APL!?! APL?!? Yes! ARM PIT LENGTH!!

Shut...yo...MOUFFFFF!!!!! Ok. Before I go on, lemme tell you how hard it was for me to take these pictures. I had to enlist the help of my hubby to take the third one.  It's hard for me to tell how long my hair actually is without flat ironing it. I don't want to flat iron it... i just don't, mmk? So I try to see my progress when my hair is wet. I have my new pink length t-shirt so I can actually SEE where it ends.  Makes sense?

Even still, I'm not as  flexible as some of my other sisters who can reach back there and pull their hair to take a pic....and I didn't think my hair was long enough anyway....although some of those sistas was doing the doggone thang at shoulder length. O_o.

In the first pic, I'm fresh out of the shower and threw my length tee on to take a pic, keeping my head straight forward (no cheating...leaning back and carrying on...I mean, I'm pretty sure I could reach and claim booty length if I bent back enough) CLICK! So, I see my hair is not only hitting the 3 mark (middle pic) on my tee, but it's growing in a "V" shape (first pic). The shape is no matter for me because when it dries and shrinks, it looks uniform.

Buuut....I want to know how long it actually is. So here comes hubby, since I said please and asked so nicely :).  He said my hair fell at the 5 mark. I'm like for real? Then I asked him if he can see if it falls at my armpits. He was like, "Uh-huh, it's past your armpits." I'm freaking out.  Like for real? Already?

Yay!!!!! I tried to take a pic with my arms out so you could see it that way, but when I lifted my arms, the tee lifted as well....dernit. So I guess next thing I have to invest in is a sleeveless length tee because I really do want ya'll to see it real well.  Or I can make one, but I'll need help...we'll see...BAH! And ain't nobody over here getting half naked to show some apl so....yeah. Trust, I ain't claiming nothing that ain't there. I want real progress. I'm on a friggin mission baybee! Who said texturized hair won't grow long? Tuh!

Anyway, I'm stoked! *happy dance* \0/!!!!!!!  Come on and dance with me!!! Ha cha-cha-cha-chaaaaaa!

ONWARD TO BSL!!!

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Texturized Hair! What I've Learned So Far...

Some of you have been keeping up with me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and know that this past December I got a TEXTURIZER!  Not an actual texturizer kit, but just a regular lye relaxer (Affirm) that was put in and almost immediately rinsed out, not smoothed out or left to process fully.  The end result: TEXTURIZED CURLS.  Some would call it texlaxed. Call it whatever you like :) However, I am still a curly girl :) !

Before and after the texturizer :)

Checking out the shrinkage....about 3 weeks before texturizing

Anyhew, I'm coming up on my 12 week stretch (March 28th officially) and am reflecting on what has and has not worked for me since returning to the creamy crack. <-- snicker="">

• Cowashing is my BFF!!!!

I never, EVER thought I would fall in love with cowashing again.  For real.  I have been cowashing almost daily.  I know that sounds nuts, but seriously, that's the best way for me to give my hair a quick moisturizing. I do this in the shower in the morning, then when I get out, I apply my leave in (or sometimes leave in some of the rinse out conditioner) and seal with oil
(currently grapeseed oil).  My hair stays moisturized all day into the next day.  And it took no time to do it.  Which leads me to this next point...

• I STILL have to moisurize DAILY. :-/

Although jumping in the shower and wetting my head is simple, sometimes I'd rather not.  So when I think about it, I'll apply some moisturizer at night, seal with oil and go to bed with my satin bonnet.  HOWEVER, if I forget, you best believe my head is getting wet the next morning.  I cannot go a day without moisturizing my hair.  This was the same case when I was natural.  I could sometimes (with a lot of extra effort) get 3 and 4 day hair before re-moisturizing.  Now I can get maybe 2nd day hair successfully, depending on what I did the day before (if I left in my rinse-out conditioner, added ecostyler gel to the mix, pretty much CGM'ing).  Even still what I have to do to get 2nd day hair only takes about 5 minutes after showering as opposed to an hour and a half to get 3rd day hair.  I'll take it. I'll take it, take it, take it.  No problem mayne.

When I was relaxed/texlaxed previously, I could easily get away with moisturizng every other day.  So I'm thinking that since my hair is still quite curly, that's where the moisture monster is coming from.  I could've attributed it to the texturizer, BUT I didn't use a texturizer, or a no-lye product.  I used a mild lye relaxer. Hmm...

