Petite Diva Directs!!!!!

Today we feature Omowunmi of journalofapetitediva.blogspot.com . She is the original diva! She is the PETITE DIVA! I hope you can learn something from her. Also, chack out her blog. It is full of awesome randomness!!

1.Your hair is........(relaxed includes texlaxed, natural, loc'd)
(Include how you started your journey)
  I am texlaxed for now (I am thinking of going back to natural). I had gone natural before in 2009 but relaxed it in 2010. Then one day i realised that my hair seemed to have been stagnant so i decided to go back to natural because i believed that my hair would only grow in its natural state. I didn't realize until later that my hair seemed to thrive better when natural because i took care of it better than when it was relaxed. So after being a natural again for 19 months, i texlaxed my hair again.

2. What's your current length? 
  I think that majority of my hair is almost at armpit length (my hair is unequal due to some set backs and my growth rate).

3. How long have you been on a hhj and how long did it take to get to your current length?
 2 years and 9 months.

4. What's your daily and weekly regimen like?
 My daily regimen whether in a protective style or not involves the use of my diy moisturising spray, a light moisturiser, oils and my diy whipped Shea butter. When my hair is not in a protective style, before washing I prepoo always with my hot oil treatment. I prepoo because my shampoos are sulfate based. Then I wash once and depending on if i am installing a protective style like braids or weaves i do a hard protein treatment. I always do a moisturising deep conditioning treatment when i wash my hair. Sometimes i do a tea rinse before applying my deep conditioner and an apple cider vinegar rinse.

5. How do you like to wear your hair. ( i.e your go to protective style)
 My go to protective style used to be a boring sock bun but now I like using faux buns and extensions to create a sleek fun chic bun.

  6.  Have you suffered a setback on your journey? How did you deal with it? If no, what's the one setback you would like to avoid? And how are you avoiding it?
How did you deal with it? If no, what's the one setback you would like to avoid? And how are you avoiding it? Yes! A lot. I made the mistake of installing faux dreads that is sewn to the hair and while loosening it I think I lost half of my hair. I was devastated but I knew that my hair would grow back. I just continued with my regimen and I am trying to be very careful with what I do to my hair now.  

Protective style.

7. Are you on any diet or are  taking any vitamins to promote healthy hair growth?
No, I am not on any diet. I don't take any hair vitamins. I tried taking perfectil by vitabiotics but it was not compatible with my system. I just take my routine vitamins of high strength vitamin c (1000mg), folic acid, iron tablets and vitamin b complex (on days that I remember). I recently decided to add cod liver oil because of my eyesight and knees.

8. If you could have 5 hair related items, what would they be and why? (Briefly)
I would love a hooded dryer, magnetic rollers basically so that I don't have to go to the salon except when necessary. I would love a microwave (yes a microwave) so that I can get a cordless conditioning cap to use for deep conditioning. 

 9. What do you wish you knew before your hhj?
That relaxed hair can grow long too!!

10. Encourage someone also on a hhj.
 Your hair journey is different from others so try not compare yourself with others too much. You would get there when it is time for you to get there. 

Visit her blog journalofapetitediva.blogspot.com

Stay Awesome

FUNGI DIRECTS!

 I get to feature the beautiful and lovely Fungi!

1. Your hair is........(relaxed includes texlaxed, natural, loc'd)
 Relaxed(texlaxed)

2. What's your current length?
 Arm Pit Length

3. How long have you been on a hhj and how long did it take to get to your current length? 
 I have been on a healthy hair journey since March 2013 and it's taken me 22 months from neck length to get to Arm pit length.

Neck Length

4.What's your daily and weekly regimen like?
Daily

• Moisturize and seal with a water based moisturizer my sealing oils are either Extra virgin olive oil, castor oil, and coconut oil at times i love my shea butter as a sealant.
• Do 2-3 min mini scalp massage and wear a protective style.
• Cover hair with satin scarf.

Weekly

• Detangle
• Prepoo treatment 
• Shampoo/ Cowash 
• Deep condition with a light protein/moisture deep conditioner 
• Apply a leave in conditioner always then airdry

5. How do you like to wear your hair. ( i.e your go to protective style)
 I like running and soooo comfortable with cornrows and wigs maybe braids twice a year.

6. Do you use direct heat? If so, how often?
I am now on a very strict no heat regimen i only use heat on my relaxer days which is at least 3 times a year were i either blow dry on low heat or flat iron

7. Are you on any diet or are  taking any vitamins to promote healthy hair growth?
 I have started eating healthier, I drink more water, about 2-3 litres a day. 3/4 of my meal consists of vegetables. And I'm taking Manetabolism healthy hair vitamins. I am on bottle number 2 now.

