Just Grow Already! | journeying to healthy hair

Hair Story Feature: Meet Joanne

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:57:20 PDT

Your hair is?... Relaxed (this includes texlaxed) When and why did you start your hair journey? I started my hair journey in February 2010 after stumbling on YouTube videos of African American women with long beatiful hair. I just had to give it a try and find out if African hair (I am from Kenya) could grow that long too. What is your current regimen? My current regimen is quite simple,

Wash Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:00:01 PDT

Note to self, do not go two weeks without detangling my hair, especially when I have 14 weeks of new growth to handle. To prep my hair for the battle, [1] I started off by doing a hot oil treatment with coconut oil on the length of my hair and Hair Trigger on my scalp. The coconut oil really helped me ease out shed hair while I finger-combed my hair before shampooing. [2] Shampooed with Paul

Benefits of Aloe Vera

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:00:02 PDT

Back in May I posted about using aloe vera gel to tame my edges (this is post here). I've been loving AVG for my edges. It smooths my hair, moisturizes it, all while providing mild hold. I received a few emails on what other benefits AV has to offer so here are a few:

Hair Story Feature: Meet Yulli Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:00:10 PDT

Your hair is?... Transitioning to natural When and why did you start your hair journey? I started my journey in November 2010 as I saw videos on Youtube of women with long relaxed hair and wanted the same. Improper detangling and little knowledge of stretching; my hair broke off. My last relaxer was February 23, 2011 after gathering vast info I decided to stretch again to overcome the damage.

Beautiful You

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:25:29 PDT

& happy hump day. That is all :)

Hair Story Feature: Meet Chinwe

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:00:05 PDT

Your hair is?... Relaxed (this includes texlaxed) When and why did you start your hair journey? My hair was relaxed at a young age (and I regret that). However, I have gone through several lengths - from full head shaves, neck/shoulder length, one side longer than the other and terrible split ends. Up until 2010, I started taking extra measures to protect my hair from stretching between 12

Wash Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:10:06 PDT

[1] Pre-pooed overnight with Hair Trigger on my scalp and Creme of Nature Intensive Treatment on the length of my hair. I was out of town last week and forgot to bring moisturizer with me so after 4 days my hair felt so dry. I grabbed my last two packets of Creme of Nature Intensive Conditioning Treatment and covered my hair with 2 plastic caps and satin scarf after applying the conditioner to my

Hair Babble

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 18:48:22 PDT

I did my second flexi rod set last Thursday and because I was pressed for time (only had 1.5 hours to spare) my hair didn't dry completely at the roots but the results were still okay. The flexi rods really helped stretched my new growth and I love that doesn't require not nearly the amount of manipulation that roller sets require. I didn't use one comb for this set. I parted my fingers and

Hair Story Feature: Meet Rossana A.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:00:11 PDT

Your hair is?... Relaxed (this includes texlaxed) When and why did you start your hair journey? Nice question. I was born in this beautiful country in Africa named Angola, and have lived there till I was 20 and begged my parents to let me come to Portugal to finish college. I knew I was in trouble because I never really cared about my hair. I would get it braided or go to a professional when I

Wash Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 21:15:53 PDT

[1] Pre-pooed with safflower oil. [2] Shampooed with Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Shampoo. [3] Tea rinse with black tea and peppermint tea. [4] Applied Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment for 5 minutes then rinsed. PMSSDT is one of the products that I will cry a million tears for if it's every discontinued or if it's formula changes. Yes I love it that much. The black tea (of course)

May Goals Review + June Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Wed, 29 May 2013 21:00:11 PDT

*Sigh* The end of the month is already here. After months of putting it off, I finally did a flexi rod set. Here are links to the flexi rod posts here and here. As for my second goal, I sadly didn't meet it. Some days I drank the full 2.5 liters and some days I'd get 1-2 liters. Shame on me... but on the bright side, I drank water every day, just didn't met my targeted amount. There's always June

Wash Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 26 May 2013 21:58:05 PDT

Normally I wash my hair on Fridays but I just couldn't bring myself to WANT to do my hair at all. Last week was a lazy week. Aside from deep conditioning on Tuesday and moisturizing and sealing only twice last week, I pretty much left my hair alone. Aloe vera gel kept my edges nice and smooth so I rocked a bun (changing the position every day) for the week. I finally ended up washing my hair on

Hair Story Feature: Meet Jan

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 26 May 2013 21:00:11 PDT

Your hair is?... Relaxed (this includes texlaxed) When and why did you start your hair journey? I commenced in September 2012 and the reason why I did was because I wanted to get a keratin hair treatment done. When I traveled to the U.S. for summer vacation, the lady who treated my hair had waist length hair and while discussing about hair care tips, she made reference to sulfate free shampoos,

Look Again

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:10:35 PDT

Healthy hair journeys are not a walk in the park. After all, nothing in life worth having is easy. There will be great hair days, whip your hair back and forth days, and days when the last thing you'd like to do is touch your hair... but it's worth it. If your HHJ makes you happy, it's worth it so keep on going.

