That Relaxer Itch, Half Wigs, and Overall Rambling

Happy Friday everyone!


I was thisclose to relaxing this weekend. I'm about 14 weeks and 4 days post, trying to stretch to 16 weeks. I wound up not relaxing because I got 2 new half wigs so I figure that will keep me from relaxing for another week or so (which is exactly what I need!). However, after washing and DCing my hair last night, I know I cannot go past 16 weeks. My hair has so much new growth, it's starting to look like a lion's mane lol. So, I can't relax now but it's gonna happen soon.

On to the half wigs...

Last weekend, I ordered 2 half wigs from blackhairspray.com (awesome site to order from by the way!): Outre Tammy and Outre Monica (color 1B). They are synthetic, fairly inexpensive and they run about $17.99 each. Right now, I'm trying out Tammy and I *LOVE* her! The hair is very soft for it to be synthetic and the style of the hair reminds me of a braidout. It has 2 combs (one in the front and one in the back) and fits securely on my head. There is also a drawstring in the back so there is no excuse as to why this bad boy can't be secured. I had a hard time blending it (that's more b/c of my hair, it's a COMPLETELY different texture than that of the wig right now....I really really need a relaxer). I'm basically wearing Tammy with a headband right now but, I think you relaxed ladies should have no problems with blending. It's definitely perfect for half wig newbies. Check Tammy out (please excuse my makeupless face! lol)!






I think Tammy is a perfect everyday half wig. It's divatastic but not too divatastic! As you can see, I'm becoming a big fan of half wigs. As someone who doesn't like to manipulate her hair too much or use a lot of heat, half wigs are perfect. I can still get to my hair too-which is awesome. I also think this would be a good transitioning hairstyle for those ladies who are considering that.

I have yet to try out Monica..it seems more like a going out half wig than anything. Trust me though, as soon as I try her out..you guys are gonna hear about it!

What do you guys think? Would you try Tammy out?

Relaxer Day!!!

Today was relaxer day and I learned a few things today:

1) I will never, ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever stretch that long again! I was 24 weeks and 1 day post and oh em gee. It was ridiculous. I self relax and let me tell you that getting through all that new growth was definitely a task. Yeah...I think in the future, stretching for 17 weeks may be the upper limit of stretching. SMH

2) It took me 4 hours to do my hair from start to finish. 4 HOURS!! What the heck!?! I see that I have a lot of hair and the longer it gets, the longer it takes to actually do it. For a moment, I was wishing for the days where it took an hour, hour and a half to do my hair. That short cut spoiled me. I didn't think doing my hair would that 4 hours worth of effort.

3) It's flippin' hot in Alabama. It's been 90+ degrees but the heat index makes it feel like it's in the 100s. So yes, my hair is out of braids and all that but I surely will not wear it out everyday. I'm gonna have to bun until September because straightening my hair everyday is not an option.

Aside from all of that.......

It felt so good to get back into my routine! I relaxed using the Silk Elements Mild Lye Relaxer ( I use Mild because it doesn't make my hair bone straight), neutralized, DCed with ORS Replenishing Conditioner (because I was too lazy to drive out to Whole Foods to get my Aubrey Organics DCs), dried, and flat ironed. As far as progress, my hair pretty much looks how it did in June....maybe just an itty bit longer. Even though I don't have a pic, my sides are growing steadily too which is great!

Well I know you guys want to see how my hair looks so, here you go!






See...I told you that there wasn't much difference from June (but it's only been 4 weeks. I wasn't expecting insane growth anyway lol)

To Relax or Not to Relax.....

Wow you guys it has been awhile since I last posted! I have been crazy busy with school...stressing out about presentations and everything. Plus my hair is in cornrows-which is pretty low maintenance so I haven't been experimenting with hair stuff as much.

Anyway, I have been debating if I should relax my hair after I take this set of cornrows out or wait until I take my next set out. I can't call it. I feel like I'm ready for one. If I do it, it will probably be done early to mid August and I will be six months post. I definitely feel like that is a long enough stretch. Plus, my hair has been in protective styles since April. I kinda want a break so that I can wear my hair down for 1 day.

I dunno. Who would've thought that deciding to get a relaxer would be so difficult!

How I Went from Relaxing Every 4 Weeks to Relaxing When It Is Actually Necessary

Hey everyone! Happy Monday!

**This post may be of particular interest to beginning stretchers and possibly early transitioners (or those who may be thinking about it!)**


Today, I actually "washed' my twists (not with dry shampoo either) and now I'm sitting here DCing and thinking about my hair journey. It is hard to believe that a little over 2 years ago, I would relax my hair every 4 weeks faithfully. Shocking isn't it!? All because some stylist told me that with my hair type, I needed to. I was young, gullible, and assumed that surely the stylist knew what she was talking about. So I would relax every 4 weeks and over the course of 4 years, my hair broke off--badly. Fast forward to now. It is now May and my last relaxer was in February and I don't plan to relax anytime soon. So how did I go from relaxing 12 times a year to relaxing 3 or 4 times a year?

To help with these long, long ,long stretches, (aside from the constant deep conditioning) I divorced myself from the idea that my hair has to be straight all the time. Annnd....I had to divorce myself from that idea fairly quickly (my hair was so damaged that I couldn't even think about putting a relaxer in until I handled my massive breakage situation). That resulted in my trying curly styles like bantu knot outs and flexirod sets. I found that when your hair is curly, you aren't obsessing about all that new growth that is coming in and how you're going to handle it or how janky you look because your ends are straight and your roots are puffy. It simply doesn't matter because all your hair is curly. Braids and wigs are a big help too because it means that you don't have to directly deal with your hair all the time.

Now when I hit 4 weeks post, 6 weeks post, 10 weeks post, it doesn't even phase me. I just determine what which style will help me best not focus on the new growth that is there! That's progress!