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*
Urm, progress?
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.
The Sacrificial Standard
In actual hair news - urm, it's doing it's thing. I've gone back to the weekly TST, which I'm making fatter so that it takes less time to do, and then putting them up. Still DC'ing twice a week. Have fallen deeply in like with TraderJoe's Replenish Conditioner. Back on the daily MT train. Still trying to find the perfect salt mixture.
Yeah, my hair is being pretty boring, actually. It's growing, and it's happy, and really, isn't that what I want? *lol* Calm seas really can be dreadful - I totally understand why people drift from the boards - after a while, even hairmadness gets old.
The next - experiment - I'm going to be working on is a restorative oil. I've been reading (back to back too) about far too many oils that seem to actually help protect/restore keratin bonds in the hair - and now, I'm itching to combine a bunch of them, and start using them in a castor oil base for sealing my hair. I'm trying to keep my ends young, basically. I need to start keeping a list. :lol:
Lots of mindpuke after this...... ;)
I've been thinking, a lot lately, trigged by a "Why Don't We Grow to Terminal" thread, about what is given and what is needed when it comes to the long hair growing process. I've been bouncing all around the hairboards I'm a member on, and - I've started to consciously notice some things that - have just been clicking with me, and giving me those 'Ahh.' moments.
I'm not a patient person, by any sense of the word. One of my earliest poems was about how much I hate waiting - so, you can rather imagine that the hairgrowing process isn't - well, it doesn't move nearly as fast as I would like it to. But, to me, that's a given. I haven't lost weight as fast as I would like to, either - but I wouldn't consider stopping doing the things that I know need to be done in order to try to get there faster - that doesn't even make any sort of logical sense.
But, it seems like when it comes to hair - people are either in denial to what needs to be done, or simply aren't willing to do it.
And I can respect that - there are certain lines that we all draw - certain things that we just will not do, for whatever reason. But, at the same time - I don't know - is it expecting too much of people for them to acknowledge that some of the responsibility for their progress - or lack thereof - rests solely in their hands, due to the choices that they do, or don't make?
Maybe it is - I mean, in the wider world, there is a distinct lack of personal responsibility for anything - major or minor.
You can't solely lay the blame on genetics - in all personal honesty, I think that genetically, there's a bell curve when it comes to hair, and it's the rare and far inbetween person who genetically can't grow, just as it's the rare and far inbetween person who can grow 12 ft of hair - it just doesn't happen that often. Inbetween those two rare ones, though, there is - well, most of the rest of us.
And in all truth, the reason that the rest of us don't have the hair we want - whether this is accepted, or not, is because we aren't doing the right things with it - we don't want to make the sacrifices that would allow our hair to grow, because it's not part of our meme.
I can't tell you how many times I've read complaints - bitterness - downright 'I'm just tolerating this' attitude towards protective styles - even though, 90% of the people you poll - even those that hate them - will admit, that yeah, protective styles are the sure shot when it comes to retaining growth.
On the other hand, you have another group, that actively celebrates and explores protective styling - that searches for new and creative ways to hide their hair, and get their enjoyment and pleasure from exploring what their hair can do, besides lay down their back.
Maybe it's because of the cultural concept that black women can't grow hair, that has triggered the attitude that unless everyone around you can see how much hair you have, the fact that you have long hair doesn't 'really' count, and you can't possibily be 'enjoying' your hair.
It reminds me of the difference between praying in public, and praying in private, and the root motives and urges between the two. I've never been that public of a person, really, and having something that - that is an open secret is a delightful concept/feeling for me.
*sigh* I don't know. I'm just rambling along, trying to understand the reasonings behind the wool. It's a hard thing, to get to the root of an attitude - esp. when it's not consisously adopted, it just 'is'.
Time gives wisdom - I'll have to come back in a few years, and see if I better understand why people are - resistant - to the easy way of doing things. *lol* Ah, I guess it depends on the person, as to whether they see it as easy.
Hrm. I can't really collect my thoughts the way I want to - they are just feelings and ideas and questions bouncing around my head right now, and I had to get them out - usually writing helps me clarify what I'm thinking - but I'm jsut standing in front of a wall of puzzlement.
As my husband often tells me - 'Kiya, not everyone is as logical as you are!' - which, puzzles me even more, because isn't the logical way usually the easiest way? I dunno.
Bah. This entry feels like a lot of churn and froth, so I'm just gonna cut it short now. Maybe I'll have something less nebulous on the subject, later.
Picture Proof (or lack thereof)
I'm - in a mood, in general. I can't find any happy online places, and - meh.
Okay. Lets start with hair comparisons - part of the reason why I'm so meh. Shrinkage is a mofo and a half.
This picture is from January of this year.
And this picture, I took this past weekend.
