Oh! A treat!

I made a stable updo with a comb on my loose stretched hair.

Stable.

Loose.

With a comb. And, a couple of good hair days pins - two, I think.

Oh, sqqquuuuueee! It feels very loose, but very secure, all at once. Very nice. Very nice.

If it survives the party, I'll take a picture.

Keeping Track....

It's so interesting how even with only 'doing' my hair once a week, I can clearly see how changing something affects the detangling process the following week.

Last week, my hair was a bit difficult to detangle - my ends were clinging to each other like mad, despite me having done a salt treatment the week before, I think it was. I really need to get better at keeping track of when I do what, as time tends to blur into 'a few weeks ago' for me, no matter if it was a month ago, or if it was last week.

So, I did an acid rinse after I rinsed out the conditioner, which I used to do every weekend, but for some reason stopped doing. This week - my hair detangled like it was literally nothing. Fabulous. Small change, instant (okay, week later) results. And, I actually skipped my mid-week DC - I just plain didn't feel like it, and my hair didn't feel like it would revolt if I didn't do it, so there. *lol* I did manage to MT M/T/T/F, though.

I also gave myself a steam treatment today - I'm seriously mulling over doing that every weekend that I have time to do it - my hair comes out so happy. And since I finally have the TurbieTwists (no more using dishtowels!) it's a heck of a lot easier, too. I'm considering going back for the white ones, as the amount of dye that is bleeding out of these while I'm nuking them is a wee bit scary.

And, for the first time, I used the last of the MT in my first bottle (finally! It's EMPTY!) as a DC, along with my usual hodgepodge of stuff - I also used up the last of my 8oz bottle of SAA - it's time I break into the 16 oz!

I grabbed a new cheapie conditioner from BigLots today - I don't feel like getting up to see the brand name right now, but it's a huge bottle - half gallon, maybe? of pink stuff with a pump on it. *laugh* Yes, I mainly got it for the pump, and it was a 'clean' con, and it's not very strong smelling, so it'll be a great 'stretcher' for my mixes.



What else? I still haven't gotten around to putting together all my thoughts (and links) on ceramides together yet - I'm mrrr because I really want to buy a bunch of stuff to experiment with, and well - *sigh* - that's just plain not happening right now.

What I need to do - hrm, I might do that tomorrow (but don't hold your breath) - is go through my cabinets, and pull out all of the stuff that I've purchased already to experiment with, and figure out a) if I still want to mess with it and b) if I do, figure out something to do with it.

One thing that I doubt I'll be meddling with at this point is the lactic acid. When I got it, I was still dealing with really gnarly detangling issues, but even after the crappy detangling session last week - meh, I'm not really trying for any additional curl 'loosening'. My hair is boing-free enough as it is. :(

I've got quite a few herbs that I haven't meddled with yet, and I might see if I can do something new with some of the oils I have, too.

I need to make a new leave-in for my twists, too. It's interesting, but the last couple of twists that I've done - the roots haven't 'twisted' very well at all. It might be because I'm trying to make the twists larger, overall (finished my twists in 1.5 hours last week!!), or it might be because after a couple of months of consistent protective styling, my hair is loosing some of it's 'boing', or what - I need something a little heavier/tackier to help them set up. Hrrrm. I don't think I used any glycerin in this last batch - I wonder if that makes a difference.
I would like to add some honey, but I don't have any preservatives, so that's out. Maybe just more shea butter, as that's a nice 'tacky' butter. *laugh* I'm starting to understand why people add beeswax to stuff.

Hrrm. I do have some cetyl alcohol, too - that's an emulsifying wax - last time I used it, I didn't bother reading the directions and totally screwed up what I was trying to make - I might try it again, now that I know where I went wrong. Hrrmm. Maybe.



I've been on and off experimenting with the combs and barrettes that I got from CrystalMood.com, and pulled off a kinda cute bun today. I still feel like my hair is far too short (or my head is too big), but it's natural poofyness is actually working to my advantage.

