My Black Hair Journey

Roller set/Roller wrap with water!

2012-03-12T23:58:00.000-04:00

Eureka! I've finally figured out what I was doing wrong with my roller sets. As I mentioned before, each time I roller set my hair it was very pretty but I didn't have the bouncy hair that everyone claimed to get from their sets. What was I doing wrong?

Well I stumbled across a blog, www.dominicanblowout.com (which by the way was quite informative) and the owner of the blog happened to mention that she only used water and a bit of serum when roller setting her hair. Why didn't I think of that??? Because my hair is so fine, putting any kind of product on it weighs it down...then you add a moisture sealing roller set to it and of course you're going to get heavy hair, right? Right!

Sooo, I did another set tonight and my hair turned out amazing. It has incredible body and bounce and it was surprisingly really soft...even though I only used water. I still rubbed a little bit of coconut oil on it and sealed that in with a moisturizing oil but I am loving this roller set. Whoo hoo!

ApHogee ProVitamin Leave-In Conditioner Product Review

2012-03-10T12:34:00.001-05:00

After reading lots of positive reviews, I was anxious to get my hands on this puppy. I’m happy to say that the reviews were accurate and this really is an awesome product. I’ve only used it (so far) for roller setting/roller wrapping but I will try it next week when I air dry or when I dare to blow dry it again…which by the way I haven’t done in about 2 months (yay me!).

I decided to try the ApHogee because, again it got great reviews, and also because I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the way my sets turned out using the Proclaim Tea tree oil Leave-in conditioner. Proclaim is a really cheap…ahem…inexpensive product out there that worked really well for me when I was blow-drying all the time. What I loved about it was how great it smells, how light/clean it left my hair feeling, and how much overall body it gave my hair. I now know how completely damaging that whole process was for my hair. When I tried the Proclaim with the roller sets, I found it to be too light. It didn’t hold the curl well enough for me…hence my switch to ApHogee.

The difference between Proclaim and ApHogee

Like I said, thus far I’ve only used the ApHogee for roller sets but I will say that my roller sets come out a lot better with the ApHogee. The curls seem to have some moisture to them and are incredibly soft. This is the way my sets feel when I leave the salon so I knew I could get optimal results, sine I usually get anywhere from 4-7 days of wear of out a salon roller set (that’s pushing it I know).

With the Proclaim, I found that my hair was a little dry and slightly brittle, which is obviously never a good thing. It also gave it a dull appearance as compared to the ApHogee that’s always shiny and healthy looking.

The Results are In

I feel so disloyal because I used the Proclaim for so many years but it looks like ApHogee is definitely the forerunner. I honestly don’t have a bad thing to say about the product. It’s going in on my Counter list.

Heavy hair with roller wrap

2012-03-09T21:24:00.001-05:00

The last few times I've washed my hair (be it a co-wash or regular shampoo), I've roller wrapped it (roller set, then wrapped it and set under the dryer for about 15 minutes). It turns out great when I do like that. Its incredibly soft, lots of shape (no heat necessary), and it has great volume.

That being said, I have fine hair. My hair is actually kind of an odd texture because its fine but it gets really dry too. The problem I'm running into is that the roller wrap allows my hair to retain the moisture from the conditioner so it feels great. However after about 2 days, its really too heavy for me to wear out comfortably. In fact, at the beginning of the 3rd day, I think its ok...then half-way through the day I'm like, "ok, my hair is disgusting. I don't even want to touch/see it myself!". Now that might not sound like a long time but I'm accustomed to washing my hair every 3 days anyway because it is so fine, and holds onto product buildup like you wouldn't believe.

So, my new task is to come up with a way of roller wrapping that allows me to retain the moisture, but also have a lot more body than I'm getting from the way I'm doing it now. It may be my choice of products. I'm currently using the Aphoghee Leave-in conditioner and nothing else. I actually really like this conditioner because my hair is so soft when its dry. Actually now that I think about it, it couldn't be the Aphoghee because my hair doesn't appear to be that heavy when I take the wrap down. Its only when I apply the oil to my hair that it holds on to it for dear life. But as we all know, the oil is necessary so its a Catch 22. I don't know. Ugh. A little frustrated here but I'll figure out the best balance/combination and share my findings.

