Friday, June 29

HOTD: Braid n Curl - Relaxed Hair Transitioning to Natural Hair

Happy Friday!!! 
I had my hair in twists all week. I did them larger because I wanted the option of removing them easily to wear my hair loose for the weekend. 
So, last night I took my twists out, braided my hair in about 12 braids then rolled the braids all the way up to my scalp. 
My hair looks super short..but I need to get used to this kind of shrinkage, right?
Once again, I did not separate or fluff out. As the day proceeds, my hair get's bigger and the curls will probably drop a little..so I will just let her do her thang! 

These are the results: 




Wednesday, June 27

Natural Ways to Color Hair

I posted this back in 2010, but added some more mixes and decided to re-post.
Many of you are familiar with these, but I posted for those that aren't.
Summer is also the perfect time to try these out!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because we all know dyes/bleach can cause damage to the hair, especially if you are relaxed...here are a few ways to naturally lighten/color your hair. These may take a few applications to get a noticeable color.


*Please note that these can get messy. Take precaution by using gloves, wearing older clothes, placing Vaseline around your forehead,ears or nape area and safe guarding your floor.


Cinnamon

If you have dark brown or black hair, cinnamon will give your hair a reddish/brownish tint.

  • Make sure hair is damp..best to use on towel dried hair
  • Mix Cinnamon Powder and Conditioner in a bowl-There isn't an exact amount of powder you should add, but I would say at least 2-3 table spoons. The mixture should be enough to coat hair from root to tips.
  • Apply mixture to Hair in sections from root to tip
  • Wrap Hair with Saran Wrap or a Plastic Cap
  • Let sit for at least 4-6 hours, best to leave in overnight
  • Wash out with Shampoo and follow normal wash day routine.

Honey & Cinnamon
If you have dark hair, this will give a lighter brown highlight to your hair.
  • Make Sure hair is damp- Best to use on Towel dried hair
  • Mix 3/4 cup of honey, 2 table spoons of Cinnamon with 1.5 cups of conditioner
  • Apply to hair in sections, root to tip
  • Wrap Hair with Saran Wrap or a Plastic Cap
  • Let sit for 8 hours
  • Wash out
Coffee

If you have lighter hair, this will turn your hair a darker brown color. If you have jet black hair, this will give your hair dark brown highlights.
Use the darkest roast possible

  • Brew about 2-3 cups of coffee first
  • After washing hair, pour the brewed coffee all through your hair.
  • Cover hair with a plastic cap
  • Let sit for 2 hours
  • Rinse out
  • Follow up with a deep conditioning treatment because this may be drying to the hair or after pouring the coffee on hair, put some deep conditioner on top of it and let sit, then wash out as norma

Beet and Carrot Juice
If you have dark hair, this will give you a maroon tint. Some even resulted with red hair.
  • Mix a half cup of beet juice and carrot juice together.
  • Apply the mixture to your hair in sections.
  • Cover with a Clear Plastic Cap and leave on hair for up to 1 hour either under the dryer or in the sun. Preferably in the sun.
  • Rinse out
    If hair is dry, follow up with conditioner

Friday, June 22

HOTD featuring an Old T-Shirt

Remember those chunky twists I did? Well the only way I think they look cute is if I wear a headband/scarf. So..in an effort to ditch my flower hair accessories and use up what I have..I thought this would be a perfect time to wear some hair scarves 

Today, I wanted to wear these orange accessories my friend bought me, but didn't have any hair scarves to go with them. So..what did I do? I cut up an old t-shirt and used that!  


