Wash Day Diary @ 28 Weeks Post: 05.02.14 (Hard Protein Treatment)

“I almost couldn’t be bothered to document this wash day. I didn’t feel like taking photos and I really didn’t feel like writing this post!” 

Before this wash day I noticed that I had some breakage at the front of my hairline.   At least I think it's breakage but when your hair has been shedding heavily (falling out from the roots), how do you differentiate between breakage and new hair growing back?

Anyway, as a precaution I have gone back to wearing an inside out skull cap as my preferred wig cap because the smooth satin material doesn't rub my hairline out.  I have no idea why I stopped wearing them for the past month because they work just as well underneath my lace units as a traditional wig cap and aren't visible.

I also decided to add some heavy protein to this wash day.  A few days have passed since the wash day so I am documenting the event for reference purposes. 



De-tangling
I spritzed my braids and new growth with Mane N Tail Detangler before applying warmed EVCO and finger de-tangling section by section.

Deep Conditioning
I applied ORS Replenishing Conditioner which I had mixed 5 x big squirts together with 5 x capfuls of Aphogee Two Step Protein Treatment. This resulted in a watery consistency which I think I prefer as it was much easier to rinse out! I applied the conditioner to each section, pinned them to the top of my head and sat underneath my dryer (with no cap) for 10 minutes. Sitting under the dryer hardened the sections slightly.

Rinsing, Shampooing & Deep Conditioning
I rinsed all of the sections with warm water before shampooing the roots with diluted Dermax Therapeutic Shampoo. I lightly massaged the shampoo into my scalp and left this on for a minute before rinsing out.

At this stage, my hair had that horrible hard post-protein-treatment feel to it and I could tell there were tangles. I was expecting this, so it came as no surprise. I know I got off lightly last wash day!

I deep conditioned with KeraCare Humecto. in hindsight, I probably should have applied the Re-balancing Conditioner to my hair and then followed up with Humecto on top - but I didn’t take it into the shower so I figured the KeraCare would do what it needed to. I covered my hair with a conditioning cap and let the Humecto work its magic for 10 mins before rinsing out thoroughly.

Finishing Up
I covered my hair with a towel and left it on for 20 minutes. I lightly separated the tangles in my hair using just a little EVCO on my fingertips but no product in my hair. Next I applied my leave ins (Infusium leave in conditioner, Deja’s Hair Milk, EVCO and Organix Coconut Milk Anti Breakage Serum) before finger detangling each section and following up with my Sagemann comb and putting in two strand twists.

My plan was to blow dry my hair on the cool setting and flat iron but after drying one section at the front, I quickly realised I wasn’t about this kinda hair life right now! So, I spritzed on some heat protectant and flat ironed just that section (using smaller 1 inch sections). I assessed the state of my hair from that section and to be honest, I think my hair is doing okay. It needs a good old trim though, but it has grown and looked really shiny and healthy.

This shows one of the front sections flat-ironed.  Not the greatest photo I know but it shows that I do still have hair left on my head!

The breakage I have experienced in that section didn’t look at all noticeable so I braided up all of my sections and kept it moving!

Shedding
As with previous weeks, my shedding has remained consistent.

This is the total amount of hair lost during the wash day.

The three pictures above show the hair lost from each section.  A.  Shows the amount of hair lost during finger de-tangling prior to washing.  B.  Shows the hair lost during applying deep conditioner and de-tangling with my Hercules Sageman comb.  C.  Shows the total amount of hair lost during the final de-tangling session post wash.

Things To Note From This Wash Day
Firstly, let me be the first one to say that I know I did not use the Two Step product as per the instructions. It is no secret that I am no fan of hard protein treatments following my experience with protein overload some years ago, since then I have only carried out one hard protein treatment.  Rightly or wrongly, I'm opting to add the Aphogee Two Step Protein Treatment (heavy duty treatment) to other conditioners so my hair gets the benefit of some of the protein but not a massive strand jolting whack of it - I'll invest in an alternative protein treatment like Joico or Nexxus when the Apoghee is used up. Besides, at this many weeks post I know my hair and it does not like to be manipulated to the extent that a full on protein treatment would need with all that washing, drying, spraying, drying, rinsing conditioning, rinsing again, conditioning once more and rinsing yet again!

Secondly, I know that I didn’t detangle my hair properly this week. There are still some tangled bits within the sections but I will deal with that when I feel better able to do so with a clear head. Sometimes when it comes to shedding and tangles it can all be a bit much on wash days and I just want to reach for the scissors so bad! I know that de-tangling with oil works well for me so I will get to those sections at some point over the weekend.

Thirdly, I think the time has come to relax my hair – it has been almost 7 months. It is either relax next week or cut off all the relaxed ends of my hair and have a TWA! I know that dealing with my natural hair will be no easier than it is now because after all it’s my hair and My HAIR is being a total jerk these days….! To be honest, I’ve had enough of it so it will either get relaxed or get chopped off I guess we’ll see which one I choose in a week or two.

Ciao 4 Now