Wash Day: 10/18/13

Or "I Absolutely Had To Do This Wash Day"

Happy Friday lovelies!

I know I have kinda been ghost lately but things around here have been CRAZY!! I will be defending my dissertation on the 23rd (read: I will get my PhD) so I have been preparing for that in terms of writing and getting stuff done. Aside from that, there have been weddings, interviews, etc that have distracted me from my hair. I have been so distracted that I haven't washed my hair for 2 weeks!

My hair and scalp are not pleased about this at all. My scalp began to itch like crazy and my hair was really weighed down. I couldn't go another day without cleaning my hair. So, last night at 11pm, I got to work.

Since this wash day is the first one since my relaxer, I first shampoo with Silk Elements Neutralizing Conditioner just to really ensure that all of the relaxer has been washed out. I then followed up with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo. Next, I wanted to give my hair a much needed protein boost so I applied the Sally's brand of Joico K-Pak (GVP Reconstructing Conditioner) to my hair for 5 minutes. After I rinsed that out, I placed Aubrey Organics GPB on my hair and DCed overnight and rinsed it out this morning. Finally, I sprayed Aphogee Keratin Green Tea leave in (see how I'm keeping with the protein theme this wash day?), applied some Hairveda Ends Hydration to my hair, and proceeded to wet wrap my hair. I am currently sitting under the dryer as I type this lol. Some time this weekend (when I have the time) I will whip out my trusty Sedu and my Fantasia IC heat protectant to straighten my hair and then follow up with a saran wrap treatment.

That's it. That's my wash day. I have to be really quick with it since time is limited. In the meantime, I need to figure out how I want to style my hair for my defense. I'm leaning towards pin curls but I don't know. Any suggestions?

Wash Day: May 18, 2013

Or the "I like wash days again because my hair has been recently relaxed" wash.

Happy Monday lovelies! I hope you all are doing well. On my end, these past couple of days have been STRESSFUL!! On Saturday, the timing belt in my car wore out so I had to deal with that. Then I spent the rest of the weekend in the house sans car. Thankfully, no major damage was done to my car (God looks after children and fools, for real!) and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Since I was house bound for the remainder of the weekend, I gave my hair a good washing. I skipped last week (I was feeling really, really lazy that week) and I was definitely about due. Since this was the first wash post relaxer, I added several different things to this wash day. The first thing I did was wash my hair with Silk Elements Neutralizing Shampoo. This is just something I do following every relaxer to ensure that all of the relaxer has been properly neutralized. I then followed up with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo. Since my hair just went through the trauma of relaxing, I decided to use a protein DC just to give my hair a little strength. This seems to be a common trend with relaxed ladies as their post relaxer wash includes products like Joico K-Pak Reconstructor or Aphogee 2 min Reconstructor--basically products with enough protein to give your hair some strength but not too much to send you into Protein Overload-ville. For this wash, I used Aubrey Organics GPB because I love how it not only strengthens my hair but it also leaves it moisturized. After I sat under my heat cap for an hour, I rinsed the DC out and applied Roux Porosity Control. While Porosity Control used to be a weekly staple of mine, I now only use it post-relaxer. If you don't know, relaxers (due to their high pH) basically lift the cuticle of your hair (which makes sense because how else is the relaxer going to get in there). What you want to do post relaxer is make sure that cuticle is closed or else you can have some serious moisture retention issues. Have you ever had porous hair? I have. It wasn't fun. Couldn't hold on to moisture if it had a bucket. Anyway, after I rinsed the Porosity Control out, I detangled my hair using my good ol' bone comb and Hairveda Ends Hydration. I then air dried in a ponytail and went about my business.

That is what I absolutely love about the first 8 weeks following a relaxer. My wash days are so easy breezy. There aren't any marathon detangling sessions, no having to tip toe through new growth...none of that! Just wash, detangle, and dry! It reminds me of the days when my hair was short and maintaining it didn't take much effort.

There you have it, my post relaxer wash day..my favorite of all wash days!