Rehairducation

Texlax Update April 2018: Part 2

Hello Ladies

As promised, in this post I am going to share pictures of my hair which I texlaxed a month ago.  I am also discussing the major challenge I had with my hair last year, how it led to me cutting off over 5 inches off my hair and how I managed to maintain waist length hair despite the cut.

I failed ladies, I failed in getting pictures of my hair blow out.  I had reserved a day to get my wash and a few other things done but then I had a really bad fever so wash day was cancelled.  I washed it eventually the next day when I felt better but I air dried.  If you are new to Hairducation and my texlaxed hair you may not know that it shrinks when I air dry it so my hair looks shorter than its blown out length.  For anyone who wants to see my blown out length you will see it in my highlights on my IG page later today.  So with that said, the pictures in the post were taken on my last wash day when my hair was dry but my roots were still very damp.

 

 

 

 

My Major Hair Challenge from 2017

I moved to the UK for 9 months in March last year and arrived with hair that was in my opinion, the best it had ever been.  After a few months it just didn’t feel the same way, it tangled more, seemed to be changing colour and felt different and not in a good way. My hair looked okay but if didn’t feel as good as it should have.   I was baffled because I was keeping up with my regimen despite my crazy schedule at the time and using products that worked well for my hair.

I texlaxed in September 2017 and was shocked by how bad my ends were tangling even after deep conditioning.  Ladies when I say tangles, I mean grab a scissors and cut me out tangles.  For the first time in a long time I had to trim my ends because it needed a trim.  Usually I trim my hair on texlax day to keep my hair at waist length.  But this time those ends HAD to go so I trimmed off two inches and was still waist length.
By October I looked at my ends and thought hold up, I need another trim???? Why??? I’ve been good to my hair so why are my ends looking busted.   I trimmed off about an inch and half and my hair felt so much better.   Giving the issue some thought I realised it was the hard water prevalent in many parts of the UK.
The mineral in hard water penetrates the cracks of hair fibres and cannot be removed by normal shampoos.  The more porous the hair fibre is, the deeper and more affected the hair will be by the minerals.  The mineral will form a coating on the hair and prevent your hair products from working.  This will lead to discoloured and very dry hair which tangles and breaks.

I remembered how badly hard water affects my hair and decided to start chelating my hair once a month.  I was sure that would fix it because I had grown my hair from shoulder length to bra strap length in a hard water area of the UK following my current regimen.  I was convinced that increasing the regularity of my chelating would suffice.

After my return to Nigeria at the end of 2017, I began to panick because my hair was still acting crazy despite no longer being in a hard water area.  I could no longer predict how my would respond to products or techniques.  So being a research prone person, I dug deeper and found out exactly what the issue was.  It was……….hard water.  Yes …that was still the cause.  The residue of hard water was still in my hair and that was what was causing all the havoc.

I was puzzled  and didn’t understand why the hard water had such a horrible effect on my hair in comparison to my earlier years in the UK.  I carried out further research and discovered something I never realised.  There are varying levels of hard water.  Through my research I found that the area I lived in at the earlier part of my hair journey had hard water whilst the area I lived in in 2017 had extreme levels of hard water. You can compare the levels in the image below.

Despite my return to Nigeria, I realised I probably still had some hard-core mineral residue on my hair fibres.  I purchased and used a very strong swimmers shampoo by a brand called Ion.  I washed a second time with my Cream of Nature Argan Oil shampoo and deep conditioned as  normal. The difference to my hair was immediate but I trimmed off another two inches to get rid of thinned out ends.  I also realised why my ends bared the brunt of the hard water damage.  The ends of hair are the most porous parts of hair and as I mentioned earlier in this post, the more porous the hair, the more damage it will sustain from the hard water. The key lesson here is that for ladies who live in countries with hard water, find a way to check your hard water levels.  If it is high, consider getting a shower head hard water filter and use a strong chelating shampoo every 3 to four months to remove the minerals that may be on your hair fibres.  Don’t let hard water wreck your hair like it almost did mine.

 

My hair has been doing great since then and I am back to being happy with it and I hope you have learnt a thing or two from my experience.