Thursday, June 21

Review: Roux Mendex Hair Repair Treatment



What they say:

•Adds vibrancy and shine to dry, brittle hair
•Rehydrates to give damaged hair new vitality
•Helps mend split ends and signs of damage
•Helps prevent hair from breaking
Roux Mendex Treatment is specifically formulated to help restore and repair damaged hair. Using a protective complex, Mendex surrounds the hair shaft, bonding split ends and helping to prevent further breakage. Dry, brittle and damaged hair is improved with increased shine and vitality. The self-adjusting formula never over-softens

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water) (Eau), Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Silk, Panthenol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Lactic Acid, Lanolin, TEA-Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl Salicylate, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

*Some of these ingredients may seem questionable such as the parabens, sodium hydroxide and so forth. 
Please do a patch test before trying any products and educate yourself on these chemicals before placing on your scalp/body/hair. 

Directions: 

After shampooing, apply a generous amount of Roux Mendex Treatment to damp hair and work throughout. Leave on for one minute. Rinse well. For extremely damaged hair, cover with a plastic cap, place under medium heat for 10 minutes. Rinse well.

What Ms. D says: 

I have used this product off and on for about 3 years. It was one of my staple mild protein reconstructors and I would rotate between this and Aphogee 2 minute reconstructor.
This is a great conditioning treatment and it delivers what it promised on MY hair. I typically used this after a relaxer as my mid-protein step and it immediately strengthened my hair without leaving it too hard.
Whenever I would experience some minor breakage, I would shampoo, apply this on my hair for about 5 minutes, rinse, apply leave-ins and that's it. My hair would feel right back to normal. It's somewhat thick in consistency, so a little goes a long way and it will last you a pretty long time depending on how often you use it.
This acted as a light protein treatment on my hair because I didn't overdue it. I never slept with it on overnight or left it in my hair longer than 30 minutes. I also never mixed any additional products in this conditioner. I suggest the same for anyone else using it. 

Rated from 1-5: 
4

Cost: between $11.79 and $13.00
I purchased this at Sally's and would only buy it when there was a sale.

Can be found at: Sally Beauty Supply or some local beauty supply stores.
ETA 8/25/17- I believe this product is now discontinued and may be difficult to locate.


*Please note that I used this product when I was fully relaxed. I no longer use this only because I have established my transitioning staple products and so far my hair is doing well. 



Monday, June 18

Back in Twists

I said that I would document my transition more often once I reached 6 months post relaxer...so that's why there are so many "my hair" posts.
I didn't forget about the posts I said I will do...and those will be coming shortly.

Anyway, I took my twists out on Thursday and had my hair out all weekend. It felt good, but I got tired of it QUICK.
It took my like 30 minutes to come up with a decent hairstyle this AM, which was just a simple braid in front and a bun....but to me it looked WRETCHED(not to be confused with "ratchet"). My hair felt tangled and it just didn't look good. So, after work I twisted my hair. I only did the front small, but the rest were fairly large. It only took 1.5 hours.
I will keep these in for the remainder of the week, take them out on Friday, then do a henna/indigo treatment Friday night.



Braid-Out at 30 Weeks Post Relaxer

It's no secret that braid-outs are my style of choice when wearing my hair out. So, after removing my twists, I decided to rock one for the weekend. 
I planned on washing my hair this weekend, but opted to wait since I already washed my hair while they were in twists not too long ago. I also didn't feel like going through the whole wash process that takes almost a full day. 

Anyway..to achieve my braid-out, I: 

Spritzed my hair with my Aloe Vera Juice mix to make my hair damp, but not wet then braided my hair in about 15 single plaits. 


After putting my hair in the plaits, I then applied coconut oil to the length of my hair. 
I did these on Friday night and since I was only running errands and lounging on Saturday, I kept them in all day. 
This is how I wore my hair on Saturday. Underneath that beanie is a plastic cap and satin scarf. 

Sunday, June 17

Giveaway Winners

A big THANK YOU to all that entered in my 2 years blogiversary give-away. I honestly wish that everyone could win, so to be fair... I HAD to use random.org to choose the winners. 
If you see your name in large, bolded print..you have won! Congratulations!
Please contact me at 6footlonghair@gmail.com by Wednesday, June 20th with contact information so I can mail your prize. 
For those that didn't win, trust and believe there will be more giveaways..so stay tuned.  

