Damn, Really?

I haven't posted since JANUARY? Okay, I realized it had been a while (even with the nudges - thank y'all *l*), but THAT long? Damn.

Um.

Well, a host of things combined that got me distracted.

One, I lost my camera. Well, technically, I didn't lose it - hah!

I blame it all on the LHCF Meetup - which, by the way, was a crapload of fun. I really wished I had been able to spend more time with the lovely ladies!

When we met at the Civil Rights Museum, I had to check my camera. When I left the museum, I forgot my camera. I was in a rush - it was my fifth wedding anniversary.... I was trying to get home. ;)

When I went back to get my camera, it was mysteriously missing. I just got a check to replace it Saturday. Yes, that would be July 11th. Almost 4 months later. We had to threaten to call the local news for that to happen. *rollseyesfuriously*

So, I knew there were no pictures going to be had.

Then, I also started a pretty intense exercise program. So, a lot of my attention and time went to that.

Then, there is also the fact that - I've gotten downright lazy (and really consistent) with my hair.

Right now, I'm wearing twists for two weeks straight - I've FINALLY figured out the 'secret' of NoniesTwists (tm) - they are like little ropes. I wear them down for a week, then wear them up for a week. I'm only DC'ing every other weekend - I'll cowash my hair in the twists the other weekend.

I'm DC'ing with Elasta QP (love long time), usually mixed with some hibiscus flower powder (wonderfully moisturizing and slightly acidic), some SAA, some honeyquat, and sometimes a touch of salt.

That's kind of my personal conditioning 'magic' mixture. I really need to restock on my Premier Conditioner - I loved adding a dollop of that.

If I want a lightly protieny mixture (once every 3 or 4 DC's), I'll add a nice dollop of MT to the magic mixture - minus the salt. Some of the salt stuff suggested that it breaks down protein - so no need to use it there.

I think I've henna'd maybe twice in the last couple of months. Hrm. Could be time to do that again. I add the henna to the magic mixture - minus the hibiscus. The combo of the two is a little too acidic for my hair.

If I want something extra conditioning, I whip up a bit of the Caramel Treatment, and mix that with the magic mixture - utterly delicious. Another benefit of mixing it with the magic mixture is that it thickens up beautifully - so, no more drip!!

If I'm feeling really dry, I'll do the Caramel Treatment mix while doing a 2hr steam treatment - beyond amazing. Just - rich juicy happy hair. It's been too damn hot to do that lately, though - I'm soooooo not doing that.

If I want to deep clean my hair, I add my ayurvedic 'tea' mix - 2 parts amla, 1 part shikaika, 1 part fo-ti (it's premixed in a glass mason jar with a spoon for maximum ease) to the magic mixture. I acutally like the hibiscus in here, even though it's acidic - it seems to be more moisturizing then acidic in this mix.

I'm still doing a final rinse with cold water, and still use my acidic rinse as the last liquid that touches my hair - right now, I'm very fond of a coffee/citric acid mixture. I tend to be hit and miss when it comes to remembering to make the coffee before I start detangling, so I often end up with just a dilute citric acid mix.

The only leave-in's that I'm using - well, I'm using two. Right after I DC, I let my hair dry about halfway in 6 fat twists. Then, I take them down, comb them out a bit, apply a liberal amount of castor oil mixed with - Ack, the oil from Eqyss, but I can't remember the name - Survivor? Yeah - Survivor Oil. I love the stuff - a little goes a looong way. I then braid my hair, and let it dry.

Once it's dry, I take the braids down to twist with my second leave-in. It's a rich mix of butters, oils, SAA, honeyquat, and the Elasta QP. There's a recipe for it around here, somewhere - it's sooo nice. I add lemongrass oil to it, and it's the best smelling thing ever. It's moist and light, yet has enough oil in it to protect my hair - but creamy enough to not be greasy.

Other than in the protein treatments, I'm not using the MT. I don't have nearly as much free time in the evening, and since I'm only DC'ing once every two weeks, my hair cannot handle the additional protein. :( I miss it. I really liked how my hair was growing with it - but I can't do all the needed moisture support. I might start up again when it gets cool and I can start up with the steam treatment again.

One good thing - the summer months are my fast growing season, so I feel like while I'm not moving as fast as I could - it's a a good clip. And, my hair is long enough to do a lot of things I wanted to do with - which placates me, a lot. The fact that it's now long enough for me to feel okay wearing them down is a huge thing. I like it.

So, that brings us to length. It's longer. Obviously. *lol* But honestly? Without a camera to show it (to myself, too) I'm not sure how much longer. It's - odd. I think it's APL in parts. I've got horrible, deep layers because all of my strands are the same length - from my crown to my nape. It's the one downside to not trimming that I've found. Ah! Trimming. I'll touch on that a bit later.

But, the hair at my nape, is about APL. I think. The hair at my crown, is at about the bottom of my ear. It's - very big. *lol*

I haven't trimmed my hair since I cut out the last of the color, back in April of 2007. I've got plenty of single strand knots, I'll admit, and my hair has no real sort of 'shape' loose - but, I don't wear wash and go's, and it's a pretty cute bob in twists. *l* So, it's working for me. I do have some splits, but they are much, much better than they were at my last update. Low manipulation just really, really, works for me.

Interestingly enough, it's still taking me about the same time to detangle it - it takes me, about a solid hour and a half to fully detangle my hair - I think. That's of active working time.

I love taking my twists down. It feels really good. *lol* Written, that sounds so weird, but - it does. I look forward to it. So, I usually do that on Friday night. It's also great party hair. ;) If I'm partying Saturday ight, I have to take my twists down Saturday. I've figured out the twistout, but I've yet to have one survive the night. *lol*

My DC process starts with me mixing up the DC concoction of the week, and just slathering it into my hair. I then work it through, and fingercomb really, really well. I pull it back into a ponytailbun (woefully small, still) slap a shower cap and a cute scarf on top, and move on. Usually wear this over night, but for a minimun of 3 hours. I've developed a fondness for hats and scarves to allow me to not be tied to the house while DC'ing.

When it's time to detangle, I part my hair into roughly the sections of the style I plan on having, and usually start with 4-6 twists of DC soaked hair. I detangle each section - first with the MP Rake, then with the MP Medium Tooth Comb, and finally with the D3 Denman. The Holy Detangling Trifecta. at least for me. :lol: That takes me about 45 minutes - I usually do this in front of the bathroom sink.

Then, I climb in the shower with the Denman, and give each section a brush as I'm rinsing it out. That usually takes another 20 minutes, or so.

I put each section back in twists, and I'm done detangling and washing my hair.

So. That's what's been up with me & my hair.

*reads back up*

Holy cow, that's a lot. It's so odd, though - because this feels like the bare minimum to me. I - I can't imagine my hair being any easier by any process that's feasible to me. I still haven't used any heat - it would - complicate the process. *lol* And I'm not interested in trying to make it straighter, either. If there was a way I would want to change my hair, it would be to keep the amount of curl, just make each one a wee bit bigger. And that's just - not possible. So, I give it what it needs. *lol* My hair and I have a very consensual relationship.

I think that's the main reason I've been so quiet - most of what I was writing through was figuring out what really worked for my hair. And for a while, I had a lot of things that worked - but then, I started stripping it down to just what my hair really needs. No more, no less. And so, it seems kinda - dull to me.

How's it sound to you?

And thanks for sticking around. It's been a long time.