Maintaining Low Manipulation Hair Styles

Hey!

This post is on how to maintain low manipulation hairstyles such as braidouts. twistouts, and bantu knot outs.

The Braidout

Night-time Routine 
   The Pineapple  
        The Pineapple is a technique used in order to preserve curls overnight. It is simply piling your curls on top of your head and keeping them in place using a ponytail holder or the Puff Cuff. I use the Puff Cuff because it does not hurt my hair. The pineapple does preserve curls but it can change the style and even loosen curls a tad bit. This is why when I set my hair in the first place for a braidout, I try to use 8+ braids. The more braids, the tighter the curl. The tighter the curl, the longer the curl lasts. I can go more days with the same braidout set the longer the curls last. Therefore, although the curl can change slightly from utilizing the pineapple technique and I am unable to enjoy the same exact braidout style, I can make alternative hairstyles from the braidout style in my day 2+ hair. I do not braid or twist nightly as some naturalistas do to preserve their style because I think this causes too much manipulation. As long as you made tight curls for day one and preserve it with the pineapple, you shouldn't have to rebraid or retwist your whole head. However, if one strand becomes fuzzy or no longer curly, I do braid that one strand again (and maybe even squirt it with water to revitalize the setting spray I'd used to form the braidout in the first place) in order to make it curly again.
Day 2+ Hair 
    Alternative Hairstyles that Preserve the Curl
              I pineapple to maintain my curls, but sometimes the "style" of my day one hairstyle is lost. The upside of this is now I can experiment with different styles on my braidout hair that looks best on slightly stretched, curly hair.

 

The Cascade 

One option is the Cascade, which is a hairstyle created by braiding a French braid from your nape to the top of your head and then letting the rest fall over your face.

Top Twist Out

A puff is an easy style to use on day 2+ hair. If I am doing the puff on day 2+ hair, I just keep my pineapple in from overnight. The top twist out is just curls held on top of your head by a ponytail holder or Puff Cuff.

Curly Double Buns

 This hairstyles retain the curls from the braidout and was achieved with regular non metal ponytail holders.

Top Curly Bun

This is another hairstyle that retains the original style's curls. It is a loose bun using a ponytail holder that shows off the curls.

   

Curly pigtails is an easy 2 day+ hair style because I just make two ponytails on the side of my head using two junior sized PuffCuffs.
Alternative Hairstyles that Gets Rid of the Curl 
These hairstyles are great for day 2+ hair because they can be easily done on hair that has already been stretched. However, because these hair styles causes you to manipulate your hair too much (by braiding for the crown braid or pigtails or smoothing out the curls for the top knot bun or double minibuns), they do not preserve the curls of the original hairstyle.

Crown Braid

Pigtails

Top knot bun using a bun maker

double minibuns

#WashDayExperience: Eternally in Amber Box & CS Review

Hey!
So this #WashDayExperience, I wanted to do my first product review. I've been subscribed to Eternally in Amber's bimonthly hair accessory subscription box since its debut in January. Every other month, a book of 4-6 hair accessories is sent to you. I recently canceled this subscription, but mine was for the Deluxe Box ($25). There is a Basic Box which costs $15. You can purchase the subscription here.

Money-wise, it is more cost effective to purchase the box than to purchase each individual piece separately. In the newest box alone (the Summer-themed May box), the contents in the box comes up to $36, not mentioning the "Emergency Hair Accessory Kit," which includes bobby pins and ponytail holders.

I believe that this hair accessory kit is great...for someone else.
The pieces are cute.
The material is sturdy.

The problem though is that many of the pieces are not kinky curly-friendly.  They pull on my kinky curly strands. The longer my hair gets, the more accessories that are made for straighter hair types are just not compatible for my hair. This is why I prefer the PuffCuff over any other hair accessory. It is circular so it does not pull tightly on my strands.
There are pieces which I can use for my hair. I briefly used the barrettes, the clips, and the clamps. Maybe I'm just not a hair accessory type person. Beside hair accessories, the box also includes combs. These are more useful. While you do not need to use accessories all the time, combs are mostly always needed.

