Relaxed Hair Tings

  The below is what my regimen is currently looking like. I am still working on it as I learn what my hair likes and also trying to find products that I will stick to all the time. Daily - Put hair up in a scarf/bonnet when I go to sleep   Weekly - Shampoo and condition x1 - Moisturize and seal x2 - Oil scalp x2   Monthly - Clarify x 1 - Deep condition x2   Others: - Dust/trim as needed  - Wear protective/low manipulation styles 99% - Prepoo as needed   What is your current regimen and has been working for you?

With starting my hair journey I quickly realized I needed to make note of how things were going. This  included making note of what products I liked or disliked and why. That's how my hair diary started. Before I started my hair journey I would buy whatever products I could find at the shops and use them. Once they run out I would go back see what is available and buy that. I have realized that most products especially for relaxed hair are imported from overseas. If the store thinks a product is not popular or going slowly they may choose not to restock when it runs out. This is the kind of challenge I have on top of some products being discontinued. With starting my hair journey and trying to find products I like, I now have to make a conscious effort to find them. My current plan is to find a main staple product and a back up for each use. Hopefully they will be from different companies too. Recently trying to see what some highly recommended products cost left me a little down a...

  First ever roller set!   We welcomed the new year and I started preparing for my relaxer. For the first time in a while I could now part my hair into 4 sections! This really showed the progress as last time I struggled to section it. A new thing that I added to my relaxer routine was to twist my hair in those sections. I did this a few days prior. It wasn't a precise job by any means but it really helped on the day. I was able to go through applying the relaxer in a good amount of time and managed to smooth my hair out a few times before rinsing the relaxer out. I have seen this method from a few ladies on YouTube and it certainly makes the process much smoother. I was going to do a comparison with pictures of my last relaxer and this one but I didn't feel like flat ironing my hair so that will have to be for some other time. After relaxer my hair is soft and easier to comb and run my fingers through. However my hair is still curly and still has texture. I would like to get ...

  Over on Instagram Val (@hairlicious) was hosting a castor oil challenge from October for 3 months and this has just finished. I was so excited to join the challenge, I signed up so fast! Then I had to dig through my cupboards to see if I had any castor oil. I found some Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil from a while back and was relieved I could participate. The reason for the excitement was that I was rebuilding my routine and trying to be consistent. This challenge would help me stay on track and be accountable with the weekly check ins. I joined the basic level for a few reasons. One of the reasons was that I hadn't used castor oil for a while and I couldn't remember the reason I stopped. I didn't want to join at a higher level with higher usage without knowing how my hair will react. The other reason was also to not overwhelm myself so the requirement to apply castor oil 1-2 times a week was just perfect for me. First I incorporated the castor oil by applying it to...

 This is a shot of my ponytail from November 2020. My hair is growing which is great! I was really struggling with what to do with it being so short. Not that we were really going anywhere. I managed to gain some skills as well. One of the skills is doing cornrows myself. This has been so helpful in keeping my hair out of the way and reducing manipulation. I still maintain my routine with them in. I am not yet the best braider on the block but I am working on it. I plan to keep cornrows as part of my routine too. Another skill I picked up and have been practicing is tying head scarves. This has been useful on those super busy days when hair wasn't co-operating. I have also used this for when I want to keep my cornrows for another week where they are quite spent and I don't want to redo them. There's still a few styles I want to practice and also add maybe 1 more colorful scarf. As per my Instagram my current goal is for a healthy relaxed shoulder length ponytail. This is wh...