Guess Who's Back????????????

Dearest Haironistas,
Hey, you guys!
I know that I've been neglecting the blog, so I was shocked to see that views were going up, and I was even more suprised when I discovered that you all are still checking in to see what's going with the blog. Thank you so much!
Lately, my hair days have been less than satisfactory. I've been tossing it in ponytails. I've been kind of just letting it do it's thing. Of course, the lack of manipulation keeps it growing, but I want to look good while it's doing so.
I would HATE for people to give me the stank eye, like I'm an embarrasment to the African American race because lately...
The struggle is real.
So here are a few pictures of your truly so you all can see what I've been up to since I've basically disappeared. Here you go!

School is stressful.

But...you should still have fun!

Granny curls on deck!

Heeeeeeeeeey.

 

So this morning....

And after work??!!?!?!

And you can caption the others below! But tonight I'll probably put some rollers in  or flexi rods because I can not handle the ohmylawd wahy. Just...no.

Signed,

The Relaxed Possibly Transitioning Haironista.

Stay tuned.....

Back to the Basics.

Dear Diary
Right now, Garnier Fructis has been on IT for my hair. It's kept it soft, and considering how I'm QUICK to ruin my hair over little to nothing I haven't been putting as much heat it.
It's actually been relatively quick these days, especially now that I'm working out, going to class, AND on top of all that, going to school.
It's hard out here I tell ya!
I've also incorporated dry shampoo into my regimen since I've been working out. I'm using the one by Loreal in a purple can without sulfates, and it's done wonders. I haven't even scratched, ya'll. It's the ish.

I'll update soon,
-Ashlyn

Don't Believe Me Just Watch.

Dear Diary,
Even though I originally strayed from my no heat challenge, I have to admit that the results have been more than worth it.
After going to the beauty shop and getting a relaxer (after about almost 4 months of stretching.), my hair has shown tremendous progress. It feels great, and it's finally returning to a length that I recognize. I'm so happy that the things that I am doing are paying off.
Plus, my beautician has come up with her own hair care product. It's a mixture of oils- aloe vera, castor oil, almond oil, mineral oil, mustard oil, vitamin e, and sunflower oil. The clients that have been using it have seen tremendous amounts of growth, and I am hoping that this product will do the same for me.
So stay tuned you guys.

After all,  don't you love seeing me progress?

My Fly Bantu Knot.

Dear Diary,
I have hair FABULOSITY.
My hair looks amazing. AMAZING, okay?
Not only is it moisturized, it's coiled, and puffy. Pretty cute. I don't know if it's prettier because of the fact that I have hella new growth, but I'm satisfied.

No Heat for Two Weeks...But I Had ANOTHER Emergency.

Dear Diary,

For two weeks, I've been avoiding heat...mostly because it's not like I've been doing much except filling out application after application and turning them in. Plus, people love my curly hair way better than when my hair is straight. Makes them remember me better.
Today, however, my mom asked me to go run errands for her, and I'd recently washed my hair after I'd gone swimming with my baby cousins (who splashed me to NO end and attacked me with the glorious water guns conveniently located in the kiddie pool.). So I didn't have time to fix my hair according to the heat guidelines. I flat ironed it out.
However, yesterday when I washed it, I did have to clarify it. There was so much build-up, AND I'd gone swimming in chlorine. I was so happy to feel the difference in my hair afterwards. Plus, the nuAAT Brazillian Intensive Mask (expect a full review soon) did WONDERS on my hair. My hair was so soft as it airdried last night. I KNOW that if I'd have wrapped my hair and sat under the dryer. Just...wow. I was really impressed.
Also, I started working out Thursday. I finally sucked it up. I've been doing pretty well with making sure that I'm active for at least 30 minutes, but see, Subway cookies came through the house...and entered my stomach. And it's two peanut butter cookies in the fridge. Right now.
This is HARD!
However, it was really easy to stop eating fast food. I'm cheap, I'm in college, and I want to save money. Bye, fast food. Plus, all of my friends are either broke or trying to get fit too. Look at us...being fit together.

Signed,
-The Relaxed Haironista

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself...

