Wash Day: February 8, 2015

Happy Sunday lovelies!

I am typing this post super excited about my hair and my return to the blog. Now that I have a consistent regimen again, I find myself wanting to try new products (I am a product junkie after all!). This means more First Impressions posts, more style posts...just more posts period! It feels good to get back to my blog because I love sharing my discoveries about my hair with all of you!

This particular wash day actually started on Saturday and ended today. It also marks the second week in a row where I used a light protein treatment in my hair and my hair responded positively to it. My wash day started simply enough: I washed my hair with Elasta QP Creme Condtioning Shampoo. However, I happened to read the ingredients label and saw (to my complete shock and horror) that this formerly sulfate-free shampoo now has sodium laurel sulfate as the SECOND ingredient!! When the heck did this happen?!?! I hate when companies go out of their way to mess with a good thing. Fortunately, my hair wasn't stripped or anything after washing but in the future I will have to use shampoos that I know are sulfate-free (like Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo). I followed up my shampoo by placing Aphogee 2 Minute Keratin Reconstructor on my hair and sat under my heat cap for 10 or so minutes. Immediately after rinsing the treatment out of my hair, my hair felt much stronger than it has previously. This has confirmed my thinking that my relaxed hair needs more protein than I once thought it did and weekly treatments may not be such a bad thing.


After my protein treatment, I DCed with ORS Replenishing Conditioner under my Huetiful steamer for an hour. This was also another point in my wash day where I realized that adding more protein to my regimen was the way to go. After washing my DC out, my hair felt so, so soft! For the first time in a long time I felt like my hair was able to get and hold on to the moisture that I gave it. I can only attribute this to the added protein in my regimen.

This wash day, I wanted to straighten my hair. Typically, I don't want to be bothered with the process of straightening but I realized that my hair hasn't been flat ironed since my relaxer touch up (at the beginning of January) and I want to post a picture of where my length is for the start of the year (so it's not necessarily a length check because I haven't retained much but I do want to see if the changes I'm adding will make a difference by the end of the year). Plus, I figured that a straightening session would be easier to do since I'm about 5 weeks post and I don't have an outrageous amount of new growth to deal with. So, I decided I would give my hair a good flat iron session. Before I did anything, I sprayed my hair with Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave In and then put Camille Rose Curl Love Moisture Milk onto each section. The Camille Rose product is something new that I picked up on a whim while I was in Target on Saturday. I am on the hunt for a great, creamy moisturizer and it seemed like a perfect moisturizer to try. I then sealed with Curls Blissful Lengths Hair Oil.


Before my Saturday night was through, I wet wrapped my hair with Lottabody setting lotion (again, first time use...not sure if I'm a fan of this) and sat under my Conair hooded dryer for 2 hours. My hair still wasn't fully dry when I stopped but....it was 11pm and I was falling asleep under the dryer. I put a scarf on my head and went to sleep.


This morning I woke up and found that the last little section of my hair was dry and was ready to be flat iron. The setting lotion I used (even after I diluted it with water) left my hair a little crunchy so I had to add a little bit of moisturizer and oil to soften my hair up a bit. Once I did that. I applied the Mizani Thermasmooth serum to my hair (in sections) and used my beloved Sedu to flat iron. After flat ironing each section, I added a little bit of Aveda Anti-Humectant pomade to each section to help fight against reversion. As I was flat ironing, I could not believe the results I was getting. It only took 1 to 2 passes to get my hair slick and sleek (sometimes, on my most....resistant sections, it takes more than that)! I think adding the protein, which allowed my hair to hold on to more moisture, played a role in that.


The final step to my super long wash day was to add a little bit of serum to my ends, spray my hair with KeraCare Oil Sheen with Humidity Block, and wrap my hair with saran wrap to further get my hair as sleek as possible. I sat under my dryer for 15 minutes and was done!


Something else that I noticed during this wash day was that, following the protein treatment, my hair had a little bit more heft/weight to it. It was a good feeling that made my hair feel healthier than it did previously. However, I do think that during my next few washes, I did to do a final rinse with Roux Porosity Control. My hair is drying faster than it should.


Be on the look out for my length photo some time this week so that you can have an idea of where I am starting from + compare where I am now compared to this time last year!




Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday!

The Best I Ever Had.....

I AM IN LOVE!!!!

Yesterday I purchased the Mizani ThermaSmooth line because I had heard so many good things about it.

OH MY FREAKIN' GOODNESS!

I don't know why I didn't try this line before but it made my 12 weeks post hair look like it had a fresh relaxer! There are 4 parts to this system but I had only purchased 3 since Ulta didn't have the 4th part.

I purchased and used:

ThermaSmooth Shampoo (Cost: $14 @ Ulta)

The shampoo is really creamy and smells very good! I lathered up one time since the shampoo has sulfates. However, I found the shampoo to be very moisturizing and non-stripping.

ThermaSmooth Conditioner (Cost: $18 @ Ulta)

The conditioner is creamy as well and smells as good as the shampoo. However, the instructions on the bottle say to leave it on for 3-5min (the instructions on the Mizani website say to leave it on 7-10 min with heat). Therefore, I deep conditioned with AOHSR for 15min prior to using this conditioner. I wanted to make sure my hair had enough moisture.

ThermaSmooth Smooth Guard Straightening Serum (Cost: $25 @ Ulta)

The serum is chock full o' -cones but this is the key to the entire line! Once I had blow-dried my hair, I sectioned my hair out and applied the serum to each section (only 1 squirt...a little goes a long way with this serum). I then flat ironed using my Sedu (set at 320 degrees). All I can say is WOW!! My hair straightened in one pass and my roots didn't revert. Shoot my roots still haven't reverted!!!