Have you had any challenges with your hair recently?  How are you bouncing back from it?

My next post will be an educative post about split and damaged ends.  I will be sharing a few microscopic images of healthy and damaged ends. There will be loads to learn so see you soon

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Texlax Update April 2018: Part 1

Hello ladies,

I hope your hair journeys are going well and that your hair is well hydrated and breakage free😊

I finally texlaxed my hair!!!!  To be exact I did the texlax on the 16th April, just over two weeks ago. My schedule on my texlax day meant I didn’t have time to stop to take pictures.  I have had one wash day since I texlaxed but again I didn’t get round to using my camera but I did take some short videos using my phone.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen one of the videos.  I will share some screen shots of the video in this post and will put up the rest of the videos on my Instagram stories.  In this post I will share how my texlax day went, my texlax process and then share the pictures which show my current length.

 

My Texlax Day and Process.

Ladies, almost 7 months of new growth is not a joke.  After my Ready Steady wash day, I wore my hair in a simple bun up-do for 4 days.  I detangled and moisturised and sealed lightly during the week. By day 5, my texlax day, my hair felt a little matted and dry, why??  I had used very little moisturiser during the week as I didn’t want my hair to feel or get wet because wet hair isn’t supposed to be relaxed.  Also, although I detangled regularly , because I didn’t want  to aggravate my scalp, I didn’t pull or stretch my new growth, so it had shrunk and matted  a bit. The point I am trying to get to is that preparing my hair on my texlax day took a while because of the amount of new growth I had to detangle very gently.  Detangling 20inches plus of hair in small sections is time consuming.

After I got through prepping my hair, the rest of the texlax day was a breeze.  I followed my usual process and timings which you can read by clicking here.

 

My Current Length
After applying my leave-ins, I blow dried in sections and I cut two inches off my ends because I do not want longer hair.  I am maintaining waist length.  In the pictures in this post the black belt is my waist line.  My hair is a little longer than waist length so I will trim off an additional inch in a few weeks.

 

Currently my hair is doing quite well, and I will have it out for a while before the wigs make a comeback. Although this is more of a hair update post, I hope you have learnt something new from my relaxer process.  Have your relaxed or texlaxed your hair recently?  How did it go?

 

I mentioned in my last post that my hair faced some major challenges over the last year.  In my next post I will share more about how bad it got, how it led to me cutting off 5 inches off and how I grew the hair back and how I got my hair to grow faster than normal.  You don’t want to miss it.  I should have taken proper relaxer update pictures by then too….so see you soon.

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Ready Steady: Preparing your Hair for Relaxing and Permanent Hair Colours

 

Hello Ladies,

‘My hair is breaking!! I don’t know what happened, its been breaking so much and I don’t know why’ .
Lade, can you tell me how to make the breakage stop?

This is a question and scenario I have heard and been in so many times.   Each time I am faced with this question, I take a deep breath and ask myself, where do I start from? How do I explain that there are so many things that can cause hair to break and in most cases it usually isn’t one thing.

I will write more posts about breakage, the numerous things that can cause it and how best to prevent it.  In this post, I will discuss one of the most hidden reasons for damage and breakage and how to avoid it.

One of the biggest game changers and key contributors to my success on my quest for healthy and long hair was learning that hair must be prepared for relaxing or colour processing.    When I began my hair journey and took every aspect of it seriously, I stopped the habit of removing my hair from extensions and relaxing it the same day or the day after.   I did the right things instead.  Keep reading if you want to learn more 😊

 
Why Hair Should Be Prepared for Chemical Services
Relaxers and chemical hair dyes break down some of the protein bonds in the cortex layer (inner layer) of our hair and unfortunately this makes our hair weaker.  Relaxers and hair dyes are harsh processes and if done on hair that isn’t strong enough to withstand the process, will result in more protein breakdown than would have occurred had the hair been prepared correctly.  So yes relaxers and colours weaken the hair but the weakness will be a lot worse if you don’t complete some steps 4 to 7 days prior.