Roller Wrap

2012-03-06T20:09:00.002-05:00

Last night I made my second attempt with a roller wrap. The last time I did it, about 2 weeks ago (one week before my relaxer), I could tell that it would be really nice on freshly relaxed hair but it didn’t work well for my pre-relaxed hair.

Anyway, last night I cowashed my hair with the Design Essentials Moisturizing condition and deep conditioned with the 6-N-1 reconstructor under the dryer for 15 minutes. I then saturated my hair with Aphoghee Leave-in conditioner and set it with hard rollers. **I used slightly larger rollers in the top than I normally would for a roller set because I needed the volume since my hair is freshly relaxed.** I dried it on a low setting for about 50 minutes, then removed the rollers and brushed the curls out with a paddle brush. I then wrapped my head snuggly with Saran Wrap. I got back under the dryer for about 15 more minutes and then combed down my wrap.

My hair was incredibly soft! It looked and felt so good. In fact, I didn’t want to put anything on it for fear of losing the softness that I achieved from the roller wrap but I learned my lesson from before. I took a small dab of coconut oil and rubbed it on my hair, concentrating on the roots and ends, and then sealed in the moisture with my African Pride herbal oil. It didn’t take away the softness and actually added a nice shine to my hair. I wrapped it and did the same thing this morning. My hair looks great! It looks exactly as it did when I left the salon last week; however I didn’t use the flat iron to achieve the look. I’m happy. :)

Black Hair Mistakes

2012-03-06T00:53:00.000-05:00

I must admit that this hair journey is a bit more of an undertaking that I had anticipated. I'm learning so much! For years I thought I was taking care of my hair because I washed it so frequently (thoroughly washed I might add), I used minimal products (thus keeping my hair follicles free of build-up so they would easily grow),and I styled my hair daily and always got compliments so I had to be doing something right, right???

I'm quickly finding out that I couldn't have been more wrong! All the things I listed were in fact quite detrimental to my hair. It's a wonder that my hair remained so thick after all this time...must just be nature.

So what was so wrong with my hair regimen? EVERYTHING!

Mistake 1 - Washing my hair 3x/week! Although I have African-American hair, the strands themselves are quite fine and therefore hold on to products; I have build-up like you wouldn't believe! Needless to say, I thought washing it and getting rid of that buildup was the best thing I could do for my hair. In doing my research I found that not only was washing my hair so much damaging to it, but even when I wash it (oh, and hair enthusiasts prefer the term "shampooing") my goal is not to have "squeaky clean" hair.

Most retail shampoos have harsh sulfates that strip our hair. If used frequently, the hair becomes incredibly weak and prone to extreme breakage. Yeah so...me washing my hair that much was definitely not the way to go. However understanding that didn't solve the problem of me having fine hair that's prone to buildups. My savior has been the co-wash. I co-wash my hair every 3-4 days with a moisturizing conditioner. This way, my hair isn't stripped of the oils it needs to survive, yet I'm still able to rinse my hair out and get that "fresh look" that we all love. I now only shampoo my hair with a very mild shampoo (Essentious Exonerate) once/week, while co-washing in between.

Mistake 2 - Using minimal products. My efforts were great, as I had the right idea by not trying to block the hair shaft. However using nothing on my hair was not the way to achieve that goal. In hindsight, I'm really shocked I have/had any hair at all! LOL. I always liked my hair to be really bouncy and flowy so I put next to nothing on it, blow-dried it out, then flat ironed it (gulp). Now, I will admit it was always really pretty and I got endless compliments, BUT it never made it passed neck length. :-s

