Now Forming an Army of SUPER-LONG HAIR 4B (or mostly 4b) NATURALS!! Come on in!

My updated wash day routine:
1.Shampoo Sunday morning with Cream of Nature detangling poo
2.Apply any conditioner for a few minutes
3.Rinse and then airdry under a wig in my celies.
4.After work I undo each braid, finger detangle, moisturize and comb.
5.Once my hair is completely detangled I rebraid it.

I barely have any breakage and my shedding is minimal with this routine. I can already see my hair getting thicker. It took a couple years, but I finally got a wash day routine that works. I have tried this with cheapie conditioners and expensive masks. It works the same!


It's amazing how our hair routine is so similar. Every time I read your posts, I'm like:eek:, not again. It's crazy but I do this exact routine most times.

I used to stay in the skin care and fitness thread - hardly ever came over here in the hair forum and suddenly I see what I would call my 'hair routine' twin.
 
It's amazing how our hair routine is so similar. Every time I read your posts, I'm like:eek:, not again. It's crazy but I do this exact routine most times.

I used to stay in the skin care and fitness thread - hardly ever came over here in the hair forum and suddenly I see what I would call my 'hair routine' twin.
That's so cool. What is your protective style? I usually wear wigs or a bun.
 
I'm looking forward to my next few wash days. I have to put another blue black rinse on so that my hair is blinging for the holidays. I also want to use my new Kerastase masks that I ordered (Maskertine smoothing, Chroma Captive for shine and Cristalliste for long hair). I still have a sample of Loreal Smooth intense shampoo, pre conditioner and conditioner. I'll have lots of reviews coming soon ladies.

I hope all is well with everyone.
 
I see you're getting a lot of the Kersatase masks @Prettymetty. Don't worry, I'll be getting some soon. I'm only interested in the 16.9 oz sizes so saving up for them. Hopefully I will be able to purchase about 4 of them at one time and the others at another time:yep:.
 
I see you're getting a lot of the Kersatase masks @Prettymetty. Don't worry, I'll be getting some soon. I'm only interested in the 16.9 oz sizes so saving up for them. Hopefully I will be able to purchase about 4 of them at one time and the others at another time:yep:.
Are you buying directly from Kerastase or another site? Sleekhair, Birchbox and Amazon sell the masks for a lot less than Kerastase site, but Kerastase sends samples with each order and occasionally other freebies.
 
Are you buying directly from Kerastase or another site? Sleekhair, Birchbox and Amazon sell the masks for a lot less than Kerastase site, but Kerastase sends samples with each order and occasionally other freebies.
Actually @Prettymetty, I own a small salon/spa here in the Bahamas and there is a wholesale supplier of Redken, Matrix & Biolage, Mizani, Keracare, Pureology, Moroccan Oil products (not the same as Macadamia Natural Oil - this I have to purchase from sleekhair), and Kerastase.

Example, if Sleekhair carries a Kerastase mask for $99-$110, I can get it here in the Bahamas for $52-62, tax inclusive. I'm eternally grateful for that because shipping, freight, duty, and taxes are a real drag when bringing in any type of merchandise.

The maxixmum I like to spend on hair products at one time for myself is $250.00 at a time. If I can't stay under that, I don't purchase. I do take advantage of sales and coupons only, by the way:grin:.

It is so bad here, tax wise that even if I want to ship a package out to someone in the US, for just a 1 pound package, it would cost me a minimum of $40.00. Isn't that horrible? I hate that because when I purchase items from the US and feel the need to return something that I don't like, it is cost-prohibitive from the Bahamas to do so. So I just take my losses in those cases.

You know I never even thought about asking the company here about sample sizes. Hmm, maybe I will when I place my next order.
 
Actually @Prettymetty, I own a small salon/spa here in the Bahamas and there is a wholesale supplier of Redken, Matrix & Biolage, Mizani, Keracare, Pureology, Moroccan Oil products (not the same as Macadamia Natural Oil - this I have to purchase from sleekhair), and Kerastase.

Example, if Sleekhair carries a Kerastase mask for $99-$110, I can get it here in the Bahamas for $52-62, tax inclusive. I'm eternally grateful for that because shipping, freight, duty, and taxes are a real drag when bringing in any type of merchandise.

The maxixmum I like to spend on hair products at one time for myself is $250.00 at a time. If I can't stay under that, I don't purchase. I do take advantage of sales and coupons only, by the way:grin:.

It is so bad here, tax wise that even if I want to ship a package out to someone in the US, for just a 1 pound package, it would cost me a minimum of $40.00. Isn't that horrible? I hate that because when I purchase items from the US and feel the need to return something that I don't like, it is cost-prohibitive from the Bahamas to do so. So I just take my losses in those cases.

You know I never even thought about asking the company here about sample sizes. Hmm, maybe I will when I place my next order.
Wow! You are getting a really great deal. Definitely ask about samples though. If I ever visit Bahamas I will look you up for sure. Hubby and I love to travel and we love spas
 
I am really happy with the thickness I have right now even if it's just an illusion. When I get Dominican blowouts my roots are bone straight. When I do my own blowout I still have texture in the roots and even some texture along my strand. I use really low heat (250-300) and I only do one pass. Of course my diy blowouts don't last as long, but I'm ok with that.

