Curling wand curls with a curling iron!

Hair growth challenge update!! I see growth!

Hey bloggers! I know it has been a while since I have posted here! Im so sorry! Life and school has "gotten in the way" of spending more time on my blog but I should be able to most more often now! I wanted to update you guys on my hair growth journey that I started just 3 1/2 months ago. Take a look at some of my before and after photos.

First day of challenge in April/beginning of May. Hair not quite BSL (bra strap length)

Bad picture :( Hair uneven. Left side shorter than right.

My hair was pretty uneven (because of a chop I did last year, attempting a bob cut....never again!) I can see that by using my MN (monistat) mix and taking biotin pills (from walmart), there is a noticeable amount of growth here! My hair is much softer and easier to manage. I am currently still wearing protective styles, such as wigs (but no sew-ins).

A noticeable amount of growth! Hair starting to even out!

I have had a few set backs because I got sick and stopped taking my biotin and stopped using my MN mix. I will get the ball rolling again because i love the results I have gotten from just 3-4 months of use!

Malaysian hair update! (old)

Know your hair porosity! Remedy for dry, damaged hair

Have you had enought with your hair dry and brittle hair? Does it puff up so easily once you step outside, after your working so long and hard on flat ironing and/or styling your hair? Does humidity totally ruin your hair and make you not want to wear your own hair out? Or what about relaxers not taking for you relaxed girls? Does your hair not get straight after relaxing your new growth, even though you leave it on long enough? I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL! My previous post about my HAIR MELT DOWN promted me to do so serious research so I can find out what the heck is wrong with my hair. My research brought me to www.hairfinder.com where I learned about the porosity of hair. Some hair is more porous than others. There is normal hair, low porous hair, and high porous hair. This can happen with relaxed or natural hair! In order to tell you your hair is normal, low or high in porosity, do the strand and water test found here. Snap off a small strand of hair off of your hair (I got a peice at the end of my hair because thats where its very poofy). Drop the strand of hair into a container of water (the container should be clear so you can clearly see the strand of hair). Wait 2-5 minutes to see if your hair FLOATS or SINKS. If you hair sinks, it is pouros. The strand fills up with water causing it to sink. If the strand floats, it is normal/low porous hair. My hair is VERY POUROUS! It only took a couple seconds to sink!! Read more info below to find out how to care for and maintain high and low porous hair! If you hair is prone to get frizzy, dry and break off, it might be exeremly porous. If it refuses to take relaxers or hair color, it may have a very low porosity!   I found out about this shampoo that helps control the porosity of hair. It helps only high porous hair. Check it out on ebay here!


Porosity control shampoo by Roux



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Hair Porosity

       Porosity is the measure of the hair's ability to absorb moisture. This is determined by the condition of the hair's cuticle layer (the overlapping scales of the hair shaft), and is rated as low, normal, and high. In normal, healthy hair, the cuticle is compact and inhibits the penetration of the hair shaft by moisture - both moisture going in, and moisture coming out. When the cuticle is overly compact and prevents the penetration of the hair by moisture it has low porosity.
 


Hair porosity comparison
(Click to enlarge)


 
       Hair with low porosity is harder to process, and is resistant to haircolor and perms. Low porosity hair must usually be softened prior to other chemical services. Hair with high porosity is hair whose cuticle layer is open and the hair too-readily absorbs moisture. Overly-porous hair also releases moisture easily and becomes dry and is easily damaged. Acid-balanced conditioning treatments are used to contract the cuticle layer and lock-in moisture on overly-porous hair.
       Extreme caution must be used when performing chemical services on overly porous hair to prevent damage. Haircolor will take much more quickly and strongly in overly porous hair (and semi-permanent and demi-permanent haircolors will fade much more quickly). Perms and straighteners will process much faster in high-porosity hair as well.

       To determine the porosity of your hair, simply feel it - both when wet and when dry. If the hair feels straw-like and rough when dry, or if it feels gummy or slightly rubbery when wet, then you probably have a problem with overly porous hair. Or you can carry out a hair porosity test.

