My Nexxus Hair Care Experience

So I love the Nexxus Line of shampoos and conditioners.  I had been tweeting about this brand the other day and realized I never blogged about so here it goes.

 

Background

Now before I began transitioning I was a use whatever type of girl.  Well that's not entirely true I try products and if I absolutely fall in love with them, they become my staple until I either can't afford it or run out and didn't replace them or I find something new.  At the point of discovering Nexxus I had decided I was going to transition and had been doing so for about 6 months.  At six months into my transition I was still getting used to this new process.  My hair was extremely dry.  All I knew was to do protective styles, protective styles, protective styles, if I wanted to keep my length.  The only protective style I was good at was mini twist so that is what I did.  I kept my hair in these twist because they prevented me from combing it and it resembled a wrapped style so I was used to that.  The product I used on my hair before this was basically the Suave brand.  I only used the Suave brand because it was Christmas time and I was cutting cost to be able to give the kids a nice holiday.  But before then I was using the Pantene relaxed to natural line. 

Typically I begin with a Shampoo.  That is if I had been faithful to my routine and didn't need to give my hair any extra TLC.  The Shampoo smells really good.  Its thick and has great lather.  The slip is nice and it's ultra moisturizing.  At first I pump 2 to 3 pumps on my hands and rub into my hair.  Because of the product build up and dirt on the hair the lathering will be tough.  Once that is massaged through I rinse and repeat.  The second Wash I will only need 1 pump sometimes 2 but I rarely need to use two.  The lathering is great at this point.  If you use too much it will be hard to rinse out.

Next I condition. And the Humectress Ultimate Moisture Conditioner is whats happening. I mean it has a medium consistency. Softens the hair beyond belief. Detangles like a champ, is true to its word in moisturizing and smells wonderful--almost tropical. Your hair is definitely more manageable, hydrated, and has a silky sheen to it. I love love love this product. Its definitely my favorite out of all the products.  

When I need a protein treatment I go for Keraphix conditioner. It smells really good. and stops my breakage. The only thing is this product dries my hair out tremendously so I have to replenish my hair with a hot oil and an extensive conditioning treatment.

To combat frizz I use the Silken smoothing conditioner. Its an added step that is purely based off my preference. But its also moisture rich and softens the hair. Lots of people says it combat the frizzness and I suspect that it does but I don't mind frizz!

So that's my review of the Nexxus line.  no matter what I have been trying lately I have come back to these products to rescue my hair.  When I am experiencing breakage.  I come back to this.  When I experience dryness I come back to this.  When my hair is just not acting right I come back to this.

If you are having difficulty with your transitioning hair, I strongly encourage you to try this product line out.  It not only restores your damaged, dry, brittle, lifeless hair.  But it brings a manageability to it that is unheard of if you have two totally opposite textures of hair.  The Nexxus line has help me to presevere through this transition.  I honestly believe  if it was not for this product line I would not have been able to transition as long as I have been!!

Check out the video:

Moisture is Magic for your transitioning hair!!!!!!

Moisture Moisture Moisture.  Yea us transitioners really need moisture.  Moisture helps prevent breakage, moisture allows manageability, moisture promotes growth, moisture aids in elasticity, moisture helps with shine/sheen, and moisture feeds your curls.





Moisture is vital for your overall hair health.  So lets talk about what moisture is and what it is not.


Moisture is:

1. Water
2. The base of all styling
3. Conditioning
4. humectants such as: glycerin, honey, aloe vera, vitamin E, sorbitol, CoQ 10
5. most water based products

Moisture is not:

1. Oils
2. creams
3. heavy
4. waxes
5. alcohols     

Some of us confuse the needs of our hair.  We tend to cake our hair down with oils when it feels dry and brittle.  When in fact all we need to do is add water.  Now I know it may confusing, you may ask well "how do I add water onto my hair when I need to style it and have it not look "afro-y" or puffy?"  well the thing is you may need to increase your washes.  I know in the African American hair community we are used to washing any where from once a week to once a month because we've had to maintain that hairstyle, not wash that relaxer out so fast, or to prevent us from hours of styling to maintain controlling our tresses.  But now that we are tranistioning, part of this journey is to promote hair health so we have to change our way of dealing with our hair.  Increasing your wash days will definitely make a difference for your hair.  It is recommended that you wash your tresses anywhere from everyday to every 4-5 days if you are experiencing extreme dryness,  I am sure if you are a dry haired sufferer and you take heed and wash more often, you will notice your moisture retention increase. In fact I'm willing to bet the farm on it- if I had a farm!

