Mid-Summer 'What I Plan on Buying" UPDATE!

Long Feather Earrings: DONE! I bought some at Rue 21 soon after I wrote that!

Sedu or Solia Flat iron: Not yet, I want it, but I'd figure I'd wait until it goes on SUPER SALE! Like around back to school time or maybe even Christmas. Also, whether or not its Sedu or Solia, I still need a new flat iron like... NOW!

Flexi Rods: Hmm..I really don't want them anymore. Well I do, but I don't. They make cute hair styles and they are heatless, but they are time consuming and I'm not sure how to wear them the second day.

BH Cosmetics 120 Palette 1st Edition: I kinda want it now, But I think i want the 3rd Edition more because it has more neutral colors, which is what I'm into. However, If I do get it, here's my dilemma: how would I re-apply it during the day/night? Its a fricken HUGE palette! There's no way I could carry that in my purse. I want my makeup to be lookin *fresh* alllll day long, and w/o re-applying, I'm not sure that's gonna happen.

ELF Lipstick/ Collection: I have expanded my ELF/ Makeup collection A L O T this summer. Not really the lip sticks, but lip glosses,lip liners, eyeshadows and other stuff definantly! (I've realized lip sticks look weird on me, I prefer lip liners with a lip gloss). Also, I just placed a huge order on ELF's website so...That should be coming soon! (Actually, their shipping is really slow, its gonna take over a week since I ordered it! I ordered it last  Tuesday I think and it won't be here until this Saturday!)

Shea Moisture's Moisture Retention Shampoo: Bought it, Hated it. I'm stickin with KeraCare!

Dresses/ Rompers: Yep. I bought a few. But honestly, I've been buying so much makeup lately, clothes hasn't really been in the fore front. I'm gonna have to donate some clothes so I'll be forced to stop wearing my old stuff and buy some more.

License: Eh..I'm working on it.

Fit: I probably worked out seven times this summer.

Youtube Talk. (ramble...again)

Sooo... I want to make consistent videos. Trust me. I do. But it's hard when I don't do anything that is super innovative that works for me. I've noticed that the people I tend to watch (and other people enjoy watching)are more  'jack of all trades', if you will. Or a triple threat: Makeup, Hair, Fashion. And their all extremely good at what they do. I guess my channel will be based more on me learning about my hair and learning how to do makeup. (I hate my second video... 'black and gold look'..just because its not 'me'. I rarely wear makeup with color in it. I'm more of a neutral girl.) I'll soon be introducing a segment called 'Watch me Grow'. These will be random vlogs about my hair and how it's doing and the changes I'm considering making with my hair care. Another segment will be 'Tuesday Tips' (or tips for your Tuesday..a pun for a penny for your thoughts..which do you prefer?) which will be me doing a random tip about hair, nails, makeup, life, fashion, ect! (pretty much w/e I feel like talking about) I hope to do tips that aren't redundant. Something most people haven't heard of or techniques that will help people. (ooooo! I just thought of another one! two minute Tuesday! the video will be around two minutes long and have a tip and a quick explanation of why/how it works!)

I want my channel to be my channel. So I plan on making videos about whatever I want to talk about. But since I started my channel being about beauty, I almost feel constricted into only making hair videos, I'll have to make a random video soon so I won't feel trapped into doing a 'beauty only' channel.

Another thing: makeup tutorials are hard! I didn't think they would be that hard but they are! The problem may partially be my camera, but makeup tutorials aren't my 'thing' so I'm not going to buy a new camera just to make videos that I don't even enjoy watching myself.
All this has to be perfect in order to have a successful makeup tutorial:
Lighting: when I try to do a tutorial, the lighting always sucks, so the makeup looks washed off and not there. You can barely see the colors. Especially since I'm into neutral colors so it blends into my skin tone. On top of that, people aren't even into neutral looks. People seem to want over-the-top colors and boldness that I'm just not into for an everyday look. And then I'll try to take pictures and the flash washes out the colors once again. If I turn off the flash then you can't see it.
Makeup/Skill: I don't want to do makeup tutorials just because, especially since I don't really have the skill set yet to be putting my makeup looks out there yet. If someone wants to watch a makeup tutorial, they obviously want to watch someone who is better than them, not just 'okay'.
Editing: A lot of tutorials have a lot of editing, even people who don't edit their other videos a lot edit their tutorials. (ulovemegz for example) I don't have any editing software that works with my camera. (iPod touch 4th generation)
Angle: The viewers obviously have to be able to see what you're doing when you're doing the makeup. I'm still trying to find places around the house with good lighting and that I can prop my iPod up so everyone can see what I'm doing.

