I've Fallen off the Wagon

So I have fallen of the PJ wagon and here I am yet again with a cabinet full of darn products. I think the whole breakage thing I was experiencing had me in a tizzy and I didn't recover very well. My only solace is that at least the products I bought this time around were purchased with a goal in mind oppose to simply buying it because I "just wanted to try it out" like in past situations. In truth, before my hair care journey I think the problem I was having regarding my PJism was the fact that I was trying to address my hair issues without really even knowing what my issues were. Now I feel much more knowledgeable about my hair issues, so when I go out and buy a product I have an objective in mind (e.g. stop breakage, increase moisture, improve protein/moisture balance).

So my most recent buys:

1. Burt Bees Avocado Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment (99.33% all natural). said to add moisture and shine, and I have heard good things about, so we'll see. Given the price, I may not use as "pre-poo" since any conditioner can be used for that.
2. Macadamia Nut Oil (100% natural). I plan to add this to my conditioners along with my other favs. What I did for my last shampoo was just add all my oils together to create a super blend and added it to my DC (not to be confused with my scalp oil blend). It will definately cut down on the time I was spending scooping out my EVCO and melting it down every time I pre-pooed/DCed (we're not talking hours here but annoying enough). It was getting tiresome. Perhaps I am just a little lazy.
3. Aubrey Organics Rosa Mosqueta Conditioner (100% ntaural). It is said to be a great hair treatment, but thus far I am not impressed with its conditioning quality. My HR has more slip and it is half the price. I will continue to play around with it. 

So as you can see, all natural, all moisturizing conditioner/products. I am severely lacking moisture right now, and I hope that these will help me along. I am itching to buy my trusty Aveda DR Shampoo because I am out, but I have at least 3 bottles of CON that I need to use up and I also want to try to find a cheaper,  more natural shampoo at some point. I will start with one thing at a time though--that's how I got into this problem to begin with.I want to get my hair going and then implement changes, and so far Aveda DR is doing its bizness. We'll see which ones are keepers or simply becomes dust collectors.

Wash Day

Hmmmm....so I washed my hair today and a three things occurred to me. One, I had yet to stop (or at least significantly stop) my breakage.; two, just how damaged my hair really is; and three, I need to find a decent moisturizing conditioner. My ends were snapping off with the slightest touch, and my hair felt very dry. So I decided to DC on dry hair following my regular regimen (EVCO overnight on dry/damp hair; DC on dry hair w/ conditioner and oil in the morning, etc...) using up some of the conditioners I have (e.g. Lustrasilk Shea Butter, Rosa Mosquete, AOHR) with some oils. At least two of these conditioners are  not doing anything for my hair, but I needed to use them up (see review for more information). Well after sitting with my "DC mix" in my hair for one and a half hours there was no impact. I mean my hair took this DC mix and spit it back out! No slip, no real moisture, as it dried slightly it felt okay, but no real impact. So I rinsed, shampooed lightly and DC again with another mix (e.g. Aveda Dry Remedy and Mizani Hydrafuse and oils). Let that sit for an hour and rinsed. Much better. Had slip, felt moisturized and better yet---no breakage! Okay, so maybe I am back on track... I sprayed my hair with a rose-aloe-glycerin mix that I got from Tracyee and then put in some leave in, sealed with oil  (new) on wet hair and twisted my hair (as an aside twisting looks better on me than braid outs). My hair is now dry (two and a half hours later) and it feels good. It is soft, feels moisturized, new growth is really soft and defined so I am satisfied. Moisture is definitely what it needed. Removing my twist though reveal just how uneven and broken my hair looks. I have a longer way to go than I thought.....

ETA: the next day my hair was butttttter soft. OMG It has never felt this soft before. It was moisturized and new growth was all good. The problem is I don't know what exactly did it. I really don't want to use 4 conditioners just to get the same results....this hair game drives me crazy sometimes, but I'm up for the ride. No guts, no glory right?!

Helpful Acronyms and Definitions

 Here are a few acronyms and definitions to make it easier to understand and communicate with other hair divas on the site or elsewhere. 

Product Overload

Since October there have been quite a few products I have tried and used. I've held off from reviewing most of them because as you know I have really been focused on controlling the breakage I was experiencing in an effort to retain length and therefore I have been blogging more about that. As well, there are so many reviews out there about similar products I figured there was no real rush right? Well, as I finish off most of the oils, poos and conditioners I am using and scaling down to only a few selected more natural products I have become more aware of what has and hasn't worked for my hair and wanted to share the information (please note I am picky and hard to please. I know how I want my hair to feel/look and if a product doesn't do it for me it will get a poor review--you may not feel the same). A few I have already written about (e.g. Aveda Dry Remedy, Komaza Shea Butter Lotion and Aphogee Balancing Moisturizer), so this list will cover everything else. Going forward I plan to discuss and review the products I am using more consistently as I am using them.