Wash Day Diary: 21.03.12

"It was finally time to let go of the crochet braids and wash my hair."

I started the process of removing the crochet braids at around 6pm.  What with p*ssing about taking photos of my new cropped do and cooking dinner it took ages.  I didn't start applying my deep conditioner mix (the first step in the wash day process) until about 8.30pm! 

Taking out the crochet braids was easy but took longer than I thought it would - but I was being super careful with my hair.  To get the extension hair out all I had to do was first cut them down to about 2 inches in length, then apply some oil or Taliah Waajid Mist Bodifier to my fingertips and then start to unravel the cornrow.  The extension hair just comes out as each braid is unravelled.

I did it just like it's done in this video:

I then finger detangled each braid and removing the shed hair using well oiled fingertips. I then for every two braids which were undone I two strand twisted the hair together to keep it out of the way iin order to prevent tangles.

**Simples!**

Whilst unbraiding my hair I realised that it was no way near as dirty as I thought it was going to be. In fact, it was really really clean, although there was a little build up towards the hairline which was easy to remove with the help of some hemp seed oil. I decided that a moisturising & strengthening deep condition followed by a cowash would suffice, especially as I was going to be bunning for the week ahead. After sectioning my hair into four and lightly detangling I started the wash day.

1.  First I applied my deep conditioner mix which consisted of 1 x spoon of amla powder, 1x spoon of henna, aloe vera juice (thick), roux porosity control, ORS Replenishing Conditioner & hemp seed oil. Adding the thick aloe vera juice always makes my conditioner stretch further. After adding the deep conditioner I put some Lustrasilk Liquid Shea Butter Cholesterol conditioner on both the lengths and the ends of my hair. I then covered with a shower cap and a plastic bag then sat under my electric conditioning cap for 30mins.

At this point I really wanted to go to bed but was experiencing ‘the drippies’ so I attempted to block the gaps but it didn’t really work so I had to finish the wash day/night. I

2.  I rinsed out the deep conditioner but could still feel a coating on my hair. I think this was caused by the hemp seed oil I added to the ORS. To be honest, ORS doesn’t really need to have any additional oils added to it as it contains a lot of oil. Rinsing out was a nightmare as little bits of henna were stuck in my hair and seemed to take forever to rinse out! I needed to shampoo instead of cowash so reached for my Matrix Biolage Ultra Hydrating Shampoo and washed my scalp and rinsed.

3.  Next I did a protein treatment using iC 1 Minute Super Concentrated Reconstructor and rinsed.

4.  I followed the protein treatment with a moisturising cowash using Natures Gate Aloe Vera Conditioner which I left in for 3 minutes before rinsing but I left some of the conditioner in my hair.

5.  After leaving my towel on my head for 5mins I applied my liquid leave ins of Elasta QP H2 and Infusion 23.  I then detangled my wet hair and could see that there were still bits of henna in my hair. I didn’t care at this point, I’ll be co-washing again on Friday night anyway. I then applied some Taliah Waajid Mist Bodifier, sealed with hemp seed oil then applied some Organix Coconut Milk Anti Breakage Serum.

6.  Finally I secured my hair into a low bun and went to bed with soaking wet hair!!! At this point it was 11.30 and I couldn’t give a toss about catching a cold.

Apart from the issues with rinsing out the henna this wash day went well.

My hair has grown as my pony tail is definitely longer. My new growth also felt a lot tamer than usual, almost straighter if that is possible. After taking out the braids my hair was really really shiny, it felt fragile though but I don’t think I experienced any breakage. Another plus point of this style is that I shed less hair than I did whilst in kinky twists. I didn’t take any pictures of the shed hair but it was less than half of the post kinky twist amount.

EDIT 22.03.12:
I had to cowash my hair as the henna residue was making my scalp itch.

I experienced quite bit of shedding which did not come as a shock to me as I was shedding before going into the protective style. I have been totally slacking on taking my iron. I feel tired and I'm shedding so those are clear indicators that I need to up my game so far as keeping my iron levels up. I will start to take iron again regularly and take it twice a day, even tho I hate how sick it makes me feel sometimes.....I need to remember to eat first!!!

I also need to lightly dust my ends this weekend.

Ciao 4 Now