30" BUSS DOWN | FEATURING WOWANGEL HD LACE WIGS

If you're like me and love a good wig, you'll want to read all about this high-quality, HD Lace Frontal Wig I've been wearing as a protective style lately. While this post is a paid partnership with WOWANGEL Wigs, all thoughts and opinions about the hair + experience are my own. To read more about my disclosure policy, click here.

It's no secret that we love a high-quality wig around here. Since growing out my natural tapered cut, I've been wearing braids and wigs to protect my natural hair from the elements. And as much as I love wearing lace front wigs, all of them are not created equally. Some don't have the parting space I need. Others don't have the density to rock the full look I usually go for. And I'm not always able to find a nice, HD lace that melts perfectly around my hairline with minimal effort. However, after rocking high-quality HD Lace Wigs from the likes of WOWANGEL Wigs, I have become hooked! Read below the jump to learn more about my experience with the latest 30-inch Buss Down I've been wearing lately.

Installing a Lace Wig for Beginners | Featuring LUVME Hair

If you're new to wearing + installing lace front wigs at home, you'll want to read all about how I installed this beautiful loose wave lace wig I've been wearing lately as a protective style. While this post is a paid partnership with LUVME Hair, all thoughts and opinions about the hair + experience are my own. To read more about my disclosure policy, click here.

As I've mentioned before, I love wearing wigs and weaves as a protective style for my natural hair. Installing them at home saves so much time and money! And while many may think installing a wig at home is time-consuming for a beginner, I promise you it's easy-peasy! The style I'm sharing today is very beginner friendly, as you can get it already colored and pre-plucked. You also don't have to use any glue to apply this one, because I don't use glue on mine. I'll walk you through how easy it is to do so. 

SHE'S GOT THE LOOK | FEATURING LUVME HAIR LOOSE DEEP WAVE HEADBAND WIG

If you're like me and love a good wig, you'll want to read all about this affordable headband wig I've been wearing as a protective style to give my natural hair a break. While this post is a paid partnership with LUVME Hair, all thoughts and opinions about the hair + experience are my own. To read more about my disclosure policy, click here.

It's no secret that we love a good wig around here. As much as I love my natural tapered cut, I always make sure to protect my natural hair as often as I can, as well. Usually my protective styles of choice are quick-weaves and wigs. But quite honestly, I don't always want to play around with a lace-front wig to make sure my edges are laid, my part is plucked, and there's enough concealer applied "like-so" to make sure it's presentable for the public. So, when I found out about LUVME Hair's headband wig line, I became curious. Installing a wig in a New York minute without any prep work and she's good to go? That's my kind of protective style!

Lazy Girl's Wash Day | 31 Weeks Post

How has your hair journey been going so far, this year? It's been a month or two since I've updated about my hair journey here. And let me tell you, these last few months have been a lot of work!  I'm 31 weeks post, and my hair has been telling me to take it easy. I don't always listen, however. When I updated back in January, I was experiencing a little breakage and shedding. After careful consideration, I decided to do a trim, putting my hair back at shoulder length. I was pretty happy about my trim, but unsure about what to do next with my hair. I wanted to baby my ends as much as possible. I wanted to protect my sensitive nape and edges as much as I possibly could. So I decided against relaxing and have just been deep conditioning and protective styling. I have faced a few challenges with stretching, but I feel that with low manipulation my hair will be just fine. I've finally decided to keep it simple and let my hair chill out. My last wash day was yesterday and is pretty much the way I've been cleansing my hair lately (with the exception of the shampoo I had two weeks ago). Check out how I've been "lazy girl cleansing" below.

The Experience

Wash Day | 7 Weeks Post Relaxer

How is everyone doing this week? I hope all is well with each and every one of you! I'm gonna keep it all the way real with you guys. This week I just did not feel like washing my hair, though I know I needed to! So today I'm going to share with you my lazy wash day. My goal this week was to add a little moisture to my tresses (as the SheaMoisture JBCO Edge Treatment I used in last week's protective style dried it out a bit). Thankfully I was able to achieve this with a quick co-wash and a 15 minute deep conditioning. 

The Experience

1. I saturated my hair with warm water and co-washed using Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Conditioner throughout my hair and scalp. After two washes, I rinsed the conditioner from my hair completely. 
2. Applied OGX Coconut Milk Nourishing Conditioner throughout my hair. I put on my plastic cap and deep conditioned under my hooded dryer for about 15-20 minutes. 
3. I then rinsed the conditioner thoroughly, doing my final rinse with cool water. Following my rinse, I squeezed the excess water from my hair with a t-shirt.
4. Applied OGX Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum to my hair then wrapped hair in a t-shirt to dry.
5. After my hair completely dried, I applied Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Leave-in Conditioner and sealed with grapeseed oil. 

The Results

My results were pretty good, considering I cut my normal wash day time in half. At 7 weeks post, I was happy to see how much the Herbal Essences Totally Twisted defined my natural curl pattern. I also had great slip afterwards, making it easy to detangle before deep conditioning. That's exactly why it's my favorite co-wash to use when I'm stretching. And since I plan to stretch until the spring, I plan to really stock up on Totally Twisted!

And of course because I did a co-wash instead of cleansing, my hair doesn't feel squeaky clean. It's soft, but it doesn't feel as light and voluminous as it usually does after using the serum. I'm never heavy-handed with the serum or the leave-in, either. So I will probably be using a cleanser on Sunday night. I'm also planning to start the Inversion Method tonight, so I know I will be needing a really good cleanse soon. Have any of you guys tried the Inversion Method? If so, do you have any tips or pointers to share with your friend over here?