My First hair set back!! :(

THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY FIRST SET BACK OF MY HAIR JOURNEY. I relaxed my hair with a Lusters Pink brand touch up relaxer. 

 

This is the brand I always use; regular strength. I thought because I had been using monistat on my scalp that I needed to be extra gentle. BAD DECISION. I didn't put enough relaxer so I UNDER processes my new growth. OMG I HAVE NEVER EVER SEEN MY HAIR REACT LIKE THIS. My roots are nappy as all get out! My fingers get stuck at the root when trying to finger comb!! Ahhhhh!!!! I want to scream and cry!! I let it air dry thinking it would be better, heat damage wise....bad decision#2!!! OMG my hair is so brittle. I also used another/different shampoo that's suppose to be moisturizing with coconut but it totally dried my hair out. It had sulfates and my hair isn't used to them because I use Creme of nature sulfate free line faithfully! 

The shampoo that MAY or MAY NOT be to blame for my dry hair

I am soo depressed. I will try to shampoo again and get a hot oil treatment. I think one mistake I did was put the egg and Mayo protein treatment in my hair right after my relaxer :( I think that is what has made my hair dry and maybe not so much the shampoo :( I am doing my research about the porosity of hair and will inform you guys about it later :)

Oh! I also purchased this:


I think this product is water based; not good on relaxed, flat ironed hair. Better on wet hair before blow dry



^^^ I wanted to see what the big fuss was about about this she's butter conditioner. I can't give a totally honest review because my hair has hit a set back stage. I applied this on my dry hair And it seemed to do NOTHING but make my hair more dry when the product dried on my hair. This product is water-based so I try not to use it on dry, flat ironed hair. When I do, it just makes my hair "wet" again :(

MY personal Hair Regimen! Steps to healthier hair!

Hey bloggers! I wanted to share with you the products that I have been using to create my hair regimen while on my long, healthy hair journey! These are the steps I have began to take in order to help me reach my goal to mid-back lenght hair by next year:

1) Relaxing further apart/stretching my relaxer-I discovered I was putting too much relaxer on my hair and I was over processing it. I was also relaxing too often. I will try to streach my relaxers for at least 4 months.

2)Using Miconozole Nitrate (Monistat)-Miconozole nitrate helps rid the scalp of bacteria. This promotes growth.

3)Taking Biotin pills-These pills can be found at Walmart, CVS or Walgreens, or probably anywhere vitamins are sold. It helps promote growth and good health of hair and nails.

4)Washing my hair more often-....but not TOO often. Instead of washing once a month, I wash twice to help get rid of build up on my scalp, thus promoting growth.

4)Protein treatments-I started using an egg and mayonnaise mix (YES eggs and mayo!) on my hair after washing it. I only do this maybe twice a month.

5)Rinsing conditioner out with cold water-I have heard that cold water closes the pores on your scalp, which I guess helps something lol

6)Rinsing my hair with vinegar-Vinegar (white or apple cider) helps your hair become shiny and soft. Mix half vinegar and half water, pour it on your hair and let sit under shower cap for 3 minutes. DO NO shampoo out.

7)Trim more often-Although I hate trimming length off, it has to go. That is the reason why my hair has been the same lenght for so long. I have major dead, split ends. It splits all the way up the hair shaft and causes breakage...so just cut it off!

8) Hand off-Yes, keeping your hands out of your hair is key. Too much styling such as constant brushing, combing and heat can severly damage hair causing it to break off.

9)Wearing protective styles-My main protective style are wigs. Although sew ins are good too, they can be damaging to your hair when removing them. I would suggest staying away from glued-in or bonded weaves. Even if glue is property taken out, it still may damage your hair.

10) Be patient!-You wont see major hair growth over night. It WILL be frustrating in the beginning. You must accept any set backs and move on. Take pictures of progress so you can see the change slowly being made. This will encourage you not to give up!

Hope this helps!!!

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