Dear Diary,
It's been forever since I've logged in and talked about my progress, but um, here I am! I have SO many updates.
First off, I want to apologize for not updating you. I was busy studying for finals, and then, I was just being straight up lazy. However, I'm back and I'm ready to get this party started.
Secondly, I'm sorry, but I broke my heat challenge in May. I used heat like three times a week as soon as May hit, and my hair is behaving like it's been exposed to heat. Ever since I've gotten home, it's been reduced significantly-mostly because I haven't left the house that much.
I did flat iron when I attended the Grizzlies-Spurs game, and guess what? They LOST. I was trying to look cute at a game, and these folks just lost at the end of the game. I wasn't here for it. However, I don't want to quit on my heat challenge. I just want to find a more manageable way of doing so. I should probably start when I go back to school, seeing as though that's when I use the most heat. However, it's the summer, and I've got to find some cute hair styles to maintain my hair.
Thirdly, I'm starting to understand that my hair is not the biggest fan of mousse. It's always so hard for me to wash it out, and I find myself having to use a protein treatment if I use more than one pump of the stuff.
Also, this product junkie found a century old spray from Creme of Nature. I also found some Design Essentials, so expect some reviews.
Also, I've gained some weight you guys, and as some family members not so tactfully suggested, it's not my most attractive feature. Soooooo....I'm gonna start dieting next week, seriously.
So stay tuned...
The Relaxed Haironista is back in action! Thanks for reading, and please feel free to stay tuned.

Adios hairamigos,
-The Relaxed Haironista

Dear Diary, I Just Noticed That I Was Making Progress...

Dear Diary,
I've noticed that my hair HAS been growing. I was looking through my pictures and...there's a little more length. I think.
Either way, I like my hair, and I'm definitely going to keep trying as hard as I can to get healthy hair. Here is the picture of my hair changes these past two months.

Bone Straight relaxed hair.

Five weeks post relaxer, flat ironed.

Product Review: 1st Lather Shampoo by KeraCare

PRODUCT:

1st Lather KeraCare Shampoo

Price: 6.99- 21.00 (depending on where you purchase it. Find it online somewhere. It's cheaper.)

Supposed to:

• Clean hair of oil, dirt, and product build up.
• Help hair absorb conditioners with the second use of Hydrating Shampoo (I didn't use it).
• Rid hair of dryness and dulling film
• Be economical

Alright, I told you guys that I would do a product review on this a while ago, and I am making sure that I am keeping that promise. Since I've gotten my job on campus, things have been really hectic lately, not only because my classes are beginning to wrap up. I've been running around making sure I have everything taken care of for Fall 2013. Good luck to the Class of 2017 coming in. You'll need it.

Now, 1st Lather Keracare shampoo does a great job of eliminating all product and dirt from the hair. It doesn't leave my hair feeling stripped afterwards, but it does leave my hair feeling clean after that 1st lather. It suds up on your hair, and it definitely does rid the dulling film from your hair.

As far as helping hair absorb conditioners, I didn't see a huge difference, but that could be because I didn't use the Hydrating Shampoo that I was instructed to use on the bottle. My hair wasn't dry after the wash either. It actually came out pretty soft, but I do think that was because of my prepoo with honey. I'm not sure if I can accredit that to this shampoo. Sorry.

As far as economics is concerned, I have noticed that for me, it's pretty expensive in stores. Maybe others don't experience this problem, but I know that it's hard for me to find quality, inexpensive shampoos. I'm cheap as you might know, so spending thirteen dollars on a medium sized bottle of shampoo is not always just going to sit well with me. However, if you try looking in retail stores such as JcPenny or even just looking online, I have found that they sell KeraCare products for a low price. 

I LOVE KeraCare products. They leave my hair feeling nice and smooth. My grandmother has used them on my aunt's hair, my cousin's hair, and my hair. I know for a fact that they do promote healthy hair growth and that the products typically function as promised on the hair. If you are questioning purchasing them, please feel free to do so. 

The 1st Lather Shampoo from their line does quite well. Since you only use it once, I could see how it would be economical, but since it does not function alone, I will have to say that this is the only possible broken promise that I can concretely note. I would buy this product again. I just wouldn't purchase it for 13.00 at Wal Mart ever again.

Grade for this product: B+

Dear Diary, It's Day Eight of The No Heat Challenge.

