Hello everybody! I hope you are having a great start to your week!
On Monday evening I had my wash day which was preceded by undoing the cornrows which I have been wearing under my wig for the past 4 weeks. The undoing and detangling part took me 2 hours, I really wanted to get rid of all the shed hair, I did not want a tangled, matted mess like I had previously. I used the Aunt Jackies Knot on my Watch Instant Detangling Therapy which I applied all over the cornrows, then I mixed castor, coconut and peppermint oil and applied that onto the cornrows. I gently took down the cornrows, I tried finger detangling as I went along. Once all my hair was free, I detangled thoroughly first with my fingers then with a wide tooth comb, I did this in sections.
I lost what seems to me like a huge amount of hair and everytime I ran my fingers through my hair, I still came out with some shed hairs. I had to remind myself that I hadn’t detangled in 4 weeks, so the loss is justified.
The rest of my wash day went a little something like this:
[1] Prepooed under my heat cap for 30 minutes, I had my detangling mixture on the hair and a bit extra oil, I massaged my scalp with my JBCO mix.
[2] Clarified using ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo and further detangled, my hair was feeling rather dirty, so I lathered up twice. I detangled using a wide tooth comb while I had shampoo in my hair, I was still losing shed hairs.
[3] Sprayed my tea mix into my hair, massaged it into the scalp and let it sit there while I finished the rest of my shower.
[4] For my DC, I used the AfroBotanics Repairing & Strengthening Treatment mixed with the leftover oil from my prepoo. I love the conditioner because it is a protein conditioner which doesn’t require a further moisture DC step because it leaves my hair soft – this is a major time saver.
[5] Applied my usual leave ins – Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner and Motions CPR Triple Action Leave-In Conditioner and coconut oil and proceeded to detangle… I was never ready for my hair to still have some tangles and I was getting rid of some knots in every section, add to that – I was still getting losing shed hairs. It was particularly bad in my crown area. Nonetheless, I took my time and I was gentle because I think that my haphazard detangling may have caused some hair thinning that I have been experiencing. The whole process took me an hour!
I had planned to do a rollerset, but time got the best of me, it was too late to even attempt a decent rollerset, and I did not want to do a rushed job or sleep in the wee hours of the morning. So I remembered that Yemi from GreatLengthsss had posted a tutorial about wrapping air dried hair in cling wrap to get it smooth and soft, so I decided to try that out.
[6] I applied the AfroBotanics Conditioning Moisturiser and sealed with olive oil, I then crossed wrapped my hair, covered it in cling wrap, a satin scarf and a satin bonnet and went to sleep
[7] In the morning, my hair was still a bit wet in some areas, I didn’t mind that though. It was very soft once it dried. I put it in my usual roll, tuck and pin do and I will probably keep it like this for the rest of the week
What I learnt from this wash day:
- Always detangle thoroughly after a protective style, and once you think you are done with detangling…detangle some more!
- I don’t think my hair likes being braided up for too long, I need to decrease the time I have it braided
Get more tips, tricks and pointers (like I did 🙂 ) from other ladies on their healthy hair journey’s on the #washdayexperience
I can imagine how you must have felt with all the shedding!! but remember we loose 100 strands a day so those strands had no where to go for 4 weeks (I hope that helps in justifying that lol)
I am so stealing your roll tuck and pin as soon as my hair allows!
and can I come and steal your leave ins? I cannot find a decent leave in anywhere… have you done a review on them?
and Finally, your hair looks beautiful and healthy and shiny Good Job Hun…
Hey Lebo, I haven’t reviewed the leave-ins, can you believe that these are the only 2 I have used since I started my journey. I love the Beautiful Textures one and I would definitely repurchase it, however the Motions one is not my favourite – so I am trying to use it up
Oh and I also wanted to say that, It is good to listen to your hair, I love the feeling when I do something to my hair and see that it my hair didn’t like it and learn from that (if you know what I mean) I have learned that the most important thing on a hair journey is understanding YOUR OWN hair. I like that point that you made on the duration of your protective styles 🙂
Your hair came out smooth and shiny.
Thanks Abena 🙂
I know exactly how you feel when it comes to shedding and trying to get all the shed hairs out. How do you like the Aunt Jackie’s detangler? I have their deep conditioner and it is pretty good.
Hi Afton,
I love the Aunt Jackie’s detangler – it leaves my hair very soft and helps to get the knots out.
Your hair looks great. Excellent tip about detangling
Ur hair looks like it’s thickening up, R u using castor oil? Looks like the end result of the wash day was great
thanks Becca, I am using JBCO intensively during this stretch
Loving the roll, tuck, and pin chica! Super cute! I actually don’t think that’s a lot of shed hair considering that you had your braids in for 4 weeks. I think that you did well! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for sharing your #washdayexperience!
KLP @ SavingOurStrands
Thanks KLP!
Oh you didn’t loose much hair at all. Just the right amount I believe. I so know the feeling of having your hair back after a protective style!! LOL
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