WANTED: Clarifying Wash!

Hey there!

Once I came accross a car that was so dirty that someone finger wrote on the dust: "LAVAMI!" i.e. from Italian "CLEAN ME!". Well,my hair just did the same: "CLARIFY ME!".
I haven't clarified for a month, maybe more, I do not even remember the last time I did it.

 

What made me realized my hair was needing it desperately? Dry frizzy hair no matter how much moisturizer I put in. I've ventured out of my confort zone experimenting with a mix of Herbal essences hellow hydration conditionner mixes with rose water and aloe vera juice as a spritz. Boy, I should know better that my hair does not like when a rinse out conditionner is left on it for days. The only exception so far being Hairone in small amount as leave-in conditionner. I've cowashed in between but no real wash. It was time to bring out the arsenal and bring my hair back to its normal status.

I started the washing session by lathering with Redken Hair cleansing creme to get out all residues. It left my hair squeeky clean as usual.
I then followed with Paul Mitchell Super Strong treatment which I left on for 20 minutes under my heating cap.
After rinsing it out, I applied Roux Porosity control for 3 minutes before rinsing.
I applied then Paul Mitchell The conditionner as leave-in and sealed lightely with my mix of oils.
Right now my hair is buttery soft yet strong and no frizz around.

I've been doing more protein treatments this time as I feel that my hair needs it a bit more than usual. I've been shedding also more than I do this time of the year. I think it's because I do not take anymore hair vitamins. We will see in the coming weeks how it goes.

I'm getting over experimenting here and there new products, yes I've said it. I will clean my stash in the coming weeks, getting rid of any non/under performing products. The dryness and frizzyness beside the desperate clarifying need, was also due to the unconsistency of my regimen, experimenting with products. Sometimes, you have a good hit and sometimes not. Lately the underperforming ones were way too many for my hair to handle it. I'm gonna go back to basics....... for now ;-)

Ciao ciao

Wash day: finishing up products

Hey there!

There are certain products I have a love/hate relationship with that I wanted to get rid of. Because of the price, I did not want to throw them away. One of them is the Kiehl's argan hair mask.
The product is efficient but I have this on and off thing with the smell.
I decided to used it up for this wash day as there was not much left in the jar.

My ends were frizzy because I travelled  to cold areas this past week. I started by prepooing yesterday with grapeseed oil and left it over during the night.

This morning, I shampooed my hair out with Paul Mitchell Super skinny conditionner once and followed with Hairone argan oil. I could feel how smooth my hair was while rinsing of these products.
I slather then the Kiehl's argan hair pak on and covered with Paul Mitchell Super skinny treatment. I sat under the steamer for 25m minutes. I left it cool down before rinsing with lukewarm water. I finished rinsing with cold water.
I left the turby twist on for 10 minutes to soak up the water. I applied then Paul Mitchell Super Strong leave-in treatment, a dime size of Kinky curly knot today, grapeseed oil and few drops of Kerastase oleo-relax serum.
I airdried before detangling and styling. Even though my wash process starts with detangling, I like to detangle with all my leave-ins to finish the process.

Have a wonderfull and sunny sunday!
Ciao

Wash day

Hey there
Wash day is back here.

I prepooed overnight wih a Swharzkopf bonacure mask that I wanted to finish up. I coated my hair with grapeseed oil then.
I kept this prepoo until late this morning before I washed my hair. I used Paul Mitchell Moisture shampoo once and then lathered again with Paul Mitchell Super strong shampoo. After rinsing, I slathered on Paul Mitchell Super strong daily conditionner and cover it up. I left it on my hair for 3 hours without heat before rinsing.
I then applied my Chi Keratin mist as my leave in, grapeseed oil and a small amount of Kerastase oleo relax serum.
I detangled my hair with my Hercule Sagemann 5660 comb and then air dryied.
Thanks to this comb, I had only few strands on the comb.
Low manipulation is key.

