Hair Talk: Length Checks and Updated Regimen

So for those who don't know, I've been natural now for about a year and a half. Some time in July 2013, I decided to stop texturising my hair and start gradually getting rid of the relaxed ends. My initial plan was to transition to natural for 18 months which would have meant I would only just be chopping off the final straight ends this month. However, somewhere along the line I gave up and after about a year of transitioning I picked up some scissors and hacked away at the last straight bits.

Anyways, that was all a long time ago now and I've been actively and inactively trying to grow my hair since then. I have a couple of progress pictures to show my growth. I guess it's also a good way for me to keep track of my hair journey, by sharing it with you guys on the blog occasionally. I'd never forget when I learnt that I was doing more harm than good to my hair in this post by adding tea rinses and just having too much protein, the advice in the form of a comment from a blog reader and I couldn't be more grateful!

Currently my regimen is pretty simple, I was every 7 to 10 days, and the reason for the range is because sometimes on a Sunday, my official wash day, I'm just too darn lazy to start the process and so I postpone till Wednesday at the very latest. Wash days consist of:

Hair Talk: Tresses by K Vera Cruz!

Hey my lovelies, please don't fret, I haven't disappeared again. Not yet. I sometimes find it so hard to blog during the week because after an exhausting 8 till 5 day and driving home in traffic the last thing I want to do is stare even more at a computer screen even though it's for the purpose of something I actually love doing.

One thing that I love doing is my hair though! So at some point I became borderline obsessed with my transitioning hair and every time I would twist it or try and style it, the thin texturised ends would drive me up the wall. So one day, out of sheer frustration as I twisted my hair I picked up the nail scissors laying harmlessly by my bathroom sink and started snipping at the ends of the twists. I was SICK and TIRED of them and something inside me must have snapped because afterwards I had a real "What have I done?!" horrified moment! I regretted it momentarily when I realised I had been a little too scissor happy on the front and cut it so short it could no longer pull back into a bun! 

Oh that was a fun fun fun day for me and it also marked the day I officially ended my transition. I wish I could find pictures but I have no idea what happened to them, I took off about 2 inches of annoying scraggly ends all around with my very sharp nail scissors. Since then I've been kind of taking it easy with my hair, not doing too much or worrying too much until I was fortunate enough to meet a tricologist (someone who studies the science of hair) by the name of Koyinsola Vera- Cruz. Koyin is starting a hair company called Tresses in Lagos hopefully by the end of the year and so I was very excited to have her come for a general consultation for my mum and I. At the end of it my mum walked away with a LOT of goodies for both me and her. She's starting a healthy hair journey too!

Carol's Daughter, Aubrey's Organics, Organix and even some Tresses branded essential and carrier oils! I was in hair heaven!

We talked about EVERYTHING! From moisturising to sealing to wash days to porosity, moisture- protein balances, you know, the whole shebang and I'd be sharing some info on some of the hot topics with you later. But it was very nice to be able to ask personal questions about my hair and get them answered immediately and Koyin is such a lovely person. I can't wait till she comes back with all her gear so she can assess my scalp and give a completely personalised regimen suggestion!

After she left I immediately went to straighten my hair so I could do a length check and see how far I had come. The answer? I'm STILL neck to shoulder length! Lol. 

I've pulled the shirt up in this picture so you can see where my hair ends a little better. I know the right side looks really straight and a lot longer but it's not. That's just the side I straightened first and I freaked out that the iron was too hot and my hair would never curl again! Lol. That's also why the rest of it is so frizzy!! Lol

 Look how ridiculously far away I am from the "1" mark! Lol. I drew a line in between the collar and "1' and called it "0.5" and that's my hair length goal for the rest of this year. It's a little far off but hopefully with best practice and perhaps an emergency inversion method I can make it! 

And this picture is really just here 'because' I guess it shows a nice front view of my hair too.

Silly faces with my twin cousin! Lol.

I would definitely be putting up more information on Tresses as soon as I get any. Oh and let me say Koyin is NOT natural so relaxed girls don't feel like there's nothing you can gain from this! If you're interested in long, healthy hair there's a lot to be gained. And even if you're not... Hey, no knowledge lost!

Hair Talk: Embracing the Afro Puff

Hey hey guys,

So it's been a couple of months since I did a hair post and that's mainly because after noticing the nasty "W" I had in my hair, I've more or less kept it wrapped up in braids and weaves since then.  If you didn't see the "W" then go to "Hair Talk: Going Natural" to find it. The sight of my hair was driving me up the wall and I really just wanted to chop it all off, in theory. So anyways, I thought I'd drop a little update about how things have been going since then.

Ever since I decided to go natural sometime last year, I've been less focused on the length of my hair and more focused on the health, especially since I've been trying to combat my problem areas. As a result, I've been trimming/cutting my hair A LOT more frequently. Let me just say, I used to be that girl that would trim literally once a year, if that. But in the last 6 months I've trimmed my hair twice already, which is a lot for me. It does however mean that my hair looks like it hasn't grown at all, am i destined to be stuck with 'almost' shoulder length hair for the rest of my life? I hope not.

