Hair Journey Feature | How she achieved waist length in less than two years.

Every so often I will be delighted by an email from a reader who shares the progress of their journey with me.  Not so long ago, Rachie did just that.  Her email proclaiming the achievement of waist length hair made my freakin' day!  I had no choice to but invite her to come to the stage to share the lessons from her journey with the rest of us.  

Ladies, meet Rachie.

Tell us about your hair (relaxed, texlaxed, natural, hair type)?

Texlaxed 4abc hair :-)

Congrats on reaching waistlength! How does it feel?

Pretty cool actually, I sometimes don't fully believe it because for sooo long I never thought it was actually possible for me :-)

How long have you been on your hair journey? What was your starting length?

I started my hair care research about October 2012, and then after I gathered enough information to make a “Hair-Plan” for myself, I officially started my hair care journey in January 2013.

Early on in her Journey

How do you care for your hair daily?

• I try my best to keep my hands out of my hair as much as possible during the week. Most times of late I've had my hair in braids/plaits on a weekly basis. I redo the braids or plaits once a week.
• I Moisturize and seal my hair daily with mainly Profectiv Mega Growth Daily leave-in Strengthener and a Grapeseed Oil + Castor Oil Mix. Of late, I've been using Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus KIDS Extra-Moisturizing Detangler as a spray-on moisturizer for my braids which is quick and easy to apply in the mornings before work, and I seal with a tiny bit of Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk.
• I do the GHE/Baggying method on alternate nights
• I always tie my hair with a scarf (satin) at nights. I'm looking into getting silk pillow cases so I don't always have to wear a scarf, I'll see.

What is your weekly regimen?

• I wash with shampoo once a month (Design Essentials Moisture Retention Shampoo), and Co wash once-twice weekly with any Moisturizing Conditioner I have in my stash: Mane and Tail Deep Moisturizing Conditioner is what I'm using at the moment (A big bottle was on sale, LOL).
• I wash with my braids in tact to reduce tangling and breakage.
• I air dry my hair with braids intact also. If my hair is loose (ie not in braids – usually the first 3-4weeks post Texlax) I'll air dry using the Scarf-method.
• I Deep Condition once to twice a week depending on how my hair feels, Mainly with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner.
• I tend to Oil Rinse also: When I'm about to rinse out my deep conditioner I'll apply a handful of coconut oil to the length of my hair over the conditioner, then rinse it out with warm water. I found that adding coconut oil prior to the rinse helve A LOT with detangling. It also leave my hair feeling very soft after the rinse out while keeping some of the moisture locked into my strands.
• I do ACV rinses after each wash.
• I use a Denman brush to detangle my hair, finger detangling hasn't worked of late since my hair has gotten Longer.
• Once every week or 2, I'll apply an essential oil + grapeseed oil mix to my scalp, very tingly and smells lovely :-)

How often do you trim?

I trim whenever my hair needs it, I may trim soon actually, but in general I trim once every 6-7months.

Do you do anything to care for your hair from the inside?

I was VERY big on juicing (carrots, beets, bananas, strawberries, aloe vera juice) especially in the beginning. I fell off the bandwagon of late with work being so busy/stressful. But my hair skin and body on a whole loved it! So I'm definitley trying to get back in the juicing game! I try to exercise for an hour every other day at least, I drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day and I take Vitamin Worlds Hair skin and Nails Vitamins daily (again of late I haven't been the most consistent). I also used to take fish oil, horsetail capsules, zinc, vitamin C and cod liver oil tablets. I have not been the most consistent with these of late either. But as I said my hair loves them.

Did you have any setbacks along the way? How did you deal with them?

YESS!!! I did a Cassia treatment in late November/ early December last year which I may have done wrong; It left my hair in LARGE DRY CLUMPS, I cried and cried and cried. Lol. I lost half a dust bin of hair, my fiance' had to help me cut out large clumps of hair. It was devastating. In fact that was when I started to put my hair in plaits/braids to reduce manipulation and keep what hair was left on my head ON MY HEAD, lol.

And that was when I started co-washing very often too, to put moisture back in my hair. It felt dry for months. The braids and co-washing really saved what was left of my hair.

