Breakage Update

I've been moisturising and sealing nightly and I have had little to no breakage! It's a huge improvement since I usually get about 10 broken hairs every time I moisturise my hair. Since my last wash day I've only been getting 1 broken hair when I moisturise, some days I get no breakage at all!

I'm still expecting to get a bit of breakage for a while as I do have a lot of mid-shaft splits and they will continue to break off, but hopefully I have stopped the worst of the breakage and I will start seeing some length progress.

I think that I will still invest in a seamless comb as I don't want my hair to be damaged every time I use a comb. Especially since my hair isn't all one length, it could snag very easily on the seams on a comb, which would lead to more breakage.

Wash Day

I started off by doing a hot oil treatment with Vatika oil. I warmed the oil up in a bowl of warm water and then applied the oil to the roots and length of my hair. I left the oil on for about an hour before I washed it out.

I shampooed with my Keracare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo. I then applied Nexxus Emergencee to my hair and left it on for about 2 minutes. My hair felt a lot stronger but not too dry, I then rinsed the product from my hair and shampooed again. After shampooing my hair felt normal again, which surprised me.

I deep conditioned with Keracare Humecto (mixed with EVOO, avocado oil, argan oil and castor oil). I sat under my steamer for 30 minutes and then put on a shower cap and left it on for another hour. I rinsed my conditioner out with cool water.

I applied my Transitioning Creme as my leave in and then detangled my hair in sections. I lost quite a bit of hair, but I guess it wasn't too bad considering I'd only lightly finger combed during the week. My hair did break a lot during the detangling though. I left my hair to air dry. Once my hair was fully dry I moisturised and sealed and then cross wrapped my hair. My hair felt extremely soft and hydrated. My hair actually hasn't felt that good in a long time, so it was a very good wash day.

When I was moisturising I got no breakage whatsoever, which I was surprised by as I always get breakage when I m&s. I'm still not sure if I have actually stopped my breakage though as my hair did break a lot during the detangling. I'm going to give it a few more days and see if my hair continues to not break when I moisturise my hair. I've been thinking that it might be the fact that my comb isn't seamless. My hair isn't all one length, so it can easily get caught and snag on the seams of my comb. I've also noticed that a lot of my hair strands have splits mid-shaft. I'll keep an eye on my breakage and if it only breaks when I use my comb then I think I'm going to get a seamless comb.

My hair after taking down my cross wrap.

Breakage and Last Salon Visit

So, I tried to stop my breakage by using my replenishing conditioner, but it didn't really seem to help.

I'm thinking that my breakage isn't a moisture or protein problem, I think my hair is breaking because of heat damage. During my last trip to the salon (back in September) I had a different stylist doing my hair, she usually just does weaves but for some reason the lady who usually relaxes my hair was doing a weave which meant I had someone different doing my relaxer.

It didn't start off well, she took too long putting on the relaxer, it seemed like she was literally moving at a snails pace. It took her 20 minutes just to apply the relaxer to the back part of my hair (which is the half that relaxes easiest anyway, it's the front/crown of my hair that is more resistant) so before the hair at the front could be properly processed the back of my head started to burn. I told her so and she just said that the front wasn't relaxed yet so it couldn't be washed out. Needless to say, I did not just sit there with the back of my head burning, she rinsed out the back and left the front to relax for a bit longer.

Then came the heat. She blow dried my hair THREE times. I mean, she blow dried my hair dry, then added some product then blow dried my whole head again, then put in even more product then spent another 10 minutes blow drying my hair, like it wasn't dry the first time?!

Then she proceeded to straighten my hair. She straightened my hair in tiny sections and passed the straighteners over each section about 7-8 times. Usually, when I straighten my hair I pass the heat over each section 3 times MAX. Also, she likes to kind of curl the ends of the hair up, which is fine, I don't usually have a problem with that. But she curled the ends of my hair up so much that my hair was actually poking me in the eye. I refused to leave the salon like that and told her it was too much, so she then went over all of my hair again to straighten it out more. I don't know what temperature she sets the straighteners to but I have a feeling they were at their hottest. By the time she was done my hair just smelt burnt, that's literally all I could smell the whole week that my hair was straightened. My hair felt extremely dry and my breakage has been ridiculous since then.

