Wash Day - Henna & Flat Iron

Since my hair wasn't feeling the greatest after taking down my crochet braids, I knew this wash day had to be an extra loving one. I decided I wanted to henna my hair before doing any more protective styling so I knew that needed to be on the agenda, too. 

{1} Divided my hair into about 7 sections. Pre-poo with hot oil (grapeseed, olive, safflower) and Aubrey Organics Island Naturals Replenishing on the length of my hair. I left it in overnight with a plastic cap and scarf. 

{2} Next morning, shampooed with CON Argan Moisturizing. Ended up lathering 3 times because it didn't lather initially, and my hair wasn't feeling very soft & clean after the first time. It felt pretty good after the third time though. 

{3} I sat with towel wrapped hair for about 15 mins to soak up excess water.

And then... for the second week in a row I found my new growth coiled up on itself. Ugh. It's not quite a tangled mess, but it gives the appearance of being matted and can really freak a girl out if she's not careful! Last week, I thought maybe this whole effect was due to my hair being braided up in crochet braids for about 3 weeks. Nope! With it happening again, I know it's simply a new, disrespectful habit that my new growth has picked up. And I am not a fan. I'm only a little over 9 weeks post, but umm... this new growth is serious! Which is awesome, but it meant I had to detangle my hair before I put henna in it so it wouldn't just be all clumped together as I was trying to apply it.

{4} Finger detangled for close to an hour!

{5} Henna! I used a new kind, Godrej Nupur Mehendi, which is a pretty popular brand with 9 extra Ayurvedic ingredients added to it. I've been wanting to try it for awhile. I mixed it up the day before - using my usual henna recipe, except I only added a spoonful each of honey and Tresemme naturals conditioner for the second mixture. 

{6} Deep conditioned with Silk Dreams Vanilla Cream Moisture Dream and Organix Argan Oil Moisturizing deep treatment for about 1.5 hours with a plastic cap & scarf. 

{7} Rinsed my DC with cool water and did an ACV rinse with cooler water.

{8} Detangled with ease. I am sure the smoothing effect of the henna helped keep my hair from getting tangled again. I didn't really loose any hair, which is normal on days when I henna, too. #reasonsIlovehenna!

{9} I applied Aphogee Green Tea & Keratin, Elasta QP H2 and Organix Anti-Breakage Coconut Milk Serum as my leave-ins. 

{10} Tension blow dry on low

{11} Flat ironed on medium heat with Babyliss Pro Titanium

I flat ironed solely because I wanted to check my ends. I didn't use a lot of heat or get it completely straight since I wasn't trying to do a length check and knew I would be sweating it up soon. I must say I am LOVING the thickness of my hair!! With my nape progressing nicely, I feel like my hair is going to a whole new level of health. Yaaay!! Unfortunately, I was right about my thin bone straight ends... they're ready to go. I think they're begging me to chop them off, even though I was really tryna go for the gradual trimming. I just HATE the sight of those ends in comparison with the rest of my hair. They're probably not even that bad, but I just prefer the look of fresh, thick ends. We shall see when I relax next month. 

How was your wash day this week? Check out other wash day experiences at SavingOurStrands and JustGrowAlready! 

28 comments 9 weeks post, flat ironing, henna gloss, henna treatment, wash day

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Wash Day - Braidout

leave-ins (steps 5 & 6)

I need to get back to posting about my wash days! I had a quick and a successful wash day this week. My hair felt really soft and nice so I skipped the pre-poo session, which is something I rarely do. I was a little pressed for time though so it worked out well. 

{1} I separated my hair into 3 sections, finger detangling along the way.

{2} I shampooed section by section with Creme of Nature's Moisturizing Argan Oil Sulfate-free shampoo (that's a mouthfull!). I use a bottle with an applicator tip, containing shampoo and water, to wash my hair. I use the tip to pour the mix directly on my scalp then work it with my fingertips and rinse.

{3} After soaking up most of the excess water with a towel, I applied my deep conditioning mix. I used the same mixture of moisturizing conditioners I did after my henna treatment and added some of Aphogee's 2 Min Reconstructor to it. I covered with a plastic cap and scarf and let marinate for about an hour and a half while I got some things done.

{4} Rinsed with cool water and sprayed on my apple cidar vinegar rinse. I let this sit for a few minutes then rinse with cold water. I love acv rinses.

{5} I t-shirt and air dried to maybe 70% then applied my usual leave-ins: Elasta QP H2... and Aphogee Green Tea & Keratin Restructurizer. I do this section by section, too, as I detangle. I lost the smallest amount of hair throughout this wash day!... and I have no idea what to attribute it to :-/ I'm still happy about that small ball of hair though and my hair was feeling great at this point, too.

