Hello ladies
As promised I am working harder (and a little smarter) to make sure I update Hairducation more regularly. It’s all about planning really.
I am currently following my wig regimen and my hair has been hidden under my wig for a few weeks now. I had a wash day last weekend so it was the perfect opportunity for me to write a hair update post.
I will also use this opportunity to share a new method of air drying that I have fallen in love with .
Hair Update
I am currently 16 week post relaxer. My hair was under processed (more than I intended) during my last texlax. It is actually very hard for me to distinguish between my new growth and the under processed hair. I thought about doing a corrective relaxer but felt confident I could manage the two textures for a while.
I usually stretch my relaxers for 20 to 25 weeks but I most certainly will NOT be stretching for that long this time.
My hair is not doing bad at all. I have been working hard to take care of it under my wig and I believe this is paying off. I also have very little tangles and breakage because I am doing everything in sections.
My ends certainly need a trim. They are really old and weathered and damaged and there are a few split ends in there too. I am actually looking forward to trimming them.
New Air Drying Method
I used to air dry my hair using the scarf method, i.e. hair detangled and combed back with a satin/silk scarf tied at the front to make edges smooth.
This method is great for my when I don’t have too much new growth. I find however that with my hair getting longer and thicker over the years, the scarf method isn’t always ideal for me.
Some of my hair would get a little matted at the roots and I would experience a lot of shrinkage.
On my last two wash days, I decided to try something which I hoped would prevent or at least reduce the matting and shrinkage.
My wash day was as follows
- As usual, I washed and deep conditioned my hair in braids, (I did 14 box braids this wash day).
- After rinsing my hair thoroughly, I unravelled one braid, detangled and applied my leave in conditioners and combed through gently.
- I secured the base of the hair with a small hair band. The hair was secured firmly but was not too tight.
- I repeated the above steps with each of the box braids.
Pros of Air Drying In Sections
- It prevented my roots from matting
- I experienced less shrinkage of my new growth
- My hair was very fluffy and bouncy when it dried
- My roots dried A LOT FASTER in comparison to the scarf method
- Because my hair is left in sections when it is dry, It makes it easier for me to put it back in the box braids I wear under my wig
Cons of Air Drying In Sections
- If the bands are too tight at the base, it will pull, snag and break a few stands when you try to remove them. A couple of my bands were too tight and broke a few strands.
The others slid off smoothly when pulled them off gently.
I plan to air dry my hair with this method going forward.
What is happening with your hair ladies? Have you tried any new techniques recently?
The next blog post will be a hair style pictorial. Please come back soon.
X
Lade
Learn | Change | Grow
Hello lade, your determination and diligence is really inspiring. I believe my hair can grow to my dream length too God willing. I discovered that my shampoo contains sulphates and unfortunately I’ve used it only once so there’s still a lot of it left and wastage is out of the question. What do I do to protect my hair from the harsh effects of the sulphates atleast till I finish using the shampoo and get a sulphate free one? Also how often do you advice that one should trim off split ends? I have done so only twice. Thank you.
Author
Hello Zainab
thank you for your kind words.
My honest advice is that you buy yourself a sulphate free shampoo. But you dont have to throw the one containing sulphate away.
You can use it as a clarifying shampoo once a month or every 6 weeks.
I believe I have written a post about trimming. If you search for it using the search area at the top right of this page I am sure it will come up.
x
Lade
Hello lade, thank you for the helpful response. I bought the elasta qp shampoo for relaxed hair, elasta qp intense fortifying hair conditioning treatment, ors olive oil hair masque And elasta qp olive oil and mango butter h2 leave in conditioner, I’m ready to start off with them and hopefully see some improvement. I wanted to ask, is it advisable for me to mix baking soda with my shampoo as a chelator? Is it safe for relaxed hair? I want to know your opinion before using it. I noticed the shampoo has one sulphate so I would dilute with water, some coconut and olive oil.
Glad the new air drying method is working for you. I just started keeping my hair in sections for the entire wash day and my hair was really happy.
Author
That is sooooo fab.
I cant imagine hair care life without sections. I am so glad its working for you too.
x
Lade
Your hair is amazing! Looks great to me…no trimming required.
