Tales of My Waist Length Hairventure!

Nothing comes easy.....and stretching your relaxer in order to prevent overlapping and gain length is one of the not-so-easy things one can do when on a relaxed hair journey. Yeah, I got kinda tired this time of handling my hair like a cookie; too afraid it will crumble. Don't blame me cos it's really hard juggling marriage, work, kids, studies (pretty non-existent) and almighty DIY Haircare aka Waist Length journey....lol!!

Honestly, I got pretty frustrated because I want to get braids real bad but the only person I can trust to handle my hair, both relaxed and new growth with utmost care to reduce breakage had travelled and I can't wait for her anymore. The yearning had become more like a pregnancy craving. You just have to get it!!

So I looked back at my last stretch and then I realised why I suffered so much breakage. It was the braid sessions I had with 2 different hairdressers who were just not into working with so much new growth. I remember I had to keep telling them to comb carefully and they kept telling me to get a relaxer. I'm sure they must have done me in.....hair envy!! So to avoid any such setback again, I decided to tame my new growth their way....lol! But this time, with the hairdresser who knows how to work with my hair gone, I decided to self-relax/texlax.

Texlaxing had been on my mind for a long while though I have thick relaxed hair. So it's just an Oliver Twist decision to gain more thickness. I have coarse hair so I usually process my hair for 18 minutes. I decided to process for 15 minutes which is the time for normal hair.....including application time. I didn't mix the relaxer with any oils but I left the smoothing process out totally. I didn't massage at all either. So here is my picture story of my DIY first texlax day........

My relaxer day "cant-do-withouts" . I used ORS Replenishing conditioner when I felt my hair was too hard when I was done with the above products. My leave-ins were Infusium 23, Hawaiian Silky herbal leave-in and IC polisher.

Sectioned my hair into four parts after thoroughly detangling again and held it in place with clips. Realise then I had no pretroleum jelly! I looked through my stash and found a moisturiser I bought for my daughter and don't use anymore because it had petroleum jelly, lanolin, mineral oil as the top ingredients. I used it to base my entire scalp, ears and forehead. I then applied hemp oil all over my relaxed hair.

I applied the relaxer quickly starting from the back as it grows faster and thicker there. I didn't smooth it in at all with a comb. It took about 10 minutes to complete my whole head. I rinsed out after exactly 15 minutes.
1. Applied Vitale Revive Conditioner. Left it in for 5 minutes.
2. Applied ORS Aloe Shampoo, worked into a lather, left it in for 5 minutes then rinsed. Shampooed 2 more times and rinsed.
3. Applied Vitale Positive Conditioner, left it in for 5 minutes and rinsed.
4. Applied Roux Porosity Condtioner, left it in for 2 inutes and rinsed.

My hair is usually soft after using Roux, but not today. On relaxer days, my hair gets really stiff so I know not to blame the products.

5. I applied ORS Replenishing Conditioner and covered with a shower cap and went about my baby business. Rinsed out after a long while and rollerset.

6. Sat under the dryer for 30 minutes, then 15 minutes as it was not totally dry.

7. I gave up and decided to airdry. Sitting under the dryer for long gives me the creeps.

Is APL where my blog address is written?!

100% dry and I'm loving my results. My ever-active whatsapp hairlista group friends say I'm APL already!! That is really coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!

Am I really Armpit Length?

Cheers,

Star.

Sounds extremely miraculous!! Even unbelievable!! But hey, what's the harm in trying?

Been using this method; kinda, once in a while especially when I apply my prepoo oils before my wash. Even though I have read a lot and seen a lot of results with this method, I haven't tried it a full week before. I have been yearning to do a full week just to see but never really got to it. Yeah, too lazy to do it a whole week...lol! Having met a lot of ladies all over the world with great hair stories, I have just come to realise I need to put in a lot more effort. Boot camp style!!

There are 4 proposed challenges in our whatsapp group; Water, Inversion, Biotin and T444Z Hair Food Challenges. All 4 challenges can be done concurrently and that's the beauty about it. It's really a hair growth boot camp!

Water Challenge: We all know water is very important for overall health and wellness of the body; and is very essential for transporting nutrients all over the body. Your hair, skin and nails need essential nutrients too and remember an indication of overall health is healthy hair, skin and nails!! So, the challenge is to drink at least 2 litres of water per day and increase gradually to 2.5 litres which is okay for the average adult. Do not drink more than 3 litres unless you want to loose weight drastically. Even so, please seek medical advise before doing so but under no circumstance should you drink more than 4 litres of water in a single day.

Inversion Challenge: This challenge will be to test the truth of this method, by several ladies at once and must be done consistently for the full 7 days.

1. Take measurements of your hair in the front, back and side on day 1. You should use a ruler or tape measure and not a length check shirt for this check.

2. Massage scalp for 4 minutes with oil of choice. Olive oil is usually recommended and can be warmed a few minutes. Warming the oil is optional.

3. Invert head for 4 minutes and rise up slowly. Do this all 7 days without fail. Wash hair if it is too oily after inversion. This challenge will run from 24th November - 1st December.

(Photo Credit: Various sources via Google Images)

NB: There are several poses for inversion but use a method that is comfortable for you. Any yoga pose that affords your head to be turned upside down is allowed. Do not do this for the first time when completely alone. Do not invert your head for more than 4 minutes!! You should also totally avoid doing this method if you have any of the following conditions: pregnancy, low or high blood pressure, heart or circulatory problems, glaucoma, hernia, conjunctivitis, spinal injury, fractures, osteoporosis, ear infections, obesity or any other serious health conditions. Seek medical advice where in doubt.

