Wash Day and Mini Relaxer Update

Goodnight everyone!

I have been neglecting my little blog and now this post is one week overdue *shameface*.

On Saturday 23rd February I had my hair relaxed by my aunt, since I really did not want to go back to the hairdresser.

In retrospect, I probably should have gone to the salon because my roots did not get straight! I practically remained with a head-full of fuzzy, texlaxed roots.

I think the issue was that my aunt should have smoothed my roots a second time after letting the relaxer "sit" on my hair for some minutes. 

I was pretty surprised (and amused) to run my fingers through my hair and feel the kinks! Admittedly, my hair is more manageable than before it was relaxed, but I'm just not used to the texlaxed feel lol. 

Since my roots are so textured, I haven't done an official length check as yet.

Last week I washed my hair and got some bouncy, healthy-looking results. However, I'm still battling with breakage that I can't seem to determine the source of. I've tried clarifying my hair and strand testing, but still I have noticeable short and long-strand breakage...even while using my new seamless combs...heck, even while finger-combing! 

While I am grateful for the hair I still have, I'm honestly a bit tired of my hair and discouraged...

I've been trying to reduce my manipulation as much as possible and infusing it with moisture.

So now I need to work on staying positive while I battle out this breakage. There's no way I'm going to let it make me have a failed hair journey!

Have you ever dealt with unexplained breakage?

Avec amour,
~Hatter

1 Year Hair Anniversary: A look back at 2012

source

As we get ready to toast to the new year, its time to reflect on 2012 and give thanks for the many blessings I've received.

I thank God for a successful year, and for Jesus's help through my transition to university, as well as on my hair journey!

Entering 2013, I'm forced to wonder: how did the time fly so fast?
This month marked one year since I officially began my hair journey. I remember last December when I was dealing with irksome scalp issues and very heavy shedding. I thank God that it spurred me to research healthy hair care. From my first hair revelations by ulovemegz on youtube, to the Science of Black Hair, blogs and forums, I learned a lot of information that helped me to improve the health (and length!) of my hair.

Lets take a look at my hair near the beginning of my journey, and then to present.

January length check:

December length check:

I can definitely see progress!!
In January I was just shoulder length, and now in December I'm grazing arm pit length.

Other areas I've noticed health improvement include my scalp. For the past two to three months I have not had a major flare-up of seborheic dermatitis and my scalp is much less sensitive, dry and itchy. Whether this is due to healthier hair practices, hormonal shifts or diet, I'm glad that my scalp has been behaving!

I can't forget to mention that now I'm almost totally my own hairdresser. I've increased my DIY skills to the point that I am now a pro at washing, conditioning, rollersetting and airdrying my hair myself. I am especially happy that I've mastered these areas since I feel much more in control over my hair, instead of being totally dependant on a hairdresser.

On the other hand, I also had two minor setbacks this past year. The first was a "trim" by my old hairdresser that put me from about collarbone length to the shoulder length picture above. The second was the tear-worthy balls of hair I lost on my second to last relaxer due to major knots and dreads that formed in my new growth.

Ahh, and how can I forget my stretching issues at 8-9 weeks post? Those were the worst obstacles I've encountered on my hair journey, and I have to pay particular attention to how I stretch my relaxer in the new year.

Although there are still several areas of my hair's health that I have to work on, overall 2012 has been a successful year on my hair journey as I've learned a lot about how to take care of my hair and help it to thrive. =) Relaxed hair can grow!

What stood out on your hair journey in 2012? Have you thought of any areas of improvement for the new year?


Ask for what you want in faith and you shall receive it!

"And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."

Matthew 21:22

source

P.S.
Aren't you glad the world didn't end this year?? haha

Have a happy New Year!
~Hatter

Relaxer and Trim Update

Last Thursday 20th December I had my hair relaxed at about 6 and a half weeks post relaxer. 

Yes, that was a short time, even for me! I'm definitely not going on such a short stretch again. I hardly had new growth! 

As per usual, the hairdresser used Precise Relaxer in Mild. This time my scalp got burned on my left side since I was scratching it during the week *guilty face*.

Comparison between November 3rd and December 20th relaxers:

November relaxer (left) and December relaxer, after self-trim (right)

There is very little difference between the two pictures for these reasons:

1. This time I only waited 6 and a half weeks before relaxing. Consequently, I saw much less "length" than if I had waited my usual 8 weeks.
2. I trimmed my hair myself. Minor length gain + self trim = little retention. lol!

I'm actually not sure if I trimmed too much, because my ends were quite ragged. In my November relaxer I did not get a trim by the hairdresser and "dusting" my ends wasn't enough to remove the uneven ends. This relaxer, I tried to give myself a thorough self trim. That might be why it doesn't seem that I retained any growth over the past 6 weeks.

In this last post I described the methods I wanted to use to trim my hair. In reality, they didn't work so well! I started with Feye's Method then switched to sectioning my hair across my head, pulling the section upwards, (like I was rollersetting) and snipping off thin ends.

