Wash Day | Strawberry Protein Treatment

I can't believe that February is almost over. It will be summer before we know it! Anyway, today's wash day was very simple and straightforward.

Wash Day line-up

Pre-pooed with my spritz mix and The Antidote by Tangles and Beyond. I made sure my hair was wet before adding The Antidote. I worked the mixture into my hair paying special attention to the ends of my hair and removing any shed hairs or tangles along the way. Then, I put on a plastic cap and wore my Hot Heads Cap for about an hour. 

My hair was soft and fully moisturized after I rinsed out my pre-poo mixture. #winning. I plan on using this as my new pre-poo method for the foreseeable future.

Co-Washed with  Detangling Co-Wash by Mielle Organics
 Protein Treatment with Monthly Strawberry Protein Treatment from Tangles and Beyond. I promised I wouldn't buy any new products but when Ashley (the owner) announced this new product on Instagram, I knew I needed to try it. Today was my first time using it and my hair loved it. I left the treatment on for about 15-20 minutes and put on my Hot Heads Conditioning Cap.

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner  under my Hot Head cap for 40 minutes. Before rinsing out the deep conditioner, I used my handy Eternally in Amber Detangling Comb.

ACV Rinse- After I rinsed out the conditioner, I used a spray bottle filled with ACV and water. I massage the mixture into my scalp to remove any excess product buildup.

T-shirt dried my hair for about 20 minutes. I didn't have time to style my hair before pole class so I wore a puff.

After class I styled my hair using the LOC method. First, I applied my spritz mix (Aloe Vera Juice, Water, a few oils and White Peony Ultra Moisturizing Leave-in Conditioner). Then rubbed Mint Almond Oil on my scalp and strands. Next, I applied Jia's Caribbean DreamCream and  twisted my hair with Kera Care Twist and Define Cream. Instead of rocking mini twists, I'm wearing regular twists this week. I'm making another trip to the salon for another updo, so I didn't want to spend the time doing mini twists.

Right after I twisted my hair. You can still see the product in my hair

                 How was your #WashDayExperience? Feel free to comment below.

Wash Day | The Mini Twists Are Back

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since my last wash day post. This month has been busy so the blog has been a little neglected. But as we get closer to wrapping up filming for Grimm, I hope to get back to posting regularly. 

After rocking my protective style for two weeks, it was time to wash my hair and prep it for mini twists.

The protective style aftermath. 

Pre-Poo/ Hot Oil Treatment with The Antidote from Tangles and Beyond under my Hot Heads conditioning cap for about an hour or so. My hair needed the extra moisture boost and I love the way my hair feels after rinsing out The Antidote.

The Antidote- If you look closely, you can see some of the oils.

Co-Washed with  Detangling Co-Wash by Mielle Organics

Protein Treatment with GPB Balancing Protein Conditioner by Aubrey Organics for two minutes.

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner  under my Hot Head cap for 40 minutes. Before rinsing out the deep conditioner, I used my handy Eternally in Amber Detangling Comb.

Amount of hair lost during the pre-poo & detangling part of my wash day

At first I was a little freaked out with the amount of hair I lost. But then I remembered my hair was in a protective style for two weeks. I also didn't pre-wet my hair before doing my pre-poo session.  This was something I did in the past but have neglected in recent wash days. I plan on incorporating this change in my next full wash day.

As usual, I t-shirt dried my hair for about 15 minutes. Then I applied my Mint Almond Oil, my spritz mix (Aloe Vera Juice, Water and I added White Peony Ultra Moisturizing Leave-in Conditioner), Jia's Caribbean DreamCream and Kera Care Twist and Define Cream.  I twisted my hair in mini twists, which took about 2 1/2-3 hours.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics of my mini twists. I promise to take pics next time.



             How was your #WashDayExperience? Feel free to comment below.

Product Review: Mielle Organics Mint Almond Oil

Price: $13.99 for an 8oz bottle

Where I bought it: www.mielleorganics.com

Why I bought it: I loved the hair vitamins from Mielle Organics and wanted to try some of the other products. I also wanted to add more oils to my hair care regimen.

