Has it only been four weeks since my relaxer touch up? I had to triple check using the calendar to make sure. Either I'm more under processed than I thought or my new growth is coming in fast. Well no matter the reason, it didn't affect my wash day.
I've been working out more lately, walking about 2-3 miles a day 3-5 days a week resulting in my relaxed hair looking greasy. As well as the sweating drying out my scalp between wash days. This means I'm now co-washing in the middle of the week and doing a full wash day on the weekends with shampoo.
I've used Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea CoWash during several of my wash days and a few times on my relaxed ends in between wash days and it works well with my relaxed hair. The CoWash is white in color, has a loose consistency but isn't too runny which allows for easy application throughout my relaxed strands.
While the description says it's no suds, when I work it into my scalp I do get some. After using my relaxed hair feels squeaky clean, not stripped and there's no feeling of leftover residue. There is a smell of coconut, but it's not overwhelming and doesn't linger in the hair for very long.
In January I joined the Hairlista Castor Oil Challenge at the Basic Level which requires me to apply castor oil to my scalp twice a week and massage into my scalp for 2-5 minutes. The challenge came at the perfect time as I had just started using Jamaican Black Castor Oil on my scalp as part of my relaxed hair regimen.
This past weekend was my third wash day since my relaxer touch up and I was still noticing some shedding and breakage. To help stop this I decided to do a hard protein treatment. Because I was doing a protein treatment I opted to move my deep conditioning to later in the wash instead of doing it as a pre-poo.
Do you use natural oils on my hair? I do. When I started my healthy relaxed hair journey and I heard about natural oils and that they were good for relaxed hair I didn't need any other convincing. I started buying them and using them.
What I didn't realize is that while there are many types of natural oils that can be used on our relaxed hair, they can't all be used in the same way. Some oils can actually penetrate the hair shaft to help the hair from the inside out. There are other oils, call non-penetrating or sealing oils, that can't penetrate the hair shaft and sit on the hair.
Both types of oils, penetrating and non-penetrating, bring their own types of benefits to our relaxed hair. In this post, I'm going to dive more into the world of non-penetrating oils.
(I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes but all opinions are my own.)
One of my 2015 hair goals is to limit the number of new hair products I try. I've been doing a pretty good job with that, but couldn't resist trying some new hair products I received in my fourth VoxBox from Influenster. The products are from a brand I hadn't before - Dessange.
Dessange Paris has a few collections based on various hair needs and Influensters received either the Oleo Replenishing Collection or the California Blonde Collection. Can you guess which one I got? It was the Oleo Replenishing Collection. Influenster was smart to send a survey to all who qualified for the VoxBox to determine which collection was best suited for each recipient.
(I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes but all opinions are my own.)
I've received my fourth VoxBox from Influenster and am really excited about it because this one has hair products! The products are from a hair care brand I never heard of - Dessange Paris. The VoxBox contains three full-sized products from the Dessange Paris Oleo Miracle Collection.
Replenishing Shampoo
Replenishing Conditioner
Replenishing Oil
This collection claims that it will help overprocessed and damaged hair and make it shiny again. All three products contain a special blend of three oils - argan, camellia, and pracaxi - that are formulated to nourish the hair, protect it from aggressors, and help with detangling.
After my so-so relaxer touch-up experience last week, I was looking forward to taking care of my hair again. With most relaxer touch-ups, after five or so days later my hair starts looking flat and weighed down making me really excited to wash my relaxed hair and bring it back to life. This time was no exception.
I'm not one who has the patience to style my relaxed hair. I like it simple and easy. Otherwise, I get frustrated, and thoughts of chopping it all off start flitting through my head. Despite that, I have done a few styles with braids and people tend to ooh and ahh (I think it's mostly because I don't style my hair often).
Here it is. My first relaxer touch-up post in 2015. Once again I'm on a quest to find a stylist. Since I've moved to another state, I need to find someone in whose hands I will trust my hair. For this touch up I decided to try a stylist that was recommended to me by my stylist in North Carolina. She doesn't know this stylist personally but has heard good things about her.
Before I get into how the day of my touch-up went I'm going to quickly walk you through how I prepped my hair.
I've used olive oil for years. Mainly when I cook. Since it's in the food section of the store I never really thought about using it for anything else. Particularly on my relaxed hair until I started searching online for ways to bring moisture back to my hair.
From my online research, I found that olive oil is classified as penetrating natural oil. It is made by pressing the fat from olives. As I alluded to, olive oil is used in various ways - cooking, pharmaceuticals, soaps, and even fuel. What makes it good for hair, especially relaxed hair, are the antioxidants and Vitamin E and Vitamin K that it contains.
Hi I'm Leah, the creator of A Relaxed Gal blog providing hair, beauty, and lifestyle inspiration and tips for women who want a simple way to look great, feel great, and live great.