I will do a post on the 24th of November and show my starting lengths. Fingers-crossed; I hope I am in the best of health by then. Details of other 2 challenges coming up tomorrow.

Do you believe the inversion method really works? Join us and let's find out!!

Cheers,

Star.

It's been a week since I self-texlaxed. I decided to wait at least a week to determine whether my hair really texlaxed because it looked straighter than I wanted. But after my mid week wash, I felt curls as I run my hands through my hair and realised that indeed, I had texlaxed roots!! I was more convinced after I airdried.

I am transitioning to texlaxed because I'd love to have more volume and thickness. I do have thick relaxed hair, but y'all know Oliver Twist always wants more. I was really glad my self-texlax went well and I may continue to texlax at home using the same method.

Your question: " Will you go natural after that"?

My answer: No, I won't go natural; not because I don't want to, but because I am too lazy with styling and I love to show length, if it is there. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, but if I reach my waist length goal and get bored, just maybe I may cut it off and start again......(*wide-eyed*).

I did my best to measure my hair in different sides of my hair before I installed the braids. It's 11.5'' in front, 10'' front bang, 7.5'' and 8'' at the sides, and 9.5'' in the back. This is for the inversion challenge starting today and ending on 1st December, 2013. You won't believe how many of us are gonna try this!! If it works, great...if not; at least we tried....lol!!

Since inversion can be done regardless of hairstyle once oil can be applied to the scalp and massaged, I am really keen on seeing if I will get new growth and loosened roots of these braids by the end of the week. I will be too happy to get 1/2'' in a week, not to talk of 1''. In order not to stress, I won't do a check-in till the week has ended. I will complete some other posts I have in my drafts folder till the week is up. Besides, I'm returning to work tomorrow after being on sick leave for 6 days. I'm happy to be in good health now. Oh, and I love these braids....."I feeeeeeeeeeeeeel good"!

Thanks to you all for reading my blog, and to all those who sent requests to join the whatsapp hair journey chat (+233201979795)!! Woooooow.....the groups are growing so quickly ....and I'm meeting more ladies and gents(yeah, guys too) from all over the world!! Even a country called Suriname in South America I never knew existed!! Thank you all for being such great sport!

If inversion grew my hair 1'' in one week, what would you say?

Cheers,
Star.

It was all joy and enthusiasm when I begun the Inversion challenge with my friends last week but as the days rolled by, I got bored with the routine and missed 2 days!! Those 2 days, I barely massaged and inverted my head the full time duration. I always thought I could do anything for an extra inch....yeah, right....I gotta be kidding myself!! This is one of the easiest things I could have done to get a whole inch. I couldn't stick to this simple challenge religiously.That makes me unhappy and I look forward to really do it in full next month. You bet, I'm going to do it every month since I didn't have any scary encounter. Not even dizziness.

But I am absolutely happy with my results. Here are my pictures after 7 days of inverting my head for 4 mins after oiling and massaging a few minutes. I warmed the grapeseed oil up in a hot bath a few times. It was really soothing on the scalp. The massage was relaxing and I missed those days when I used to massage my scalp everyday.

Measuring as best as I could with a paper which was cut out 1 inch wide, I see and feel new growth which is more than 1/2 inch under a lot of my braids when stretched. Could be more if stretched totally but my hair is in braids, and I'm in no mood to undo a braid in order to measure and redo it.

What I intend to do is to try and keep these braids in for at least 2 months. I do hope I get 2 inches of growth by the time I undo my braids. I will continue to test this theory more consistently for as long as I can. Hopefully, I will have the chance to do it with my hair loose in the future and do it for the full 7 days massaging for 4 minutes and inverting my head for 4 minutes.

I also washed my braids today. Though I usually wash my hair twice a week whenever in braids, I decided not to wash during the week of inversion and boy; am I glad it's over so I can wash as often as I want. My hair grows faster when it is adequately moisturised so I will do the green house effect at least 3 times a week from now on as I don't like to use too much product in my hair when in braids to prevent buildup. I will also continue to spritz my hair every morning with my homemade moisturising mix. I need my 1 inch in 4 weeks.....lol!

So, after doing the inversion for a week, I believe it does work....if not for a full inch, at least it gives you more than average hair growth in just 1 week!! Hurraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, my 2014 regimen is under construction and I'm definitely adding Inversion every month to it!

Did you join in our challenge? Please share your results.

Cheers,

Star.

It can really be a nightmare to wake up to the realization that your once healthy ends have thinned badly. No matter how hard we may try, some of us have such dry and brittle ends that break away uncontrollable if not cared for properly. We simply have to be cut off. That is the way our hair is and until we have mastered what our hair needs to keep it moisturised to the max, we just have to keep the hair shears close by.

Let me show you what I mean:

I hope this is the worst setback I will ever encounter.

Devastating huh? See how much length I gained in just 6 months and see the horror breakage caused. In the first 6 months of my hair journey, I was able to retain a lot of length and my ends were just cool so I needed no big trim. But in the next 6 months, after my relaxer, my ends were so arrrrggggghhhhhhh!! Just plain ugly! I needed a cut. A big chop. What accounted for the big change? What went wrong? These are a few things I have taken note of. Yes, we go through a bad experience and we should guard against recurrence right?

I know you do not want thin ends. In order not to face this setback, these are a few things you should do:

1. Moisture, moisture and more moisture: Water is your hair's best friend. Just as you get thirsty, your hair gets thirsty too. If your ends are extremely dry, do step up on your moisture. Wash at least 1-2 times a week, use a good conditioner, water-based moisturiser and seal with a sealing oil. You do not need to shampoo on every wash day. Remember, some shampoos are extremely harsh and do more harm than good. Better still, get a sulfate free shampoo. I just got plain lazy in the last 6 months. I could easily blame the big bulk I was carrying back then but that isn't a good excuse. I got braids and weaves and didn't wash, or moisturise and seal as often as I was doing the first time. That made my ends get so dry and brittle. It is no wonder it just broke off.