Product Description: "Our Mint Almond Oil is a favorite and it is our second step in promoting healthy hair and growth by working on the last two phases of the growth cycle by soothing and re-balancing the scalp by promoting circulation. Studies have showed that blood flow to the scalp plays an important role in hair growth. This natural oil promotes circulation with our peppermint oil. This almond oil is a protein( in which our hair is made up of protein) so this oil binds to the hair sealing it and locking in moisture preventing breakage and shedding. This is a lightweight natural oil"- description from the website

Directions: To add protection and sheen apply a small amount into palm of hands, massage directly onto scalp. Hair can be wet or dry.

Ingredients: 

Glycine soja (soybean) oil, prinus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, mentha piperita (peppermint oil)

Peppermint oil is a popular oil used for natural hair. The oil comes from the peppermint plant (a cross between water mint and spearmint), a plant that grows in Europe and North America. Although it is used to flavor foods or as a scent for body products, it can also be used on hair.  It can help promote a healthy scalp, hair growth and also prevents hair loss.  This is a great oil to use as a moisturizer and you can mix it with other natural oils.

Sweet Almond Oil  is another great oil used for hair. This oil comes from the almond, native to the Middle East and South Asia. The oil adds sheen and moisture to hair. Like peppermint oil, almond oil can also stimulate hair growth when massaged into the scalp. Sweet almond oil contains vitamins A, B, and E along with omega 6, omega 9, omega 3 fatty acids that help keep hair healthy and strong. It also fights split ends by holding moisture in the hair for longer periods of time. 

How I use it:  I use this as the oil in my LOC method on wash day. I also use it during the week to add moisture to my twists.

What I love about it: Absolutely everything! The smell is amazing and I love how soft my hair feels after using it. Oh and my scalp loves it too. So it's a win-win for me :).

What I don't like:  I don't have any complaints.

Final thoughts: I started using this oil back in late October/November and I've definitely seen some improvement in my hair health. If you're looking for a lightweight moisturizing oil that's promotes healthy hair, you should definitely give this a try.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  Any reviews or opinions expressed about items in this post are my own personal views. I purchased all items with my own funds and have not received any compensation for writing my opinion. I have no connection to the products or brands mentioned in this post.

Wash Day | New Protective Style

Hello loves!

As promised I will reveal the new hairstyle that I plan on rocking for the next two weeks. But before I do that, here is how I wore my hair before tucking it away for a bit. As you may remember, semi-mini twists have been my go-to low manipulation style for the past month. It has been a great way to keep my hair protected and also lessens the amount of time I spend styling my hair. After my last wash day, I wore my hair in the twists from Sunday- Thursday and wore a twist out on Friday.

Work selfie on Friday night.

Playing with the my curls Saturday morning

As much as I love my curls and doing my hair, I wanted a little break. So I visited Cher'e at Studio Six Nine Hair Design. It was nice to have someone other than myself style and wash my hair. And per usual, Cher're came up with a cute protective hairstyle that will last me the next two weeks. I plan on moisturizing my hair while wearing this protective style. So, without further adeu, here is my new protective style:

What do you think of the new hairstyle? Have you tried any new hairstyles recently? Don't forget to join the link-up!

Wash Day | Upping My Pre-Poo Game

Hello loves! It's been a little over two weeks since my last post. Since going back to work after hiatus, I've been trying to adjust to my crazy work schedule again. I've still been rocking my semi-mini twists, I even rocked the twists on my birthday, and keeping my regimen the same.

Here I am on my birthday on 1/13/16

On my recent wash day this past Sunday, I decided to add something to my pre-poo step. Here is a recap of my wash day:

Pre-Poo/ Hot Oil Treatment: I bought The Antidote from Tangles and Beyond in the Spring but only used it once or twice. Both times I used it as a deep conditioner but I wanted to see how it would work as a pre-poo. I applied to my hair and scalp first and then added EVCO (after I microwaved it for about 3o seconds) to my scalp/hair . I worked both products into my hair for a couple of minutes and put on my Hot Heads Conditioning Cap for an hour. 

This is definitely a winning combo! My hair felt so soft and moisturized after this step.

Co-Washed with Detangling Co-Wash by Mielle Organics in my usual four sections.

Protein Treatment with GPB Balancing Protein Conditioner by Aubrey Organics for two minutes.

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner  under my Hot Head cap for 30 minutes.

