Showing posts with label aphogee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aphogee. Show all posts

Friday, March 11, 2011

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???????

Monday, March 7, 2011

Yesterdays Wash Day

Yesterday was an interesting wash day for me for two reasons:
  • it was the first time I had to wash my hair before going to work
  • I didn't mix anything into my DC (as requested)
On saturday, I put a lot of Africa's Best Herbal Oil into my hair before going to bed. Then in the morning I pre-pooed with ORS replinishing pak and it went great. (click here for more details) After I rinsed my hair out, I washed with HE Reconditioning Shampoo/Conditioner- it went well as usual. Then I tried something different. I was requested to use the Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner with out any added oils into it just to see how it went. It was good! I liked it! My hair was soft after using it. A lot softer compared to the first time, but not as soft as last time. (which was expected because I didn't add any oils)

Then I used Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk. I think I'm going to stop using that. My hair feels less soft after using it, on top of that I don't think my hair is that frizzy with out it, so it's not adding any benefits to my hair. If I notice an increase in frizz, I'll continue to use it. Until then, its OUT the regimen. I also added Fantasia frizz buster and aphogee green tea and keratin mist. I think I'm going to get a relaxer this week so I keep using small doses of protein.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

*Sigh*...

just a quick follow-up from my last post: yes, Friday was another snow day. -_-

Anyways... I'm starting to feel discouraged about my hair. I don't think I can make it anywhere past neck length. I really thought that at this point in my hair journey I would be shoulder length. I was so wrong. Maybe my regimen is too simple?


Should I try co-washing? I want to, but then what? I'll have to flat iron it because I don't know how to do braids to achieve a braid out. Its one of my goals to learn how to cornrow my own hair to lessen the amount of heat I use on my hair, so until then I feel stuck with flat ironing. I've tried twists outs- they never really look 'right'. (more frizz than curl) I've tried bantu knot outs. (they only work well  when my hair is flat ironed and they only last a few days) Braid outs always look great, but I can't keep hassling my sister or mom to braid my hair every night. I moisturize and seal every night but sometimes it still feels a bit dry and never really looks 'shiny' like it did at the beginning of my journey. Lately I've even stopped wearing my hair down and put it in a lot more ponytails to protect my ends better.


Is it the products I use? I know during the winter months Aphogee isn't the best thing to use because of the protein content, but Silk Elements doesn't make my hair feel as soft and smooth as when I use Aphogee. Does it matter how my hair feels? Or does it matter more that my hair needs moisture instead of protein? I'm still confused weather I should use Elasta QP or Herbal Essences. EQP might have mineral oil in it, I'm not sure because I've never read the ingredients. Maybe I should give up on both brands and research a new one that is more common?

Every time I watch a 'hairspiration' video on YouTube, by the 3rd month they always have some extreme growth, I started my HJ 4 months ago and can barely tell a difference.

I really don't want this to be a phase I go through. My first few posts were about me trying to get in shape and stay fit-that didn't last a month. I stopped because I didn't see any results and stopped caring. I hope that the same thing doesn't happen with my hair as well. I've basically been trying to care for my hair well during my whole 11th grade year and nothing has changed. Maybe I was dumb for believing that I could actually have long hair. :(

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hiii! :)

I have a reallly good excuse for bein gone for so long! My computer was in the shop and I couldn't blog except for on my phone! Blogging on my phone is terrible so I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon. I have soo much to say but I don't want to have a super-long blog.

-Today I bought a 2 oz thing of castor oil. It's super tiny but I hope it does wonders for my hair. I'll be mixing that into my DC's and probably be oiling my scalp with it once a week.

