Wash Day: Twist-Out Game on Point!

Hey Peeps! Happy Holidays!

I took my marley twists out and figured my hair needed a good ol' deep conditioning after. So that's what I did (on Friday morning). So here goes my #WashDayExperience:

[1] Deep Conditioned with a warm mixture of Creme of Nature Argan Oil Intensive Conditioning Treatment, Roux Porosity Control, a dollop of Organics Hair Mayonnaise and some Castor Oil. I put my hair into 6 sections and applied the product one section at a time. I did this because I was getting worried that the products I've been putting in my hair were not being distributed evenly..But man was it time consuming! And the fact that my hair is very dense did not make it easy on me! Sheesh!

I then used my blow drier to warm each section as best as I could for about 15 minutes. I let it cool then rinsed it out.

[2] Conditioned with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner (HEHH), again section by section. Rinsed it out.

[3] Spritzed Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV).

[4] Air dried for about 20 minutes.

Now on to the BOMB.COM niceness! The twists!

[5] Applied my DIY Leave-in (Aloe Vera juice + conditioner + Coconut oil + Water) then a little more Coconut Oil then my DIY Shea Butter mix and twisted my hair. 

GLOREHH for Aloe Vera juice! Omigoodniss! It was exactly what my hair needed! I put it in my hair and instantly my hair felt softer! Lol you guys don't know how much it means that I've finally found something that softens my strands. Aloe Vera juice (we call it Sinkle Bible here in Jamaica) is easily accessible and I can get it for free from co-workers and colleagues so I am beyond ecstatic lol.

Ok. So I twisted my hair for an event I went to on Friday. The twists turned out wonderful. I didn't get to take pictures of the twists only. Bummer.

The next day they shrunk and resembled chunky twists ...and because I had another event to go to (Rotaract Christmas Dinner - Go Rotary!), I re-did using the same LOC method mentioned above and they came out spectacular - again. I remembered to take some pictures. Here goes: 

Since it's the best twist-out I've ever done last weekend (and from a Wash Day no less!), I now feel empowered to wear my hair out more often :). I'm even considering wearing my natural hair out for the holidays!

Hope you all had a great Wash Day and a great weekend!

Be well,
Gibbie

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Quickies: Marley Twists - Redux

Hi there.

Remember this post about how my Marley Twists were a Protective Style fail? My natural hair was stickng out all over the place and it was just not neat enough to keep in. I was seriously thinking of taking them out when I did a "last look" on YouTube to see if there was anything I could do to salvage the hairstyle.

And it so happened there was.

After looking at a few videos, I started to unravel the twists and re-did them - this time using half (or less) of my natural hair per twist and more of the Marley hair to do the twist. I did this process one twist at a time. Eventually I used two (2) packs of hair (Yah Man brand) to re-do my whole head. Here are the results:

Yay! (in my Rotaract shirt #GoRotary)

I'm glad it turned out well! I feel so accomplished! Lol. So now I have installed (in my whole head) Marley Twists and Crochet Braids! Styles with my own natural hair are next! Woot Woot!

Be well,
Gibbie

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6 Month Length Check (6 Months Post BC)

Hey guys!

It's now been six (6) months and one week since I did the big chop. Time seems to be going nicely and my hair has been flourishing since I asked my boyfriend to cut off my relaxed ends in June 2014. There were a little bit of tears. There was a lot of bit of shock lol.

But without further ado, Here are some pictures of my 6 natural hair month progress:

The morning after the Big Chop - June 2014

July 2014 

 

November 2014

December 5, 2014

Aaand there you have it folks. Now that the pictures are up, I can see the difference in growth over the time period..and I'm happy \o/ lol. It would also seem that my regimen is doing okay thus far..so at least technique-wise I won't be changing anything.


Some things to bear in mind (or err..disclaimers? lol)

1. I transitioned for about 7 months before I cut my relaxed ends off (so I had a little over 2" before the big chop)
2. My hair grows a little over 1/4 inch per month (0.375 inches exactly lol)
3. I cut off quite a bit of relaxed ends in about July (apparently I was even cutting off my natural hair with it -_-)
4. I wear protective styles about 85% - 90% of the time

Be well,

Gibbie

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Wash Day: A Thorough Deep Condition & PS fail

I rather, my curl-friend Trudy did a "shingling" or what others would call a "Wash & Go" on my hair on Tuesday. I used water, extra virgin olive oil and Curls Unleashed gel to smooth the hair until ,y curls set. That lasted until thursday. It isn't for me..it was what seemed like a crazy amount of gel to get my hair to form some curls - it was almost like I was forcing my hair into something it's not. I did realise however, that there are at least three (3) textures on my head: curly in the middle and crown, little to no curl definition almost everywhere else and a straight section at the front of my hairline. Crazy. Anyhoo, here goes my #WashDayExperience:

[1] Cowashed with VO5 Tea Therapy Clarifying Conditioner. I did this to get out the crazy amount of gel residue that was in my hair. This conditioner is more moisturising than the VO5 Herbal Escapes Clarifying Conditioner and it's the best VO5 conditioner I've used thus far. After rinsing it out, my hair felt softer than expected and I was happy.

[2] Deep Conditioned with Creme of Nature Argan Oil Intensive Conditioning Treatment for about 1 hour. I put my hair into five (5 sections), went through and detangled each section, then added some of the DC at the ends and sealed the sections with some castor oil. I was using this product during my texlax and transitioning period and it worked well then. I was searching for a new DC and I would start with an old faithful.

[3] Cowashed with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner.

[4] Air dried for about 25 minutes.

[5] Added my DIY leave in + castor oil + DIY shea butter mix.

[6] Flat-twisted my hair and left in until the next day. And on Friday night, I twisted my hair with some marley hair extensions. I was inspired by NaturalRose on YouTube (love her voice), where she installed marley hair extensions as a protective style see link here). It was simple and it was easy and I liked it.

I underestimated a couple of things: 1) my hair's density/thickness 2) my technique (still don't know where I went wrong) and 3) how many packs of hair I would need - I had to use 2 packs..and even now my hair is jumbled with hair sticking out under the extensions. I didn't like it. Here's a picture of how it turned out:

The plan was to keep the style in for 2 weeks..but if it stays in any longer I'm going to poke and prod at it, which would defeat the purpose of a protective style. So that's that.

Some observations I've noticed from my wash days of late: 

• I had to readjust my technique for applying product. I am now just noticing that when applying product, I tend to put the product on the top of my hair and "rub it up". Madness. Knowing that now, I've started to section my hair off, go through my hair with the product, applying from root to tip on all strands and a little extra on the ends. I hope no damage has been done. My hair ends have been feeling a little rough so I surmise that has something to do with it. If more deep conditioning doesn't result in better ends, I'll be snipping them off.
• 
  
• I have also noticed that my hair doesn't like "out" styles. It gets soo dry so easily. And, since I'm not really that verse on combing my hair at this length (still waiting on that length for roll, tuck and pin styles lol), I think I'll be doing more protective styles just to be on the safe side.

I hope you all had great wash days as well and I look forward to reading them all.

Be well,
Gibbie

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