Quasi Length Check

57 Months Natural

It has been way too long since my last real length check! While I was taking my blog break, I tried to be mindful and jot down ideas here and there. I KNOW I took pictures of my hair with my length check shirt on, but so much has gone on over the course of the past few months. I've searched high and low for those photos and I can't seem to find them anywhere.

SO! The next time my hair is straightened, I'm going to get things rolling again with more routine length checks. I also need to get a post out to get my blogger legs back, so this post is more than a must.

A New Hair Routine

I have a home salon in North Carolina. Moving to DC made it almost impossible for me to see my cosmetologist like I need to. Now that I'm planning my NC wedding, I'm home more and I'm able to see my cosmetologist on a more regular basis.

My last visit to her salon was 2.5 years ago. In the fight for having and maintaining healthy hair, I have to change what was once routine, in more ways than one. My life is much different now than it was 2.5 years ago. Things are happening that I didn't correlate with the health of my hair, so I'm taking my advice and using these 6 things to get me back on the right track to having healthy hair.

Using Essential Oils: Peppermint Oil

Everyday Uses for Peppermint Oil

Last week I talked about lavender oil. Next up on the list of oils I've experimented with is peppermint oil! This is the oil I use the most after lavender oil. There are many qualities it's known for, so I wanted to test a few of the most important qualities out for myself!

Figuring Out What's Right

Hair Products I've Tried For My Natural Hair

Since I've put it out there that I'm going to be trying to find the best hair products for my hair and I've asked for suggestions and advice, I thought it would be helpful to say what I've already tried! Remembering is the key. I've been natural for 3.5 years, so of course there's been many things I've tried over the years. I've tried to give away many of these products but for the most part, I still have most of them. So, I spent the week making a comprehensive list of my stock and the things I could remember from the past. Here's it is!

A Hard Reset

Setting Hair Goals

I've spent the majority of this year trying to do a better job of caring for my hair. Let's just start there.

I spent about five months with my hair under 2 different sew-ins. I needed to hide my hair from myself, protect it, and give it a chance to grow after a major cut. I was successful at doing that and happy with the progress and growth. While my hair was under wraps, I had a heart to heart with myself about how I would approach my hair once it was out. I set some goals. Even thought I haven't been here in a minute, I've started this process already. I needed to lay out the plan here, and do a better job of documenting what's going on, so let's take a look:

The Last Step

Flat Ironing My Bob

Now let me share this with you.

I washed and conditioned my hair with little to no trouble. It didn't lather up as much as I wanted, but I feel I was able to get it clean enough to last a few weeks. I dried it and it took longer than expected, but I was able to get both my roots and the extensions all dry. Now, my hair was ready to be flat-ironed.

Before I started flat-ironing my hair, I was worried that the prolonged drying for my roots may have dried out the extensions a bit. As I was blow drying I could feel how stiff the hair was, but for some reason I was convinced that flat-ironing would get it back to it's silky state!

Washing My Bob

Washing My Tapered Bob Sew-In At Home

With my last sew-in I shared how I was able to wash and condition it at home with a little help from YouTube. Everything turned out so well the last time, I was encouraged!! I had no doubts that I could wash this sew-in with similar results. I had no reason to think otherwise. This wash has some of the same elements as the last one, but of course it didn't turn out the same way!

Here's what happened.

After re-sewing the extensions, the next step was washing the hair. When I asked around about the best shampoo and conditioner to use for the first wash, I decided to go with the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil brand. When I used it, I thought it did a good job with washing both the extensions and my natural hair. When I finished, the extensions looked very similiar to how they looked when I initially had them installed. I expected the same from these extensions.

Shampoo For Dry Hair

Shea Moisture & ORS Product Review

I think I have dry hair. I try everything I can to hydrate my hair. I've tried different moisturizers, I've tried the LOC method, I've even consulted with my cosmetologist. She tells me that it's a mind thing but in between wash days, my hair just looks and feels so dry! Because of that, I'm putting forth a concerted effort into helping my hair get and maintain moisture.

When fell into this fiasco I had planned to review a new shampoo (Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo). We all know that didn't happen!!