2. Have a Fresh Trim: If your ends are badly damaged and split, it is best to trim them off before you begin to care for your ends. Sometimes, no matter how much moisture you give to your ends, they just don't stay moisturised. You apply the best moisturisers and they still look dull, dry and very brittle. Do yourself a favour and trim the damaged ends off else they will continue to split to the roots, hence causing more harm than good. Believe me, sometimes when you trim off those split ends, in a few weeks, it's hard to notice how much you trimmed off. Your hair grows in fuller and looks thicker.

3. Avoid Wet Brushing and Detangling: Not all hair can survive wet brushing or combing. Especially when the hair is relaxed. Same goes for detangling. Even sometimes, combing the hair soaked with conditioner just causes so much breakage in my hair. I totally took it off my regimen. I do not comb my hair in the shower anymore. I make sure I detangle when dry or damp. I ensure my comb can glide through the hair easily before I proceed to wash my hair. Natural hair is easier to work with when wet, but relaxed hair falls all over the place when touched wet.

4. Cut down on Direct Heat: Direct heat on the hair too many times a month can cause the hair to dry out extremely and become unresponsive to products. Airdry or rollerset as often as you can. Use a hooded dryer with low heat setting if you must use heat. I eliminated direct heat from my regimen as much as I could. I flat ironed just a few times to get my roots straighter. The few times I flat ironed and blow-dried, I used my profectiv mega-growth oil which doubles as a heat protectant. Not all salons use heat protectants so be sure to carry one along in case you are unsure. Buy a good head protectant. Grapeseed oil is a great heat protectant too.

5. Strenghten with Protein: You hair is weakened once you apply chemicals to it. If your hair is relaxed, do mild strengthening protein treatments as often as you can. I recommend once a week until your hair is strong. Do a hard protein treatment once a month or every 6 months. Best a week or two after a fresh relaxer. Always follow with a moisturising conditioner. Natural hair also needs some protein but not as often and as badly as relaxed hair.

6. Avoid Unnecessary Manipulation: This was my biggest downfall. Boy, was I glad I had gained so much length that it took just a few weeks of combing too often and wearing my ends out for it to break off extremely. Do protect your ends as often possible. Protective styles such as braids, buns, bantu knots, twist outs, etc can get boring sometimes but if you really want long hair, do hide your hair. Why African hair tends to be so fragile beats me, but once there is a way; follow it.

7. Go easy on Chemicals: If you must apply chemicals to your hair, apply them correctly. Do not overprocess your relaxer or overlap them onto already relaxed hair. Leave at least 8 weeks between relaxers. The more you can stretch, the better as it greatly reduces the risk of overlapping. The more you keep processing your hair, the weaker it gets. Imagine relaxing relaxed hair!! Do not let hairdressers play with your hair and do not assume they all know what to do. By all means, educate your stylist if you believe she got it all wrong. Time to speak up girl.

With all these noted , I have plans of sticking strictly to these hair rules in 2014. I have stocked up on the best hair products one can ever find in Ghana and I'm no doubt armed to the tooth for 2014 personal hair boot camp. Not too much of a price to pay for long and healthy hair.

Bra Strap Length by December 2014, here I come. I do want this; Waist Length Relaxed Hair!

What is your hair length goal by December 2014?

Cheer,

Star.

It's just been a little over 2 weeks since I installed my box braids and believe me, I'm mighty exhausted already. Seems like forever!! Protective styling can be so boring unless you can think of ways to switch up the style. Turn it up a lil bit so it looks more interesting everyday.

My braids look pretty frizzy now as I wash them at least 2 times a week. I see my own hairs sticking out left, right and centre. I do enjoy the softeness and curl in my new growth and just can't keep my hands out of my hair. I do the green house effect every night by just spraying my hair with my homemade moisturising spritz, cover with a plastic bag and scarf.

You can't believe how soft that new growth really is!

I always hold my braids with that same hair band in that same manner. How come I am so poor with styling!!

I love the uncomplicated hair life of wearing braids....you never really have to bother about styling.

Wash and go.....wash and go....wash and go!

Life has been so much easier but I just can't stop missing my hair.

What is the longest time you have kept braids or weaves in?

Cheers,
Star.

MY JOURNEY TO HEALTHY, SHINY LONG HAIR

My name is Rubie, 29 years old and a travel consultant. I do not know when I started my HHJ but I think it was after I have read a few post on Stella’s blog (http://ghlonghair.blogspot.com/) a few months ago.

I did not know anything about HHJ; all I knew was to go to the salon and have my hair done. I washed my hair with any of those gallon shampoos and conditioners they had in the salon. Will blow dry, flat iron my hair most at times and also wear braids more often. I realized I started losing the hair on my edges and my hairline was badly damaged. I did nothing to grow the hair back but rather kept wearing those tight braids which later left me with a bald hairline. It was so bad that I will fix weaves to hide it. Sometime 2 years ago, I got tired of my hair and went for the big chop. I wanted to start growing my hair all over again but as usual I was back to the same bad hair practices.

I had fine neck length hair which was so thin and was breaking all the time. I was so tired of my hair and was thinking of going for the big chop again when I came across Stella’s blog online whilst I was searching for information on growing healthy hair. I was relieved to read from someone who was a Ghanaian and also knew a lot about growing healthy hair. I started practicing some of the things I read on her blog and I realized some changes in my hair. I then decided to have time for my hair and give it tender loving care in order to achieve my aim. I started by creating a regimen which I initially knew nothing about. I washed my hair twice a week, deep conditioned; air dried and also started applying some oils to my scalp.