I decided when I walked out of the salon that I would learn to relax my own hair, it's way cheaper and I didn't want to go through all of that again.

Back to the breakage... Now, I'm kind of scared of protein, I got protein overload right at the beginning of my journey because I didn't really know much about how protein worked at the time. Since then I've been pretty wary of protein but I've decided to do a hard protein treatment, using Nexxus Emergencee, tomorrow since it will be my last wash before my relaxer and because I think my hair just needs the protein to repair all of the heat damage and that will hopefully stop the breakage.

Fingers crossed that it goes well.

Product Review: Darcy's Botanicals Sweet Cocoa Bean Curl Smoothing Cream

Price: £10.95 for 8oz bottle.

Purchased from: britishcurlies.co.uk

Promises: This is a daily or weekly leave-in to help detangle, moisturize, defrizz, and soften your lovely coils and curls. An excellent moisturizing leave-in cream which works great for all hair types. Also great as a styler for curls, twists and braids.

Ingredients: Distilled Water (Aqua), Theoroma Cacao ( Cocoa) Butter, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis ( Sweet Almond Oil), Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride ( Fractionated Coconut Oil), Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol (and), Capryly Glycol, Cetyl Esters, Fragrance, Hydroxyethyicellulose and Algin.

My review: I have tried this as both a leave-in and a moisturiser and I definitely prefer it as a daily moisturiser. I moisturise and seal at night, I use this and then seal it in with an oil like my Keracare Essential Oils (I'm trying to use it up.) The next morning my hair feels very moisturised and soft but not greasy. 
The consistency of this is about the same as the Transitioning Creme. The smell is okay, it smells a bit like chocolate but the scent doesn't linger.
Overall I really like this product and I will probably buy it again at some point. 

Co-wash!

I sprayed my hair with some water to make it slightly damp and then applied my ORS Replenishing Conditioner. I left the conditioner in my hair for about 2 hours with a shower cap and a towel on. I love this conditioner because even though it has protein in it, it always leaves my hair feeling soft and moisturised. I decided to use the Replenishing Conditioner to (hopefully) help stop my breakage.

I then co-washed with my Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. 

I put in my leave-in - Darcy's Botanicals Transitioning Creme - and air dried. I put a scarf on to lay down my edges and new growth and then after a couple of hours took that off and let my hair continue to air dry.

I moisturised and sealed my hair and then cross-wrapped it for bed.

BREAKAGE!

So, for the past few weeks I have been having some major breakage. Literally all I have to do is lightly touch my hair and hair will just break off.

I've been upping my moisture because usually if my hair is breaking off it means it's too dry, but no matter how much I moisturise and seal and deep condition my hair just wont stop breaking.

I think I'm going to do a light protein (ORS Replenishing Conditioner) and if that doesn't help then I don't know what I'm going to do.

It's just really annoying because I'm coming up to me being on my hair journey for one year and I haven't really had much length difference. My hair looks healthier than it did a year ago but it would be nice to see some length now and I'm not going to if my hair keep breaking off like this. I was hoping to be at APL by February but I seriously doubt that's going to happen.

It just feels like I'm having a constant set back and I need the breakage to STOP!

Wash Day!

I pre-pooed with grapeseed oil. I heated the oil up before I put it in my hair. I put it on my scalp and the length of my hair and left it in for about an hour with a shower cap and towel on.

I shampooed with my Keracare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo and then squeezed the excess water out with a towel. I put my Keracare Humecto in as my deep conditioner, I separated my hair into sections to make sure the conditioner was evenly distributed throughout all of my hair.

I sat under my steamer for 30 minutes and then rinsed out my hair. I then put Roux Porosity Control in my hair and left that in for 1 - 2 minutes then rinsed it out. I've never used Roux as a last rinse before but I wanted to try it because it helps close the cuticles. I usually use it before I deep condition. I rinsed the Roux out with cool water.

I left the towel on my head for a few minutes then squeezed out any excess water. I then put in my leave-in (Darcy's Botanicals Transitioning Creme) and detangled in sections. Then I put a scarf on to help lay down my edges and my new growth for a few hours and continued to air dry.
Once my hair was fully dried it felt soft and hydrated. I then moisturised and sealed and cross wrapped my hair for bed.

