Jumping on the Sulfate-Free Bandwagon

My scalp has been really dry lately. I mean really dry, and flaky. I tried a few things.. Head & Shoulders (which was probably drying my scalp out even more in retrospect), oiling my scalp, clarifying (thinking I must have had a lot of product build-up), etc.

I decided to give one last thing a try: going sulfate-free. I went to the pharmacy this morning and bought Live Clean's Fresh Water Moisturizing Shampoo. Live Clean is an all-organic Canadian brand, whose product line looks amazing (including Argan Oil, Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, Apple Cider Vinegar Clarifying Shampoo, etc.). I don't really have any results to report yet since I'm still under the dryer. I can say that it smelled heavenly though, and my hair didn't dry out as it usually does when I'm putting in my rollers.

After a few uses, I'll write a review.

Relaxed by a New Stylist

Haven't posted in a really long time. I've been really tired with working the evening shift...

I relaxed my hair on Friday. I've given up on self-relaxing for the moment. I made the mistake of trying a new stylist. I wanted a change from the woman I've been going to since I was 14, because she doesn't respect her clients' time, and doesn't accept my decision to stretch my relaxers.

Everything started out well on Friday, except for the fact that the stylist was half-an-hour late. He didn't have anything negative to say about the amount of new growth that I had. He relaxed with Mizani ButterBlends. He washed my hair about three times with neutralizing shampoo, and let it sit on my hair for about 10 minutes.

The mistake that was made, and I partially blame myself for it, is that he wrapped my hair up in a towel and let it sit for a few minutes. By the time he took it down, my hair was an absolutely knotty mess. I have never, never in my life seen my hair have that many tangles. And he started to blow dry it with a comb attachment. I kindly asked him for a comb so that I could detangle it myself. I lost of lot of hair, and I was really upset about that (had tears in my eyes even). He finished blowdrying it, then pressed it.

I'm not a fan of myself with flat, limp, straight hair. I washed it today, and I am currently under the dryer with a ponytail rollerset.

Lustrasilk Olive Oil + Ponytail Rollersetting

I haven't updated in so long. I feel like I've been doing the same things to my hair all the time, therefore had nothing "new" to post.

I ran out of ORS Deep Conditioner, and decided to try something new. I bought Lustrasilk Olive Oil Cholesterol. When I got home, I realized it's not even a deep conditioner, but a leave-in. I hadn't read the instructions, and just seeing "cholesterol" and "no heat cap necessary" on the front label, I never considered that it wasn't a DC. I really cannot imagine using it as one due to its consistency though (feels pretty gooey).

I've used it twice so far. I slather a lot of it on, then add some coconut oil, then sit under the dryer for 20-30 minutes. I can't honestly say that I see it benefiting my hair so far, and have pretty much already decided that I won't be repurchasing it. The only reason I bought it was because I saw a thread at LHCF where folks were discussing whether they preferred Lustrasilk Cholesterol or LeKair Cholesterol. It seemed like most votes went toward LeKair, but the store I went to didn't carry it, so I just decided to take a chance on Lustrasilk.


I also tried Ponytail Rollersetting for the first time. For me, it's definitely easier than regular rollersetting. Now that I have an easier way to put in the rollers, I just need a quicker way to dry.. I get so restless under the dryer. It takes at least an hour and a half before my hair is dry. A Pibbs is definitely NOT in my budget though, so I'm going to have to make do with what I have.

Once dry, I flat ironed and bumped my ends under to give it some extra bounce. It's not a true length check, but it'll have to do for now. At the end of the month, I may flat iron again bone straight to see my hair's true length.

I LOVE FLEXI RODS!

I absolutely adore flexi rods. I only started using them about 6 months ago, but I will never turn back. They are my go-to hair tool. I love how they can really save a bad hair day. I love their simplicity.

I've been using small ones, but decided to order some large ones on eBay. They arrived in exactly 2 weeks, from China to Canada. Not bad! They're 2 cm in diameter. Can't wait to try them this weekend!

It's been a while...

.. since I last did a braidout. My scalp was itching the other night, so I was dying to wash my hair. I get home from work at 9pm, so it's really not a time where I want to start doing anything time-consuming to my hair, like rollersetting. I do stay up extremely late, but I mean, that is prime TV time, so sitting under a dryer doesn't cut it ;)

I washed with Head & Shoulders Refresh, conditioned with Aussie Moist, and applied Herbal Essences LTR once out of the shower. I airdried for an hour or so, then braided my hair into two, and went to bed. My hair was still pretty wet in the morning, so I blowdried it on 'warm', then took out the braids.