So far I think I have done a good job with my hair, it’s growing well and it’s healthier than before. Because I want to retain thickness in my hair, I have started stretching my relaxer days and so far I am 16 weeks post relaxer and aiming at 24 weeks before my next relaxer day.

These are the products I am using now:

Crème of Nature Detangling Shampoo

V05 Clarifying Shampoo

ORS Replenishing Conditioner

ORS Wrap Set Lotion

Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 Miracle Worker

Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Conditioner

Dark n Lovely Argan Oil Moisturizer

Ghana Black Castor Oil

T444Z Hair Food

ORS Hair Repair Crème

HAVE A NICE HAIR DAY!

Thanks Rubie for sharing your amazing story with us!! We wish you all the best and we are journeying with you. We love successful hair stories!!

What is your story? Care to Share : Send your story to ghlonghair12@gmail.com.

Cheers,

Star.

Wishing you all the best for this Christmas and beyond from the bottom of my heart!!

I had some hair plans but too bad I'm not in the best of health. Would have loved to do something like this to my hair today though.......

Let's enter the New Year with great hope and expectation that all areas of our lives will thrive....especially our love for our families, friends and last but not the least, our hair!!

We had a 2nd hair meetup on the 22nd of December, 2013. I will bring you excerpts from the meeting as soon as I'm up and doing. Please check out my facebook page for some pictures I uploaded there. Don't forget to click the "Like" button.

My 1000 Likes giveaway is still on .....do well to enter to win some hair products!! Off to bed rest.... :)

Have you made your hair plans for 2014?

Cheers,
Star.

It's been an awesome year; looking back, and I am really, really happy about where I am right now. I love my hair much much more than ever before. When I started my hair journey, I didn't really "believe" I could achieve so much within 1 year. Now see, in just 12 months!! Thank You God!!

Though I trimmed off some of my ends for a nice, U-shaped look, I should be back to this length by now as I have had some more growth since my last relaxer. Been almost 2 months since my last trim.

Now, what stops you from beginning your own healthy hair journey? Honestly, mine was for fun; that was how I started. But now I see that really, I could get any length of hair I wish to have so I intend to take my journey more seriously.

1st January, 2014 will mark a new beginning for me and my hair. It's going to be a Hair Growth Boot Camp for me. I know you want to join me so here are a few tips to help you start your hair journey.

1. Research: Believe me if I say I spent months researching about relaxed black hair growth. Just seeing tons and tons of black women with loooooooooooooong hair got me longing more and more for looooooooooong hair too!! I read thousands of blogs....watched thousands of videos......read thousands of articles!! About just anything; from how to comb hair to how to cut hair; how to wash hair to how to dry hair.....even how to tie and sleep with a satin scarf. Do a lot of research...it will make your journey easier and you will be more prepared. There is so much information out there...the hard part is taking out what is useful to you and your hair needs.

2. Take Photos: The moment you decide to embark on your hair journey, take photos. Take photos of the back, side and front your hair. Take photos of hair wet and dry. And take more pictures as you go along...every week. This will help you to see if you are making any progress as the months go by. Progress may seem slow at first but as you master how to care for your hair, it will show more quickly in health, thickness and length. And once you begin to see the changes for yourself, you will journey on more happily.

3. Set Goals: Like any other goals you set for yourself in life, you must set a hair goal. Long term goals and short term goals. I find that setting short term goals is important in order not to stress yourself too much. However, set an ultimate goal for your hair especially if your aim is to grow it not only healthier and thicker, but longer as well. Do well to keep in mind that hair grows at a rate...depending on each individual so first check how much your hair grows each month and then use that information to set your goals. Hair takes time to grow, so just be patient and work hard at retaining the health and length of your hair.

4. Get Hair Products and Tools: Yes, you need to get your own poducts and tools that will suit the needs of your hair. Remember, hairdressers don't get products to suit every client's hair. They get products that will work in general for whatever purpose they have been made to serve. It may work perfectly for someone's hair but it may not work well for your hair. I've seen people with long hair irrespective of whether they use the worst concentrated sulfate, alcohol or petrolatum products. Lucky them!! But for some of us, those products kill our hair in record time. It is your hair. Make a little investment in products and tools. Start with the less expensive but good stuff. Build a hair care routine and be consistent with the use of products for at least 3 months before writing them off.

5. Do It Yourself (D.I.Y): Sounds funny but this is one of the things I didn’t take into consideration at the start of my journey that I hold onto like the Gospel now. I achieved much more length-wise and health-wise at the times I did my hair myself than when I let others do it. My hair loves my hands. Your hair will love your hands. No one can love your hair like you do so just do it all yourself. Yes, some neighbours may say in the beginning that you are broke (yep, somehow you hear the gossip) but those same neighbours will ask you what your "secret" is...lol!! My biggest secret is: "I do my hair myself"!!

Now, these are the things you need to consider before you start your journey. Now the real deal is what to do when you start. Brace yourself!! More tips and tricks coming up from 1st January, 2014. I am "starting all over again"...with you in mind this time. Armpit Length to Bra Strap Length is another marathon all over again for me and I am still learning the ropes.....This time, I will share all my discoveries with you.....dito dito.

I have a lot of tips written down and waiting to be tried. I am more determined than ever to try everything there is to try considering that the few things I tried got me this far. From washing hair with potato syrup to rubbing scalp with cactus juice....hehehhehehhehe!!

Photo credit: Hairlicious Inc.