The amount of hair I trimmed off of my ends. 

Anywhoo, I'm happy to saw that I'm officially grazing Arm Pit Length! woot woot!

APL was my goal for 2012 and I'm glad that I'm almost there!

I won't officially claim full arm pit length until my next relaxer in the new year, but I'm happy that, despite the set backs and obstacles, I made significant length progress in the first year of my hair journey! 

I'm keeping an eye on my ends so make sure they don't get too ragged again. I hate major trims, so I'm thinking of dusting my ends every month or so to keep them in shape.

Soon I'll post a full review of my hair journey in 2012, my reflections and goals for next year.

How has your hair progressed this year? Have you made any new hair goals for 2013?

Love!

~Hatter

Relaxer Update

On Saturday 3rd November 2012 I had my hair relaxed at the salon at nine weeks post.

The hairdresser used Ultra Precise Relaxer in Mild formula, and again, my results were excellent.

Ultra Precise relaxer in mild strength.

This time the hairdresser didn't base my scalp (eek!) but, gloriously, my scalp hardly got burned by the relaxer (yay!) It's either due to the mild relaxer strength or the fact that my scalp hasn't been very sensitive lately. In fact, I haven't had a flare up of seborrhoeic dermatitis for over a month =)

I'm quite impressed by this relaxer. Compared to the Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Relaxer in normal strength, the Precise does not irritate my scalp nearly as much and it gets my hair much straighter. (Maybe this is because I can leave the Precise relaxer in my hair for a longer time? Either way I'm loving it!)