I am in desperate need of a new camera. Sorry for the crappy webcam pics :(

First Attempt: Fishtail Braid

Last night while doing my blog rounds, I came across this post at The Anti-Hair Slave about fishtail braids. This particular style of braiding has always intrigued me, from the time I was a child (many of the little Chinese girls at my elementary school wore them). Obviously, that was WAY back in the day, ages before we even fathomed the idea of YouTube. Until last night, I had forgotten about them.

I took to YouTube to look for tutorials. This one was extremely helpful:

I washed my hair on Monday, but was already starting to look pretty limp (guess I've been going hard on the argan oil LOL). I couldn't possibly wear my hair down, so I decided I'd do the fishtail braid for work today.

I'm satisfied with the result considering it was my first time. Practice makes perfect, and I will definitely be trying this style again soon!

Some New Hair Toys

Bought a couple of banana clips today. I had one in mind, for $3. When I went to the cash to pay, they told me there was a minimum of $5 to use my debit card, so I had to go back and choose a second one because I had no cash on me. They were 2 for $5.

My Hair Today

I flat ironed my hair on Thursday after relaxing, and have been sleeping in 2-3 flexi rods/night since. Before bed, I would lightly spritz my hair with some Aphogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer and seal with a dime-sized amount of One 'N Only Argan Oil. The pictures above are the results. I'm really feeling this look. It's so effortless! :) Addicted to flexi rods. I only have really small ones right now, but maybe one day I'll allow myself to get a bigger size (when I merit them).

First Wash after Texlaxing

I relaxed on Thursday, and washed today. I washed using Creme of Nature's Neutralizing Shampoo. I definitely won't be repurchasing this shampoo, if I choose to continue self-relaxing. It's supposed to have a colour indicator (supposed to be white when hair is back to a neutral pH), but it seems to wash out white from the get-go.

I then deep conditioned for 25 minutes under the hooded dryer with ORS Replenishing Olive Oil Deep Conditioner, coconut oil, and olive oil applied to my scalp using an applicator bottle.

I rinsed in and detangled in the shower.

Once out, I applied Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship leave-in conditioner and a tad of CHI Silk Infusion. I rolled my hair using gray rollers, and am now sitting until the dryer for about an hour and ten minutes. My hair most likely won't be dry once that time is up, but I have to be out from under the dryer to watch Gossip Girl ;)

I will probably roll my hair with 2-3 flexi rods before bed.

It felt so great not to have to battle with my hair after washing it. This means my relaxer was much more successful than it was the last time. I still have a lot of texture, which I am happy about. I really don't think I will ever feel 100% confident self-relaxing my hair because I am scared of having a setback. I guess practice makes perfect, but there isn't really that much room for error when using caustic chemicals..

Self-Texlaxing: Attempt #2

My original plan was to self-relax sometime this weekend, but my scalp was starting to itch, so last night, I decided I would do it right there and then.

I based my scalp with Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil (it's basically a mineral oil-free hair grease, IMO). I did the half-and-half method (relaxed half of my head of hair, rinsed it, then relaxed the second half). I pre-parted all of my sections, and applied the relaxer (ORS lye) using an applicator brush. I smoothed the sections with my gloved hands. The application + processing totaled 15 minutes per side. I did a quick protein treatment using Motions CPR in the shower, then neutralized with Cream of Nature. I followed up with a deep conditioning treatment under the hooded dryer for about 20 minutes, using ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner.

It was getting late, and I did not have time to rollerset, so I blowdried on cool till maybe 50% dry, then blowdried on warm until fully dry. I also flat ironed, put in two flexi rods then put on my satin bonnet. (As leave-ins prior to drying, I used Aphogee Green Tea + One 'N Only Argan oil. I applied a tad of CHI Silk Infusion before flat ironing).

I can't even tell you what percentage I texlaxed to. I'll have to see this next time I wet my hair. I think I'll deep condition by Monday or something.

My camera batteries are dead, so I took a picture just now with my webcam. It's pretty dark, but wtv. I did not do a length check. I've been doing them way too often, so I am going to try my best to hold out on that until at least early May ;)

All in all, it seems to be a success. On the other hand, I must admit that I don't enjoy relaxing my hair myself. My new growth is so hard to part, and I have a lot of hair, so it is a lot of work. I might end up going back to a salon next time.. my next dilemma will be trying to choose who to go to.. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.