Relaxed Hair Tings

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Hair milestone

I managed to get my hair in this braid for the first time ever! It was quick and easy to do. I kept this in for a week. I will be going back to either two or three braids/cornrows for the rest of my stretch and it's good to have this in my back pocket as a quick style. What are some of your favourite updos?

September relaxer update

It's been 8weeks since last relaxer already. I think I figured out why my scalp starts to itch after a certain amount of time. I will be using this stretch to test my theory out. This relaxer day went well. As my hair grows out there's more volume. My bun looks a good size too. I blow dried and did a small trim. My hair is soft and making great progress. I plan to keep it braided up after this week. I have been doing the bare minimum with my routine. This is better than nothing and I know I cannot maintain this. Other parts of my life need some work and considering the current conditions I am not pushing myself too hard just making incremental changes. How are you going? Have you been able to keep up with your hair routine?

July Relaxer Update

I briefly mentioned my relaxer in the last post but it's taken me a while for a proper update. Hair is still curly. Even though I use extra strength relaxer and for the longest recommended time my hair does not relax straight. I am grateful that I can put a comb through it and that's the main thing for me. Last stretch I was trying to see how I could manage with just bunning my hair. While it is the simplest way to have my hair up at my current length there are a few challenges especially as the stretch goes on. By the time I relaxed I was more than ready. It's not a major deal breaker but when you are going through a challenging season taking your bun down so you can moisturise and seal your hair and put it back up can be just one task too many on your list. Sometimes even wash day has to be pushed back a few and that may add more work down the track. I am going to try different ways of putting my hair up and see which ones work well for me. I generally don't like hav...

From Inside Out

One of the things that doesn't get talked about a lot is how your overall health can impact your hair growth, look and feel. If you are not eating healthy food adding various products directly to your hair may not give you the results you are after. By eating well it helps your hair as it comes from the scalp. Like everything else there are times when I haven't been able to stay on top of things like exercise and making that healthy choice when I'm too tired to cook and order out. The past couple of weeks have been challenging for various reasons. My scalp has been irritated and my schedule packed. I had to move my relaxer day because an irritated scalp can result in relaxer burn. Doing my wash routine was more than enough to tire me out and it's not that strenuous. I found someone to relax my hair which was good. It did remind me of one of my frustrations of not having a great hairdresser I can rely on. Sometimes having someone else do your hair is so good! I would lo...

Hair diary

Grateful for another day. Last time for my wash routine I was a bit rushed and didn't give enough time to the process. Now I am getting closer to relaxer and got some breathing room. Yesterday I washed my hair. Made myself comfortable with my moisturiser and wide tooth comb and made sure my hair was detangled. I already have plenty of new growth. Hard to believe it's only been 6 weeks post last relaxer. The tangles and knots don't play. I have a very tender scalp so getting on top of the tangles before relaxer is a priority for me. You don't want to be trying to detangle and applying relaxer at the same time! As we know life happens and sometimes you might not get to washing your hair or detangling it. The best way I have found to help me not look completely crazy is to have a routine in place with some go to styles for those challenging times. Having a routine helps keep things manageable. Even if it doesn't always go as planned you can work things for next round....

Day 30: Clarify

The first wash day of the month I usually use a clarifying shampoo instead of my normal shampoo. Clarifying your hair helps remove the build up on your hair. It also helps remove 'cones' like silicones from shampoos and conditioners. It's like a mini reset for your hair which helps keep your hair able to absorb what it needs. How often do you clarify?

Day 29

This is a shot from last relaxer day after the process. My hair has been detangled and no product in it. I am currently using ORS No Lye box relaxer in extra strength. This is the result that I get a looser curl pattern and my hair is more manageable.