Shoulder length

8.  If you could have 5 hair related items, what would they be and why? (Briefly)
Ummmm...

• Tangle teezer brush- pain free detangling.
• Boar bristle brush - for wrapping my hair 1-2 weeks after relaxer.
• Satin braid bonnet- to protect my hair when in braids full cover.
• Clip in extensions - easy and quicker protective styling
• Huetiful steamer-  multiple benefits both my hair and skin

9. What do you wish you knew before your HHJ?
 I wish I knew everything I''m doing now to have grown my hair to terminal length by now and I wish I had not put my trust into hairdressers.

Armpit length

10. Encourage someone also on a HHJ.
Planning is very important, review your current hair care habits then create a healthy hair regimen that suits you and allows your hair to thrive during that time you have to tweak your regimen till it's perfect for you, it takes effort, commitment and patience it will not happen overnight but the end result will be satisfying.

FIND HER ON HER BLOG curlyeva.blogspot.com
Stay Awesome,

Starting Your Hair Journey (Regimen building)

source: pinterest

Healthy, long hair will not come to you over night. It takes commitment and a little extra effort to get it where you want it. One thing that has kept me focused on my Healthy Hair Journey has been a regimen.

What is a regimen? A regimen is the set of guidelines and routines you create for yourself that you follow using your own personalized systems and techniques to help grow and retain healthy hair. See post on length retention here

A regimen doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, but, in the past year I have identified some things that are worth making an investment on if you want to get beautiful hair. These are:

• Shampoo- Shampoos are cleaning agents for your scalp. This is necessary to get rid of product build-up. It’s also worth noting that a clean scalp absorbs products better
• Conditioner- A hair care treatment used to improve the health and status of hair. Conditioners work on the hair strands. There are different types, and the all have different uses.

1. Moisturizing Conditioner- Adds moisture. eg. Suave Almond Oil and Shea Butter Conditioner
2. Protein Based – Mainly for the strengthening of a hair strands.
3. Balanced- Moisturizes and Strengthens a strands. eg. ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner
4. Deep Conditioners- These are conditioners with smaller molecular sizes and can penetrate the hair shaft.
5. Leave In Conditioner – They are mostly moisturizing conditioners that do not have to be rinsed out.eg. CON Argan Oil Leave In Conditioner.

• Protein Treatments – A hair treatment designed to ad strength and elasticity to the hair by adding protein to the cortex [source: lamasbeauty.com] Protein treatments should be done at least every 6 weeks, before a relaxer update, and after the take down of a protective style that is older than 4 weeks.

A DIY treatment with eggs, mayonnaise, honey and olive oil is a cheap way to do a protein treatment. If you are not into DIY you can get a tub of hair mayonnaise.

• Daily Moisturizer: To provide the hair with moisture and improve hair elasticity.

• Oils – Oils can be used for pre-poo (pre shampoo treatment), hot oil treatments and/or sealing of moisture. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and Castor Oil are oils that are easily accessible here in Ghana.

• Satin Bonnet/ Scarf/ Pillowcase - To protect your strands at night.
• Wide tooth comb- For styling, combing and/or wrapping hair.

So now what? Now that you have the products, it’s now time to create a schedule of the hair tasks. You can create a weekly regimen which can look like this:

Or, a general regimen which can look like this:

Remember, it’s not only about creating a regimen but sticking to it too. It’s also worth noting that regimens are subject to change. Not everyone’s regimen is the same. Be consistent and the progress will follow. See my regimen here

Also, it is important to drink loads of water, eat healthy and stay healthy. 

Stay Awesome!!!!!!!

My Direction (regimen)

Over the course of my hair journey, I have had different regimens that have helped with my journey, but this is my usual regimen and the only changes that occur are with products. I'm not going to be stating all products but, I will state the processes.

• Wash my hair at least once a week. In protective styles, at least once every 2 weeks.
• Apply my growth aids at least 3 times a week. Over the months, I have used t444z, Doogro mega thick grow oil, Dr Miracle's Gro Oil and I'm currently using JBCO JBCO,Olive oil and peppermint oil mix.
• Drink at least 2 litres of water daily. I usually push myself to drink more.
• Moisturise and Seal almost daily. my go to oils are Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Coconut Oil. I recently got Shea oil and I use it in the dryer seasons.
• I do scalp massages often, at least 5 times a week. 
• I do the green house effect when my hair feels exceptionally dry.
• I do NOT co-wash. TRied it once and my hair didn't feel clean so NO. I am Giving co washing a try in 2015!!
• I ALWAYS always sleep with a satin scarf. My grandma's church scarf which I have taken. :) I have upgraded to satin bonnets. I have 3!!!! I occassionally reach for my scarf.
• I'm currently on no growth supplements. I have had a history with growth supplements. See my history with hair growth pills here.
• I protective style almost 60% 75%. I will say 90% but that will be lying. I like to play in my hair. My biggest HHJ flaw. My go to protective styles are weaves, wigs and braids.
• Inversion for one week in a month, on selected months.
• And finally i try to relax my hair a MAXIMUM of 4 times year. Means I stretch my relaxer for at least 12 weeks

My regimen is subject to change but for now. this is my go to regimen.
Updated 2nd January 2015