Wash Day: Yarn Locs Take-down, Protein Treatment & A Newbie

Hi all,

I finally finally woo-lawd took out my yarn locs on Thursday after having them in for 9 weeks. I didn't miss my hair this time but I was tired of seeing the style in my hair. It was fuzzy and although that added to the "realness" of the style, I was just plain ol' tired of seeing it. Prior to the take-down, I did my regular weekly co-wash and did a tea rinse to reduce the amount of shed hairs I expected to see when it was time to take down the style. To aid with the take-down, I used some of the diluted conditioner mix I used for my co-wash, finger-detangled each section of hair taken out of the loc, then twisted every 2 pieces I took down. It took a little time to complete, after which it looked like this:

Since it was late when I finished, I let the twists stay in, rolled and pinned my hair (word to Rachie) and wore it to work. I also did a little snip of the ends and let the twists stay in for wash day - not about that hours-long detangling life. So without further ado, here goes my #WashDayExperience:

[1] Shampooed with Creme of Nature Sulfate-free Moisture & Shine shampoo thrice. I got a little carried away - but in my defence, my hair hadn't been properly cleansed in over 2 months!

[2] Applied warm Organics Hair Mayonnaise and let it sit for about 6 minutes. This has always felt like a strong protein treatment for me (it would appear I'm a bit protein sensitive) so I limit use of this to when I think I need it.

[3] Followed up with warm Herbal Essences Hello Hydration moisturizing conditioner (HEHH) and some castor oil and let it sit for about the same time as the hair mayonnaise. I have been hearing rave reviews from ev-ry-body about this conditioner, so when I finally found it in the supermarket (and for $597 Jamaican Dollars too!), I grabbed it. By the time I was through lathering up, the twists had started unravelling.

[4] T-shirt dried the excess water and let it air dry for about 15 minutes.

[5] Applied my DIY Leave-in (now with HEHH:)) and DIY Shea Butter mix, finger detangled, then re-twisted my hair.

Results?

The Herbal Essences Hello Hydration moisturizing conditioner gave me a lot of slip and after the conditioner was rinsed out, my hair felt sooo soft! As it started to dry however, it was back to its regular coarse self (my hair is naturally coarse to the touch). Despite my hair texture though, the strands felt (somehow) hydrated. Methinks this conditioner is staying! 

I'm also on the look-out for a good deep conditioner, so pleasee throw your suggestions this way!

Overall, my hair looks a lot fuller and appears to be thriving with protective styling. I plan on putting in another protective style (a loose one since my hair didn't get much of a break between styling) on either Saturday or Sunday (my birthday is in the following week \o/), and let that stay in for at least a month or so.

I hope everyone had a great Wash Day as well. Cheers!

Be well,
Gibbie