Products used:

Put me on your healthy hair naughty list. I only moisturized my hair twice between wash days, and my wash days are about 3 weeks apart. Funny enough, my hair stayed soft and moisturised to an extent, but the real issue here is that my length check was an absolute fail!
Here's what happened:


- Detangled: I took out my cornrows, sectioned my hair into four quadrants and applied Mega Growth Deep Conditioner to each section. Next, I detangled each quadrant using my fingers first then followed with a wide tooth comb.

- Deep Conditioned: once I was done with each section, I covered my hair with a plastic bag and let it sit for two hours.

- Blow dried: after rinsing out the conditioner, I wrapped my hair in a T-shirt for 10 minutes to soak up the excess water before blow drying. I never blow dry on soaking wet hair.


- Flat iron (sort of): This is where the problem began, my hair refused to stay straight, the second I was done with a section, it would start to revert and shrink back up. It was extremely frustrating, even after passing the flat iron several times through my hair, it still didn't stay straight.


- Flexi rod set: since my hair didn't turn out the way I expected, I decide to use flexi rods on my dry hair two days later. I moisturised each little section using Mega Growth Daily Leave in strengthener and sealed with my oil mixture, then set my hair in rods for a few hours.



It did create some curls, but I just knew those babies weren't going to last. I saved myself the heartache and created a messy bun out of it. And this is how my hair has been throughout the week.




And that's how my #washdayexperience went. I'll definitely attempt to straighten it again. I refuse to give up that easily.

   How was your washday?

I fall in love with my hair all over again whenever I take out my cornrows, the volume and thickness is just to die for! However, I will not lie, I do miss how easy it was to part my hair when it was relaxed. Dealing with texlaxed hair and new growth is not easy.

Here's how my #washdayexperience went:  

Products Used:

-Mega Growth Deep Conditioner
-Mega Growth Stimulating Shampoo
-Vo5 Silky Experiences Moisturizing Conditioner
-Mega Growth Daily Leave-in Strengthener
-Oil Mixture (click here for more info)
-Fantasia IC Heat Protectant Serum    

The Process:

Okay...don't give me that look! I have been co-washing, deep conditioning,  moisturizing and sealing my hair okay? This is just the first time I'm taking out my cornrows and applying shampoo in 2016. So now that we got that out of the way, here's how my first wash day went:

Products
-MG Detangling Conditioner
-MG Stimulating Shampoo
- Organics hair mayonnaise
-MG Daily leave in strengthener
-Oil Mixture (see here for details)


1. Pre-poo + Detangle: I took out my cornrows with my fingers and applied MG Detangling conditioner on my hair before finger-detangling and using a wide tooth comb. I left the conditioner to sit on my hair for about an hour. I was so excited about how soft and fluffy my hair was, I couldn't stop taking pictures!




2. Shampoo: I parted my hair in about 8 or 9 sections and put them in braids. Next, I poured some MG Stimulating Shampoo into an applicator bottle and diluted with a bit of water. This helps me get the shampoo directly to my scalp without drying the rest of my hair out. I lathered 3 times and rinsed out with warm water.

3. Protein Treatment: I used a T-shirt to soak up all the excess water from my hair before applying Organics Hair mayonnaise as my protein treatment. I unravelled each braid, applied the mayonnaise evenly from root to tip and covered with a plastic bag for 20 minutes.  Then I rinsed thoroughly with cold water.

4. Leave-ins: After T-shirt drying again for about 10 minutes,  I applied MG Daily leave in strengthener and oil mix and air dried overnight.

The next day, I put it in a Faux Bun for the purpose of taking these pictures, and then it was back into cornrows!


I totally love my hair! It's growing out really nicely,  I think I've gained about 1.5 inches since I cut it, and I owe this to Joie of Long Nigerian Hair and her One Inch December challenge!

I definitely owe you guys a length check and I'm scheduling one for sometime in March,  I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing with my wig regimen and we'll see how it goes!

How was your wash day?