In between washes a spray bottle filled with just water will do just fine or you can add one of the other moisture aids listed in (Moisture is).  All you have to do is allow the water to mist onto your hair if you are afraid that the direct spray will ruin your style (Spray the water into the air above your hair and allow the droplets to fall ever so lightly onto your hair). Do this when you feel your  is drying out too much.

Oil is a great sealant but it cannot and must not be substituted for a moisturizer.  This is because oil repeals water (remember that from chemistry class).  So any kind of moisture that your hair wants to contract, the oil will "push" it away.  So when the moisture that is beneath the oil is all absorbed into your scalp or hair fibers new moisture has no way of entering or penetrating them.  Which is why you may be oiling your hair over and over and the texture is not changing. Again use oil as a protectant.  As if its protecting the water from leaving your hair never use it as a replacement for water.

One last point, and I know we say it over and over and over and over again.  But you have to hydrate from within in order to aid all that you are doing to you hair on the outside. You want to maintain overall good hair health.  Yea moisturizing on the outside will definitely provide a great improvement for your hair but on those days when you forget to moisturize or are just too lazy to do so hydrating from the inside is your back up.  Drinking plenty of water is great for your physical health now you know its also great for your vanity!   

A Transitioner's Tale (Ode to self): I'm getting so anxious.....Big chop???????

I'm getting so anxious to cut my hair! I can already feel the texture of my unrelaxed hair.  Its beautiful :-) I love how silky my hair feels after I wash it.  I enjoy learning about what my hair likes and how it behave in its natural state.  I have been thinking of all the many, many styles I can't wait to try when I'm fully unrelaxed.  I had planned on transitioning for 12-24 months (they say don't put a number to it).  But idk I am too anxious to see my hair without straight ends. We'll see. I wanted to at least last until my vacation this summer so i can rock a new look.  But I'm thinking spring is right around the corner and what better time to refresh your look.  Plus I may need some time to "play in my hair" to get used to styling.  Pictures will be nice.  Yep, they will be! I have some time.  I can revisit the "cut or not to cut" issue in the March/April months.  Yep,  I can make my decision then. I hope I can make it thru to 24 months so I can just go straight to what I'm used to which is length. But I never have had short hair and it excites me right now. Seriously, just thinking of the feeling of having only unrelaxed hair and being able to experience it! Lol......this type of decision may be very trivial but hey if I have time to allow this type of "dilemma" to occupy my thoughts then I know Life is so good! no BIG time major decisionmaking going on right know (thank ya Jesus) :-). Plus I'm pretty sure I can rock some short hair. ;-) and make it look damn good! 

So we shall see.  Can I hold out or will I allow my anxiousness to get the best of me? Stay tuned to see.........

Transitioning to Natural (Hair that is): Its a family affair

This is a hair blog!!!!


So I have a little one that has never had a relaxer.  For years I have wrestled with the thought of letting my relaxer go.  I tried once last yr and lasted about 3 months.  Recently a family member of mine mentioned on facebook that she was thinking of going natural, so I commented well if u do it I will too.  Thus here I am today!!! I have decided yet again to go natural.  I have so many reasons as to why I would like to take this journey.  But one of the most inspirational one would be because my oldest daughter would like to join me.  So this will truly be a family affair.  As I stated earlier I already have one that has never had a relaxer (my youngest daughter) my oldest daughter has decided she also wants to see how her hair is in its natural state.

Ultimately we have the same end goal but are  going to achieve it a little differently.  I want to learn how to style my hair so that when it is in its completely natural state I will have it mastered already.  So I will be experimenting with transitioning styles.  She, on the otherhand, will be wearing braids and weaves until she has her desired length and ready to cut off her relaxed ends. Mainly because she is on here way to high school and is not all that comfortable with dealing with two hair textures.   My last relaxer was in June of this year 2011. Her last relaxer was about May of this year. 

During this transition we both will achieve healthy hair, as much growth as possible, as well as establish a regime that is suited for our lifestyle and hair type.  I am so excited about this hair journey I can't wait until I have no more traces of relaxer in my hair.  I am eager to see my curls.  For anyone that is reading and has transitioned GOOD FOR U I CAN'T WAIT TO CATCH UP TO U, to those that are TRANSITIONING STAY ENCOURAGED ITS GONNA BE A GREAT RIDE and for those thinking about it I HOPE WILL WILL JOIN US ON THIS JOURNEY.