Research has revealed that our hair is the driest of all hair types and needs endless moisturizing to stay healthy. I now moisturize daily with Coconut oil (water-based) and seal it in with an African Pride herbal oil (oil-based moisturizer). **Africa's pride (or African - I can't remember right now) is an el-cheapo oil I picked up from Wal-Greens. It works just fine but I'll probably invest in something slightly better from the health food store after this is done. The idea is to moisturize the hair with a water-based moisturizer, and seal it in with an oil-based moisturizer. As I expand my research, I'll have more product reviews and insight as to what works best.**

Mistake 3 - Constant heat styling. Ok, I knew all along that heat styling wasn't good for the hair, but I had no idea just how bad it is for our hair. It really does just fry the hair to a crisp. I literally used heat all over my head every single day without giving it a second thought. Constant heat styling coupled with the lack of moisture on my hair??? Geez.

Because my hair is currently so short, I'm forced to use a little bit of heat here and there just to get it to look decent but sparingly. I haven't blow dried in about 2 months; I either air dry or roller set under the hood, and the flat iron is only used to smooth out portions of it that didn't wrap correctly or when I'm trying to make it through those last few days of a relaxer.

All in all, I've learned quite a bit and I think I'm off to a good start. This has become more of a way of life than I thought it would be...partially because I'm now obsessed with it. LOL. More to come...

1 month Hairfinity results...post relaxer

2012-03-02T08:56:00.001-05:00

I'm not the best picture taker and I feel like I can't get a good shot of the progress but here goes. I was really pleased to see how much it has grown out and how noticeably thicker it's gotten. Whoo hoo! The back has always been my problem area and it's finally starting to break through. Grow baby grow!

1 month Hairfinity update!

2012-02-29T20:53:00.001-05:00

Today is the last day before I get my relaxer. I'm really excited because if you look closely you can see how much growth I've had since taking hairfinity on february 3rd. I hope that my stylist notices all the growth I have tomorrow and she doesn't have to cut too much off because I've been really making an effort to keep it wrapped at night and the ends moisturized. Take a look at all the growth! So excited! I'm not entirely sure why my part looks enormous but other than that you can really see the new growth there. I will post the big reveal tomorrow!

Hair Hell!

2012-02-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

Ok so unfortunately I'm feeling pretty icky today and wasn't able to go to work so this post will be super brief. Today is the day before my relaxer and although I know it's against the rules to wash your hair before a relaxer, I honestly don't know what else I would do in order to be presentable to go to work tomorrow. I look so crazy!! I'm super excited about the new growth but geez. I have even more respect for those ladies that make the transition from relaxed to natural because this mini 'fro at the root and straight at the ends is the pits! No pic today. Nobody should have to see this.

More on black soap

2012-02-27T22:33:00.001-05:00

I also hear that it's GREAT as shampoo!

Black Soap...

2012-02-27T22:24:00.000-05:00

…is da bomb!!

I know this is really random but I’m so excited about it that I had to share. I have recently discovered Black Soap and I can’t turn back now. Having been plagued with problematic skin and having to visit the dermatologist regularly since I was about 18 (I’m 29 now), I’m absolutely amazed that I can purchase something over the counter that actually gets rid of my blemishes! I’ve only been using it for about 2 weeks but I can already see a huge difference in my skin.

I have PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovary Syndrome), which sounds so much worse than it is…thank God. It’s described to me as basically an overabundance of hormones. They’re all out of whack…all over the place…which causes all sorts of crazy, including bacne (yuck), random hair (double yuck), and callused skin. Needless to say it’s not the most pleasant of conditions but its manageable if you take the time/care to work on it.

Anyway, I’ve always visited dermatologists for compounds to put on my face, Retin-A, and whatever antibiotic they decide to put me on for the year. It’s always bothered me that I have to be on prescription drugs just to have clear skin but what was I gonna do? Run around with pizza face like a 13 year old boy? I think not, so I learned to cope. Well recently a coworker of mine told me about her success in the removal of a dark spot that she’s had for months by using Black soap. And me in my quest to become more holistic/natural without turning into a complete and utter freak decided to give it a try. 2 weeks later I can honestly say there is a drastic difference in the way my skin looks and feels! I purchased the black soap with shea butter (for the moisturizing effect) and have been using it primarily on my face, neck, and back. I’ll post a few before and after pics in the upcoming weeks. I would do it now but I’m already in bed and that would just be too much to ask now wouldn’t it?