As far as hair tutorials, I never do anything particularly interesting or different when I do my hair. I always wear it in a basic 3-5 styles.

Bottom Line: YouTube has been kind of frustrating so far. :\

Travel Hair Ramble

In about two weeks I'm going to Tennessee to visit my grandma for spring break. I'm so excited! I keep thinking about what I'm going to do to my hair though! I can't bring something big because I'm going to be flying by air and I can't take huge bottles with me. Since there's a Walgreens right up the street (thank GOD!) I'm going to go there for hair supplies. I'll only need to get small things since I'm only going to be there a week. Online, Walgreens carries Nexxus Humectress travel size shampoo and conditioner, and I would like to try that. The ingredients are full of silicones and things I can't pronounce, but I still want to try it. I mean, I'll only use it once or twice while I'm there.

Then again, do I even need to buy the Nexxus shampoo? Can't I just co-wash twice? Something to consider..

As far as moisturizers go I'm so confused! I'm not sure what to do! I can only bring 3 ounce bottles on the plane and everything I own is around 8. I know they sell small containers that you can pour your personal care items into, but what if the person checking my bag doesn't believe me? Okay, that's silly. But I guess I'm going to have to try to take some with me. Just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean I can slack on my hair care.


Oils? My grandma cooks a lot so I'm sure she'll have some extra virgin olive oil laying around. She'll look at me funny for putting it in my hair, but that's okay.


I hope Walgreens has some coconut milk. I was at the grocery store today and noticed coconut juice and milk sitting next to each other on the shelf. I looked up coconut milk and saw some people deep condition with it. I don't know..it just sounds interesting to try.


Tennessee Hair Regimen (may change):
Sunday:
deep condition with Nexxus conditioner for a looong time! (to make up for not pre-pooing)
wash with nexxus shampoo
use what ever moisturizer I take as a leave in.
air dry


Thursday:
deep condition with Nexxus conditioner
rinse
leave in
air dry


every night: moisturize (may not seal)

Frustrated Ramble...

Sigh...
I've been having a hard time trying to find a new shampoo/conditioner. I've been feeling super picky lately about what ingredients can be in there. (I don't want parabens or silicone's). The more I educate myself about hair and the ingredients found in hair products, its hard for me to act like I don't know. Like, it's hard for me not to care that Herbal essences is full of parabens and silicone's. It makes since why my hair hasn't been growing at the rate I expected it too.

So far I've looked at KeraCare, but some of their products have mineral oil in them. If they don't have mineral oil in them then it's hard for me to research the products. I don't know, maybe their just not as popular as the products with mineral oil?

I also looked at Paul Mitchell, but their products 'tingle'. I don't like 'tingly' products because they never feel good in my opinion.

I was thinking about using Aphogee's deep moisture shampoo, but it doesn't have a lot of reviews. Also, it has keratin and a few parabens.

I've looked at matrix, elasta qp, organic root stimulator,cream of nature, Burt's bees, nexxus humectress, cat walk, bed head, biolage, kenra, mizani, joico, redken...all of them have something wrong with them. Either it's the reviews, ingredients, price or availability. Ugh, this is so frustrating.

I'm beginning to become a believer of 'you get what you paid for'. The cheaper products seem to have tons of parabens in them, but the more expensive and exclusive ones don't. I have about half a bottle of Herbal essences left, so that's a while to find a new shampoo/conditioner combo. But GOSH!! Why does it have to be soo d i f f i c u l t???????

Relaxer Update 1

what's done is done, there's no turning back...

Got my relaxer today.

The stylist used Mizani. She based around my head and the tips of my ears, as usual. Then she started putting in the relaxer. I noticed she was very sloppy when doing it. She would slap the relaxer into my hair then run her fingers through my hair. Yes, there was relaxer on her hands. So part of my already relaxed hair got relaxer on it. I didn't want to be rude and tell her how to do her job, so I continued to silently watch in terror of the damages she was doing. It started to burn quickly so she rinsed it out sooner than planned. I was worried my hair wouldn't be bone straight like I like it to be. However, it relaxed nicely.