Now if you don’t prepare your hair for a chemical service your hair will not disintegrate or fall apart on relaxer or colour day.  As a matter of fact, it may even look great and feel great on relaxer or colour day and in the initial weeks afterwards.  Overtime (months and years) however, the hair will become so weak and damaged it will eventually break  and each strand will become thinner too. So ladies if you notice that your relaxed or coloured hair is beginning to break more and more and you can’t figure out why, note that incorrect preparation for the chemical process may be just one of the many reasons your hair is breaking.

My hair after my Ready Steady wash day. PS – excuse the corny hand on shoulder pose. I was hiding my underwear 🙂

How to Prepare Hair for Relaxing
For ladies who are new to Hairducation, I’d like to make it clear that contrary to popular belief, hair should not be very dirty before a chemical process.  Preparing hair for relaxing should begin 4 to 7 days before the relaxer or colour treatment.  A cleanse to remove build up from hair should be completed and this must be followed with a conditioning treatment that will fortify the keratin levels in the hair.  In other words, it isn’t your regular wash and condition day. This is one of the many reasons why we offer a variety of wash days at Hairitage.  We have a wash and condition treatment called Ready Steady which was designed specifically to be completed by ladies in advance of their relaxing or colouring services.

After the wash day, wait 4 to 7 days before you proceed to relaxing or colouring your hair.   You should leave your hair alone in those 4 to 7 days and avoid any intricate hair style that may stress or irritate your scalp.  A simple bun or goddess braids would be ideal.  Essential oils should be avoided that week too.
I will be relaxing my hair very soon after almost 7 months and I have completed my own Ready Steady wash day.  Cannot wait!!!!!

Do you prepare your hair for relaxing or permanent colour treatments? Yes or no??

My next post will be my relaxer update post and I’ll be sharing a bit about some major challenges I’ve faced with my hair over the last year and how I have overcome them.  Come back soon ladies!!!

Happy hair journey

x

Lade

 

 

The Benefits and Challenges of Natural and Relaxed Hair

Image source: Pinterest

 

 

Hello ladies,

I wrote a post while back about the differences between natural and relaxed hair regimens to help readers understand that there are many similarities in caring for both hair types.  If you would like to read that post please click here.

Working with so many ladies on their hair journey over the years via my consultation service, I have noticed the high volume of ladies transitioning from relaxed to natural.  A new thing I’ve noticed however is the increasing number of ladies going back to relaxing after being natural for a few years.  I get the feeling that in a few of these cases, some of these ladies are looking for a way out of hair care and think that swapping one hair type for the other will release them from the task of caring for their hair.

The reality is that both virgin and relaxed hair have their challenges and, in this post, I set out some the benefits and challenges of both hair types.

 

Benefits of Virgin (Natural) Hair

1) Natural hair that is well cared for is structurally stronger and healthier that relaxed/texlaxed hair that is well cared for.

2) Natural hair has a high level of elasticity which helps it fight breakage.

3) Natural hair fibres tend to have better volume, body and bounce than relaxed hair.

4) Versatility – Natural hair can be worn in straight hair styles and if healthy should revert to its kinky, coily and curly state when washed. Please note that the excessive use of heat can alter the texture ofnatural hair and in some cases, the hair may not fully revert to its original texture.

5) Natural hair has a  beautiful and unique hair texture

 

Challenges of Virgin (Natural) hair

1) Although shrinkage is an indicator of healthy hair, natural hair that is left in its shrunken and compacted state for an extensive period will form knots, tangles and single strand knots.  Trying to detangle hair that is badly tangled and knotted usually results in some breakage.  For this reason, it is important for natural hair, when being worn loose, to be stretched out regularly.

2)  The structure of natural hair makes it prone tangling and knotting on itself and this makes it more susceptible to breakage from manipulation.  Combing and styling of natural hair must be done gently and only after being moisturised and detangled to reduce the risk of breaking.

3) Natural hair can be a bit more time consuming to detangle, comb and style than relaxed hair.  A key factor is the need to first stretch the hair before many styles can be created.  Some styles also require the use of many heavy gels and products to make edges sleek or make coils/curls pop however not all natural ladies go for that look.

4) Ladies who chose to wear their natural hair straight often achieve this look by using high levels of heat and this can result in heat damaged hair.

