We use chemicals such as relaxers, hair color, and keratin straightening to change the color or texture of our hair. But do you know what these chemicals are specifically formulated to do?
- Relaxers are the process of permanently chemically straightening the hair by breaking down the hair's natural bonds and reshaping them so they are straight
- Keratin straightening uses direct heat to seal the keratin protein in the cuticle layer. It's a semi-permanent treatment lasting about 3-4 months because it doesn't change the hair bonds
- Bleaching is the chemical lightening of the hair and the process strips the hair of essential oils
- Hair color, when permanent, brings about the oxidation of sulfur in the hair by penetrating the shaft
While this wash day was again easy-peasy the theme of it could be "you win some, you lose some." I had no major shedding or any breakage, but I was able to confirm my hair doesn't like air drying. For some reason when I air dry, my hair doesn't hold moisture as when I use my hooded dryer. Here are the details.
Have you ever watched a reality show that's focused on the journey of a person trying to improve themselves and after the episode ends wandered where are they now? I know I do. That's why I am starting a monthly post series on the health state of my hair.
In several previous posts, I've mentioned some of the issues, setbacks, and triumphs I've had with my hair, but I haven't provided a good update on what happened next.
This post is the first one in my
Relaxed Hair Health Updates. In this particular post, I will provide an update on the following for the month of August:
- Hair goals: Where I am with my hair goals for the year
- Shedding: How my plan of attack on my shedding is going
Well,
my relaxer touch-up was last week, and while it didn't go as well as I hoped I did have a good wash day this week.
This week on wash day I was tired and really didn't want to wash my relaxed hair, but it was
so weighed down with product that I couldn't stand it anymore. Since I was working with a shortened time frame I changed things up a little bit. Here's what I did:
Let me say the Thermafuse HeatSmart Serum Condition is amazing. It is thick and has a pleasant smell. This stuff sinks into my relaxed hair and makes it feel nice and soft after use. I first started using it when my hair was really dry due to low to no moisturizing for years. This conditioner helped me get my relaxed hair back on the right track.
Let me just start by apologizing for not having any images of my hair. I don't have any for two reasons: 1) I didn't have time after the salon trip as I was late for the CD listening party of the jazz band my brother's in and 2) I didn't like the way my hair turned out.
Now that the apologies are out of the way, let's dig into the details.
It’s no secret that I’ve been laid off not once, but three times (don't go into the advertising or marketing field folks). I talked about the first two layoffs a little bit in my post
How I Paid Off My Car A Year Early (Despite Being Laid Off Twice). Believe me, I know that it sucks and it’s no less of a sting the third time it happens.
Each of my job layoffs lasted for different lengths of time but thankfully I was able to get new employment within months of being laid off. I also didn't have to go into debt or have a setback in my financial journey. A lot of that is due to these eight things I did that helped me get through those months of unemployment and get back on my feet.
So it hit me recently that I went about 12 weeks without using heat on my relaxed hair from a flat iron or blow dryer. This is a big deal for me because I used to be a blow-dry and flat iron my hair every single week kinda gal. In fact, I would sometimes flat iron my hair every day. As a result, I started noticing my hair didn't look and feel as full as it used to. And I wasn't retaining length.
Now I didn't realize that my constant use of heat on my hair was causing the issue. It was after I turned to the Internet to find information, tips, and advice on relaxed hair care. Among the multitudes of tips and advice, several of them talked about heat damage from direct.
Now I had never heard this phrase before - direct heat. But some of the signs of the hair damage it caused were similar to what I was experiencing. So I knew I had to do something.
I made it to 15 weeks in my stretch, which is a week longer than I've gone in the past, but the hairstylist has been called and an appointment set for a relaxer touch-up. I'll be 16 weeks then. To prepare my hair I followed my
pre-relaxer touch-up regimen which consists of
- Detangle
- Pre-poo
- Cleanse (clarify)
- Light Protein Treatment
- Deep Condition
- Moisturize and Seal
- Flat iron new growth.
Before we get into the meat of this post, I'd like to apologize for not having any hair pictures. I had family in town over the weekend and wasn't able to get any usable ones.
We all long for healthy, shiny hair. But in our quest for that healthy hair, we may put our hair through a lot of manipulation. So much manipulation that we start causing more harm to hair than good. That we damage our hair so it looks the opposite of what we were striving for.
Unfortunately no matter how many DIY hair treatments, hair masques, or serums you use there aren't ways to repair the damage. These treatments and products can sometimes help to temporarily cover up the damage to your hair. They may even help to prevent future damage, but products and treatments can't repair or fix hair when it's damaged.