So then it was time to style it. For whatever reason I chickened out and didn't ask for the four braids to the back. Why you might ask? Who does that? Who goes to the salon just to get four braids? I knew she would have looked at me funny and asked why in the world I would have wanted that. What would I have said? "Oh, I'm on a hair journey and I'm currently in a challenge to not use heat for two months for health reasons so my hair will grow." She wouldn't have taken me seriously. Probably wouldn't have braided it anyways. Sigh.

So then they sat me under the dryer (which I was fine with) and put me with a magazine of hair styles. Nothing really caught my eye until this girl was on the page with half her hair twisted and the other half curly. Not really a style I like, but this was the first style that my hair seemed long enough for and I was ready to leave.

Apparently that style would have cost me an additional $55 to the $45 I was already paying because of the curls. A roller set would have been expensive too. And flexi rods. So, the only thing I could get done was a darn wrap. Yup. She flat ironed it. No, she didn't just flat iron it. She sat me under the dryer, blow dried it, then flat ironed it. No heat protection. Not what I wanted. All I could afford.

So I'm done with the heat challenge. I don't see a point in continuing to do it since I already broke the #1 rule. This does NOT mean I will start using heat on my hair regularly though. This just means I can use direct heat on my hair once or twice a month if I choose to. I will use indirect heat for roller-set saran wrap methods though as often as I want to. (Ulovemegz-youtube-does the same thing)

I'll post pics later. I'm too upset to do so now.

Herbal essences Ingrdients... :(

So..after I told you about the Herbal essences (apparently they prefer to spell it with a upper case 'H' and lowercase 'e') shampoo and conditioner and how much I LOVED them, I read the ingredients. I wrote a blog about it a while back..long story short-- THE INGREDIENTS ARE TERRIBLE! Ughh.. I thought I got over that but nowthe idea of silicone's and parabens in my hair bother me so much. Honestly I'm not completely sure what they are but I know they're bad and should be avoided. (I'll look it up later). What bothers me is that theres pretty much hundreds of them in that one small bottle! (exxageration, I know.) I was thinking of getting the Kenra Moisturizing Shampoo, but the reviews for that were so mixed I'm scared to use it. What I really want to use is Shea Moistures Moisture Retention Shampoo. BUTTTT my local Target is out of it so I'll have to wait. BUTTTT...Target has been out of it for a while so I'm not sure if they'll be getting it back. HOWEVVVEEERRRR...its inventory time at Target so I'm sure they'll be getting some more soon. If not, I'm going to have to find something else. My rule of thumb is going to be if it has more than 4 parabens and/or silicones then I'm not going to use it.

NO HEAT 4EVA!

I don't want to be one of those people who decide not to use heat for X amount of months, and when those months are over, continue to use heat weekly. I always wonder what their purpose was for not using heat in the first place. Did they not notice a difference? Is curly hair that bad? When my heat challenge is over, I will use heat, but not as often. Only twice a month, not all the time like I was.

MINOR Regimen Change

Yesterday I said I'll co-wash with Suave and I'll find me a new pre-poo, but actually I found a co-wash (VO5 moisture milks conditioner) and I'll pre-poo with Suave almond and Shea butter conditioner. 

VO5 is a popular co-wash on hair forums so that's why I decided to switch. (it smells great and is only $1.15!)

Almost there!

Okay.. so I said I was going to continue to practice braiding my hair. I practiced last night and I'm going to practice again tonight. I hope by the end of the week I'll be wearing braid-outs regularly as a way to use less heat on my hair.
I know its not the best, but for just learning, i think it looks A M A Z I N G !  :)

blue magic?

I was browsing YouTube (as usual) and I came across a woman talking about weight loss. I thought she was interesting and had a good weave. I watched a couple of her other videos and found out that she also talked about hair and makeup as well, like the other people I like to watch on YT. Then I came across a video and she was talking about her hair. I found out a couple of things:
1) that wasn't a good weave, it was her actual hair!
2) Her hair didn't start to grow until she started using blue magic. AKA grease. AKA petroleum. AKA exactly what I've been trying to avoid the whole entire span of my hair journey!

Once she said that I felt an emotion. I'm not sure what emotion it was.
Maybe I was feeling confusion. How did her hair grow that long when there is so much science saying how bad grease is for your hair? What about it blocking moisture from your hair?
Maybe I felt jealous. I used blue magic a few years ago faithfully. Why didn't my hair grow like hers did? How come I never made it past neck length and she appears to be at bra strap length?