The reason why I canceled my subscription was not because the pieces weren't beautiful. It had nothing to do with the quality and everything to do with I found out not only am I not actually big on hair accessories, but I prefer to finger detangle as well. I subscribed to the box because I wanted to start getting into using accessories and into detangling my hair with combs. However, I ended up learning my favorite accessories are headbands, which the box has never included so far, and finger detangling is far the best method for me in detangling my hair.
I know the blogger Christina of the Mane Objective raves about Eternally in Amber so you can check out her reviews by following this link. Her reviews on the boxes and products will be a lot more informative than mine since she actually loves and uses everything.

This post is mostly about Eternally in Amber's customer service than anything else.

 

I disliked my customer service experience with EIA. My mistake was using social media (Instagram) to try to communicate with the creator. However, I had used IG earlier to have her refund  money to me and she did so. Therefore, when I wanted to cancel my subscription, I did not think twice before going that route again. Although I should've checked the website first to see how to contact her, I still feel like if she saw my message on IG she could've easily just told me to refer to the FAQ page on the EIA website. Instead, she ignored my message. 

   Because I saw that she saw the message (IG shows when people reads the message), I assumed I was in the clear. I thought she canceled my subscription and was going to refund me the money that is automatically taken out for the box. I understood she was very busy and I did not want to hound her for my money.   

So I waited a month and I never received a refund. I actually saw a post that the boxes will be mailed soon, so I messaged her on IG again. Clearly she'd been on IG in the past month and I just wanted my money back. She did not answer even though it said she saw the message. Again, I assumed she was just busy. 

So I finally got the bright idea to check out the FAQ page, which told me to which email to send my message. I sent her an email about the situation. The FAQ page had said that once the box is shipped, I cannot receive a refund. She had just shipped my box so I knew asking for a refund was a lost cost. I was messaging her to cancel the subscription. In the FAQ page, it said to message the email to cancel the subscription. 

What I received was a rude (in my opinion) reply. Maybe she did not mean to be rude, but it came off as such 1) because she saw and ignored my messages 2) because she called my simple request a "demand" (I felt as though she was labeling me as a demanding customer, when I patiently waited over a month to ask for a refund and in the end never got my money back) and 3) because I did literally what the FAQ page had said. If I had to cancel the subscription by logging into my account, then that should've been on the FAQ page. I did not even know I had an account because I was one of the first subscribers. I was there for her since the box started, and I felt upset I was being addressed in such a manner.   

The message, as shown in the picture: 

Hi,

I don't take demands via DM from Instagram. You have full control over you account like all my other subscribers. Log into your account and take the necessary actions that you desire. You can cancel, change information, as well as numerous other things. This is the only way to make any changes to your account. Have a great weekend!

Best,

Amber

Again, perhaps she didn't mean anything by it. But 1) she accepted my previous request on IG. She could've easily told me then about handling any future problems via my online account, 2) she ignored all of my messages related to my refund until I emailed her, and 3) because she ignored my refund messages, I was never refunded in time.  

It is a learning experience. Next time I will not contact a shop via social media and I will go straight to their FAQ page. Many businesses answer questions via their social medias such as Au Rebelle (very great customer service by the way), but not every business owner is as friendly to take that time out of their day. I understand they are very busy, but if they happen to open the message they might as well respond. She could've told me in April that I can cancel via my account when I first messaged her on IG but she chose to ignore me.  

I believe that if I was a famous blogger, she would've been more courteous when I emailed her. I believe if I was a famous blogger, she would've responded to my IG direct message. I could be wrong. This could be a misinterpretation of her actions. All I know is what had happened, and I am perceiving everything from my own perspective.

In summary, her products are of good quality and you can find a better review of them on the Mane Objective's website, which was linked above. They did not work for me because I realized that I like headbands more than other types of accessories and that I do not like combs much. I do not think she has very good customer service skills, and I do not feel comfortable buying from her in the future. If I had a problem with my order, I cannot guarantee she would actually be helpful. She might ignore me again and I cannot guarantee that she will refund me money if I ever need a refund.  

I was going to go on her shop and buy buy buy but thanks to this experience, I can save my money. I will never purchase from her again. There are other places that I can take money where I will be treated how I'd like to be treated. 

Until next time!

Mid-Year Hair Resolutions

The below are my mid-year goals. My hair rests at 20 inches (mid-back length) and I am trying to retain the last three inches that will get me to waist length. I want to achieve waist length by December. My end goal is tail bone length (tbl) hair at 29 inches.