Ciao

First wash day after relaxer

Hey there
I've started today with a hot oil treatment which consist of a mixture of grapeseed oil, wheat germ oil, few drops of essential oils (pepermint and rosemary). I let it sit for 30 minutes before shampooing.
I shampooed once with the neutralizing shampoo from the kit I used last week and then shampooed once with Paul Mitchell Super Skinny shampoo.
I applied then Affirm 5 in 1 as my protein treatment and let it sit for 15 minutes under heating cap. I followed up with Paul Mitchell Super charged moisturizer for 30 minutes with heat.

I applied Aphogee green tea reconstructurizer and Kinky Curly knot today as my leave-in conditionner.
I let my hair airdry afterwards.
It was stranged feeling my scalp without any new growth: I seriously missed it!!!
My hair is super soft but strong.

Relaxer day

Hey there
I finally ended up relaxing my hair today.

I parted my hair in small sections and applied coconut oil to my scalp only. Then I applied Paul Mitchell Super Charged moisturizer sealed with coconut oil. On top of that, I applied Chi Silk infusion, saturating my ends.
I followed my regular process and this time I did have my Affirm 5 in 1 conditionner! Lesson learned!
I only missed my sprush which I do not have right now but will definitely use for the next relaxer.
I relaxed with Optimum salon care regular relaxer as usual and used the Affirm 5 in 1 as my protein step after rinsing out the relaxer. I let it sit for 10 minutes on my hair under a plastic cap, no heat.
I rinsed then and started to neutralize my hair with the neutralizing shampoo from the relaxer kit. For the last shampoo, i let it sit 3 minutes before rinsing.
I then applied the reconstructor from the relaxer kit, let it sit for 5 minutes. After rinsing, I applied my moisturizing DC, Paul Mitchell Super charged moisturizer, covered with my heating cap for a good hour.
I applied then Aphogee green tea reconstructurizer as my leave-in. I moisturized and sealed before air drying.

My hair came out buttery soft. I still have some bone straight relaxed ends but they are a lot less.
My hair is BSB now and BSL is around 3 inch away.
I'm very happy with the thickness of my texlaxed hair and the health of my hair!
Yaay!

Post party hair rehab

Hi there
I hope you all had a nice new year eve.
I wish you and your family a delightfull 2013 full of joy and achievement. Above all, I wish you all health and to be safe.
Blessings to all of you!!!

For the new year eve party, I bunned my hair and use Eco styler gel to tame the new growth. For maximum hold, I applied it on damp hair and styled. I tied up the front of my hair with my satin scarf and then went under the dryer.
My hair was sleek with the nice pattern of the 4 month new growth. It was a battle to get it under the sleek bun and it reinforce my decision to relax next friday or saturday. The amount of gel used was also ridiculous.
I woke up this morning with a helmet!!! I applied some oils on my hair before cowashing with Hairone argan oil (review to come). Since I did not DC with a moisturizing DC yesterday, I slathered Paul Mitchell Super charged moisturizer on my hair  and let it sit for an hour under my heating cap.

Successfull rehab session!
Ciao

Wash day before relaxer

Hey there
Today I'll be preparing my hair for the relaxer to come. I planned to relax on January 04th.
First I claridied with Redken Hair cleansing cream and then shampooed once with Paul Mitchell Super skinny.
I used then Affirm 5 in 1 as protein treatment and left it for an hour under a heating cap.
After rinsing, I applied Paul Mitchell Super skinny daily treatment to tame a little bit my new growth and DC with it for an hour under under the heating cap.
I airdried after appliying Aphogee keratin and green tea leave in together with Neutrogena triple moisture silk touch leave in.

I then moisturized and sealed. My hair will be styled in a bun for the party tonight.

Drive safe and enjoy the new year eve!

Much needed deep treatments!

Hey there!

I've relaxed my hair on August 30th and did something that I should never be doing!
I forgot a product needed for one of the crucial steps of my relaxing process:Affirm 5 in 1!
With all my travelling I forgot the back-up of the Affirm 5 in 1 and I was pretty sure that I still had some. The huge bottle went away that quick! I was there after rinsing the relaxer looking for the affirm 5 in 1 for a deep protein treatment before neutralizing. No ma'am, you will have to pass this! Yep sad I know!