Side note:  I used to beg to be able to be one of those natural haired sistas who could get 7th day hair.  One chica said she wore twists for a week, then wore a twist out for the second week for 14 day hair.  That was amazing.  However, my hair was a moisture glutton, so 7th day hair meant dry, crispy and breaking by day 7.  I had to moisturize daily. *meh* Everybody's hair is different. 

• Heavy pomades, puddings and gels MUST be used sparingly.

I learned that if I wanted to use a product for curl clumping or definition, this would mean scrunching.  The weight of these products turned my curls to waves and made my waves straight.  However, SHRINKAGE still exists hunnies!  I'm for real.  So heavy product and all, my curls were gonna shrink back up.  Even so, if I get heavy handed, I could end up with sections less curlier than I desired   Eco Styler Gel is my homie, but the ones I use have serious hold /stiffness.  I combat that by applying oil on top of it.  So it dries soft, not stiff and still has real hold.

• Shampoo is totally unncessary.

I've found that even the gentle sulfate free shampoos leave my hair feeling stripped.  My precious KeraCare Hydrating Detangling shampoo and my Giovanni 50/50 disappointed as these were two shampoos I LOVED when I was relaxed.  But my hair isn't fully relaxed, it's still very curly, (my natural hair didn't care for either of these poos at all) so I'm guessing this is why it doesn't care for shampoos anymore.  I shampooed from time to time when I was natural, but it was a different all natural shampoo.  Downside is I could only get it online and I'm trying to stock products that I can find around town.  Sigh.  BUT, seeing as though cowashing is working well for me, shampoos may just get kicked to the curb.  Of course I may need to clarify once in a while and chelate because I live in a hard water area, but that's no problem.  Both of those poos will do the trick.   

• I STILL get SSK's!!! But not as much as before.

GOSH DIGGITY DERNIT!!  One of the things that annoyed the heck outta me when I was natural was single strand knots (SSK's/Fairy Knots).   I should have known it wouldn't have made a difference now from then.  That's my fault for getting my hopes up.  Curly hair or curly hair styles increase your chances of getting them dang blasted fairy knots.  And because I don't keep my hair in a stretched state like I used to...I get them.  Also, daily WNG (wash n go) contributes to the madness.  But, the upside is, I don't get them nearly as much as I did when I was natural.  So that's wonderful, but still a pain in the derriere.

• Detangling my hair is rediculously simple and quick.

I mean really.  I'm here going on 11 weeks post and it still only takes me 5-10 minutes to moisturize, seal and style my hair in the morning (vs over an hour at night - natural hair days).  I detangle in the shower, which takes like maybe 4 minutes total because my hair isn't really tangly.  Once the water hits it, most of the tangles leave and adding the conditioner to it first makes the session fly by.  When I rinse, or partially rinse, I'm virtually tangle free.  Loving that.  But 11 weeks post and detangling my roots with ease?  I'm skerred... like I'm waiting for the other boot to drop.  I mean, is this too good to be true? Lol!  We shall see.  You know I'll keep you posted.

OVERALL:
I've learned that I really (finally) don't have to do much to my hair for it to be styled.  I used to spend so much time twisting, braiding, bantu-ing at night to achieve the curly look I wanted.  Now, I've gotten so used to my plain texturized curls, that I hardly ever style my hair another way outside of putting it in a bun.  And I'm retaining length like a big dog.  Woop-woop! My hair days are easy peasy now.  With the crazy schedule I keep, I am VERY satisfied. :)

I read all the comments via google from people discouraging those who wished to go from natural to texturized.  All the stuff like: "You're hair will always be dry." , "That's dumb, you might as well get a relaxer." <---- about="" p="" that....="">
But really, I'm having no dryness 'issues".  The daily moisturizing requirement is the same as when I was natural, only I don't have to spend so much time moisturizing and detangling.  My hair is always "lush." LOL! And get a relaxer?  Well, I did.  I just didn't leave it in, hence, the curliness...which is exactly what I wanted. That's why I toggle back and forth between calling myself "texturized" or "texlaxed".  I don't really think there's much difference, but tomato/tomato (toe-may-toe / toe-mah-toe). Whatev.  I am enjoying my hair in its present state!

By no means am I knocking my natural hair or natural hair in general.  I loved my natural hair.  If you want to know why I left natural hair and went texturized, click here.  Would you believe that there are some people who really quit talking to me because I'm not natural anymore?  Really, it's not that serious.  It's hair.  It's my hair.  It's my choice and I love it.  It's my journey and I strive to have a happy one.  If I love it, that's really all that matters.  And if you wanna wear your hair fried, dyed and laid to the side and you like it, well then I love it.   Have a HAPPY hair journey.  Do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.  That's what it's all about!