The Style

Remember the updo I did with the jumbo braiding hair last week? Well I was very tempted to do the same style this week. I'm trying to get some quick protective style ideas under my belt so I can tuck away my hair with minimal effort. So I was looking at this video from MsAriella89 on YouTube and decided to do yet another quick style with my jumbo braiding hair.

To create this style, all I had to do was separate my hair into three sections. I did one single part between the ears to separate the top and back sections. Then did a side part, making a small section to the right and a larger section to the left. I flat twisted both sides and wrapped them both around the back section of my hair, making one ponytail. Then I looped the jumbo braiding hair around the ponytail and twisted it all down into one large pony. Do you like? Have you tried this style before? 

How was your most recent wash day experience?

What products do you use on wash day?

What are your favorite protective styles?

Wash Day | SheaMoisture JBCO + 5 Minute Updo

Happy first of the month, loves! I know it's been way too long since I've blogged about #washday. I've been totally slacking in my hair journey, but I'm trying my best to make a comeback, y'all. And since I just had an awesome wash day using the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil products I recently purchased, I had to do a quick share! Currently, I am about 6 weeks post-relaxer and I'm looking for ways to stay consistent with my hair care + become more creative with my protective styling. If you guys have any tips to share, please do so in the comments! In the meantime, check out my deets for yesterday's wash day experience.

The Experience

1.Pre-pooed with HairTrigger Growth Oil (not pictured) on the scalp and coconut oil down the length of my hair, overnight.
2.Completely saturated my hair with warm water and applied SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Shampoo throughout hair and scalp. I did two washes with this product and rinsed my hair thoroughly.
3. Applied warmed JBCO to my hair and scalp to oil rinse, followed by layering SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen Grow & Restore Treatment Masque on my hair. I put on my plastic cap and allowed it to penetrate as a deep conditioner while I showered. [SN: Am I the only one that hates sitting under the dryer?]
4. Rinsed oil + treatment masque and removed excess water with a t-shirt.
5. Applied OGX Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum to my hair then wrapped hair in t-shirt to dry for a couple of hours.

6. After my hair completely dried, I applied African Pride Olive Miracle Anti-Breakage Moisturizing Lotion and sealed with coconut oil. Then I applied a small bit of SheaMoisture JBCO Edge Treatment to my edges.

The Results

My results were AH-MAZING! Yesterday before I washed my hair, I had a very itchy scalp--- not an issue I usually have. So I decided to use a shampoo instead of co-washing and pre-pooed with oils for good measure. Much to my surprise, the SheaMoisture JBCO Shampoo did a great job of cleansing my hair without stripping it. This RARELY happens when I shampoo! After the wash, my hair felt so soft!

And if that wasn't enough of a treat for my hair, that oil rinse + deep condition was THE TRUTH. My hair was soft, had great volume, and had no tangles whatsoever. This was the first time in a long time I had a completely fuss-free wash day! Hopefully, I can share product reviews with you guys soon!

The only hiccup I had was having no clue what to do to my hair afterwards. I needed something quick that would last until Friday. I didn't feel like doing any rods or bantu knots (because I'm sorta lazy like that + Jj won't let me be great in the hairstyling department as of late). So I pulled out my jumbo braiding hair and did this quick 5 minute updo. What do you guys think?

How was your last wash day experience?

Wash Day: Using the Co-Cleansing Method

Hello loves! Looks like it's wash day time around here again. My plans were to co-cleanse yesterday using my Hair One Cleansing Conditioner with Olive Oil. But as I was gathering my items to prepare for wash day, I realized I was totally out of Hair One! Since it's one of my staple co-cleansers, I don't know how I forgot to purchase another bottle. So instead of pouting because the closest Sally's is now many miles away, I decided to give KLP's method of co-cleansing a try. I didn't want to shampoo cleanse, as I didn't want to strip my hair of its moisture. Nor did I want to co-wash with an instant conditioner either, as my hair felt a little heavy from doing scalp massages with Hair Trigger Growth Elixir for the last week. So here's how it went!

The Experience

1.Pre-pooed with coconut oil down the length of my hair.
2.Combined Mill Creek Biotin Shampoo with grapeseed oil and Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner (it's inexpensive and it gives GREAT slip) for my co-cleanser mix.
**Making your own co-cleanser calls for 1 part shampoo, 2 parts oil, and 3 parts conditioner.**
3. Deep conditioned with OGX Macadamia Oil Conditioner x Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil (won in this giveaway) while in the shower.
4. Rinsed conditioner and removed excess water with a t-shirt..
5. Applied GVP Silk Remedy to my hair then wrapped hair in t-shirt to dry.
Leave Ins- Aloe Vera Juice, Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Leave-In Conditioner, and grapeseed oil/JBCO on ends and edges (using the LCO Method)

The Results

For starters, I think my co-cleanser needs a little tweaking. After co-cleansing, my hair felt dry and wiry--like it does when I use the Mill Creek Biotin Shampoo alone. While I didn't use exact measurements, I know I used more conditioner than shampoo. But since my hair felt clean, I didn't take my first time co-cleansing as a complete loss. After conditioning, however, my hair was soft and smelling great! And I love the tingly feeling the Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil gave my scalp! I love a little scalp stimulation from time to time (more like all the time).

I did notice that there was more shedding with this wash than I have experienced in the last month. Hopefully spritzing with Aloe Vera Juice this week will help combat this. I'm making a note to make next week's DC a deep protein conditioning also. Just when I thought I had my shedding under control, this happens! Le sigh.

My protective style for the next couple of days will be this quick 5 minute side braid I did with a half-wig, as demonstrated here. I'll actually take the time to do something to it Saturday morning, hopefully!

How was your most recent wash day?

What products did you use?