Remind you I'm freaking nervous about getting all the products ready before starting to relax my hair. I remember once driving 80km to get another box relaxer when I realized that the box of relaxer I picked, had been opened and resealed in the store after basing my scalp. No, a relaxer is no joke for me.

In desperate need of a protein treatment, I grab Aphogee 2 minutes as a replacement, so mad at myself!
I proceeded with the rest of the steps and the overall results were pretty good.
At the first week's wash, I noticed that my hair did not feel as strong as with the Affirm 5 in 1 as a step in the relaxer process.

So today, I've clarified my hair with Paul Mitchell Two shampoo and then applied the Aphogee 2 step treatment. This product worked well in the past for me when my hair was pretty damaged. I sat under the dryer to make it harden and then rinsed in the shower. My hair felt immediatly stronger after rinsing but not hard.

I'm now under the steamer with a mix of Paul Mitchell Super charged moisturizer, Kerastase Oleo-relax mask, glycerin and wheat germ oil. Super moisturizing DC, right! I fear so much protein overload and the associated breakage that I mix together all the most moisturizing elements possible.

Hopefully, my hair will come back to its normal state after air drying: moisturized and strong!

Rule of thumb: Always, Always make sure you have everything you need before starting with the relaxer process!!!

Ciao Ciao

Products: final choice

Hi there!

Some posts ago, I decided that I no longer wanted to mix and match different ranges to tailor fit my hair needs.
Two brands had my favours:
- Keracare
- Paul Mitchell
The two products ranges did show their effectiveness on my hair. The availability of the range is also a big criteria and I do not mind ordering online.

Keracare Pros
- It is easy access for me (available on pakcosmetics.com).
- Keracare Humecto and hydrating detangling shampoo are in my staple shampoo and conditionners
- Huge package quantity available at a decent price

Keracare cons
- no protein based products tried and liked from this range
- no clarifying shampoo tested and approved
- long DC sessions to see the products work
- have to mix with oils, glycerin to see results

Paul Mitchell Pros 
- Covers every area of my regimen: moisture, protein and clarifying products available
- Huge package quantity available
- My hair LOVE these products
- Versatile products as they can be used for a long or quick DC session and still be effective.
- no mixing with oils, glycerin necessary unless I want to boost the product effects

Paul Mitchell cons
- Big package quantity not easy access anymore, ( until a last minute jewel found)

Until yesterday, I was going toward the Keracare Line because of the last minute difficulties I had to find the Paul Mitchell products. Paul Mitchell products are salon exclusive. Until recently, I was able to buy them to the local pro shop thanks to professionnal hairdresser I knew. This was until he moved, leaving me with this dilemma: how to purchase them. The pro shop still carry them but you must be a pro member which I'm not.
Yesterday, I was able to solve the dilemma while browsing the internet. I could purchase it online on lookfantastic.com. Problem solved!

I can now simplify my product stash, tossing out all products opened for more time than stated on the packaging and the not so effective ones.

Products I still have to use up before turning Paul Mitchell 80%:

• Hairone cleanser
• Redken hair cleansing cream
• Neutrogena silk touch leave in
• Cantu Shea butter leave in
• ORS neutralizing shampoo  (*)
• ORS replenishing conditionner (*)
• Keracare Humecto I still have remaining ( a 100ml from the tub) (*)
• Aphogee 2 minutes (*)
• Kerastase Oleo relax shampoo (*)
• Kerastase Oleo relax slim mask (*)

(*): items that will not be repurchased.
The product junkie in me should fade out with the consistency brought in my product stash.

