Dry Deep Conditioning Overnight - Results!... :-)

Morning Guys!

So I tried Dry Deep Conditioning on Monday night, and I kept the conditioner in until last night when I washed it out and air dried my hair as usual. 

I think this method is a keeper!
I had my hair in large Twists that were pinned up at work complete with a headband.
My hair was dry and did not look like it had any product in it. Silly me didn't take a picture! Ugh!! Worry not I'll be doing this again on Thursday night and wearing it to work on Friday morning so I PROMISE I'll have a pic for you then.
But you can see the twist in the above picture doesn't look wet or look like it has product in it. It pretty much looked like that. No one at work noticed that I had Conditioner in at all.
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Dry Deep Conditioning Overnight... :-)

Hey There!

This is a really quick post I decided to do about how I'm deep conditioning tonight.

I know I need to deep condition my hair every other day this week because I Texlaxed on Saturday, and it turns out that the left side of my head was even more under processed than I thought - I noticed that this morning. Now I have to be very careful with the line of demarcation to avoid breakage and setbacks. I'm seriously considering going back to protective styling for another 8-10 weeks and then doing my own Texlax at home, and maybe going over the verrry under processed parts as the very last part of the Texlax processing time, I think this is called a "corrective Relaxer/Texlax"
Just a thought, we will see...For now:
"Moisture Moisture and more Moisture"
is my Mantra for the next 8-10 weeks

On to Deep Conditioning...
I'm all out of my Profectiv Daily Leave-in Strengthener,

*Tear*Sniff sniff*
So, alas, I can't use it to do my trusty No-Rinse Deep Conditioning,

I'm on duty tonight, which basically means that my workplace can call me at any point in time tonight into tomorrow morning, so rinse and air-drying isn't an option at the moment,
So...
I decided to do a Dry Deep Conditioning Session tonight.

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Yayness! I Finally Passed BSL!!! - Hair Update Week 8, 2014... :-)


Hey There Guys!

Yes you guessed it, I Texlaxed yesterday, and I'm happy to report that I have passed BSL (Bra Strap Length)!!! Woot woot!
I'm really happy that all the months of braids and 2-day-long wash and re-braid days paid off. I know the ends look kind of straggly here but worry not I checked them, no splits seen. The above picture was taken after I got home from the hairdresser.
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18 Weeks Post Relaxer Today! New Growth Pics... :-)

Hey There!

Yup its official guys, I'm 18 weeks post relaxer today!!!
What's that? Do I hear a chorus of angels singing in the background?
LOL
:-D
I thought I'd just show you a picture of my new growth at the moment:
*The new growth is over and a little bit below my top 2 fingers
So..
When am I Texlaxing? Any day now! 
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Baggying and The GHE (Green House Effect) Method for Moisture and Growth!... :-)

Hey Again!

I really wanted to get this post done today for a lovely viewer who stopped by the other day and ask me to explain what it is I meant by this "GHE Method" and "Baggying" that I kept mentioning in my previous posts.
First of all I'd like to say thank you to "thelongjourney" for stopping by and thank you even more for asking me for clarification. Sometimes I forget that I too didn't know some of the HHJ (Healthy Hair Journey) acronyms when I first started looking at hair blogs back in November 2012, I kept having to look them up when I saw them.
I'll definitely make more of an effort to explain different hair care acronyms, in fact I may just do a post soon with a list of a few commonly used hair-care acronyms and what they mean.

So...
Baggying - What is it Exactly?

In essence this is simply the process of applying a leave-in conditioner to the hair then placing a plastic cap/bag over your hair and allowing it to stay there for about half an hour to even hours overnight.
This basically creates a mini sauna for your hair so-to-speak. Sounds nice huh? :-) The moisture from the leave-in conditioner and the warmth from your body is trapped by the plastic barrier, forcing moisture to infuse your dry hair strands and it also creates the optimal environment for hair growth.
  1. A Moisturizing leave-in conditioner of your choice - in my case I often use my trusty Profectiv Daily Leave-in Strengthener
  2. If your hair is shoulder length and beyond and you want to make sure your ends are protected overnight - a Sponge Roller or a Flexirod
  3. A plastic cap 
  4. A scarf
  5. For the following morning a light oil of your choice is needed - in my case I've been using Vatika Oil of late.





I use the scarf OVER the plastic cap because, as I've mentioned before, I absolutely hate the "crunch crunch" noise, I'd never get to sleep! Lol

So, now that we know what Baggying is what about...

The GHE (Green House Effect) Method?

