What am I going to do?

What am I going to do? You may be wondering what these three little bottles are doing on the top of this post. And before you say it I know I'm contradicting myself, but I see this as another way to help me transition into caring for my natural hair without using braids.

To be honest with you during the last two sets of braids I am/was being very neglectful to my hair. No deep treatments once a week, no daily moisturizing, and most nights not even a scarf. These are super no no's. Right now I'm being super paranoid about if whether or not my braids are about to fall out at any moment because I haven't been moisturizing. These are the number one things to do if you desire breakage from braids.

In the midst of my laziness I have found that I take better care of my hair when it is left out. I had better growth ( I think now) when I was doing my twist outs and braid outs. With this style I had no choice but to moisturize every time I styled and I would cowash more frequently with these styles.

I have done these styles on my natural hair, but I did not like the results. I was very displeased with the frizz issue. Since I have been natural I have yet to have a style with low to no frizz. Which is the reason for the bottles pictured at the top. This is my experiment.

Problem: Frizzy Hair

Research:



After searching multiple forums, threads, and different products I have chosen one particular product to try. It is known for its frizz reducing results and straightening effects as well as strengthening weak and broken hair. This product does contain controversial ingredients which include ethyl alcohol which according to cosmeticdatabase.com has a moderate hazard score by itself. The ingredients in these products next to my staple conditioner and shampoo are actually more safe to use. Especially considering that I only propose that I use the products once every three to four months. Reviews done by pinkskates, ManeandChic, and members of lhcf have prompted me to want to give this particular treatment a try. I am aware of the negative side effects that may occur from this treatment and am prepared to take all the blame and cry from my own doing if anything (God forbid) bad happens. But at worst my hair could forever have a loosened texture. I haven chosen to do the soft-liss brand of this treatment because it is the most affordable and I won't wast product by purchasing too much (these treatments only have a shelf life of 12 months).



Most reviews have stated to go to a salon for the first treatment, but as I have mentioned before I haven't been to a salon in some years now. Honestly, I really only trust myself with my hair. Therefore if my hair is messed up I can only blame myself. Also the treatment seams simple enough that I should have no problem doing it. Also mind you all I do have cosmetology experience and have been doing my own hair since the age of 12 if not younger (a lot of flatironing and braiding). It seems the most important step in this treatment is the blowdrying and flatironing process. It is sad, but I do consider myself a pro with these tools after working with them for so long. It seems strange that I don't use them as often as I use to.


Hypotheses: These three bottles will minimize and eliminate the bulk of frizz that I now have.



Procedure: Accordoing to soft-liss.com



1. Wash hair with warm water and apply Soft-Liss Deep Wash Shampoo STEP 1 two to four times.



2. Completely dry hair with a dryer, there is no need to use a brush. Use fingers or a comb to untangle.



3. Divide hair into 4 parts. Separate each part where product will be applied, starting from the back.



4. Pour enough volume reducer Soft-Liss Intelligent Brush STEP 2 into a plastic container.



5. Once applied, hair should be damp with product. Apply volume reducer using gloves, with the help of a brush on all 4 parts of the hair as close to the scalp as possible without touching it, distributing it throughout the length.



6. Comb hair thoroughly for 5 minutes to activate product. Wait 15 minutes and dry strands superficially.



7. Divide the hair into 4 parts again and do thorough Blow Dry.



8. Divide the hair once more into 4 parts and iron each part 5 to 6 times minimum, more if needed. The Blow Dry and Ironing steps are the secret to excellent results.



9. After the complete application process, wait 1 hour and wash hair with cold water. Apply the Soft-Liss Nurturing Mask STEP 3 massaging each strand for at least 5 minutes. Wash hair again with cold water, and Blow Dry.

The Results and Conclusion stage will be up in another two weeks or so I guess whenever finals are over and I have enough free time to take down my braids down and do everything to prep my hair for this treatment. As well as the materials. ( I realized over the weekend that I do not own a fine tooth comb.)

19 Months & Counting:Why I should try something different

Ok so honestly I'm actually at work right now bored out of mind, but I'm sure that will change soon. It usually gets busy in here around noon becuase that's when everyone comes in. However this Monday happens to be one of those days where you really don't want to do anything. Maybe I'll get lucky and everyone will want to stay home.

