I’m now a red-head!

redhead

One thing I have come to dislike about my hair is the fact that it’s not jet black. You would think that someone with my complexion would have jet black hair, but that’s not the case and the harsh sun we had this summer made it even more browny-dusty-black-looking, which is why I decided to dye it red.  Initially the colour had barely changed but once I looked at it under light I was actually quite impressed.  The only thing is it’s not permanent and the colour will wash out with each weekly wash, so the plan is to reapply it every 4 weeks (for up to 3 times).  Although I might let the hairdresser do it next time as that will save me worrying about permanently staining the bathtub!

As well as dying my hair red I did my first post-relaxer wash since I desperately needed to wash out the flakes from the scabs, which appeared regardless of my 45 minute scalp-basing session prior to getting a relaxer.  My scalp just seems to burn after about 120 secs of the relaxer being applied. I was looking forward to my first wash after a relaxer, as I really despise the thin looking post-relaxer hair, which is due to the flat-ironing with the really hot tongs that Deloris uses.  My hair looks nice on the day but over the course of the week when you apply moisturiser to counteract the dryness, it’s starts to look limp.

My only hope now is that the dye doesn’t have any adverse affects on my hair or scalp.

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6 month comparison

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I got my relaxer yesterday at 10 weeks post again.  I was desperate to relax at 9 weeks but as the hairdresser was on holiday and I don’t trust anyone else with my hair, I had no choice but to wait the extra week. In actual fact I’m  glad for having to wait, as I really do think 10 weeks should be the minimum.

So I am not APL yet and so I have now moved the goal post to December, but as I can see the progress I’m making, I’m not discouraged about not being there yet.

Here are the comparison pics from February 16th 

feb-sep_comparison

Swicthin’ it up

new up do

So after the horrific realization that Deloris was on holiday last weekend and that I would have to go another week with all this new growth.  I finally switched up my hairstyling and embraced the curls, which is really the thing to do when you have lots of new growth.  I think being miserable about my hair when I have lots of new growth is down to my slowness to transition from the freshly relaxed hairstyles to the loadsa’ regrowth hairstyles.

So the last two nights I have been roller-setting my whole head not just the ends with the satin rollers and am rocking an up and to the side do,  I feel very Janelle Monae.

There’s something about having lots of new growth that forces you to be creative with your hairstyling options and simply stop trying to make the straight her worn down look decent. And actually some would argue I look better with my hair worn up!

Hanging in there even when under-processed (7.5 weeks post)

So on Friday I was toying with the idea of relaxing the next morning, but I wanted a lie-in and it rained all day on Saturday so I didn’t feel like leaving the house, so in the end I rationalised that I would just wash and blow-dry it to loosen the tight coils at the roots.  The alarming thing was from Friday to Sunday morning the blow-dried roots from my last wash fully tightened – I think working out at the gym on Saturday and Sunday probably didn’t help matters.  There was so much shrinkage I was actually tempted to relax it myself, but had less than an hour to get dressed after I got back from the gym and had to get ready to go to Ghanaval on Sunday.

So I opted for a wash, condition and blow-dry instead to loosen out my roots,  it definitely helped, but as my hair didn’t properly dry and I didn’t add in enough moisture it frizzed up a little bit throughout the course of the evening.

It did make me wish that I had not been so lazy and that I should have gone and got it relaxed on Saturday.  Although I feel better for knowing that I made it an extra week closer to my standard 10 weeks.

I think this Saturday should be D-day although I have developed a new found fondness for my satin rollers.  I put them in only at the ends of my hair last night before going to bed and wore it down this morning.  I like that it has a more permanent wave than when I try to bevel my ends with the hair straighteners, it is of course a much healthier option too, and it’s a good way to balance out my puffy roots.

Even though my roots are out of control I still feel like I should wait the extra 2 weeks so that my trims and relaxer schedule is maintained at no sooner than every 10 weeks – although part of me wonders whether 10 weeks is regular enough for both of those…

Is stretching going to result in a perpetually under-processed relaxer?

7 weeks post relaxer and currently feeling like I’m at least 9 weeks post – I’ve come to the conclusion the last relaxer didn’t fully straighten my hair and now there is additional growth on top of that, which means I feel like I am further along the usual timeline than I actually am.  Waiting the 9 days to September seems hard enough right now let alone waiting until September14th which was my schedule due date 10 weeks post.

When it gets to this stage I can’t help myself from pulling, tugging, and rubbing my coily roots especially to the back left of my head when I am resting my elbows on the desk at work.  The downside is it makes me slightly reluctant to exercise because of the extra puffy roots I’ll have at the end.