WHAT'S NEXT??
SO! I'm going back and forth with the idea of doing my own touch up.  I'm not confident about it because I've never texturized my own hair before.  Some say it's easy, but am I really willing to chance it?  If I don't move fast enough, it'll come out straight and I'll be HOT. Not hott....HOT! So, I may just go back to the beautician who put in the virgin relaxer (texlax/texturizer/whatev).  The virgin was only $40.  So maybe a touch up would be less if we went by the traditional relaxer/relaxer touch up prices?  I dunno.  Guess I need to just ask huh? LOL!

PLUS...I'm going on 12 weeks post relaxer next week and am not feeling like I need a touch up just yet.  My new growth is coming in beautifully and playing so nicely with my texturized curls.  I'm wondering if I can go 16 weeks (4 months).  Heck how about 24 weeks (6 months)?  Chile please, do you know how sah-weet that would be to only need to touch up twice a year?  We shall soon see eh?  Stick with me on this new part of my hair journey.  This is gonna be an interesting ride!

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Winterize Your Hair Pt.3 - Using Heat Tools

Although you may be tempted to go for that "sleek", straight look this winter, proceed with caution. Especially if you are on a journey to longer, healthier hair where length retention is a must!

There's nothing wrong with blow drying or flat ironing in the colder months. However, you want to make sure you don't overdo it and that you take the necessary precautions to avoid dryness and breakage.  Remember dryness = breakage and breakage = loss of length.  We don't want dryness!

So, if our goal is moisture retention for length retention, what to we do if we want to wear our hair straight?  Well, for starters, you may want to beef up your deep conditioning frequency in the winter time.  I find that increasing my deep conditioning sessions from once per week to twice per week, helps to keep my hair well moisturized.  Also, cowashing instead of shampooing can also help with moisture retention.  I would still use my shampoo (sulfate free only), but instead of weekly, I'll change that to bi-weekly (every other week) in the fall/winter months.  Adding a leave in conditioner is an absolute must for me when striving to keep my hair well moisturized.  Add products that contain humectants to your regimen.  These will help you to grab more moisture for your hair.

With any type of manipulation (combing, brushing, running fingers in your hair, twisting, braiding) you lose a little bit of protein.  If you are chemically processed, you've lost more protein already than if you were natural.  Add color treatment, more protein lost. Add HEAT into the mix and lose more protein!  In any case, protein is very essential to preventing distress to your strands.  Adding a protein treatment to your regimen before you blow dry/flat iron will help to minimize loss of protein by adding some resilience to your hair.  Loss of too much protein will lead to breakage as well and we don't want that!

Whether blow drying first, or air drying then flat ironing, you need to protect those strands from the direct heat as much as possible.  The most helpful aids? Heat protectants!  Heat protectants help to prevent full heat transfer to the cortex of you hair.  Check out The Natural Haven Bloom for the deeper science of it all. (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE-LOVE THIS BLOG SITE)  Using heat causes degradation of your hair's protein.  Heat protectants help to prevent physical damage and breakage during flat ironing /blow drying by coating the hair strands.  Excellent heat protectants will contain ingredients such as dimethicone or other silicones.  There are some claims that some natural oils, such as grape seed oil, may be good heat protectants due to their high smoke point.  I choose to use a regular store bought heat protectant though.  Just to be safe.

Your dryer/flat iron setting has a lot to do with your hair's thickness. If your hair is fine, you should choose a lower setting, however, thick hair doesn't necessarily mean you should go heat crazy and choose the highest settings. Remember, water naturally evaporates, even from hair.  The more moisture that leaves your hair, the drier it becomes.  Adding any type of heat increases the level of evaporation.  Even if you use a heat protectant, if you overdo it with heat, you will dry out your hair.  Remember, dryness can and often does lead to breakage.  Breakage defeats length retention.

You want to minimize your heat usage as much as possible in the winter time.  If you live in a cold climate, like myself, you most likely have your heat on in your house and car.  Indoor heating also contributes to sucking the moisture from your hair.  Please know I am not saying freeze you patooties off for the sake of long hair! Lol!  I'm just saying, keep that fact tucked in the back of your mind the next time you consider reaching for the flat iron or blow dryer.

Take the winter season as an opportunity to practice your wet setting techniques.  Sitting under a hood dryer is safer than directly applying heat to your hair via flat iron/blow dryer, although it is still heat.  And whatever you do, please be sure your head is completely dry before you walk out of the house. (That's a mama speaking.)  Or to play it safe, wear protective styles in the chilly season.

