Wash Day Recap | Mini Hair Update

Man, I've really been slacking on the blog as of late. That's what happens when you're juggling work, writing and spending time with the hubby. Luckily I've still be taking care of my hair through all of it. My wash days have pretty much stayed the same with just a few minor updates. I'm still co-washing and deep conditioning my hair once a week. Since I want to retain length, I mainly wear low manipulation styles like twists or two strand twist halo braid (not sure if that's the proper name).
Here are a few pictures of my hair over the past month and half

This twist out from 10/29/16 was everything!

Smiling because I love my twist out.

My other go-to protective style from 11/6/16

Another view form 11/6/16

Rocking a twist out for Thanksgiving 2016

I've also been experimenting with products as well. Currently I'm using True by Made Beautiful. But since I scored some good deals on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, you will probably see a change in my wash day products :). I didn't go too crazy but I'm excited with my purchases which I'll share soon.

I'm not trying the whole line, just their co-wash, hair masque and leave-in conditioner

Now that my mini hair update is out of the way, here is a recap of Sunday's wash day.

Pre-pooed  I'm still loving my current pre-poo routine which consists of applying water, EVCO and  The Antidote to  sections. Then I detangle my hair using my wide tooth comb from Eternally in Amber. Once the section is detangled, I put the section into twists. 

Shampooed  with Mielle  Organic's Babassu Conditioning Shampoo with my hair in twists.

Protein Treatment- Used Aubrey Organics and let it sit in my hair for about 2 minutes before washing it out.

Deep Conditioned with True Intense Treatment Masque- I applied the masque to my hair (still in twists) and left it on for about 20 minutes under a plastic cap.

ACV Rinse - I did a final rinse on my hair (acv mixed with water).

Styled my hair- As I mention before I've been keep my hair in low manipulation styles. This week I opted for my two strand halo braids. I plan on moisturizing my hair every other day and keep this style until my wash day on Sunday.

                                                   

                                                 How was your recent wash day?

Wash Day Recap | Last Wash Day of September

This post is a little late (by a couple of weeks) but I still wanted to share my last wash day of September. As part of my new regimen/routine going forward, I plan on co-washing my hair three weeks in a row and shampooing on the 4th week. So my first shampoo day happened to fall on my last wash day of September. Here's how my wash day went:


Pre-pooed by spraying my hair with a mixture of aloe vera juice and water. Then I applied EVCO to my strands, focusing on the ends. Lastly, I applied The Antidote and used my fingers to detangle. I then detangled with a wide tooth comb before putting my hair into two strand twists.

Shampooed with Mielle Organic's Babassu Shampoo (with my hair still in twists). I really worked the shampoo in and gently used my Shampoo brush I purchased from Vanity Planet. I made sure to use a downward motion to avoid getting tangles and knots (thanks for the tip NappyFu!)

Protein Treatment- I used my usual treatment, Aubrey Organics and let it sit in my hair for about 2 minutes before rinsing it out.

Deep Conditioned with Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Hair Masque Treatment. Instead of simply using a plastic cap, I decided to use my Q-Redew for the first time! Yes, I know I bought it on a Black Friday, which means I should have used it by now but...I didn't. Anyway, I used applied my hand-held steamer to each twists keeping some distance so I wouldn't burn myself. I learned this lesson early on when I put it a little close to my edges when I started. Luckily I didn't really burn myself and I'll never make that mistake again. After I finished with the steamer, I put a plastic cap on my hair and waited another 15 minutes before rinising out the masque.

ACV Rinse- Before wrapping up my wash day, I did my apple cider vinegar rinse. I like to dilute the acv with water so it's not too potent and then I either spray or pour the solution

Styling my hair- Once I'm finished with the ACV rinse, I let my hair dry using a t-shirt for about 10-15 minutes. Then I do a quick survey of my twists to see which ones need to be re-twisted. Since I used up the last of my Kera Care Twist and Define cream, I picked up Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Curl Defining Cream to twist my hair. After that I applied a little of my water + Aloe Vera Juice mixture, Tamanu Oil and Jia's Carribean Dream Creme to my hair and ends.

                                                                                                                              

Wash Day | New Detangling Methods

I wrapped up a great Labor Day weekend with the hubby with wash day. After my visit to Be Kekoa last week, I realized that I needed to focus more on my detangling techniques, if I want to keep retaining length. Sure my hair was in need of a trim but single strand knots have been an off an on issue for me. I'm making it my mission to incorporate better practices and having healthy natural hair. Now let's get into Monday's wash day.

