How to Handle a Detangling Nightmare!!!!

Last week I had the bright idea to wash my hair in my kitchen sink. WHYYYY?!?!? I washed my hair in two sections using my creamy aloe shampoo from ORS. (I only shampoo wash my hair once a month to get rid of any build up) I followed that up with my Aphogee two minute reconstructor. I have not used this in over a month. I felt my hair was getting way to hard in January. I was using a lot of protein so I decided to take a protein break. Since it has been over a month I felt it was time to work protein back into my regimen. I followed the Aphogee up with my deep conditioner. I thought everything was going good. I left my conditioner on for a couple of hours.

I again went to my sink to rinse out the conditioner. I let my hair dry for about 10 - 20 minutes then started the detangling process. I can normally detangle my hair in about 10 minutes. But as soon as I started I knew something was WRONG. My hair felt matted where my texlaxed hair meets my bone straight hair. I was so afraid that I was going to have to cut my hair. It was just that bad! I added more of my leave in conditioners. Yes, I said conditioners. I used both my thick, creamy Cantu Shea Butter and my Aussie spray leave in.

I had to section my hair into 1-2 inch sections detangle then braid each section to keep it separate. Even though it was extremely matted my hair was really soft. So I know that my conditioner was not to blame. I only had myself to blame. I was being lazy and did not go through my usual steps. I started the whole process off wrong because I did not detangle my hair before I started to wash it. I had been wearing my hair in a braid out for the past week. So I had a lot of shed hairs that I should have removed first. Then to make matters worse I washed my hair in the sink. That caused me to wash my hair in a completely different direction than I normally do. The loose hairs couldn't come out as easily as it would have if my hair would have been washed all going backwards.

It took me over a hour to detangle my hair and I lost probably 6x what I normally loss detangling. I will from now on continue to wash my hair in the shower. I don't think this was a set back because I didn't really see a huge difference in my hair after deep conditioning today. Lucky for me I have really thick hair. The pictures on the left side show what I lost due to me being lazy. The pictures on the right side show how much hair I lost after detangling today, and that is about average for me.

1st Mini Haul

I went to my favorite health store to pick up some oils, so I wanted to share with you guys what I got. I will probably be going back next week because they have 10x more from the last time that I went. I want to get some more essential oils like lavender and peppermint oil. The first thing I purchased was Life-flo cold pressed pure apricot oil 16 fl oz for $12.99.

Apricot oil is nothing new to my regimen. I started using it when I first started my hair journey, but I ran out in November because I had a much smaller bottle. It is a very light oil that I mix into my deep conditioner. The next product I picked up was Now Solutions Jojoba Oil 100% pure 4 fl oz for 12.99.

I have been wanting to try jojoba oil since I started my hair journey, but the price kept me away. So now that I am 6 months into this wonderful journey I figured why not??? I am going to start adding this to my deep conditioner and I might seal with it. I'm not sure because this bottle is pretty small, so I will be searching the Internet for a bigger bottle at a much better price before I start using it everyday. I also go Now Solutions Vegetable Glycerin 100% Pure- softens & Moisturizes multi-purpose 16 fl oz for 8.99.

I have wanted this since my hair inspiration PrettyWitty77 said she adds this to her moisturizer and my other hair inspiration Shorty2Sweet59 said she adds it to her deep conditioner. It is a humectant so it attracts water from the atmosphere and binds it to various sites along the molecule according to naturallycurly.com. I plan on adding this to my moisturizing mix and to my deep conditioner like my hair inspirations to see if it gives me the same great benefits. I have been using honey in my conditioner and it made a huge difference and honey is a humectant also, so the glycerin will be replacing it. The last thing I purchased was Now Solutions Herbal Revival Conditioner Damage Control- Repairs & Strengthens damaged hair, SLS & Paraben free pH balanced 16 fl oz for 7.99.

I was not planning on picking this up. I grabbed it while I was in line checking out. I know that Now Solutions make great products and I had no idea that they had shampoos and conditioners. Because I do not use shampoo very often I did not look at any, but conditioner I go through that stuff like crazy. I am always on the look out of a good conditioner especially one that is SLS and Paraben free and contains great ingredients like this does. I will do a blog post on SLS and Parabens another time.

I definitely did not go into the store planning on spending as much as I did, but I picked up some things that I am excited about adding to my regimen.

Check out my video on this haul http://www.youtube.com/alwayschanging13

Deep Conditioner Regimen- The Life Line of a Successful Hair Journey

I deep condition my hair 2x a week. I usually DC on dry hair, unless my hair has a lot of build up.

The pictures to the left are the products I currently use.

I start off with 4 full tablespoons of Queen Helene Cholesterol. Then I start adding all of the good stuff. 3/4 tablespoon of the followings oil: Coconut oil, Grapeseed oil, Apricot oil, and Sweet Almond oil. 4 or 5 drops of Tea Tree oil. The last thing I add is a tablespoon of honey. I started adding honey a little over a month ago and it has made a huge difference. My hair feels so much softer now.  I stir the mix until everything is mixed together smoothly.

Before I apply the conditioner I separate my hair into four sections. I've found it easier to apply the conditioner to my roots as if I were applying a relaxer. After I finish my roots I apply the conditioner to the rest of my hair. It is important to be sure to lock in all of this good moisture, so I wrap plastic wrap around my head before putting on a shower cap. I sit under a hooded dryer for 30 to 45 minutes most of the time. Some days I don't sit under the dryer, then I keep the conditioner on for a couple of hours.

This regimen has been working wonders for my hair. It continues to give me soft and manageable hair which  has helped since I am transitioning to texlax. I want to try adding peppermint oil, but its not something I'm in a big hurry to go out and get right now. Please let me know what you think about my deep conditioner concoction.