Detangled with my Eternally in Amber Detangling Comb

Then I realized I was going to be late for my pole class, so I put my hair in four mini puffs and raced out the door.

           

        

ACV rinse: I rinsed my hair with the rinse twice on this particular wash day.

Leave-ins + Oils  With my hair still in four sections, I applied Mint Almond Oil to my scalp and then did my usual LOC Method- Aloe Vera with Water, Mint Almond Oil, Jia's Caribbean DreamCream followed by the Kera Care Twist and Define Cream to twist my hair in my semi-mini twists.  

I'll only be wearing my semi mini twists until today.  I'll be doing something a little different with my hair for the next two weeks. 

Stay tuned......

Wash Day | First Full Wash Day of 2016

Happy Monday!

Technically this is my first full wash day of the new year even though I did a co-wash last week with my mini twists. The mini twists are a great protective/low maintenance style that allows me to take a mini break from my hair. Keeping the mini twists in for two weeks seems to really work for my hair.

My hair after I took out the mini twists

Here is a recap of Saturday's wash day:

Pre-Poo/ Hot Oil Treatment: I microwaved my EVCO  for about 3o seconds and then apply it very generously to my hair and scalp. I used this time to give myself a mini scalp massage.  After my mini massage, I put my hair in four ponytails using Goody Ouchless hair ties and wore my Hot Heads cap for an hour. 

Co-Washed with Detangling Co-Wash by Mielle Organics in four sections. 

Protein Treatment--I just realized as I'm typing this post that I didn't do a protein treatment! That's never happened to me but I will make sure to get one in next time.

Deep Conditioned with Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner  under my Hot Head cap for 30 minutes.

Detangled-  As usual I went with my trusted Eternally in Amber Detangling Comb. For the past two or three wash days I do this particular step in the shower.

The amount of hair I shed during the pre-poo and detangling session.

T-shirt dried for about 10-15 minutes. 

Leave-ins + Oils and Styling My hair- Since the LOC method has done wonders for my hair, I've kept that aspect of my wash day the same. My go-to product are: Mint Almond Oil, my spritz mix (Aloe Vera Juice, Water and I added White Peony Ultra Moisturizing Leave-in Conditioner), Jia's Caribbean DreamCream and Kera Care Twist and Define Cream. 

As you may remember I installed mini twists in my hair on my last full wash day. Because I loved my mini twists so much, I decided to do them again. The plan is to wear them for two weeks (like before) and then take them out. I still plan on doing a co-wash in between with the mini twists in my hair. 

So far I've been wearing my mini twists in a ponytail  with some bangs. I got a number of compliments on the style today, which is always nice.

How I wore my hair today for work

View of the back

Side view

                      

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

Hair Goals for 2016

Happy New Year!!

2015 taught me a lot about my natural hair. I learned a lot about my regimen, products that work for my hair and experienced a lot of growth. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more this year. With that being said, here are my hair goals for 2016:

1. Curb my product junkie tendencies. With the amount of growth I experienced in 2015, I found myself experimenting with products. So, my goal is to limit myself to trying 1 or 2 new products this year (if any at all).

2. Stick to a regimen for at least 4-6 months. I feel like I’ve finally hit a groove with my hair the last few months and I think it’s because of consistency + products I am using. So, unless my products suddenly stops working (which is doubtful), I want to keep my regimen the same until at least June.

3. Say no to heat- as much as possible- I’ve done a good job of keeping my hair heat free since I big chopped in April of 2014. I did get a light blowout in August for my trim but I would like to stay heat free as much as possible this year.

4. Try a few new hairstyles. I usually find a hairstyle that I like and stick with it. In the new year, I hope to try at least 3 new hairstyles.

5. Get my hair trimmed, as needed. I got my first trim back in August since my big chop. I won’t set a time limit on when I need a trim but I will be paying attention to my ends. I will definitely get one maybe two trims in 2016. In between trims, I will also do a search and destroy method.

6. Retain as much length as possible. While healthy hair is my main goal, I also have a length goal as well. This year I will be working towards healthy hair and hopefully retaining length along the way. I will continue to evaluate my regimen and hair style choices throughout the year and adjust if needed. I also realize that obsessing about length is unhealthy, so I will only do one or two length checks this year.

What are your hair goals for 2016? I would love them! Please share your goals in the comments below.