Thursday 22 March 2012

When Airdrying & Co-washing give extreme Softness | 4 months post relaxer

Having watched FGrogans latest video which mentions her 7 month no heat challenge, I knew and was reminded again of the need to reduce heat in my regime. In fact my friend Toks and I decided to do the 'black girl' observation exercise, and assess what FGrogan does out of the ordinary in her hair regime that may be the reason for those long strands she owns a copyright too!

Conclusion was... she co washes 3-4 times a week and uses no heat! Ka-ching..??? Not quite! Who, especially in the UK, has time to wash their hair so frequently especially given our lovely hard water [I thought to myself]

Well that thought changed today when I experienced one majorly easy breezy covergirl co-wash experience! It was crazy! I thought that washing/co-washing gets messier/harder the further into your transition or stretch you get, but no joke I haven't loved washing my hair this much in 2 years!

Before I break down what I used and why my wash was so great, I've decided as of May, when I embark on my 'May no heat Challenge', that besides not using heat- I will also co-wash 2-3 times a week and do exactly what I did today... pre-poo, airdry, slick the edges, headscarf and voila! 

The wash...
Plan| The plan was simple, pre-poo, co-wash, deep condition, then blowdry and straighten 
What really happened| I co-washed and then was in so much shock at how soft my hair was that I skipped deep conditioning and opted for airdrying instead!

Products used...

Prepoo| Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Co-wash| Used ORS Replenishing Pak mixed with Porosity Control to wash my hair in 4 sections

Styling| I used AtOne Leave-In Conditioner [re-emerged from my product junkie stash] which gave immense slip and softness. I then added 1/2 a squirt of Pantene Serum and gently brushed my hair into a bun using my new Babyliss Paddle Brush [I actually preferred this to my wide tooth comb - it was more effective in detangling]. Finally I used a soft bristle brush and the fab ORS Edge Control to slick my edges down.



Why the soft hair?
1- As ever, I have to say my pre-poo's never disappoint and have given results since I started using them. Coconut oil has been proven to penetrate the hair shaft and definitely nourished my hair pre co-washing

2- The combo of ORS Replenishing Pak and Porosity Control has to be the best thing since chicken wings! I usually DC with the Replenishing Pak and then use Porosity Control for 5 minutes after, but the combo...hot dang, major softness, my hair felt like butter, detangling was beautiful!

3- My new detangling brush [subject to name alteration!]. Perhaps cheeky of me to use a brush to detangle, but considering how soft my hair was I figured the brush would smooth my hair out even more- and it did! Gave great results when detangling in the shower and when brushing my hair into a bun for airdrying

4- Products with slip! I won't completely brush my Joico Daily Care Leave-in Conditioning Detangler  to the side, however I've learned that product suitability works according to which hairstyle you are wearing. In this case, I needed something creamy and almost slimy to cater to my hairs needs- and AtOne was the perfect substitute. If I had decided to blowdry I would opt for Joico more so than AtOne. The reason being that I use lighter products when dealing with heat.

Extra note: It was such a quick wash! I usually spend up to 4 hours doing my hair on wash days, [including DC time] so this was definitely a quick fix! Water bill & housemates would have been happy!


Avec amour...

edF ❥


8 comments:

  1. ok sooooo my edges NEVER look that sleek! *jelly* and although I don't co-wash often, I can definitely attest that not using direct heat has always caused my hair to flourish. I'm currently rollersetting away so when you start your challenge, I'm definitely in there!

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    1. Ooo that would be great! In fact perhaps I can switch things around and rollerset for the month in June when I do plan on using some heat! It's the ORS EC, it works wonders on my edges!

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  2. Hi (",)

    I am currently bunning and thinking of upping my co-washes now that the sun is out in the UK. Yaaaay!!!! I did a cowash last night as I had bits of henna in my hair from the wash day the night before and it was making my head itch!

    The combo of ORS and Roux PC feels wonderful on my hair too. I really need to reintroduce overnight oil pre-poos and hot oil treatments into my regimen. This together with regular co-washes worked well for me in the past by reducing my hair loss on wash days.

    I have never thought to use my Babyliss paddle brush during detangling on wet hair. Ever since the start of my HHJ I have only used this paddle brush on my wigs and extension hair. I think I might dust it off for my next cowash at the weekend. Did you notice any breakage when using it on wet hair? I am intrigued because I love that brush. I used to use it loads before for just about everything, including blow drying. Mine is the version that comes free with some of the Babyliss blow driers and I have definitely put it to some good (hard) use over the years.

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    1. Hey! Yes the sun defo means co- washing is on the increase! I only used the brush because my hair was extremely soft but I think even if my hair wasn't as soft, this brush would make it! Not only was my hair detangled, it was smooth from root to tip which isn't often the case with my wide tooth comb which just smoothens the strands. No it did not take any hair out at all! I had minimal shedding and no observed breakage,it was fantastic! I

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  3. Heey i've recently just decided...like yesterday i'm going to transition back to natural hair but the thing i'm worrying about the most is the cutting off of my hair, you see its like about bra strap length and i've been growing it for like a year now and its grown quite abit, anyway i know obviously i'll have to cut off all my relaxed hair but im trying to figure out about what length of my roots ( the re-growth) should be when i get my 'big chop' bearing in my mind i'm not a fan of reaally short hair at all? help me pls! x

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    1. This is the perfect msg because I'm not so keen on short hair for myself either. Being the length I am now is the shortest I've been in years hence why I 've decided to transition for up to 2 years. Hair grows at an average of 6 inches in 1 year, so by the end of my 2 years I hope to have achieved 12 inches of new growth- which should be just above shoulder length :) Perhaps you an gauge it based on this :) x

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  4. I plan on increasing my co washing as well.My hair really isn't liking the shampoo as much these days. It's loving the conditioner so that is what I will continue to do:-) I will still shampoo just co wash more!

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    1. Exactly, me too! I will definitely need the fortnightly shampoo but co-washing definitely needs to be on the rise! :)

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x Fi