It's the same. freaking. length - to all appearances. I do notice that it's 'fuller' - I've got more of a triangle going on, but arrggghhh!! My hair was done roughly the same way both times, freshly unbraided from my 'drying' braids, in preparation to be twisted.
The really argh-inducing part is that I know, know, know my hair is longer - I can do more stuff with it - but DUDE. It so doesn't look like it. It's kinda funny, when it's not irking me.
It is getting prettier though - and look! I was kinda shocked when I looked in the mirror and saw this, because I was like - AHHHH!! That's what a braid-out is!!! *lol*
It's a bad picture (though my, but I look skinny from that angle! *LOL*) because I'm still too silly and shy to ask DH to start taking my hair pictures for me. *sigh* I truly can't take proper pictures of the back of my head anymore - at least not in the bathroom.... I'll have to look through my old pictures and see what else I was doing.
I've checked the one spot that I used for my initial 'length check', and it's the same danngone length - maybe a 1/4 - 1/2 inch longer, which is my normal growth rate. I shudder to think of how much breakage I might have had in my 'stretched hair' experimental days. Poor hair. *sigh*
I didn't take any other progress pics, I don't think - let me go and check my flickrhouse. *sigh* Nope, nada. I might use those two comparison ones up there - at least they show the difference in thickness, to a good extent.
I swear, just looking at the pictures, you would seriously think that my hair hasn't grown at ALL, but I know it has! I know it! *has very small fit*
*sigh*
I'm not, not, not pressing/straightening my hair just to show growth. I'm tempted - oh, by the sweet saints, I'm tempted, but no. It's - it's not worth it.... though I have found a line on not one, but two Dominicans operating in the city..... so maybe, one day, I might. Maybe.
Hrmph.
Dog Days of Summer......
I ain't gonna lie, I've been being lazy. I've come here, eye'd the blog, sighed, and went on to do something else - I think I might be coming to the end of a hair-mad cycle, possibly.
Personally, I like that 'rest' point between cycles, because - well, it's dull, true, but it's when I settle into a nice, tried and true regimen, when I just KNOW that my hair is happy, and in general, I'm happy with it. Of course, that also means I let the blog slip (because same old same old ain't all that interesting), but I'll try to be better, this time.
Okay, let's do a catch-up (be warned, I'm gonna ramble and subject skip).
Last thing I posted about was the salt treatment - which I'm officially doing once a week. I usually do it during my Saturday DC, because that one is done on loose hair, and I can be sure that I'm rinsing everything out. I skipped one week, and I could tell - my head needed that mid-week DC, and it just felt generally dry all week. *headshake* My hair just loves being treated right. Thus far, I'm in LOVE with the salt treatment - I think that my hair prefers the Sodium Citrate over Sodium Chloride, and I've considered seeing if I can buy the stuff straight, to skip the drippies from the water co-product.
What else? I started to notice some breakage - not a lot, but more than I have been used to seeing, for a while. There was a thread asking 'What is your hair telling you?' and I swear, it was like my hair leaped into my brain and answered - "I need to be henna'd, damn you, you hair-deaf woman!!!"
Being the obedient hair-owner that I am, I gave my hair a GOOOD henna over the weekend - I actually used up the last of my FNWL pre-mixed packets that I had frozen, because I thought that they might be kinda weak. I also decided (since, ya know, they were weak) to not wear gloves. Well. Thankfully, the palms of my hands are no longer orange, but I suspect I'm just going to have to let the fingernails grow out. I'm so glad that I don't mind henna-tinged nails. *lol* Looking like I have jaundice. *lol*
The breakage stopped, almost instantly. I got so used to my hair being so strong, and breakage free, that I totallllly forgot about how influential henna has been in maintaining that. So, now I know the 'signal' for when my hair needs henna - if it starts breaking, and a good DC doesn't stop it - which, considering how I DC, it should, anyhow, then it's time for a henna. I need to look back through the blog and see when the last time I henna'd was - I wanna say it was in April - so that would be about 4 months? Most reasonable.
While I was in Philly, I swung by Trader Joes and got some NourishSpa Conditioner, as well as the Replenish conditioner, too. I've tried the NourishSpa, and meh. Thankfully enough, I'm not over the moon about it (at least not as a Con - I haven't tried it as a leave-in, yet), so I won't have to bribe my mother with BBQ sauce for her to keep me in stock.
Honestly, it reminds me of my cheapie V05 I have in the cabinet - not as strong smelling, true, but otherwise - definitely nothing to write home about.
