Kinky Twist Wash Day 30.08.11 (Cowash)

"This wash day was a long time coming!  Still recovering so this will be a short post."

• Cowashed with diluted Dove Daily Care Conditioner
• Deep Conditioned with diluted Vatika Deep Conditioning Hot Oil Treatment
• Sprayed in my leave in conditioning spritz and sealed with coconut oil

I really like how hair felt after this wash my roots feel really soft and moisturised.  I can't wait to use the Vatika Deep Conditioner when I take out my kinky twists in a couple of weeks!

Ciao 4 Now

Product Haul: August 2011

"Still on my product ban, but still managed to sneakily purchase a few things....!"

• Vatika Deep Conditioner DRY, DULL and LIFELESS HAIR £4.09
• Vatika Deep Conditioner DAMAGED, WEAK and FALLING HAIR £5.49
• ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo  £3.49
• Dove intensive repair conditioner  £1.29
• Dove intensive repair conditioner  £1.29

I can't believe how different the prices can vary between shops.  I brought the two Vatika conditioners at different shops and somehow the shop owner of one thought it would be acceptable to charge an additional £1.49 for the same product.  What a RIP OFF!!!  The only reason I brought it was because I was taking back another product and exchanging it.  That kinda stuff makes me mad!


Ciao 4 Now

Caring For My HAIR Whilst In Hospital

"I had major surgery on Monday 22nd August and am pleased to say that it went well and that I am recovering nicely.  Part of the planning for my stay in hospital obviously involved taking care of my hair and putting my hair into kinky twists a couple of weeks beforehand was in planning for my stay in hospital."

Although everything seems to have gone to plan with my op, I'm afraid to say that the same cannot me said for my hair.  Prior to being admitted I really wanted to do a cowash followed by a deep conditioning treatment.  I'd brought some Dove daily care conditioner for the cowash and some Vatika Deep Conditioner Hot Oil Treatment for the deep conditioning part of the wash day.


Unfortunately, with all the prep I had to do beforehand I had no time to wash my hair and it still remains in it's unwashed state.  Luckily my hair does not look dirty, nor does it smell - thank goodness!!!!  It does feel a bit dry in places though which is something that I need to sort out quick time!

I feel that I have been extremely slack with my hair over the past 7 days.  I have moisturised and sealed twice, once on the morning of my op and once two days ago.  I did manage to remember to pack and wear my satin bonet (most of the time) so I hope I haven't caused my hair too much damage in the process but to be honest, I feel that my health is the most important, my hair health certainly comes after my overall health and wellbeing.

I would like to wash my hair today but it won't be possible so I will plan to do it on Wednesday.  For now I will settle with a good old moisturising and sealing session using a hot towel to accelerate the process.

Ciao 4 Now

My HAIR Today Needs Moisture

"Last night I decided to redo one of the twists.  After taking out the braid hair I realised that my hair felt very strong and silky but not exactly moisturised.  If I was at home I would have sprayed with some of my moisturising spritz and then sat under the steamer for 15-20 mins, but I'm not, so I've had to improvise....."

• I mixed two heaped fingers full of Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter with 1.5oz of warm water in an applicator bottle and shook this up until emulsified. 
• I then added a teaspoon of my Infusium23 and Aphogee Provitamin Leave In Conditioners to the mix and shook again.  At the end, the mixture resembled a lotion. 
• I applied this to my scalp and roots then put my twists into 6 sections and applied the "Mango Butter Lotion" to each section by squirting a 10p sized amount of the lotion into the palm of my hand and smoothed and squeezed this into the twists so that it would reach my own hair.
• Next I sprayed liberally with my moisturising spritz and then applied some of my castor oil mix to my scalp.

In order to amp up the moisture I decided to baggy my hair using a carrier bag and kicked this up a notch by putting a slightly damp towel in the microwave for 2mins and then put this on my head, over the plastic bag. 

I am currently halfway through the process but I plan to heat the towel a total of 4 times and will keep this on my head 30mins before taking off the towel and leaving jus the bag on for an additional hour.  I will seal in the moisture with EVCO.  Hopefully this will impart some additional moisture into my strands....either way, I plan on cowashing on Thursday or Friday.

Ciao 4 Now

Kinky Twist Wash Day 14.08.11 (Shampoo Wash)

"After a week of moisturising my hair almost every day, I think it's time for a shampoo wash today.  I'm a little concerned about the twists slipping but I can always reattach them if they do slip during the wash process".

1.  Sectioned hair into two loose and equal bunches.

2.  Measured 1oz of Roux Porosity Control Shampoo and mixed with 2oz of warm/hot water in an applicator bottle and applied it liberally to my roots and a little to the lengths of my hair.