I do not have very, very thick hair....still working on that. But I think I may get to the above length and thickness if I put in my best next year. Healthy Hair Journey 2014..........I just can't hide my excitement!!

Ready for Hair Journey Boot Camp 2014? Do not miss this bus!

Cheers,
Star.

Praise God for His mercies and kindness!! I am so thankful to God for bringing me this far. It is indeed the Lord's doing. I am REALLY writing.....and wonderful people are REALLY reading!! It gives me such great joy. I used to write a lot of poems and stories when I was much younger and by the time I was in university, I wrote very little so I had no idea God would give me back my gift of writing. Indeed, may His name be praised!!

Hair-wise, it wasn't all rosy this year especially the past 6 months. Twas many ups and downs with my hair, many cuts and trims due to excessive breakage but overall, my hair grew!! My hair grew a lot!! I did purchase much more products this year....not so light on my small Ghanaian purse, but I had little purchase regrets too so I am happy about that too. I have loads of products still in my stash and I'm very product-ready for 2014. Whoooooooooooop whoooooooooooooooop!! ** Dancing Azonto**

As usual, the end of each year affords us the opportunity to look back at our past happenings, do our best to prevent the worst moments from recurring and cling to the best moments with the hope of making them better. I thank you all for your support and encouragement; especially my husband, parents and siblings, my wider family and all my friends and work colleagues. And You my fans and readers...You are the reason!!

My dear husband has suffered the most on my hair care journey....I always have something in my hair!! My love, I know we live apart and each time you come home, I should give you my utmost attention. I have failed several times by having too much going on with my hair even into the wee hours of the day **wink wink**. Away with my over protective hair wahala.....**silk scarf coming off woes**!! Thank you for accommodating my excesses!! I LOVE YOU, ALWAYS!!

Family, friends, colleagues, fans, video subscribers, blog followers.............I appreciate so much the interest you have taken in what I do. You have no idea how much it pleases me that you follow my journey. My greatest joy is in the fact that some of you had started your own hair journeys and have made so much progress!! I love all the pictures you have sent, the questions you have asked, the whatsapp messages (need 2 spare batteries and a solar charger for that...xoxo)....they are all treasured and have been safely place in my 2013 treasure chest!! The height of my joy is in the success of the meetup events held in collaboration with Ghanaianemprezz blog. To the awesome ladies who cleared their busy schedules to be there..."You are TRULY amazing"!! **BIG HUGS AND KISSES**

Everyone..............................THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! God richly bless you!!

In a few hours, there will singing, drumming and dancing everywhere in Ghana and in the world, there will be loud music, shouts and screams, there will be fireworks and countdowns as we welcome 2014 with extreme joy and gladness for having seen the New Year.

Let's all join in the joyful activities going on all us, be glad and make merry for we are among the blessed ones God has granted the opportunity to see 2014!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Cheers,

Star.

2014 is really here!! Welcome to brand new beginnings....in all things and hair-wise too. Today, I stand at another start line ready to race my hair to full Bra Strap Length by December 31st. I need at least 6 more inches of hair to reach my goal considering that I will trim off at least 2 inches within the year. Overall, I need about 4 inches to reach my goal. It doesn't seem so hard as I picture it; at least not from the hair growth point. The main challenge is going to be length retention. The fight against breakage raves on!!

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehnnnnn.....I got big hair plans for this year. You have no idea!! Will tell you all about them in the series of posts coming up. But the biggest of my hair plans in 2014 is to stop buying everything with an "attractive" ingredient list!! Every product I read or hear about online. I was so into everything product-wise last year, buying every product I had seen raves about. Knowing how difficult it is to come by products here in our Ghanaian market, I always grabbed anything I had on my wishlist that I found somewhere somehow for fear that I may never see it again. I sometimes bought up to 4 bottles of a product I had not tried before. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeehnn.......it was that bad!!

Between March and October last year, I had this much products. What I pictured here were not all as I had at least 9 other new products at my other house as well, delivered to my hubby but not yet collected. Twas too embarrassing to line all these products up again and take a pix. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeehn, meeeeeeeeeeehn, meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehn, I just failed at keeping my product junkie lifestyle tied down up till November when I decided enough was enough. It was no mean feat but I did well at not purchasing anything again.... at least not things I have replacement for.

Most of the products I bought have not yet been used up. For those I have not yet tried, if upon use my hair doesn't like it, then I'll keep it and swap later at our meetups.

So far I have made a list of the products that I like and will keep as staples if they continue working for me. My only headache is that my list is still so long. My hair seems to like a lot of the products with each product doing something unique. You know, those days when you feel like your hair likes one product better. Now that should have been a blessing but this is my curse. I am having a hard time selecting and cutting down on my "staples".

What's up with my hair? Been a while since I updated you. Well, I got comfy and didn't get to finishing my wash day posts....and now I guess I just have to let 2013 keep it.....lol!! I started undoing my braids yesterday simply because I didn't want to begin 2014 with "old" hair....hehhehehehhehhehe...but I never got to finish it up as I had to go welcome the new year in church. I just braided up the parts I had undone and held the braids in a bun. It was late so I couldn't take any pixs that were clear enough to show but I'm sure you imagine....*winks*....not so nice but good to go hairstyle. Will give you an update tomorrow. I had a detailed detangling video on my Youtube channel that I can't find in my videos anymore smh so I will do a video on how I detangle when I undo my braids. Please subscribe to get the update.

How many products do you have in your stash?

Cheers,

Star.