Pre-pooed- I recently started following Naturally High's YouTube channel and it's great. I'm trying to follow more women with my hair type (4C). Anyway, she posted this video awhile back and I decided to give it a try. I applied EVCO and then used my fingers to detangle. The oil really helped work out the knots and tangles. Once I detangled a section, I worked in The Antidote to give my hair extra moisture. After I finished with each section, I twisted my hair to keep it from getting tangled. All in all it took me two episodes of The Office (an hour) to do my whole head.

Here's another updated video about detangling from Naturally High below

 

Co-washed with Eden BodyWorks All Natural Coconut Shea CoWash- I decided to wash my hair in twists. I don't know how these vloggers keep their twists in while co-washing. By the time I was done, about have of my twists were undone. Oh, well maybe it'll get better with practice.

I didn't do a protein treatment this week. My detangling process took longer than I thought, so there wasn't any time.

Deep Conditioned with Tangles & Beyond's Deep Moisture Conditioner. I applied the conditioner in sections and then twisted the section. Since we don't have a microwave in the our new place, I couldn't use my Hot Head thermal cap. Instead I put on a plastic cap and left the conditioner in for 30 minutes before rinsing it out.

T-shirt dried my hair for 10-15 minutes. 

Styled my hair- I knew that I wanted to wear my hair in twists, but I wanted to wear it a little differently. So I opted for a hairstyle from Naturally High's channel using two strand twists.

It only took me about an hour or so to do all of my two strand twists. After I finished I put on my bonnet and went to bed. The next morning put all of my two strand twists into two big plaits and pinned them to get a crown braid look.  

Looks like I lost a bobby pin here in the back during the day

This will probably be my style for the week. I plan on undoing the plaits on Thursday to moisturize the twists and then re-do the crown braid.

How was your wash day? Are you trying out any new hairstyles or techniques?

Wash Day Update: My First Curly Cut at Be Kekoa Salon

I finally got my hair trimmed! I mean it's only been a year since the last one (hanging head in disgrace). My last trim was done on textured lightly blown dried hair. Now I know some naturalistas love using direct heat but as for me, I prefer sticking to that #noheat life. So a few months ago I started asking other naturalistas for recommendations on salons that did curly cuts. Although I received many great suggestions, I was ultimately intrigued by Christina (of Mane Objective's ) recommendation to visit Be Kekoa Salon in Temecula. At the time I was still living in Portland and wasn't sure when I could make the trek to Cali.

Fast forward about three months later when I booked my appointment with Brandie at Be Kekoa. Life happened and presented me with an opportunity to be closer to the salon sooner than I expected (more on that in another post). Anyway, I patiently waited the four weeks until my appointment keeping my hair tucked and protected. Yesterday the hubby and I drove from Sherman Oaks to Temecula. And like all of my trips to new salons, I was nervous. I swear all black women, myself included have had horrible experiences with scissor happy stylists. But, from what I saw from the Mane Objective's Instagram feed and other reviews of the salon, I was confident about my decision.

As soon as I walked into the salon, I knew I was in the right place. Brandie and her assistant Audra were so welcoming and lovely. Before the cut, I had a consultation with Brandie. She asked me about my hair care regimen and any concerns/questions I had. Unfortunately single strand knots and matting have been my worst enemy as of late but Brandie assured me that it would be okay.  In addition to a much needed trim, I also asked for a little shaping for the fro.

A peek inside Be Kekoa Salon

Brandie got to work examining my strands and began cutting curl by curl. I've seen YouTube videos of the curly cut technique but it was amazing seeing it up close. Brandie's care and expertise is absolutely amazing. As she worked I asked her questions about my current regimen and how to reduce the occurrence of pesky single strand knots.

Once she finished with the cut, Audra got to work cleansing my hair and scalp. I wish I could have Audra wash my hair all the time! She was gentle and very thorough.  And I realized that I have not been giving my scalp the attention it  needs during my cleansing session.  Going forward I will be giving my scalp more attention and incorporating scalp massages during the cleansing stage. After Audra finished cleansing my hair it was time for my steam hydration treatment. I got the Monoi Orangesicle Protein Smoothie, which was amazing. But the best part of the treatment was the steamer. This was my first experience with a steamer, I know I'm late to the game. I swear this steamer gave my hair life! My hair felt amazing after the treatment and I need to start using the Q-redew I bought on Black Friday. 