3.  Massaged  very gently throughout my roots and left on for 2-3mins before thoroughly rinsing out of my roots and the twists.

4.  Measured 1oz of Mane and Tail Replenishing Conditioner and 1oz of Nutrine Garlic Conditioner with 6oz of warm water before generously applying to the roots and lengths of my hair.

5.  Left on for 5mins or so before rinsing thoroughly and placed a towel on my head to soak up the excess water (of which there was loads!!!).

6.  Sprayed on my leave in mix of 50% Infusium 23 and water.

7.  Sprayed Hot Six Oil Mist to seal.

Today I didn't have time to deep condition my hair as we decided to go to The Science Museum in London which was great. 

My hair took AGES to dry, all together I think it was about 2hrs +!!!  I'm also not sure whether I managed to get all the conditioner out of my hair.  I rinsed for ages but whilst I was out I squeezed a few of the braids and think I could see / smell some conditioner in them.   I took out a braid in the front and

reattached it and couldn't see any conditioner on my hair when I did so, so perhaps it's all in my mind....?

I have returned home now and feel that my hair could do with a shot of moisture so I will give it a quick spray with either my moisturing spritz or some Bee Mine Juicy and seal in with some EVCO.

I think I will cowash my hair on Wednesday and deep condition it with either cholesterol or moisturising conditioner mixed with oil.

I'm pleased that I also experienced no slippage of the twists which is great!

Ciao 4 Now

Caring For My HAIR Whilst In Kinky Twists: Moisturising & Sealing and Scalp Care

"It's been almost a week since I installed my kinky twists and I am loving the versatility of this style.  I also love the fact that it takes me less time to get ready every day!!!"


















Over the past week I have used Bee Mine Juicy, S-Curl Activator, Infusium 23 mixed with Aphogee Provitamin Leave In conditioner and water.  I like the S-Curl as a moisuriser but I don't like the feel of it on my hands when sprayed on the kinky twists, it feels kinda sticky!!  I really love it as a moisturiser for my relaxed hair though so I will use it once a week to moisturise, most likely after washing the twists.  The Bee Mine Juicy is okay and I may use this again.  Above all I prefered the Infusium/Aphogee/water concoction so decided to crank this up a notch for my go to moisturiser and see how I get on with using this exclusively through to next week and hopefully beyond...

Moisturising

I have made up a moisturising spritz using the following:

1.  ½ x tsp Le Klair Cholesterol conditioner
2.  1 x tsp Treseme Moisture Rich conditioner
3.  Equal measures of Infusium 23 and water (each measuring about 1½ cm high in the spray bottle)
4.  ½ x tsp EVOO
5.  A few drops of Castor Oil
6.  10 x drops of Rosemary EO
7.  This is all shaken up until emulsified.

Either this moisturising spritz or S-Curl is sprayed on both the roots and lengths of the hair either once a day or once every two days depending on my my hair feels.

Sealing

I use either EVCO rubbed in the palms of my hands until liquified or Hot Six Oil then add either of these oils to the lengths of the hair.  I usually use the EVCO and will probably use the Hot Six Oil once or twice a week.


















Scalp Care

I use either EVCO or my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp.  I use my Shea Goodness Growth oil on my nape and edges, although I do not use this daily.

















Hopefully this will be the regimen that I follow throughout the duration of having these kinky twists installed. 


Ciao 4 Now

Shedding & Removing My Weave

"Just a few pictures of my shed hair taken after removing my weave."

Shed hair during removal of weave and detangling

Same as above but compacted

Hair accidently cut from the right hand side with the seam ripper



Compacted shed hair during washing

Total amount of shed hair compacted

Same as above but this time as a side view

To me, this amount of shed hair was an acceptable amount, I certainly wasn't upset when I saw this hair coming out as I am sure I would have lost more if my hair had not been in a weave.  Now I just have to continue with taking my supplements and using my garlic conditioners to get the shedding under control.

Wish me luck!

Recycling My Weave (Part 2)

"As I didn't have all my pictures with me when I uploaded "Part 1" I have decided to add them to an additional post."

Brazilian Hair after washing and deep conditioning

Air dried and brushed

Trimmed

Ciao 4 Now

Recycling My Weave (Part 1)

"Even though I have decided to probably never get a weave installed again, I do have plans for my shedding Brazilian hair so I've decided to recyle it and give it a new lease of life."