{6} I decided to do a braidout so I added a few more sections to my hair - 3 in the front, 2 in the back. I applied a cream moisturizer, Hairveda Red Tea Moisturizer, and topped it with Aussie's Dual Personality: Curl Definition & Soft Feel Serum and Eco-Styler Argan Oil Gel (all pictured above). I braided each section in the front in two braids and put three in the back, for a total of 9 braids.

{7} I set the braids on flexi-rods, put a scarf on and called it a night.

The next morning, I put some coconut oil on my finger tips to take the braids down. My hair is SO soft!! So, I pinned my hair back and under to avoid my hand slowly creeping into my head all day. I liked the way the texture came out as well. 

4 comments 9 weeks post, braidout, wash day

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All Twisted Up!

top and side view

I decided to go for a twisted updo for the week. I've tried a couple of them on myself before and am finding myself getting better at them. There's lots of inspiration on YouTube, in case you're looking for some yourself. I just kinda made it up as I went along. It took a little less than 2 hours, probably because I turned the tv off and just focused. 



Perhaps, one day, I will learn how to record and edit videos well enough for tutorials. For now though, I am going to do my best to explain how I went about this. I took a few pics of the process, in hopes of helping you to visualize the process. I was told it looked complicated by a few people, but it really wasn't. Half of my head is in flat twists, while the other half is in two-strand twists. 

I started with freshly washed, deep conditioned and air dried hair. After applying my usual leave-ins, I parted my hair a little off-center to divide it into two sections. I divided each section in half by parting my hair from ear to ear. Since I parted it a little off-center, the two sections on the left were a tad smaller than the two sections on the right. I decided the smaller two sections would be the ones I put in two strand twists so I clipped those up. 

I started with the front right section, flat twisting it up and to the left. While flat twisting, I applied Shea Moisture's Curling Souffle and Curl Enhancing Smoothie from their Coconut & Hibiscus line (pink label) to each twist. They're great for naturals, and now, I'd say relaxed ladies too! I loved the way my hair felt, looked and even smelled once I was done. My mom, a natural haired lady, uses these along with the shampoo and loves them. I just borrowed for the night. As I finished each flat twist, I pinned it down with a metal clip to ensure it wouldn't unravel. Moving on to the back right section, I flat twisted straight across to the left side. 

Once I was done flat twisting the right side, I started two-strand twisting the left back section, followed by the front. I didn't have a precise way for going about sectioning each twist. I would say they were medium sized, about the same as the ends of the flat twists. That's it! I tied it all up with a scarf to set overnight. To style, I made three pin curls with the two-strand twists, securing with bobby pins. I moved the pin curls around throughout the week. It held up nicely. I'm planning to try 2-3 more of these types of style for the next few weeks. Not having to style my hair daily was great!

Leave a Comment 9 weeks post, protective styles, Shea Moisture, twisted updo

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Wash Day

I've come to enjoy my weekly wash days. Initially when I started the weekly washing, I was not good at it. One day, a friend that I would regularly hang out with on the weekends asked why recently it seemed my hair was always wet whenever we had to go somewhere. I thought it was hilarious because it was true and knew I had to figure out a better system for washing my hair. Usually, I start with a pre-shampoo (pre-poo) treatment the night before. Then shampoo, deep condition and style the next morning. However, this time I opted not to do a real pre-poo like I usually do. I was too lazy the night before and then spent the next day running errands.

Here are the steps I took:

• Since I wasn't up for the full pre-poo shower cap treatment, I put a little Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner and grapeseed oil in my hair. Twisted it up into a "crown" and went on my way.

• Once I got home, I hopped in the shower and shampooed. Once with Shea Moisture African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo and once with Creme of Nature Argan Oil Moisture and Shine Shampoo (both sulfate-free). 
•  I do black tea rinses a bit differently than most people. I make about two cups and fill a spray bottle with it. I also saturate my hair/scalp with it before I apply my deep conditioner(s).

(top left) Black tea, (top right) Deep Condition Mix, (bottom) 3 sections I keep my hair in during wash day 

• I like to mix several conditioners together for deep conditioning. No serious theory behind it, but my hair loves it.Today, I was more protein focused in preparation for my relaxer next week. I put a shower cap on and sat under my bonnet dryer for about an hour. It was probably in my hair another 30 minutes before I got to rinsing.
• After I rinsed and detangled in the shower, I did a final rinse with apple cider vinegar (1st time!) and cool water. 
• I sit a towel on my head and squeeze a little to soak up the excess water. I cover it with a t-shirt for maybe 15 minutes or so. Then I apply my leave-in conditioners. 

I let my hair air dry today. I haven't quite gotten the hang of nice smooth air dried hair techniques yet. I'm 9 weeks post relaxer so even if it didn't turn out nice it's okay. I have a serious amount of new growth and just plan on bunning or doing a twist out for the week. My hair felt really soft after it was dry. I think the ACV rinse was successful, but I'm going to keep doing it for awhile before I give an official verdict.

Leave a Comment 9 weeks post, black tea rinse, wash day

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