No more W!

And very non-see-through!

My hair is doing A LOT better now though, just look at it! The "W" is more or less gone and the "see-throughness" is disappearing slowly but surely. I really think this has to do with my decision to go natural, honestly I do. And also the low manipulation of my protective styles meant there was no unnecessary playing with my hair every day. I just seem to be unable to resist trying out this style or that! If you look closely to my February picture, you'd notice that it does look a little scraggly in some places with some really long strands, the stylist really should have suggested a trim to get rid of those but  honestly, he seemed pretty incompetent on basic hair care. For instance, you've just taken out my braids and my hair has only been lightly finger detangles, what part of "You need to detangle my hair before you wash it." is so hard to understand? It was partly my fault for allowing him to go ahead with it and then he spent half an hour complaining about how my hair was tangled... I was so mad at him that I just wanted to be out of there fast, I didn't even assess my hair till I got home. I would definitely be trimming those ends soon.

So after my stint with hating my hair and wanting to hide it away, I started missing it because oddly enough, I do really like having my hair out. I feel more in control, lol. When I washed it I must say the natural roots now far outweigh the permed ends and I think I'm literally one or two more trims away from being fully natural. So much for my 18 month transition! Haha. It's been out all of about 4 days and I've been practising a few hairstyles already, a lot of them have turned out to be huge fails. Lol. But I did really like this flat twist headband, it was only my second attempt so there's definitely still room for improvement.

And also my "Bisi, daughter of the River" style, as my mum called it after she finished braiding it. Don't ask.

And of course, my afro puffs! Which was taken off of my snapchat. Lol

Can you tell I was feeling myself? Lol

I'm quite interested to see what the rest of this journey has in store for me. Who's with me?

Also if you have any blogs/ Youtube channels or whatever that you go to for style inspiration then please let me know in the comments section!

Reni xx

Let's Talk Hair: Inversion Method and Going Natural

Wow, I can't believe it's been like actual months since I did a hair related post. Like 3 and a half months at that.. That's crazy! Well a lot and a little has changed ever since my last hair post here's a quick run through.

1. Inversion Method

I'm trying out the inversion method! After seeing loads of my favourite hair bloggers try it out and get results, I decided to give it a shot! I started on the 18th of November and so should have results by the 25th, let's see if I get that promised 1 inch of growth! For those who don't know the inversion method involves massaging warm oil into your scalp and then slightly inverting your head every day for 7 days. No need for headstands here! Read more on it on Naija Hair Can Grow where blogger Dabs results  really inspired me to try it. Here are my starting length pictures, sorry they aren't the best, it was a real last minute decision to actually measure

Top Left: Bottom left, 8 inches. Top Right: Bottom right, 8 inches. Bottom Left: Front, 6-7 inches. Bottom Right: Side, 5 inches.

2. My Regimen has changed A LOT!

I realised that I was trying to do too much and copy all my favourite hair bloggers and incorporating what they ALL do, instead of finding out what's good for me and my hair and sticking with it. I was essentially missing the point of this whole hair journey, I'm glad I realised it before the year ran out though.

So here's my new regimen; I should say though that this has only been for this month of November mostly. August was filled with experimenting and my hair was in braids for most of September and all of October!

Wash days are on Thursdays, I:

Shampoo with Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo

Swapping to ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo at least once a month to clarify.

Deep condition with ORS Replenishing Conditioner

This is definitely my favourite deep conditioner, it's one of the few things that I'm absolutely certain that my hair loves!

Air dry

I use the t-shirt method to air-dry were I wrap my hair in a cotton t-shirt for at least half an hour to soak up the moisture.

Apply leave-ins and detangle

I'm still struggling with this, I was originally going to use the Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in which my friend brought me from America but I read the ingredients and it's packed with protein! I'm trying to tip my hair back in the moisture rich range after I had a massive fail with protein treatments. So right now I'm using Dark and Lovely, Corrective Leave-In Conditioning Therapy, which is alright so far I suppose, it's a bit early to tell.

Moisturise

After applying my leave in, I moisturise with Elasta QP Olive oil and Mango Butter Moisturiser and seal with sweet almond oil.

Co-wash on Mondays

I started co-washing with Tresseme Luxurious Moisture Conditioner to really kick my moisture levels up and help me moisturise my new growth I'm currently 19 weeks post with the intention of stretching till the end of the year, more on the "why" later.

And there you have it! My current regimen :)

3. Naturalista time!

So don't scream or anything, I'm not sure yet! It's not 100% but I have been seriously considering going natural. Part of the reason I'm not texturising till the end of the year is because I want to see what my natural texture is like and decide if I love my ziggly, coily tresses enough to full embrace it! I might big chop in the new year... Or maybe I'd decide to be a long term transitioner... Or maybe I'd just texturise! Lol. But no decisions are going to be made till 2014 that's for sure!

Well that's all for now on hair folks! As usual please drop comments, especially advice about my regimen! I found the last ones so very helpful! My biggest question right now is...

What's your favourite leave-in conditioner?

Reni x