 

 

Benefits of Relaxed/Texlaxed Hair

1) Relaxed hair is less prone to knotting and tangling on itself because the relaxing process removes majority of the kinks and bends in natural hair fibres.  This reduces the risk of breakage from manipulation and some ladies find it easier to retain length when their hair is relaxed.

2) There is less risk of single strand knots forming and there is no need to continually stretch relaxed hair. Although relaxed hair, especially if texlaxed does experience some level of shrinkage, it is not at degrees as high as that of natural hair.

3) Relaxed hair is less time consuming. Simple styles can be created without the need to stretch the hair first.

4) Relaxed hair is faster to detangle and comb.  Please note that texlaxed hair, depending on how much texture is left in the hair and the length of the hair can be time consuming to detangle.

5) Versatility: relaxed hair when texlaxed can have the appearance and features of natural hair but can also be sleek and smooth like relaxed hair using very little to no heat.

 

Challenges of Relaxed/Texlaxed Hair

1) Relaxed/texlaxed hair is structurally weaker than natural hair.  The relaxing process breaks down the protein in hair fibres and this weaker structure increases the risk of breakage.

2) Relaxed hair has lost some of its natural elasticity and this also increases the risk of breakage.  Ladies who relax their hair should never allow their hair to become 100% straight when relaxing.  The maximum level of straightness should be approximately 80% so that there is some elasticity left in the hair.  The more texture you leave in your hair, the more of its natural strength and elasticity you will retain.

3)  Relaxed hair that is over-processed can have a flat and lifeless look and feel.  As already mentioned in the point above, not letting the hair go beyond 80% straight will help prevent the hair from becoming too limp.

4) Relaxed hair is easier to manage but more complicated to care for.  Relaxed hair often has multiple porosity levels.  It is difficult to determine the levels of protein and moisture balance that is right for each ladies relaxed hair.

What I hoped to achieve in this post is helping readers see that black hair has so many great qualities however it can be somewhat challenging to care for in both it’s virgin or relaxed/texlaxed state.  It is possible for both to thrive so long as you put in the work required to get the results you desire.  I hope this post has encouraged you in some way.

Do you think any hair type is easier than the other in terms of care?  Lets have an open non-judgmental conversation about this 🙂

 

My next post will be an educative one about a cause of breakage most ladies are not aware of.   I’ve drafted it already so it should be up this week.   See you soon.

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Hair Update March 2018

Hello ladies,

I am 6 months post relaxer today!!!!.  My last texlax was done on 23 September 2017.

As always, I never intended to stretch this long but a busy schedule means I just have to put my texlax on hold until I create some time.  A chemical process isn’t something to be done in a rush. The length of my hair and the amount of new growth I have also means preparing my hair for relaxing takes a while.

Having this much new growth stresses me out!!  Hair care and wash days takes so much time and patience that I find myself avoiding and postponing wash days because I just don’t want to deal with it. Naughty me right!

For ladies who are new to Hairducation, relaxed hair with a lot of new growth can be very difficult to manage because of the conflict in textures between the coily/kinky natural new growth and the straighter previously relaxed ends.  Hair in this state is prone to breakage.
Manipulation (detangling, combing and styling) MUST be kept to a minimum and a good way to do this is to wear a long term protective style responsibly.  You must be very very gentle and patient on the days that you are manipulating your hair (i.e. wash days and when installing or removing extensions) to reduce the risk of breakage.  I have been wearing wigs for majority of the time to cut back on daily manipulation.  Occasionally, after my wash day, I’ll leave my hair out for a few days and enjoy the volume that the new growth gives my hair.

My hair itself is in a decent state but it would be better if I gave it more attention and care.  I am trying to keep up with most of my regimen but need to moisturise more thoroughly than I currently am by working in smaller sections. I will probably cut/trim off one to two inches when I texlax in a few weeks.

So in a nutshell, at the moment, my hair is okay.  It can be better, but its okay.  Now that I’ve written this post I am going to make the effort to do a tad bit better.

 

How consistent are you with your hair regimen at the moment? 

My next post will be about the benefits and challenges of natural and relaxed hair.  Some might find it a bit controversial because some ladies may not see what benefits there may be in having chemically processed hair.