-I said before that I wanted to try Elasta QP products once I finished the Aphogee and/or Silk Elements. I have now changed my mind and I want to use Herbal Essences. I might try the 'Long Term Relationship' full line because I like the conditioner and leave-in conditioner. However, it contains a lot of protein and that is something I want to stay away from for a while. I tried the 'Hello Hydration' conditioner line before but I didn't like it. BUT that was only one use AND now I know my hair needs to use a product more than once before I give it the thumbs up or thumbs down. Since I'm kind of wary of using the 'Hello Hydration' line, I could use the 'Hydraliscious' line instead. I'm not quite sure, but that's okay because I still have ways to go before I finish the shampoo and conditoners I am already using.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

super late hair update pic...oops. :)

11/08/10
So i took this picture on 12/9/10. it doesn't look like much growth from the last picture I took but when I brush it to the front it looks a lot longer than it did before. I think some of it had to do with the relaxer getting rid of my shrinkage. I believe I will definitely be full shoulder length by February 2011. I went to the salon to get my relaxer but this time I don't know what kind of relaxer she used. All I know is that it was in a white bottle with pink writing. I really liked the relaxer because it didn't burn and it made my NG lay down extra flat.

Friday I washed my hair:
Pre-pooed for 30 minutes with Pantene curly hair series DC. I really liked it.
Aphogee shampoo- 1 wash
Aphogee 2 min recon. (i used it as a regular rinse-out conditioner and didn't leave it in for two minutes or put on a plastic cap)
lustrasilk shea butter and mango- 2-3 minutes
Then I DC'd for about 2 hours:
lustrasilk mango butter
Silk elements mega silk olive oil moisturizing treatment (NEW)
SE intense conditioning mayo
fantasia frizz buster
Eucalyptus oil
coconut oil
When I DC I put saran wrap around my hair then put on a plastic cap. Then I sit under the dryer for the last 20 minutes.

The newest thing that i have bought for my hair is One n Only argan oil. I've been wanting to try argan/morrocan oil on my hair since omgitsvictoriaXD (youtube) said she used it on her hair and liked it. I used it last night as a sealant and liked it, but i want to try it more before I give a full review on it.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

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.

Friday, November 12, 2010

hmm... is aphogee too much protein for my hair? Protein-Moisture education

So earlier i wrote a blog entry about how much i LOVED aphogee. that was about two days after i used it and before i unwrapped my hair this morning. I unwrapped my and was about to moisturize and seal my hair and for the first time today i felt it. My hair was super hard. :( It doesn't feel good at all so right now I have DC in my hair with a plastic cap on. i don't know how to describe it. My hair didn't have that flow and was hard to bend and when i put moisturizer in it it didn't do ANYTHING! So I decided to do a late night DC before I go to bed. I want to leave it in for a LONG time to make sure my hair feels better by the time i go to bed. So the next time i use aphogee, I'll use the Silk Elements shampoo and the 2 minute recon. or I'll use the aphogee shampoo and silk elements conditioner to hopefully balance out the protein-moisture to make sure this tragedy doesn't happen again. (when i run out of SE, I got my eye on elasta qp stuff!)

Protein:
Protein is used to give structure, build strength and give structure to hair. If protein is used correctly, it will leave hair soft, full, smooth and healthy. Because I have relaxed hair, i need more protein than people with natural hair. (also, people with color-treated hair need more protein as well) When your hair has too much protein, it can cause problems. your hair will start to:
feel dry
look frizzy
feel like straw
easily tangles
breaks easily with little tension or stress
stiff
lacks elasticity

Moisture:
Moisture and black hair just go together. Like spaghetti and meat sauce, Bert and Ernie, french fries and ketchup. Because black hair is likely to be porous,  moisture easily passes through the cuticle layer of the hair this loss of moisture causes black hair to be dry which means we need to moisturize it a lot more often compared to people of European decent. This is why it is important to moisturize and seal every night if you want to grow your hair. If used correctly, moisture will make your hair soft and increase elasticity. However, if you use too much your hair:
will become 'mushy' or 'soggy' (especially when wet)
weak
limp

This is why a strong moisture-protein balance is needed to make sure your hair is growing and healthy.

3 month length check, haul, reviews


hair as of 10/08/2010


hair growth as of 11/08/10
about to take a shower to wash my hair
 this is my 'new' hair growth. honestly, my hair doesn't look any longer than it did last month. but i will say that my ends look a lot better and I haven't even cut them yet.

