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

Dear Diary, Prepooing with Conditioner, Olive Oil, and Honey.

Dear Diary,
It's my wash weekend, and I wanted to make sure that you knew what I was doing to my hair step by step. Hopefully, I'll be able to show you my regimen the right way, so I'll do separate my actions into different posts.
Plus, I'll be experimenting when I don't like the results, so you'll have lots and lots of things to read.
I wet my hair. Then, I put some olive oil in my hair.Then I put the Creme of Nature Argan Oil Intense Conditioning Treatment, Dr.Miracle's Intense Repair Treatment (or somethhing like that?), and a LOT of honey.
I put my plastic cap over my head, and now, I'm leaving it in for the night.

Because being ratchet is great.

Hair Grade: Hair In Progress, but it's an Oh My Lawd Why, Now: Currently Being Inspected

Signed,

-The Relaxed Haironista

P.S. Thanks so much to http://myblacktresses.tumblr.com/ for reblogging my site on their Tumblr! I REALLY appreciated it. It's brought a few hits to this blog, and I can't thank you enough. Check it out if you're transitioning or natural. It's great for hair inspiration! After all, ALL types of healthy hair should be celebrated. Check it out! 

Dear Diary, When It Rains, Grab Your Rainboots NOT the Flat Iron.=

Dear Diary,
Today was still pretty suckish, BUT it was much better than yesterday. It was still raining, but I got to wear my cute rain boots. My hair looked better, and I felt a little better about things.
I wrapped my hair up last night, and unfortunately, I made the mistake of not brushing the last part of the wrap all the way around my hair. This made my hair look strangely bent and crazy weird, so I did the best that I could to play off my hair woes by taking it back to the elementary level.
I left half of it down with my bang coming down in the front, and then I left the twisted the sides so that it overlapped around my head. I know that you probably don't get that part, but I did take pictures. I took one section of my hair, twisted it, and pinned it in the middle of my hair. I did the same to the other side.
I also sprayed leave in on my hair the night before and sprayed it down with my argan oil hair spray before I went to bed. Then, when I took it down I put some argan oil hair polisher on it.
Here are the pictures of my hair day:

"Haha. Hey guys. I'm cute with the glasses, today. Plus, there's a less creepy glare on them!"

"I look kinda creepy here, but you can see my hair. You see the twist and pin? Behind the bang?"

And these are my fabulous rainboots. They are just so pretty to me. I got them from Charming Charlies a year ago. They really do make me smile. They make rainy days cute. 

Hair Grade: No Fabulosity. No Oh My Lawd Why. Pretty Basic: C-

Signed,

-The Relaxed Haironista.

Dear Diary, My Hair Looked A Mess But I Didn't Use Heat...

Dear Diary,
Today, my hair was looked a hot mess, today. I won't lie.
I had it in this puffy ponytail, with the TINY elastic rubber band. I couldn't find my regular pony tail holders AND my hair was straight up tripping.
The weather here was NOT helping my cause either. It was windy, it was cold, and it was not my day. I missed my 9:00, black folks were looking at me crazy. My school identification managed to fall in some puddle somewhere so I had to walk all over campus to get a new one. PLUS, I was wearing crazy stuff. My umbrella was malfunctioning.
Okay, I'm done ranting.
I was just so devastated, today.
However, work went great, so there's that. A bad day finally managed to get better.
Anyways, I'm going to do what I can to revive my hair. I can't deal with this tomorrow morning. I'd rather deal with some cute little curls.  I might do that, and show you guys tomorrow.

Don't my eyes look crazy creepy right here? Goodness. My nerdy girl raggedy ponytail.

Grade: Oh My Lawd Why: D-

Signed,
-The Relaxed Haironista

Dear Diary, It's My Birthday!

Dear Diary,
Today, I am nineteen years old, and at first, I wasn't going to use heat on my hair. Then, my dad came to take me off campus to go eat, so I had to get halfway cute.
To make a long story short, I ended up using the flat iron. However, I haven't used it since Friday, so I'm okay as long as I don't use it again until Sunday morning.
You guys should know what I do when I flat iron my hair out, but in case you don't.

1. I put my argan oil hair polisher from Creme of nature all over my head.
2. I spray heat protectant from Garnier Fructis through sections of my hair.
3. I flat iron my hair with caution.
4. Then, I'm cute. Well, a little.
5. And no, I didn't use the Instyler (review coming when I do wash day).

Anyway, here's a picture of my birthday hair, and some shots of me making silly faces. My hair doesn't look incredible or whatever, but it was nice:

"Don't laugh. Be a thug on your birthday. Thug it out."

"This mustache necklace makes me look like a hippy. I don't know how to feel about that."

"But it's my birthday, and I'm alive. I'm kinda cute, and I got free stuff, today. I might as well smile for the camera!"

Grade: Minimal Fabulosity: C+

Signed,
-The Relaxed Haironista