My Weave Experience – One Month In [PICS]

I have been off the proper hair care bandwagon for about two months now due to laziness and boredom. Well, no more! I’ve re-dedicated myself to this healthy hair journey. The one thing I definitely regret doing during these lazy months was getting my hair pressed last month. A LOT of heat was involved, more than I’ve ever had in one sitting. And I went to a Dominican salon to get it done! Haha. You can tell I was totally over it and just didn’t care. Well, I just hope that once I take down this weave, there will be no lasting effects (i.e. heat damage) from the silk press.

I also started getting back on my vitamin regimen today. I was seriously slacking off.  I currently take 5,000 mcg of biotin and 5,000 grams of MSM. I will slowly get back to my 10,000 grams of MSM and keep the biotin at 5,000 mcg. In fact, I may eliminate biotin all-together because I’m so focused on this new skin care routine I started in August (part of the reason why I stopped my vitamin regimen in the first place). While MSM is known to clear out the skin, biotin is not, and I don’t want to risk ruining my progress.  But if the biotin does not impede on my skin care routine, I will keep taking it.

Okay, now deets on the weave I promised:

Hair: Indique (Relaxed Straight from the Bounce Collection)
Closure: 16 inch closure – also, from Indique (Relaxed Straight/Bounce Collection)
Bundle Lengths: 22, 22, and 18 inches
Hair Cost: Too much. Go to Indique.com to purchase or to one of their boutiques. I bought my hair at the their SoHo branch boutique in NYC and they were having a sale of 25% off. It was still a lot after the discount.

Who did your hair?
Fashion Hendricks of NYC Weave Studio. She owns her own weaving studio and you can find out more about her on her website at nycweavestudio.com. You can also check out a bunch of her work on Instagram @cheetahisthenewblack. It took her about 2 hours to braid up my hair and install the weave.

How much does it cost to install?
Fashion charges a flat rate of $190 to install. I’ve seen prices as cheap as $50 at some places and as expensive as $700 at others.

Cons on the weave experience?
Yes. The first week and a half of wearing the weave was pure HELL. It itched like crazy. It was absolutely abnormal the amount of itchiness I suffered. While this is my first time wearing a full sew-in weave, it is not necessarily my first time wearing fake hair, in general. I’ve worn wigs a few times (started experimenting in college) and I’ve worn braids with extensions – mostly in my early youth. Let me tell you….nothing can compare to the itch I experienced with this sew-in.

After scouring the internet for why I was itching so much, I have set upon a two theories. The first is the weaving net. The stylist used a net to help further secure the weave to my base braids so as to not put too much tension on my real hair. I learned that when the net touches the scalp, it can irritate the scalp. My next theory is the thread. I have no idea what kind of thread the stylist used but I know some kinds of threads can irritate the scalp.

To help with the itches, I tried oiling my scalp, which was super difficult to get to at the time because of the net, but to no avail. My scalp continued to be on fire. Then one day, it just stopped (I guess since my new growth acted as a buffer between the scalp and whatever was causing such hellish itchies). I get itchies here and there, but they are very normal scalp itchies. Of course, there is the real possibility that the base braids were just too tight. I hope that isn’t the case because the stylist describes herself as being very knowledgeable about hair health. But you never know. I trust that my braids weren’t too tight. I didn’t get the too-tight feel around the edges and eyes when she finished the braid pattern. It was only a day after the weave was installed did I start feeling fire-level itchies.

Another con is that the hair is too long and thick, but that’s my fault since I supplied the hair. I had to cut 2 inches to get rid of the tapered end look because that just makes hair look messy in my opinion. Next time, I will go with two bundles at 16 and 18 inches  and a closure. Indique adds two extra inches to all their hair so if I decide to go with them again, I’ll just trim off two inches….or just cut the hair I already have. I paid too much to feel okay buying new hair haha.

Perhaps, the least desirable con is that the hair still looks wiggy to me. Ugh. Whatever. Part of it has to do with the sheer thickness of the hair…and the closure. The closure is good but I can still tell it’s there. Maybe I’m just paranoid since I know it’s there.

Pros of the weave experience?
There are some definite pros. The biggest pro is that I don’t have to do much to my hair every morning. Just get up, comb and go. I have a tiny bit of leave-out for the sake of covering the line of the closure, and I make sure to tuck it in to keep it protected (I don’t flat iron it to blend because there’s no need to when it’s tucked away; I may use aloe vera gel at times to make it look more seamless). Otherwise, no real maintenance other than combing (and wearing a scarf/bonnet at night to reduce the tangles I have to deal with the next morning).

The weave is super soft after I wash and condition it. Nice.

How do you wash your scalp?
Since I’ve been in this weave, I have only washed my scalp once with diluted shampoo and conditioner. It was at the second week mark. I don’t think I did a good job at really cleaning it because the net was mostly in the way. However, now that the base braids have loosened up, getting to my scalp is much easier. I intend to wash my weave and scalp this weekend, and then continue to do so once a week, while co-washing in the middle of the week to keep my real hair moisturized. To prevent mildew from forming, I will not air dry but will use the warm setting of a blow dryer to dry my scalp.

Overall opinion of the weave experience?
It’s okay, though I am getting bored of it. I miss my natural hair, but I know that once I get out this weave, I’ll be wishing to have it back. You know the saying, the grass is always greener…

And the pictures in their original forms showcasing my install (no filters or funny business)!