My thoughts

I think this line might be the key in helping me stretch longer. After my last relaxer, I'm a little hesitant to get a relaxer (since I want to be confident enough to try self relaxing). This line is a little price-y, however, it is well worth the $. However, if you still want to try the line but money is a little tight, purchase the serum.....that is the key to the entire line!

Here check out my hair.........

My Review of.....the Sedu!

Per your request, I am going to do a review of the Sedu flat iron. I have been using the Sedu for a year and a half and I absolutely love it!

Sedu Revolution Pro Shortie Mini Styler

I purchased this immediately after my hair cut. There were shorter pieces of hair that my 1 1/2" could not grab...at all.

In comparison to my other Sedu, this one was ok. It is pretty small and is about the size of a Sharpie. There is no temp gauge and this iron gets HOT! I constantly had to make sure the back of my head had enough heat protectant and I had to make sure that I DCed really good! I was so happy when I went back to my original Sedu. It does a decent job for the price but I think that there are better small flat irons out there.

Price: $50.00+ shipping ( I paid around $60 for mine)

Sedu Pro Ionic Ceramic and Tourmaline Flat Iron (1 ½”)

I purchased this at the beginning of my journey when my hair was longer. It is an amazing flat iron! As I stated before, the plates are ceramic and tourmaline. In addition, it has a very thick cord that doesn’t fray easily and the cord rotates with the flat iron, making styling a breeze! Another bonus is that this iron heats up fast!

Things I love about this flat iron:

The temp gauge—allows you to directly control how much heat you put on your hair.The gauge runs from 250 degrees- 480 degrees. However, I found when using the Sedu, not much heat is needed to straighten hair.

The ceramic/tourmaline plates—prior to my purchase of the Sedu, I never knew that a flat iron could get my hair to be so smooth! These plates are responsible for that.

Weight-the Sedu is very lightweight so it doesn’t feel like you have a million pounds in your hand.

Minimal work effort- when I use my Sedu, it takes 1 pass on any setting (well almost any- I never tried the highest setting) to get my hair straight. ONE PASS! Before the Sedu, it would take as many as 5 passes to get the same result. Since I have a lot of hair, this cuts my hair styling time in half!

Things I don’t like so much:

This isn’t much that I don’t like about the Sedu. However, as a student, this flat iron was a little price-y. I paid $130 (includes shipping) for the Sedu. Regardless, I think the Sedu is well worth the money. I probably spent the same amount of money purchasing the cheap flat irons that snagged my hair and were causing insane damage. For those looking to purchase a Sedu right now, Folica.com is selling the 1 1/2” for $119+free shipping!

Also, this flat iron works very well with the IC Fantasia Heat Protectant! The two combined makes my hair feel so light and flow-y (if that's a word). I've also tried it with the Beyond the Zone Heat Protectant and the results were...meh.

I think I covered everything about the Sedu that I like. If I missed something, give me a shout! :)

Turn the Heat Up....

After I got my hair relaxed last week, I did a dance of joy. Let me tell you...it wasn't because I just got a relaxer. As of 8/1/09, I can wrap my hair! YES!! You must understand, this is a very important milestone for me. I's can use less heat now! I'm sure you guys already know that shorter hair=more heat. It sucks but that's just the way it is. Shoot, on the days I didn't use heat I would look like Goku from Dragon Ball Z

Even though I had to use heat frequently when my hair was shorter, here are the things that I did to make it through those long, dark months:

1) Invest in a good flat iron

Find a good ceramic and tourmaline flat iron. This type of flat iron not only straightens your hair, but it smoothens it and helps to keep moisture in. Also, get a flat iron that has a temperature gauge (just so you don't fry your hair to death during your straightening sessions). Although there are other good flatirons (like the FHI Platform) I use the Sedu and the Sedu Revolution Shortie Styler (check www.folica.com for pricing/availability).

Just as a note, if you have a ceramic plated flat iron make sure the coating has not worn off. If it has, it is time to get a new one!

2) Find a good heat protectant and use it every time (yes...every time!)

Finding a good heat protectant is so important. It serves as a barrier between your hair and the flat iron which minimizes damage. There are sooooo many protectants out there and finding one may require a bit of trial and error. A good starting heat protectant is IC Fantasia Heat Protectant Straightening Serum (which is $7.99- $9 and can be found at Sally's and Walgreens).

3)You may have to increase the frequency of your regimen

It is important to keep in mind that heat a) changes the structure of your hair and b) removes moisture from your hair. Those two things combined can result in dry, brittle hair. When I first had my hair cut, I washed and deep conditioned my hair no less than 2x a week. I was always doing my hair! Sometimes I would use a moisturizing DC ( like Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose) or a light protein DC ( such as ORS Replenishing). I would then follow up with a light protein leave-in (Giovanni Direct Leave In). The point is: if you use more heat then you must make more of an effort to ensure your protein/moisture balance in check at all times.

If you can, try to sneak in no-heat/ indirect heat when you can. For example, you may decide to air dry your hair then flat iron or dry via a hooded dryer then flat iron.

4) That temperature gauge on the flat iron is important

Although I used heat frequently, please believe that the temp gauge on my Sedu was set a 250 ( 280 at the highest). Since my hair is relaxed, I don't need to crank up the flat iron to the max setting just to bump my hair. Shoot...I really don't need to set it to the middle temp (360). Just as a general rule (for me) a flat iron set at the lowest temp+ a heat protectant is better for my hair health than a flat iron cranked all the way up. I can still get the style I desire while keeping my hair as healthy as possible.

I've found that by following these 4 guidelines, the increased heat did not significantly damage my hair and as someone with short hair, there is no need to fear heat. You just have to make the appropriate adjustments to your regimen.