It might be difficult to tell where exactly the waist, hip, and tailbone are so I use the above pictures for reference. In my opinion, where these markers fit on me is as in the pictures above:
BSL (bra strap length): the top of the bra strap
MBL (mid back length): the bottom of the bra strap
WSL (waist length): where you bend sideways
HL (hip length): pelvic bone
TBL (tail bone length): right above the butt crack
CL (classic length): right below the butt
1.) Hair Scissors and NOT Snapping By Hand. Snapping off slips and single strand knots causes more splits and damaged hair.
2.) Full Deep Conditioning Detail (drying it enough before I apply the deep conditioner. Then I let the conditioner sit for 30 minutes and warming it using my body heat) I use a moisturizing deep conditioner once a week.
3.) Upping my protein intake. I'm a vegetarian and I need 36g of protein (You measure your protein intake by multiplying your weight in kilograms with 0.8 more information can be found here and you can use the protein intake calculator here). When you are on a healthy hair journey, you need to be as healthy as possible. Vitamins, nutrients, and water go to the vital parts of your body first before it goes to your hair and nails. If you are lax in keeping up with your nutrition, then your hair will suffer. Moreover, your hair is made of protein. It is in fact dead protein. You need to make sure you are getting adequate amounts of protein to keep your hair in good shape.  At the moment, my protein shake (Spiru-tein) has 6.25g of protein. I want to try a higher protein shake so I'm going to check out

Warrior Blend Plant-based Protein. I tried Spiru-tein for the spirulina, but it does not disclose how much spirulina is actually in the shake so I'll just take spirulina as a supplement. Anyway, WBPP vanilla flavor has 19g of protein, much more than Spiru-tein's 6.25g. 

4.) Vitamin Intake. I'm trying out Mielle Organics hair vitamins and GNC Ultra NourisHair vitamins.  A long with these, I take omega 3 pills and my protein shake has the same nutritional supplements as a multi vitamin.
5.) Protective styles during the week, low manipulation styles during the weekend. Protective styling as pigtails (braids to minimize single strand knots). Low manipulation styles as perm rod updos (stretched to minimize single strand knots). I get single strand knots easiest when I wear braidouts, twistouts, and wash n gos because my very curly hair wraps around itself.
6.) Keep up with the Monthly Search & Destroy Sessions. After each session, my hair gets noticeably less single strand knots and it is easier to deal with.
7.) Increased water intake. I want to make sure I get 1/2 my body weight in ounces of water a day, so I need to make sure to drink 50 oz of water. Drinking water leads to moisturized and healthy hair.
8.) Exfoliate Scalp 1x Week. A clogged scalp can lead to thin hair, growth retardation, and increased shedding. I will make sure to exfoliate my scalp before I shampoo once a week.


Do anyone else have Mid-Year Hair Resolutions?
Would you join me in following these resolutions?
Who else is with me to get the three inches for the last 6 months of this year?

This picture was taken November 2015. Hopefully WSL will take me to the line there.

Happy hair growing!

Scalp Health is Just As Important As Hair Health

My friend Clarisa Reese asked me a question about scalp health. She believes correctly that scalp health is important for hair growth since hair grows from the scalp. If your scalp is damaged, then that could retard your growth.

Growth Retardation

   Practices such as braiding tightly and itching your scalp can damage your scalp and retard your growth. When your scalp feels itchy, you should use the pad of your fingers to rub the infected area. Do NOT use your nails. Conditions such as dandruff and a dry scalp could also affect hair growth. For these, I recommend a medicated dandruff shampoo or shampoo with tea tree oil (such as Trader Joe's Tea Tree Shampoo) for the dandruff and an oil mix for dry scalp problems. I have an oil mix that I keep in an applicator bottle. The tip lets me easily apply it to my scalp. I mixed in jojoba oil, peppermint essential oil, olive oil, Mielle Organic's Mint Almond Oil ,and castor oil. Peppermint essential oil has been shown to increase hair growth (shown in this study), and jojoba oil matches the natural sebum that our scalp produce. Because jojoba oil is expensive and peppermint oil should not be used by itself, I mixed it with other oils that are also good for the scalp and that can lubricate it to prevent dryness. I make sure not to be heavy handed when I apply it to prevent my hair from becoming oily. I massage the oil into my scalp because it improves circulation and promotes hair growth.  