I took out my box braids yesterday after 4 weeks instead of the intended 6 weeks I had wanted to keep it in. The knots between the new growth and the relaxed ends were getting pretty tight so I got scared. I have too much new growth underneath and I don't want to lose too much hair this time. Time flies...I am 5 weeks 4 days post already............*wide grin*

Though I washed my braids twice a week, sprayed it with my moisturising mix everyday and did the green house effect overnight at least 2 times a week to keep my new growth happy, I just felt that it was time to take my braids out.

Secondly, I decided to do the Inversion Method again this month considering that it really worked last month. I have decided to do it every month for the next 12 months. I pray and imagine if it worked all year through, I could grow between 8-12 inches of hair depending on how much really grows each month. That won't be bad considering that my battle against breakage and shedding rages on.

It's been 6 months since I had my son and I'm still experiencing shedding, at least the last time I checked...lol. The Black Tea rinses were definitely helping and I will continue now that my hair is free. I don't do tea rinses when I have braids because I won't be able to feel my hair's reaction correctly. My hair tends to stiffen with the tea rinse and I deep condition with a moisturising deep conditioner afterwards but I like to feel my hair to be sure it is okay. Fingers crossed, post-partum hair loss does stop after some time so I just hope this phase goes away real fast. I am still taking my prenatals religiously...almost. I sometimes forget...aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!!

I am still on holiday till Tuesday and not really in a rush to finish up. I have sectioned my hair into 3 parts and will detangle 1 section a day....more if I don't get tired. I had a updated detangling video on my Youtube channel that I can't find in my uploads...but this video below was the first one I uploaded. I will use the same method to detangle. Please subscribe as I have more videos with better lighting coming up this year!!

Honestly, though I don't loose to much hair when detangling, I loose a lot of hair when I don't get my braids done by my usual haidresser. So after getting braids and weaves with 3 different hairdressers other than her and loosing so much hair, I believe it must be the way the others handled my hair during the braiding process. I do tell them to make partings, comb and braid gently but I think my hair just doesn't want to get braided by anyone else. My hair doesn't get too choosy with products but it definitely doesn't like too many people working it. I have decided firmly this time; to get braids or weaves only if my braider is available to do them. This time, my mind is really made up.

Do you get braids or weaves with different hairdressers and experience less breakage?

Cheers,

Star.

The smiles from texlaxing on my last relaxer day and looking forward to more volume on my face is fading as I found that I won't have it all rosy especially on wash days now. Now I have 3 textures to deal with....my new growth, my texlaxed bit and my relaxed ends. I found that my puff got bigger with this wash and my hair simply refused to lay down. Not just puff from my new growth but from my texlaxed roots as well. I had to keep it in my scarf to get it to lay a bit while it was 50% dry.

Unfortunately, my hair is getting all tangled up somehow even after I detangled twice. It all clamps together into knots and as I detangle, my hair breaks a little. I prepooed with hemp oil for almost a day before I washed so I was a little surprised at the way my hair was acting all naughty. I hadn't done a tea rinse in a whole month so I guess it could be one of the reasons. I did a tea rinse with this wash and will continue to do weekly tea rinses. We'll see.

I used ORS Incredibly Rich Moisturizing Lotion but it did little for me. It didn't give my hair enough slip. I found that the price of Hawaiian Silky had been increased in the shop I usually stocked from so I couldn't buy the last time I went to town...I was on a really tight budget that day and thought I could use ORS moisturiser in the meantime because I had no intention to take down my braids until mid-January...bad decision I see now. I also find that Kuza cholesterol is more protein than moisturising though the ingredients list has more moisturising ingredients. I will use it for protein treatments henceforth to finish the jar which is half gone. I will still use it because it does give enough slip when used during my wash.

(My review of ORS Moisturiser and Kuza Cholesterol coming soon).

Shrinkage...I've learnt to embrace it.

Even a relaxed head like mine does experience shrinkage when I aridry but considering that I will not wear my hair down at all this year; so help me God, I really don't mind.

Airdrying is becoming my favourite thing in the world.

My main task is to find quick and easy updos for my busy lifestyle because I am clueless at the moment. I always held my hair in a comb-like hair band and let my ends hang, except for the few days I did a sock bun...a total NO-NO for me this year. I will do my best to hide my ends for the most part of the year (Yaaaaaaaaaay, finally bought me some bobby pins) and I have no intention of getting braids, weaves or cornrows for now. For days on which I am unable to think up a good style or complete my wash routine, I will wear my wig. I need to buy more wigs and hair accessories if I really want to achieve these goals.

What is your favourite protective hairstyle with your own hair?

Cheers,

Star.

I had been struggling so much with my new growth that I found the best thing right now is to leave it alone. I don't suffer severe breakage but my new growth is so dense and doesn't want to be tamed by the ORS moisturiser I'm using.

I did the inversion again this month, and massage T444Z Hair Food 3 times a week on my scalp. My curls usually loosen with the use of T444Z but though it looks very curly to the eye, it is quite a strong host of coils to deal with. Feels very strong. I love the fact that I don't get much breakage but in order not to be complacent, I decided to just wear my wigs till I restock my Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 Miracle Worker.

I put my hair in 4 large plaits as usual and I will carry out my wash regimen the same way. I am currently 7 weeks post and though I had wanted to stretch 16 weeks, I have decided that I will rather just texlax my hair once I have up to 2 inches of new growth. That would be 4 months worth of growth on average. Won't be bad at all if I find that I do have 2 inches of growth in 2 months!!

I measured a shed hair 3 days ago *covers face*. The new growth when stretched was 1.3 inches long......since I wasn't done with inversion, I guess it was ok. I don't want to stress myself too much measuring each strand of hair that falls off my head but I was just too curious not to grab the tape measure and measure.....lol!!

I'm getting hair-obssessed. Am I not already?

