Wash Day/HOTD: Failed Twist Out

Happy Monday! This weekend's wash day was as simple as can be. I couldn't be bothered with a long wash day this time around, so I stuck with the basics.

First, I did a pre poo with a mix of Tresseme Naturals conditioner, olive oil, tea tree oil, and castor oil. I put my hair into two sections and baggied my ends before putting a plastic cap on my whole head. There is a short clip on @mypoundcake Instagram page which shows exactly what I am talking about. Be sure to follow Pound Cake on there! I baggied for about an hour while I worked out.

After rinsing out my prepoo, I cowashed with Trader Joes Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner (an old favorite) and finger detangled in the shower. I applied an oil mix (a blend of every oil I own) to my hair in sections, rinsed the oil off, and seal my strands with cold aloe vera juice. Outside of the shower I applied Shea Moisture JBCO Leave In Conditioner and then let my hair air dry for about 4 hours while I binge watched the Entourage (in preparation for the movie coming out this week). When my hair was about 70% dry I applied about a dimed size of Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and half a dime size of Argan Oil Eco Styler Gel to medium sized sections and twisted my hair up for a twist out. Altogether I had 21 twists. I believe this was the first time I combined these two products for a twistout. I love the products individually but this is probably the last time I will use them together. I'll explain why later...

I found that when I do a twist out on damp or dry hair as opposed to wet hair, I get better twist out results simple because my hair dries all the way before I take the twists down. 95% of my hair styles that have failed have been due to my hair not drying all the way lol. Well...

This morning I took my dogs for a long walk and it was just hot enough for me to sweat. I didn't have the time to sit under a dryer, so when I took my twists down this morning, my scalp and some of my twists were damp. Oh joy!... Well, I didn't get the definition I was looking for...once again.

I don't think the dampness was solely from walking the dogs in the heat though. When taking the twists down, my hair felt almost over moisturized. I think I may have applied too much Argan Oil Eco Syler Gel. This gel is so moisturizing, but when paired with the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie it doesn't seem to be the business if definition is what you're going for. As a matter of fact, my best twist outs have been a result of 100% dry hair and using the least amount of product possible. Obviously I didn't remember that this time around. So here my hair goes again...doing whatever it wants. 

I pouted for a bit....then I put it a puff and jazzed it up with a flat twist in the front! Problem solved! 

How do you achieve your best twist outs?

Wash Day: Hair Anniversary Gifts and Pampered Wash and Go

This past Saturday was my one year natural hair anniversary!! I treated myself to some new products so that I could have a special wash day. I went to Target and picked up the Camille Rose Naturals Curl Maker and the Kinky Curly Knot Today. I had heard great things about these products and was eager to try them out!

On Sunday I detangled my hair with an oil mixture and but my hair in big twists. I left that on under a plastic cap. After about an hour, I shampooed and conditioned my hair with SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo and Conditioner. I then applied the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Intensive Repair Mask in small sections and detangled thoroughly before twisting the sections. 

I let the mask sit in my hair overnight under a plastic cap and washed it out in the morning. I sprayed the twists with aloe vera juice and then sealed with an oil mixture. I rinsed the oil off and then unraveled a twist.

I applied about a quarter size of the Knot Today to this section and smoothed it into the hair. This product detangled my hair very quickly. It has great slip! I then applied about one pump of the Curl Maker and smoothed the hair some more. The curl maker had even more slip and made my hair feel silky. I made sure to smooth the hair and have it lay the way I wanted it to dry. I repeated this process on all the sections and then air dried. I loved how defined and shiny my curls were! 

When my hair was completely dry I stretched my roots with the blow dryer. I loved how these products made my hair feel! It was a nice treat! My curls were super defined and I absolutely loved how shiny and soft it was. I definitely think these products live up to the hype and I will be sure to review them once I use them some more. 

Have you ever tried these products? How did they work for you?

Wash Day Traditions- Nails

It is pretty common after a wash day that I will change up my nail color. I guess it has become a sort of tradition. The only times I don't do my nails on a wash day is if I am way too busy with school stuff or it is a really quick cowashing day. I have a pretty extensive polish collection so I like to change up the colors often. This wash day I went with China Glaze "Secret Periwinkle."

I will try and share my nail of the wash day (NOTWD) with you all as often as I can remember to take a picture. Lol! Nails are my second favorite beauty obsession. Of course hair is my first!

Do you have any wash day traditions?

13 Weeks Post and I Can't Wait to Texlax

Happy Monday!
For yesterday's wash day I..

1. Prepooed with coconut oil for  30 mins under a heating cap.
2. Clarified with VO5 clarifying shampoo
3. Deep conditioned with Kera Minerals Smoothing Conditioner for 2 hours under a heating cap.
4. Black tea rinse
5. Porosity control for 30 secs.
6. T-shirt dried for 30 mins.
7. Added S-curl to my new growth and Cantu leave in and argan oil to the length of my hair for my leave-ins and air dried under a silk scarf.


Everything went really well. I had minimal shedding and some tangling. The Kera Mineral conditioner gives me so much slip so detangling  in the shower was not as bad as it usually is at 13 weeks post. I thought the s-curl would make my new growth dry a lot softer than it did though. It moisturizes my new growth so well during the week but as a leave-in it was a little weak. Maybe I didn't put enough...

Cantu Shea butter leave-in conditioner is an old staple of mine. I decided to repurchase it because (1) I'm trying to go back to old staples that worked for me before I became a product junkie and (2) as i get deeper into my stretch I do experience more breakage at the demarcation line and I was hoping that a protein leave- in would combat that.

I only have 3 more weeks left in my stretch! Hopefully I don't get too much breakage between now and 3 weeks from now. I am trying to make it to APL by August 12 and Full APL by October 26th (2 year hair journiversary!) I know I'm a slow grower, so I always give myself some time to reach my hair goals.

Here's a shot of my new growth with conditioner on it.

Deep Conditioning with Kera Minerals Smoothing Conditioner (13 weeks post)

Here's the flat twist/faux bob protective style I decided to wear today.

Flat twists in the front and ends tucked under in the back

How did your most recent wash day go?

Wash Day

I co washed today and it went ok...
(1) Deep conditioned overnight with Shea butter and mango cholesterol
(2) Cowashed with Joico Moisture Recovery and then detangled in the shower
(3) I then applied Roux Porosity Control and left that in for 30 secs before rinsing
(4) I t-shirt dried for about 30 mins
(5) I added Creme of Nature Argan Oil leave in and Carols Daughter Healthy Hair Butter on top as my leave ins.
(6) I air dried in a high bun and wore clip in bangs to jazz up my protective style bun.

How did your most recent wash day go?