Things I Learned About My Hair

Just wanted to share a few things I learned about my hair during my hair journey...

1. To those out there that use "Wigs" as a protective style make sure you put a shower cap under your wig cap. The reason is because even though wearing a wig can protect and give your hair a break, the wig cap itself can break your edges since its usually fits tight around the edges. Plus having the shower cap underneath will keep your hair moisturized. Only thing is to make sure the wig cap is placed on top of the shower cap,  and don't leave any part of the shower cap out. Which may show at the edges of your wig. Also you may hear the shower cap noise every time you touch your head so be conscious of that :)

How I Oil My Scalp

Hey everyone just want to briefly speak about "How I Oil My Scalp"...

To begin I like to part my hair into 4 sections and I hold each section with my "clips". I microwave my oil which is in an applicator for like 20 secs {I remove the top before I microwave}.Then shake up my "Oil Mixture" and just to remind you my mixture consists of JoJoba Oil, Jamaican Castro Oil, Peppermint Oil (I recently added) and 100% Virgin Olive Oil. Any type of natural oil or oil mixtures can be used. I apply my  "Oil Mixture" to my scalp in each section of my hair and I make sure I part far apart when I apply not close together {I'll say like about 2 or 3 inches apart}. I do this because from experience parting

Random Video #1

Me speaking a little about my hair and about some of the products I like to use, including a product that didn't work so well in my hair and also trying out a new product. Check out the video...Let me know your opinions at the end of the video, "Should I Texlax or stay with Relax?" Appreciate the feedback!

What Is Texlax?

I myself wondered this question so of course I had to ask people questions and do a little research on what the term "Texlax" mean. Texlax is underprocessing your hair with a chemical relaxer which leaves hair wavy instead of straight. So just like how when a person "relaxes" their hair they leave the chemical relaxer in for a longer period of time for the hair get straight but with a "textlax" the chemical relaxer is left on the hair for a short period time. This only softens the new growth of the hair making it easier to manage. Due to the fact that the chemical relaxer is not left in the hair for too long, it is said to be much more safer for the hair than relaxing. Using a texturizer can be used to achieve this as well instead of using a chemical relaxer. The results I heard about texlaxing the hair can enhance natural curl and wave pattern also create volume, body and texture in the hair. I've been thinking about texlaxing my hair...its relaxed right now, but I'll see stay tuned!

My 1 Year of Healthy Hair Journeying!!

 

Today last year I decided to start taking better care of my hair and "ALREADY" its been a year. What a great feeling seeing that I made it and the difference I see in my hair now from a year ago, in a positive way. A year here and many more years ahead!!  :) Thanks to my close friends and wonderful followers for ya'll support! Much <3

Tip of The Week #7

Protein treatments are recommended in the HHJ world, especially when we want to repair our damaged hair or strengthen our hair. Did you know that our hair is made up of 88% protein? This protein is known as Keratin. When hair is straightened chemically the bonds from the protein's makeup is broken which causing the hair to get weak. That's why for those who relax their hair it is

Relaxer Done

I just had my hair relaxed about 3 days ago after being 5 months post relaxed and I can honestly say I am loving the fact that my hair has gotten thicker. Even my hair stylist who has been doing my hair since I was in Junior High School noticed a difference too. She said that my hair is looking more healthier and is getting longer. So I'm definitely happy to see that my hair journey, which I've done for almost a year, is working out for me. I didn't even have to go natural to achieve my hair goals! For now I will continue on with my hair regimen, keeping my hair moisturized as much as I can and giving my hair some TLC. One thing which recommended especially before getting a relaxer is to Protein Treat your hair using like hair mayonnaise or any other protein treatment product for the hair. That's suppose to be done a week before but I didn't do that because I just recently found out a day before my scheduled hair appointment but next time. The relaxer I used is the "Organic Root Stimulating Olive Oil No Lye Relaxer" which I think worked well on my hair :) Check the video below for the before and after results from the relaxer!