There you have it!  That's all I can tell you about heat in the chilly season.  If I think of anything else, I will surely update you.  Ciao Bellas!

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Enough About ME!! How're YOU Doin on YOUR Journey? Get FEATURED!

I know you're probably tired of hearing about me. I get tired of hearing about me all the time. Blah, blah, blah, BLAH. Let's hear about YOU! You're on a happy hair journey too, right? I mean, why else would you be following this blog? SO, tell me about you! How are you doing on this Hair Journey of yours? We're on this journey together! Answer these questions below and get FEATURED ON happyhairjourney.com!

1. What's your name?
2. Are you relaxed, natural, texturized, etc.?
3. What have your greatest challenges been with your hair?
4. What do you love about your hair?
5. What bugs you about your hair?
6. What are your favorite products to use in your hair?
7. How does your typical wash day drama play out?
8. What is the most important thing you've learned on your hair journey thus far?

CLICK HERE to GET FEATURED!

I would love to hear about your journey. Shucks, let's compare notes okay? Be sure to leave your blog/website/YouTube/Twitter/Instagram information so we can all stay connected and stuff!

Ciao Bellas!!

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Clarifying VS. Chelating: What do they mean and what's the difference?

**I posted this a few years ago on Hairlista and just realized I didn't post this info here! Smh. This is why I always save a copy of all my blogs and everything....ok, not the reason. The real reason is because my computer used to be prone to glitching and kicking me off in the middle of writing...>_<. Thank God For upgrades. ANYHEW...without further adieu...**

Clarifying your hair and chelating are both important. Clarifying is important especially if you use a lot of product and have some buildup. A good clarifying shampoo will remove all that gunk and give your hair a fresh start. It's powerful though, so most people use it only once every 3-4 weeks.

A chelating shampoo is especially crucial for people who use no lye relaxers as most of these leave calcium deposits on the hair. It's also beneficial to those who live in hard water areas. These deposits over time can cause the hair to look dull, feel and look dry and eventually break.

Here are some definitions of the two.

Clarifying Shampoo  {[according to the Beauty Brains}:

What it is:
This is the easy one: clarifying is just another way to say “deep cleansing.”
What to look for:
There’s really nothing special about this type of product. Look for basic, cleansing system without any added conditioners. If you see things like Dimethicone, Polyquaternium-7 or Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, on the label, the formula will probably deposit conditioners on your hair that you don’t want if you’re trying to clarify.
Examples:
KMS Clarifying Shampoo
Icon Energy Clarifying Shampoo

[I also added to the list:]
Pantene Pro-V Purity Clarifying Shampoo
Ion Clarifying Shampoo

Chelating Shampoo {from BV Hair talk}:

Chelate means "claw" in latin. If we look closely at the chemical structure of chelators, we would see that they have these tiny claw-like branches.These branches grab and attach themselves to calcium and magnesium ions found in water. An abundance of these ions results in "hard water" and cause soap film (which is what we find all over our shower walls and bath tubs).
This film also prevents shampoos from lathering and leaves the hair dull, hard and coated. A chelating shampoo will prevent the film from depositing on the hair shaft and restore shine and luster to the hair. Some find them to be a bit stripping so it's best to use them once or twice a month.

• Some Great Chelating Shampoos:
• Joico K-Pak Chelating Shampoo - $9.99 (Unsure because I didn't see any chelating ingredients, yet "chelating" is in the name of the product. *scratches head*)
• Lanza Swim and Sun Daily Chelating Shampoo - $18.99
• Kenra Chelating Shampoo - $8.99

[I also added to this list]:

• Nexxus Aloe Rid
• ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo
• Ion Hard Water Shampoo
• Ion Clarifying Shampoo
• ElastaQP Creme Conditioning Shampoo (Sulfate Free!)
• Pantene Pro-V Purity Clarifying Shampoo (Both clarifying and chelating!)
• KeraCare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo (Sulfate free!)

When trying to find a chelating shampoo the key ingredients to look for is EDTA, Citric Acid or Phytic Acid. (normally you'll see Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, or something similar).

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My Texturized / Texlaxed Hair 360

This is a clip that I meant to add to my previous update (as if it wasn't already long enough) to show you all my new texture all over after texlaxing. ENJOY!

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No Longer Natural! From Natural to Texturized/Texlaxed and Why!

This vid update is 15 MINUTES LONG. So get comfy, and have your snacks handy. Take your bathroom break and stuff! Lol!

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Happy New Year from HappyHairJourney.com!

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