Relaxer Update #1 - long & picture heavy

Ok, I just came back from the new salon that I am trying out (my appointment was at 11am & I finished around 2:30ish). The salon service was GREAT (I guess the saying is true, you get what you pay for) - the hairdressers were friendly, I was offered complementary tea, she gave recommendations, she asked me if i wanted grease or normal cream & the results were okish to great so I would give them a rating of:

The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is because the corrective relaxer didn't go so well!As she was detangling my hair she mentioned that the middle of my hair was underprocessed and so she stated that she would smooth the relaxer down towards the underprocessed section ... which she did. However either my hair being stubborn didn't like the idea or she didn't leave it on for long enough as the middle of my hair is still a tad underprocessed (but guess its not really their fault). The only solutionis to get another corrective relaxer the next time :(

Note to self: NEVER let my mum relax my hair ever again!!! 

Not only was this my first time a the new salon (called Angels) but it was my first time getting my hair relaxed with affirm and let me tell you I may NEVER EVER go back to dark and lovely. I thought dark & lovely was the ish in the past as it was the only relaxer that worked on my hair however after trying affrim, I have found a NEW LOVE *humming to Rhianna's We Found Love*. 

Below I have added pictures :) as with the other pictures in my blog: The Orange line represents SL, the Green Line CBL & the Blue Line APL 

Here's what it looks like from the back:

In this picture my ends were tucked in a bit so I think I might be able to claim GRAZING APL *happy dance*

The low ponytail is shorter than expected but not so bad. 

& Here's what it like from the front (way shorter):

Big difference - looks like its nowhere near APL. 

& here are my roots:

My ends are a bit straggly/stringy (can't think of a word) & I was advised to pay for a trim (she stated that she only wanted to cut 1/2 inch off) but me being the frugal person I am, put it off until my next relaxer.

I'm going back to university on the 16th so I'll probably get a weave some time before then, but i'll keep you all posted on how I manage my hair when its out between now & then.

Quick note: My wash days are usually: Wednesdays (Co-wash with HE HH) & Sundays (wash with KeraCare Hydrating De-tangling), but because i'm loving my hair the way it is I won't wash until next Friday!

Look out for reviews on the HE HH & Keracare Hydrating De-tangling Shampoo which I've just bought!

My hair yesterday vs my hair today - Oh relaxers how I love thee!

NB: Last Relaxer: 21st December 2011/ January 2012 (horse shoe section)

Relaxer tomorrow :)

Sorry i've been gone for a while, I've been extremely busy! Tomorrow I will be getting a relaxer at a new salon (as mentioned in my previous post) & it will be an affirm relaxer. In the past I've mainly used Dark & Lovely but I'm looking to try Affirm as I have heard many good reviews on the relaxer.

To remove my braids I sprayed a mix of cantu-shea butter, water & random oils on my hair before gently un-braiding. The spray considerably reduced breakage as it meant that the braids literally slid off - although it did take me 8 hours to remove all my braids with various breaks in between.

Pictures below:

My hair 5 1/2 weeks ago

My hair after I removed my braids

Finding a new hairdresser + side note!

On my I've been naught post I had a major panic attack about how I would have to get a retouch after stretching for merely 3 weeks and ranted about my hair journey going down the drain. The next day I went to my aunt (who has been doing my hair at a reduced price for 5 years now) and even though I asked for and clearly described a retouch on just the regrowth she proceeded to ignore me and apply the relaxer to the ends. Now as she was my aunt (and she was handling my hair) I was unable get angry and repeatedly scream profanity & abusive words at her (Lol only joking the most I would've done would be to tell them again angrily); but I did write a blog post then and there whilst she was relaxing my hair from root to tip ranting about how I would never come back to her ... but I didn't post it, in fact I deleted it.

Why? Because actually posting it on my blog would mean i'd  have to follow through with it and pay considerably more. After doing a lot of searching, I found a college nearby which offers hair services such as relaxing etc.

Update (27/03/12): The college that I was looking into told me that they're student weren't ready to do relaxers (can't argue with that) and so I've given up the idea of cheap relaxers & booked an appointment at a nearby Hair Salon for £45.


SIDE NOTE: On my Past SL post I stated that my hair had just been relaxed my mum but I for got to mention that some areas where underprocessed/texlaxed and therefore I will be needing a corrective relaxer next. I have never had one before and I've heard a few horror stories about it but hopefully all goes well!

Wrapping Hair - not such a good idea after all!

So to get over the fact that I miss my hair I have been watching tons of youtube videos & exciting myself at the prospect of having healthy hair. 

I was going through one of the many hair care videos on youtube and I came across a lady who felt that wrapping her like so:

caused her ends to thin out on a particular side. Since the beginning of my HCJ (3 months ago) I've heard many people swear by wrapping their hair every night. Even before my HCJ, my cousin has tried to convince me to wrap my hair regularly as according to her it would:

• keep my hair smooth & straight 
• prevent tangles 
• keep my hair moisturised 
• make styling quicker etc

Now although the reasons above were very attractive I was way too lazy to spend 10 min + wrapping my hair before bed so ignored her & others, however when I started my HCJ I considered starting to wrap my hair for extra protection during the night. 

However after doing some research I have found that wrapping the hair has some MAJOR disadvantages! Wrapping your hair on a nightly basis in the same direction can cause BREAKAGE or the THINNING OF ENDS on a certain area of your hair. 

Many recommend that you alternate the side you start wrapping from or practice cross-wrapping instead to prevent breakage and in fact maintain length however there are still a handful of people that suffer from breakage no matter how the wrap their hair. 

As a result of this new discovery (for me) I will look into other methods of protecting my hair at night such a pin curls, rollers etc. 

Sometimes I Miss My Hair :(

Due to the thick & coarse texture of my hair, I’ve always had my hair in braids/weaves for as long as I can remember (the oldest picture of me with braids was taken when I was around 5/6 years old). The routine (or cycle should I say) was usually as follows:

 As you can see the longest I’ve had my hair out has been for 6 weeks (maybe 2 months max but that was a few years ago).

In the past I didn’t mind having my hair braided away, it meant less pain from detangling and not having to worry about my hair at all; but now that I’ve started my HCJ, and learnt of all the things I should be doing with my hair like DCing, co-washing, M&Sing etc. I MISS MY HAIR!  

The only reasons why I haven’t taken these braids down yet is because I’m dreading the amount of time it will take to remove them & they’re the only thing stopping me for over-manipulating my hair (with constant touching).

One of my future goals is to not weave/braids at all in the future. I want to be able to wear my hair out 24/7 & to use buns, French twists etc. as my protective styles.

I've thus decided that during the summer holidays (from the Mid June to Mid-September) I will leave my hair out just to get accustomed to its needs. I will begin with a fresh relaxer and end with either braids or a weave. I haven’t had my hair out for this long in about 3 or 4 years so this will be a nice little challenge. I would leave my hair out from the beginning of June but I guessed I would give in to getting a weave for my birthday :p