Maintaining Scalp Health 

In addition to using dandruff shampoos and scalp oils, there is the number one most important thing one should do to improve and maintain their scalp's health. 

That's scalp exfoliation! Just as you should clarify or chelate your hair in order to rid your hair of build up that a regular shampoo does not clean, you should exfoliate your scalp to clean it more thoroughly than regular shampoo could.  

This video talks about scalp exfoliation. As you can see, although the woman washed her hair regularly, it was not enough to thoroughly clean the scalp. The scalp had build up which could retard the woman's hair growth. The trichologist used a scalp exfoliator to remove the dead skin cells, excess sebum, and build up on the scalp.  

Affects of Build Up, Excess Sebum, and Dead Skin Cells on the Scalp

Excess sebum could actually clog pores and harden inside the pores, which causes growth retardation and increased shedding. In the long term, this leads to hair loss and hair thinness (due to the excess of sebum, dead skin cells, etc, in the pores and follicles, the follicles will shrink and as a result the size of the hair strand will shrink, resulting in thin hair.)

Scalp exfoliation is great for people with dandruff and eczema. It will also help with scalp acne. 

How to Exfoliate Your Scalp  

When? 

Once a week before you shampoo your scalp (remember: you apply shampoo to your scalp, and not your actual hair).

What to use? 

1.) Salicylic acid or fruit enzyme exfoliant: It softens dead skin cells and remove harden sebum that is trapped in the folicle, and it makes it easier for the shampoo to remove the dead skin. Because it softens the dead skin cells, it does not require any scrubbing. It also removes excess sebum on the hair folicle. It is very gentle and the first choice to exfoliate the scalp. Use before the shampoo. Recommended for those with braids, dreadlocks, or weave because it's it's easy to use if you have braids, dreadlocks, or weave.

Enzymes based exfoliatiors: 

• Philip Kingsley Exfoliating Scalp Mask (what she used in the video)
• Alterna Caviar Exfoliating Scalp Facial
• Kiehls Deep Micro-Exfoliating Scalp Treatment
• Aveda Invati Exfoliating Shampoo
• Ouidad Mediterranean Bay Leaf Exfoliating Hair and Scalp Treatment

2.) Paddle Brush: Make sure none of the bristles are broken or missing, or it will scratch. She says think of it as a broom and the scalp is the floor. It is the broom sweeping away dirt from the floor. It will just remove excess dead skin but not excess sebum. Make sure to shampoo after. It is not to massage the scalp but to exfoliate. After you use it for 2-3 minutes, wash your hair afterwards. It is easy to use on relaxed or straight hair.

3.) Rhassoul and Bentonite clay: It has minerals that are good for the scalp. Will not remove excess sebum trapped in the hair follicle but it will remove excess oil on the scalp and the dead skin cells to a certain extent.

4.) Baking soda: she has not used this method yet but noted that people have tried it.

5.) Sugar or salt: not recommended for those with sensitive scalps. Can be very irritating for the scalp and not the best to try as an exfoliator. Sugar can create tiny wounds on the scalp, and she does not recommend it but it may work for you.

More scalp exfoliator recommendations can be found here and you can learn about the Scalp Invigorator, which Sunshyne from Hairlicious uses, here and get it 50% if you are interested in trying it out. 

*Exfoliants that do not contain enzymes will rely on beads or coarse substances and scrubbing to remove dead skin. Therefore while you do not need to rub in the first suggestion, the other ones you would have to in order to exfoliate your scalp.*

**Do a patch test beforehand on a small area in case you have an allergic reaction**

Results 

Shinier hair 

It brings more oxygen to your scalp because your pores are open and free of excess sebum, build up, and dead skin cells.

You can learn more about scalp exfoliation and check out a homemade recipe by checking out Longing4Length's post here.

There is also a thread at the LongHairCareForum's site started by the trichologist who posted the video which you could read here. 

Will you try scalp exfoliation? 

Have you ever tried it? 

What were your results?

#WashDayExperience: Next Day Hair

 

For 5/18's wash day, I tried my hand at using perm rods again. This time I wrapped my hair around the rod instead of rolling once then wrapping once etc. This led to sleeker results and more defined curls. The reason why I did a perm rod set again was because: 

1.) I want to perfect the perm rod set. 

2.) I think that the set will help to minimize ssk and shed hair being wrapped around any ssk. I noticed a significant decreased amount of ssk during the first perm rod set and my hair was also significantly less tangly.   . 