I've also almost completely transitioned to using combs for holding my hair up while I'm styling it - I feel like they are a lot less stressful on my hair than even the 'stress-free' scrunchies are, considering that I'm not putting them in and leaving them there, but instead are putting them in and out, in and out. With the combs, I can easily feel if hair is 'caught' on them long before I've pulled it hard enough to break a hair or three. I would love to find some seam free ones, but - meh, I'll be aiight.

I do like the fact that the CM combs are metal - while the edges aren't as rounded/smooth as they could be, I don't have to worry about micro-cracks that would snag hair, or about using them in wet hair.




In general hair news, all the hair that shed when I first started with MT is now showing up again as wee little shorties all. over. my. head. While on one hand I'm thrilled at the evidence of new hair (and the fact that my hair will continue to get thicker), it's rather irksome because now my hair is also almost instantly fuzzy. No such thing as a 'fresh' looking hairstyle now. I have broken back into the Burnt Sugar though - that and a tight scarf every morning are still my best bet when it comes to at least being able to leave the house without looking like a fuzz monster.

It's definitely still growing - as I'm combing out my hair in the front post conditioner, I can actually see what I'm doing now at the ends - I can see where there 'tangles' are - and the fact that most of the time, it's not really a tangle, it's just a section of curl that's curled onto itself/others just a wee bit too much. I seem to get all of the 'real' knots and so forth out while I'm detangling.

It's interesting - the longer my hair gets, the more I feel that the longer my hair gets, the easier it will be to take care of. Another long-time natural relaxed recently, and a lot of people are commenting that taking care of that much thick/long natural hair can be a real hassle - and I'm still really - yeah, I'll believe it when I see it - about the whole thing - even taking into account the thickness. *sigh*

It's not that I doubt the amount of energy that it took them/takes them to do their hair - not in the least. I'm doubting that it has to be that way. Meh. I don't know. We shall see. *laugh* I'll be rather disappointed if my hair doesn't get to the length where I can start to personally examine the challenge of literally having 'too much hair', and wanting to purposely make it thinner/tamer. But then, I think that my hair is pretty darn tame now, and I think that a set of cecile braids can be made to look real sexy. Meh. I don't know. I'll have to make a new tag, for this, and see if my imagination can cash the checks my ignorance is writing. ;)

I'm very interested to see how my hair acts over the winter, since winter is usually my stall season, and I'll be MT'ing and exercising this winter. I've been told to claim 3, and I'm hoping to be at 5 by my three month update, and at a full 4. I need to double check and see what APL is on me, in the shirt. I suspect it's around 8, but I'm not sure - I didn't look closely enough the last time I had it on.

I've become comfortable with the awareness that unstretched, my hair most likely won't look like it's past shoulder for at least another year, maybe even two. I'm still rather suprised how long my hair was when DH took the picture for me - it really has grown, and I simply could not see it. I was 'bald' less than 3 years ago! *laugh* It's wonderful.

Hair is wonderful.

Urm, progress?

Haha!

I got so stoked over the two years comparison pics, that I totally forgot to add my actual new baseline pic.

Now, this picture/process/shirt is just going to be to show the overall length change, and not my actual length - I've got WICKED major layers, so the point at which I feel like I've reached X length is most likely going to be at least 6-9 months after the 'measured' hair hits that length.

Urm, what other disclaimers...... I think that's about it. *lol*



I'm considering my hair to be officially at the '2' mark, going for 3 - because those 10 or 12 hairs stretching down to the long point so don't count in my mind.

Urm, this was done on semi-dirty (two days after a cowash) hair, center of the nape, freshly retwisted (ie, I took the twist down, finger-combed it, and retwisted tightly).

My taper deeply amuses me, as it only shows up when I do small sections of hair. The fatter the twist, the less the taper - which rocks, really.

