fast gro regimen - week 3

This is my documentation of my experience with Kena's 13wk Fast-Gro Regimen.Products used:

VO5 Hot oil treatmentShampooed with Nexxus Therappe Shampoo
Deep conditioned for 20 mins with Nexxus Humectress
Rinsed with Smooth Down Butter Treat
Leave in Conditioners - Infusium 23 diluted with water and Lacio Lacio
Rollerset with Fantasia IC Hair Polish (in pink bottle)

Results:
I found one of the 1-minute VO5 hot treatment vials in my cupboard so I decided to use it since I've had really good results with these in the past (I'd almost forgotten how good these were.) Maybe I'll start using them more often again.Anyhow I shampooed with Therappe (I love the way this shampoo smells -like pure cocounut) and it did not tangle my hair in the slightest. Even after 2 applications, my hair was reasonably detangled.I applied the Humectress, worked it in and then plastic capped and sat under the dryer for what was to be 10 mins. I actually lost track of time, (no doubt from watching tv) so I actually spent 20 mins under the dryer.I rinsed and applied Redken Smooth Down Butter just to see if it would have any additional detangling properties. To me it didn't....my hair started to feel slightly tangled. I had to follow with more Humectress to correct how the Redken left my hair feeling. I combed through under the shower and then applied Lacio Lacio (this stuff is A-MAZ-ING!!), IC Hair polish and rollerset with heavily diluted Infusium 23.I've taken out the rollers and pin-curled. This is one of my first times pin-curling so I hope it works out well. They were very comfortable to sleep in last night.I haven't combed out the curls yet, but I didn't really notice much breakage this week in the shower. Normally my drain is clogged with hair but this week all went well.Last week I moisturized daily with Silken Child (love how this smells too) and a mix of coconut and castor oils. This actually worked well for me. I find I prefer a little oil every day after my moisturizer. My hair feels very soft and silky.Overall the results were good. I like the fact that I shed less hair and experienced less breakage than normal this past week.

Let's see what week 4 has to hold.... to be continued.

fast-gro regimen - week 2

this is my documentation of my experience with Kena's 13wk Fast-Gro Regimen.Products used:

Based scalp with Mizani Confiderm scalp oil overnight
Clarified with Nexxus Aloe Rid Shampoo & Treatment
Deep conditioned for 20 mins with 1/2 Mizani Hydrafuse and 1/2 Mizani Kerafuse
Rinsed with Aussie Moist conditioner to give better slip
Leave in Conditioners - Infusium 23 diluted with water and Lacio Lacio
Rollerset with a dime sized amount of Fantasia IC Hair Polish (in pink bottle)

Results:It's the first week after my relaxer and the clarifying went really well. My hair was not tangled after the shampoo, but got a little tangled after the treatment.The recommendation was 1cup Hydrafuse and 1 cup Kerafuse, but I found this was too much for my hair so I lessened it to about 1/4 cup each (I just eye-balled it...no time for precise measurements). I was able to get coverage like a virgin relaxer. The deep conditioner went okay, my hair wasn't tangled, but after washing out it didn't have the slip I like so I followed with the Aussie Moist conditioner. Combing out under the shower was fairly easy.
After the rollerset, I combed out and wrapped. I noticed a little breakage while brushing into the wrap. This is nothing new, as far as I can remember this has always happened to my hair.Overall the results were good, but not fantastic. I think my hair has some kind of love hate relationship with protein. Some weeks it responds well, other times it doesn't.

Let's see what week 3 has to hold.... to be continued.

the importance of vitamins

do you sometimes feel that your whole hair regimin is all for naught? That's how I felt for the past few weeks. As much as I pre-pooed, DCed and protective styled, it just seemed as though my hair was not responding and in fact to me it starting looking worse than when I first began back in April. I do know it takes time to figure out what works best for your hair etc. and patience is key so I've decided to not "cry over spilled milk" and just keep plugging away at it.In my opinion I've been taking really good care of my hair - heat only to DC and rollerset, lots of moisture, silk pillowcases to reduce friction while sleeping, and a minimum of protein. I'm to the point now where I feel as though I need to work on my hair from the inside out. I started with a cleanse 2 weeks ago to remove any buildup of toxins in my body and now I'll be adding a couple things to my existing vitamin "cocktail". In addition to taking my regular multivitamin and garlic pills, I'll be adding cod liver oil, b-complex, silica and the occassional hair vitamin. Taking pills is not my strong point, but I will try to stick with it until December. I've also started using castor oil to help thicken my hair.

my box braids

about 3 weeks ago I got frustrated with my hair and decided I needed to do something to help me manage my 11 week old new growth from hell. My options were 1) give in and relax 2)pay a professional about $150 to braid it or 3) attempt to braid it myself for about $40. I settled with option 3, so off I went to Sally's to get the supplies. Talk about a leap of faith - neither have I braided anyone's hair with extensions before nor had I a clue how I was going to make it happen on my own head but I was definitely optimistic. I bought the Kanekalon, some hair gel and moisturizer and came home to tame the mass. At first it was really exciting, here I was undertaking a great challenge - eager to see the final results. I took me about 2 rows before I really got the hang of it, but after that it seemed so simple, I seriously wondered why it never occurred to me to do this for myself before.Halfway through, I was admiring the rows of hair as they feel perfectly layered so that no scalp was exposed. "I'm so proud of myself" I silently thought to myself.Fast forward to day 2 - half my head was still to be done and I really just wanted to be doing other stuff. Everytime I thought of doing something else it dawned on me that my head was half done and I sure as heck was not leaving the house looking like this....I was definitely committed to finishing whether by choice or not. So I sucked it up and some 18 hours in total later I had completed my final plait and swore to myself that I would leave this job to the professionals next time lol.Honestly, I would probably do it again, but I would do a couple things differently: 1) start as early as possible in the morning after the halfway mark my hands got tired and my braiding sloppy 2) braid the ends tapered instead of using rubber bands 3)curl the ends and last but certainly not least I would reserve doing this kind of "project" for long holiday weekends.They've lasted me 3 weeks but I think this is the last week for me and these extensions, my hair is getting really thick and replaiting the edges is no longer working (it's just way too THICK!). I feel as though I have no choice but to have it relaxed sometime next week....so this weekend i will bid "fare-the-well" to the extensions, but I'm glad I went ahead and did them myself, I realized that I can accomplish anything once in the right frame of mind :)Check out a pic of the results of my box braid extensions.