 
It's been a while since I did a wash day post and it's due to the fact that my hair is cornrows 95% of the time these days. I basically just co wash or deep condition my hair (with the cornrows), rinse it out, air dry, repeat. This method has made me so lazy with my hair because when I took down the cornrows, I didn't know where to begin! My hair was just....everywhere. The volume was just ridiculous, but after stalling for hours, I finally got the courage to wash my hair.
Here's how it went:

Products used

- Profectiv Mega Growth Stimulating shampoo.

- Profectiv Mega Growth Detangling conditioner

- Profectiv Mega Growth Daily Leave in Strengthener

- Fantasia IC Heat Protectant

1. Takedown: I took down my cornrows the night before the actual wash day, spraying lightly before unraveling each row. When I was done, I lightly detangled and put my hair up in a faux puff (See tutorial here), tied my edges down with a silk scarf and went to bed.

2. Pre-poo and Detangled: The next day, after several hours of playing around, I parted my hair in small sections, applied MG conditioner on each and detangled with a wide tooth comb. I put each section in small twists to prepare for the shampoo process.

3. Shampoo: I put my MG shampoo in an applicator bottle and diluted with water and this makes it easier for the shampoo to be applied directly to my scalp without stripping the rest of my hair. I lathered and rinsed three times until my hair was squeaky clean.

4. Leave ins: Call me lazy. Sometimes I get away with just applying leave in conditioner after the shampoo, which is what I did again for this wash day. I T-shirt dried for about 20 minutes then I unraveled each twist, applied MG leave in and Fantasia serum, and blow dried till it was about 85% dry, so my hair wasn't fully stretched.



5. While it was still a bit damp, I put my hair back in cornrows and plopped on my wig. You can see the different ones I wear Here and Here.

Possible Setback?

I noticed a LOT of hair coming out while I was taking down my cornrows, and unevenness in my hair while I was blow drying which could only mean one thing: breakage.

What you don't know is that a few weeks ago, I went to have my hair washed and rebraided....at a salon!
*audience gasps*

I know, I know. It was my first time back in a salon this year and I was going there to just get my nails done so I thought "It's been a while, why not get the full salon experience?"
Bad idea. They weren't actually so terrible with my hair, but they weren't exactly gentle either, it was clear that they new nothing about transitioning hair. If I didn't swear of stylists before, I'm officially doing it now.

Honestly, I can't totally put the blame on the stylists as I haven't do a protein treatment in like forever! Luckily, the breakage didn't occur at the line of demarcation (the point where the new growth meets my texlaxed hair),because I make sure that part is nourished. It was more towards the ends, where the bone straight hair is. I'm not too bothered since I'm eventual going to cut that part off anyways, but no one likes uneven hair. I definitely need to step up my game, I may need to start rebraiding every 2 weeks instead of once a month, I'm going to wait until my next takedown to do a full assessment of the damage.

How was your wash day? How do you deal with uneven hair?

I started washing my hair consistently again and to officially kick off the moisturising challenge I decided to Co- Wash my hair. But before that, here's a recap of how I've been washing my hair:

Products Used:

- MG Deep Conditioner
- MG Stimulating Shampoo
- MG Daily leave- In Strengthener
- MG Detangling conditioner
- MG oil mixed with Castor oil
- D&L Scalp base soother
- D&L SOS Hairline

Wash 1: Deep condition

- I took down my cornrows the night before and applied the deep conditioner to my hair in small sections, wrapped it up with saran wrap and left it in overnight.

- The next day, my hair felt so soft and the tangles had practically melted away! I detangled and put my hair in braids to prepare for the shampoo process

- After rinsing out the deep conditioner, I diluted my shampoo with a little water to make it easier to come out of the applicator bottle and get to my scalp. I shampooed three times and rinsed thoroughly.

- I t-shirt dried for twenty minutes to soak up excess water, unraveled each braid to apply my leave ins: MG Leave in, and MG oil mix. Then I detangled again and put my hair in two buns to air dry in a stretched state.



