Length Check

I figure since I've successfully reached my first month as a natural diva that I should start doing length checks. Afterall, length is one of my ultimate goals. When I was a young girl my hair hit past my (training) bra strap and I was faaar from taking good care of it back then. Let's see how long I can grow it now that I'm armed with a plethora of knowledge and megatek! ^_^

So here's month one..I guess I'll give quarterly updates. That leaving my next length check set for July 19, 2010. Enjoy!

(for some reason it doesn't get bigger but i think you get the picture at this size)

Duhh!

In my last entry I spoke of how I noticed a little bit of length and that maybe I was just trippin' since it's only been a month since my big chop. Well as I just sat here reading over my blog, checking for spelling/grammar errors and things of that nature, it hit me: MEGATEK! I've been using megatek about 3-4 times a week for the past 3 weeks! Now, the length probably isn't THAT noticeable to the eye but I definitely notice the weight and length increase while in the shower washing my hair. My regimen has been as follows:

Sunday: wash & part into small sections applying the megatek directly to the scalp

Fridays & Saturdays: these days I tend to do wash and go's at which time I try out different products and use a small amount of megatek on the actual strands of my hair.

The Week: I usually don't use megatek too much during the week but sometimes I'll add a bit to my edges in the mornings.

Megatek Update

Heyyy! So as you all know from my "Sad But True" entry, I've been wearing my hair in straight styles for the past 2 months. Well, NO MORE! My hair absolutely cannot take this annnymore! After last week when I put my bantu knots back, I realized juuust how much I missed my curly styles and that's when I decided to do away with the straight styles and start my "No Direct Heat" challenge early. Now, what does that mean for my megatek challenge? Well, I'm not ending it..but I am slowing down. A lot. So far, since last Wednesday my hair has seen megatek all of twice. I've decided to use the growth aid only on my wash days(this includes co-washing). I'll be using the same method of parting in small sections and applying directly to the scalp as before. The only difference is I will not be doing it every single night as I did before.

Due to the fact that my ends are relaxed and moisture will simply destroy my bantu knot outs, making the relaxed hair fall straight, my Ends Saver Challenge will also be affected. I've pretty much decided to stop stressing so much about my ends for now since they'll be gone in May anyway. However, I do believe that the No Direct Heat Challenge will have a positive effect on my ends. The only thing is I wont be sealing my ends every night. Honestly, since I'm not using a blow dryer anymore, I don't think my hair will become so dry so quickly. When wearing my curly styles my hair is in contact with H2O a lot more often than when I wear my straight styles so I think that will take care of the moisture part.

So that's all for the updates with my challenges. Because I got really sick from air drying my hair overnight last week, I will be using my hooded dryer to dry my bantu knot outs while the weather is as frigid as it's been. You guys know we got 30" of snow here?! And another 10-20" is on it's way tomorrow. HA! Yeh, hooded dryer it is. My room is drafty then a mugg right about now and I hate being sick! I couldn't even go play in the snow! (big kid alert) Welp, til next time...Happy Healthy Hair Growing!

Sad But True..

I've been wanting to go back to my bantu knots for some time now and up until today, the only thing holding me back was my ridiculous levels of laziness. However, today it dawned on me that putting my bantu knots back would interfere with my megatek regimen and more than likely my moisture and sealing process as well. Since I'm transitioning, my relaxed ends don't behave the same way as my natural roots. I'm afraid that the moisture will ruin the bantu knot out results and make my ends go straight which, believe me, is not cute. At all! So now I need a new straightened regimen. I straighten my hair about once a week but now that I have my silk scarf to tie my hair up, I should be able to stretch that a bit longer. I use two different types of heat protectant, 1. Nexxus heat protexx and 2. Fantasia IC Hair Polisher/Heat Protector/Straightening Spray to try and avoid heat damaged roots. The reason for using two is this: Nexxus is a GREAT heat protectant, smells great and everything but the product is water based. Therefore, I only use it before blowdrying. To blowdry my hair and then turn around and spray a water based product onto it is insane and counter productive. I'd rather not. Instead, I turn to my Fantasia IC Heat Protector when it's time to use my handy dandy Chi flat iron! It smells like watermelon candy (yumm) and works like a charm! Hopefully in taking these measures to protect my hair, I'll keep my hair from getting damaged and will never have to report any bad news! Below are pictures of the products listed in this entry just in case anyone wants to check them out. Until next time, Happy Healthy Hair Growing!

Girl, No!