Do you know your hair growth rate?

Cheers,

Star.

I had been skipping hot oil treatments for a long while now. My ends were looking so dull and thirsty, coupled with my big tangling woes; it really was time to infuse some moisture deeply into my strands. I felt the strong need to give my hair a treat.

A hot oil treatment is a process to help condition, restore moisture and treat damaged hair by heating up an oil (or mixture of oils) and applying directly to the hair. Heat can be added by covering head with a shower cap and sitting under a hooded dryer for 15-30 minutes. This can be done on damp hair or dry hair as some prefer to shampoo before applying the oil.

Yesterday was another marathon wash day as I was juggling chores and babies and work. I just couldn't do it all at once. Once I had heated up and applied the oil, I covered my head with some plastic bags and a shower cap. After some hours, I finally got myself under the hooded dryer and sat for 15 minutes. Once out, I did a few chores before I proceeded to wash as usual. I did a black tea rinse and did a homemade protein treatment with an egg ...hehhehhhee...something I saw on a vlog and decided to try (details later).

It was very late at the time I got to rollersetting. After the first 2 rollers, I decided I was tired and wouldn't continue but rather airdry. Detangling was still a challenge. I sat for a long while lazily chatting on whatsapp....and then I decided to complete the rollerset. Took 30 minutes!! Once done, I sat under the dryer for 30 minutes.

My hair was completely dry...but not crisp as I don't like that anymore. I just massaged in my T444Z hair food, moisturised with Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 (thanks Rubie!) and sealed with Ghanaian black castor oil. I wrapped it up for the night and styled it this morning.

I loved my wash day results and though I still have a few inches of "old" hair to cut off. I will cut it off in full confidence that it will grow right back!! I also have to figure out a way to even out the bangs I got as it makes the right side of my hair way shorter than the rest.

For me, I will always tuck my ends in no matter what. 90% protective styling as I want to retain as much length as possible. I am not too far from my end of year goal and I don't want setbacks anymore.

Have you tried hot oil treatments?

Cheers,
Star.

Hello! My name is Priscilla Dwomoh. A lot of people just call me Maame, though. I am a university graduate who is currently undertaking her national service. I love food, good music, my BFF, and of course, hair!

Tell us about your hair : I am currently transitioning from relaxed hair to natural hair and I am one year into my transition already. Yay!! My hair is of the highly porous, thick stranded, medium density variety. It is a tad protein sensitive and just thrives on moisture. It responds well to thick butters and creams and absolutely hates gels. It is gradually warming up to me and soon we’ll be friends! Lol!!

Tell us about your hair journey ….. when you started: Officially, my journey started on the 12^th of January 2013 but that’s just to put a date to it. I initially decided to transition because I really didn’t like the way hairdressers here handled hair. I felt they were killing my hair and I wasn’t allowed to say anythingL. So when I discovered transitioning was an option, I literally had a “Hallelujah!” moment. Even before I decided to transition, I had been inadvertently stretching my relaxers for the sole reason that I hated my hairdressers. I stretched 3, 4 months at a time just so I could avoid them. Plus they were sooooo scissor-happy!! Sheesh! Anyway, when I decided to transition I had about 3 months’ worth of new growth. Also around that time, I had become curious about hair colour. So on my official start date, I relaxed and dyed my hair. And I cut it evenly to top of neck length. Notice the relaxing and dyeing took place the same day? Humph! That’s what you get when your stylist doesn’t know enough to be able to advice you on how damaging that is. SMH!! So yeah, that’s why we’re here one year later. Woohoo!

Your regimen, preferably daily, weekly or monthly: My regimen is quite simple. I try to moisturise and seal every day (Naturally, I skip some days). I used to wash and deep condition weekly but I recently decided to tweak that. So now I go 2 weeks if my hair doesn’t feel dirty after a week. I do an ACV rinse every time I take out a protective style. And that’s it I think. O, and I’m constantly experimenting twists and updo styles. I try one every week or so if I can and my hair is out. I’m obsessed with updo’s. Unfortunately my hair not so long yet so there’s not a lot I can try. But soon…. O yes, soon……

Products you use: LOL! I think it should be products I’ve settled on, rather. I am a recovering product junkie and there’s so much in my stash as you can see and that’s just about half of it. But after trying so many, there are quite a few I’ve settled on;

Shampoo – Gliss by Swarzkopf Oil Nutritive Shampoo with Liquid keratin and protein

Regular conditioner – VO5 and Garnier Fructus Conditioner

Leave in conditioner – Giovanni

Deep conditioner – Vitale hair mayonnaise. I do not use this alone however. I mix it with honey, regular conditioner, some oils, and coconut milk if I have that on hand.

Moisturiser – Water, some oils and sometimes aloe Vera juice.

Oils – any I can get my hand on. I currently have olive, castor, black castor, jojoba, amla, vitamin e, grapeseed and coconut oils.

Essential oils – Peppermint and Grape fruit

Gels – None I care to mention. They don’t work for me

Butters – Whipped Shea butter and Elasta qp Olive oil and Mango butter moisturiser

Styling creams – My butters double as my styling creams. They are very moisturising but have no hold for my hair type. So my twists don’t last long unless I keep redoing themL. I can’t seem to find any to buy so I welcome all suggestions for this category

Your ultimate and December goals: My goal for this December is have hair that extends to my chin from my crown. Lol! I know that’s not a regular description but that’s exactly what my heart desires. Ultimately, BSL would just make me ecstatic! And if that doesn’t turn out too well, I guess I’ll always have healthy hair to compensate.

Been a while folks!! Missed ya too.

