Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Hair Washing Disaster

11:25a

I had a hair washing disaster. I take that back. The hair washing part was fine. It was what ensued afterwards that was the disaster.

I just have to face the facts. I cannot style short hair. It's impossible. I don't have the right tools nor the patience to deal with it. I want to throw it back into a bun and forget I even have hair. Except for one small fact.

I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH HAIR TO BUN.

So instead of a bun, I threw it back into a fuzzy, epically failed twist out ponytail.

Evidence is below:





I want to cry

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Trembling...

10:18a

Is it natural to get bored with the healthy hair care journey? Or am I just bored because I cut my hair?

I haven't been up for much experimentation because my hair is short and the type of styles I can do have been severely limited. Also, if it ends up looking a HAM {hot a** mess}, I can't just throw it back in a bun.

I haven't even washed my hair since Thursday, September 17, 2009! That was ELEVEN days ago! It's so past due but I have to admit that I am scared.

Yes, I said it. This former washing addict is afraid to wash her hair! It seems like such a huge undertaking now that I have decided to wear my hair straight. Wash, blow dry, flat iron. I'm wondering if I can sustain that regimen. We all know I'm lazy afterall. And roller setting. Hmmm...so much work that it literally makes me tremble when I open the drawer and see those rollers!

This morning in the shower I got the brilliant idea to go to Empire beauty school to get a roller set for $12 bucks. I can do that price. And is it possible to screw up a rollerset?

 Don't answer that.

So that's my plan for now. I'm to chicken to wash my hair at this length.

Monday, September 28, 2009

REVIEW: Dove Advance Care Daily Moisture Therapy


9:16a

I've been using Dove Advance Care Daily Moisture Therapy (<-- I first mentioned it there) for a little over a week now.

My first use wasn't that great and I wanted to give it a fair chance before I put it in the back of my medicine cabinet never to see the light of day again.

I'm discovering that heavy creams aren't the best for fine hair so when I stumbled across this product, I was really excited to try it.

First of all, it is a spray. It is the consistency of water and it smells just like you think Dove would smell. The first time I tried this, it was on flat ironed hair and because my hair is texlaxed, it caused it to revert in one small area in the front. I had to re flat iron it after applying the moisturizer, but that really was a small thing.

I began using this everyday and sealing with castor oil and let me tell you, I have found my Holy Grail of moisturizers. It is so light that my hair still had movement after using and while wearing it down. It does a great job laying my edges down {I am not even two weeks post so that's not saying much really} but this moisturizer is great for really fine hair.

I love this stuff and it was under $3 bucks so it was really in my budget. I definently will be using this as my staple moisturizer.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Dry Roller Wrap Results...sort of...

11:07a

Determined to add more body and curl to my hair, I tried the dry roller wrap last night. I did it exactly the way she did it in the video except I didn't use wrap lotion only because I don't own any. I used the Dove moisturizing mist and HE LTR on my ends. One thing I will change is the size of the rollers. I bought these purple rollers before I cut my hair {twice} and they were a little to large to give me the curl that I really wanted.

This is what it looked like all curled up and wrapped:








I wrapped it up with a silk scarf and put the bonnet over the whole thing. It took awhile for me to find a way to sleep comfortably, but I did. This morning when I removed the rollers and took down the wrap, it was great. I loved it. The hair was moving and it had body, interest and curl. Until I walked outside. It was so humid today that my hair fluffed up and I looked like a walking Chia Pet or better yet, Red, from Fraggle Rock.

So I was actually prepared with a clip and my brush just in case. After a quick trip to the bathroom, all my hardwork looked like this:



Don't let the smile fool you, I was crying on the inside.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

September 15, 2009 Texlax Photos

11:27a

I took a few pictures after my most recent texlax {I talked about it here} to document my progress. These pictures are after my hair was dry are really only to show the texture. After my recent cut, I will be mostly texlaxed very soon. This stretch - 10-12 WEEKS!




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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

CUT!!!

