First things first, last week was horrendous for me diet wise. I was very stressed and I allowed it to cause me to stress eat, resulting in multiple fast food meals despite the fact that I re-stocked on my Lean Cuisines, fresh fruit, frozen veggies and yogurt last week. I also was drinking several cups of coffee and not enough water and failed to exercise, yet again. Finally, for the first time since December of last year, I went to bed without taking my vitamins/supplements … and, on multiple occasions (maybe 3)!! This cannot continue as it has an impact on my energy levels, feeling of well-being and my hair! So, Sunday morning, I went to hot yoga and am going again tonight. I was on the floor half of the class, but it was better to be there sweating and doing half the class than sitting on my butt at home. So, time to get back to The Rules.

On to hair. Okay y’all, I have some serious HIH (Hands in Hair) syndrome since I got these twists!! I keep wanting to play in them and try different styles!

Me likey, but NO BUENO! LOL! So, anyway, I love them and I also received a lot of compliments at work! Everyone is stunned by how light, soft and fluffy they are despite looking thick and heavy. I would definitely recommend this hair to anyone contemplating getting “kinky” twists. At $10 a pop, it is a lot more expensive than the Marley braid or kanekalon hair that you can probably get for as low as a $1.50 a bag. However, for me, it was worth it as they are so natural looking and light and don’t make my head hurt from the weight.

So, about my regimen, of course it has to be altered for the two months that I have these twists. I quickly realized last week that I must not forget that my hair, though somewhat protected, is in these twists. Therefore, I must handle them with the same care that I would if they were just my hair. I was finger combing through the twists after spritzing with Sally’s GVP Infusium 23 and feeling/hearing the individual strands pulling and tearing apart. Though I suspect that a lot of that was the synthetic hair, I really can’t tell the difference between it and the real deal. So, I knew I needed to start being far more gentle or risk the very manipulation damage that I got the twists to avoid.

My plan for my twist regimen is as follows:

• Shampoo with a diluted shampoo (bi-weekly). I think that I’ll be revisiting the SheaMoisture Raw Shea Moisture Retention shampoo for this.
• Use cotton swabs and witch hazel to cleanse scalp in between wash sessions, as needed (this will be based upon how my scalp feels and how often I’m doing hot yoga). For hot yoga on Sunday, I placed my hair in 7 twists, secured the ends to the crown of my head with mini jaw clips and then donned my Dri Sweat Edge headband. This worked well to keep the twists off of my neck and face, but kept the hair flat enough for me to lay on my back comfortably (even though it may not look like it ;)).

• Deep condition with heat (bi-weekly).
• Apply Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner (original recipe, with JBCO instead of regular castor oil) after thoroughly rinsing shampoo.
• Seal with EVOO or EVOO/JBCO mix.
• Moisturize with diluted Kimmaytube leave-in using a spray bottle and seal with EVOO or EVOO/JBCO mix (as needed, every 2-3 days).
• Apply and massage essential oil mix into scalp (daily).
• I just got my heat wrap from Curlmart last week and used it for about 20 minutes after moisturizing the twists and oiling my scalp to help the oil penetrate. I really liked that and think I may do it once a week.
• Protect with satin pocket bonnet at bedtime.

So, that’s the plan. I was going to use the African Pride Olive Miracle Braid Sheen Spray, which I got as a freebie earlier in the year, as a daily moisturizer. It would have been cheaper and easier than the Kimmaytube leave-in. However, glycerine is the third ingredient, so that’s a no-go for winter. I may look around for another daily moisturizer and the regular African Pride Braid Sheen Spray may have potential. It has glycerine in it, but way down on the list of ingredients. The thing is, I’d like to use natural products and may try the Aloe Gro recipe that Her Best Hair posted about here. I read about this moisturizer on her site last year, but hadn’t gotten around to buying the EOs (sage, eucalyptus and peppermint) to try it. So, I may hit up out my local natural food store this weekend to see if they have these EOs and give it a whirl.

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Welp, that’s it on the homefront. What’s up with you guys? Anything new? Sticking with the tried and true? I’d love to hear from all of you!