- Then, of course, I proceeded to cornrow my hair, which you may have seen, I thought it would take like thirty minutes, instead, it took me 3 hours! I had no idea it was so difficult though, but I was too scared to go to a stylist (I haven't been to a salon since December), so I guess it was worth it.
Wash 2: Co-Wash


I Co-Washed twice in 3 days and it's basically the same process:

- Wet hair thoroughly in the shower

- Apply a generous amount of MG Detangling conditioner to cornrows

- Leave in for 2 - 5 minutes to ensure it penetrates the hair

- Rinse

- Repeat every 2- 3 days

For the moisturising challenge, I'm going to be
moisturising and sealing at night, and this is my nightly routine:

1. Spritz with water
2. Apply MG leave in strengthener
3. Apply D&L Scalp soother
4. Apply oil to scalp and ends
5. Apply D&L SOS hairline




I'm wearing this synthetic wig by Noble and I love it because it's light and great for my commute to work since it has this "messy" look, so I don't need to worry about my hair getting messy!

How was your Wash Day? What's your routine for the challenge?

My schedule has become so tight that I had to break last week's wash day into two separate days. Usually I deep condition and co wash on the same day, but now I co wash in the middle of the week and deep condition on my off days. So here's how my wash day(s) went:

Products used:

- Vo5 Silky Experiences Moisturizing Conditioner
- Mega Growth Deep Conditioner
- Mega Growth Daily Leave in strengthener
- Fantasia IC Serum
-MG oil mixed with castor oil

1. Co-Wash
-I co washed with Vo5 (see review here)

- T-shirt dried for 20 minutes to soak up excess water

- Applied my oil mix as my leave in, detangled and air dried my hair in 4 ponytails.

- Once dry, I created a side part and put my hair in a low bun.



2. Deep Condition

- I parted my hair into four sections and applied MG Deep conditioner to my dry hair, covered with a plastic bag and left it in overnight

- The next day, my hair was super soft and manageable so I detangled each section before hopping into the shower.

- I T-shirt dried my hair for a few minutes after rinsing it, then applied my leave ins: MG daily leave in strengthener and Fantasia IC serum.

- Because I was planning an updo, I didn't bother air drying my hair in a stretched state. Once dry, I made my first attempt at french braiding my hair. I did an upside down french braid and added rollers to my bangs to give it some curl.


Results:

The rollers were a complete bust, the curls didn't even last for a minute , so I just pinned my bangs to
 the side to complete the look.


So that's it!  I think you would be pleasantly surprised by this  week's wash day :)

How was your Wash Day?

This wash day was a really simple one, I usually very heavy handed when applying products to my hair, but today I kept it minimal. I was also very pleased to be able to roll my hair with my large rollers again which meant faster drying time.
(Tip: To know if your hair is long enough for a particular roller size, you should be able to rotate your hair at least 3 times on the roller)
Here's how my wash day went:

Products:
-Mega Growth Deep Conditioner
- Fantasia IC Serum (heat protectant)

1. Deep Conditioned: I parted my hair into sections according to how I would rollerset my hair, instead of the usual four quadrants. This saves time after washing and also eliminates any breakage that might occur from manipulating wet hair. I applied my deep conditioner to each section, detangled with a wide tooth comb, put them in bantu knots and let it sit overnight under a plastic bag.

How my hair looks after an overnight deep condition

2. Rinsed: The next day, I unraveled and rinsed out each section individually and put them in twists to keep them intact. For added nourishment, I didn't completely rinse out the deep conditioner and this served as my leave in. I know, hold on... before you school me on the necessity to rinse out deep conditioners completely, let me just say that this trick is recommended by the manufacturer so I'm good.

3. Rollerset: I blotted my hair (still in twists) with my T-shirt just to stop the dripping. Then I set my hair and blow dried on a low setting.


This temperature is lukewarm and doesn't dry my hair out. If you are going to use a higher setting please apply the heat protectant as you are rolling up your hair, a blow dryer is classified as direct heat and can damage your hair if you are not careful. A hooded dryer on the other hand, is classified as indirect heat and is the safest way to dry your rollerset.

4. Flat Ironed: The key to a successful flat ironing session is leaving in some moisture before you straighten your hair. After blow drying for about an hour, I took out the rollers, applied Fantasia heat protectant to each rolled section, then flat ironed in that order. That way, I didn't have to part my hair again to flat iron it. I love rollersetting my hair before flat ironing it because it gives me extra smoothness and volume that I don't get when I blow dry or air dry first.

