A few months ago i straightened my hair and to my surprise i had lost a good ammount of hair at the back of my head, honestly i was mad about it for a while and then it hit me that even though i had suffered this setback my hair had really come a long way and i should be proud of that. i realised that a hair journey is really a journey, sometimes we get to our destination on time, sometimes there´s too much traffic and it takes longer to get there and sometimes we take the wrong turn, but all in all it is possible to get to our destination. All we need is a lot of patience and consistency.
Here is a summary of my hair journey to help you understand better where i am coming from.

So after a failed hair journey (I retained no length for about 5months due to protein overload which led to dry, brittle, breaking hair) this was in august 2009. So i officially started another one in feb 2010

The progress was amazing, my hair was not only thicker but it had gotten a lot longer. 2011 was no different i noticed a increase in length with every relaxer. my ends looked great and i loved how the back looked.

And then 2012! i decided to stop relaxing my hair bone straight, this is called texlaxing unfortunately i didn´t do enough research on how to transition to texlaxing and this was a big mistake. As a result my hair was breaking off where the relaxed hair and texlaxed hair were meeting, unfortunately i realised what was happening too late! the damage was already done. I think it is so annoying how hair takes such a long time to grow but it takes only a few days to damage. so here is what it looked like in April.
The problem area is very visible :-(

Here is what i´m doing till my hair gets back on track, i will make sure that my hair is moisturised at all times especially the back to keep it from breaking even more and i am trimming my hair every four weeks until the middle catches up with the rest of the hair, so this means i will keep my hair at this length until the problem has been solved, this is my new goal.

 I hope this encourages you too not to give up on your hair even when you face a setback. And one last thing if your regimen is successful and you finaly reach your goal don´t stop doing the things you did to get you where you are. For example if you feel moisturising and sealing daily helped you reach your goal, don´t stop doing it even after reaching your goal, otherwise you might learn the hard way.

Joanne.

Hello Lovely African Queens,

I  visited Nairobi Town Central Business District earlier this week and happened to walk into the TUSKYS SUPERMARKET right next to Commercial Matatu stage .I saw this massive sale they have for the above named Relaxers and I just had to share with all you guys that adore your hair...The relaxers are on sale you buy 1 get 1 free...for less than Ksh500!!!The items are already taped together  in two's and placed either on your way to the 1st floor or ground floor..I can't remember where exactly lol!

For me this is too good a deal to let go since I am stretching my relaxer and will definitely need two packs when I'll be retouching.

I am not in an way promoting the purchase of this products..i just thought a few of you would jump at the SALE as I did!

• Deep penetrating conditioners nourish hair
• African botanical oils and herbal extracts
• All natural conditioners

I researched a bit about what ladies who have already used the product had to say about it and I found a number of reviews....

Customer Reviews....

	1. Professional system
	Used this for the first time. It works quick on virgin hair. I call it professional, because I had to be fast, it said 10 min. for app, but I say 5 and get it out fast, that's the way pros work. And it doesn't burn, but maybe they should get mild for my type of hair, My hair is very fine and thick. I like it, my hair looks fab, only thing, I will not apply to my baby hair, but it will grow back quick, I hope that they do not take it off of the shelf, I see it is on sale."
	Reviewed by:  Jsw1 from Queensland. on 12/29/2011

	2. Best relaxer for colour treated hair
	"I have been using this product for awhile and I found it to be very very good on my Blonde colored hair. Blonde hair is very fragile and dries out really bad in sunny weather,but this conditioning perm really conditioned and help my hair alot. Try it once you will be hooked."
	Reviewed by:  Queen T from Perth. on 6/18/2011

	3. Great product for damaged hair
	My hair is very damaged and when i used other products they just wouldn't get my hair completely relaxed and straight. I have this patch in the middle of my head to where no relaxer could straighten it and after using this product it got straight. After using this my hair acquired a shine and was very pleased to have my whole head relaxed and straight. I just love it."  Reviewed by:  moniferris from Sydney. on 4/11/2011 Please understand that these are individual experiences and that your may be different. It is always advisable to perform a hair strand test before relaxing your entire head to just make sure the relaxer works well with your hair.Please use relaxers with caution preferably let it be down by a professional. I am looking forward to trying  it out so I can give a personal review as well! TIP: 1. No-lye relaxers tend to seem very mild (hardly tingles or burns as lye relaxers do) hence you might be tempted to keep it in your hair  longer than required.Please make sure you know the instructions on the box and your stylist sticks to them lest you end up with lifeless fried hair! 2. Doing an Acid Cider vinegar rinse soon after the re-touch ()even though not immediately) will get rid of the calcium  residue often associated with this kind of relaxer than might  cause breakage and dryness. 3. Make sure you pick the correct relaxer strength for you hair type...choices being: mild,normal and super.... 4. Check out 'how to prepare hair for a relaxer ' on www.growafricanhairlong.ning.com or click on relevant label under this post! Till next post HHJ

