I'm still here

So it's been about a week since I ttyped up a blog. I kept meaning to but for some reason never I never got to it. I did try the Burt Bees' Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment last week. It was pretty good. I didn't keep it on as long as I would have liked to since I got home late. I think I had it on for about 15min I think. Next time I'll try to keep it on for at least an hour. I was thinking about wearing it to work, but I'm not sure if I want to rock a ponytail tomorrow. Tomorrow is my clarifying day. I know I said I'd clarify/chelate on the first Monday of every month. Technically we will be like a day away from it. Then again since I'll be working late I might not even wash my hair tomorrow night. I already know I won't feel like getting up first thing in the morning to wash my hair.

So yesterday I did a bantu knot out. It looked so pretty I decided to take a picture of it.


I ended up wearing it again today. I'll probably wear it tomorrow too.

I also picked up a few items Friday.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition 3-Minute Undo Dryness Reversal Treatment
Fantasia IC Olive Styling Gel
Aussie Deeeeep 3 Minute Miracle Moisture Treatment
Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curls & Waves Conditioner
Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme
Geritol Complete
Lustrasilk Shea Butter Cholesterol

I actually mentioned getting the Herbal Essence a while back. I just thought it deserved a picture. The white thing that my stuff is sitting on is a new container. I got one when I first started my healthy journey, but some of my conditioners were too tall for it to close. I haven't even gotten around to putting any of my stuff in it yet. The Geritol will be replacing my Andre Lessman supplement. I accidentally ruined my last few supplements I had left. I was thinking about getting the One A Day gummie vitamins but I settled on the Geritol. I heard quite a few good things about it.
I have heard a lot of good things about the Aussie deep conditioner so I had to pick that up. I hope it works good for me too. I've been wanting to try some of the Garnier Fructis Triple Moisture products since I first heard about it. After I purchased it I saw that it had mineral oil in it. I'm really bad about reading the labels. So I'll probably shampoo after I use that.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention that I did not use my Silk Elements shampoo again last week. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I just ended up using my Cream of Nature shampoo.
Well that is pretty much it for now. Peace & Love~

Quick and sweet....Or maybe not

Well I've been called in to work today. I'll be leaving in a little under an hour. So I'll try to make this quick.

First off I finally made it to Whole Foods. I've wanted to go for years but never got the chance until now. I only got a couple of things but I'll definitely be going back.
So this is what I got:

Burt Bees' Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment
Vegitable Glycerin (Humectant)
Orderless Garlic Supplements (For Shedding)
Nature's Way Organic Pure Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Sealant)

The only thing I haven't used yet is the hair treatment. Everything else I've used. I'm still in love with my coconut oil. I use the old jar I have left on my skin now. The glycerin seems to be doing well. It will probably take a month for me to see the results of the garlic supplements though.

Yesterday was eventful for my hair I guess one could say. I had a 24hr no manipulation challenge. I just wanted to see if I could go a day without combing or brushing my hair. Which I did. I actually didn't even comb my hair until after I had moisturized and sealed it. Which was around 4 in the morning. I also did my first baggy last night. I must say my ends do look a lot less crazy. Though I think I could have used a lot less product. I ended up using a mixture of my Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Leave-In mixed with Glycerin and Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Leave-In. Then after that I sealed with my Coconut Oil. Next time I think I'll go without the Garnier Fructis Leave-In.

I felt around in the back of my head and it feels like I've got at least an inch of new growth in the back. So that is pretty good. The last two days I've had the urge to just chop my hair off. I don't know why. I'm just so over the two texture thing that's going on I guess. I'm just ready to take care of my natural hair. I'm over the relaxed hair. I plan on transitioning until April or May. The way I'm feeling I just don't even know if I can last that long. This hair journey in some way does feel like a spiritual growth. I feel like I'm truly coming into my own. I've gone through so much crap in my life. Especially the last 5 years. It's like me cutting my hair off will be a symbol of me letting all the hurt, pain, regret, doubts, insecurities, and negativity that has ran my life up to now go. I feel so ready when I just think about how much something that seems so simple will likely affect my life in a MAJOR way. It's a truly beautiful thing.Peace & Love~

I can't believe this....That's life for ya....