Coconut Oil Deep conditioning

2012-02-26T17:52:00.002-05:00

Since I have affectionately coined this weekend my "weekend of nothing" I decided to have a little fun and experiment with my hair. Friday night I washed my hair and conditioned it with coconut oil and left that on all night. In the morning, I rinsed it and decided I would try my hand at a roller wrap or doobie wrap.

I can honestly say that my hair was noticeably softer after the coconut oil conditioning; however it was no softer than it was when I use the Design Essentials 6-N-1 conditioner. Then again, the Design Essentials costs about $40/bottle (granted a very large bottle) and the coconut oil is only about $5-$7 (depending on the brand) for a jar that will last quite awhile as well. So I guess it's worth it to use the Coconut Oil as my deep conditioner. I probably won't be purchasing the 6-N-1 anymore after I've used this bottle.

As I mentioned, I did a roller wrap Saturday afternoon. I roller set my hair as normal, sat under the dryer for about an hour, let it cool a few minutes while I ate, then brushed it out and around my head as I normally would at night. I then Saran Wrapped my head and got back under the dryer for about 10 - 15 minutes. After I got under the dryer I combed it down. My hair was really soft and the wrap was actually nice; however I just have too much new growth (Thanks Hairfinity!) at this point to be trying to rock a wrap, lol...especially with my hair at the length it is now. I'll try it again after I get my relaxer on Thursday.

Since I didn't care to wear the roller wrap this week, I decided I would just set it again the next day (today) and wear it for the week until I get the relaxer. That works out best anyway since it will require the least amount of effort to style. While I am really enjoying the roller sets, it will be nice to get my hair relaxed and see it straight and "swingy" again. Looking forward to Thursday...

Roller set-Day 3

2012-02-24T09:40:00.001-05:00

I forgot to post yesterday but today is Day 3, and the last of my roller set. I usually get a few more days out of it when I use the setting lotion but I enjoy the softness of the leave in conditioner so much more. Plus as I get to know my hair a little more, I can tell that I really need to deep condition about twice per week anyway so it works out. Here's the look. I decided to wear a head band today and I've already gotten complimented. :) Yay.

Roller set - Day 1

2012-02-22T11:45:00.002-05:00

Here’s the outcome of Day 1 of my roller set. It pretty much looks like it did last night but I’ll keep posting each day so that you can see the difference as the days go by.

Formatting

2012-02-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

I really must apologize for my lack of ability to format this blog properly. I know I'm not the most tech-savvy person out there but when I looked back at this blog I was like, "really? Are you serious?" I'm going to work on trying to make it a little more reader-friendly in the future.

Also, I realize that some of my posts can get a little lengthy so going forward I'm going to start putting key items in ** so be on the lookout.

Rollerset

2012-02-21T23:36:00.001-05:00

The roller set won. I decided it would be a nice change of pace from the straight hair I've been rocking since getting it done on Saturday. Routine:

I co-washed (Conditioner-only washing) my hair with Design Essentials Stimulations Super Moisturizing Conditioner. **For the record, I'm not necessarily a huge fan of Design Essentials products. They work pretty well but nothing spectacular. My stylist uses the products and suggested that I purchase them so I'm just using all of what I have and then I'll move on to other products.**

Prior to this whole journey, I had never heard of co-washing. Because most of the shampoos out there contain harsh stimulants that strip our hair (especially chemically treated hair that's already been stripped so severely), it's best to co-wash the hair in between weekly washes with shampoos.

