The Residence of JcanAlena79: MISSION MAJOR CHOP ACCOMPLISHED!!!

great recovery!

Well good grief you and your friend did an amazing job!!! Your hair looks fuller and it has GREAT shape! I'm mad that she messed up so drastically. I don't get it but you have some nice length still and your hair looks beautiful!

bholmes87 wrote:Well good grief you and your friend did an amazing job!!! Your hair looks fuller and it has GREAT shape! I'm mad that she messed up so drastically. I don't get it but you have some nice length still and your hair looks beautiful!

Thanks! The fullness was because we teased it out so much with the cutting, but I actually love my hair like that - a big curly halo :-).

Having an okay hair day today after waking up with white flakes EVERYWHERE!!! I'm wondering if it is the Denman brush?? I know that sounds weird, but every time I use the brush to distribute product I end up having white stuff all over my hair the next morning. Unsure though, b/c last night I went overboard on product and mixed things that weren't normally mixed (Kid's Organics/water/glycerin mix; Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in; MJ Curly Meringue) so that could also have been the problem. Note to self: Choose between KO/water/glycerin mix and Cantu Leave-in ... I think both was a bit much. Needless to say, when I woke up this morning I had to get back into the shower and spend forever shampooing out the white stuff . I just ended up keeping it simple and just putting my the KO/H2O/glycerin and my shea butter/oils mix. That was around 7am. It's now almost noon. Why is my hair still damp??!!

I get flakes if I use too many products - I learned that (embarrassing) lesson years ago. I stick to a rule of three now and I only use 1 thing to style when possible - I break this rule only for roller sets.

ChrsLvsBks wrote:Hmmm , I thought I commented on recovered haircut. You and your friend did a great job of recovering it.

As for your white flakes, it could be the products. Cantu does not work well with non-water based products underneath. Hopefully you find out why it is happening.

Karen Body Beautiful's hair milk helps my hair dry fast. Damp 5 hours later is not uncommon for some. How long does your hair take to dry typically?

I've never timed it before, but I'm very tempted to locate my old hair dryer and buy a diffuser attachment b/c even though summer is coming, I hate having a wet head.

I'm still not loving my hair lately ... the pic from Sunday is the best it's looked and I LOVED how big and shapley it was. But ... it just ended up like that after my friend and I cut it. It hasn't looked that way since and I really don't know how to recreate it. I don't know if it was shrinkage, or the teasing, or what... But in my experience the only time my hair shinks up a ton is when it's super-dry. I'm just really frustrated and feeling really unattractive. I may be going to a spiritual retreat out of town and I'm really, really, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY fighting the urge to whip out the flat iron right now ... I know it's a "spiritual" retreat and I shouldn't be thinking about my looks ...

Aww I am sorry you are not happy with your hair. What products are you using? List them along with your routine. I know my sista will be able to help you. Curl power Activate!!!

sweetdrk1 wrote:Aww I am sorry you are not happy with your hair. What products are you using? List them along with your routine. I know my sista will be able to help you. Curl power Activate!!!

Agreed! We will unite our powers and help the best that we can!

tiashauntee wrote:

sweetdrk1 wrote:Aww I am sorry you are not happy with your hair. What products are you using? List them along with your routine. I know my sista will be able to help you. Curl power Activate!!!

Agreed! We will unite our powers and help the best that we can!

*smile* @ "Curl power activate"

Last cleanse was Monday morning due to the Sunday night mishap. I shampood w/ Everyday Shea shampoo and Conditioned with Aussie Moist. I rinsed w/ Roux Porosity Control b/c my hair was feeling dry and then rinsed that out. I really only put two products in my hair post cleanse:

1) 1/2 bottle Kid's Organics Moisturizing and Detangling Lotion, 1/4 bottle water, 1/4 bottle veg glycerin

2) Shea mixture (I whip some shea butter w/avocado, almond, and coconut oil)

I use #1 as my water-based moisturizer and #2 as my oil-based/cream moisturizer. I don't leave conditioner in my hair.

Oh ... I just bought Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in, but the first time I used it, I used it as my water-based moisturizer, I didn't add it to the existing products. (The second time was the time there were a ton of products involved and I washed everything out).

ChrsLvsBks wrote:Hello there, I am sorry you are frustrated. Let's see how we can help. You may want to use fewer products to get the volume you desire. Using too many may cause your hair to get weighed down. You could try using only a moisturizer after you cleanse. Add a light oil to seal in the moisture and see what happens. Another option would be to try to set it after dry using twists or braids. CurlyNikki does this, and you see how much volume she achieves.

I hope you feel better about your hair soon. Here's something to brighten your day .

Thanks a bunch ChrsLvsBks . I usually do set it w/ medium to large twists. Monday was the first time I did a WnG in a while ... and it was only b/c I had the white stuff disaster.

I tried just the water-based moisturizer and sealed with castor oil ... disaster. The oil just sat on my hair ... I had to rinse it out.