Some people would look at those ends and cry out for a trim. Haha! Soooo not happening, Kemo Sabe. They are thin, but that's no surprise, considering a) I have layers and b)I haven't had a trim in over *thinks* 22 months. Also, I'm seriously going for fairytale ends, so *ppphhfffttt* to trims.
The obession with blunt ends in people trying to grow their hair long baffles me. Esp. curly heads! *shrug* Ah well, to each their own.

DH took this picture for me, in case that wasn't clear. He was such a sweetheart, angling me just right against the light, and I didn't even have to suggest how to hold the hair - he got it. I think he might enjoy being my photographer. ;)

I only plan on taking pics every three months, both so that I can see actual growth, and so that I don't get super obsessive about increased length.

Oh, yeah, I'm claiming shoulder length, now, if I haven't mentioned that before. *lol*

From there to here.....

In a little under 2 years.

It's so hard for me to make comparisons, sometimes, because - well, I'm a stickler for consistency. And with kinky hair, it's very easy for it to be - well, inconsistent. Gotta love it, eh?

Anyhow, I thought I would take a gander at the huge changes in my hair over the last two years - it's so motivating for me, and it's refreshing to remind myself that no matter how long the road (or how slow the progress) seems to be, changes and progress IS happening. And I hope, it might give motivation to others, too.

Nov 06 to Sept 08



1) My gods, my hair has gotten SO much thicker! Those poor puny twists I had back then - no wonder I stopped twisting my hair for so long! I'm not sure if the additional thickness is from having more hair, henna, MT, better moisture habits, not chemically coloring, or what - but it's stunning.

2) Clearly, there is a huge difference in length, too. *laugh* My twists weren't even able to hang down before, and now they hang, thick and heavy. So luscious. And, I'd like to note, I've cut ALL the red hair off - so that's almost two years of growth from danngone near bald. That's really not bad, at all.

3) You would never believe that I have been henna'ing regularly for over two years, either. The red on the bottom of my twists is henna over bleach and red dye, and now, my full length is henna over my natural color. I've almost given up on having red hair - at least until I go gray, that is.

4) Look at my poor hairline!! Oh my gods, I had no CLUE it was that bad! My hair was just gone along my temples - and now, I have a whole juicy twist sitting there! Wow. That's an important bit of progress for me, because my hairline was/is one area that I fret over, on a regular basis. I've still got that fuzzy patch along my nape, though. *lol* Oddly enough (most likely because I can't see it) I don't worry about the kitchen as much.

5) I've also clearly lost weight (look at that chin and those cheeks!) but that's not really hair-related. Well, maybe it is, since it's an indication of better overall health, and we all know, that makes for better hair, too!

So. That's two years of wonderment and growth.

Four years is gonna be OFF. THE. HOOK.

Confirmation

Well.

I took my hair out of the two strand twists yesterday, but didn't feel like going to bed with conditioner loaded hair, so I just retwisted it up, in a single french twist down the middle of my head. :happydance: That's the first time that I've managed to do that, so I was most excited. I'm not sure if I could do it with loose hair, though - I think that having it in a twist-out actually gave me more 'workable' length.
Speaking of which, yesterday, I finally understood why so many sisters chase after the perfect twistout - DH actually commited on my hair, which is such a rarity I always note it when it happens.
"Your hair - it's just all wild of poofy - but it looks so CUTE!" *laugh*

He's so adorable! *wub*

So - another milestone, nodded at and noted.

And - I've finally been able to confirm my thickness - I've got a 3.5 inch ponytail, and that puts me in a solid ii - just as I've been guessing/suspecting all along. So, now I've got a new goal. *happygrin* I want a 4 inch ponytail. It's only 1/2 an inch, but I think it would give me that extra thickness that I crave.

Ah, and another thing. I'm starting to think about/try to create a Hair Oil - I want it to thicken my hair, and protect and heal my cuticle, and basically give my hair a fighting chance at staying young. Funny, I don't mind wrinkles on my face, but I want my hair to stay babyoung for as long as possible.

Hrm. I think I'm done, now. I'm being dull, today.

Actutally, I'm content with my hair, that's the problem. *lol* So to speak.