JenMajBeauty

I know this post will be beneficial to a lot of people as they will find less and less time for their hair in coming weeks: holiday dinners and/or parties, vacations, church activities, you name it. I did a post about how I cut time clarifying my hair after a relaxer touch-up. But at my last relaxer touch up, I simplified the clarifying step even more. I also cut down on deep conditioning time, which means I only spent an hour and twenty minutes on my hair (yes, I counted!) from the application of the relaxer to rinsing my hair after deep conditioning. It can be less if you are quicker than I am or have shorter length hair. Here is how I did it: It didn't take long to part my hair in small sections like I usually do and apply the vaseline on my scalp and length of my hair. I started the process at 10H30 on a Sunday night. And I had to work the next day. So yes, the pressure was on! Applying and smoothing the relaxer took me the usual 16 minutes. I let it sit for another 4 min...

Product : Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment Claims : Strengthens fragile strands, protects from heat damage Directions Daily Styling: Massage into hair beginning at the root and work toward ends. For deeper penetration, cover with a plastic cap overnight. Daily Protection: Apply before brushing, styling, drying or setting to form a thermal protection barrier around hair. Pre/Post Chemical Treatment: Apply 3 days prior and 3 days after relaxing or coloring hair. Ingredients : Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Lanolin, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Perfume), Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Carbomer, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Petrolatum, Sorbitan Stearate, Panthenol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl MethylPropional, L...

In my last post , I mentioned the setbacks I've dealt with since I started my hair journey in 2014. Those setbacks were related to self-relaxing because it wasn't part of the original plan. But  there are positives from self-relaxing too, and I've  had some good experience with my overall hair care. And if you had taken over your own hair care like I did, you can relate to these advantages too. FASTER HAIR GROWTH I used to use grease on my scalp before I started my hair journey, whether it was Royal Crown , Sulfur 8 or Palmer's hairdressing . Although my hair would grow thick, it wasn't growing fast. I didn't know of any other way to nourish my scalp and roots until I discovered Youtube's hair community when coconut oil seemed to resolve a lot of issues, hair-related or not! So I started experimenting with coconut and olive oil, along with some essential oils , to speed up my hair growth, as there was no petrolatum slowing down my hair growth...

My current relaxer (love it!) Not many hair bloggers/vloggers talk about the downs of their hair journeys when it comes to self-relaxing. I understand they need to keep a positive outlook, displaying their success only when it comes to haircare. It encourages everyone to believe in themselves and that they can do it too. But I think it's also important to inform others on what can happen (the risks) of relaxing your own hair, especially if you've never done it before. That's the reason why I decided to talk about my setbacks on today's post. I started relaxing my own hair in 2014. Keep in mind that I knew nothing about relaxing my own hair. But I've learned how to do it over time. Here are the setbacks I've had so far: SETBACK #1 That first setback happened because I used a leftover relaxer that stayed too long under the bathroom sink. Big mistake! My hair became dry and as you can guess, some of my hair fell off but only at the nape on the ri...

Disclaimer: If you haven't relaxed your hair before and are looking to do it yourself, please seek the advice of a professional hairstylist or let her/him do the touch-up for you. The methods below work for me as I took the personal decision to relax my hair myself, and found ways to make it easier for me . These methods are just pointers for those who are already relaxing their hair themselves and are looking for ways to make self-relaxing more enjoyable. Self-relaxing wasn't something that I felt confident about at the beginning of my hair journey. After I got my pixie cut, I still wanted to visit a hair salon. But at this point in time, I was away from my regular hairstylist. So I decided then that I was going to relax my hair myself. I watched tons of Youtube videos (not the best way if you want to go about it professionally but it worked for me), read tons of blog posts and forums. When I felt confident enough to take action, I started self-relaxing. And I'...

Like every lady starting their hair journey, I made a lot of research about growth aids in order to regrow my hair quickly. Because I was used to longer hair than a pixie cut, I was ready to try and implement everything (within reason, of course!) to help accelerate my hair growth. I was doing the inversion method, using coconut oil as hot oil treatments and for scalp massages, going to the sauna and incorporate healthier food in my diet, taking my multi-vitamins daily, drinking more water, decreasing the amount of heat I use on my hair and stretching my relaxers... almost everything one could think of to grow their hair faster, I was doing them. I was nervous about taking biotin supplements, but so many ladies raved about it and their results... I decided to start with the smallest amount I could find, 1000 mcg. I had stopped taking my multi-vitamins to better observe my results. Here is how it went the couple of days I took biotin: Day 1 : I took one pill of bioti...