Dear Diary,
My hair is so itchy, and I'm really starting to regret not washing it. I've tried greasing my scalp with olive oil, but the itch just won't leave. I'm going to give it a few days to tough it out, but I really might just quit and wash it.
I might try to put some tea tree oil in my hair. I've heard that it can calm the itch down. Also, I'll probably do a product review this week.
Nevertheless, my hair looks pretty nice. Plus, I have a feeling that it's going to be pretty soft when I wash it. My hair is doing pretty well, AND the new growth is coming in so that I have something to manage it with.
My hair will be straight next week though. Then, I'll have to figure out a way to wash things every week.
That's it for the update....
Here are a few pictures of my hair today...

Haha. Hey.

It's so fluffy!

I don't know...

Haha. my eyes are so intense here. I love it.

Hair Grade: Fluffy Fabulosity: A-

Signed,

-The Relaxed Haironista.

Dear Diary, It's Day Six of the No Heat Challenge And...

Dear Diary,
Even though I was REALLY tempted to use heat on my hair today. I'm happy to report that I did NOT. After suffering from a bad hair morning, I went back into my hair and greased my scalp with 100% Olive Oil, spraying on some leave-in, and letting a SMALL amount of water get onto my hair. My curls are now reset, and they look so much better than they did this moring.
Normally, just doing a little bit work can protect ones hair from heat. If you're participating in the hair challenge with me, I just wanted to let you know that it's really easy to get discouraged. Your hair won't always do what you want it to do, but that's its way of letting you know what to do. Think of your hair's setbacks as advice.
"Hey, don't do this to me anymore."
Thinking of it that way will really help you out. I promise.

Okay, so this is cute, and you can see the front.

The slick left side pose.

The slick right side pose.

And this is the end result.

Hair Grade: Minimal Fabulosity: B+

Signed,
-The Relaxed Haironista

P.S. Wash day is next week. Haha. I have way too much going on this week for me to even attempt to begin washing this out.

Dear Diary, It's Day Five of My Heat Challenge Day and Day Four of My Readers...

Dear Diary,
This is just an update.
I LOVE the granny curls for my heat challenge. They've actually gotten a lot of compliments, AND my hair's health is already improving. I think it loves Motions Leave in with plain old olive oil the best. Even though I'm definitely going to explore other styles for my hair,
Here's a few pictures of me, today in my curls. Haha.

Curly Marilyn Monroe Granny Curls With Satin Rollers Photoshoot:

I don't know what's up with one side of my hair sticking up like that...but....

I'm cute.

Don't know what I was looking at.

Thug with a bow on her shirt.

Have a great Friday!

Hair Grade: Average Decency: C-

Signed,

-The Relaxed Haironista

The Official Relaxed Haironista Heat Challenge Guidelines

The Official Relaxed Haironista Heat Challenge Guidelines

1. Participants will reduce direct heat usage (flat irons, blow dryers, curling irons, etc..) by only utilizing it ONCE every two weeks.
2. Participants may use forms of indirect heat (the hair dryer)  TWICE within the span of two weeks.
3. Participants must also be prepared for "Oh My Lawd Why!" ( please refer to the Haironista Dictionary).
4. Participants may record their progress as motivation.
5. Participants may also share this post with others.
6. This challenge will last from April 9, 2013- June 9, 2013. Participants are STRONGLY encouraged to keep track of their experiences during the heat challenge. Prizes will be given to participants at the end of the challenge.

So, who's game? I know I am!

Dear Diary, Day One of the Heat Challenge, The Granny Curls, and My BEAUTIFUL Sunglasses

Dear Diary,
Today was the very first day of my two month heat challenge. I told you guys that I was going to rock  granny curls for the next two months, and I was gonna show you guys the results from the satin rollers I put in my head last night.
I took them down this morning, and I finger combed my way through them. If you want a more Marilyn Monroe effect (as my high school friends called it) from them you just take a comb or a brush through the bangs, and  you manipulate it to your liking.

Here is the result of my hard labor.

This is how my hair looked when I took it down, and yes, those are my sunglasses. Cute, huh?

And the curls are actually pretty soft and manageable right now, but it's still the first day.

