The wash day files: Loc takedown + wash
Hi all! This is coming a little late. The locs came out on thursday, after my exams were over. It's just been crazy since then.
Ok here's how it went- I cut off the burned tips and unwrapped the kinky hair, then I took out the braids with oil on my fingers to minimise friction. There were good things-
If I burnt or cut any of my own hair, I didn't notice (yay!), plus my hair didn't feel dry at all. I thought it would cos I hadn't been consistent with moisturising.
On the other hand, the junction between my natural hair and my relaxed hair was well and truly matted. Have a look:
It took time and patience, but I finally separated it all and to my surprise i had very little shedding and mimimal breakage. Here's what I was working with after:
This turned out to be my oiliest prepoo ever cos I had to use it all up. Ororo everywhere- my neck, back, shoulders. Ugh.
An hour later I shampooed with my diluted doo gro moisturising shampoo and warm water. Hair still felt kind of oily afterward but I didn't want to overdo it with the shampoo. I skipped adding any oil to my deep conditioner and just used it straight. I covered again with a plastic cap. Normally i would wrap it up in a towel for warmth but I was so sleepy, it was about 1am after a very long day. I just crashed. I woke up by 5am and caught sight of my black tea (to combat shedding) which I was supposed to use BEFORE deep conditioning. Sigh. I rinsed with it anyway and finished with plain water.
I used my towel to catch drips without rubbing my hair at all. Then I wrapped it up in a cotton t-shirt to dry. When I took off the t-shirt, my hair felt moisturised and still a little oily, but not as soft as the wash day when I raved about PKO. My theories are:
1. Shampooing after using the PKO as a prepoo might have washed out its effects.
2. I shouldn't have used the black tea, which is known to harden hair, AFTER deep conditioning.
I sealed in the moisture with a very tiny drop of oil in each section.
Detangling was not a breeze. Did i say before that there was very little shedding or breakage? My bad. I spoke too quickly. I encountered a couple of stubborn knots, more shedding than before I washed, and a few broken strands when my patience wore thin.They were all nice, healthy strands except one: it was split in not one, not two, but get this- three spots along its shaft. The horror. I went on a search for more of those to cut out but didn't find. I think it was just a deviant.
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Finally tangle-free |
I put the hair in loose bantu knots and went back to bed. I had this picture taken when I got up later and noticed this:
I chopped off about this much from each section,
then redid the loose bantu knots. When I took them down later I had these waves:
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Worth the trouble eh? |
I had a busy day ahead so I had to put it in a bun. That busy day ehen, whew! It would have a post of its own.
How did your wash day go?
http://new.inlinkz.com//luwpview.php?id=392524
loves the waves! I have no luck at bantu knots
ReplyDeleteThanks Harlem!
DeleteI love your bantu knot fullness! I hate it when I have that one knot that won't act right! Ha-ha!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your #washdayexperience chica!
KLP | SavingOurStrands
Me too! I fiddle till I'm happy. Thank you KLP
DeleteHi dear..I have a 'funny' question. What exactly is wrong with straggly ends?
ReplyDeleteHi Loju, the issue with them is 1.they take away from the beauty of your hair. Imagine long pretty hair with uneven, dry ends. No bueno.
Delete2. They usually are dead and weak so are prone to splitting and breaking. If you don't get rid of them they could split all the way down the hair shaft and your hair will loose its health and shine. You may end up cutting more than you initially would have had to cut.
Hope that cleared it up