If you had to start your journey all over again, what would you do differently?

Nope! I've made mistakes, I've learned from them and I've enjoyed doing so. It's a journey, it can feel like a race in the beginning but after you start to see your hair health improve and you get confidence in what you are doing, that in itself was a major reward for me.

If you're stuck on desert island and can only bring 3 hair related items or products, what would you take?

Hmmm... tough one. I think I'd take my satin scarf, HEHH Conditioner, and Grapeseed oil. Awww man, can I take my Denman brush and my Profectiv daily strengthener leave-in conditioner too? Pretty pleez? Lol.

You meet a stranger on the street who begs you to share with her the tips & tricks so she can too have waistlength hair, what tips do you share with her?

I'd strongly emphasize BEING VERY GENTLE and Reducing Manipulation as much as possible to avoid breakage; a satin or silk scarf at nights to avoid breakage, and keep the hair well moisturized again to avoid breakage! :-) Length retention is key! Everyone's hair grows, its just to figure out how to keep it on your head. My hair strands being very fine are prone to tangling and breakage, so low manipulation is a must!

Moisturizing and sealing is a must too, to reduce split ends and thus reduce the number of trims that you have to do. :-)

Nadege, thank you soooooooo much for featuring me! You have been such an INSPIRATION! Seriously, your blog helped me immensely, especially in the beginning when I was just starting out and wasn't fully sure what a hair-care regimen was exactly. I feel like I've come full circle, to think I'd be featured on the very same blog that helped to inspire me to start my hair journey in the first place! Thanks so much again,

Xoxo,

Rachie :-)

After studying Rachie's regimen, I was reminded of the power of low manipulation.  I love how she was able to turn a devastating set back into a method that enabled her to achieve her length goals.  I also like her idea of applying coconut oil over conditioned hair for additional deep conditioning benefits.  Will definitely have to try this. 

You want more of Rachie's hair journey and regimen details? Be sure to check out her blog as she makes her way to hip length. 

 www.rachietowaistlength.blogspot.com

Feature: How she got 2 inches of growth in a month & created the perfect moisture/protein balance.

I'm really excited to share this latest feature with you all.  This young lady is no stranger to us here.  We got familiar with her as she schooled us on the details of Japanese straightening.  Yahya had such great information that I asked her to come back and tell us more about what she did to create her gorgeous hair. This has to be one of my favorite features. It's chock full of valuable information that will help a lot of people.  Please sit back and enjoy.

How long have you been on your hair journey?

I started my hair journey the year entering high school, so that was approximately six years ago.

Before Japanese Straightening which relaxer did you use?  How often?

When I first started my hair journey a family friend would use Luster's Pink relaxer kit on my hair. As my journey progressed, I started to use ORS olive oil. Unfortunately, this was about the same time our family friend stopped doing my relaxers and I was having trouble on relaxer days due to being unable to find a stylists with improper technique. I would stretch for at least 12 weeks, and did it gladly as I was beginning to hate relaxer days. It seemed like every time I went to a stylist, they would either under process or over process my hair. My hair was finally saved by Hair's Talent. I think she had used Mizani.

Share a little about your daily regimen?

Sometimes everyday, sometimes every other day, sometimes every two days (it really depends on how my hair is feeling) I'll spritz my hair with my kimmaytube inspired leave-in. I use it as a moisturizer and leave-in. The ingredients I use in it changes, but the conditioner I've used include V05 conditioners, Trader Joe's nourish spa, Hello Hydration, Aubrey Organic's honeysuckle and white camellia. Oils include Trader Joe's jojoba oil, Hairveda cococasta, olive oil, and grape seed oil. After moistening my hair, I comb it with a seamless wide tooth comb. If I'm freshening up my hair from a low manipulation style, I'll only comb the straightened hair and finger detangle my new growth. About every other time I moisturize I'll seal with grape seed oil or vatika coconut oil.

What is your nightly regimen?