Then after cowashing, I used the Design Essentials 6-N-1 reconstructor under the dryer for 15 minutes with a plastic cap. After rinsing that out, I proceeded with my rollerset. This time, I chose to set my hair with Proclaim Leave-in conditioner (again, another product I'm thinking of switching after I've used it all). Her's a pic of the leave-in

**I've found that roller setting with a Leave-in conditioner is so much better than using setting lotion. The setting lotions (even when ultra diluted) leave my hair a little hard and heavy. The leave-ins give it an incredibly soft look and feel, although I do lose the extra day or two I probably could have had with the setting lotion due to the softer curl that's created from the leave-in.**

I must admit my hair is incredibly soft and conditioned. I'm very pleased. Considering I am almost 5 weeks post-relaxer and I typically relax every 6 weeks, I'm amazed at how it feels. I can't keep my hands out of it! Not to mention, I'm noticing more and more growth from the Hairfinity so its even more exciting that my hair is so soft. I'll scheduled for a relaxer on next Friday so I'll probably just continue to set it until I get the relaxer.

Here are a couple of pics of the finished product. I always get lots and lots of compliments when I wear my hair set. I was really worried the first time I got one because I thought I'd look like an old lady but once you learn to work with them, they're really quite chic and stylish!

Because I'm going to bed in a few minutes, I didn't necessarily "style" my hair. I just took the rollers out, brushed through it once with a paddle brush, and applied just a dab of coconut oil (pictured). Oh and just so you know, my ends feel really good so I'm happy.

I'll post pics in the morning of the styled look. 'Til the morn...

Helplessly Dry Ends

2012-02-21T13:05:00.003-05:00

All Dried Out
No matter how hard I try to condition my tired lifeless ends, they never seem to be moisturized! Even this morning, I rubbed my hair with coconut oil (twice!) and it didn’t seem to do a thing.

Super Porous Hair Not sure if anyone is familiar with perils of having porous hair but if not, allow me to give you a little insight. I am one of the unfortunate souls that has extremely porous hair. What that means is that my hair absorbs water/moisture almost twice as fast as other hair types yet it loses moisture at the same rate. Not good. And to make matters worse…I have a very tight curl pattern so any moisture I do happen to retain usually gets caught up in all that curly goodness! What I’m left with is ends that are screaming for conditioning.

What’s the plan?

Well since I was previously scheduled to work from home tomorrow, I had these grandiose plans of doing a Coconut Oil treatment overnight. But since that was squashed, what I think I’m going to do is a reconstructive treatment with Design Essentials 6-N-1 conditioner, followed by a wet set or a roller wrap (to be determined when I get home). After it’s dry, I’ll moisturize with a small amount of coconut oil. The treatment will just have to wait until the weekend when I have more time to play around. What I’ll have to is research the best way to do the treatment and give it a try. Additionally I hear that a rinse with Apple cider vinegar is an excellent cure for porous hair. Anyway, I’ll post the results in the morning. ‘Til then…

Super boring hair

2012-02-20T09:52:00.004-05:00

So because I was lazy last night and didn’t wrap my hair, I ended up having to use the iron this morning to get it to look decent. The sad thing is that even though I used the iron, it really doesn’t look all that great. It’s getting kinda frustrating because it’s at the point where it’s just there and doesn’t really look like “a style”. Looks like I need to stick to the roller sets for the next few weeks because this obviously isn’t working. Blah.

So this is what a blow-dryer feels like!

2012-02-18T17:46:00.002-05:00

I went and got my hair done today and she used the...dare I say it...blow dryer!!! Me and my hair were both super excited. :) I haven't really seen my hair straight in 2 weeks, which doesn't sound like a long time I know but for me it feels like a lifetime. I must say I can honestly see the difference in the feel and length of my hair; it's great! So here are the pics. It's a little messy because I took a nap but you might be able to see the growth. I don't normally wrap my hair but I definitely will tonight in addition to using my satin pillow case. More later...

Hairfinity - not just for hair

2012-02-17T09:33:00.003-05:00

Andddddd, I got a compliment on my skin this morning. My coworker actually told me that my skin was really pretty and glowing. my skin never glows...unless it's oily and needs to be cleaned. Disgusting I know. Anyway, Hairifnity is supposed to be good for skin too and since I'm on antibiotics for my skin and would love to be off them, that's really great news!!