I decided to go with two strand twists for my style. So Brandie and Audra twisted my hair while chatting with me and the hubby. Once my twists were done, I sat under the dryer briefly so my hair could soak up the product. Before leaving I made sure to grab buy some Tamanu Oil. I wanted to buy some of the Be Clean Cleansing Conditioner but they were out of the 8fl oz bottle. I know I said I wasn't going to add new products but I will be trying out the Be Kekoa line soon.

I had such an awesome experience and I can't wait to go back! I'm planning on going back in about 3 months to maintain healthy ends.

My before pic

Showing off my curly cut and style

I absolutely loved my experience at Be Kekoa and I will definitely be back! 

Wash Day | Hiding My Ends

Wash Day Aresnal

Pre-pooed with my Aloe Vera Juice mix and The Chocolate Antidote + The Antidote (the original--I
m near the end so I was trying to use up as much as I could) by Tangles and Beyond for 30 minutes under my Hot Heads cap. I applied a generous amount of the pre-poo on my ends.

Co-washed with Eden BodyWorks All Natural Coconut Shea CoWash I know I promised to stick with the same products for a year but I ran out of my Mielle Organics Co-wash the day before wash day. And while Mielle Organics is many Sally's locations, it has not made it to Oregon. So instead of pushing back my wash day until my co-wash arrived, I decided to try the Eden BodyWorks co-wash instead. I've seen a few YouTubers singing its praises and wanted to give a try.  After one use I can see why people like it. It clean my scalp and hair while keeping it moisturized. I'll definitely keep this one in my rotation.

I also used this time to detangle with my wide tooth comb. I wanted to see if detangling my hair during this process would make a difference. 

From all the detangling I did on wash day

Protein Treatment using Tangles and Beyond's Monthly Strawberry Protein Treatment.  I like to add heat to my protein session for about 20 minutes before washing it out.

Deep Conditioned with Tangles and Beyond's Deep Moisture Conditioner - In addition to being out of my co-wash, I was also out of my Mielle Organics deep conditioner. Luckily, I always keep my 2nd favorite conditioner on hand. And as usual, I put on my Hot Heads Cap for about 30 minutes before washing out the deep conditioner.

Rinsed out the conditioner and dried my hair with an old t-shirt (for about 15 minutes). Once I felt like my hair was not too damp, I put my hair in braids to stretch it out a little.

Styling: The next morning I applied my spritz bottle (filled with lots of goodies for my hair), Mint Almond Oil, Jia's Leave-in Conditioner and my Kera Care Twist and Define Cream. At first I thought about wearing my hair in two braids, but decided to rock an updo instead. So, naturally I went to BlakIzBeautiful's channel on YouTube and picked a style I did in the past.

Excuse the white residue from my products in my hair

All in all, it was a pretty good wash day. I know that my hair is in dire need of a trim. My ends look terrible and I'm experiencing some breakage. But I've already scheduled my trim and I now I'm just counting down the days :).

                         How was your wash day? Don't forget to join the link-up!

Wash Day | Reviving My Hair

Last week's wash day was off to a great start but ended with my hair being a complete mess. I'm not sure if it was the shampoo brush or the fact that I was out of my Mint Almond Oil and my White Peony Leave-In Conditioner. I also brushed my hair before it was completely dry and wore it in a bun. By day 3 of my hairstyle, my hair was a tangled mess. It felt dry and fried. But I worked a commercial last week and didn't have time to wash my hair until yesterday. I was determined to revive my hair to its natural state.

My wash day arsenal- not pictured my ACV and other oils used.

Pre-pooed- I brought out the big guns for this wash day.  In addition to The Chocolate Antidote and my water bottle mix (filled with water, Aloe Vera Juice), I used EVCO. I applied the EVCO to my ends and my hair first and then spritzed my hair with my water bottle mix. Next, I applied The Chocolate Antidote to my ends and the rest of my hair. I gently ran my fingers through my hair getting rid of any tangles or knots that I could. Then I sat under my Hot Heads Cap for an hour to really loosen up the knots and restore moisture to my dry strands.

Co-washed with Mielle Organics Detangling Conditioner- After rinsing off my pre-poo, I washed my hair in four sections.  When I was done, I loosely twisted my hair in four jumbo twists before continuing with my wash day.

Protein Treatment- This week I decided to skip a protein treatment. Since the clumpy hair could be a result of protein overload, I gave my hair a break this week. I will bring it back next week depending on what my hair feels like.