After deinstalling my weave on Friday, I carried out the following process to clean the weave hair:

• Folded up the 16 inch weave hair with the wefts aligned at the top
• I then put my fingers through the hair and held the wefts together
• Next whilst still holding the hair along the weft I thoroughly detangled the hair using my HS Jumbo Rake
• Once detangled, I secured a hair tie vertically through the hair and the weft similar to how the hair is packaged when purchased
• I then followed these above steps with the 14 inch hair
• Next I soaked the hair in warm soapy water which had shampoo added
• I then applied extra shampoo to the hair and squeezed this through the length of the hair and also along the wefted edge to make sure the hair was completed degreased!
• Next I wrapped the hair in a towel for a couple of minutes before applying some Affirm 5 in 1 Reconstructor (note: I really need to revisit this product!)and brushed through using my Denman brush
• Next I placed a slightly damp towel in the mircowave for 2mins, popped the hair into a plastic bag and then wrapped the plastic bag in the hot towel.   After about 10mins I put the towel in microwave again for another 2mins and repeated the process.
• I then rinsed out the 5 in 1 reconstructor with cool water making sure there was no residue left in the hair.
• I then wrapped the hair in a towel for 10mins to soak up excess moisture
• Finally, I hung the hair up to air dry using a couple of trouser hangers.

I will be using this hair to make a U-Part wig when I take out my kinky twists.  I will definintely be sealing the wefts prior to sewing them to the wig cap.  I will probably not bother adding the 16inch hair because I think this is the hair that is shedding the most.  I may reconsider if sealing the wefts helps the recitfy the situation.

Ciao 4 Now

My Kinky Twists (My 1st Attempt!)

"Upon taking out my weave I knew I wanted to go into another protective style.  I decided that Kinky Twists would be a good, easy and cheap option and would also be nice and light therefore not causing too much tension on my hair due to the additional weight of the braids."
















I must point out straight away that I cannot plait hair for toffee!!!  I have never had to learn.  My mum was the resident family braider doing the hair of aunts, cousins, friends etc and she was always on hand to do my hair.  I therefore had no requirement to learn or any motivation to do so.  I regret that now and really want to learn those valuable (not to mention money saving) skills that my mum has perfected over the years.

This is the hair that I used in colour 2

I decided to visit my good friends Google and YouTube in order to find out what hair I should use for the kinky twists and also how to install these lil suckers!  I kinda followed this tutorial by adimeonadime although as I really can't attach extension hair to save my life I didn't use the three strand method I used the easier but probably less secure two strand method instead.

I was really hesitant on whether I should install these twists straight away as I had just come out of a 4 week weave but I decided that it would probably be best for my hair so I was not manipulating my hair for a whole week in between.  I am still suffering from shedding, but nowhere near as bad as it was a few months ago.

After airdrying (I decided not to blow dry my hair, even though this makes installation look neater) I started the l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n-n-n-n-n-g arse process of putting these into my hair.   I remoisturised each section of my hair with Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Treatment, my avocado butter and oil mix and then used a little Bee Mine Bee Hold on each section to keep the twist from unravelling where the braid and the twist meet.  The extra added benefit of doing my hair myself was that I could control the amount of tension used.  I was extra careful not to braid too tightly around my hairline.  To be honest, none of the braids/twists are tight at all.  They are secure but there is certainly no feeling of tension which is great!

All together the installation process took about 11hrs.  It was long but well worth it!!!  I feel so incredibly proud of myself for actually attempting and suceeding at putting these in.  I now feel that I can put these in anytime I like.  I love them (at the moment) and am looking forward to having them in for the next 8 weeks.

Ciao 4 Now

I Took Out My Weave!!!

"Man oh man, this weave has been doing my head in for many reasons so I decided it just had to go!!!"










All this week I have been having issues with this damn weave. Not only was the shedding driving me nuts but more importantly, the texture of my leave out was really concerning me.  It was sooooooooo drrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy almost crispy to touch, despite being moisturised.  It was also starting to shed more than it had been in the previous 3 weeks.  These things were enough to send me straight into deinstall mode....

I removed the weave, the net and then lastly the thread holding together my braid using a seam ripper.  Unfortunately I managed to remove a small bit of hair whilst removing the thread but it was only a small amount and it consisted of my relaxed ends so no real drama there.  I lost a fair bit of hair due to shedding but less than I imagined I would and certainly less than I would have during a 4 week period without having my hair in a protective style.

My hair which was cornrowed under the weave was so beautifully moisturised when I took it out.  It was soft, shiny and really clean.

After taking out of the cornrows I finger combed each section, slathered the section in HEBE conditioner and then detangled using my Hercules Sagemann Mini Rake comb.  I then twisted together every three to four plaits and then secured at the end with my wash clips.