Hmmm... I don't really have much of a consistent night time regimen. I just tie my hair up, in a bun or braid, and go to sleep on a silk pillow. If I have a lot of new growth, sometimes I'll spritz it and sleep with a scarf so it flattens in the morning. Currently, I've been doing a personal challenge of testing all my growth aids in different ways and have been doing the *GHE (green house effect) method nightly. This has helped me in managing with my blooming new growth.

Tell us about your weekly wash routine?

This varies a lot, too!

I wash once a week, sometimes once every two weeks when new growth starts really blooming and I flat iron my roots.

I apply moisture deep conditioner, protein deep conditioner, or prepoo oil, on dry hair depending on how hair feels. I apply my deep conditioner on dry hair for better penetration as applying on wet hair blocks deep penetration due to the water. If doing a deep conditioner I'll put on a cap, wet my turban towel with hot water, and go under the dryer for 15-30 minutes. if doing a protein deep conditioner, I'll do a moisture one after washing. If a prepoo, I'll put on a cap and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Unless I'm clarifying or there's build-up, shampoo is only directly applied on the scalp and roots and rinsed into the length of the hair

After cleannsing my hair, half the time I'll squeeze the excess water and follow up with Roux ph corrector.

I will follow up with a normal conditioner or moisture deep condition (if I did a protein one before washing or am clarifying). If it's a normal conditioner, I'll squeeze excess water, apply in shower, and let sit for 2-10 minutes. If I'm deep conditioning I'll squeeze excess water and gently towel or t-shirt dry hair, apply, and steam for 15-30 minutes.

Half the time, I'll rinse out half of the final conditioner and do a acv rinse. If I plan to keep my hair tied up all week, I'll do an oil rinse right after the acv rinse.

I'll rinse my hair thoroughly or un-thoroughly depending on how my hair is feeling, t-shirt dry hair, and apply my luv natural leave-in usually after it's at least 50 percent dry.

If I don't have much new growth I'll let my hair airdry 70-80 percent, apply coconut oil and/ or grape seed oil, and then comb. If I'm starting to get new growth I'll strart the scarf method before my hair is 50 percent dry.

Sometimes to manage my new growth, especially if I'm leaving my hair out, I'll do bantu knots while my hair is damp and go under the dryer. When if really starts blooming up their I'll flat-iron after the bantu knots, every two weeks.

How often do you wear your hair out versus protective styling?

My hair is always tied up at home, usually in a bun. That might change to a braided ponytail/ pigtails. So about half the time my hair tied up. During this relaxer stretch, however, I've been keeping my hair in a low manipulation style 23/7. I say 23/7 because I only really take out my braided pigtails to detangle and on wash day, maybe for a specal ocassion. This is because my current goal is to thicken my ends, and this will prevent me from loosing extra hairs due to my line of demarcation.

Do you use heat? If so, how often?

I only use direct heat throughout my hair on Japanese Straighteningday, as the process requires it. When my new growth starts to bloom, sometimes after washing I'll go under a hooded dryer with damp bantu knots to semi-straighten the curl. Further in my stretch, when my new growth really starts coming in, I'll do a caramelization treatment of my new growth and flat iron my roots solely. I might not do that this stretch as I'm doing 23/7 low manipulation styles.

Please tell us the secret to your retention?

I honestly think that low manipulation styles have an advantage to protective styles. Protective styles hide your ends in order to keep them from rubbing off different surfaces, to prevent split ends. Hair rubbing on different surfaces is just one factor out of several that causes split ends. The main cause of split ends in girls with naturally dry hair is, well, dryness. Before tying my hair in a bun, I'll usually moisturize my ends exclusively before tucking them away. This kind of acts like wet bunning.

It's important to baby your ends when trying to retain length, and curing the major factors you'll see the most improvement. So when trying to prevent split ends, it's more important to keep your ends' moisture and protein balance stable. Keeping them from rubbing against surfaces is good, but it's more important to fix the biggest problem. Another thing I do to my ends is treat it with more protein compared to the rest of my hair. Our ends are the oldest parts of our hair, is has the least amount of protein while the top has the most. Therefore, the ends should get the most protein and our roots should get the least.

I said before that low manipulation styles are better, this is because I feel breakage occurs more with combing and low manipulation styles keep hair from tangling. This cuts the amount of combing and cuts the amount of breakage.

