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: 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?

The Wash Day Experience: Week One

Hello, loves! Today I'm co-hosting The Wash Day Experience with KLP & Keyda from Saving Our Strands. We're sharing on our blogs today about one of the most important routines within the hair care regimen, the wash day. We encourage you all to join in and take part in this experience as well!

My most recent wash day was on Sunday, March 2, 2014. 

It went a little something like this.

1. I begin my wash day experience with pre-pooing. Instead of using a conditioner + an oil of my choice per usual, I simply applied oil to my dry hair the night before I did my cleanse. I massaged my scalp and coated my hair generously with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Then I covered my hair with a plastic cap, stocking cap, and hair scarf and left it overnight. 

2. Since this was my first cleanse after relaxing my hair, I used a clarifying shampoo the next morning instead of co-washing with conditioner. I used ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo, which is currently my staple clarifying shampoo. I cleansed and rinsed my hair twice with shampoo and warm water. 

3. After washing my hair, I used a tee-shirt to remove some of the excess water from my hair before applying conditioner. I conditioned with ORS Replenishing Conditioner, a great light protein fix, under a plastic cap while in the shower. 

4. After rinsing the ORS Replenishing Conditioner, I applied my Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner (infused with peppermint oil) to my hair and let it sit for about ten minutes. I used the Herbal Essences to add a little moisture back into my hair and added a few drops of peppermint oil into the conditioner to stimulate my scalp.  

5. I completely rinsed the conditioner and removed as much excess water as I could with a tee-shirt. Then I sprayed Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea Reconstructurizer all over my hair. 

6. I moisturized my slightly damp hair with Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Moisturizer and sealed with grapeseed oil. Then I applied just a bit of GVP Silk Remedy to my hair, paying close attention to my edges and ends. I finished by gathering my hair into a loose bun and tying it up with my silk scarf to air-dry for the rest of the day.

RESULTS: My hair felt very soft, strong, and thoroughly moisturized. It didn't feel heavy, as it does sometimes when I use the Elasta QP Moisturizer. And it smelled great! That counts for something, right?

Now how was your wash day? Go ahead, tell us on your blog and LINK UP!

The Wash Day Experience Linkup RULES (via SavingOurStrands)

​Follow your host SavingOurStrands via Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

1. Healthy Hair is the theme. Entries completely unrelated to the theme or linked to your homepage will be deleted.
2. Share it! Your blog post must link back to this site so others see. We even made this nifty button below which links back to The Wash Day Experience page! Just copy and drop the code from Saving Our Strands into your blog post. 
3. Encourage the wash day experience contributor that linked up directly before you with an inspiring  comment. We are each here to support each other and build a community of determined women and hair-friends. Don’t worry, the chica ​who links up after you will do the same; comment love for everyone! 

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