Relaxer.

Technically I'm supposed to get a relaxer next week. I really don't think I need to relax so soon. Instead of relaxing every 8 weeks, I'll relax every 10-12. My NG isn't that bad, I can still manage it pretty well actually. I don't want to relax every 8 weeks just because my eight weeks is up. From my understanding, the less you relax your hair the healthier it will be. So if I relax every 10 weeks then I'll only need about 5 touch ups in a year, but if I get it every 8 weeks I'll need 6. Not much of a difference, but once I learn to manage my NG better I'll only need 4. It's just a small reduction, but will make a significant difference in the health of my hair.

GARNIER???

I think I'm done wanting to try Elasta QP. I wanted to try it because it had a full line of things that I needed and wanted to try/use. (Moisturizer, shampoo/conditioner, leave-in, ect.) I know you're probably thinking that I made my decision to use Herbal Essences, but now I'm kinda wanting to try Garnier Fructis.
Why?
Well, I wanted to try a new moisturizer. I just don't feel like the ones I'm using (Pantene Daily Oil Cream Moisturizer and HE LTR) are really 'doing it' for me.
Pantene's okay, not as great as I remembered a few years ago, plus it contains a high amount of mineral oil. And HE LTR has too much protein in it.

So after work I decided to buy Garnier Fructis sleek and shine Leave in Conditioning Cream for about $3.00. I've only been using it for a few days now, but so far I LOVE it. It makes my hair super soft and it smells great. It does have some protein in it, but not a significant amount. Also, it is nice and thick which is great for the winter.

The BEST thing about wanting to try Garnier Fructis is that Target sells the shampoo and conditioner in 1.7 fluid ounce travel size bottles! So all I have to do is buy the little bottles (for $0.97 each!) and give it a try. If I don't like it then I can switch to Herbal Essences quicker than if I bought a full size bottle of something else. What worries me is that I know my hair-typically I don't like things the first time I try it so I'm going to have to try it for a few weeks before I fully commit to Garnier. Which is fine.

I also bought Herbal Essences Reconditioning Conditioner to use as a prepoo since I ran out of the Pantene I was using/decided to stop using Pantene.
If I like the Prepoo, then I will start to use it as my regular conditioner.
If I like the Garnier then I will use it as my regular shampoo and conditioner.

Now all we have to do is wait....

Braid out FAIL and Pantene

I tried a braid~out again today, but it didn't turn out right at all! It's not that the curl was ugly- but there was not curl at all. It looked like I was wearing that style for a few hours and the curls fell, instead of just waking up this morning. Today's braid out didn't dampen my spirits, it just gave me more drive to become a better braider.
When I do become good at braiding, I plan to add co-washing into my regimen.

Last week I noticed flakes on my scalp once again. I was really confused and thought my hair wasn't getting enough moisture because of the aphogee regimen I've been using. So I started researching things and some girl said Pantene gave her dandruff. I use Pantene's curly hair treatment. I liked it a lot for a prepoo, but I don't think I'll continue to use it because it's pretty expensive and doesn't last a long time. Also, it may be the cause of my dandruff. Especially since I'm not the only one noticing it.

I will continue to prepoo, but now I will use Herbal Essences instead and mix it with oils.

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!)

*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. :(

Ahhhh Snowdays.. :)

January has been full of 'No-School' days for me!

1/5- home sick :(
1/11- SNOW DAY!
1/12- SNOW DAY!
1/17- Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
1/20- SNOW DAY!
and still to come...
1/28- No School! (Teacher's Work Day)

View from my bedroom window,
the car's tires are completely covered by snow!

And most likely we won't be having school tomorrow either! Snow days do have its good points (aka no school and sleeping in late) but then again: lets think about what is really going on:

1: it's cold outside. (i hate cold weather)
2: can't go anywhere because most likely the roads will be bad.
3: the more snow days we have, the more days we will be in school during the summer (ugh!)



View from the deck. The doghouse is covered
and look at the amount of snow on the table!



Missouri weather isn't a joke. Yesterday morning the snow from the last snow day was almost all melted, skies were blue, sun was shining (stilll freezing, but it was shining). Then by lunch time there was the smallest sprinkle of snow that stopped within an hour. Came home, took a shower, washed my hair and half way during my deep condition the snow was falling in sheets! It wouldn't stop! Didn't stop when I ate dinner, watched American Idol auditions, or went to sleep! Even now, at 12:11 in the afternoon, the snow is still coming down. (its barely a sprinkle of snow, but it's still coming!)

All there is to do today is wash clothes, clean the kitchen and find something to do to occupy my time between today and the next day I have school! Snowball fight with the dog maybe? Hmmm...