Hair Grade: Minimal Fabulosity: B+

Signed,

-The Relaxed Haironista

Dear Diary, Granny Curls And The Heat Challenge.... Let Us Pray.

Dear Diary,

Since it's finally warming up around these here parts, I decided to create my own heat challenge. That's right folks. For at the next two months, I won't be using heat at all, or at least, I can only use once every two weeks if my hair just looks that awful. 

I won't lie. I'm really, really afraid to put away my flat irons. It's terrifying to think that I won't be able to instantly fix my hair problems or that I won't have great hair days. As a matter of fact, I'm freaking out RIGHT now.

I'm probably going to invest in some more flexi rods AND satin rollers (half of those things have disappeared, I swear). I'll also try bantu knotting and all of that, but I'm scared! Plus, I don't know what I'm going to do because rolling my hair is tough on my edges. However, something tells me that I'm going to figure it out. Doing this before helped my hair grow back in the day, and I can handle it again for at least the summer.

 With that said, I'm starting off my no heat challenge (April 8, 2013- June 8, 2013) with granny curls. I greased my scalp with olive oil and some coconut oil grease (petroleum oil), sprayed on some leave-in and a little hair polisher and combed it through so that my hair would be soft and manageable. I don't think you guys have seen how these curls usually look, but if done correctly, they actually look pretty cute on me, so I'm cool with it...for now.

Emphasis on FOR NOW.

Signed, 

-The Relaxed Haironista

P.S If you want to join my no heat challenge, feel free to comment or to just do so. We're all in this healthy hair journey together! 

P.P.S. Yes, that's a crazy straw cup behind me. Don't judge my cute little cup. And thanks for reading, people. I LOVE you guys!

Dear Diary, A Little Fabulosity FromThis Morning...

Dear Diary,
I flat ironed my hair as usual, and I even took pictures. After it air dried over night in a wrap, I took it down and placed my hair in six sections and carefully curled each one so that it had plenty of body.
The Results are photographed below:

It's so fluffy!

And I did my nails...

And I have no idea what's going on here...

But I love this shot of me!

Hair Grade: Fabulosity No Fried Dyed or Laid To The Side Though: B+

Signed,

-The Relaxed Hairista

Dear Diary, Two Shampoos, Two Conditioners, One Happy Haironista

Dear Diary,

Today, I woke up and washed out my prepoo from the previous night. I LOVED the results from it so much that I'll have to go put the pictures of what I used yesterday night. It was incredibly soft and detangled when I washed it. Plus, it remained soft after I washed it!

I also washed my hair with 1st Lather Shampoo from Keracare and Joico's smoothing shampoo. I used the Keracare once. Then, I rinsed and repeated with Joico three times because my hair had a little excess buildup in the back.

After washing, I pulled out my giant bottle of Fortifying Argan Oil conditioner from Garnier Fructis. It's not as good as the Deep Conditioning treatment, but combined with the power of my Creme of Nature Argan Oil Intense Conditioning Treatnent, honey and a little olive oil, I found myself with INCREDIBLY soft hair. I'm such a product junkie, and I love mixing conditioners together just to see what will happen. This was such a great result. My hair feels amazing, and I'm excited to see how my hair will look when I flat iron it tomorrow morning.

I sprayed my leave-in conditioner on top of my hair. I also sealed my hair with olive oil, and now, I'm letting it air dry all day. When it's damp, I'll wrap it around my head for the night. Then, I'll take it down in the morning since I'm not going anywhere today. Once it's flat ironed and fabulous, I'll take some pictures of it, and sometime tomorrow, I'll be able to show you guys the final results of my relaxing labor.

Now, I'm off to study and all of that, but before I go....

Photoshoot Time!!!!

I'm serving haironista realness in this photo of my hair dry. Ya'll ain't ready.

I don't know what I was doing, but my hair actually is still kind of wet.

My smile. And my air drying hair.

Now, turn your head to the left.

Now turn your head to the right.

Now lean foward.

The back of my hair, and YES, I have layers. Haha.

I don't know, but the look on my face is pretty funny.

Nope, can't seem to care.

I'm unfabulously fabulous. Haha.

I was looking at my dad when I snapped this. Pay me no mind.

Hair Grade: STILL In Progress

Signed,
-The Relaxed Haironista