Wash Day August 22, 2014

A few weeks ago I talked about revisiting old habits, particularly bi-weekly wash sessions; I also outlined a regimen for the Fall that incorporated fewer wash sessions. The purpose of this plan was to find the perfect regimen that would maximize my hair's growth while maintaining its current health. August 22nd marked exactly two weeks since I had last shampooed and conditioned my hair, the process and results were as follows:

1. Shampoo with Kera Minerals Sulfate-Free Shampoo: I skipped the pre-poo step this wash day for no other reason than sheer laziness and the fact that I was a little pressed for time. Since it had been two weeks since my last shampoo session I opted to shampoo twice rather than doing my usual one-lather and rinse to be sure my hair and scalp were completely clean.
2. Quick Condition: Again I was pressed for time but wanted to make sure my hair was as conditioned as possible since I would be going two weeks without conditioning again. Using my beloved GVP Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm I applied a generous amount to my strands, focusing on the ends, and allowed the conditioner to sit for 2 minutes. I rinsed with cool water.
3. Deep Condition: I would hardly call this a deep condition since I didn't follow my normal procedure - but I suppose it was a DC nonetheless. After wringing the excess water from my hair and plopping it dry using a t-shirt I sectioned my hair into four quadrants and proceeded to apply my Kera Minerals Smoothing Deep Conditioner focusing most of the product on the ends of my hair. Once my hair was saturated with the conditioner I wrapped it in a low bun and sat around for about 7 minutes. *Due to time constraints and the fact that I didn't have a plastic cap I was not able to do my normal DC session beneath a hooded dryer for 15 minutes.* I then rinsed the conditioner with cool water to seal the cuticles.
4. Leave-Ins: I applied a quarter sized amount of Kera Minerals Smoothing Leave-In along with a dime sized amount of Procalim Glossing Polish.
5. Styling: I blow dried my hair in sections of four using a round brush. Once each section was dry I finished it with a blast of cold air to set the style. By this time I had to leave and pulled my hair into a simple low ponytail. For the night I set my hair on blue flex rods - three on each side of my head.
1. Flat ironing: In the morning I set my flat iron on 390 degrees and flat ironed 1 inch sections of hair from root to about 3/4 of the way down my hair shaft leaving the curls from the flex rods on the ends. I did this by removing only one flex rod at a time and working within that section.The entire process took about 1.5 hours.
2. Nighttime maintenance: I pulled my hair up in a claw clip and tied my satin scarf around the perimeter, removed the clip and covered the curls with my bonnet. In the morning I removed the bonnet and scarf and finger-styled my hair into place. the curls held up nicely over night and looked fine for church the next morning. For the remainder of the week I am wearing a low bun.

Results: Although I was not able to do a full/complete deep conditioning session my hair still feels soft and moisturized three days after washing. My hair still gets bone straight when using the flat iron thanks to my recent relaxer and I experienced zero breakage with a typical amount of shedding.

How was your wash day?