The Green House Effect (GHE) Method is essentially the same as the Baggying method, following the exact same steps EXCEPT that in the GHE Method, no leave-in Conditioner is used. You use a spritz of plain tap water instead of the Leave-in Conditioner.
This Method works off of just your body heat and your natural hair oils
I use this method sometimes with Rosewater instead of Tap water.
And I seal in the morning with a small amount of Vatika Oil the following morning.


How long do you "Baggy" (or use the GHE Method) for?
and How Often?
Honestly the answer is: It depends on your hair. Some people sweat a lot from their scalp and so 15 minutes is quite enough for them, for others like me overnight is quite fine, I don't wake up with soggy hair, it is only very slightly damp. Some people only need to do this once a week to see great results others like me, whose hair is more prone to dryness, benefit from doing it nightly or very other night. It really depends on you and how your hair feels.
If your hair is already well moisturised then adding too much moisture from doing this method daily could be more harmful than helpful. Over-moisturised hair is "soggy" and very prone to breakage. So you just have to listen to your hair. If it doesn't need it daily, try it every other day or even once a week, up to you!

*My hair prefers the Baggying Method for now, but sometimes I change things up and do the GHE Method perhaps once or twice a month. No matter what though, I always try to remember to listen to my hair making sure that I'm not over-moisturising if I can help it!
:-)

I hope that this post answers any questions that you guys may have. Feel free to let me know if I left anything out. I'm not an expert, what I have written here is what I have learned over the past year and from personal experience from trying these methods.
I encourage you guys to give it a try if you've never tried it before.


Have a Great Day Guys!

Xoxo,
Rachie :-)


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Exercise and Fruit & Veggie Challenge!... :-)

Hey There!
Another Monday has come and gone, and I think I'm ready for another week-long Hair regimen challenge. I did one the other day (link here) And it was good because it helped me really to stay on top of the things I was having difficulty being consistent with.
For this week's challenge, I'd like to focus on the 2 things that I have been having trouble staying consistent with. Namely: exercise and fruit & veggie intake.

Its pretty much common knowledge at this point that a healthy diet (in this case: the intake of 5 fruits and vegetables per day) and daily exercise is good for you, so why is it that I find it so difficult to get into the groove so to speak? Once I'm in the habit it's smooth sailing and I feel great about myself, but getting into habit mode is hard. Solution? No more excuses Rach!
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What's Rachie up to? - Hair Update Week 7, 2014... :-)

Hey there!!!
:-)
It's weekly update time again. I'm just now getting a chance to squeeze this update post in, work has been ridiculously busy of late. I hope you guys have had a good hair-week :-)
Protective Styling in my small braids is still going strong thankfully ;-)

Onto the Update... :-)
Last relaxer date: October 10th 2013
Currently: 17 weeks and 4 days post relaxer, Yay! Taking it one week at a time has really helped me stretch. I never knew I could stretch this long before, I'm really proud of myself :-)
Next Relaxer: I'm considering Texlaxing my hair at 18 weeks, which is... this week Thursday. I can't say that I have made up my mind though, so I guess when Thursday comes I'll see how I feel.

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Protective Styling with Braids - a Review... :-)

Hey There Guys!

I just wanted to share some on my thoughts on braids for length retention this morning - pretty much a synopsis of why I started them in the first place, and why I still have them in.

As you know I've been in braids since November last year because of a Cassia incident gone wrong. I lost 4 handfuls of hair. It was a very emotional time for me because I had put in a whole years worth of work into my hair only to ruin it before the holidays! I was at the point where I was just going to cut all my below APL (Armpit Length) hair to EL (Ear length) hair and start again for 2014. In short  I BAWLED! Lol - A post on that experience is coming very soon. After 4-5 days of detangling - no joke - That I managed to still have even SOME semblance of hair on my head was a miracle! I had to cut out so many knots and matted areas it was ridiculous... So after that I immediately threw my surviving hair  into braids. My hair had had enough manipulation. I didn't want to comb it again for the rest of the year! I felt my strands had been through so much stress over that 5 day period.

Hence my long-term braids-for-protective styling began...2014 is a new year, the goal remains the same. its a Hair journey, and yes setbacks suck, but, you allow yourself a week or two to mourn, then you pick yourself up, EVALUATE WHAT EXACTLY CAUSED the setback in the first place. Remedy the mistakes, and move forward towards the Goal, armed with more knowledge than you had before.