As I had washed my hair on Monday, I decided not to shampoo wash my hair today:

• Prepoo with HEBE conditioner followed by coconut oil for 20mins after detangling cornrows
• Cowash in sections using Hair One Olive Oil Cleansing Conditioner
• Protein treatment with Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor
• Deep condition with LeKlair Cholesterol mixed with 2 x tsp of Alter Ego, 2 x tsp evoo, 1 x tsp castor oil, covered with clingfilm and left on for 1hr under my electric heat cap
• Rinsed with cool water
• Applied Aphogee ProVitamin Leave In Conditioner, Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea Restructurizer before air drying
• Halfway through air drying I applied Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk as a leave in
• Once air dried I applied Bee Mine Luscious Balanced moisturiser then sealed with coconut oil and castor oil

My hair feels great.  Really moisturised and strong but also soft and really thick.  I am really in love with how my hair feels out of this weave and think that protective styling for me with minimal manipulation is good for my hair.  I don't think I will be doing a weave again though.


Ciao 4 Now

Big Chop Inspiration

"I am really progressing with considering going for the Big Chop.  Whilst watching re-runs of ANTM Cycle 9 I am really crushing on Bianca Golden's cute TWA.  After her make over mishap when trying to process her previously pink hair the only option left was to cut off her seriously damaged hair and I think it was the making of her 'model' look.  I think she looks amazing!!!"

Weave Wash: 02.08.11 (Shampoo Wash)

"My hair has been great this week.  I have experienced hardly and itching either which is great!  This past week I have discovered that aloe vera juice mixed with lavender EO works well as a curl activator/refresher for this hair and it also smells great."

My HAIR

• Pre poo with warmed coconut oil using applicator for 25mins.
• Apply watered down Keracare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo twice.  Massaged into scalp and left to sit for 5 mins on second application.
• Rinse shampoo.
• Apply watered down Keracare Humecto Conditioner mixed with Nutrine Garlic Conditioner to scalp and braids liberally until saturated and left on for 20mins
• Rinse conditioner thoroughly
• Apply S-Curl No Drip Activator using applicater nozzle attached to bottle (I'm so pleased the nozzle I have fits.  Infact, it fits most of the bottles I used during this wash day!!!  
• Apply Castor Oil mix to braids and scalp and gently massage in

Weave Hair

• Deep condition with Aussie 3 Minute Reconstructor for 10mins
• Shampoo hair with John Freida Beatuiful Brunette Moisturising Shampoo
• Condition hair with John Freida Beautiful Brunette Moisturinsing Conditioner mixed with Aussie Frizz Treatment
• Air dry

This hair is still shedding like nobody's business.   It is starting to annoy me now!  I spent the day with family yesterday and whilst holding my cousins new baby, she ended up getting covered in this flipping hair.  So not cool.  Also, during the wash quite alot of the hair was shedding.  It sheds on a daily basis when styling.  I am really not sure whether this will last for another 5 weeks!!

I AM NOT IMPRESSED!!!



UPDATE:  03.08.11
The following day the weave hair felt pretty dry, so much so that it was itching my skin so I did the following to get the softness back

• Applied spritz of aloe vera juice mixed with Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Treatment
• Applie a small amount of HEHH conditioner to the ends
• Applied a small amount of HEBE Leave In Cream to the lengths and ends
• Applied a small amount of Creme of Nature Argan Oil Gloss and Shine Serum
• Left to air dry and then braided in two loose braids secured with pony tail holders
• Applied Shea Goddess Growth Support Serum directly to my roots and scalp and and massaged in gently. 

Ciao 4 Now

Bee Mine Bee Hold Curly Butter

"I've had this product for so long and didn't even realise that I hadn't done a review on it....!"

It Claims:

Shea butter and aloe based curly butter is packed with rich moisturizing nutrients to give you long lasting moisture and promote growth. It has a soft touchable hold that will help to defrizz your frizzes and give great definition. This Curly Butter is wonderful for twists, finger curls, puffs/pony tails and especially for laying down unruly hair. Great for naturals, relaxed, texlaxed, everyone.

Ingredients:
100% Shea Butter, 100% Aloe Vera Gel, Essential Oil Blend, Vegetable Glycerin, Rosemary Leaf and Chammomile Extract, Silk Powder and Perfume

Price:
£3 - £20

Results on My HAIR:
Firstly, I must say this product smells absolutely gorgeous!  It has a kinda slippery consistency and feels very light when applied to my hair.  It works really well, but for me I don't really use hold products in my hair very often as I don't really like the way my hair feels the day after it's been applied.  This however has a softer feel than all other hold products that I have used before.


Would I Repurchase:
Yes, probably in time.  However, if I do it will be the small trial size again as at the super slow rate that I will get through this humungous tub  I think it will last me a couple of years or end up going bad before I get through it all! 

At the moment, I don't have much use for the curly butter, however this may change once my hair grows and I start wearing more braid outs and twist outs.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥
Ciao 4 Now