HAUL:
this week i got anxious and got the aphogee stuff any ways with out waiting to run out of the SE stuff. I got:

-Aphogee Shampoo for damaged hair
-Aphogee 2 minute reconstructor
 (already had the Aphogee green tea and keratin reconstructorizer)
*and the non-aphogee stuff
-lustrasilk Shea butter mango cholesterol plus
(all costing $16.42 at my local beauty supply store)

REVIEWS:
A. Shampoo:
LOVE IT! its the first shampoo that made my hair feel this soft at home. I only did one wash because that's what the bottle says to do b/c it has so much protein in it. Next time i might do 1 1/2 wash. (just using a small amount of shampoo for the second wash) I like this shampoo because my hair feels clean afterwards, but doesn't feel stripped of moisture or super dry.
A. 2 minute:
I love this too! it made my hair feel softer! I wasn't sure what a 'reconsturctor' was, but its basically the conditioner that goes along with the shampoo. I put a lot of it in my hair, massaged it in then put my plastic cap on for 2 minutes. When it was rinsed out it felt super soft!
Lustrasilk Mango:
eh.. extremely disappointing. I used this as a DC (with out any oils added to it), and it took away all the softness the aphogee products gave me. I got this because I heard a lot of people using it and loving it. Also, its featured on hairlista's top 10 must have beauty products. I got it but it wasn't as wonderful as i hoped. I didn't use any oils or conditioners mixed into it but i will the next time and hope for the best.

I'm loving aphogee so much, I'm thinkin about getting the aphogee  pro-vitamin leave in conditioner too!
I also want to try ORS replenishing pak. (i already tried this before- before i started my hair journey- and i think i liked it but I'm not sure)

Next Friday i'll be the 8 weeks post and I'm excited to get my relaxer! my NG is out of control and it needs to be tamed. lol. If i could find a way to make my NG lay down flatter, then i would stretch for longer but since i can't i won't. I'm supposed to get a relaxer next Friday, but since I have to work I'll get it done on that Saturday after I get off.  :)


Problem with Aphogee:
The future problems I see with aphogee are:
Aphogee is high protein:
A lot of people had to eventually stop using aphogee because it has such a high protein content. Protein will dry out your hair and make it hard if you don't use a good enough moisture-protein balance. (to be explained in a later post) I do a lot of things to my hair that adds moisture (DC, M&S, leave ins, etc). But still fear that it will be too much protein. But if it is, I can use a moisturizing shampoo/ conditioner every now and then to make sure it doesn't happen. (aphogee already makes one just for this occasion.)
Aphogee is for 'damaged hair':
Aphogee is specifically for 'damaged hair'. what happens when my hair isn't damaged any more? What products will i switch too after that? I don't want to rely on aphogee to always make my hair great because one day it won't be necessary. Everybody I watch on YouTube eventually switched off of aphogee to different products. (Ateyaaa switched to NuGro, omgitsvictoriaxd switched to Garnier Fructis then to Aussie, etc.) Does it matter if its for damaged hair or healthy hair?

Short term hair goal:
by the end of the year I hope to be full shoulder length. At the latest, by 1/31/2011 to be full SL.
Long term hair goal:
bra strap length by December 2011.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

1 month since I've gotten my relaxer

It's one month since i've gotten my relaxer and i really don't feel like i need another one. I used to think I needed to get it every six weeks but my roots are still manageable. I might stretch for 10 weeks or longer because I don't think I need it all he time like i used to get them. I remeber last year I got a relaxer and some girl told me 'You shouldn't have got it, you didn't need it.' and I said 'Yes I did, it's been six weeks.' lol. Just shows how much I didn't know at that time.

And I was thinking that when I run out of my Silk Elements I'll use a Aphogee regimen. I want to switch b/c SE is only availble at Sally's and Sally's is no where near my house. And I'm not going to continue to pay $5 shipping and waiting 5-11 business days for my products to get in the mail. Aphogee is sold in a store right across the street from my school so i can get that anytime i want.

With aphogee, I heard that you have to watch out for your hair drying out because its a lot of protein in it.
I moisturize and seal every night so i shouldn't have a problem with that and i DC every time i wash. But if i do have problems with dryness I could always use a moisture based shampoo every now and then and I'll be fine. But its only a thought and I'm not sure if i want to actually use it.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

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.