Wash Day Diary @ 18 Weeks Post: 09.12.12

"It took about 3hrs to take out the crochet braids.  I did so by unbraiding my hair which released the crocheted in extension hair.  I ended up with a tiny piece of matted hair at the nape which I will have a go at releasing over the next few days."

For my post protective style wash day, these are the steps I followed:


I was determined to try and make this wash day as simple as possible and lose as little hair as I possibly could!


1. The day before taking out the crochet braids I applied a mix of Taliah Waajid Bodifier Mist and Elasta QP Mango Butter and Olive Oil throughout my hair.  This moisturising mix is ALOT heavier than what I would normally apply to braids but I wanted my hair to soften up before I started taking out the hair the following day so as to reduce breakage during the manipulation ahead.

Wild Growth Oil - Review to come....

2.  I detangled for about an hour and put my hair into a total of 16 two strand twisted sections as I went along.  I thoroughly detangled using the three comb method as I wanted to be sure to get all the shed hair out of my hair to avoid tangles during and after washing.

3.  I pre poo'd overnight with Wild Growth Oil (I ended up leaving the oil prepoo on for 24hrs - I even went into town with my hair pre-pooing under a conditioning cap and my wooly hat!).  It made my new growth very soft, even softer than when I use JBCO.  I'm really impressed with it!!!  I think I might start sealing my ends with it as the funny thing is I don't mind the smell of the WGO at all now.  I have experienced a heck of a lot worse during this HHJ - namely growth aides which contain sulphur!

4.  I thought long and hard about the whole wash process and tried to ascertain where I could make improvements based on how my hair reacts when it is washed post long term protective style.  I opted to 'dry' shampoo my hair.  It wasn't a traditional dry shampoo, however my aim was to avoid adding water to my hair until the very last minute.  To do this, I stood in front of the mirror and applied Hair One Cleansing Conditioner to my scalp and whilst still in front of the mirror I massaged it in throughly making sure not to unravel the twists.  I then left the cleansing conditioner on my hair for 10 mins before applying warm water to rinse out.  

All seemed well and my hair did not feel matted at all!

5.  Next I did a black tea rinse using an applicator bottle to direct the tea to my scalp. I left it on for 5 minutes before I applied my deep conditioner straight on top of the tea.  I was going to keep it super simple and just use straight up ORS Replenishing Conditioner......but as I had been in a protective style and hadn't washed or deep conditioned during that entire time I decided to treat my hair.  I made up a deep conditioner mix of ORS Replenishing Conditioner, Giovannir 50:50 Balanced Conditioner, Honey, Hemp Seed Oil, Roux Porosity Control and Silk Amino Acid Powder.  I then applied this to my new growth [still in the twists] and then to the ends and lengths of my hair. 

6.  I left the deep conditioner on for 30 mins and went underneath my steamer.  I tried something different with the steamer this time, I sat underneath it with a plastic cap on.  To be honest, his approach seemed a little ridiculous to me, sure a steamer works better without the plastic cap - so you can get the steam coming from the hood to penetrate your hair - but I gave it a go.   For the first 5 mins I went under the steamer without the cap and then once my hair was all steamy and wonderful I put on the cap to trap the steam.  Every so often during the treatment I lifted a corner of the cap so that steam would seep upwards into the cap.  I am so pleased I tried this as I got great results and no dripping from the cap. I got great results and my hair still feels beautifully soft a day later.  Long may it continue.

7.  After getting from under the steamer I left my hair to cool down for 15mins before I rinsed out with tepid water.

8.  I then applied Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk and sealed with some grapeseed oil.  I left this to penetrate before spritzing with Mane & Tail Detangler.  I left this to soak in for a few minutes and then starting at the back section I detangle my hair using my Hercules Sagemann Mini Rake and my Denman Ebonite Comb.  I lost some hair but no way near as much as during my last protective style take down.

Top:  Hair ball to the left is hair lost during take down, hair ball to the right is hair lost during post wash detangling.  Middle: Combined hair lost.  Bottom:  Same at a different angle.

 

9.  I put my hair into 6 two strand twists and headed to bed.  I am bunning today and plan to wear my hair in either one or two French braids for the rest of the week.  I may relax my hair at the end of this week.

Ciao 4 Now