Deep Conditioned with Deep Moisture Conditioner by Tangles and Beyond-  As much as I love my Mielle Organic's deep conditioner, I took a break from it this week. Plus, I need to use up the rest of this particular bottle and it is my 2nd favorite deep conditioner.  I also added Jojoba Oil to my ends and strands, to give my hair an extra boost of moisture. I added heat for about 30 minutes with my Hot Heads cap. 

After 30 minutes I used my handy dandy detangling comb from Eternally In Amber to gently detangle my hair. I was scared that I was going to loose a lot of hair. Luckily, it was too bad but there was decent size ball when I finished.

ACV Rinse-- I sprayed my ACV/water mix into my hair and massaged it into my scalp for a few minutes before rinsing it out.

T-shirt dried my hair for about 5-10 minutes.  And then put my hair into big chunky braids and went for a walk with my dogs. 

A few hours later I did the LOC method using my water bottle (mixed with water, aloe vera juice, vegetable glycerin, white peony leave-in conditioner, Jojoba Oil and Almond Oil), Mint Almond Oil, Jia's DreamCreme along with my Kera Care Twist and Define Cream. Before settling on a hairstyle I searched my old hairstyles for something that would protect my ends. I decided to go with a Big Two Strand Twist Pin Up from BlakIzBeautiful. I first rocked this style back in February 2015.

      

It's too early to tell, but so far my hair feels like it's back to normal. I'll be sure to update sometime this week,

                 How was your #WashDayExperience? Be sure to join the link-up!

                  ~Peace, Love and Healthy Hair!

   

Wash Day | Shampoo Brush: Yay or Nay?

Last Friday, I started my normal wash day routine and was a little shocked/disappointed with the results.   

     Here is a recap of my wash day:

Pre-pooed with my Aloe Vera Juice mix and The Chocolate Antidote by Tangles and Beyond for 30 minutes under my Hot Heads cap. I applied a generous amount of the pre-poo on my ends.

Co-washed with Mielle Organics Detangling Conditioner- For this particular wash day I added my new Vanity Planet Shampoo Brush, which I scored for 50% of the original price. If you're interested in the discount, check out the video below. I've seen quite a few bloggers using this brush in their videos and wanted to try it for myself.

            

My initial impressions: the brush is perfect for a great scalp massage and I felt like my scalp was cleaner. I'm going to use it for the next month or so and then post a review.

                                  


                                  


Protein Treatment- Used my favorite weekly protein conditioner, Aubrey GPB conditioner for two minutes. 

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner for 30 minutes with my Hot Heads cap.  I opted for detangling with my Eternally In Amber wide-tooth comb before rinsing out my hair.

ACV Rinse-- I did my usual acv diluted with water rinse. As always, I massaged it into my hair for about 5 minutes and then rinsed it out.

T-shirt dried my hair for about 15 minutes.  And then put my hair in braids to dry my hair. I didn't let my hair fully dry before brushing it with my Denman Brush and putting it up in my new go-to hairstyle.

At first my hair looked great but then a day or two in, I noticed my hair was clumped together more so at the ends of my hair. Then I noticed that I had more tangles at then ends of my hair than usual. Unfortunately,  I had a pretty busy work week so I couldn't wash my hair and start over again.  I'm trying to figure out if I'm experiencing protein overload. So this week I'm going to switch things up a bit. Wish me luck and cross your fingers that I don't experience too much breakage trying to fix my hair.

                        How was your #WashDayExperience? Don't forget to join the link-up!


                                           

Wash Day | New Summer Updo

My original plan was to rock my semi mini twists for two weeks before my next full wash day. But, my twists were looking rough just one week later. So I opted for a full wash day on Friday before my LA trip.

The hairstyle I rocked for a week

I'm still trying to rack my brain to figure out where I went wrong. My hair looked dull and just a hot mess. Was it the Carol's Daughter shampoo? After all, I couldn't remember exactly how long I had that particular bottle. It wasn't something I used often, so maybe it had expired. Either way, my hair needed some TLC.

Pre-pooed with my Aloe Vera Juice mix and The Chocolate Antidote by Tangles and Beyond for 30 minutes (using my Hot Heads Conditioning Cap)

Co-washed with Mielle Organics Detangling Conditioner- I can't say enough great things about this conditioner. After the way my hair felt last week, I was glad to come back to this co-wash.