11:23a

So I finally got my "re-cut" last week and I must say that it is a VAST improvement from that original butchering that I got. I'm no longer missing my long hair because I love the cut. She cut layers that ebb and flow as I walk and it falls so nicely. It's not long enough to put into a pony tail yet, but so far that isn't an issue with me. I've been bad and haven't moisturized yet, whatever she put in my hair was excellent and is just now starting to need moisturizing. For me, Less = More.

My stylist was fabulous and she was really knowledgeable. Let's just say I've found my new hair home!







Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Dry Roller Wrap

2:18p

So I'm still loving my haircut but it's soooo flat. And anyone who knows me knows that I adore flat hair and I never knew that there was such a thing as TOO flat. Well, this hair is too flat.

So I hit up youtube and found a dry roller wrap tutorial that I'm going to give a try tonight to try and add some body to this super flat hair.

I'll let you know how it turns out.




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Dove Sheer Moisture Leave-In Replenishing Mist


11:15a

...or Dove Advance Care Daily Moisture Therapy. Either name, both a mouthful. They have recently updated the product name.

I found out about this searching for a moisturizer that won't wear my hair down, but at the same time would really add moisture. Being fine haired, just about everything weighs my hair down, which is fine if I don't want it to move, but most times I do.

This product boasts:

  • Replenishes the moisture lost in daily wear and tear, and helps protect hair from further moisture loss.
  • Instantly detangles to improve manageability for easy combing.
  • Reduces static and flyaways without weighing hair down.
  • Leaves hair looking healthy, soft and smooth.
I bought this on Sunday at Wal-Mart and it was less that $3! Actually, it was $2.96 to be exact. I am kind of nervous since this product was kind of affordable {see: CHEAP!}. I will be trying this product tonight as I'm wearing my new cut and it's not able to go into a pony tail yet. I have many months of growth before a pony tail is possible.

I'll report tomorrow. I'm really hoping this is the holy grail of moisturizers for me.


Monday, September 21, 2009

For Fine Haired Ladies


1:41p

Last week I made the discovery that I have fine hair. Not much of a discovery since I've had this hair all my life but I never knew what to call it.

There are plently of resources for naturals and ladies with thick relaxed/texlaxed hair, but there tends not to be much out there for the community of us that have very fine strands. On this journey I have struggled and probably have done more damage trying products and techniques that work well for naturals or thick relaxed/texlaxed heads.

I knew nothing coming into this journey and absorbed absolutely everything I read about hair care. It has been essential for me to learn what works well for my hair and to stop trying everything that looks promising.

Things that I know about my hair are this:

My hair doesn't like much product.
For me, less is defintely more. A dime {what it says on the bottle!} usually is the right amount for me. Anything more weighs my hair down, leads to product build up and as a result, sometimes breakage.

Co-Washing isn't that great for me.
I was in love with co washing as soon as I learned the definition of it. I love washing my hair, I love the water, and I love my hair wet. The thing that doesn't work for my fine strands is the amount of manipulation I was doing to wash my hair every other day. Simple regimens will work better for me.

Heat is ok.
One of the things that I first learned is HEAT IS THE DEVIL. But what I'm discovering is that there are plenty of heads out there that incorporate heat into their regimen effectively. As long as there is a good heat protectant used and the moisturizing upped, there shouldn't be an issue.

I'm still learning what works and what doesn't. I haven't been doing this for long, but I do realize that my hair was healthier before I had a wealth of information {minus the past year where my hair was horrible} because I did the minimum because really, I'm totally lazy.





Friday, September 18, 2009

It Doesn't Define Me

4:04p
I've been thinking about my journey and how it's been so easy for me to allow myself to get caught up in how my hair defines me.
I went to get my hair butchered cut last week and I wanted to have a sleek new look that sang out maturity, style and sophistication. When I didn't get that, I felt shattered. My hair put me into a panic and I realized that I was letting my hair define me.
I don't want to look around looking crazy by any means, but I also realized that my hair is just that. Hair. One, it will grow back. And two, I'm it's master! Today, after my texlax last night, I'm actually feeling this short hair. It doesn't look bad on me and I know that my hair will grow back.