Whatever emotion I was feeling was most likely a combination of the two, but either way I figured out the answers to my questions. It's not something I didn't already know.
What works for one person doesn't work for everybody.
A lot of people LOVE Wave Nouveau finishing lotion as a moisturizer. I hate it.
Some people think jojoba oil is the best thing known to man. For me, it was just..eh.
Every body's hair is unique to that person. She has found the key to her hair growth, just like I need to figure out mine. And I will. It obviously wasn't Silk Elements. Or Aphogee. But it is something else. I just need the patience and drive to grow my hair and it will happen. Trust me.

(another thing she said was that she used absolutely NO heat at all. That is one of my goals so I've been practicing braiding my hair..I'm definantly getting better!)

wow... light bulb moment!

I just realized that during the winter months I really should be using moisture-based products. I still have been using aphogee (protein). Since winter is the dryest time of the year, moisture based products are really my best friend. So I will switch back to silk elements or start using the full herbal essences ltr line.

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December F A V O R I A T E S ! and small update

1. Lustrasilk Mango Butter
At first I did not like this stuff. But that was before I realized that I needed to use a product a few times before I rated it from 1-10. I use this stuff briefly after I rinse out my Aphogee 2 minute reconstructor and I also mix it into my DC's. It makes my hair super soft and I now know the hype about it. The next time I go to the store I'll get 2 tubs of it to make sure I don't run out.

2. Silk Elements Megasilk Olive Moisturizing Treatment
My mom bought this and called it 'A no-name brand deep conditioner with olive oil in it' on a car ride home. Little did I know she actually got something really good. I mix this into my DC. I use this and my hair is always soft afterwards. Since I ran out of the intense conditioning mayonnaise this will be a great replacement. (Maybe better)
 
I know for a fact that by the end of January I will be shoulder length. I can't wait for it. My hair has grown a lot and it's only the beginning. Besides that I love how soft my hair is lately. As far as the bunning challenge goes I'm not sure if I like it or not. It may be protecting my ends, but I really don't like the way I look with a bun. I won't have to do this for much longer anyways thank God. When I do reach full SL I'll experiment with better looking buns and hopefully I'll get into protective styles more but I'm not making any promises.

HJ- update

So I finally made an appointment to get my hair done next Tuesday. My plan to get a relaxer every 8 weeks has failed because instead of eight, now I have accidentally stretched for almost 10 and by the time i get my relaxer it'll almost be 12. So I proved that I can actually stretch longer than 8 weeks, but I just don't want to because, well.. IDK. Its just my choice not to. And because I thought I was going to get a relaxer 2 weeks ago, I haven't been washing my hair because I didn't want to be scratching and rubbing my hair too much while washing it. I did that the last time i washed my hair and it burned like crazy. It could've been the type of relaxer (Silk Elements) or that i washed my hair or a mixture of the both.

Because my hair doesn't have a lot of NG, i feel like i failed a little bit. I thought I would have a lot of NG but i really dont, less than a 1/2 inch. If you saw my last length pictures, you would've noticed that my hair didn't grow that much. :( That's kind of sad. I don't want to start co-washing because I'm not great at doing heat less styles. My bantu knot outs have been getting worse and worse. And when I do a bantu knot out I always do it on flat ironed hair. And when I air dry over night, i do plaits then take them out in the morning. My hair doesn't look good at all after that. The curls aren't defined and my hair gets super frizzy. Next time I air dry over night I will M&S then use my frizz buster.

Aphogee:
I still like aphogee. One time I used it it made my hair hard. The time after that I pre-pooed, then I washed with Aphogee shampoo and conditioned with Aphogee 2 minute and Silk Elements moisturizing conditioner. After that I DC'd for a couple of hours. (the first time I DC'd for more than 1 hour! turned out great!) After I rinsed my hair felt super soft. I went to sleep woke up and my hair felt hard again! -_- So I DC'd AGAIN and my hair has felt soft ever since. So that means one of two things:
-I need to DC for a supppperrrr long time once
-or use Aphogee shampoo and a moisturizing conditioner, or Moisturizing shampoo and aphogee 2 min (i think i said that in a past post..)
Or it could just mean that I should only use it every now and then. I'm not sure.