I'll still use

• my home-made moisturizer as it is working for me winter and summer,
• Aphogee 2 step if needed,
• Affirm 5 in 1 conditionner during my relaxer
• my oils (wheat germ, coconut, hemp seed, lineseed oil, castor oil, olive oil and avocado oil)

For all the rest, I'll be a Paul Mitchell girl!
Ciao Ciao

Wash day

Hey people,

I've been missing for a while now . I was busy with life.
During this period, I also slacked a bit to take care of my hair. I know, I know, too bad.
 I haven't DC for 2 weeks now when I used to DC twice a week.
But tonight, I'll try to recover from it.

After lathering once with Paul Mitchell moisture shampoo, I cowashed with Hair One Olive oil for dry hair. I left it on the time of a shower and detangled before rinsing.
I DCed under the steamer with Paul Mitchell Super Charged moisturizer mixed with Paul Mitchell Strength conditionner and a teaspoon of castor oil.
I applied Cantu Shea butter leave-in and Coconut oil.
I'm currently air drying and my hair feels super super soft but strong at the same time.

Hopefully, it will recover from the bad days.

Ciao Ciao

Paul Mitchell: moisture and strength

Hi people
So far so good with the Paul Mitchell products I've been using.
I'm currently 12 weeks post and my under-processed hair and new growth are thriving with this product right now.
I'm due for a relaxer but I decided to stretch until mid-september as my hair is so manageable!
There is one thing I wish would be better: I like to DC on dry hair before a cowash. I find myself using way more product for my liking.
I will try spritzing my hair first with Aloe vera juice before applying the DC.
I hope it will help to cut down the amount of product used.
Ciao

Regimen revamping: product testing

Hi people
Following my post on the ONE brand/line quest, I've purchased the Paul Mitchell products:

• Moisture line: shampoo, instant daily conditionner, super charged mositurizer

• Strength line: shampoo, instant daily conditionner

• clarifying: Paul mitchell Two shampoo

I've been using them for the last 2/3 weeks and I must say that I'm impressed!
The Super charged moisturizer is heaven in a bottle for my 4 weeks 7 weeks post  (I did not realize, time is flying!) and underprocessed hair! we'll see how it will work deeper in my stretch.
The strength line delivers what it says: strengthen and soft hair at the same time.
I've used all the products straight: no oils or glycerin added and they work wonders.

Keracare you better watch out!

My final choice will be made in July/August because I want to see how these products work during the stretch.
Ciao Ciao

Regimen - product revamping

Hello everyone

I've been checking my regimen and products to further improve them.
I'm happy with the results achieve but I would like to take my hair to the next level.

Furthermore, my stash is full of products but I do not have the whole system for any brand represented.
Let me explain, I buy a conditionner from a brand A, then the shampoo from brand B, the leave-in from another brand etc. Is this bad? Well, I would prefer to use my favorite shampoo designed to work with my favorite conditionner, so ONE brand.
Don't get me  wrong, all products in my regimen are staples and work very well on my hair. But usually, there is always something I don't like in the system. As far as we are talking about the leave-in, I'm fine with it. When it comes to the conditionner or shampoo, that's another story.
So I would like to simplify and take my hair to the next level.
I will probably choose one or two professional brand that will carry all I need:

• clarifying shampoo
• moisturizing shampoo
• moisturizing deep conditionner
• protein shampoo
• protein conditionner
• hard protein treatment

To select the brand, my hair should respond well to all the items listed above. It might sound drastic but I think it can be done.

I will not change for the moment:

• my moisturizers: I'll stick with my homemade moisturizer and Neutrogena Triple moisture silk touch leave-in
• my leave-in conditionners (Neutrogena Triple moisture silk touch leave-in and Herbal Essence beautiful ends leave-in and Cantu shea butter leave-in).
• Affirm 5 in 1 conditionner that I use during my relaxer process
• My relaxer: I haven't decide yet if I will stick with the Optimum care relaxer or the ORS Lye relaxer. My next relaxer is scheduled in August, so I have time.

So far, I've identified two brands: Paul Mitchell (moisture line and strength line) and Keracare.
Below the Paul Mitchell items

Any suggestions?

Ciao