Wash and go after braids.

Did you read my last post regarding the Glam I got for Vegas? Make sure you do, so you can understand this hair transformation!

I got my braids done on June 13th and took them out on July 18th, which means I last an entire month PLUS 5 days with my hair in. If you've read about my first time getting box braids, you would know I didn't even last two weeks! This time, I was determined to get my money's worth. Besides, ain't nobody got time to style this hair everyday on hot summer days.

Tbh, I wasn't even in the mood to take my hair out on the day that I did. I actually received quite a bit of pressure from bae. I thought it still looked good and even washed my hair prior to taking my braids down. But as soon as I stepped into baes apartment, he handed me a comb lol. We spent the next 3 hours cutting, unraveling, conditioning, detangling, and washing my very neglected locks. Actually, my hair was basically turning into locs near my scalp, which explains why it took so long to detangle. The worst part is, we were mostly just tired and I was fine with finishing in the morning.

He took a very patient approach as he detangled my hair with his fingers. However, I was inpatient and eager to finish as I roughly fought with my hair to force several combs through. As a result (completely my fault), I lost several handfuls of hair. Part of it was due to not combing my hair in over a month, but the sections my partner was working on had significant less hair loss that my sections. Regardless, it's just hair and it'll grow back so I wasn't that concerned.

Actual representation of us standing in the bathroom detangling my hair lmao.

We used Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Conditioner (all his lol) to condition my hair as we detangled. I also used Shea Moisture's Red Palm Oil Conditioner that I received in my April Curlkit. After all that work, I went to bed and washed my hair in the morning with Shea Moisture's Shampoo and the conditioner mentioned prior. This made me late for work (only 2 minutes but it's a big deal lmao), but I should know better than to wash my hair in the mornings. Given my lateness, I paid $45 for an UberX to New York Law School as I made sure my hair was detangled with the ghee I received in December's Curlkit and applied Mousse for security. While this wash and go routine was not the best for my hair due to the ingredients with names I can't pronounce in the mousse I used, it was done hastily and actually came out pretty good.

Final look after my first wash and go following taking my hair out.

Four days later, on Sunday, it was wash day again! I took a healthier approach by using the shampoo from my April Curlkit once again. Since I didn't deep condition my hair in a while, I used True's Intense Treatment Masque and left it on my hair for about 15 minutes. I used the curling cream I received in my December Curlkit to style my hair by finger combing small quantities through each section I picked at random. Bae ended up applying his mixture of oil to my scalp that night when my hair was not damp anymore. His mixture includes Wheat Germ Oil, Argan Oil, Black Castor Oil, Black Seed Oil, and Coconut Oil. This not only felt really good, it also completed my hair care following a protective style.

I actually might've accidentally airdropped the pictures above in my workplace, but who cares?! The first pic is what my hair looked like before doing another wash and go. Don't judge me, it's been raining all week and has been incredibly difficult to manage. In the picture below, who still does #BubbleBeards? Let's be honest, we all do stupid shit in the shower. The hair shown in my hand was actually the total amount of hair I lost during this process (thank god, because last week I was really shedding). The last picture is what my hair looks like following washing out my treatment masque.

This is the final look after the second wash and go. I can tell the difference from the first, can you?

This concludes the two wash and go routines following transitioning from a protective style! I hope that you can all tell the difference between careless wash and gos versus when you apply love and care. It's always important to remember that we all mess up sometimes, but it's just important to get right back on track.

Thank you for reading and keep your eyes open for my blog post on how to revive days old curls!