Review, review, strands long past review....

Hrm.

Tis been a minute, so let's recap what I've been up to.

Last treatment was a protein one, that I debated putting in before I did it - but I figured I should stick to the program....I've seen a bit of breakage since then, so that's been proved out - I definitely did not need the protein treatment on TOP of the daily use of MT - it's just too much for my hair.
So, I guess I'm going to drop the protein from the cycle as long as I'm using the MT - but now, what to put there, instead? Maybe just a straight co-wash/clarify, since I'm putting something on my scalp daily, now. Hrrm, yeah, that might work out very well. Or, include the ayurvedic there, since I rarely actually do it in the middle of a cycle segment.

I actually LET someone play in my hair over the weekend! I was out, in the woods, with the pagan ladies, and I started taking down my twists, and one of them asked if she could do it. Ahhhhhhhh - I've really forgotten how NICE it feels to have someone slow and gentle in your hair. Wow. It felt REALLY good. My hair was a little stiff (another over-proteining sign for me), but it was still soft and - tender - somehow. I slapped it into two flat twists for the rest of the weekend. I was rather pleased that they 'stayed' in semi-stretched hair, even as they expanded and 'poofed' up. I really like how my hair looks as it 'poofs' - it looks so full and comfy. I ended up putting it into four flat twists on Sunday night though, so that I could get through the week with it.

I took it down once - Tuesday, I think it was - so that I could really get to the scalp and get the MT in. I've done MT - 4 out of 5 days this week, I think - I might have only done 3, though, I'm not totally sure. Either way, I can DEFINITELY tell a difference in my hair length now - it's REALLY hanging into my eyes when it's wet, and it wasn't doing that before. I'm very pleased, very pleased, with how this stuff is working. I'm scraping the bottom of my 2oz tub, so I'll have to mix up another batch of that this weekend, as well.

When I took my hair down, it was also because it was feeling dry - and dry + overprotein = Danger Will Robinson, Danger!, so I knew I had to do something right then, and not wait til the weekend. I figured it was dry because I had been watering down my mist, trying to make it stretch, and hairgirl wasn't bout to hear that. So, I took down my hair, and slapped some QP IFC into it, and it served a dual purpose - not only softening my hair enough that I could detangle it easily, it also remoisturized my hair - very smooth. If I do decide to start switching up my styles in the middle of the week - that will DEFINITELY be my routine.

I made a new batch of hair mist after that - and I wanted to actually 'roughly' record the proportions - esp. since I'll be changing it up once I get my latest purchases. ;) Anyhow, it was:
4 capfuls SAA, 6 capfuls honeyquat, drizzle of TTO, squirt of MegaT - it ended up filling about 1/4 of the bottle, so roughly an ounce of stuff all together. I shook all of that together, first, and then added water. So far, my hair has LOVED it - it's odd, because I really didn't think it would notice that I had watered it down - but I think the combo of the extra protein and of the watered down mist - and yeah. Things would have been ugly.

Okay. I've also brought some more hair products - I know, I know, I said I was done after the Mason Pearsons (which, by all that is holy, are the best. fucking. combs. EVAH!) but, danggone those women @ LHCF and their Eqyss love. *sigh*

So. I'm trying a new conditioner (the Premier Creme Rinse) which is supposed to be equivalent to the Ovation Creme Rinse, and two 'sprays' - one is the Premier Rehydrant - which from the description, is a 'super' humectant, and with the summer coming and my daily use of a protein loaded product, I'm going to need, and the other is the Avocado Mist, which is supposed to add shine and make detangling easier. ANYTHING that makes detangling easier (like it's so hard, right now) is a sure shot for me.
Anyhow, I'm waiting for those to get here - I figure I should be able to use them next out weekend, as I doubt they will be waiting on the stoop for me today when I get home.

Seriously, though, I'm DONE. DONE. For at LEAST a month. I've also stocked up on jewelry at the size I'm currently at - which while it doesn't look TOO big, it's still - well, it's still surprisingly subtle, I think. Of course, I'm largely just wearing plugs now - the dangles make a SERIOUS statement at this size - I think I might wear the spirals tomorrow, and take a picture. I might wear my hair out this weekend, too.

Urm, urm, what else?

Oh! I also got a chance to play in hair this weekend (I love women's festivals - they feel like the most fabulous biggirl sleepover EVER). I was the only woman of color there *sigh*, but I was able to play in a curlies hair (soft, fine, medium thickness, WL, red, 2c/3a, no, I wasn't TOO jealous), and in a pinstick straight head (medium, insanely thick, WL, dark brown, 1a, totally NOT jealous - it was SO. STRAIGHT!), whose hair - it had - weight. Heft. When you picked up her ponytail, there was clearly something substantial there. Both of their hair was in gorgeous condition too - though the curly girl was just on the verge of needing a DC - but it was STILL lovely hair. I can't WAIT til my hair is that length - I don't think it will ever be heavy like that though - it's very air, in it's nature.

Oh! How could I forget! This weekend is as close as my patience will let me get (I could wait til the next out weekend, when I do henna, but - I might actually skip (*gasp*, I know) my henna treatment this cycle, since I suspect I'm going to be in the woods) to my two year anniversary! And I am so, so, SO, going to do a comparison set of pictures to demonstrate JUST how far my hair has come. I want to use the twist pics - starting with the redheaded ones that I did right after I took out my locs, and comparing them to the set I'll put in this weekend. For one thing, they are going to be at LEAST 4 times bigger - even if I do tiny, tiny twists (which I doubt I'll have time to do). Second, obviously, there's the difference in hair color. It's funny - as much as I've been chasing red, I actually PREFER my natural color to the red that I had in then. Ah, how things change.

Speaking of colors and changes, though, I think, if I do skip the henna treatment - and actually, I definitely will. My hair is ALREADY complaining about a slight protein overload - I'm carameling this weekend, which should shift things more on the happy/happy moisture side, but - skipping one henna won't kill me. *gaspchoke*
Instead, I think I'm going to dedicate this next wonky, won't be home half the weekends cycle to experimenting with cinnamon. It'll really be perfect, as I'll be out in the sun, a lot, and that will help my hair get lighter, and then I'll do another henna, and whoowee - I betcha it'll glow!

I still haven't quite figured out how to add in the cinnamon. I think that I'll definitely add a heaping dose of it to my caramel treatment this weekend. That might actually just be it - I'll add a heaping dose of cinnamon to each of my treatments for the next cycle, and I'll be sure to take 'in sun' pictures this weekend, so I can compare the color before I henna & after I henna. *nod* That will work well.

I think I'm done, now.