Reader Q: How Do You Do Your Tea Rinses?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:00:03 PDT

For both tea and coffee rinses, I boil water and pour it over whatever tea bags I'm using or coffee (I use instant coffee) I have in a mason jar. To make my life easier, I use my Black & Decker Brew 'n Go. The process is pictured here. After letting the tea steep/coffee cool, I transfer the liquid to the bowl I'm holding below. After I shampoo, I take the pitcher... and before anyone starts

Product Review: Silk Dreams Go Moist Shampoo

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:00:09 PDT

Price: $8.00 for 8 oz bottle Purchased At: www.silkdreamshaircare.com Promises: "Go Moist will make your hair say WOW! This lauryl/laureth sulfate free shampoo delivers a perfect, mild, cleansing that won't strip your hair. This shampoo delivers manageability, moisture, and protein and moisture binding properties to your hair. Go Moist sets your hair up for optimal conditioning results

Hair Story Feature: Meet Courtnea2001

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:00:05 PDT

Hi all, meet Courtnea2001, our first hair story feature! Your hair is?... Relaxed (this includes texlaxed) When and why did you start your hair journey? I originally started my hair journey in 2007. However in 2011 I suffered a major setback after removing a set of braids and not detangling properly prior to washing. My hair became matted and I experienced an extreme amout of breakage. In

Video: How I Detangle

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:00:02 PDT

Wash Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:37:04 PDT

(1) Pre-pooed overnight with coconut oil. (2) Shampooed with Silk Dreams Hair Care Go Moist Shampoo. (3) Coffee rinse. (4) Applied Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment for 5 minutes then rinsed. (5) Wrapped my hair in a towel for 15 minutes to soak up the water from my hair. Deep conditioned with my steamer using Silk Dreams' Vanilla Silk Cream Moisture Dream conditioner. (6) Wrapped my

Moisturizing, Pineappling, & Preserving Curls

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:00 PDT

End of day 2 hair, after moisturizing & sealing Q: How did you wear your hair for bed to preserve the curls? The method to the right is how I preserved my curls for day 2 in the second picture. To preserve my flexi rod curls, I tied my hair up before bed by bending over and tying a silk scarf around the sides of my head, leaving the curls out at the top. This is not shown in the picture,

Share Your Hair Story

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:51:39 PDT

Sometimes I get awesome emails from readers sharing their successes. I find them inspiring and I know many others would as well. I'd love to post your stories and share them. Don't be shy, hop on over to the form! The image above links to the submission page. I'm looking forward to reading your stories!

Flexi Rod Set

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:49:17 PDT

EbonyCPrincess' lovely flexi rod sets have made me want to try doing a flexi rod set for months and I finally did one this week! I did this flexi rod set after deep conditioning with Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner on dry hair and did a coffee rinse. For leave ins, I applied a bit of Darcy's Botanicals Daily Leave-In and sprayed my hair with Paul Mitchell Moisture Mist to dampen sections as I

Product Review: Mizani Supreme Oil Satin Crème Moisturizing Mask

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:00:00 PDT

Price: $20.50 for 8 oz jar at Ulta. Purchased At: I received this product for review, but it can be found in Ulta and online. Promises: Silicone-free formula, rich in natural oils (penetrating Rice Bran, Argan and Avocado Oils) and shea butter for intense penetration and conditioning. Restores natural softness and conditions for better manageability when styling. Helps protect hair from

Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:08:08 PDT

Happy Mother's Day lovelies! The image below is EXACTLY how I feel about my mom and grandmother. We're hours apart but they're always in my heart. Wishing all the mothers, grandmothers, caretakers an absolutely amazing Mother's Day!

Navigating JGA Just Got Easier

noreply@blogger.com (Jenijen) — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:13:02 PDT

...with drop down menus! Finally got around to adding some drop downs to make searching and finding topics a bit easier. Go wild, go crazy, hover on the menus just for fun! *Beginner's Hair Manual is up there twice in error, whoops... all fixed.