I don't need my hair to fit neatly into a definable box for me to be happy with it.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Texlax Update

10:00a

I texlaxed last night only two weeks shy of my original goal of 10 weeks post. And same as the last time I texlaxed, I could have gone for another few weeks or more. I texlaxed because I am going to get my hair RECUT, into a style that I can manage and doesn't drive me insane {I'll post pictures of the infamous cut at a later date...I'm still not over it yet}, so I needed to have a fresh texlax so that the cut would be good. I used the same method and product as my last texlax except for a few things that I did differently.

In the step between washing it out and neutralizing, I wanted to do a hard protein treatment to add back any strength that may have been lost during the relaxing process. I thought I had a protein treatment, but I actually didn't since I've gotten rid of anything that has protein in it, since protein and I do not get along. So I actually used an egg and mixed it with Africa's Best Hair Mayo. I applied that to my hair {it was incredibly messy. good thing I was in the shower} and let it sit for a few minutes. I didn't let it sit too long because I didn't want to cause any damage.

I then neutralized with the Creamy Aloe Shampoo that came with the relaxer. This is the BEST shampoo. It softened, detangled and really did moisturize my hair after the egg treatment. I almost thought for a second that I wouldn't need to deep condition. But I'm not crazy. So I deep conditioned with the ORS Olive Oil replenishing pak, that was also included with the relaxer. I left that on for about 3 hours and when I washed out, my hair felt incredible.

This time I added 1 1/2 cap fulls of oil to my relaxer {probably equal to 1 1/2 teaspoons} and I think this was the right amount. I got no burning even though I had scratched my scalp absentmindedly earlier in the day and the results were right on point.

Now all I have to do is get this cut fixed. One of the pluses of my butchered hair is that, in the back, there is maybe two inches of relaxed hair left, the rest is texlaxed. I can't wait until I'm fully texlaxed.

I had a breakdown earlier this week and contemplated going back to bone straight, but I'm glad I came to my senses, with the help of Renise B of course.

Hopefully, this time, I will make my goal of 10 weeks post. 8 weeks wasn't bad at all.




Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Simple Better Be Better

3:34p

I think I may be realizing that I'm doing way too much in terms of my hair. All the cowashing, the deep conditioning, the clarifying, the moisturizig, the sealing, the protective styling, maybe it's just TOO much.

Simple is better. None of those things are bad, but simple IS better, right?

For the winter, I really think that I'm going to simplify my regimen. Wash and deep condition once a week. Moisture and seal daily {or as needed. If I need to skip a day, I'll skip a day}. That's it. No hoopla and no involved regimen where I have to keep a calendar to keep track of it.

I guess that this new cut has really taken the wind out of my sails a little bit. I'm ready for my hair to grow back, but the enthusiasm I began this journey with seems to have been left on the salon floor with the rest of my hair.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Cutter's Remorse

8:40a

I've been regretting cutting my hair. Regretting that I have a itty bitty teeny weeny little pony tail. Regretting that I allowed her to "layer" my hair in the front. The pieces stick up if I'm not vigilant about keeping them slicked down. The cut just isn't condusive to my lifestyle. And what I mean by that is this: I NEED EASY HAIR. Hair that I don't have to flat iron every day. Hair that doesn't require much maintenace at all. I want to unwrap, fluff and go. This cut doesn't allow me to do that. And it's not like I haven't had my hair this short before:
This picture shows my haircut from about a year and a half ago and I loved the cut because it was EASY. The layers were perfect and fell very nicely.
I told myself I was going to stop pouting and embrace my hair. And I will. Probably just not today.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Curse of the HIGH FOREHEAD!!!

3:19p

It's either a blessing or a curse. Depends on how you look at it. I spent the majority of my high school career trying to hide my forehead with bangs and side swoops, tucked behind my ears. Trying to disguise my forehead and take some of the focus off it.

I had big lips too and I used to practice holding in my bottom lip so it didn't look so full. Ahhh...high school memories.

Ahem.