3.) Because the curls are tight and the ends are curled, my ends are fairly protected from the environment.

For the next perm rod set, I will add product to the ends to get a sleeker result on the ends. I will also wrap the ends more tightly against the rod for a sleeker result on the ends. I am still trying to figure out how to make my roots more sleek. I might also try to do my hair in a grid. I recently watched Kimmaytube's video on parting natural hair and I discovered the importance of parting your hair.  You can check out the video here but here is what she said in the comments about parting hair:

So to the actual wash day: 

The products I used (the last product, a deep conditioner, was actually used on my nape hair. More information on how I take care of my nape hair will be discussed in a future post): 

I shampooed and conditioned with the E'tae line. I use the E'tae line and PT with Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor once a week, usually on Tuesday's. Tuesday's are my protein day and Friday's are my moisture day (I usually use Deva Curl on my moisture days but sometimes I switch it up and use Mielle Organics, but I haven't in a couple months). The shampoo has no slip and it does nothing to detangle my tangly hair (shampoo doesn't really need slip), so I do not detangle with the shampoo in it. If I did, I feel like I'd do more harm than good.

This was the first wash day I started sectioning my hair in 6 instead of 4. This is because I'm trying to start taking extra care of sections of my hair I usually overlook. Just like this wash day is the first I especially paid attention to my nape, I wanted to make sure my crown got some TLC by sectioning the top, middle, and bottom of each side of my head.

Top, middle, and bottom of each side is sectioned off

  I apply the shampoo to my scalp and massage it in. I let it sit for at least one minute.  

   

 Even though I apply shampoo to the scalp, when you rinse it out in the shower, the shampoo flows down your strands anyway. 

After I rinsed out the shampoo from each section, I applied the conditioner. My tangles melted instantly, and although it isn't necessarily moisturizing, I was able to easily glide my fingers through my previously tangly hair. Finger detangling was a breeze. 

After the conditioner, I used the Aphogee 2 Min for two minutes (I counted!), and then I rinsed it out and applied the Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream. You're always supposed to add moisture back into your hair after you do a protein treatment. This cream acted more like an oil rinse than anything,and it was hard keeping it on my wet hair (water and oil does not mix) but it did the trick.

After I washed it

 After I lightly t-shirt dried my hair (I read that perm rods get sleeker results if you do it on very wet hair, so I left it dripping), I started the perm rod process. I would take a section of hair, add product to it, and then put the roller on it by twisting my hair along the roller. I had also two strand twisted halfway down each section in order to make applying the rod easier. I applied by wrapping my hair along the length of the roller.

 

The picture above is how I applied the roller. I wrapped my hair (purple) around the roller, and when I reached the end, I went back and overlapped my hair. I tried to stretch my hair across the roller as I wrapped it (instead of keeping the hair bundled in one spot)  as much as possible so that the end result would be sleek.    

The purple circles are the hair bundled tightly against each other on the roller. I tried to keep my hair wrapped around the full length of the roller, shown in the pink circles, and not just a smart part of the rollers in order to keep my results sleek.

 Lastly, I tried to roll tightly and positioned the roller in a way that it laid flat against my scalp. 

The products:

The perm rod set:

I apply perm rods on wet hair

 

I finished the perm rod set at 9:44pm (I started at 8:30-ish pm), and when I took out the rollers at 8am, the set was dry. 

 I undid the twists at the root:

My first day hairstyle:

Next Day Hair 
So this is the part everyone has been waiting for. My next day hair!  
Unfortunately, the curls didn't hold up much after the first day. I need a good styling foam. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments!
So because my hair didn't hold up well, I only wore the curls for the second day and after that I kept my hair up in a top perm rod puff.
I decided to style my hair as a mohawk for my next day hair style. It was on a Friday and I had a party to go to.

Because I'm still a beginner at this set, I like it most as an updo because it hides the flaws best lol. You can really see how not smooth the roots are in the mohawk. One day I'd love to perfect a perm rod mohawk.

Any suggestions on a good styling foam?
Any tips on smoothing out my roots? I really believe that maybe it just takes practice, but any suggestions are welcome.
How do you style your perm rod sets?

Thanks for joining me on this #WashDayExperience!
I can't wait to see the topics for June's #WashDayExperience.