'

1.) Karishma Henna-
I Want Long Hair  
* She was the only one who entered for it...lol

2.) Tresseme Shampoo and Conditioner for Color Treated Hair 

1.)    Erratic Assassin
2.)    LaQT
3.)    I want long hair
4.)    Back2Front




Twists Styles for Transitioning and Relaxed Hair

As said before, I am in a twists challenge. So, for the last 3 months I have been wearing twists for a duration of 2-3 weeks out of a month. I typically do my twists small because I needed them to last a pretty long time.
Here are a few styles I have done done with them.  


Friday, June 15

Transition Update: 30 Weeks Post Relaxer


Today marks 30 weeks post relaxer and on the 18th, I will be 7 months post!


  • I have not experienced any increase breakage. Just the normal wear and tear from manipulating my hair in between twists. 
  • My relaxed ends have the same thickness since the start of my transition although they look thinner because of my thick new-growth
  • I love twists, but I'm sick of them..so after my next 3 week set, I will wear my hair out for a month or 2. As said before, I would like to enjoy these relaxed ends while they look good!!
  • I do not want to wear any extensions until I'm at least a year post. So, braids will have to wait until then. 
  • I have not thought once about relaxing my hair. Not ONCE! 
  • I also haven't thought about bc-ing. I need more growth and I can't see myself cutting off so much healthy hair! 
  • I MAY straighten my hair in December.
  • This transition is going relatively well
  • I'm thinking about buying some Jamaican Black Castor Oil for my edges. That's one product I never tried, but my edges seem sparse. That's another reason why I'm holding off on braids. 
  • I'll be trying out a new DC this weekend. The Silk Elements Mega Cholesterol that was included in a haul post a while back. I will patch test first and cross my fingers that it works well for me. 
  • I lightly dusted my ends last night when I removed my twists. I plan to dust monthly and trim every 4 months. In February, on my Bday, I may cut off about 4 inches. 
  • I would like at least 10 inches of natural hair before I big chop.I need enough hair to fit in a ponytail. So.. if I get 6 inches by November, I should only have about 8 months to go after that.

On to the pics.....

Thursday, June 14

6FLH 2 Years Blogiversary-Give-away Alert-CLOSED

It's been a little over 2 years since I started blogging, so I decided to do a "raffle"/give-away for my readers as a BIG THANK YOU!
Instead of having multiple posts with separate give-aways, I decided to do it all in one post.

There are only 3 rules: 

1.) You MUST follow my blog or be subscribed to it via email
2.) You must comment on this post stating which product(s) you are interested in and state how you follow 6FLH. A simple number and stating "blogger" or "email" is fine.
3.) You must be 18+

*Optional Double Entry: Follow 6footlonghair on Twitter
*This is opened to international readers as well
*You may list more than one product


Although I don't "expect" comments, I appreciate them because it lets me know people are actually reading my blog. Comments are what motivates me to keep blogging. 
So, for those who commented in the month of May, you have already been entered for this give-away. Just state which product(s) you are interested in

Melany
Funbi
Colliz6
Jenna
Tai Harris
LaQT/Ty
Cocoa Channel
Gina
Aderonke O.
Amija
FEG
Alx
EbonyCPrincess
SimplyIntoMyHair
Guyanesesista


Prize #1
 1 pack of Karishma Henna



Prize#2
 TreSemme Color Revitalize: Color Protection for Color Treater Hair: Shampoo and Conditioner




Prize #3
 Fekkai Full Volume Shampoo and Conditioner




Prize # 4
1 Bottle of Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner





Prize #5
1oz Bottle of Pure Moroccan Argan Oil


You have until June 15th to enter.

Winners will be announced the following week, so please check back.
*All of these items are un-used and un-opened!
This is the perfect opportunity to try out a new product! 