The 'Do

2012-02-17T09:31:00.001-05:00

The ‘Do
So as you know, I’m on this whole no heat styling thing…so last night I pin curled it. I had a somewhat rigorous workout last night so it was sweaty at the root and puffing up (basically a hot mess). The first time I got a roller set – probably about 6 months or so ago my stylist told me to keep it longer by pin curling it, which was really my first interaction with pin curls. Since then, I’ve gotten pretty good at it and it’s finally coming in handy since it looks like I’ll be living in roller sets for a while. Here’s a pic of the pin curls the night before and the results this morning. It’s kinda spikey and cute, which works for me because I get tired of the straight styles every day. Hope you like it!

Hairfinity!!

2012-02-16T22:00:00.003-05:00

Sooo, in researching what I need to do in getting my hair in shape I ran across this YouTube video by someone with gorgeous hair and she mentioned a hair forum called Hairfinity. Now me being me, someone that becomes completely obsessed with things once she starts them lol, I went to the hair forum...almost immediately.

It's a pretty good forum, although I find it to be like most forums and not very user/reader friendly...but there definitely is some good information on there. Most of the topics were centered around this vitamin called Hairfinity that is said to promote hair growth. The website (and the many people that use the vitamins) claim that it makes hair grow 2x as fast as it normally would. I'm a skeptic so I researched even further and found loads and loads of YouTube videos and pictures with proven results. So yes you guessed it, they got me...I purchased a bottle. I was like a kid counting down the days to Christmas waiting for those vitamins. I tracked the package on the USPS website and everything...embarrassing I know but I have no shame, lol. Here they are...

Anyway, I started taking the vitamins 13 days ago and I don't know if it's just me really wanting this to work, but there honestly appears to be more new growth than I would normally see at the 4 week point of my relaxer. Here's a pic (although I'm not sure if you can see the growth). I'm excited.

2012-02-16T21:54:00.002-05:00

Alright so this is where it all begins. As you can see, it's pretty short so we have a long way to go. I'm really excited to get started though. I haven't used my blow-dryer in roughly 4 weeks (gulp)...ever since I got my last relaxer. It's crazy, I never thought I could do it. I will say that I've showed up to work with some crazy hair a few times in the last few weeks but hey, that's the price you pay until you get it right. More later...

Day 1!!

2012-02-16T21:35:00.003-05:00

This is officially the start of my "grow my hair to BSL" journey. For those of you that are anything like me and not familiar with the hair lingo, BSL = bra strap length. I'm amazed at all the hair care forums and information out there for other black women like me that are longing to have those gorgeous, flowing locks that so many others have.

I've always had really great hair in the sense that it was thick, and really bouncy, and I'm pretty good with styling so I usually get lots of compliments on my hair BUT I'm also a slave to heat products and literally used to flat iron my iron my hair every single day. My normal hair regimen is as follows. Let's assume I'm starting my regimen on a Sunday (although it varies from week to week):

Sunday - Wash and condition my hair, blow-dry and flat iron
Monday - Flat Iron styling
Tuesday - Flat Iron styling
Wednesday - Wash and condition, blow-dry and flat iron
Thursday - Flat Iron styling
Friday - Flat Iron styling
Saturday- Wash and condition, blow-dyr and flat iron Styling

Yes, you're reading correctly. I wash my hair 3x a week!! I know it sounds crazy but my hair is fine and very pourous and it holds on to everything. So needless to say, my hair would pretty much grow to chin length and completely stop. I got multiple complaints from my hair stylist about how hard I was on my hair and I for the life of me couldn't figure out what I was doing that was so harsh on my hair. I mean I couldn't be expected to do my hair without heat...could I???

So I started doing my research and sure enough, there were crazy women out there that styled their hair with absolutely no heat. I was in amazement!! Who does that?? Well people do it. And thus began my journey.

I'm still in the process of creating my new regimen and I'm at a complete loss I might add but I'm definitely up for the challenge. I'll keep you posted on the process (or lack thereof, lol) :-s.