Goal: Waistlength / WHIP(Waist-Hip) length hair this year by April (birthday month, woot woot!) would be nice :-)
What am I working with:

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Happy Valentine's Day!!!... :-)

Hey Guys!!!!
I'd like to take a moment to just spread some of my love to you all today! 
To all my friends and family who have been so supportive during my hair journey and the beginning of this "Hair Journey" blog, and to all of you guys that stop by to read my posts and experience my journey with me THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I really hope that that only the greatest of things happen for you guys today!
Have a hug from me to you
Happy Valentines Day
:-)

Xoxo,
Rachie :-)
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Inversion Method Mini-Update... :-)

Hey guys!!!

This is a really quick update post... :-)
I just completed my Inversion Method for 7 days last night - I extended it to yesterday because I didn't do the Inversion method on wash day.

Check out how I did it: Click Here!!! :-)

Review:
All in all, it went well. I'm not so sure that I got an inch of growth, BUT as promised I'll definitely be doing a length check at the end of this month.

This picture on the left is the before picture taken on day 2 of the challenge. I just took down and detangled a single braid and tried my best to stretch it without putting too much strain on the strands. I have about 2 inches of new growth *happy dance* so the stretching was necessary to see the length. As they say - The Shrinkage is REAL! Lol     :-D

I really hope that I actually do get an inch or more of growth by the time I do my next length check on February 28th 2014. That would be Fantabulous!!! 

I'll just continue to try and stay on top of my hair care regimen: Exercise, Water, Vitamins, Moisturizing and Sealing... You know, The Works!!!

I think I'll also continue with the nightly scalp massages - reason being, scalp massaging by itself is said to stimulate the hair follicles and thus increase hair growth; ALSO its really relaxing! 2 points for Scalp Massages! :-D

I will continue to do the Baggying/GHE Method on alternate nights, to help keep my hair moisturized, and for some people it has been known to also stimulate hair growth! So... 2 points for the Baggying/GHE Method! ;-)

Believe and you will Achieve! Woot woot! :-)
Have a great day guys!

*Oh by the way! I'll be doing my Deep conditioning with the Profectiv Daily Leave-in Strengthener this evening, Ill let you guys know how it goes!

Xoxo,
Rachie :-)

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Nails vs Hair... :-)

There's a battle for my affection going on.... between my Hair and my Nails no less!
I love when my nails are well kept, I feel neater, more put-together. 
BUT the moment the nail polish chips, the chip then snags my hair! GRRRR!!! It's happened one too many times and I always notice breakage after these little snagging incidents - small bits of hair with no bulb (ie its not shed) when I would detangle my hair. I knew then I had to make a choice, medium length polished nails with the risk of chipping and need to RUN to the spa/salon to have them redone, or just keeping them very low on my own at home and unpolished to remove the risk of Snagging altogether...
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Wash Day - 09/02/14... :-)


Morning guys!

I said I'd do a really quick post to fill you guys in on how Wash Day went yesterday. It went pretty smoothly. :-D


  1. Firstly, I co-washed my braids with Tresemme' Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner. I also did a little scalp massage as well at the time.
  2. I then coated each braid with ORS Replenishing Conditioner. I then put on a plastic cap and sat under the dryer for 40 minutes.
  3. I then rinsed my braids and scalp thoroughly with warm water.
  4. Next, I did an AVC rinse (1/4 ACV to 3/4 water)
  5. Dried my hair with a cotton T-shirt and wrapped a silk scarf around my edges.
  6. I then coated my hair, focusing on the new growth and the ends, with a mixture of Profectiv growth Oil and Castor Oil.
  7. I allowed my hair to airdry to about 60-70% and then applied some Profectiv Strengthening Daily Leave-in Cream to each braid and sealed with just a little bit of Grapeseed Oil.
  8. I then twisted my ends around a single flexirod, tied my hair with a silk scarf and went to bed. 
This morning, I noticed my hair was a bit damp, so I think I should have let it air-dry a bit longer before I tied it all up under a scarf, next time :-)

My only regret was that I couldn't do the Coffee Rinse I was so eager to try, because all I have right now is Nescafe' Instant Coffee and apparently Instant Coffee has preservatives and other ingredients in it that make it not suitable for use as a rinse for your hair - i.e. it can be damaging. So.... I passed on that little experiment. I'll get some tea at the supermarket today so that I can do a Tea Rinse during the week.

Yeppers Peppers! So that's about it
I hope you guys have a great Monday!