5 Month Post Relaxed

Today makes it "5 Months Post Relaxed" and this is an accomplishment because this is the longest I've stretched my hair w/o it being weaved up. I've been wearing a wig but overall I definitely been taking care of my hair. Keeping my hair moisturized and sealed almost everyday, oiling my scalp 2-3 times a week, letting my hair air dry after wash, braiding my hair (doo doo braids), and using healthy hair products. It hasn't been easy but I can say my hair has grown thicker and even a little longer. I am excited because tomorrow I will be getting a relaxer, even though I'm happy I made my 5 month mark I can't wait to perm this bad boy (my hair) lol! My side burns and the buck shots is serious!! So to all my Long Time Stretchers or Newbie Stretchers we can do it just put your mind to it. You don't have to go natural to grow healthy hair, as long as you take care of your hair using healthy hair products, you should be good. Most of all Moisture, Moisture, Moisture is what your hair needs esp. for African American/Black hair.

Co Wash Successful

During my Co Wash attempt I used the right product, which was conditioner, and was able to wash my hair successfully. I didn't pre-poo my hair or anything since the point of pre-pooing your hair is to add moisture into the hair but since I was using "V05 Moisture Milks Moisturizing Conditioner" its suppose to put moisture in the hair anyway. I just washed it like I would do when Shampooing my hair and massaged the Conditioner all over my hair. I personally don't wash my hair in sections because I tried it before and it seemed to take longer I.M.O but if you prefer that then its your choice. I massage my hair in a certain way to prevent my hair from getting tangled, in one direction going back. I washed with the conditioner three times but the third time I let the conditioner sit for like 15min (optional) then rinsed and towel dried my hair. I noticed my hair did look shiny which was a good thing so I applied my  "Shea Moisture: Curl & Style Milk" and braided my hair as I let it air dry. I rarely blow dry my hair now a days. Well that was what I did and I will continue to Co Wash between my shampoo days. I usually wash my hair once a week so in the middle of the week I would Co Wash but I didn't this week since tomorrow I'm getting a relaxer :)

Co Wash Attempt Gone Wrong!!

Shampoo

Okay so I was attempting to "Co Wash" my hair using V05 moisturizing conditioner I bought and was going to share with you guys on what I did but I ended up using the wrong product. In the shower when I was washing my hair using, what I thought was the "moisturizing conditioner", I thought to myself boy this conditioner is soapy I like this then rinsed and washed my hair a second time. Second time it finally clicked in my head that this was not a conditioner I was using and when I looked at the bottle to my shock it said "Moisturizing Shampoo!" O_O. I almost had a heartache which I ran out the shower and got my "Giovanni Conditioner" and put it quickly into my hair and left it on for about 15 min. I read the back of the bottle and seen it had three types of sulfate in that shampoo I mistakenly used! I said this Co Wash attempt was a disaster good thing the other bottle I bought was the conditioner so I'll make sure I use that the next attempt. Also I tried to attempt to twist my hair but it didn't look right so I ended up taking it out. The bad thing was I put rubber bands at the ends so it was snagging the ends of my hair when I was taking off the rubber bands. My experience this evening was not the best but then again it could've been worse, so I'm happy I was able to realize my error and corrected it quickly. I also used the KimmayTube leave-in conditioner as well to try to add the moisture back in my hair. Next Co Wash attempt I will share with you, which I will make sure I'm actually using the right product and share what I did. Until next time be well!

Stretching Relaxed Hair

Hey everyone so since Hurricane Sandy is taking over the city, figured I write a post about me stretching. I've been stretching my hair for awhile before starting my healthy hair journey but I feel now I'm properly stretching my hair the correct way. I say that because now I have a personal hair regimen before I just weaved up my hair and didn't really take the time to keep my own hair moisturized. Also now I'm washing and conditioning my own hair more often than before, using natural products. I enjoy stretching because I'm relaxing my hair less and giving my roots a chance to grow and become thicker. I have noticed my hair is a little more thicker than before and is growing more healthier. Of course I have fine hair but again its gaining body which I wanted. To avoid me doing the whole natural thing I just rather prove through stretching that I can grow healthy and long hair as well. Here's some Tips on Stretching Relaxed Hair...

