Current Progress

Alert! Alert! I've returned to blogging!

I have been MIA in the months of March/April due to work (March Madness) and having a crazy spring schedule filled with weddings, parties, birthdays etc. All great fun, but leaves me little time to update my current status on my HHJ. So with that said, lets proceed :)...I must say that I have been a bad girl to my hair. I have kept up with wash days once a week but I've used heat now 2x a week for two weeks in a row! Crap! All of these events have caused me to want to have a cute hairstyle and I just don't know enough about protective styling for "occasions" to do anything with my hair besides straighten/curl it. So, as of now my hair feels SO fragile (I can't believe I used to put it through this kind of torture on the regular). I plan on washing tonight so I think I will do a quick protein treatment (I use Redken Extreme Strength Builder) tonight and see where that leaves me. Also, because of my relapse into my poor habits I've noticed significant shedding again, which means a green tea rinse is also on order for tonight. Those two treatments should help my hair a bit but I know it will end up feeling stiff. I haven't quite found the right conditioner for this...any suggestions?

Also, I have been taking biotin every other day and I have seen a HUGE difference in length, I am thrilled! I know a lot of women have problems with their skin breaking out while taking biotin, but I currently take 10,000mcg along with Vitamin C and a multivitamin and I have experienced no such results. I will post a pic soon of my progress;the longest point of my hair is almost to my armpit. I just need to get my hair to a good point then I will even it all out. Now that my hair is FINALLY growing again I can't wait to get it healthy and strong and cut off all of the damaged hair! Wish me Luck!

Thanks for reading(:

Wash Day

The Gang's All Here! : WASH DAY

Wash Day Stash: Yikes!

I'm so excited to be sharing my first wash day post with everyone! Although I have been on my HHJ now for 7 weeks I still have not found the perfect balance in my regimen. So here's how it all went down :

-prepoo with Wild Growth Hair Oil and Proclaim Natural 7 Oil Overnight. I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this but my my scalp was so ITCHY when I woke up the next day. I don't know if it was the WGO, or just having the oil on my hair too long but man the itching was bad. Ive never ever had an itchy scalp/head before so I'm going to not be prepooing over night for now

-shampoo using KeraCare moisturizing shampoo. I lathered twice reducing manipulation as much as possible. I really like this shampoo because my hair feels clean but still so moisturized. (my BF loves it too!)

-condition using L'Oreal Paris EverSleek Smoothing Conditioner. This is my second time using this conditioner and so far I really like it. It beats out my KeraCare Humecto Conditoner IMO. My hair is so ft and smooth and feels as if I don't need to deep condition. (but i do)

-deep condition using Dove Intensive Moisture Repair conditioner. I applied while my hair was damp not soaking wet and sat under my hooded dryer for about 45 min.

-rinsed my deep conditioner out and applied Paul Mitchell the detangler for a few minutes then rinsed. This makes it much easier to detangle my hair. I then wrapped my hair in a cotton tshirt and applied my leave ins

-leave ins: I used GVP PM The Conditioner and GVP PM Super Skinny Serum. The Conditioner is a great leave in. It's really lightweight and makes my hair feel soft and strong. As far as the serum goes if you haven't used it you should!! It makes your hair so incredibly smooth once dry. I was once heavy with heating tools because I loved the smooth feeling it gave to my hair. With this serum I get close to those smooth results again without having to apply heat to the hair - which i like :)

-I airdried my hair with my satin scarf overnight. When I woke up my hair was a bit damp so I blow-dried my hair on cool using silk elements olive heat protectant and some coconut oil. Then styled in a high sock bun.

Overall I'm satisfied with this wash day. My hair came out really soft in part from the deep conditioning, leave in conditioner, and coconut oil. :) The only thing I'm annoyed with is my shedding! It's so bad and I don't know what to do about it right now. The only thing I've heard about are Tea Rinses and garlic shampoos.

 Has anyone tried them? Did they help your shedding?

Thank for stopping by! :)

Starting Pic

Here is a starting picture of my HHJ. This picture was taken about two months ago. Originally my hair was a tad bit longer than in this photo, however it was extremely uneven and stringy (you can kind of see that on the left side of my hair). I had one of my girlfriends trim me up as even as possible so that I could start "fresh". Although you may not be able to tell in the photo, my hair at this point is very thin and had been shedding a lot. To give you some background on my hair regimen it was as follows:

-wash weekly

-air dry then blow dry in the morning with HIGH HEAT

-straighten after blowdrying on HIGHEST HEAT possible (about 425 degrees)

-straighten throughout the week if needed

I NEVER deep conditioned, put heat protectant on my hair, moisturized daily, or wore protective styles. I cannot BELIEVE my hair was hanging on like it was. My hair was dry, breaking off and shedding daily to a point where I HAD to do something. So I jumped on Google and found out information that literally changed my entire perspective of not only caring for my hair as a black woman but caring for my body and overall health as well. 

There can be a TON of information out there and it can be really overwhelming. I still don't know everything there is to know about just the basics of a healthy hair regimen but I will do my BEST to keep this blog as simple as possible. I'm not one to DC (deep condition) for 2-3 hours or not use a comb throughout the week (but by all means if this works for you go ahead!). Any information you can lend me is helpful information. 

Thanks for Reading! :)

First Post!

Hello Everyone! This is my first entry in my new blog Luving my Locks. I started this blog to chronicle my journey to healthy hair. I am an African American woman living in the Midwest with a passion for many things. I love sports, KU Basketball (Rock Chalk!), photography, fashion, home decor, cooking, and practical healthy living. I can't wait to share my experiences and passions with the people who read this.

I am a beginner (let me stress the word beginner) in my HHJ and am still building my regimen so any tips, tricks, advice, etc will be very much appreciated. Thank you all for reading and I look forward to sharing with you.