Xoxo,
Rachie :-)

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What's Rachie up to? - Hair Update Week 6, 2014... :-)

Hey there!!!
:-)
Its weekly update time again. I'm happy to report to you guys that I have been sticking to my hair regimen much better this week than last week overall. The steady improvement is in itself quite motivating :-)

I wore my braids with different scarf tying techniques during the week...
 

And then switched it up a bit, rocking my Kurly Klips on the weekend...
This was my hairstyle for Brunch with the girlies earlier on today.
Protective Styling still going strong ;-)

Onto the Update... :-)
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Officially 16 weeks post! To Texlax or Not to Texlax... :-)

Yayness, its Friday!! Finally! 
I don't know about ya'll but for me, that was a hectic week.Whew!

Not only am I excited because its Friday, but  as of today I'm officially 16 weeks and 1 day post relaxer!!! *Happy dance*
That's 3 weeks more than my previous longest Relaxer Stretch. I'm very proud of myself - dusts shoulders off :-D

Alas, despite my excitement, I must confess that this morning I found myself REALLY REALLY missing my having my hair free. I like braids but I miss washing my hair in its free state and then letting it air dry into its bigger-poofier-fabulousness-state, Lol.

I was THIS CLOSE to booking an appointment for a Texlax Session Today/This Weekend...

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Day 1 - Inversion Method Challenge Update... :-)

Heyah!

This is a really quick little post, just updating you guys on Day 1 of my Inversion Method Challenge! :-)

All in all, it went pretty smoothly...
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Hmmm... Is there Something to this Inversion Method?... :-)

Heyah!

I don't know about you guys, but lately I've noticed a lot of talk about the "Inversion method" on all the blogs I browse and there are quite a few videos about it on YouTube. I had heard of one or two ladies trying it on the challenge I'm subscribed to on LHCF (Long Hair Care Forum), but I never really researched it or thought to give it a try. I already had so much to follow on my hair care/growth list! You feel me? Lol.

It was when I was browsing YouTube the other day when one video caught my eye:

Her results are amazing!!! In fact her hair is amazing, period. Its just amazing how healthy Texlaxed hair can look when its cared for really well.
This video had me really thinking... I'm skeptical...BUT nothing in this Inversion Method seems to be particularly hard to do or time consuming; and most importantly (Since I'm trying my BEST to avoid setbacks) there doesn't seem to be any step that is potentially harmful to my hair either...

I feel a little Challenge coming on!!
Woot Woot!
So, I'm gonna try this method, for a week straight every 3-4 weeks ( I think I'll alternate) until the end of May; complete with Scalp Massages with my LGHG Oil. I think I'll add baggying nightly or on alternate nights as well. I will do length checks on the last day of every month.

I like this... :-)
I may not get 1 inch per month but it wont do any harm to at least give it a try. I'm up for a Challenge! :-D
HHJ!

Xoxo,
Rachie :-)
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New Deep Conditioner Idea!... :-)

Hey guys!

I think I may have found a little life saver when it comes to Deep Conditioning, for those of us who are often strapped for time!
Okay, so over the weekend, I was moisturizing and sealing with  my usual Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk + Grapeseed Oil +/- Castor Oil, when it occurred to me, it had been a few days since I used my trusty Profectiv Daily Leave-in Strengthener cream.

 I like to use this cream once every 2 - 3 days at least because my hair likes protein every now and then,
 and this has:
  • Soy protein
  • Hydrolyzed Oat protein
  • Wheat protein &
  • Hydrolyzed Vegetable protein
I usually use it for moisturizing and sealing. It was when I read the back closely I noticed the following:
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What's Rachie up to? - Hair Update Week 5, 2014... :-)

Hey there!!!

Its weekly update time again, already! In fact I try to get these updates done anytime between Thursday and Saturday. I've just got a breather from work, so I'll make do with this little nugget of time :-D
As usual life has been hectic, but its all good. :-) I've been a lot better this week hair-care wise. I've definitely been more on point with my routine. There's definitely still room for improvement, but I'm a go-getter so I suspect there will ALWAYS be room for improvement! ;-)


Okay, onto the Update... :-)

Last relaxer date: October 10th 2013
Currently: 15 weeks and 3 days post relaxer!!! Yayness :-D I definitely couldn't have done it without the braids.
Next Relaxer: I'm STILL not sure. :-) I keep going back and forth between (1) Continuing to Texlax until I reach Waistlength or WHIP length; and (2) Going natural. Which ever I decide on, I would like my hair to be healthy and to reach my Waistlength goal.


How I'm feeling about my hair today: about 8/10 today :-)

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