Sunday, June 10

Using Nail Polish to Fix Tarnished Jewelry



I don't purchase many silver or gold fashion jewelry because of the simple fact that they will eventually tarnish. 
Now, one way to help slow down the occurrence of tarnishing is to coat the piece of jewelry with some good quality clear nail polish. 
For these earrings, it was too late. 

So, I had 4 options:
  1. Throw them away
  2. Purchase some silver spray paint and spray the earrings
  3. Purchase some jewelry paint
  4. Use some silver nail polish that I barely wear to paint the earrings
I chose option 4. 

I just:
  • Wiped the earrings clean
  • placed them on a piece of paper
  • coated the front once(or twice if necessary) with the silver polish
  • waited for them to dry 
  • turned them around to paint the back 
  • once dry, I painted the front and back with clear polish  


Here are some pics of a few pairs of earrings I'm currently painting.




I'm thinking about painting these different colors as well. We'll see. 

Saturday, June 9

Reviving An Old Phony Pony

Back in the beginning of my journey(in 2009), I purchased a Phony Draw String Pony to wear as a protective style. At first I only purchased it for a night out, but it grew on me(no pun intended) and I would wear it from time to time.





Well, that was 3 years ago..so you could just imagine how it looks now..right? It was a tangly, matted, dry mess. 



So, to bring it back to life....I co-washed it!
I first applied conditioner to the pony while it was dry. Then while rinsing the conditioner out with warm water I detangled from the bottom up with my wide-tooth comb.
I squeezed out the excess water then placed it on the door knob in my bathroom to air dry. 



Mission accomplished!

I plan to rock this pony from time to time during this transition, but mostly in a faux bun style. I will def post pics when I actually wear it. 

Current Hair "Tools"



Applicator Tip/Bottle- I place any oil I currently use to seal, oil my scalp, or for hot oil treatments(which I rarely do) in this kind of bottle. It makes the oil so much easier to apply and I am able to control how much I use. I also use an applicator tip bottle to apply diluted shampoo to my hair.





Double Sided Boar Bristle Brush-  The only time I use a brush is when I bun my hair. I usually lightly spritz my edges, apply a holding product, spritz the SOFT side of the brush with water, then lightly brush them. The last few times I tried that method, my edges didn't lay down as well as the past, so I will be using the harder side  going forward.



Medicine Eye Dropper-  I use this to accuratley measure the amount of essential oils or other products (such as silk amino acids) I add to Shea Butter mix, oil mixes or deep conditioner.


Hair Clips- I use these to section off my hair when I do twists and Henna treatments. Without these...I would be lost!






Hercules Sagemann Magic Star Jumbo Rake Comb- I already did a few posts on this, but I absolutely ADORE this comb. I wish I would have purchased it a long time ago! I also use the HS1975 Styling Seamless Comb, but not as often as the Jumbo rake!




Spray Bottle(s)-  Last but definitely not least is spray bottles. I use one every single day! They usually contain my Aloe Vera Spritz or just plain ol' water.

Thursday, June 7

Let's Chat

Hey Everyone!!!
Hope you all are having a great week!!!
Just wanted to stop by and chat with you all.

So...where do I start?

My Hair


  • I'm 29 weeks post and still in twists. 
  • I'm in a twist challenge that ends in July, so I will remain in twists until then. 
  • NO, I did not abandon the roller-setting challenge because since January I have done at least 1 roller-set a month. Haven't done one in June though.
  • I'M SICK OF TWISTS!!! 
  • After my next set of twists I will be wearing my hair out/loose for 2 months. 
  • I want to enjoy my relaxed ends while they still look good
  • I will do braids when I'm either 10 or 12 months post 
  • I can't believe how healthy my hair is..it hasn't been this healthy my whole hair journey

The Giveaway

Thank you to all that entered for the giveaway. Each and every one of your comments put a smile on my face! I have the best readers!!!


For those that haven't entered, please don't forget to do so for a chance to win some great prizes!!! The WEN seems to be most popular, so for those who don't win the full size bottle..I am entering you in for a chance to win a sample size(good for at least 2 washes) of Lavender WEN.