Product : Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum Anti-Frisottis Claims : Our formula with Argan Oil from Morocco soaks into frizzy, dry hair for lasting smoothness and shine. Directions : After using Sleek & Shine shampoo and conditioner , dispense 1 pump of serum, or as much as needed for your hair type, into your hands. Apply uniformly to damp or dry hair. Do not rinse. For the sleekest look, style using brush and blow dryer. Ingredients : Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Hexyl Cinnamal, Amyl Cinnamal. Parfum. ************ 2017 was the year of oils and serums for me because I've invested in a lot of them, looking for the perfect one that will provide great slip and other detangling properties that would help me retain my hair length. The Garnier Whole Blends Smoothing Oil with coconut oil and cocoa butter is great, but it's inconvenient to apply when my hands are...

Product : OGX Renewing + Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo Claims : A unique, precious formula with argan oil of Morocco helps to penetrate the hair shaft. Discover restored strength, shine, softness, and seductive, silky perfection. Directions : Apply shampoo generously to wet hair, massage into a lather through to ends, then rinse the hair thoroughly. After shampooing, follow with conditioner. Ingredients : Water/Aqua/Eau, Sodium C1416 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Coco/Isosteearamide, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Panthenol, Dimethicone, Amodimethicone, Glycol Distearate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-6, Polyquaternium-10, Laureth-4, Laureth23, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cetrimonium Chloride, Trideceth-12, Tetrasodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, DMDM Hydantoin, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance/Perfume...

This new wash day routine has been giving me hair so soft and moisturized that I just had to share! The routine itself hasn't changed much, it's the new products that are making such a difference in my hair, considering that my hair and scalp were coming out of hibernation. So here is how my wash day routine has been going for the past few months: 1) To prepoo I part my hair in 3 or 4 big sections. I apply my oil mixture on my scalp. I apply aloe vera juice on the length of my hair before sealing with my oil. I then wear two plastic caps and a head towel for about an hour. 2) After an hour, I unravel my hair, rinse the oil out and shampoo with OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo . I will lather once or twice depending on how dirty my hair is. 3) As usual, I deep condition with ORS Replenishing Conditioner for an hour. 4) After I rinse the deep conditioner out, I spray the Creme of Nature's Straight from Eden Detangling Leave-in Conditio...

What do I do when I don't have time to apply my makeup some mornings? I simply go barefaced. But am I confident in the way my skin looks to go barefaced? A few months ago, the answer would have been negative. But now, it's different. The beginning of the year was rough. I wasn't drinking my water nor was I exercising. I wasn't consistent with my skincare routine either so it showed in the way my face looked: my skin was dry,  my pores were huge, I had whiteheads and blackheads, mostly around my nose and chin. When I was tired enough to do something about it, I did: I decided to become consistent with my skincare routine. Not only that, I switched to all natural and organic products. Let's see what I use now. Cleansers & Exfoliants I usually wash my face with the bar soap I shower, which is the Kiss my Face with olive oil and chamomile . It doesn't strip my skin and I save time cleansing my face while I shower. Then I'd just g...

On Top: Goody Mosaic magnetic rollers; to the left: sizes from 3/4" to 2"; to the right: size 2-3/4" bought separately. I bought 6 of them Most of the time, I can't see myself not setting my hair on rollers after washing my hair. I'll regret it throughout the week by having rough hair. It's also the only time throughout the week that my hair will be thoroughly detangled. And I personally don't like the frizzy look. My hair needs to be stretched, looks sleek and feels soft. Here are 5 reasons why I love setting my hair on rollers (and why you should too): 1) I love rollersets because my hair is stretched without the use of direct heat , especially when I'm due for a relaxer touch-up. Then I can easily see where my new growth stops and where my relaxed hair begins in order to avoid overlapping during the touch-up process. If I am stretching my relaxer, setting my hair on rollers is safer than blow-drying and flat-ironing it as less tension is...

I was feeling so stressed about putting out content to end 2017... Then I told myself I wasn't going to. I've been too stressed out about other things, and stress is a major obstacle to my creativity. That wasn't the reason why I started to blog so I stopped for a while. If I wasn't going to enjoy blogging, then I might as well stop. Because, why do I blog? I started blogging during a period when I wanted to do something for myself, something I love. I was tired of pleasing people when I could never live up to their expectations, and still got dragged down by them when I tried. I've always loved writing, whether it was poetry or short stories. But all that decreased or stopped completely come adulthood. I blog because it's therapeutic. It's an escape. It's a hobby. But obviously, I can't escape for long when life takes over. I blog because I love sharing. Another purpose of this blog is to share how you can maintain beautiful hair and ...