Protein Treatment- Used my favorite weekly protein conditioner, Aubrey GPB conditioner for two minutes. My main focus is on the ends of my hair, but I work into the rest of my hair as well.

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner for 30 minutes with my Hot Heads cap. Before rinsing it out, I used my fingers to detangle my hair.  I have a lot of shedding going on and I know that my hair needs a trim. It's been almost a year, not something I purposely did but I need to take care of that soon.

ACV Rinse-- I did my usual acv diluted with water rinse. As always, I massaged it into my hair for about 5 minutes and then rinsed it out.

T-shirt dried my hair for about 15 minutes. 

The hubby and I were doing a double date night with some friends, so I put my hair in braids pinning them up. The next morning I started looking for an easy hairdo to rock for my trip to L.A. Naturally, I went to BlakIzBeautiful's YouTube channel.  Jenell is my go-to for cute and easy styles. I would say 98% of my hairstyles come from her videos. 

With summer just around the corner, I'm looking for easy styles that don't damage my hair. And of course, Jenell's tutorial was just what I needed.

       


This hairstyle was so easy and only took me about 5-8 minutes to do. I squeezed this quick hairdo right before heading to the airport. I didn't take before pics but I wore the style from last Saturday and I'm still rocking it today. My plan is to wash my hair tomorrow and redo the style for next week. To keep my hairstyle in tact, I wore a scarf to bed. I applied Mielle Organics Mint Almond Oil and Jia's DreamCreme during the week.

Rocking my hairstyle on day 5

Another view-I swear my gray hairs are showing out here.

How was your #WashDayExperience? Be sure to join the link-up below!

Wash Day | Time To Shampoo

I vowed to post before today but my work schedule is still crazy. On a different show starting early and ending late = a tired Jackie with no time for blogging. But I finally had time to wash my hair on Wednesday, on my day off, two weeks after my last wash day! That is the longest I've gone without washing my hair since I became natural.

 I rocked a braid and tuck for about a week and then went back to my semi mini twists, which I love. Not only does it give me a break from my hair but it gives me the best twist out definition ever.

Pre-pooed with my Aloe Vera Juice mix and The Chocolate Antidote by Tangles and Beyond under my Hot Heads Cap for about 35 minutes. My hair is always soft and moisturized after I wash it out.

Shampooed: For Wednesday's wash day I started using my Mielle Organics Co-Wash and then remembered I wanted to shampoo my hair. I honestly can't remember the last time I washed my hair shampoo, which probably means it's long overdue. I grabbed Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Shampoo and got to work cleansing my hair. A little dab of this in your hand goes a long way and gives you some serious lather.

It's been awhile since I used Carol's Daughter products but I swear my hair isn't a fan. Maybe it's always been that way and I'm just noticing. Either way, this will be the last time I use this shampoo. My hair felt the way it did after I used the Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner a couple of weeks ago.  I will probably try Mielle Organic's Shampoo since I already love their products.

Protein Treatment- I finally found my favorite protein conditioner!!! I've been searching for this product for a few weeks and after calling around, I found it at a Vitamin Shoppe affiliated store about 25 minutes away. I was so excited that I bought the last two on the shelves without reading the labels.

Once I got in the car I noticed the labels were slightly different. I did a quick scan and the ingredients seemed to be about the same. I'm not sure what changed in the formula but I decided to keep both bottles. 

For this wash day I went with the Nutrient Blast formula, focusing on the ends of my hair and left it on for about two minutes. I washed it out and my hair didn't feel any different. I'm going to do some more research on the labels to see if I can find out more.

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner .  I can't express how much I love this deep conditioner. My strands feel amazing after using this product. I added heat (using my hot heads cap) for about 30 minutes. Then I used my fingers to detangle my hair before rinsing out the conditioner.

ACV Rinse-- I massaged my ACV/water mixture into my hair for a couple of minutes and then rinsed it out using cool water.

T-shirt dried my hair for about 15 minutes and then braided my hair in big chunky twists.

After a fun session at the bouldering gym + dinner with the hubby (about two hours later), my hair was almost dry. I applied my spritz mix,  Mint Almond , Jia's Carribean DreamCreme and  the Kera Care Twist and Define Cream. I opted for my semi mini twists again, which took about 2-2 1/2 hours to do. 

How I'm currently rocking my mini twists

The plan is to keep the twists in for two weeks but I plan to co-wash in between. Oh and I also need to get another trim sometime in the near future.

             How was your wash day? Share your #washday experience in the linkup.