I'll have to see what I think of the Replenish - and watch, just because I only got two bottles, I'm going to LOVE that one. Tis the way things usually go. *lol*
I've also finally broke down and gotten some hair sticks!! There was a sale at CrystalMood.com - 50% off a lot of their stuff - and I got quite the selection of hair sticks - mostly wood, but a couple of metal ones too. I also got some cloisonne hair combs and matching barrettes - hopefully they should be in the mailbox tonight. It's a long weekend, so I might have some photographic fun, and show them off. My hair is still too short for the hair sticks, so those will go into hiding until next year, most likely.... assuming I don't gift them away over the holiday season.
Still using MT, though, as usual, I got all thrown off of things while I was on vacation, so the hair took a little break. I've also made the decision to go back to twists til the end of the year, redone weekly. One benefit of having longer hair is that I can make fatter twists that still look good (esp. since all I'm doing with them is putting them up), which cuts my twisting time in half.
The twists make it SO much easier to apply the MT (since my hair is pre-parted), and it's soothed my on-going 'over-manipulation' paranoia. Faster growth or not, my hair is not ready to be handled loose on a daily basis.
I haven't noticed any super significant changes/increased growth from the MT/MoeGro mix. I haven't been using it as diligently as I should have been though, so I'll keep keeping an eye on it. I'm so - I don't know - sad and ancipatory about my poor hairline, that despite me thinking that just MAYBE it's filling in, I'm relying strictly on pictures, for this one. The biggest thing is, I guess, is that it's never been out and out bald - it's just always been (or for as long as I've been really paying attention to it) thin. And since the rest of my hair is so danngone thick, it's looked bald, in comparison.
I think that I've settled into a pretty good weekend regimen - it's so funny how it flucuates to suit whatever I'm doing. I think I have a very flexible, yet regimented regimen, all at once. It's actually hard to describe, because I might not do the same thing at the same time, every weekend. The one consistent thing is that when I go to bed Sat. night, my hair is in it's fat braids, drying, so that I can put in twists on Sunday.
I've totally and officially fallen in love with using a tiny bit of castor oil on my hair. I smooth it through my freshly DC'd twists right before I give them the last brushing of the week and put them into my drying braids, and I smooth a little onto my twists right after I finish them. The combo of the castor oil and the salt is leaving my hair - light, yet soft, and moist - so, so, very moist. It's almost making me nervous, because it almost feels like it's overmoisturized - I'm talking one good DC away from mushy, but it's not there. *happy sigh*
I've also (and this might become a later blog) perked up and checked out the whole ceramide thing - the science behind how, and why it works is pretty darn interesting, and there are a couple of oils that are supposed to have ceramides in them, and ya'll KNOW I'm going to break that down at some point - I might do that over the weekend to, as a quick skim just won't do. *wiggles nose* It was most intriguing though, the little bit of research I did off-hand.
Anyhow, since the castor oil seems to be working so fabulously, I'm thinking about maybe making a nice, thick oil mix - castor oil, wheat germ oil (for the ceramides) and a lil Surivivor (because that stuff is REALLY thick) to be used on my hair as a 'sealer'.
Ooh, that reminds me - I'm almost out of my leave-in conditioner - I REALLY hope I noted down the recipe - if I didn't, I guess I'll be experimenting with something new, this go around. *lol* The basics for me seem to be butters + conditioners + honeyquat & SAA - it's just the details that vary.
Oh! Something else - since I've started using the salt, I've TOTALLY abandoned my daily misting of my hair. *shrug* Hair just plain has NOT needed it. That, to me, is the biggest indicator that there are good things going on with my hair.
I think that's about it (and that was plenty!) for now. Stay tuned for hair toy pics, and a detailed breakdown of my thoughts about the Ceramide Craze. ;)
Salt of the..... Hair?
Okay - in the last two days, so much information and excitement has sprung up around this, I just HAD to post about it, to spread the love (and the science, as we figure it out).
I started a thread yesterday, with this post:
A while ago, I was being lazy, and in a rush, so I figured I would clarify (with baking soda) and seal my cuticles (with citric acid) all at the same time. I mixed them both with conditioner, noticed the odd fact that there was some sort of reaction going on (because the conditioner foamed up and turned almost 'mousse' like), but my hair felt like butter afterwards. Ends were sleek and smooth, hair was strong and shiny and moist.
I ran it past some of the ladies on tLHC, and they pointed out that the combination of a base (baking soda) and an acid (citric acid) causes a chemical reaction that has salt, carbon dioxide, and water as the results.
I stopped doing it, because - well, salt is BAD for your hair, right? But, I always kept it in the back of my mind, because how my hair felt afterwards was nothing short of amazing.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and there was a thread on tLHC that got kinda heated, about another lady using a salt & bentonite clay mix on her hair, that left her hair SUPER soft and SUPER moist - and once again, the debate about the wisdom/safety of using salt on your hair came up - it was working, and working well - but - it just didn't seem to have any explanation as to why.
