[ALove4Me EHGC] Wash-and-Style Day #1 in Photos: Trying out the Regimen!

Post summary:

1. The regimen was doable! My twist out looked decent given that I wasn’t “able” to use a cream or butter (I explain why later in this post). However . . .
2. . . . I had to wash out the twist out within a few hours (explanation below).
3. I wore a wig when I had to run an errand before I could start styling (ample photos below).
4. I loved the way my hair felt at every stage EXCEPT for the final step. (Uggh! Details below.)
5. To detox my hair for my upcoming visit to hair stylist Silked by Sonnie, I used a chelating shampoo and a different deep conditioner than planned.

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Howdy!

So, on Friday I tried out the regimen I designed for participating in the ALove4Me EHGC (Extreme Hair Growth Challenge). I had planned to do it Thursday, but a host of things came up and I had to push it forward a day.

I was curious to test the feasibility of the regimen. Though I feel that all the detail and break-down in my previous post makes the regimen seem more complicated than it really is, admittedly the regimen DOES contain a fair amount of steps. So for this wash day I wanted to know: Is this regimen too much? Do I need to pare it down? Does something need to be eliminated or merged into one step or something? There’s just no use in having something that looks potent on paper but isn’t really doable, ya know?

At the END OF THIS POST after the PHOTO DISPLAY OF WASH DAY, I explain what went wrong that resulted in me washing out my twist out, and I share photos of the BOMB FLEXIROD SET I achieved the next day. I was really happy and grateful, as this is only the 3rd or so flexirod set I’d ever done.

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Regimen Fidelity: How Well Did I Stick to the Planned Regimen and Products?

Below I turned my regimen steps into a CHECKLIST. The HIGHLIGHTS show which products I used for each step.

I pretty much stuck to the products on the planned regimen list, but I did switch out a few: The stylist who will be doing my hair in a few weeks wants me to start detoxing my hair and keep heavy oils and butters out of it, so I used a chelating shampoo and a less-heavily-butter-laden deep conditioner.

WASH-AND-STYLE DAY #1 IN PHOTOS

↓ I prepooed with SM’s High Porosity Masque, steaming it in for 20 minutes before detangling.

↓ Steaming in the prepoo before detangling resulted in VERY little hair in the Felicia Leatherwood brush with which I detangled my hair.

↓ I used small Goody Updo Barrettes to section my detangled hair before shampooing.

↓ The stylist I will see in a few weeks wanted me to detox my hair, so I used a chelating shampoo this time. It does not leave the hair feeling stripped because it redeposits a little moisture after deeply cleansing the hair of product, metal, etc.

↓ This is how shampooing my barretted sections works in the shower. Please excuse all the steam.

↓ To avoid the manipulation of twisting up my hair at this step, I bantu knotted my hair to prepare for the strengthening rice water treatment that I plan to continue to use on non-Aphogee wash days. It smelled fine, and I loved the way my hair felt after rinsing this out. I can TOTALLY see how this strengthening rice treatment could contribute to hair retention. Everything I read about this product has me excited about the possible results of using this consistently in my regimen. Yeah! 😀

↓ Because the stylist I will see in a few weeks wants me to keep my hair free of heavy oils and butters, I deep conditioned with the NaturAll Club deep conditioner for dry hair. I steamed it in for about 20 minutes, then I sat under the dryer for about 20 minutes. (The instructions said to leave it on for 20-40 minutes.)

This picture doesn’t do it justice, but this is the BEST deep conditioner I have EVER used on my head. The results were amazing!!! My hair was moisturized after rinse-out, to the point that my hair hung much lower than usual. I imagine this is from the weight of being infused with moisture!

↓ Before applying the NaturAll Club deep conditioner, I warmed it up in a hot water bath. Warm conditioner can help lift the hair’s cuticles so that the deep conditioner penetrates the hair more readily/easily.

↓ I twisted up my hair using The Mane Choice Pink Lemonade & Coconut mousse. I was liking the sheen already at this point.

↓ I had to suspend wash-and-style day and run an errand. I am pretty certain I could have finished with everything had I not taken an unexpected 45 minute call. To run the errand, I pinned my twists around my head with tiny claw clips and donned this cute, short wig that my friend lent me. I had never considered wearing a short wig to cover my twist! I love it. I hope I can find something similar, as I have to return this wig to my friend. What do you think of this wig? (My nephew told me I looked like a completely different person, like this old lady at church he knows. 😮 😐 My current pair of glasses do kind of age me! 😛 )

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↓ Back at the house after running the errand, I applied Soultanicals BLOOM Supa Potent Healthy Hair Growth Oil to my hands and fingertips for the takedown of my dried twists and to oil and stimulate my scalp.

↓ The Mane Choice Pink Lemonade & Coconut mousse gave my really good definition. I had separated all but a few of my twists at this point. NOTE: In the photo below, you can clearly see my thinning ends that need trimming. Not to worry! In a couple of weeks, this hair will be in the hands of a very talented stylist for an Olaplex treatment, a trim, and shaping.