Blog Business

Lately I've been trying to figure out how I can keep up to date with posting on my blog. Atleast twice a week if at all possible, starting this week.

So whats been going on with my hair?

You know honestly I really don't know right after taking down that weave I let my scalp breathe for a week and then I put some lace braids in. I feel my hair needs a break and I'm in desperate need of a dusting and maybe even a trim. My ends get tangled beyond belief. During that week I had my hair out I had knots galore. Which meant that I had to take time out to slowly and gently get them out. That was fun! No, not really.

Reminiscing

I remember when I was younger and natural I used to do my own hair all the time wash, blow dry, flat iron (Inever liked the pressing comb, I always ended up getting burned or having hair burned off). I had a lot of patience then. I remember sometimes it would take me 4 hours to go through the whole process. My hair was as thick as it is now but a lot longer. As I got better I reduced the time to two hours. Then when I got my first perm it was down to a half hour (I had found a magical perm that only required a blow dry after washing to make my hair super stick straight).

Lately washing, detangling, and styling however has been a pain in a neck. I've been trying to figure out if its the condition of my hair, the products I've been using, or if this is just the way my hair is. I remember reading once that the products you used while permed and transitioned may not work on your natural hair. Honestly, I'm starting to feel like this statement is true.

New Products vs. Old Products

When I first did the BC I had products that I had never used before and using them on my hair was not exactly making my hair as manageable as it was while I transtioned. I was using Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo I love and I know I shouldn't be using it, but I do only because I've been putting so much gel in my hair to get my everyday puff when my hair is out. But I also know the gel wasn't helping either those three things were only helping to make my hair dryer.

So, I used all the conditioner. Slowed down on the shampoo. But I was still using the gel which has been drying my hair out regardless of how much leave-in conditioner is in my hair. I decided to braid my hair to give it a break from all the drying chemicals.

Lately I've been cowashing with my VO5 and I did a deep condition with ORS before doing my braids. However I don't think this is working. It worked during the first week. I also kept my hair moisturized with a conditioner, oil, and water spritz during the first week. This kept my hair neat and without frizz. The second week went okay except I started getting some frizz. And now here it is the third week in my braids and I have a complete frizz ball no matter how much I moisturize, deep condition, tie it down or whatever else I can think to do.

This is why I think it may be the condition of my hair especially considering that whatever style I do I always have frizz even when I use gel, conditioner, shea butter, or a mixture. Please don't mention aloe vera gel my hair laughs at that stuff. I'm really at my witz end about this because I want to wear my hair down and out (which I haven't done since a day or two after my BC). However I don't because my hair turns to frizz even when I keep my hands out of it. Which is why I always wear a puff. Considering the layers I have in my hair the frizz doesn't help when I wear my hair out. I'm also starting to think this is just the way my hair is. This still occurs on really low to no humidity days as well.

All of these factors make me feel like I should have transtioned for a while longer. I miss my long hair. I really don't desire straight long hair, just curly long hair. Which is why my braids have been styled in curly and wavy hair styles lately. But, I am really starting to get sick of these braids.

So what's the point of this long rambling, ranting post?

I've always been a fan of polished hairstlyes. When the messy bed head look was in I chose a regular sleek ponytail or bun. When my hair doesn't look neat I do it in a neat style even if its plain at least its neat. I love my curly defined fro but only for the first hour before it starts to frizz then I put it in a puff. I love my twist outs and braid outs before they begin to frizz then I put it in a puff. I like my current braids, but they are horribly frizzing so in another week I will be taking them down. I will always love my puff, but my hairline is beginning to suffer from it and at the end of the day even my puff gets frizzy unless I put super globs of gel on it. I guess you get my point.

I think I may have found a solution to this issue, but it comes with a price both literally and figuratively. I'm still doing my research on it, but I think I'm going to try it and see if I can minimize this frizz issue I'm having. Stay tuned to find out what I'm going to do. One thing I can guarantee you is that I wont be perming my hair. That would be 19 months down the drain and that I simply can not do. Besides SO would have a heart attack. I could hear him now, "You cut your hair so you could perm it again!!!!?" A perm is not even an option in my book. Honestly, it really even shouldn't be in my vocab.

Later.

P.S. Sorry about the long post. This is one of the reasons why I should post more often. So I can minimize these super long posts. You should see these things before I edit and add pics.