Past SL? Picture Heavy-ish!

So, originally I thought I would be somewhere in between NL & SL (because from the age of 13 onwards my hair has never been longer than NL), however it dawned on me a few days ago that my hair could be longer than NL. I didn't realise this before (last Wednesday when I'd just relaxed my hair) because I've kept my hair in buns since my relaxer like so:

(ignore my lack of bunning skills :p)

So here's a pic of my hair this morning:

(this is the result of moisturising & sealing my hair in 8 sections (with herbal essences beautiful ends + coconut oil) and bagging my hair in 4 ponytails (with a shower cap & silk cap) last night & light combing with a wide-tooth comb this morning)

& this is a picture of me stretching out a small section of my hair:

So by the looks of it I am past shoulder length & maybe even CBL but before I get my hopes up, i'm going to straighten my hair (using Fantasia IC hair polish straightening serum & my BaByliss straighteners) and trim my ends on Friday/Saturday, in time for my parents New Years Day party. 

Apologies for not wishing you guys a Merry Christmas but I've been really busy! So Merry Belated Christmas! (if that makes sense) & I wish you all a Happy New Year in advance just in case I don't have time to post something before the 1st of Jan!

Ok, initially I planned to relax my hair on Monday but it seems as though my mum had other ideas! So after pestering her relentlessly she has decided to relax it tomorrow (i usually go to my personal hairdresser but my mum refuses to pay for me to get my hair done twice in a month so she's offered to relax my hair herself even though she hasn't done so in years).

So here is a picture of my hair after I took out my weave & after my 'attempt' at de tangling!
Take note: I haven't blow-dried my hair (this time) or dyed it (ever).

The relaxer I plan on using is Dark & Lovely Super No-Lye Relaxer. I've tried other relaxers in the past (including the regular Dark & Lovely Relaxer, Motion relaxer & ORS relaxer) but this is the only one that works for me atm. 

Look out for an update tomorrow with the result of my mum's first attempt at a relaxer in over 5 years!

My Hair Regimen For the Next 3 Weeks

It's now the Christmas Holidays and I just got back home yesterday. I plan on relaxing my hair on Monday and uploading a picture (hopefully my hair should be in-between NL & SL) so look out for that :)
I've been thinking of using braids as a protective style from January until the Easter Holidays because I find it easier to take care of my hair when its in braids (i.e. M&S, wash and oil my scalp) than when I have a weave.  Therefore my regimen for these next 3 weeks will be my way of strengthening my hair before I put it in braids.

Each week I will do the same thing & only change the way I will shampoo. My reason for co-washing in week 1 is because straight after my relaxer I always use a neutralising shampoo & so using a clarifying shampoo in the same week would strip my hair too much. However in week 3 I will use a clarifying shampoo as I intend on keeping my hair in braids for 6 weeks and so it would help me get rid of any build up over the next 3 weeks.

After washing my hair I plan on air drying (not sure how yet) so i'll post how that goes :)

P-P-P-Products

These products are a mixture of products that I have used in the past that work (the ORS & Organics products) and products I have read about on Hairlista and K.I.S.S (Herbal Essences products).

I will review each of the products individually in the future but I thought it might be useful to state my products now (so I don’t go crazy when shopping and buy the whole store as well as for others who might be interested).

So, I already have the ORS & Organics products as they were my staples before I knew what a HCJ was and today (before my lecture) I went to Superdrug & bought the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Cream for £1.75 (got 20p off with my NUS card – every penny counts!). I tried it today & OMG I’m completely in love, so much so I can’t see myself using the ORS lotion anytime soon. Unlike any of the hair products I’ve used before, this product is LIGHT but powerful, one pump added to my edges completely moisturised and detangled them upon application (look out for a review on this product hopefully before the New Year or not too long after). 

For my American readers & those who are familiar with HE LTR (Herbal Essences Long term Relationship), I read here that the two products are essentially the same (but I’ll confirm this and compare the ingredients in my review).

The only things I have to buy now are the oils, aloe vera juice and the herbal essences shampoo and conditioner (which are both £1 each at poundland!) and a heat protectant (not sure what it will be yet).

I have chosen these products as my staple products because 1) I have heard good things about them/they work for me 2) they’re affordable and 3) I’m trying to limit the different brands I use.

Hopefully these products work for me & continue to remain in my regimen but I will be trying new product every so often & comparing them with my staples.

So if you have any questions/suggestions please leave a comment below :)

My Main Goal & the mini goals that will help me achieve it.

My main goal is to achieve MBL hopefully by the end of uni (May 2014) *fingers crossed*, to maintain the thickness and to improve the overall health of my hair.

In order to achieve this i have set up some mini goals that i need to achieve:

1. stretching for longer than 6 weeks (yes i know SHOCKING) to every 3 months/holiday season (which means Christmas, Easter & Summer). 
2. Weaving protective styles (either weave or braids) for 8 out of 12 months.
3. Following my regimen to the tee! (this is a big one as until now i have never had a regimen and i'm not a fan of rules/boundaries - i like to go with the flow).
4. *Perfecting a regimen that I will stick to in the future - this included finding my staple products. 
5. *Finding a new salon/Hairdressers and not going back to my Aunt. 

I will probably add to this in the future, but for now that all i can think off. If anyone has any suggestions/would like to share their goals/mini goals with me then don't hesitate to do so :)

* = added officially on 12th March 2012 

Destination: MBL; Calling at: SL, APL, BSB and BSL

New Beginnings!

So this is my first post for this blog. Every since i was a child i grew up with the mentality (instilled by my mother) that as a black girl/woman my hair could never grow as long as someone from an Asian or Caucasian background. I was told to always apply grease to my hair thus blue magic& luster's pink lotion became my stables. I was given the impression that washing my hair would cause it all to break off and if i noticed any sign of regrowth then i would need to get another relaxer even if it had only been  4 weeks since my last one etc. However recently i came across black you-tubers who had was i yearned for; long, relaxed hair, at this point in time i was going through a lot of personal issues (mainly the death of two relatives just four months apart) and was unable to start my HCJ, however i did research into what a HCJ was an joined both Hairlista and K.I.S.S. 

Right now, i am currently in my first year of uni and a weave-junkie. Over the last 6 months i have worn weaves non-stop. Although i know that wearing my hair "out" would be easier as it would allow me more access to my hair, i don;t think i;m read for such as huge step therefore i will continue to wear weave/braids as a protective hairstyle. 

Ok .. enough with the rambling - my plan is to start my HCJ as soon as i get back to London, take out my weave, get a relaxer & trim/cut my hair. 

xoxo