Apparently I've made a decision, as I did a two hour wild goose chase for hair combs tonight despite being in the midst of tear inducing cramps. In the process, I found some knockoff GHD's by Scunci in a nice dark tortoise shell color, plus two bottle of J/A/S/O/N Tea Tree Conditioner on the clearance rack for 2.09 each. I've never tried them before (because they were way too expensive), but I've heard good things about them, so I figured I'd give them a try.
I finally found hair combs at K-mart, where they seemed a little steep - 4.19 for two combs - though they do have a 'wiggly' tine in the middle of the wider 'straight' tines - I'm thinking that not only will that reduce breakage as I put the comb in, it'll also help the style be more stable. I got some smaller combs too, possibly for accents or support or something. The ones I currently have (all of which have at least one tine missing) are going to be put into permanent duty as DC'ing combs.
Speaking of DC'ing, when I did my hair yesterday, it actually seemed easier to comb. There were some pretty 'big' knots on the end in a couple of sections that I had to puzzle through by hand, but otherwise, it went pretty well - and it seemed to go faster, too. Most interesting.
I actually applied castor oil to my braids this go around, and I think I might use a little of my leave-in on my hair before I do it - which means I'm going to have to get up icky early tomorrow morning, but at least I have the hang of the style now, so it should be a bit easier/faster.
Sooo....
Boring....
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
I'm not in a hair mood, as of late. The skimpiness of posts should have been a warning sign to me, but meh. I've been totally ignoring my hair during the week - no midweek DC's, no MT, nada. I haven't even two strand twisted my hair in the last - two weeks, I think? - and have been wearing it in my one comb updo, instead. I even left it product free this week, and checking it out now, it's not doing too bad. The ends are mildy tangled, but all things considered, it's not bad at all. The only part that is realllly tangled is my nape - I'm not even going to try to deal with it dry.
It does feel dry - but not like straw, or anything. It's not super tangled, as I can gently pull it apart and part it pretty easily - so, really not bad at all. I wouldn't want to do it too frequently, as I'm certain I'm 'banking' on some reserve moisture I've built up, but it's good to know that I can do it without horrid results, every now and then.
I'm going to caramel & steam it today, and I'm debating what to do with it afterwards. Doing my hair this way instead of in twists saves me about 3 to 4 hours a weekend - and, it's kinda my 'endgame', almost. To have hair long enough to put up for a week in a few twists, and more or less ignore. I don't think I expected it to happen this quickly, and I'm not sure if I'm really 'there', or if I'm just in a mood with my hair. Meh. I don't know.
Maybe I'm just at a resting point, for a while. I don't see myself content enough with my length (though it is longer than I've ever dealt with it loose before - I had locked about 3 inches ago) or my growth rate to totally stop using MT - I'll just have to be creative and figure out how to use it without having to pre-part. Maybe using it once a week, right after I wash? Meh - that's about as effective as not using it at all, in my mind, really. Hrpmh.
I still need DH to take length pics for me. Maybe I will TST, just so I can get those out of the way for another 3 months.
I have the feeling I originally came here to talk about more than my current ennui with my hair, but apparently not. *laugh*
Yipes!
It's been a while since I've posted, and Nikki just nudged me to let ya'll know how my hair is doing after the difficult detangle.
It's - aiight. I don't feel like my ends are detangling as smoothly as they used to anymore, and I'm starting to wonder if I need a trim. I haven't had one since I cut off the last of my colored hair in Feb 07, and if I do trim, it would be in late Feb 09, so that would make two years - and that's a pretty long stretch.
I henna'd, last weekend, just to see if that would help - and until I DC (Yule party tonight, otherwise I'd be under the steamer already), I won't know for sure how my ends are going to behave. I have a 'single comb' updo in now (I need to figure out a name for that), and when I was playing in my hair last night, my ends did seem to have regained their senses.
I'm starting to see breakage though - *sigh* - and I know exactly where that is coming from, and I know I need to do better but - *laughing*.
Okay. I normally DC on Wednesdays, overnight. *look* The last couple of weeks - DH & I have reaallllly been feeling each other, and after the third week that I had to switch up pillows because the scarf and showercap came off and got conditioner everywhere........ weeeelllll, I've been skipping my midweek DC's. *laughing*
I'm really going to try to do better. *grin*
Otherwise - things are going well, overall. I can see that it's getting a little longer (I want DH to take some growth pics for me tonight), and I've settled back into my MT habits.
Ah! Wow, I haven't posted for a while.
Did I talk about caffeine as a growth aid? I can't remember - I think I started, and got distracted. Anyhow, there are a couple of studies out indicating that caffeine, applied topically, not only increases the growth rate of hair, it also extends the anagen phase by up to 37% - which means it increases your terminal length, overall. Very Nice.
Anyhow, I made a coffee oil with three Senseo pods, and 2 tbl each of jojoba and coconut oil, as well as mango, cocoa, shea, and red palm butter. It's a really pretty yellow color with a few coffee grounds in it here and there, and it smells amazingly delicious.
I apply that first, and then apply the MT on top of that. I've been doing that for - about a week, I think? Maybe two. Yeah, I think two.
Anyhow, I've been doing that pretty consistently - I think I've only missed one night in the last two weeks, and it doesn't add much time to the routine. I got lightheaded the first time I used it - and since then it's been smooth sailing.
Hrm.
I think that's it, for now.
Oooh. I've fallen in love with hibiscus. I've been using it regularly in my steam treatment DC's - oh, yummy. It leaves my hair smooth and heavy/thick - my hair is seriously digging them steam.
Okay.
More later, as always.