At the same point in time, my ends were ROUGH. Tore up from the floor up, hard, crunchy, frizzy, just generally being pissed off. I clarified - nothing. I used acidic washes - nothing. I triple DC'd just the ends - nothing. I was seriously almost to the point where I was going to have to pull out the scissors and trim, because my ends just felt NASTY.
So - I tried it again - the baking soda and citric acid mix - plus just a TINY bit of salt. It foamed. I put it in my hair. It tingled. I rinsed it out - and AS I was rinsing it out, I could feel the difference. My ends, before, as I pulled my fingers down, I could feel how the ends got 'rough' about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch from the end - now, nothing. My ends were just as smooth and as sleek as the rest of my hair - and it was SO moist. SUPER moist. I'm talking, I almost considered skipping my normal mid-week DC, because my hair felt luscious.
I DC'd last night - my usual mix (about 8-10oz, yeah, I use a LOT of conditioner), plus 1.5 teaspoons of salt. My hair didn't feel bad again - I was just curious to see how it would work on 'good' feeling hair (esp. since there was a thread yesterday where several ladies said they were going to try it) The conditioner - thickened - a little bit, but no foaming. I left it in my hair for about two hours, and it tingled a little, but nothing else. I rinsed it out last night - and.... okay ya'll. My hair, it's generally healthy. It feels good, but it rarely feels SILKY - that's just not how my hair rolls. Soft, yes. Silky, no.
My hair was silky. *strokes head* My hair is STILL silky, and the only thing I did after I rinsed the DC out was use a TINY bit of castor oil on my head, tie it up, and went to sleep.
I don't know HOW it works. I don't know WHY it works. I honestly don't know if it's a good idea to continue using it over the long term - but, it might be an experimental option for those of us with ends that seem to be crying out to be cut off for feeling rough, tangly, and generally difficult.
So far, there have been several 'variations' on the recipe.
Sea salt + conditioner, Iodized salt + conditioner, Baking soda + lemon juice + conditioner, and Baking soda + lemon juice + salt + conditioner - and all of them have worked, almost the same, to leave ladies with silky soft, root to end, easy to detangle, deeply moisturized hair.
Basically, using straight salt is a short cut, since according to my friend, wiki:
Reaction of sodium bicarbonate and an acid to give a salt and carbonic acid, which readily decomposes to carbon dioxide and water:and I doubt that the carbon dioxide is doing anything special to the hair, and well - water is water. *lol*
- NaHCO3 + HCl → NaCl + H2CO3
- H2CO3 → H2O + CO2 (gas)
I don't think that anyone has tried baking soda + vinegar + conditioner just yet - but I'm sure that one is coming, too.
I also think that the kind of conditioner you mix it with has to make some sort of difference, as well....
Now, for the little bit of science we've been able to dig up.
1) This patent, which seems to imply that the salt of a weak acid (ie, acid + base and using the resulting salt) when followed by an alkaline treatment, can straighten your hair!
2) This product, which seems to be using a similar process as the patent - also, all about straightening the hair.
Now, I think we all know how I feel about, and love my naps - I'm really not interested in anything that will STRAIGHTEN them. *faint*
But, I love, love, love how this stuff makes my hair feel, and I'm really hoping that using a weak solution will not 'straighten' the kinks I have. I can tell you though, I've been giving my head the semi-paranoid sideeye since I read that patent, esp since my flyaways have been REALLY flighty all week.
I know it would make a LOT of sisters happy, though, if it did work to 'loosen' your curls. *headshake* I would never be able to show my face on NP again. *lol*
The only other comments/science that has been bandied around worth noting is that:
1) In order to rehydrate cells in a lab, you have to used saline water, as regular water won't work.
2) Soaking meat in a salt water before cooking makes it softer and moister.
3) Salt can break down protein bonds, and is used in sprays to add 'wave' and 'brightness' to hair - but I get the impression that you spray that on, and leave it on, but there is evidence of that being a really bad idea. But, there are also commercial salt water sprays, so - I don't know.....
4) Salt is used as a volumizer in the manufacturing of commerical shampoos, and it's an ingredient in a LOT of intensely moisturizing conditioners. Of course, proportions are crucial here!
So far, the only even remotely negative reaction (out of about 8/10 women who have tried it) was from one lady who followed up the salt + conditioner with a white vinegar rinse - her hair still FELT fabulous, but it was a wee bit more tangled than usual. She also used a little more salt than just a teaspoon, but I'm not sure if that, or the vinegar, was what contributed to the tangles.
So. That's something new. I think I'll do it - I don't know. I did it twice this week, once on the weekend with BS & CA, and again on Wednesday, with just plain salt to see how it worked. I think I might only do it once a month now, though - just to keep my hair happier - and because I want to see what, if any, long term results there might be..........