Sew-in 9/4/14 (day of installation)

Sew-in 9/6/14

Sew-in 9/6/14

Sew-in 9/20/14 (braided side ponytail)

Medication, Shedding Hair, and Growth Aids

I take medication that is famously known to dramatically increase the rate of shed hair at a very fast pace. I’m going to the doctor again to see what I can do about it but in the mean time, I have a remedy I’ve used in the past that has worked magic. My thinning edges have gotten me spooked. Tomorrow, I will take pictures of the growth aid mixing process. Some of you may not believe in growth aids but I definitely do. Internally, pretty much anything high in folic acid, iron, B vitamins, etc. will act as a growth aid on me because I am low on practically everything. So until I fix my insides, I’ll be using topical growth aids.

Anyway, here are some of the stuff I plan on mixing tomorrow.  These all have hair stimulating properties and I may decide not to use all of them at once.

– Jamaican black castor oil
– Ketoconazole/Miconazole Nitrate
– Sulfur powder
– Horse conditioner/Mega Tek (old formula)

I’m also taking an internal approach by starting my biotin and iron regimen. I should already be on iron because I’m anemic but I always stop because that stuff makes me feel very nauseous/sick.

I’m contemplating using henna and indigo after I big chop for strengthening purposes. (I’m 26 months post – woot!)

I know for a fact that Mega Tek and castor oil helps a ton for me. The jury is still out on sulfur and ketoconazole/miconazole nitrate. Don’t knock the power of growth aids.

The Details of the Group Hair Consultation

So the group hair consultation I had with my cousins this past Saturday went well. We actually went through the whole process by me demonstrating each step with my hair, and explaining my methods and the products, as well as trying to help my cousins understand their hair and why it reacts the way it does. I went in intending to do my sister’s or someone else’s hair but then again, I’m glad I actually got to wash my own hair…because when I am in a lazy slump, it takes a while before I get the motivation to start up again.

DETANGLING (aloe vera juice and vegetable glycerin)

Anyway, we started by me detangling my hair first with the aloe vera juice and glycerin mix because I hadn’t detangled in nearly 2 weeks, which meant lots of shed hair. You do not want to wash your hair when it looks and feels like a bird nest. You’re just asking for more tangles so I made sure the  shampooing step would be made easier by detangling and removing shed hairs beforehand.

SHAMPOOING (tresemme naturals shampoo)

After detangling, I shampooed each section of my hair (I think I separated my hair into 2-3 sections) and made sure to really get the scalp. For not washing my hair in 2.5 weeks, the scalp looked pretty good pre-shampoo, but there was still a bit of gunk, especially in the front area where I’m most likely to manipulate my hair in between washes. I think the fact that I’ve limited my moisturizing to using purely the aloe vera juice, vegetable glycerin, and the occasional co-wash has helped tremendously with with flaky hair and product build up.

CONDITIONING (tresemme naturals conditioner)

I rinsed out the shampoo and used a generous amount of conditioner for each section. I also detangled again. The comb slid through my hair like butter at this point. Yay. 🙂

LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER (aloe vera juice and vegetable glycerin)

After rinsing out the conditioner I sprayed the aloe vera juice and glycerin to do the final detangle, as well as to add more moisture back into my hair. The aloe vera juice closes the cuticles, which helps lock in moisture and makes the hair less prone to breakage and splits. It also keeps it looking shiny. The  glycerin puts in the moisture. It’s a humectant, and my hair loves humectants. Wiki it to learn of its properties. I remoisturize my hair every day or two days, twice a day with this mixture and seal it with oil.

OIL SEALANTS (grapeseed oil and Jamaican black castor oil)

Anyway, I coated my hair with grapeseed oil, especially focusing on the ends, and added Jamaican black castor oil (JBCO) around the perimeter of my hair because my hair is a little thin there (JBCO is great for thickening hair). After, I made 4 large braids and held it in a bun. I kind of looked like Princess Leia haha. My hair dried fully by morning. If it were the winter, it would have stayed wet for way longer. I have a different regimen for the winter, though.

– end –

And voila. Those were the details. We started around 10pm and ended around midnight. I didn’t take pictures because I was more focused on explaining each step, the whys, and the hows. Also, it’s kind of awkward stopping to take pictures of your own hair haha.

However, I do plan on making a video (or take pictures) of one of my wash days. I also want to learn how to flat iron my own hair. Maybe I’ll flat iron my hair instead of going to the salon for my next length check. I guess it’ll depend on how I feel when the time comes.

Over all, the group consultation was fun and informative! Now, I just need someone to teach me how to cornrow haha.

Things in my fridge right now

– Sparkling water
– Aloe vera juice
– 20 or so tangerines
– 6 lemons
– Greek yogurt
– Glycerin/aloe vera leave-in conditioner mix
– Glycerin/aloe vera/Tresemme conditioner mix

I need to stock up on almond butter, some more sparkling water (I buy 12 16.9oz bottles a week and I have one left – the horror!), baby carrots, and then maybe some spinach, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, and a bunch of other citrus fruits and berries for my smoothies should I decide to make them again. It’s not really hot enough outside for them, though. *Sigh* Cambridge shall forever remain the gloomy city to me.

And yes, popcorn for those days I’m feeling junk-foody but still want to remain *healthy*.

If I can eat it, I can put it in my hair. Except, I’m not that daring lol. In theory, I should be able to make a protein treatment with the Greek yogurt and whatever else is in my fridge, but I’m not there yet as a hairlista. My glycerin mix will keep me satisfied for the time being.

I’m curious to know what’s in the fridge of others of the (healthy) hair-obsessed persuasion.