5. Trim: During the rollersetting and flat ironing session, I took out some thin, stringy ends in different sections. Some as little as half an inch, others as much as two inches. I think I can officially say that I have layers now lol!


Now that all is said and done, here are the results:

Still not satisfied with these ends!

Length check:



I'm happy with how my hair turned out, I think I won't do a length check until some time next year. As I begin my transition (see this post), I will be doing more curly styles and stretching my heat usage even further than three months.

I will preserve this style by cross wrapping my hair nightly, and add a little curl to the ends with three flexi rods.

How was your wash day? Have you used heat recently?

Take two.
The last time I shampooed with my hair in braids, I experienced some breakage and I never tried it again. I decided to give it another try because I seemed to have started out not liking a lot of things: sectioning, flexi-rods, wrapping, even pin curls! So why not try this again as well? I shampooed again this week because I had a lot of build up on my scalp which means one of two things: it's either I didn't wash properly last week, or I didn't rinse thoroughly after my protein treatment. Either ways, I had to shampoo again. Here's how my wash day went:

Products used

-MG Deep Conditioner
-MG Stimulating Shampoo
-MG Detangling Conditioner
-MG Leave-in Strengthener
-Fantasia IC Serum
-MG Growth Oil & Castor Oil

1. I sectioned my hair into four quadrants, applied MG leave in for slip, then parted each quadrant into smaller sections and detangled with my fingers and a wide tooth comb. I noticed that I had very little shed hair coming out, which I think is amazing because I don't do anything to combat shedding, I haven't done a tea rinse in months!


2. I applied MG Deep Conditioner to each quadrant, twisted them into bantu knots, covered my hair with a plastic bag and scarf and left it in overnight. I finally decided to try this method of deep conditioning because my overnight prepoo of last week left my hair very soft. At this point I should say that I left it in for twelve straight hours because I applied it a few hours before I actually went to sleep, and I didn't rinse it out the next day until I had time to do my hair. I was worried that my hair would be soggy from moisture overload, but it was fine! I'm guessing it's because all my Mega Growth products have protein in them so it was sort of balanced. However, I wouldn't suggest that anyone should try this, because you might not be so lucky.

3. I shampooed twice with my hair in braids and this time, it was successful!


Here's what I did differently:

*I made each braid firmer at the base. The first time around, I made loose braids which probably caused the snagging when I worked the shampoo into my scalp.

*I took a small mirror into the bathroom to able to see exactly what I was doing.

*I added just a little water to the shampoo to loosen the consistency so that it can come out of the applicator, at the same time, not turn it completely to liquid. I did this because I noticed that my shampoo is not really effective when I add too much water.

4. So I shampooed in sections, what next? Everyone talks about shampooing in braids, but no one says what to do next. Do I condition with the braids, or do I loosen them first. I went with the logical and conditioned with the braids. I applied MG Detangling conditioner to my hair after squeezing out the excess water first, then I massaged the conditioner into my hair and let it sit for two minutes before rinsing it out.

5. I t-shirt dried my hair (still with the braids), for 15 minutes and then as I loosened each braid, I applied MG Daily leave in strengthener and Fantasia IC Serum and detangled.

6. When I was done with my whole head, my four sections where still intact so I put them in ponytails to stretch my new growth as it air dried.


7. When it was 90% dry, I wrapped it to straighten it further for a few more hours and then I did this really weird, braid around my head and then pulled the rest of my hair into a low bun. I did this because I noticed some breakage at the bottom left section of my hair, and I have the hands-in-hair syndrome, so I decided to step up my protective styling techniques and get that area back into shape.



Keep in mind that this is the first time I'm doing a cornrow on my head since I started my hair journey, and my first style of choice was to do one all around my head! I will work on making the style look better before I make a tutorial.

I will keep this hairstyle in for a week, and I will retain moisture by spritzing it with water and doing the GHE/Baggy Method 3 times a week. For those who don't know, this method involves covering your head with a shower cap or a plastic bag for 6-8 hours. It's an excellent way to retain length and add moisture to your hair.

Whew! This seemed like a really long post. I'm trying make my blog more informative, so I guess it's worth it.

How was your wash day?  Do you have any challenges?  What protective styles are you wearing?