On to the results! Wait! Before you look, can you guess how much length I've retained? =D

~~~~~~~

              

September relaxer results.

My November relaxer results: I'm almost armpit length!!

I'm almost armpit length!! Woooot! APL is my goal for December and I might have one last touch up for the year in late December or I might stretch to early January. Either way it feels thrilling to get closer and closer to the first length goal of my hair journey :)

As I'm sure you can tell, I need a good trim! I tried to trim my hair and it was a failure but I'm determined not to let my hairdresser come near me with scissors. Hopefully doing a thorough dusting of my ends again within the next few weeks will even out their appearance.

    

Celebrations aside, I lost a lot of hair during the relaxer process! On my last wash before relaxer day, I literally just left my hair alone with all its tangles and knots. Consequently, on relaxer day, the dreadlocks that formed at my roots were broken down by the relaxer and combed out:

Hair I lost from matts and tangles being combed out after my relaxer.

My hair doesn't feel much thinner but I can definitely tell that I've had quite some breakage throughout my hair.

Anywhooos, I'm now two weeks post and I had a very good wash day today. I'm glad that, after the hair drama I experienced these past few weeks, my hair still looks modestly healthy.

I can't wait to regain the full health and thickness of my hair! Don't you hate feeling that just when you make progress something happens that puts you two steps back again?

I'm seriously doubting that I'll be stretching to nine weeks again in the near future. My last experience just took too much of a toll on my hair. 

Has anyone had a similar experience? How did you overcome your hair health setbacks?

Much love from

~Hatter

Relaxer Preparations

On Saturday 3rd November I had my hair relaxed at 9 weeks, 3 days post. Did you really read that?! Yesss Hatter finally made it to nine weeks post. *happy dance*

My relaxer update will follow in another post, so for now I'll just recap how I prepared my hair for my relaxer.

This stretch was in many ways better than my previous relaxer stretches. Unfortunately, there were still some annoying issues that really tried my patience! (I'll be examining these later this week).

On my last wash before the relaxer I:

1. prepooed overnight with a mix of Soft Sheen Carson Optimum Care Fortifying Conditioner and Vo5 Moisture Milks Moisturizing Conditioner.

(Ebony C. Princess reviewed the Fortifying Conditioner on her blog, longing4length.com) 

After rinsing out the prepoo my hair felt very soft and silky. After I've used the Optimum Care Conditioner for a couple of weeks I'll also post my thoughts on it.

2. shampooed, then deep conditioned for about an hour with ORS Replenishing Condidtioner.

3. rollerset my hair. (this was not an easy set! My hair was still clumpy and sticky from the results of my previous wash day)

4. During the week I moisturized and sealed.

5. On relaxer day I applied some of the Optimum Care Fortifying Conditioner to my previously relaxed hair. As this conditioner is protein-based (claiming "instant breakage reduction"!!) I thought it was a good idea to use it to help prevent the damaging effects of relaxer overlapping.
I was also supposed to coat my hair with oil after applying the conditioner, but I just didn't feel like bothering my hair too much.

As I mentioned earlier, this last stretch was quite an experience for me...although I've been trying to reduce my stretching issues such as tangling, matting and breakage, I haven't seem to have targeted the root of my problems. Besides changing my products and perhaps my weekly wash day routine, I've even been thinking of reducing the length of my stretches so that I can manage my hair more easily in the weeks leading up to relaxer day.

Anywhoos, what is your experience like deep into your relaxer stretches?

Stay tuned for my relaxer update! :)

Peace & lurrvvv y'all

~Hatter

(Super late) Relaxer Update!

I apologize for this super late relaxer update! I originally didn't want to post this picture  but I never got around to taking a better one. So...read and enjoy!

On Wednesday 29th September I had my hair relaxed by my sister's hairdresser here in Trinidad.

From the photo above I can see that I'm coming close to armpit length!! *dances crazily*

However, the lady trimmed my hair...and we all know what a "trim" is like by the hairdresser >.>

I had a feeling she took off too much so the next time I go for a relaxer she is definitely not coming near my hair with scissors!!

Besides the trim, the only other thing that irked me about my touch is up is that the hairdresser got relaxer all over my hair >.< Ughh. I have to ask her next time to be careful about just applying to the new growth. I should definitely coat my relaxed hair with oil/conditioner before I go to the salon too.

This time my hair was relaxed using Precise relaxer in mild formula as the hairdresser didn't carry my beloved Organic Root Stimulator Relaxer.

No complaints there! My scalp didn't burn as much with the Precise and my roots got processed pretty well.

Comparison from my June relaxer (left) and August relaxer (right).

  

From the comparison photos it doesn't seem that I've gained much length in the last two months *thanks to my "trim"*, but I still hope to reach armpit length by my last touch up for the year in December.

I'm currently 5 weeks post and handling my new growth nicely. I'm devising some strategies to deal with the mini-afro that grows in at the 8 week mark.

Happy hurrr day!

~Hatter

Relaxer Update

On Saturday June 30th I relaxed my hair at 8 weeks, 4 days post! I could have stretched to the full 9 weeks but I was craving straight, silky roots.
This time my mom relaxed my hair at home using my regular relaxer: Organic Root Stimulator No-Lye Relaxer in "Normal".

  

My relaxer results:

The results!

The Positive: my roots mostly relaxed verrrry straight. So much better than when my hairdresser does it!

The Negative: despite my mother's prowess at relaxing, the hair at my widow's peak got texlaxed! LOL. It was because there wasn't enough relaxer in the tub to saturate the area. NB: next time, 2 boxes of relaxer will definitely be needed!

Overall, I'm happy with my results!

Comparison pics: 

January

March

   

June

I admit these pictures aren't very good for comparing my length progress! The last picture is the clearest. Taking better pictures is definitely something I need to work on... However, I can see the length I've gained since January. The real issue is...can I reach armpit length by December? We'll see!

Oh the elusive armpit length! I shall conquer theee

Happy hair day!

~Hatter

Relaxer Update and Quick Co-wash

I've been busy busy busy dealing with my exams this month, which is why I haven't posted in a while!
During my blogger break I had my roots relaxed at about 7 weeks post. I know, I wanted to wait the full 8 weeks but my new growth was difficult to handle. Plus, I hated having crappy hair everyday.

Gained a nice little bit of length. I'm now about 1& 1/4 inches past collar bone length. The downside is that my hairdresser didn't get my roots processed evenly and I have some telaxed areas. Grrr. Also, my ends are a bit damaged :(  I dusted them myself but I don't think I took off enough. Ah well...I'll just work harder to make sure they hold up until next relaxer in late June/early July! =D

Just co-washed with my new Garnier Fructis conditioner. The consistency is very thin and light. Smells fruity!
I sectioned by hair in four, twisted and pinned each section into a bun and then proceeded to co-wash each section individually. This method is soooooooooooooooo much easier and more effective than washing my whole head at once! *victory dance*

Downside--> Co-washing is not enough to remove the week build up on my hair and scalp. (My last wash wash Sunday!)

NB: Must use my Neutragena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo every time I want to co-wash my hair. Don't like this sticky feeling of build-up! Yeeechh 

Currently air-drying my hair.

Cheers!

~Hatter

One week post and such.

So last Saturday 10th March I had my hair relaxed at my hairdresser....
On the positive side, my roots came out pretty straight!

Meanwhile, I suffered quite a few burns as she used an extra-strength relaxer formula...

Whyyy meeeee?
I mean, I know my hair can be considered "coarse" but aren't hairdressers supposed to ask before they change your relaxer??
Serves me right for not saying anything about it!
Anyway, I've since deepconditioned and washed (in that order) once since getting a relaxer and I'm nursing my poor scalp back to health.

May- I'm relaxing my hair myself!

On the other bright side, I'm back to collar bone length!! woot! Pictures to come sooon.
Finally, here are a couple products I recently bought which I'll hopefully be trying out this month.



VO5 Moisture Milks Strawberry and Cream Moisturizing Conditioner, Neutragena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-In and ORS Hair Mayonnaise

 I'm interested in "co-washing", though my mom seems pretty skeptical lol.

Happy hair journey!

~Hatter