Upcoming Posts


I have been tagged by Funbi and Jenna on 2 separate topics/posts..so that will be coming soon.
Also, if you recall from my poll, it seems as if Healthy Hair Tips and Styles are the most requested topics for this blog. So...I will be having more of those.

I have some reviews coming up for products I have used in the PAST since I haven't been trying anything new recently.

I will also be posting some fitness, healthy living tips, VOTD and other random things that come across my mind.

My Life


I'm a pretty private person and choose to be that way for various reasons. Some people have asked me to do relationship tips and recommended that I post more about my personal life. I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen anytime soon. If you would like to get to know me a little better..either check out my tumblr or follow me on twitter.

Thank you


I would like to thank each and every single one of you for reading my blog, sending kind emails and for commenting.
I don't make money off this blog and I choose not to do (many if any) sponsored product reviews. This blog is solely to offer tips and to document my hair progress.
When I receive positive feedback..it keeps me motivated to post more often. So thank you!




Monday, June 4

$10

If you were only able to spend $10 on hair products, every 2-3 months, what products would you purchase or do you think you would need?

If you ask me that question, I would purchase:


$1.00

V05 Clarifying Shampoo- Although this product contains sulfates, the stripping effect can be avoided by simply doing a prepoo treatment before washing. There are other V05 shampoo's other than the above, but that that is the only one I have tried. 


$1.00
V05 Moisture Milks Conditioner- This conditioner made my hair so soft! It's a great for the price and could be doctored up for a few different purposes. 
1.) Leave-in- Just dilute this with distilled water and apply after washing
2.) Deep Condtioner- Either add an egg if you need a protein treatment or some Extra Virgin Olive Oil if you need a moisturizing treatment. 
3.) Moisturizer- Yes, I have seen some people use this just to moisturize their hair. I would stay away from the scalp if doing this though. 


$4- $6.00 (depending if there is a sale)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil- EVOO is one of the few oils that actually penetrate the hair shaft...so using this oil has many great benefits. 
There are so many ways this can be used!
1.) Hot Oil Treatment after or before washing
2.) Added to conditioner to double up as a deep conditioner
3.) To seal your hair after moisturizing 
4.) You could basically mix this into just about anything to get that extra umph!


$1.59- $2.00

 Half Dozen Eggs
My hair needs SOME kind of protein in a course of 3 months. That's where the eggs come into play. I would just add one to a moisturizing conditioner and maybe a little oil. 

$0 (well excluding the water bill which you may have to pay anyway)


To avoid frizzy, rigid hair, do a cold water rinse(as your final rinse after washing to close the cuticle of your hair. 
If you hair hair low-porosity- rinse with warm water. 


What does that give me? A total of $7.59- 10.00?!
 I keep telling people that to obtain and maintain healthy hair... it shouldn't break the bank. So if you're on a budget, improvise and you will be sure to get or keep healthy hair! 





*all images were found on google images. I do not own any rights. 

Saturday, June 2

Cute Summer Hair Looks

Summer is right around the corner or it has already started for some.
Here are some cute, simple(well most) summer looks that you could try out. 

source
When the weather get's too hot, it can be uncomfortable to have your hair down, on your back or on your face. So why not pull it all back? A simple braid can also add some flavor! If your hair isn't long enough you can just wrap some kanekalon hair to your ponytail and braid. 


source
Slight curls, pulled up and framing the face is always a cute look! You can get these curls by using a curl wand, caruso or hot rollers, or simply roller-setting your hair. A nice bow or flower accessory takes the style up a notch! 



source

Not only does a hat protect your skin from the sun, but they are also very stylish! 


source

Scarfs aren't JUST for wrapping your hair. They can also add some color to your look or conceal a bad hair day! 




For more summer looks, check out this post I did on vacation hair. 


** this for natural and relaxed folks..but I will do a post specifically for the natural ladies at another time.