Lovin my Hair!- Updates

I'm still using the Herbal Essences Reconditioning Shampoo and conditioner and still loving it! NOW that I bought it about three weeks ago, Target has it on sale 2 for $5 for the regular sizes and $5 for the bigger sizes. UGH! That sucks! lol. I'm not going to buy it because something I've learned on my HJ is not to buy things in bulk. I really enjoy trying new things but I can't if I have a full bottle of an old product laying around.

Bantu Knot
This picture is not me-
I know her curls were GORGEOUS after this

Example: I bought a Herbal Essence LTR leave-in a few months ago when I already had one at home (it was the same 2 for 5 sale at Target). Then I decided to stop using it regularly because I figured out it was protein, so now I have 1 1/2 bottles n my room collecting dust. Also, I have 1 1/2 tubs of Lustrasilk sitting in my cabinet and I can't stand that now! So I'm just going to continue to stick with buying my products 1 at a time. (even though I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be switching shampoo/conditioners any time soon)

I was thinking about doing a 'wet wrap' to get my hair straight- from what I understand it's just washing your hair, putting wrap lotion in it, wrapping your hair, and sitting under the dryer for a while. I decided against it because I said I would use NO form of heat (including indirect), I really like the way curly hair looks on me; but its been such a hit/miss. Bantu-knots look terrible after a few days and my braid outs are okay sometimes, but their always really cute when someone else braids it the night before. (I can't keep pestering my mom/sister to do my hair though) So that's the only reason why I want to straighten my hair other wise I would rock curly hair everyday!

My hair has been feeling super soft lately, I'm not sure if its the no heat or the products I've been using, but I'm loving it and noticing growth. If I don't reach shoulder length by April I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been babying my hair so much and never had any huge set backs, but gosh it's taking a long time to get to where I want to be!

Bantu Knots and Pink Grapefruit Review :)

Last night I detangled my hair and did 8 bantu knots in my hair. I haven't done these in a while so I wanted to revisit them. Thank goodness I did, because I actually like my hair today and got a lot of compliments on my curls. I used to do 3 bantu knots- one on top and two in the back, but last night I did eight and that could have made a difference in why I like these better. I've still been using the GF leave-in conditioning cream to moisturize and seal and my hair has been SUPER soft!

I said a few months ago that I would go on a 'skin journey'. I stuck to a regimen for a while, but not much has changed. So last week I bought a new product: Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash with Grapefruit. I decided to get the scrub since I know how important exfoliating is for clearing acne. First off- the smell is delicious. It smells exactly like a grapefruit, which is good, but honestly I don't really care what my face smells like. I've used it for almost a week now and this crap made my skin SO dry. I'm not sure how well it works for acne, because I haven't used it for that long and don't plan on it! I'll continue to use it as a weekly exfoliator, but as for washing my face twice a day, it won't do. I will NOT be repurchasing.

 

Hair Journal- Silk Elements, bantu knots, Herbal Essences

So for the first time i tried the regimen I've been talking about for months and it was..eh. not great like i expected it to be. my hair didn't feel like 'silk' afterwards. not that my hair was rough. I just guess my expectations were too high. the pantene made my hair super soft, but this didn't. my hair was soft though. just not suppper soft like i wanted it to be. Also, it looks good. it still has a nice shine to it, but that could be b/c of the M&S that I do. All together it took about 3 hours.

However, I didn't mix anything with the oils that I use, next time i'll mix oils with the conditioner and DC and see if it makes a difference. I wanted to see how it worked straight before i started using a variation of it.
And i did notice that there was NO dandruff. but then again that could've been the M&S.

When i finished DC my hair I tried to do a bantu knot out and I hated it b/c it was frizzy, so i flat ironed it and it looked okay. Super flat with no volume. Then that night i re-bantu knotted it and it looked good in the morning, but the curls didn't last long at all so I went to target and got herbal essences totally twisted curl scrunching gel and the curls lasted all day and didn't frizz. :) I'm really starting to like herbal essences. (i'm hoping i dont jinx myself) When I first took out the bantu knot, it was  lil crunchy but through out the day the crunch went away. Not only that but it smells good and is alcohol-free!

PROS FOR THIS WEEK:
-The SE shampoo was good, it didn't dry out my hair like Dark and Lovely.
- I finally started the regimen I wanted to, even if their are some kinks
-The Wave Nouveau finsihing lotion is a really good moisturizer if i need a lot of moisture.
-I 'discovered' HE scrunching gel and bantu knot outs
-no dandurff
-hair is really moisturized (hallelujah!)
-none of the products stink
-exicted for a new oil (coconut)

CONS FOR THIS WEEK:
-I need a different regimen (specifically conditioner and maybe a different deep conditioner)
- I forgot to get SE megasilk moisture treatment. :( I really liked that stuff in the little packet.

RANDOM:
-after i buy the coconut oil i'm going to stop buying hair products for a while, i don't want to be a junky and waste money on products I won't use
-I won't use this method this week b/c i plan on going to the salon and getting a relaxer and to get my ends dusted, so i won't need to wash it.

-if i figure out cute styles w/o heat, then i'll bump up my reggie to once a week instead of every two weeks.
-I put the HE on the shaft of my hair, banut knotted it, then sprayed the knot with SE styling spritz, so that could've been the cause of the stiffness.