Tip of The Week #6

Patience Not Frustration

The tip this week is on the word "Patience"; which means the quality of being patient, without complaint, loss of temper, even-tempered care and diligence. Even though that's a good quality to have in dealing with day to day life, its definitely a key-word required in caring and maintaining our hair.

Are All Alcohols Bad For Our Hair??

(I promised you guys this Post a few months back so I kept my word even though it took awhile... here it is!)

As a newbie in starting a Healthy Hair Journey (HHJ) we sometimes become paranoid on what products to use especially products that have alcohol in them. I know when I started I felt all products that had ANY type of alcohol in them were bad, but the question is...Are ALL alcohols bad for our hair?? Well let's first talk a little about the structure of alcohols, the molecular structure of alcohol has a non polar carbon chain and a polar hydroxyl group connected to one of the carbon atoms in the chain. The alcohol's results and it's properties differ depending on the number of carbon atoms it has, even the molecular structure can make a difference as well. In hair care products there are two major alcohols used: 

1) Short Chain Alcohols (Drying Alcohols) and 2) Fatty Acids (Emulsifying Alcohols) 

Finally...I Got Giovanni!!

I've been searching everywhere for these "Giovanni" products especially the "Smooth As Silk Conditioner" but couldn't find it. I even went to Walmart, and ya know Walmart has everything but they didn't even have it. So I decided, as my last resort, to buy it online and good thing I did because on Amazon.com they are having a big sale on all products so

check it out now before it ends!

Cornrolls-Braid Out

(Click Pic For A Closer Look)

I took out my cornrolls and got this look. For some reason I like it, the way my hair look like kinda crimped up which I thought was cool so I had to take a picture and show ya'll. Braid outs are the way to go if you don't feel like doing too much with your hair!

Peppermint Oil

I received in the mail some peppermint oil that I had ordered so I can use it for my edges to help growth. I posted awhile back a video by Akiyakelly "How To Get Your Edges To Grow Back" and one of the ingredients she used was "Peppermint Oil". So I figured I can add that to my oil mixture and work on my edges. It's smells really nice and minty which add a nice kick to it while helping my edges to grow back. I will keep ya'll updated on it's progress while using this peppermint oil. Anyone ever tried peppermint oil?
(Click here to view my post on "Edge Repair" to see the video)

Inspired Fall Look: Fab Fringe Caramel

So for September I have found a new style I will wear for the fall and it's a little inspired by T-boz from TLC look. I wanted to do a short dube with a more sophisticated look to it. Remember in a few years I will be 30 so I need to mature my style from time to time, and the short hairstyles do make me look a little more mature. So I'm doing a protective style for the winter so my hair can rest and my edges can grow back, so its needed. Let me know what ya'll think HOT or NOT?

Extension Clips

Very easy to do I have them in my hair right now, which I made last year but it always comes in handy. If you want to add length, add more fullness, or even highlights in your hair without having a sew-in or having to color your own hair then this would be helpful to do. Check out my video for more info... 

HHJ Video of The Week!

Choose this video because she not only showed the positives through her hair journey but her mistakes as well and that's all part of doing a hair journey you start to learn about what your hair likes and what it don't like. I personally would never do a glue-in since I myself had bad experience from that back in the day but despite that she continued to reach her goal, how encouraging :) 

Tip of The Week #5: Acrylic Nails

I love to get my nails done every two weeks, I mean I feel good when I get my nails done. Like people mostly look at your hands more so than your feet. I mean I get my feet done during the summer but not in the winter. Ok so back to this topic, now I know this isn't about hair but it is part of beauty and I needed to let people know about Acrylic nails. Now there's different techniques nail technicians use to do your nails using Acrylic...

My Hairstyle For Summer 2012

Since it's going to be one hot summer my hairstyles will mostly be cornrolls and twists because having my hair down is not going to be cool for me. Trying avoid alot of my hair being down plus these styles are part of a protective style for your hair...(Recently I pinned the back of my hair up which I like better and it also avoids hair touching your clothes which prevents breakage)

6 Month Results!!

Weave Is Out!! So even though my hair isn't exactly at mid-point position on my back it's somewhat close and I will continue doing what I've been doing as far as taking care of my hair.