How do you maintain moisture & manage breakage?

I think it's important for chemically treated heads, especially relaxed heads, to use ph correcting supplies to correct their hair's increased porosity. This helps us keep moisture in our strands longer. I do this through roux ph corrector, apple cider vinegar rinses, aloe vera, and oil rinsing.

My regimen is mostly moisture based, as my hair's scale is about a 70 percent moisture and 30 percent protein balance. As a result, when my hair starts experiencing a little extra breakage I usually do a protein treatment. When applying protein, like stated before, I tend to do it in layers. My ends get the most, my hair up until the line of demarcation gets a normal amount, and my new growth gets the least. I find when strengthening the line of demarcation during stretching, my hair's strength becomes more even by only treating my chemically straightened hair. The most important was of knocking breakage, for me, is to do an elasticity and porosity test. This way I know I'm going in the right direction or I find out I have to temporarily change something,

Do you do anything internally to promote healthy hair?

I take a multivitamin, omega fish oil, and garlic supplements on a regular basis. That's pretty much it. Currently, I'm testing bamboo tea.

Have you experienced setbacks in your journey? If so, how did you bounce back?

My first, worst, and only major setback was about a year ago when I went through a protein overload. At first I did not sure what was going on, and so I probably was making the problem worst by not completely cutting off protein. After overcoming this episode, this lead me to make a post that labels hair symptoms in detail here. I also wrote about the regimen that finally got me out of protein overload here.

Has your regimen change before Japanese straightening vs. after?

My regimen changed quite a lot. I didn't start applying protein in layers until after Japanese straightening. I also became more casual with my hair, taking care of it more by feel than a schedule. Before, I would deep condition every wash and wash every week. And I would hardly ever deep condition before washing, it always came after. Some of these changes were due to my protein overload experience. As soon as I had gotten over my protein overload, I Japanese straightened my roots for the first time. But as most of my hair is still relaxed, the major change due to Japanese straighteing is just that the Japanese straightened section of my hair requires less product. I still treat my hair as if it's relaxed as most of it is.

You're stranded on a desert island and can only have 3 hair related items with you, what do you choose and why?

A good moisture conditioner like Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose, apple cider vinegar, and coconut oil. I picked these because I can mostly do everything I need with them. I can combine the conditioner and coconut oil to make a deep conditioner, and dilute it to make a leave-in. I can use the coconut oil as a sealant and to retain my hair's protein. Coconut oil rinsing and apple cider vinegar would keep my hair's ph in check. Acv would also keep my scalp clean. If I have a lot of new growth when I'm stranded I could also do the loc method using the diluted leave-in, the coconut oil, ad than the conditioner.

If someone who wants to reach your length as a goal, what advice would you give that person?

Don't trim your hair to get rid of split ends, trim to keep your ends even. Trimming because of split ends is kinda pointless because your not getting the splits throughout your hair, only the ones on your very ends. It makes much more sense to dust or *search and destroy.

Health should also come before length. There's no point in trying to grow your hair if your getting a considerable amount of breakage. When your hair is healthy, growth aids are a great way to gain length. I've seen some healthy hair care girls say that people see a difference with growth aids because they are taking more care of their hair, but this isn't true. I couldn't see my growth rate triple just from taking better care of my hair. Recently, I had done the GHE method for a month and got 2 inches of growth. Even more recently I did the GHE and *inversion method for a week and got another 2 inches. Everyone's head is different and what grows my hair might not grow another's, but with all the growth aids out there, there's most likely one that will increase your growth rate. Growth aids aren't mandatory for growth, you can get better growth just by keeping your hair healthy, but they sure speed up the process.
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*{GHE Method}-The process of using a plastic cap to generate heat on the scalp. This will promote blood flow to the scalp and can help boost moisture levels. You can put the plastic cap on for hours at a time or go to bed with it. 

*{Inversion Method}- The process of allowing blood flow to increase to the scalp by hanging the head in a low position.  (See link for more info). 

*{Search & Destroy}-The process of eliminating split ends by trimming in very small sections or trimming individual split ends as they are visually identified.