I have been trying hard to manipulate my hair less each week and since I have still no intention of letting anyone do my hair for now; no braids or cornrows even with my own hair, I decided to thread it up. That is the only option I could figure out that could give me room to wash and care for my hair as well without combing it at all.

So as I was preparing to wash my hair on Saturday, sectioning and oiling for my prepoo, it suddenly occurred to me to just thread the sections up. Within minutes, I was done. Quick, easy and painless. My grin was as wide as the ocean.....honestly. I really felt good about my new hairstyle. Like an African princess!! It reminded me of those days when my mum used to thread my hair up for school.... hahhaahaaaahha!!

I loved it so much that I walked around the neighborhood in it. And then I went shopping about 10 minutes away and was asked by 2 young ladies if my hair was natural. I said, "It's relaxed but natural"..........*wide-smile*.

On my way back home, I spotted a cosmetic shop that had a lot of wigs in the showcase and decided to pop in. I had intentions of stocking up on some more wigs as I will braid less this year. I tried out a lot of wigs but the only one that could tame my horns underneath without extra work was this afro wig. Yeah....I just loved it when I tried it on and just didn't think twice about buying it. Besides, it was very cheap. Just 40ghs ($ 18).

I do know that big hair is the in-thing now but I still love this afro wig right here. And I intend to wear it 2 weeks at a time before switching to the other wig I have. Hhehheheehehe ......my colleagues said I look 16......hhahaahahahhahahhahahhah!! I do want to look 16 ...they better not be teasing oooooooo.... :)

Have you tried African threading?

Cheers,

Star.

I have not combed my hair in a whole week. I am pretty scared my hair may be matted underneath. I just sincerely hope it is not as bad as I presume. I did my last wash while my hair was still threaded and though the threads became loose, I still left it in and moisturised and sealed as it was.

My hair needs to get a balance between protein and moisture; and having skipped a protein conditioner last week, I intend to do a medium protein deep condition. I will use Vitale Mayonnaise mixed with coconut and grapeseed oil overnight in my hair. I want to try deep conditioning overnight again and will obeserve more carefully how my hair responds.

This wash day will definitely be completed tomorrow as I will get home after 9pm today.

Do you deep condition overnight?

Cheers,

Star.

I was so excited about my length check shirt that I decided to do a length check on Sunday...(started writing this post 2 days ago). I had begun my prepoo on Friday and washed my hair on Saturday. I applied Vitale Mayonnaise before applying my oil mix and left it in overnight.

My hair felt soft and silky smooth afterwards. Though Vitale mayonnaise has protein in it, it really makes my hair soft and smooth after rinsing it out. I scolded myself a bit for having left it to the background for a while. It is one of the products I will definitely buy again. I did a tea rinse infused with rosemary for the first time. I forgot to strain the solution and by the time I was done, my bathroom drain was clogged. Thank goodness I placed a drain cover on it some months ago after it got totally clogged with hair some months ago. I simply removed the cover and emptied it of the hair and rosemary leaves...... I'd try to remember to strain it next time.

I did a faux bun style for church and couldn't wait to let my hair down to see how much progress I have made since my trims. I am currently 10 weeks post relaxer aiming for 12-16 weeks though I may relax any day from now if I think I would be better off relaxing than waiting.

I am still struggling with mid-section tangles. I am trying to figure out if it is to be blamed totally on the texlaxed middle. It tangles again within hours of detangling so I am still just wearing my wigs so I do not need to comb except on wash days!! When I apply creme of nature argan oil leave in and hawaiian silky 14-in-1 moisturiser, I detangle more easily but within hours, if left loose, it tangles again. I just don't know what to do!! Maybe my hair just wants to stay in protective styles.

I love my progress so far. My ends are not as thin as before and I may be able to get away without trimming too much if I do well to keep the ends well protected and reduce breakage to the barest minimum. I still see that see-through 2 inches or so but it doesn't look as terrible as before. Probably means my hair is really growing faster and the shorter healthier ones are getting closer to the longer ones. I do like the threaded hair underneath my wig and I do wash, moisturise and seal anyways in it so all things being equal, I hope to get through the next 2 weeks at least without the challenge of detangling everyday.

I have also decided to do the green house effect overnight every other day this week and I will skip my mid-week wash and see how my hair reacts. I will only wash my hair again at the end of the week. I hope my hair doesn't disapprove.

How do you protect your ends from breaking off?

Cheers,
Star.

I have had a lot of "911"calls concerning extreme hair loss after braid removal. It turns out that a lot of young ladies still forget to detangle after removing their braids, weaves and cornrows. Please, please, please.....always detangle and remove all knots from your hair before you touch it with water or a comb. I try to explain this process in text but I think a video will do better at explaining the steps. No more tears on braid removal days!!

Enjoy! Subscribe and post your comments as well. I am working on a few videos with better lighting and will upload them soon.

Are there any questions you will like answered with a video?

Cheers,
Star.

Relaxer Day #3: My Attempt at DIY Texlax!

Inversion Challenge: Grow an Inch In a Week?

Hair Update: Got Braids, Inversion Challenge Begins.

Inversion Challenge Results!

Such A Nightmare: Thin Ends!

I Miss My Hair Already!!

Care to Share: Meet Rubie!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Hair 2014!!

How To Start Your Healthy Hair Journey.

Away Goes A Great Year!! Xoxo 2013!!

One Thing That Won't Happen in 2014!!

Braids Out: Ready to Detangle!!

My War Against Tangles Begins

Back to my Wig

Wash Day: Hot Oil Treatment

Care to Share: Meet Priscilla!

All Threaded and Tucked Away

Pre Wash Day

Length Check 2

After Braid Removal: Always Detangle First