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Why I Had To Wash My Hair After a Few Hours

So, I don’t know if I applied TOO MUCH of the Soultanicals BLOOM Supa Potent Hair Growth Oil or what, but the smell was so strong that when my husband entered the bathroom where I was doing my final fluffing and separating, he coughed and said, “NO! THAT’S STRONG!”

It was strong. I sat on my couch after having cleaned up my products and tools and the bathroom, hoping the smell would dissipate. It never did, and soon I had a SCREAMING headache. There was no way I could get in bed like that. So, I was DOG TIRED and had an engagement the next day that necessitated that I get some sleep, but there I was jumping in the shower to wash my hair. 😦 Again.

After three washes, I couldn’t really detect the smell anymore. I applied Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey Leave-in, chunky twisted up my hair, pinned each twist to the top of my head, and threw a hair sock over my hair. I finally, FINALLY was able to collapse into bed to get some sleep.

My Third or Fourth Successful Flexirod Set! Success!!!

So, God works in mysterious ways 😀 . I needed to style my hair the next day, and I knew I needed to use mousse or foam in lieu of butters or creams (per the stylist’s advice). However, I didn’t know how any of my other mousses or foams would perform in terms of installing a twist out (my go-to style). I thus opted to go with a flexirod set, which I don’t do often. This was a huge gamble, and I just had to pray that it would work out.

↓ After removing the flexirods, my hair was VERY defined and shiny!

The flexirod set was a success! I was so grateful! LOL. 😀 I used The Mane Choice Pink Lemonade & Coconut mousse. It performed GREAT! Phew! I needed a win after that growth oil debacle. 😀

↓ The flexirod set started to frizz up after a couple of days, so I threw it into a low-hanging puff.

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For Next Wash Day . . .

You guys, I was soooooooooo outdone to have to turn around and wash my hair at the end of wash-and-style day. You have NO IDEA, LOL. Obviously I need to either figure out how to correctly use that Soultanicals hair growth oil, or find a replacement and use IT instead. What gets me is that not ONE of the oil’s reviews that I read mentioned the smell or said anything like, “For those of you with a sensitive sense of smell . . .” Not a mention! I might pick up a bottle of the Camille Rose Cocoa Nibs & Honey Ultimate Growth Serum from Target. I’m not sure yet.

Now, would you BELIEVE that as time wore on, my flexirod set started to smell like bad rubber? Yes, BAD RUBBER! My husband noticed. 😦 So I returned The Mane Choice Pink Lemonade & Coconut mousse to Walgreens and got my $17+ dollars back. It might have been just a bad bottle, or it could have been that the mousse didn’t mesh well with something I had used in my hair. I’ve never heard anything bad about the smell of that mousse. The smell only gets rave reviews. So, I don’t know. *throws hands up in the air* This super sensitive nose of mine!

One of the employees at BPolished Beauty Supply in Arlington, Texas told me that the Doux Mousse Def Texture Foam has enough hold for twist outs, and that it sells out all the time at the store. I might ask the stylist I’ll soon be seeing if the ingredients of the Doux are light enough to keep my hair from needing another detox before I see her. If so, I might pick up a bottle so that I can try a mousse twist out. That would be interesting!

Last thought: Despite love-love-loving the NaturAll Club deep conditioner and believing that consistent use of it would DEFINITELY lead to hair retention (as the product creator notes that it did for her hair), it’s MUCH to pricey for my pocket book. And worse, two (2) ounces is just not enough product for those of us with longer hair who really like to saturate our strands with product when deep conditioning. The entire time I was applying the NaturAll Club DC, I wasn’t able to apply it the way I really wanted to: I felt like I was “tip-toeing” around not being too heavy-handed, and I wondered if each section was getting enough. And STILL even with that, I was so worried I wouldn’t have enough product to cover my entire head.

Ultimately I barely made it, having been light-handed for some of my hair’s sections. I like the company owner’s vibe and products A LOT, but I don’t want to keep paying for that experience, despite this being the best DC experience I’ve ever had, EVER. That’s saying a lot. A lot. So, I may try to DIY this product, given the wonderful simplicity of the ingredients list. I’ll see. 😀

Comments? Questions? Feedback? Recommendations?

After reading about what went well this first wash-and-style day and what didn’t, do you have any feedback or thoughts? Did you like the wig? What did you think about the twist out? Was the flexirod set a winner? Is there a strong-hold foam or mousse or a hair growth oil you use that you love — that smells delicious — that you recommend? Please feel free to share your thoughts and/or recommendations in the comments. I’d love to hear from you. 🙂

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post! As always, thank you so much for visiting this blog. 🙂 In my next few posts, I will post about my progress at the body/health challenge, and of course I’ll share about wash-and-style day #2 once it’s done and I can sit down and type about it. 🙂

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of you who mother: To mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, friends, and EVERYONE who puts love into a child (young or grown) . . . your work and love are amazing, and the world is better for it. ❤

Many blessings to you and yours! ❤

Yours,

Yvette