High forehead, that's where I was going. I don't much see my high forehead as a curse any more. I think I have finally embraced it and have learned to love it. I've learned what hairstyles look best and I often find myself wearing my hair pulled back, fully showing off my head's assets.

I'm proud of my forehead!

Is there anything {face/head/ears} that you used to try to hide with your hair? Or do you still hide that particular thing?

BAD HAIR DAY!!!!!

9:12a

I'm having a horrible hair day. And I dont even have anything to tie my hair back with. How does this happen????? I'm ALWAYS prepared!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Thin Strands

11:36a

I have been blessed with thin strands. I say blessed because some people really do think their hair is a curse {my sister}. My hair does grow pretty quickly and I'm grateful for that, as I've been able to see that what I've been doing, is in fact working.

The one thing I wanted when starting my journey was healthy, thick hair, and I think I'm on my way to having just that.

There are a few things that I have discovered {and some that I have yet to try} that thicken hair up for the ladies with strands that are thinner than our thick haired counter parts.

Texlaxing. I contribute the thickness of the 3 inches that I've processed recently to texlaxing. My strands aren't as stressed as they used to be when I literally relaxed my hair within an inch of it's life. Well, it was actually my stylist that was overlapping and relaxing my hair to death, which leads me to my next point.

Eliminate Heat. I believe that banishing the flat iron has improved the condition of my hair as well. The blow drier never sees the light of day either, save for using the cool setting. Heat is really damaging and the less I use it, the more I realize how detrimental heat can be to my thin strands. This weekend, with my cut, I did get a blow out and a flat iron, and I have been debating whether or not to continue the sleek, straight look. I even bought a new, ceramic flat iron and a good heat protectant. But at this point, I'm really about health over vanity.

Eggs. Now I have tried the eggs and I absolutely loved the strength and the thickness that eggs added. For me, protein can be my downfall and after such a heavy protein treatment, I need triple the moisture. Next time I try the egg, I know how to combat the possible breakage that can come from protein overload.

Castor Oil. I use castor oil to seal my hair. I honestly can't say that my increase in growth is due to castor oil since I don't apply the oil to my scalp, only my ends. I've heard marvelous things about Jamacian Black Castor Oil and it's aid in thickening hair.

Those are the things that work for me. Over time, especailly with the texlaxing, I'm sure I'll reach my goal of having thick, healthy hair.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Hair Cut!

9:57a
So I did it. I actually did it. There were those out there who thought I wouldn't actually do it {and you know who u are!} And I wasn't the least bit nervous when I saw the glint of the scissors as she grabbed them from her station. Nor when I heard the first cut. I was cool, calm and collected throughout the whole entire cut!
I was too excited to have my hair cut to worry about hanging on to those tired old dead ends! I had pride in those long, scraggly things until one day I looked in the mirror and was TIRED of working my buns off for this hair, this hair that had absolutely no value! It was fried and dried and just a hot mess.
Enough talking. Here are the pictures
Here's a reminder of where I started:
Overall, I loved the cut. I did have to take matters into my own hands when I got home. The right side was a teeny bit longer than the left and it was driving me crazy! So I trimmed it a bit and now I love it! I've never had bangs this short and I'm still getting used it it, but I love how healthy my ends are and how my hair moves! I'm completely satisfied.

 I'll be doing a review of the salon I went to tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Winterizing Your Hair

11:42a

This will be my first winter on my hair journey. And since I'm more northern than I have ever been in my life, I know that I'm going to have to take some extra steps to make sure my hair is taken care of.

The harsh, cold winds can really do damage on hair if it isn't properly taken care of. There are a few things that I will be doing to make sure that winter doesn't cause any damage to my locks.

  • Keep hair in protective styles for the entire winter to ensure that ends aren't rubbing aganist the heavy wool or my coat or sweaters
  • Line winter hat with a satin scarf to make sure that the rough material of my hat isn't damaging my hair or hairline
  • Cut back on my co-washes in the winter since my hair doesn't fully air dry quickly
  • Up the deep conditioning to 2 to 3 times a week
  • Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize
Hopefully, when winter rolls around {very soon!}, I'll be prepared. I'm sure that everything I've done thus far in my hair journey has only helped the health of my hair. Starting off with a healthy head of hair is especially important.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Hair Cut -- Stay Tuned!