Eta I used Kerastase Maskeratine mask from the discipline line as my dc before straightening. Let me tell you my hair was soft, smooth and easy to detangle. 3 days later and my hair still smells great. This is probably the thickest out of all of my Kerastase masks. I really didn't need a lot at all. I used a pea sized amount on each section. Seriously this mask does what it says. It tamed my hair just enough for me to straighten with ease. The entire process of straightening and trimming took about 90 minutes. I was expecting it to take 2 hours, because I had so many sections. I still haven't had to apply moisturizer or any products, because this mask left my hair feeling hydrated.
 
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I cut my hair in May 2015 and went from BSL to SL, it was a rather hard decision to make but I had to as I was dealing with a setback (for the 1000th time, sigh) that I am only now starting to conquer thanks to a personal braiding challenge I entered (will post pics later on). Right now I'm getting back to the basics of things: reading Audrey Sivasothy's book and really understanding what I am doing with my hair. Good thing is: I do not feel alone in this. I went natural in november 2006 and many of the ladies that went natural at that particular time, are going through a similar journey.

I don't just want to have long hair but I also want to enjoy it and try out different styles, so that's basically what I'm working on right now. I hope I can carve out some time in January-February 20016 to get it braided again (always with human hair) and then keep it braided for another three months. I always experience the most growth that way.
 
Haven't posted in here in forever. I went through a slump where I didn't care about length. Now I want to see my hair do better. I'm at BSB still. I've been there too long, so I had a Komaza analysis done in the Spring. Since then I've been incorporating more protein treatments and ingesting way more protein. I've also started taking Manetabolism vitamins again. In Spring 2014, I saw about a half an inch per month with those. I think my hair has already grown some since I've started taking them earlier this month. I have about 11 inches all around and I want to retain three inches this year. That will put me at about MBL.
 
Haven't posted in here in forever. I went through a slump where I didn't care about length. Now I want to see my hair do better. I'm at BSB still. I've been there too long, so I had a Komaza analysis done in the Spring. Since then I've been incorporating more protein treatments and ingesting way more protein. I've also started taking Manetabolism vitamins again. In Spring 2014, I saw about a half an inch per month with those. I think my hair has already grown some since I've started taking them earlier this month. I have about 11 inches all around and I want to retain three inches this year. That will put me at about MBL.
Oh wow, 11 inches at BSB? That's amazing. I have 12 inches of hair and I'm still just above APL. Just not fair. I have so much longer to go before I get to BSL. I probably need a whole year more to go:nono::sad:
 
Oh wow, 11 inches at BSB? That's amazing. I have 12 inches of hair and I'm still just above APL. Just not fair. I have so much longer to go before I get to BSL. I probably need a whole year more to go:nono::sad:
Yeah, it's because I'm short @Aggie. I'm 5'2". It was APL at 8". It's 11 inches everywhere except the right quarter of my head, which is 12. That has always been the longest growing side. I've been at this length too long (since 2013). I did a decent trim of a couple inches back in the Spring of this year. Then I did another one in October after my flat iron. I won't be doing that again. I'll only be dusting about .25 to .5 off.
 
Yeah, it's because I'm short @Aggie. I'm 5'2". It was APL at 8". It's 11 inches everywhere except the right quarter of my head, which is 12. That has always been the longest growing side. I've been at this length too long (since 2013). I did a decent trim of a couple inches back in the Spring of this year. Then I did another one in October after my flat iron. I won't be doing that again. I'll only be dusting about .25 to .5 off.
Gatcha! Now I get it.
 
An update on my hair length as of today. I finally made APL again and now going for BSL in 2016. I had no idea my hair was growing in so good. I was just shoulder length last month.

Here goes:
 

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I wore my hair straight for a couple weeks, but I'm going to wig it for the rest of the month (until hubby's bday on 1/30).

I had a little breakage this week so my hair needs to be babied for a while. I'm doing a dc with Kerastase Therapiste later today. It's a medium protein that makes my hair feel amazing.
 
On Sunday I treated my hair to a moisturising clay mix, including steeped marshmallow root and hibiscus. It must've been what my hair needed because I haven't re-wet or baggied in 4 days, and it's still soft and feels moisturised.

My hair this morning. I've been keeping it half up, half down in two banana clips since wash day.2016-01-20_09.15.30.jpg
 
My Nioxin Scalp renew is finally here. I look forward to using it next wash day. I might as well order another bottle now, because it shipped from the UK and took almost 3 weeks to get here. I am still wearing my hair straight. Other than a slight crinkle at the roots my blowout is holding up nicely.

I really need to learn how to do a lasting blowout at home, because the salon is just so expensive. Dominican blowouts last up to a month, Kerastase blowouts last about 2 weeks and if I'm lucky my diy blowouts last 1 week. Once I learn how to blowdry I'll be alright. I usually just airdry in braids and then flatiron it from a semi stretched state.
 
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