo but found out it didn't cleanse my scalp enough so I used VO5 again. I did some scalp scratching just to lift off some dirts which may still be on my scalp. Then I rinsed off (I used warm water) and wrapped my head with towel to absorb the water dripping from my hair.

(4) Deep conditioning: I deep conditioned by applying Organics by Africa's best hair Mayonnaise. Left it on for 30 mins and rinsed out. Then wrapped my head again.

(5) moisturised and sealed my hair....fingerdetangled again...boy it was tough this time...i ripped a knot from my hair that wouldnt unravel :-( (it was about 6inches long) and put my hair Into 10 twists to airdry overnight.

The next day after my hair was fully dried I took down a twist and found out that It was matted up again...pretty bad. I sprayed detangler and started to work on each section again and ripped out 2 Other knot....phew! It was a struggle...those stretching for 14weeks and longer, I hail you! Chai

After everything my hair survived and ended up in a thick beautiful bun and I'm a happy girl :-)

My Relaxer Stretch so far... what has kept me going?

   

Hey cuties! wats up ya'l! :-) This is one post i'm super happy to write. I may just be getting good at my relaxer stretching. I'm currently 3months and some days into my relaxer stretch  (12wks 5days). I feel so happy about it because i havent crossed the 12weeks mark before. I usually relax few days before or after the 12 weeks mark and most times i relaxed at 10wks. Seriously relaxer stretching wasnt so easy for me. To make it worse i stopped wearing my wigs which were my holy grail for relaxer stretching.

Why did i decide to stretch my relaxer longer than my norm?
Stretching relaxers gives the hair a loong time between chemical application and it also alows you to have more new growth in other to lower your chances of overlapping your relaxer unto your previously relaxed hair.

I also want to surprise myself for my birthday coming up in April (28). I'm hoping to graze brastrap length by then :-) if it doesnt happen no probs..(lol).



The struggles

At  about 8-10 weeks post i almost gave up on the stretch and to be honest if i had my relaxer kit at home i would have relaxed it...lol A few lovelies who follow me on instagram (@juditherese)  will remember i posted a pic of my hair in a ponytail and was whinning over how i'm getting tired of the stretch and would relax soon. I dont know how i suddenly got the courage and put my hair in a high bunlike topknot (dont know what to call it) pictured above.

I bet you cant see the different textures but boy if you touch it! lol hand in hair syndrome! my 4b kinks are very 'z' curly lol. I have between 1"-1.5" though. The longest newgrowth is at the nape...shortest at the front...it grows the slowest.

 TIPS:
I have been detangling with VO5 conditioner more
I also still finger comb first then later use the comb gently after moisturising and sealing.
I dont use the comb on my new growth at all. I stop up..closer to my new growth. I use ny fingers alone on my new growth.
The ORS mixed with glycerine has been wonderful in softening my newgrowth and i mostly rock my hair in that high bun...as a matter of fact my hair is in it now.
I'm more gentle with my hair. scalp massages have reduced to once or twice per week (i dont have a roots applicator bottle and parting my hair almost every night is not favourable). I did that every night when my hair was in twists.
The times i do scalp massages i flip my head over for 4mins as if i were doing the real inversiin method. only difference is i did it just once or twice per week. It encourages hair growth because it increases blood flow to the scalp.

Thats all sweethearts :-) i hope to continue my stretch till my birthday week and hopefully reach my mini goal. Will give you updates on my sisters natural hair when i travel back home. I havent been giving updates because i am not with her.

*stay safe...have the bestest week... *muah*

What to do with a thick moisturiser/Product Review

Hey cuties! I got a moisturiser, ORS moisturising hair lotion (i previously use Kids organics by Africas best). I got the moisturiser for #900. At first i didnt like the moisturiser...its too thick getting it out from the container is a problem and it involves much shaking and squeezing...lol. The thickness was due to the fact that it contained Petrolatum. I didnt check the ingredient list so this serves as a reminder to me and y'al... ALWAYS CHECK THE INGREDIENT LIST OF PRODUCTS YOU BUY!

I like the product though... its smell is nice and i love how my hair feels on application. So to save me the stress of getting it out of the bottle i diluted it. Yes dilution will not spoil your products if you do it right. Heres how i diluted mine.


Firstly i put water in a spray bottle, then added little glycerine (still havent gotten the right measuring apparatus but hopefully you can see from the pic the quantities i used). Its about two spoonfull of glycerine (i only pictured the bottle with the water and gly already mixed). The glycerine helps to add some moisturising properties to compensate for the ones that would have been lost to dilution.


I added some ORS moisturiser and then Shake shake ShakE!! This can be adjusted to the consistency you like...you could use less glycerine or more water or less water...just customise anyhow you like :-) This way you could make good use of a moisturiser or Deep conditioner you love thats too thick.

This mix has been wonderfull for my hair and it keeps mybhair hydrated for up to 3 days! moisturising and sealing has changed from daily or every every two days to twice a week for me. I would definitely repurchase this because i love it!
       

moisturiser added to water and glycerine mix

level of water and glycerine mix

Finished product.

My next post will be an update on my relaxer stretch so far.

Hope this helps a cutie out.... *much love*