10:57a
I'll be revealing my hair cut on Thursday! Stay tuned!

Miconazole Nitrate

11:04a
When starting my hair journey back in May {man, time flies!}, one of the issues I wanted to correct with my hair were my horribly thin edges:

I began to search for things that would fill in my edges quickly and was surprized when I learned about Miconazole Nitrate. What is that? Well, simply stated, it's this:


Yeast infection cream! Miconazole Nitrate is found in both yeast infection creams and in Neosporin. Since it has antifungal properties, it will remove dandruff and bacteria from the scalp, thus promoting hair growth.
There were so many women on the hair boards praising this stuff for growing their edges back and when applied to their whole heads, giving them amazing growth results. I was immediately intrigued since I happened to have some of the stuff in my medicine cabinet! One of the warnings, though, was that the miconazole nitrate could possibly cause headaches, as one of the things it does is cause blood to rush to the area where it is applied, this is why growth occurs also, increased blood flow to the area.
Excitedly, I applied the cream twice a day for a few days. The first day, was fine, I noticed a little tingling but nothing out of the ordinary. By the third day, my head was pounding and on fire in the areas where I had applied the cream to.
I don't think I used it enough to notice any recognizable difference. And I definitely don't plan on using it in the future. I've decided that growth aids aren't neccesarily for me. I am impatient for my hair to be where I want it to be, but at the same time, why go through the stress of trying to speed up what nature has under control?
A better alternative for me has been the aloe vera gel. I don't use it nearly as often as I should, but I can really say that my edges are filling in.
But as far as miconazole nitrate goes, try it, you might like it!

Monday, September 07, 2009

REVIEW: Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight Conditioner

8:21a
So.
Just know that anytime I begin with "So," it's not going to be pretty. I really really wanted to love this. It was soooo promising.
  
It claims:
can i be straight with you? If you want to go flat out. i'll give you a big dose of conditioning to help you keep your straight look. pour on the lusciousness from root to tip with my creamy formula fused with honeyed pear & silk. it revives your hair's silkiness and shine and helps it move in a fine line.
Let me start with the good. The smell of this conditioner is FABULOUS. I will use it for the fragrance alone. It smells like I'm wearing perfume today, but I'm not, it's my hair! I fell in love with the smell immediately. It's perfumy, but not overly so. It's just right.
The conditioner is thick and creamy in texture and it required me to use a lot to really cover my strands. It didn't have very much slip at all and didn't allow me to detangle it very well at all. Before using HE Dangerously Straight, I shampooed with V05 clarifying conditioner {review on that to come} and my hair definitely needed some added moisture. My hair was softer, but not as silky as I'm used to getting with a conditioner. Overall, this just didn't do the trick for softening and detangling.
This morning, my hair held it's curl {I did a pony tail twist out} very well. It is very well defined. I will try this conditioner as a leave in when I want to flat iron or blow dry my hair, but as a cowash conditioner, this was really a fail. Other than the smell, I don't have much to say about it.

Friday, September 04, 2009

A Change is Coming

8:19a

So today is my birthday! All together now...happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Ok enough of that.

For my birthday, I will be treating myself to a haircut. I mean, I'm beginning to feel like a grown up, I should at least look like one right?
So this is the cut I've decided on:
I'm loving the lines of it and how it subtly frames her face. I even love the bangs. Most definitely will be getting some bangs. The only thing I think I will do differently is that I want more layers and maybe I will go just a tad bit shorter. Layers really work well for my long face. Straight hair just doesn't suit me.
This cut will actually serve two purposes. One, I will get the change that I have been crying for. And two, since I am cutting a significant amount, it will get rid of some of these relaxed ends and get me closer to my goal of being fully texlaxed.
I'm so excited.
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