Meanwhile I want to stretch my wash cycle from every week to every two weeks to reduce my having to use the blow dryer, since it’s not the healthiest option, although without the blow-dryer the contrast between the two textures would be stark and it would cause breakage when combing, so I have to get the balance right.  I just need to hold out till 8.5 weeks post for my next wash, then I’ll be able to relax at week 9.  One week early isn’t too bad given that I feel like sponge head bob! Although the additional length I gained from the last relaxer means that there is still some ‘hangtime’ in spite of all the shrinkage.

I think stretching can be detrimental if it means there is too much hair to relax in a short space of time given how quickly my scalp starts to burn. I also think this may be the down-side to the new pain-free relaxer process (relaxing in 5 sections and rinsing each out before moving to relax the next section).

Inching closer to APL (4 weeks post)

inch

So washed and blow-dried my hair yesterday and I it looks like the back of my hair when stretched /pulled with my fingers is more in the way of an inch away from APL rather than the 2 inches it felt like it was a while ago.  I think after my September relaxer I will be only an inch away from APL without pulling with my fingers (depending on how much of a trim I need), which means I’m actually getting close so can stop feeling like APL is something only other people achieve.

I was reading a ‘From shoulder length to APL’ thread on LHCF (longhaircareforum.com) yesterday and someone on the thread mentioned that they were 4 inches away from APL and that they felt like they would never get there– it did make me suddenly realise I’m a lot closer to getting there than I think, it is not as much of a pipe dream as it originally was.

I lost a bit more than I lose with my weekly washes. yesterday, but given that I last washed my hair at 2 and a half weeks post it makes sense that there would be more than usual.

The aircurler: verdict

aircurler

Last Friday in the office we had a lot of fun with the air curler – Nick, Our business development guy managed to assemble it and Paulina and a few others volunteered to have it tested on their hair. It worked quite well on Paulina’s hair, but not so great on Sarah Jones who didn’t have any hair products in her hair. I think it’s a good contraption but in order for it to be more effective you need to apply some styling mousse to help the curls last longer and it’s ideal for longer hair. For shorter lengths you have to make a point of placing the bowl as close to the roots of your hair as possible. Not a bad purchase though, especially given the price.

Longer hair = a beautiful ponytail

ponytail

3 weeks post relaxer  – Saturday was Louise day – Louise day was the day that Tina organised for Louise about 2 months after her actual birthday – we had an assorted breakfast at Tina’s, followed by a manicure and pedicure, a theatre play and then a 3/4 course meal back at Tina’s.  I wore my hair in a ponytail using my barrettes plus I had curled my hair in about 4 satin rollers the night before. Which means that my ponytail was nice and wavy.  – Emma questioned if my ponytail was real and Racquel mentioned that she thought it looked “really long”.  But I think their sentiments are similar to one I had when I first put my hair in a ponytail following the extra growth I got from this relaxer.

I may not bet APL yet, but one thing I have noticed from the little bit of growth that I have had, is that I suddenly have developed a new found appreciation for wearing my hair in a ponytail.  It’s always been a hairstyle I have been indifferent to because when you have shorter hair it doesn’t look particularly great.  Hairstyles like pony tails and buns become more appealing because  the extra length gives them a much cuter appearance and balances out the excess face on display from scraping all your hair back.  Here’s to more growth and longer ponytails!

Hair rubbing on my shoulders?

I am liking the look of my hair today and I have not used any heat today.

So after washing on Saturday it’s a lot thicker than it looked last week after the hairdresser relaxed and flat ironed it – giving it that limp flat ironed look that relaxed hair tends to have.

After I wash and blow dryer I generally get a thick look from when it dries.  Well today I pinned up the sides and have made a nice little half up half down hair style.  I’m conscious that I am wearing the ends out only because Nicole mentioned last week at my roof terrace dinner and on Saturday that my ends are rubbing away on my shoulders – I don’t think this should be the death of the hair though, although many hair forums worn against wearing your hair out, but in my experience, my breakage tends more to be a result from lack of protein, or when it’s porosity gets too high, or when there is 8 weeks plus of NG.  Although in winter when I’m wearing woollen fabrics and coats then I tend to be more weary of the rubbing.  I could be wrong though…

But mostly I’m happy it looks good after the wash because I hate feeling like my hair goes down hill after I wash it…

French Perm Stabilizer Plus – verdict

So I tried the famous French perm stabiliser yesterday and if I’m honest, I wasn’t overly excited by the results.  My hair was definitely easy to detangle afterwards but my one week post relaxer hair generally always is, I’m starting to wish I had only bought one bottle.  Will definitely try and sell the next bottle on ebay for £30. 

I tried to test out the aircurler but struggled to put it together – will get Ndidi to sort it.