          My Goals                                            Results

• Longer Hair To Mid-Back           *Arm Pit Length (APL)
• Less Split Ends                       *Few split ends but not major
• Less Breakage                        *Only breakage on edges (edge repair) 
• Hair Less Dry                          *Still gets dry but keep Moisturized & Seal
• More Moisture In Hair               *Continues to use natural oils for scalp
• Thicker Hair                            *Have Fine Hair but has gotten thicker

Music Fixed

Hey ya'll just wanted to tell ya'll I fixed the music on my page and its located at the right hand side, which you have to start manually. It wasn't working for a minute but I fixed it so enjoy the music while your checking out my page. Music may change every couple of months...

Almost Time!

I'm excited because it's almost time for me to take out my sew-in plus it's hot too need to let my hair breathe!! lol Can't wait to see how my hair's been doing up under there it's been 6months total since I had my hair weaved up, but of course almost 3 months since I re- installed my weave. I checked my edges and it looks like it definitely grew back need to continue protecting and being gentle with my edges. I had visited some of my friends last night and most of them were doing the natural thing. They was telling how much of a

Weave Wash Day

So I washed my hair this past Sunday and made this video I didn't make a full detail video but I can tell you through this post what I did. First I mixed shampoo, conditioner, water and Aloe Vera juice in a empty bottle shake them up and apply to my tracks where it would clean MY hair, rubbed so the shampoo mixture can work inside within my tracks. I let it sit for 5min then rinsed it out with warm water then started washing the weave. I should've saved some of the shampoo mixture to wash my weave but didn't so I used more shampoo than I should have by doing that, but after I rinsed then

Women's Day Mag. Hair Tips

1) Camouflage roots by zigzagging your part rather than straight

2) Brush hair nightly from roots to ends. This distributes natural oils throughout the shaft and gives hair a healthier sheen

2nd Weave Installment 2012

Had my 2nd weave installment but this time instead of doing a partial I have a full sew-in because my edges needs repair since it got thin. For my edges' sake I have decided not to perm my edges for awhile so I can get it back to growing again. So I got my hair done by this stylist named Hershey and told her to leave a little bit of my edges out so I can care for it while I have my weave in, which she did do. And I have a bang this time as well, so today I need to oil my edges and make sure I keep it moisturized to avoid any breakage. Because the edges are the most sensitive part of your hair. [*Tip: If you gonna keep a weave in for a long period of time make sure you reinstall in between like about 3 months is the most. Your hair is growing so if you keep it in longer than 3 months then your hair will become tangled into the weave and will be very much difficult to take out*]

SWV: I Missed Us

SWV (Sisters With Voices) was my favorite group in the 90's because they was straight out of the NYC borroughs. (Lelee and Coko from the Bronx; Taj from Brooklyn) all three with they're urban style and harmonious voices with Coko having the strongest voice. Now back after 15yrs they are mature grown ladies still bringing some 90's feel music to our ears which is something that many of us miss. So naming their long awaited album "I Missed Us", we should say we definitely have. My favorite tracks are all of them but I'll name my top three lol, I'm feeling Show Off, Love Unconditionally, and Do Ya!!  

Edge Repair



Front/side edges (Gro Aut Oil)

I realized that I need to especially pay special attention to my edges, because it needs improvement. I had an incident a few years ago where I let someone perm my edges so it can be nice and smooth like baby hair but the hair around my edges ended up being patches of bald spots. Never again!! but since then my edges have never been the same so since that area needs to improve I'm definitely going to work on that during

Next Hairstyle

Thinking of doing a bang for my next hair style I did a bang before a few years back didn't look bad on me but trying to stick with the short dubee's. Do you think I'll be able to rock this hairstyle??