Author
Lol Divachyk
thank you but erm …..I relaxed a few days ago and cut of only an inch and half. and I am really happy now……. thick ends will be mine one day…..and I am getting there slowly
Hi Lade. I’m glad you found a new method and it worked for you. I recently adjusted my regimen for Harmattan because of the weather here in Abuja. Please check out my blog when you have the time momashairjourney.blogspot.com.
Author
Thanks Hilda,
Will check out your blog.
Happy hair journey
x
Lade
Hi Lade! remember me?? lol been a while… alot of things has happened and I recently started blogging on Juditheresehaircare.blogspot.com 🙂 do checkout my blog some other time. Your hair is gorgeous as always… i think i will try out your method of air drying…but the swishing… i’m drooling… just awesome!!
Author
Hello Juditherese
Yep I remember you. I have visited your blog, Its lovely, well done you. I hope you are enjoying blogging.
Thanks for the compliment xx
Lade
Hello Lade,
Hope you are doing great.
I want to say thank you again for sharing your hair care tips.
I stumbled on your blog sometime in October when I decided to get my hair totally cropped. This is because once my hair acts up I cut it but I realised it wasn’t my hair but me.
I have since started a regimen, trying to use what I have without having to give the cost of taking care of my hair as an excuse.
I use good products, and at least I realised what works for my hair. I have gone 9 weeks since my last relaxer application and I must say even if it doesn’t look so different it acts different.
The cutting and shedding has minimised to a large extent, I don’t get to comb expect on my wash days and even when I comb on wash days, compared to before, there’s less hair shedding and washing and conditioning in parts really works.
Deep conditioning makes it totally manageable and the protein-moisture balancing is not as confusing as when I first started.
I’m not a weave-on person and I’ll like to know how I can get one of your wigs; I reside in Abuja.
Also I’d like to ask that if you have any DIY homemade conditioner recipes (esp leave-in), could you please share and on that will serve all hair types. Sometimes when I think of getting products, I might not be able to get them at a certain time and if I can whisk something up in my kitchen as a substitute that should save the day.
It’ll be nice to have that. Thank you again.
Hello Lade,
Hope you’re doing great.
While I await your response to my last post, I’d like to find out, please how do I tell the difference between protein based and moisture products.
I have been doing a lot of research to review the products I use.
On my last hair wash day, I used ORS Replenishing Conditioner to deep condition and then I used Cantu Shea butter leave-in repair creme which I believe is protein from reading your blog. I just read elsewhere that the ORS is protein based.
The point is that I’d really appreciate more clarification so when I see products I want to try, I can tell the difference between moisture and protein based.
Thank you for sharing again.
Hi lade, I’m so happy I found your blog. I followed your wash day routine step by step with different products though and I must say I’m on cloud nine. My hair feels great and most importantly there was very little breakage. I used to have very disappointing wash days and lose a lot of hair but once I found this post and followed the steps, the rest they say is history .Thank you so much for the post. Thank God I found your blog. I’m not sure I can stretch my touch up any longer ,16weeks is just enough, I’ll try to do my relaxing myself from now on.
Hi and happy new year. I started my hair journey in June 2014 and the results are amazing so thank you so much for the hair tips and hair care info. My mum saw my hair and has started her hair journey as well. I do have a question tho….I recently had highlights done with the garnier nutrisse hair dye and realized that my hair is breaking. Pls help a sorry I dyed my hair rehairducation follower. What can I do to stop this? I still follow my hair regimen but my hair is still breaking. Any tips you can offer would be great and much appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Hi lade,
I came across ur blog in december and ever since then I’ve been really inspired.Your hair is beautiful,I’ve tried some of your healthy hair practices and its working for me,we’ll try this new method of air drying, I started my hair journey last month and looking forward to growing my hair to your length.A lot of ladies neglect their hair and I think they need to see this blog to change their approach.I must confess I’m gradually getting addicted to this site.Keep up your good work
Hi, I experience a lot of tangle on wash day, I wash my hair braided or twisted wit cleansing conditioner after removing shed hairs, detangles again when 90% dry coz it break if I dry detangling when wet bt still tangles. Pls what else can I do to prevent tangling .