Pre Poo:
As I mentioned before I tried to do a pre-poo. To keep it short it went terrible. I used
honey
olive oil
jojoba oil
and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner.
I think it was the hello hydration. Next time I'm going to be using Pantene Curly Hair Series Deep Moisturizing Treatment. I decided to get this because I really liked the Shampoo and Conditioner. Also I figured black hair is naturally curly and because this is extra moisturizing.



Jojoba Oil:
I got jojoba oil because my hair really liked Pantene relaxed and natural daily moisturizer which had jojoba oil in it. (i stopped using it b/c it had mineral oil in it). When I used this to seal it didn't do anything but sit on my hair.

Wave Nouveau Finishing Lotion:
Hate it. It just sits on my hair and weighs it down. Never again. I added Jojoba oil into to hopefully water it down and also as an attempt to get rid of the oil. LOL. but now I've decided to just put it in the bathroom and hope that my mom and sister will use it. I hope it works well for their hair.

Petroleum and Mineral Oil for hair

Petroleum (aka petrolatum, petroleum jelly, soft paraffin, white paraffin, and mineral oil) is a common ingredient for black hair care. I bet if you check the ingredients on your tub of blue magic, petroleum is the first ingredient- meaning it is the number one ingredient. For many years (centuries even) its been used as a hair moisturizer. When in fact, it only coats the hair instead of penetrating it. Mineral oil basically coats the hair not allowing the moisture to penetrate. Hair that has no moisture is more likely to frizz (which is not cute!).
Also, these products clog the pores of the hair shaft. So whether you spend $3.99 on a hair product with soft paraffin, or a $59.99 product with petrolatum in it, you're most likely wasting your money.

The reason these products and their AKA's are so widely used in black hair care products is:
a) they are cheap
b) they give our hair an artificial shine

This is why on your hair journey it is important to check the ingredients to make sure they do not contain these products.

Other ingredients to avoid:
Propylene Glycol (PG): not exactly sure, I just know its bad :)
Isopropyl Alcohol: drying
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG): strips of moisture
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)/ Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), TEA lauryl : cheap, stripping, irritating
Diethanolamine (DEA), Momoethnanolamine (MEA): can cause cancer (then again, what doesn't cause cancer in this world?)
Silicones: builds up, other bad stuff..

Personally, i just make sure it doesn't have any petroleum or mineral oil in it.

Massaging hair benefits

If you're not looking to start a whole new regimen and spend a lot of money but you want your hair to grow, there are small things you can do to stimulate growth. One thing is to massage your hair when you have shampoo or conditioner in your hair or randomly throughout the day. If done correctly, scalp massages will increase blood circulation to your hair and boost the strength of your roots. Scalp massages help prevent avoidable hair loss and will also make you feel serene and calm.


How to give a scalp massage:


First choose an oil: almond, sesame, lavender oil, peppermint, rosemary- all good choices for a proper scalp massage
Don't use too much of an essential oil. only add a maximum of two drops essential oil for every tablespoon of the oil that you are using (olive oil or almond oil, etc.)
Brush your hair thoroughly to get rid of the flaky dandruff in your hair. you'll want to flip your hair upside down and start from ends to tips. (if you have long hair)
Dip your fingers into the oil that you are using
Use your fingers to apply gentle pressure at the base of the neck, then move towards the hair line
Make sure to start slow, then speed up
Rake your fingers through the hair, then wrap a moist and warm towel around their hair

HJ- fish oil, DC's, and roller sets. :)

3 weeks ago i told you that i will not be buying hair products for three weeks because I don't want to become a product junkie. Well, that three weeks is up. :) now I can buy products but I don't really have my eye on anything at the moment. I think my regimen is fine as it is and doesn't need any thing new. (well, I'm almost out of my DC, but I'll climb that hill when i get to it.)The only thing I really want at this point is fish oil pills. Fish oil is supposed to help with a lot of things. (more details below)
Yesterday I DC'd my hair (no shampoo) for about two hours. ( I used to keep track of what I put in my DC's, but now I just put a hojpoj of things in there. I normally just put the stuff on my hair, but yesterday I applied similar to a relaxer and it worked much better. I'm not sure if its how I applied it or what I used to make my hair feel that way though. Then my mom roller setted it. (tools used: clips, rollers, triangle hair net, hooded dryer) When I took it out, It looked..eh. not great like i hoped. But i won't give up because it defiantly had potential to be better. Then I woke up and flat ironed it. :\


Fish Oil Benefits:
hair
-promote faster hair growth
-nourishes hair follicles
-rich in protein which contributes to healthy hair
-improves texture, makes it softer
-improves density, makes it thicker
-adds moisture
-maintains a healthy shine and luster
skin
-makes skin smoother (Gets rid of acne)
other
-brain health
-joint health
-cardiovascular health
-makes nails harder

Of course, instead of taking dietary supplements, you could simply eat more fish or increase your Omega 3 intake- but i don't like fish that much so I'll choose to take the supplements instead.

