What is your hair care regimen?
I alternate each month between braid outs/air drying and rollersets. For rollersets days, I wash my hair twice a week. I usually do a pre-oil treatment with warm virgin olive oil before washing, even if its just for a few minutes but I try and go for a good hour or more. My favorite shampoo is L'anza Protein Plus (now there's a surprise) which I follow with a deep condition for a good 30 minutes to an hour, no heat.
For me, I've found the hair results are the surprisingly the same if not better than using heat. I like L'oreal Nature's Therapy Unfrizz Smoothing Treatment (love this!), Kerastase Smoothing Mask, Motions Moisture Plus, Porosity Control, Mizani Moisturefuse - the herby one). My hair loves silicones so I look for conditioners that like to smooth as well as moisturize. Sometimes I add a little olive oil to the conditioner.
For leave-ins, I use a serum to seal ends. I love KeraCare Silken Seal (an old time fave) or L'anza Protecshine. Alternatively I may use Kiehls Silk Groom or New Image Damage Free Thermal Conditioner. I do a rollerset and dry my hair under a soft hooded dryer and then wrap with a silk scarf.
Every 3 weeks I'll use a clarifying shampoo (L'anza Deep Cleansing) to remove product build up. Twice a month I use Aubrey Organics GPB for protein (love this). Between washes, I lightly oil hair ends with extra virgin olive oil or jojoba every other day or as needed. During exercise days, I do conditioner washes (Elucence) after each work out, if not, my hair would shed. Sometimes I add a little virgin olive oil as a leave-in. Then I spritz s-curl activator throughout and either pin my hair into a bun if I have to go back to work or I'll do a braid out overnight.
Currently how long is your hair, and what is your hair type?
I believe I am 3c. My hair is layered. The longest part of my hair is just beyond my shoulder blades and approximately 3 inches from bra strap at the back. I have a long bang cut in the front which reaches around cheek level. My goal is bottom of bra strap. I relax every 8 weeks.
Do you take any supplements, if so what are they?
* Flaxseed oil,
* MSM,
* Biotin,
* Multi,
* B5 (the usual suspects).
What are the things that you feel have helped you the most in achieving and maintaining your hair length?
The best thing I did was to stop using curling irons and blowdryers and roller set my hair instead. Also, I increased conditioner washes & along with air drying , which is helping my hair a lot; my hair has more body now when I do a rollerset and I think its from the 'rest' of air drying and braid outs.
Using extra virgin olive oil throughout everything helps me retain moisture & therefore length, plus using s-curl activator for retaining moisture during air drying. Conditioner washes after every exercise session has stopped excessive shedding that I used to get before. The longer my hair gets, the more attention I pay to the ends which helps me retain length. Also, the less I manipulate the hair & the more gentle I am with it, the better my hair is. I've cut down on nightly wrapping to 1 or 2 weeks out of the month instead of all the time like before. I dust when I think its needed and thankfully I've found a stylist who truly does just dust hair ends so I'm not saying a silent prayer when I sit in her chair. Speaking of which, I need to make an appointment…
I alternate each month between braid outs/air drying and rollersets. For rollersets days, I wash my hair twice a week. I usually do a pre-oil treatment with warm virgin olive oil before washing, even if its just for a few minutes but I try and go for a good hour or more. My favorite shampoo is L'anza Protein Plus (now there's a surprise) which I follow with a deep condition for a good 30 minutes to an hour, no heat.
For me, I've found the hair results are the surprisingly the same if not better than using heat. I like L'oreal Nature's Therapy Unfrizz Smoothing Treatment (love this!), Kerastase Smoothing Mask, Motions Moisture Plus, Porosity Control, Mizani Moisturefuse - the herby one). My hair loves silicones so I look for conditioners that like to smooth as well as moisturize. Sometimes I add a little olive oil to the conditioner.
For leave-ins, I use a serum to seal ends. I love KeraCare Silken Seal (an old time fave) or L'anza Protecshine. Alternatively I may use Kiehls Silk Groom or New Image Damage Free Thermal Conditioner. I do a rollerset and dry my hair under a soft hooded dryer and then wrap with a silk scarf.
Every 3 weeks I'll use a clarifying shampoo (L'anza Deep Cleansing) to remove product build up. Twice a month I use Aubrey Organics GPB for protein (love this). Between washes, I lightly oil hair ends with extra virgin olive oil or jojoba every other day or as needed. During exercise days, I do conditioner washes (Elucence) after each work out, if not, my hair would shed. Sometimes I add a little virgin olive oil as a leave-in. Then I spritz s-curl activator throughout and either pin my hair into a bun if I have to go back to work or I'll do a braid out overnight.
Currently how long is your hair, and what is your hair type?
I believe I am 3c. My hair is layered. The longest part of my hair is just beyond my shoulder blades and approximately 3 inches from bra strap at the back. I have a long bang cut in the front which reaches around cheek level. My goal is bottom of bra strap. I relax every 8 weeks.
Do you take any supplements, if so what are they?
* Flaxseed oil,
* MSM,
* Biotin,
* Multi,
* B5 (the usual suspects).
What are the things that you feel have helped you the most in achieving and maintaining your hair length?
The best thing I did was to stop using curling irons and blowdryers and roller set my hair instead. Also, I increased conditioner washes & along with air drying , which is helping my hair a lot; my hair has more body now when I do a rollerset and I think its from the 'rest' of air drying and braid outs.
Using extra virgin olive oil throughout everything helps me retain moisture & therefore length, plus using s-curl activator for retaining moisture during air drying. Conditioner washes after every exercise session has stopped excessive shedding that I used to get before. The longer my hair gets, the more attention I pay to the ends which helps me retain length. Also, the less I manipulate the hair & the more gentle I am with it, the better my hair is. I've cut down on nightly wrapping to 1 or 2 weeks out of the month instead of all the time like before. I dust when I think its needed and thankfully I've found a stylist who truly does just dust hair ends so I'm not saying a silent prayer when I sit in her chair. Speaking of which, I need to make an appointment…
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