I decided to co-wash last night. I co-washed with a mixture of my Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair Melting Mask and my Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship. It was a good co-wash I have no complaints there. I decided to co-wash last night by the way because I wanted to do pin curls. I didn't feel like getting up first thing in the morning to do all that before I had to go to work. So I moisturized and sealed then did my pin curls. Now I just took out my pin curls like an hour ago probably. They looked great. As you may know I live in Florida. Which means ridiculous humidity and heat. So anyway I wasn't going to have my curls falling today. So I did the unthinkable. I put holding spray with alcohol in it on my hair. BIG MISTAKE. First of all I got a little crazy with the spray. Sprayed way too much way too close. So my curls were weighed down. Which totally defeated the purpose of me using that junk on my hair. So I just combed that crap out. I probably shouldn't have done that. I know I shouldn't have because I had a lot of breakage. Which upset me, but obviously there is nothing I can do about that.

I only have a few hours to go before work so I'll most likely be wearing a bun there. Tonight I'll probably do a protein treatment and a Deep Condition. Which upsets me more because I just washed last night. I'm not an everyday washer ya'll. Twice a week is more then enough for me. So I'm just going to take this as a lesson learned and stay away from that crap. Never again I tell you.

By the way in my Better Late Then Never... post I forgot to put my HE Totally Twisted Conditioner in the picture. Not that it would help my product junkie image.

I also forgot to post my braid out pictures from the other day so here goes.

Before I took the braids out


After I took them out

By the way when I do my braid outs I put rollers at the end. The first braid out I did was without rollers and my ends were looking like they were in their own world. This is by far the best braid out I've had to date. I'll probably do one again Friday night.


Well that is it for the time being. Peace & Love

How did it go you ask....

I just finished washing my hair not to long ago. I used the Silk Elements MegaSilk Olive Shampoo instead of my usual Creme of Nature Detangling Conditioning shampoo. I'm going to be honest I was not feeling that shampoo at all. I'm really feeling the urge to go right back to Sally's and return that ish. I felt like it wasn't cleaning my hair/scalp at all. It just seemed to be there on my head. Despite all this I will be giving it one more try next week. There were quite a few things that could have caused this situation. I did co-wash my hair Saturday instead of Thursday. So there was possibly nothing to clean. Yesterday I will admit I was heavy handed on the moisturizing. Maybe because of that it was too much for the shampoo. I really don't know. So instead of putting it away and never using it again I will give it one more try next week. If it doesn't work out I.....I just hope it does. -_-

Now that, that is over with I want to talk about staples. These are the items that have never let me down and I will always be loyal to.

#1
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner

This stuff is so amazing. I have never been so amazed by any hair product. It has great slip. On top of that it really does leave your hair soft. There is no doubt this stuff moisturizes my hair. I recommend this to everyone. Especially if you have dry or really coarse hair. You will love this stuff.

#2
Coconut Oil

The reason why I love this oil so much is because it's so light. I'm used to using heavier oils on my hair. That's how it's always been. Until I found this. I use it all the time. I pre-poo with this as well as seal my hair with it. I plan on do even more with it in the future. If you don't care for heavy oils I recommend this for you. I do actually use the brand that's pictured. I personally will not be using this brand again. Not because it's bad but I want to try Extra Virgin Coconut Oil next time.

#3
Shower Comb

This has to be the greatest comb in the world in my opinion. I use this so much it's ridiculous. It has gotten to the point that I don't even use my regular big tooth comb anymore. I only use this. Detangling is a breeze with this comb. I still have a little breakage with my regular big tooth comb. When I use this comb what little I did have is usually cut in half if I use this instead. The only reason you would need any other comb is to make your parts straight. That's it.