HJ- coconut oil

Coconut oil is good. I like it. It moisturizes my hair nice. But idt it really penetrates my hair very well. It just kind of sits on there like a hair grease does. even by morning time it looks shiny b/c its 'greasy'- not a shine that healthy hair has. which is weird b/c coconut oil is supposed to be one of the oils that actually penetrate hair the most. They say that coconut oil penetrate hair about 90-95% so idk why my hair looks that way when i use it. maybe i use too much. hmm... idk.

HJ- hair update

09/08/2010

10/08/2010

See? a lil bit of progress so far! and the only real difference i've made is:

-Moisturizing and sealing everynight (well, most nights)

-washing more often

-and the products i use.




I know somebody is probably looking at this like 'thats not much growth', but its my hair and i'm proud of my progress so far. I don't plan on being this length for too long.

Biotin for Skin

I've been using biotin for my nails to be stronger and also for my hair to be stronger. I also thought my skin would clear up a bit. However, when i started taking biotin, i didn't notice any difference in my hair or nails, but i did notice my skin became WORSE! And i mean my skin looks terrible right now. (that's why my skin looks so bad in my pictures in my last blog) If you look up what biotin is supposed to do for skin, a lot of different websites say its supposed to help skin. If you look up people's experiences with biotin, a lot of them will say it broke them out. I don't have sensitive skin it doesn't break out easily even though I've tried a lot of different products. Now my skin is terrible.    -_-

So Instead of continuing biotin pills, I'll just use 'Hair, Skin and Nails' pills. (although they do contain biotin, they also have a lot of other vitamins and minerals)

Biotin may work for nails and hair, but I'm not going to continue to use it to find out.

HJ- FINALLY got my relaxer todayy! And SALONS DON'T MAKE YOUR HAIR HEALTHY!

AHHH! i finally got my relaxer today! yayyy! i got there at about 4 and ain't leave until 9:30. but it was worth it b/c my hair is cute! I even used a silk elements relaxer so its like i'm still on the Silk Elements regimen when I go to the salon. (SEMS relaxer w/ shea butter in normal- brown tub) My hair is super soft and 'like silk'- but i don't think I would use that relaxer at home b/c it BURNS so bad. I didn't itch my too much for it to burn that bad. but 8/10 times i go to the salon for relaxers any ways so its not that big of a deal. I just got a trim and a simple wrap- I used to get detailed styles but then I figured out that wraps are easy to take care of b/c all you have to do is wrap it at night and it'll look good. But styles with twists and curls and lots of hair spray don't last as long when you go to sleep. Now its time for an 8 week stretch! And I said before that I thought my hair grew, after the trim its about the same length but thats okay b/c it'll benefit me in the long run!

P I C T U R E S ! :


look at them roots! lol



cute lil flip!

Salons Don't Make Your Hair Healthy (well, not all of them):

All of the salons I've been to (including the one that did my relaxer) focus mainly on looking nice instead of healthy hair. Like I've never been to a hair salon and the stylist used a heat protectant. And they use a lot of gel in the hair that can eventually break it off. (another reason why I only get wraps) Just b/c you come in with broken off hair and leave with it looking shiny and what-not doesn't mean your hair is healthy. They just are trained to make it look that way. So if you come in with unhealthy hair, you're still leaving with unhealthy hair. It just looks better.  (if you put a dress on a pig, its still a pig). I used to think going to the salon would make my hair healthy, but the only way to know for sure that your hair is at its peak health is if you take good care of it at home as well. Not that salon is a terrible place, but it definantly isn't want you want to rely on to make sure your hair is healthy.  I'm not saying that all salons are aimed for looks instead of heath, b/c i haven't been to all of the salons. But out of the ones i've been too, this is what I think.

-I'm still going to MS my hair, but i'm going to use very little SAO (b/c its a light oil) and use very little moisturizer (HE LTR).
-SEMS- silk elements mega silk
-SAO- sweet almond oil
-HE LTR- Herbal Essences long term relationship leave in conditioner