Product Review: Darcy's Botanicals Coconut Lemongrass Transitioning Creme

Price: £10.95 for 8oz bottle.

Purchased from: britishcurlies.co.uk

Promises: This creme is an excellent moisturizer and leave-in conditioner. Darcy's Botanicals transitioning creme is a thick, rich and creamy leave-in that will help to condition, moisturise and detangle your hair's new growth to make it more manageable and healthy. This delicious moisturising creme can also be used to do comb coils. It is hand whipped with a healthy dose of organic virgin coconut oil, organic aloe vera, and other natural conditioning & detangling ingredients.

Ingredients: Distilled Water, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Vitamin E, Panthenol, Yarrow, Sage, Horsetail, Nettle, & Lavender Extracts, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol (a paraben-free preservative), and lemongrass essential oil.

My review: I absolutely love this leave-in! I wait until my hair is about 50% dry before I put anything in it and then I continue to air dry. When my hair is fully dry it doesn't feel weighed down at all after using this, it just feels extremely soft and very moisturised.
I also use this as a moisturiser at night and then seal with an oil. The next morning my hair feels very soft and moisturised but not greasy, so it's perfect.
I usually hate the smell of lemongrass but I found that the scent of this leave-in wasn't very strong so the smell didn't really bother me.
This cream has a very nice consistency and is easy to distribute throughout my hair. I had hoped that my bottle would come with a pump, as that just makes things easier, but unfortunately in the latest shipment that British Curlies were sent the bottles did not come with pumps, hopefully I'll get one next time.
Overall I have no complaints about this product whatsoever and I will definitely be buying it again. It's now a staple! :)

Green Tea Rinse

I did my first green tea rinse today! It left my hair feeling stronger and a bit dry, like a protein treatment would, but that went away by the time I rinsed out my deep conditioner.

For the rinse I put two teabags in 500ml of water and let it steep for 15-20 minutes. I let it cool for an extra few minutes and also topped it up with a bit of cold water to make sure it wouldn't be too hot when I poured it over my hair.

I shampooed with my clarifying shampoo - since it had been a month since I last did it - then I slowly poured the green tea over my hair, rubbing it in as I poured to help distribute it. I left it on for about 2 minutes and then quickly rinsed it out with water. I then applied my deep conditioner and steamed for 20 minutes. My hair felt very soft and was easy to detangle.

Benefits of green tea for hair: Green tea can help ailments such as dandruff and psoriasis by soothing the scalp and reducing inflammation. It is known to be a stimulant, so it can help hair grow. As green tea contains caffeine it can help stop shedding. It also contains vitamin C, vitamin E and panthenol, which all have great benefits for the hair. Vitamin C guards against UV radiation damage, vitamin E restores dry/damaged hair and panthenol is a pro-vitamin which strengthens and softens hair and helps prevent split ends.

Overall I'm pleased with the results and will probably do it again!

Product Review: Keracare Humecto Creme Conditioner

Price: £6.15 for 8oz bottle.

Purchased from: lookfantastic.com

Promises: Keracare Humecto Creme Conditioner helps correct and prevent moistureloss due to exposure to chemicals and thermal styling appliances. Penetrates deep within the hairshaft to hydrate and humectify hair.  Decreases interfiber friction between hair strands to prevent hair breakage. Improves the surface porosity of hair resulting in a softer hair texture.

Ingredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Polyquaternium-37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Castor oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Dimethicone PEG-8 Lsostearate, Quaternium-80, Dimethicone, Panthenol, Propylene Glycol, Lamium Album Flower Extract, Pinus Sylvestris Cone Extract, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Nasturtium Officinale Extract, Allium Sativum (Garlic) Bulb Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Tilia Cordata Flower Extract, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Hypericum Perforatum Extract, Fragrance/Parfum, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Glutaral

My review: I love this conditioner! I usually either use this by deep conditioning with heat or I get under my steamer for 30 minutes. This makes my hair so moisturised and soft! It also really helps soften my new growth when that starts coming in. It has good slip so it makes detangling really easy and it smells amazing. I literally have no complaints about this conditioner whatsoever. Its definitely a staple! :)