#4
Elasta QP Mango Butter

This is so amazing. The smell alone will make you fall in love. Not only that it's a great moisturizer. It took me a while to find this, but it was well worth the look. I must at admit when you first see this it seems a little steep price wise. The thing about this is a little does go a long way. There is no need to use a ton of this. Even when I get heavy handed with this it doesn't seem to weight my hair down. Then again I have thick hair. If you try this you will not be disappointed.

That's it for today. I'm trying to get my wishlist together. It seems to get altered everyday.
Oh yeah I forgot last night I did use the Carrot Oil Root Moisturizer. Even though it has mineral oil in it I decided to use it since I was going to wash my hair today.I only used it on my roots. It didn't really do too much but I did only use it once. I don't plan on using it again to be honest. Well that is it. Peace & Love~

New Regimen.....Plus minor errors

Before I get to my regimen update I have to correct some errors. Ok In my "Yeah I Know" post something happened when I was editing it and now the regimen part is gone. So yeah I guess it doesn't matter since I'm about to update my regimen anyway so here goes~

Monday:
Wash Day
Shampoo-Creme of Nature Detangling Conditioning Shampoo
Conditioner-Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner
First Monday of every Month I will use a Clarifying Shampoo
Clarifying Shamppo-Vo5 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo

Thursday:
Co-Wash
Various Conditioners

Pre-poo:
Various Conditioners
Coconut Oil
Various Other Oils

Moisturize:
Twice A Day
Mango Butter
African Pride Braid Spray
Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil
Various Other Moisturizers
I don't use all of these twice a day maybe one or two in the morning then a different one at night.

Protein Treatment:
Every week or Every other week
ORS Mayonnaise
ORS Replenishing Pak

I have a lot of products so that's why I say "various". Plus I like to switch up my moisturizers every now and then. So I don't always use the same everyday. Tomorrow I will be trying a new shampoo so I might change my regimen again if it turns out well. I haven't decide if I'm going to use my new conditioner after I shampoo or just end up using that as a co-wash. Well until tomorrow. Peace & Love~

Better late then never...

So I was supposed to do a co-wash on Thursday. I didn't of course and decided to do it on Friday. THEN of course that didn't happen. So finally I had co-wash #2 Saturday. I actually didn't care so much for my co-wash yesterday. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe I didn't do something right. I loved my hair the first time I did a co-wash, but this time it seemed bleh... I co-washed with a mixture of Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair Instant Melting Conditioner, Garnier Fructis 3 Minute Fortifying Deep Conditioner, Jojoba Oil, and Coconut Oil. I also did a scrub with some of my Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner. After I applied my leave ins (Elasta QP H-Two, African Pride Braid Spray). After that I put a little mango butter in my hair as well. Then I let my hair air dry. After that I moisturized my hair with more mango butter(I love this stuff) and some of my Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil. Then I pin curled my hair and went to sleep. Here is the result of my pin curl:

This style reminds me a lot of the Bantu Knot out. Except I find doing those much easier. That's probably because this was my first time doing a pin curl.I think I'll try this again sometime after I flat iron my hair again. Which I'm hoping I can hold off on the flat ironing until next month ,but I'm feeling mighty week right now.

Well about two post ago I said I wouldn't be buying anything unless one of the flat irons I want goes on sale. Well that didn't happen. I ended up buying a few products >.< So these are the products that broke me down:
Silk Elements MegaSilk Olive Shampoo & Conditioner
Hollywood Beauty Carrot Creme (the little bottle of Carrot Oil Root Moisturizer came with it)
Wild Growth Hair Oil
Vo5 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo & Conditioner

So far I've only used the Carrot Creme. I really like using that on my hair. The Root Moisturizer however has mineral oil in it so I'm kind of wary of using that. It also smells horrible on top of that. lol
I plan to start using my Wild Growth oil after I do a clarifying wash. I plan on using the Silk Elements Shampoo and Conditioner Monday. So I should be making a post about that tomorrow. That is all for now. Peace & Love~

Yeah I know...