The sides Dec 2011

Sides Comparison September 2011 After more than 1 inch trim

Finally I have been able to upload pics of my Dec relaxer.I am really happy about my progress.I have put pictures on the right just for comparison.I took those after a Trim in September 13th 2011....
 

Length check Dec 2011

September 2011 After more than 1 inch trim

I am so sorry guys it was a busy weekend and I am actually already 3 days post!I relaxed my hair on Friday 2nd Dec at almost 18 weeks post.I used ORS NO-lye relaxer in Normal strength.I had been thinking about doing it at home but because of the length and quantity of the new Growth I did go to a salon...I love my results and my new length.I instructed the hair dresser to wash off the relaxer quite early because i didn't want bone-straight lifeless looking hair....she adhered and I am pleased...below are Steps 3 and 4 that I did before my relaxer.
Following my previous post of steps 1 & 2

Step3
Protect those ends  
On the same days of my relaxer, just before I went to the salon, I generously applied Vaseline to the length of my hair (the already relaxed hair).Any good oil such as castor oil or even a thick conditioner could do the job!
I avoided greasing my New growth so as to have good relaxer results.The aim of this step is to avoid re-relaxing the already processed  length during relaxer rinse off.(the run down of the chemical would be all over you already processed hair and if there is no coating over it, it would mean relaxing the strands again!!
I think this is best done at home in case your saloonist decides your are being way over the top!

Step4
just after my relaxer was rinsed off......
I instructed the lady to protein - condition my hair even before Neutralizing.The reason for this was to' reinstall' protein into the hair shafts whilst my cuticles were still open from the relaxing process.After this is when she neutralized any remaining relaxer from my hair.She neutralized numerous times and kept it in quite long before the final rinse....

I only used a blow drier to dry my hair after the relaxer as I am striving to avoid the Flat Iron!
Pics coming soonest!

Today is Monday, the 28th of Nov 2011.I am currently 4months 1week and  2days post last relaxer.(about 17+ weeks).
I have so much new growth and I am so looking foward to this relaxer.I am taking necessary measures to make sure that the process will be a success and despite using a chemical on my NG, my processed hair must remain strong and healthy!
The count down from today is about 6days to the relaxer.Looking to relax on Saturday.What I have done to my hair is the STEP 1 of preparing for my relaxer!

STEP 1:
CLARIFY HAIR WITH A CLARIFYING SHAMPOO
This is an important step before relaxing so as to strip of the hair of any Products that have built up during the previous week.Hair should be very clean and product free to maximize the relaxing process.I did not have a 'clarifying shampoo' in the house so I just use my Motions Neutralizing shampoo- my hair does feel squeaky clean!You could do it differently and use other shampoos such as ORS Creamy aloe but I would think any sulphate bsaed poo should be able to strip your hair.I will only apply products to the length of my hair and not my NG in the remaining days whilst I wait for my relaxer.If you desire an underprocessed result you could keep up with your normal regimen but I prefer properly processed hair.This step should be done at around 5days before your relaxer.

STEP 2
PROTEIN TREATMENT
Its been years since I used an actual EGG  for a protein treatment and that's what I feel like today.Its after the clarifying wash this morning and the egg treatment, I am gonna do it over night to save on time.I will mix my oils namely; castor oil,teatree oil,sweet almond and any other natural oil I can get my hands on into my 1 or 2 egg mixture(depending on size).The oils will counteract the drying effects of the egg protein to the length of my hair.
The purpose of a protein treatment at this stage (which could be any brand of your choice such as ORS MAYO) is to fortify your strands as you go into the relaxing process because the relaxer manipulates protein bonds in your hair strands.
PS; Depending on the 'protein needs'  of your hair, you would choose amongst, Heavy, medium and light protein treatments to use for this process

After step 1 and 2, I'll try to keep my hands off my scalp, not to scratch an itch etc..this will help minimize chances of relaxer burning!