As you all know I've started my End Saver Challenge in an effort to retain my length and start healthier habits with my hair. I can't remember if I gave you all my regimen in a previous post and I'm much too lazy to create a new tab and find out so I'll just tell you all again. :)

Daily:

Moisturize with 100% raw shea butter focusing on ends

Seal with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Apply Megatek to scalp in small sections

Well over the weekend I traveled to New Jersey to visit family and of course while there, I fell off my regimen. I was there from Thursday evening until Sunday morning. The only days that I didn't do what I was supposed to do was on Saturday and Sunday and BOY did my hair let me have it! I know I've said it before but I am now truly learning that my hair TRULY loves and needs moisture to thrive. Those two days without my moisturize/seal routine really showed up in my comb! My hair was breaking off a little more than normal. I never grabbed my shea butter and EVOO so fast in my life! I'm back on track now however and things are back to normal. The megatek is really doing it's job also guys. My hair hasn't shown any major growth yet but it's definitely thicker! It's only been two weeks though. The young lady in the example I used when first introducing the product to my blog has been a devout user for 2 months. We shall see and I shall definitely update! Until next time...Happy Healthy Hair Growing!

I Stand Corrected!

"Whoops." -DJ

So as I was tweeting about my usage of Megatek, one of my followers, fellow student at our University, and hair GURU let me know that what I was doing was counter productive! She told me that using the megatek on my actual hair strands everyday would most likely lead to protein overload and hair breakage! Instead, she recommends that I only use it on my scalp. SO, that's what I will be doing from now on! Starting NYE, I began my megatek scalp regimen and I will keep it up until the bottle is empty! I'm excited! The next couple entries will be Trader Girl editions! So stay tuned for real life accounts of how other readers are doin' their thang!

Until next time, Happy Healthy Hair Growing!

#FAIL/End Saver Challenge

"Oh, I am not playing!" -DJ

So, I know I was supposed to go 6 full months without touching those scissors/shears...but i HAD to! Yes, I know this makes me a #failure, but you all didn't see my poor end! They were horrendous! While I didn't make it to my goal of 6 months, I did go 5 which is major for me! Eh, I'm still proud! So on to the details: I snipped probably 1/2-3/4" off of dead ends last night. I can still see growth progress but not as much as I would like. Hence, the End Saver Challenge! I have 100% sucked at taking care of them and that's pretty much been my issue for the past 5 years or so. So this time...I'm going smack into an "Ends Saver Challenge". Being as though I'm home on Christmas break and have no real obligations outside of my house I play to keep my hair sealed 24/7.





*back track*





Last week i received my first order of Megatek! For those of you who don't know about Megatek, it is a very powerful (and expensive) conditioner formulated to grow back the manes and tails of horses who suffer from skin conditions and other issues that make it difficult to grow their hair. The conditioner has been deemed safe to use on humans and lots of ladies have enjoyed remarkable results. I've only used it twice as a conditioner and I really really love the coconut smell! I honestly wasn't expecting it to smell as good as it does so that was a pleasant surprise! Here's a picture of a "faithful user" of Megatek with a 2 month comparison pic. According to her, without the product she was only getting 1/8-1/4" a month of growth which is below the average 1/2" a month that most people see.

So yeah, $30 a pop is a bit steep but the results can NOT be denied!

Anyway, like I was saying. I used the product on my wet hair as a deep conditioner overnight using a shower cap and a rubber band (i don't recommend). I applied the product, put a regular plastic cap on and kept it on with a rubber band, slapped a bonnet on and said *goodnight*. I woke up with a headache due to the rubberband cutting off all circulation to my brain during my slumber. SMH, never again. Thankfully, I discovered the other way to use Megatek; on dry hair! If you've ever used Luster's Pink Lotion and liked it, you'll LOVE using Megatek dry! I put about a dime size or less in my palm, rub my hands together and distribute all throughout. I then use my denman (for no reason in particular) to get a more even distribution and use about the same amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to seal it in with, distributing the same way. In oder to avoid using heat later on in the week (i'll get into that later) I pin curl my hair all over so my hair has some sort of bump to it. Going back to the shower cap, but smarter this time, I put it on the same way but secure it tight and twist the extra slack twisting it like a bantu know and securing it with a bobby pin. That'll keep the moisture on my hair and off my pillow case, in the air, or whatever other way moisture can be stolen. Today is Monday and I do plan to keep my hair like this at least until Thursday! Oh, I am not playing! My ends WILL be healthy in 2010!

Back to what I was saying though, it's never a good idea to apply direct head (flat irons, curling irons, blow dryers etc.) more than 2-3 days after washing your hair. Think about it, have you ever looked at your hair days after washing it? Like, REALLY looked at it? There's all kinda of lint and other ungodly things from your clothes, scarves, cleaning and just your environment in general in there. You don't want to bake those things into your hair deeper. Eghk! And constant heat is always a bad thing in itself. Instead of retouching your style every morning, try bantu knots, pin curls or rollers. These things will all help in keeping your ends together.

So, did I miss anything? If so, let yourself be heard in the next edition of Trader Girls with your own tips, tricks and concotions by emailing me at donnajenay@aol.com! Until next time Happy Healthy Hair Growing!