So I haven't updated in a week. I'm getting to that point where I just don't feel like blogging, you know? Anyway the show will go on....

Co-Wash #1
I had my first co-wash Friday night. I had to go to work first thing Saturday morning so I decided to get it out of the way Friday night. I co-washed with 3 conditioners. Is that normal? Well I did it even if it's not. I started off with my Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair Instant Melting Conditioner. I left that on for about 20 minutes. Then I added my Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Conditioner around the last 5 minutes. After that I washed them out and added some of my Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner. After I applied that I scrubbed my scalp and then washed it out and let my hair air dry.
I must say that I'm in love with co-washing now. It left my hair incredibly soft. I definately will be co-washing regularly. I'll be replacing my second weekly wash with a cowash now.

Wash day #4
I began wash day (not the actual day since it was like evening time when I got to my hair) by pre-pooing with a mixture of coconut oil, jojoba oil, and my Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner. I think I left that on for about an hour then I washed it out with my Creme of Nature Detangling Conditioning Shampoo. I decided that it was finally time for my to try out my ORS Replenishing Pak. Let me just say that, that stuff smells sooo good. I used half of the pack surprisingly. I usually have to use a lot of product because my hair is so thick. I let that stay on for an hour as well. After that I washed it out and applied my Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner. Technically you don't have to condition after if you don't want to. I did this because it is a light protein so I just wanted to balance it out. After that I put in my leave ins and my mango butter

And the beat goes on~

Well so much to tell. I really should be in bed now but since I'm here might as well continue.

So I'm officially not buying anymore products for my hair. Unless the flat iron I want goes on sale.... Anyway on Monday I went to the BSS even though I knew I shouldn't have. I couldn't help it though. I knew if I went to that specific store I would find everything I wanted. Guess what?!?! I did.

Exhibit A


Elasta QP H-Two
Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner
Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair Instant Melting Conditioner
Jojoba Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Beyond The Zone Straight Shot Smoothing Serum
Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil Hair Treatment with Mink Oil
Twist Rollers
Banana Clip
Shower Comb
Assorted Comb Pack


Exhibit B

Elasta QP Mango Butter
Aphogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer
African Essence Natural Herbal Oil
Donna Round Firm Foundation




Well the second picture is actually the purchase where I knew I had purchased way too much. Oh well! So yesterday was wash day #3. Before I get to that let me talk about my Scarf Method results. It didn't turn out all that great. I must say that was my fault. I got waves, but I don't think I covered as much hair as I would have liked. I will definitely try it again hopefully when I put that hair bun to use.

Ok now back to wash day #3. I pre-pooed with the Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner mixed with Africa's Best Herbal Oil and some Coconut Oil. I left that on for about 2 hours. I then washed it out with my Vo5 Moisture Milks Strawberries and Cream shampoo. After that I used the conditioner, detangled with my shower comb and left that on for about 20min. After I towel dried my hair I sprayed it with my Aphogee Restructurizer, Elasta Qp H-Two Leave In, and my Dove Heat Defense Therapy Protect And Shine Mist. After I applied the sprays I then applied some of my Mango Butter to my hair. I then let my hair air dry. After about 2 hours I brought my drier out because I wanted to go to bed. I wasn't going to go unless my hair was flat ironed so to pick up the pace I blow dried my hair. When I finished that I once again sprayed my hair with my Dove Heat Defense Therapy Protect And Shine Mist. After that I sectioned of my hair and applied my Beyond The Zone Straight Shot Smoothing Serum. When everything was done this was my end result:
My hair has not looked this good (in my opinion) in about 2-3 years. So it's safe to say that I am satisfied with the results. My Aphogee Reconstructor and my Shower Comb are my two favorite things now.

Peace-Love-Understanding

Up next will be my first co-wash. :O