4 months Update

Hey people! I know it's been a minute but I finally got my hair extensions removed so my hair can rest for a week and then I will be reinstalling my weave! My hair has grown not long long but I see a difference from my starting point. Hair in the front is still a little thin on the side so when I reinstall my weave I'm going to do a full weave instead of a partial install so the front of my hair can get right! I haven't been using the Gro Aut like I was suppose to and if I did maybe my hair would've been longer.

Tip of The Week #4

Trimming your hair makes it look healthy and helps to grow more even, getting rid of split ends. However trimming does not make your hair grow faster that only depends on your hair growth speed or taking supplements to assist with hair growth (ex. Biotin) Trimming is different from Cutting, so please don't confuse the two at the Salon if you want it done. Trimming is taking off the split and damaged ends of your hair but Cutting is basically taking off some of your hair period. It's said that its good to get your hair trimmed every 2 -3 months but I say as often as you see that you need it.

(Trimming your self: *It's good to trim the hair while it's wet since the hair is more flatter and easier to see where to cut*)

My Latest Style 2012

I know I'm posting this kind of late but here's the style I got for my hair extensions using Remi Goddess Yaki Human Hair (100%) I like the hair looks more natural for our type of hair, my hair blends in nicely. Partial perm in the front and sides. So my routine is doing M&S three times a week and adding the Grow Aut to my scalp twice a week. I also use curlers to keep some curls in it so it can look more stylish, and I already washed it a few days ago took almost forever to dry inside my tracks but I did. Used a regular blow dryer to dry between my tracks and the rest didn't take long. So far I'm managing my hair well just need to keep up the routine been lazy this week but I'm gonna get back on track!

Hair Update #1

It's been a little minute since I updated my blog been kinda busy lately but here's an update video of how my hair been doing and what I'm about to do to my hair. Also a new product I just started using as well, check it out below...I'll be back with some updates really soon! XXX HHJ

6 Month UnbeWeavable Hair Challenge 2012

This month I am starting a 6 month weave challenge in line with the promotion of hair growth. Starting January 12' to July 12' will be the 6 months of this challenge helping you and ME to grow longer and healthier hair. Make sure you don't use a glue-in weave that's NOT ALLOWED because its damaging to the hair! It has to be a SEW-IN!! In order for this challenge to be successful you must carefully maintain your weave and hair!

Tip of The Week #3

Pre-Poo a.k.a before shampooing...It is good to do this in order for our hair to be moisturized before doing a shampoo. Shampoos removes most of the moisture in our hair when we wash with it, so doing a pre-poo helps add more moisture to our hair. This definitely keeps some moisture in our hair even after we wash with shampoo. It is good to use oils (eg. Olive, Castro, Coconut...) to make like a hot oil treatment (apply the oils on the hair warm or hot) on the hair.

What's Co-Washing?



**Recommended Conditioner Giovanni
Smooth As Silk



Co-Washing is when you use conditioner instead of shampoo to wash your hair. Cleansing the hair using a basic rinse-out conditioner, this is definitely good if you are without Shampoo. Co-washing avoids harsh results from frequently shampooing your hair, leaving your hair soft and manageable. Now you know I'm an advocate for using natural products so if you do look for a conditioner make sure to look at the ingredients to avoid getting a product that has harmful chemicals such as harmful alcohols which I notice is in many conditioner products. Now I was paranoid "LITERALLY" in seeing Cetyl and Stearyl Alcohol as the ingredients in many conditioners but through research I have found that basically its harmless to our hair.

First Use of KimmayTube Leave-In Conditioner

Okay sorry ya'll been busy with other things in my life but I finally used the leave-in conditioner. I know I told ya'll I was gonna wash my hair this past weekend but I didn't get a chance to until Wednesday to wash my hair. So I pre-washed using my oil mixtures, shampooed, conditioned then put in the leave-in conditioner last. I'm not gonna say when I put in the leave-in conditioner that something miraculous happened to my hair but I did notice my hair was easier to detangle and comb. I TRIED to twist my hair and let it air dry and the next day I undid my twists to comb my hair noticing my ends was nice and soft.