Wow! I am catching up! i didnt know you had a thread! Your hair is gorgegous! You are definitely my inspiration for length. That sucks about the Devacut bc I so want one . Who is the lady in the first picture her hair is FAB..you did a good job on your hair too!

I would suggest incorporating a deep conditioner, especially after using a shampoo. I use/have used your #1 & #2...so I do feel like those should have caused you any problems.

tiashauntee wrote:I would suggest incorporating a deep conditioner, especially after using a shampoo. I use/have used your #1 & #2...so I do feel like those should have caused you any problems.

Sorry, forgot to mention that: I DC'd Sunday night w/ protein DC, then a moisturizing DC.

MahoganyCurls wrote:Wow! I am catching up! i didnt know you had a thread! Your hair is gorgegous! You are definitely my inspiration for length. That sucks about the Devacut bc I so want one . Who is the lady in the first picture her hair is FAB..you did a good job on your hair too!

Aww thanks ... I'm sure you will well surpass me in length ... you're my inspiration for health - your curls always seem like they are so alive and luvin' life, lol!!!

CURLS POWER ACTIVATE UNITE INDEED

I had the white stuff in hair experience about a month ago. Some products just don't play well with others I found out the hard way!!!

jcanalena79 wrote:

tiashauntee wrote:I would suggest incorporating a deep conditioner, especially after using a shampoo. I use/have used your #1 & #2...so I do feel like those should have caused you any problems.

Sorry, forgot to mention that: I DC'd Sunday night w/ protein DC, then a moisturizing DC.

Have you ever experienced dryness like this before? Are any of the products you use new to your hair?

Correct me if I am wrong...but doesn't Roux decrease the hair's porosity after chemical treatments? This makes me wonder if the Roux and protein was too much at one time.

tiashauntee wrote:

jcanalena79 wrote:

tiashauntee wrote:I would suggest incorporating a deep conditioner, especially after using a shampoo. I use/have used your #1 & #2...so I do feel like those should have caused you any problems.

Sorry, forgot to mention that: I DC'd Sunday night w/ protein DC, then a moisturizing DC.

Have you ever experienced dryness like this before? Are any of the products you use new to your hair?

Correct me if I am wrong...but doesn't Roux decrease the hair's porosity after chemical treatments? This makes me wonder if the Roux and protein was too much at one time.

Oh, my hair wasn't dry as in "lack of moisture". I guess I wasn't clear ... I'm sorry ... I tend to ramble sometimes. I just mentioned that the only time I get the kind of shrinkage that I like for my hair's shape to show is when my hair is super-dry. The only other time it happened when it was well-moisturized was on Sunday due to the teasing when my friend and I were cutting it. It's actually thanks to the Roux and co-washing that my hair has been able to retain more moisture. So much so, actually, that it was overly so, hence the protein treatment to create balance.

Okay .... I know it's been a while and I do have a lot to update.

As I mentioned before, I've been having some FUNKY hair days - like HATING my hair kinda hair days ... ended up flat ironing it for the retreat (this girl at work did it BUT the iron was on "hades x10" and had shea butter and oils, etc. in my hair from wearing it curly that day) - it only lasted two days, then I ended up co-washing the last day of the retreat. My hair was big (which I like), it had no shape and was a H.A.M. If my pics didn't have other ppl in them, I'd post them to show you the complete disaster that was on my head. Washed last night and noticed what I'd feared after Friday's flat iron massacre - f'in heat damage. I'm not cutting any more off ... just did a treatment tonight and I'm buying salon sized Nexxus Emergencee and this dominican garlic treatment and am just gonna be going very low-maint. for the next couple of weeks. I did a bun yesterday for work. I flat twisted last night and took it out this morning. I plan to keep it for as long as it looks decent ... and might get some accessories and do an actual *style* for my grandmother's 80th Sat. night.

Messy flat twist pics (I have no skills in this arena)




This one is a really good shot of the completely different texture in the middle/crown of my head


After being taken out ... the flat twist-out (it was still damp (b/c my hair takes forEVER to dry so I just undid the twists and left it to dry. I didn't want to finger rake/style until it completely dried. May post pics of completely dry later this evening)






My prayer is that it gets bigger as the days go on ... which is why I don't retwist at night.

OMG! Your flat twistout is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * Drooling right now....

MahoganyCurls wrote:OMG! Your flat twistout is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * Drooling right now....

Agreed!

tiashauntee wrote:

MahoganyCurls wrote:OMG! Your flat twistout is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * Drooling right now....

Agreed!

AGREED X2

AWESOME flat twists! I can barely braid, maybe one day I'll learn to do something like that. Lol. The twist out was banging! Especially in pic 5.

Intelligentbeauty wrote:

tiashauntee wrote:

MahoganyCurls wrote:OMG! Your flat twistout is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * Drooling right now....

Agreed!

AGREED X2

Add me to the list while you're at it!! So what you're saying is you don't have to be the best flat twister to get STELLAR results? If that's the case then I'll be doing your "messy" flat twists and I'll be in business!!!!
It looks gorgeous and the shine is crazy