Ooohwee - almost two months!! That's a danggone shame.

Let's see - what's new?


* I'm still dry conditioning my hair, and styling it with the conditioner in, then rinsing it out. It's working SO well, it's scary. I've actually stopped *gasp* moisturizing my hair at all, besides the occasional misting. My hair is soooo soft, almost all the time now - I just sit and stroke it.

*I got a brush! A Denman, after reading all the fabulous reviews - including those from other nappyheaded women. I'm officially in LOVE with it - I comb out my hair first (if needed - I usually only have to do that when they are in two strand twists, to insure that I've gotten all the twists out), and then give it a good brushing. It's - wonderful and amazing how - fluffy - it is. And it also stretches out my hair a little, allowing me to make better flat twists, AND it pulls out EVERY strand of shed hair, which I also think is helping a lot with the lack of tangles, and the general smoothness.

* My hair is definitely still growing - it's finally starting to really hit the back of my neck. I have SUCH a bighead! And I think that the fact that I have natural layers doesn't help at ALL. *sigh* Well, I think that it'll just mean as my hair gets longer, it'll be - more interesting to work with.

* I two strand twisted my hair for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I realized that my hair is now JUST about the length that it was before I started locking it - the hair LOOKED the same. So, now I know. And now that I know, it's kinda even SADDER that I couldn't manage my hair at that length, cuz this is NOTHING right now - it's a breeze, really.

Which, kinda explains my lack of being here - I'm not doing much, new or exciting to my hair. I've started using a new rinse, occasionally - citric acid mixed with a lil TTO and uric acid poured over my head at the end of my weekly 'process' and not rinsed out - I think it resets my hair's pH, and gives a good final rinse to my scalp in case I missed any conditioner during my rinse out.

I'm still henna'ing monthly, and still keeping my hair 'bound up' 99% of the time. Hrm. Still using my bone comb, and my wide toothed shower comb, occasionally. I've tried oil rinses - my hair does NOT approve - I've decided that it's officially confirmed - oil, no matter what sort does NOT work with my hair - it just makes it hard and brittle. Butters - even melted ones - are fine, but oils are just - no. If I use a little in a DC mix - not bad - but used straight? Uh-uh!

I want to start using indian herbs - well, more than just henna - by using amla and shikaikai consistently... I just haven't purchased any, recently. I know where a couple of indian stores are, too....I just need to go.

Okay, I'm distracted now - I want to make a list for errands this weekend.

I was on LHCF earlier today, and was responding to one of the ladies complaining about her tangles and knots and etc, and how it's considered 'standard' that tangles and knots are something that nappys have to deal with.
Another poster responded with this picture, and in my response, I got a little long winded, and a little ranty, and a little journally, so I figured I would just C&P most of it to here, and post something addressing the OP's concerns there.

Anyhow - this is a picture from a Benin Oba and Queen Mother Commemorative Heads website, and thus starts my response........

Ooh, how lovely! I'm adding that to my inspirational stuff. I can't wait til my hair is long enough for a gibson tuck! I wish that pic had more detail - their hair looks like it's not braided/twisted, but just pulled up into a high bun? I was looking for pictures of african hairstyles a while ago, out of curiousity as to how Africans wore their hair. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to do a search using tribe/region names in order to be able to pull anything up. That picture actually looks like it was scanned from a book - ah! It was - 'Royal Art of Benin - The Perls Collection' Interesting. It's almost time to go home, so I might check out Benin women hair in a googlefuu later on......

I'm natural, figure I always will be, and I have single strand knots and tangles and split ends, and it's like - so what? *lol* None of those matter unless I'm trying to wear my hair straight - because with the curlies I have, you can't see them/tell they are there.....
I don't know - but then, I also don't understand the idea that if you wear your hair up all the time, you aren't 'enjoying' it - as if the only way you can enjoy your hair is if it's loose. I mean, really - as if having it in a bun, or in twists, or in any of the other styles besides 'loose' are somehow less lovely than having your hair 'out'.....

I KNOW I can't wear my hair in a puff or a fro. without HAVING to deal with tangles, knots, broken off curly ends, and all those other issues. That's how my hair rolls, and if I want to grow it long, I have to roll that way with it. So, I wear my hair up 99% of the time - and it's forcing me to be more creative with my hairstyles and my hair routines. Right now, I'm down to using a comb in my head once a week, on soaking wet hair slathered in conditioner. I'm trying to figure out how to stretch that out to twice a month, but I think I'm going to have to wait for my hair to be longer so that my styles will 'stay' better.

I think one of the reasons that little black girls had such thick lovely hair as children (back in the day where the difference between grown and not grown was enforced - not in todays prostitot age) was because it was only 'down' for special occasions. For the day to day wearing of it - it was up, somehow - whether in braids, or in a bun, or whatever. It wasn't combed daily (cuz momma ain't have time) and it wasn't subjected to glue and chemicals (because that was far too grown). Even now, so many women comment on how much the health of their hair changed once they hit puberty - I think it's less the hormones flowing through us, and more the fact that we don't have our mothers hands in our hair anymore.

*waving*

Howdy!!!

Haven't been doing much with my hair, as usual - though, I have learned a new technique, that while it hasn't revolutionized how I deal with my hair - I think it's the tweak I needed to keep things on track.

Ive started (thanks to the wise suggestion of Sareca!) to condition my hair DRY - with a little bit of heat. It didn't make sense (still, doesn't, actually) but it works SOOO much better - my hair feels - richer? smoother? and definitely more moisturized. I don't actually own a hair heating device, so I'm using a warm towel on my head instead - it's the closest I'll get, and honestly, I'm not totally certain that it's needed.

Anyhow - it's shifted how I do things. Instead of taking my hair down, getting it wet, detangling, putting in conditioner, leaving it in overnight, detangling again, rinsing out, moisturizing, putting into fat braids to dry, taking down, combing again, and then putting it into my weekly style (gah, that sounds so complex) I now just - take my hair down, put in conditioner, detangle, put into fat braids, rinse out conditioner, let dry, take down, put in my weekly style. And, my hair is actually long enough that I can turn my fat braids into a style that I can wear out in public without shame.

So. Urm.

Ah! I need to take another picture of my temples - looking at those pictures from March, I really do think that they have filled in A LOT - still not as lush as I want them to be, but I think that the care I'm taking of my face (and by extension, the skin of my hairline) will make a big difference - I've managed to (FINALLY) cut down on the freaky flakies on my face, and I'm hoping it'll make a difference to the leath of my hairline. So. I'll take a new picture at the end of next month, and compare it to the pictures from March, and just see the difference.

I suspect that a lot of the thinness was just from the stress that my dreads put on my hairline - five years of tiny locs pulling (and sometimes ripping) the already amazing fine hairs of my hairline has definitely made a difference. *sigh* Have I meantioned how incredibly NOT patient I am? :laugh: And my back hairline (behind my ears and all the way back) is SOOO lovely and full and - just nice. *sigh* I can't wait for all my hair to be like that.

I also updated my hair profile thingy - I really need to change my hair type to a straight up 4a - I wish they had a 3c/4a combo, but that's okay. I changed the length to reflect TLHC's standards, even though I really think it's - skewed, as of COURSE the hair along my nape, if stretched out, and added to the size of my head, is going to make my hair 'longer' than it really is. I really think that measuring the length of the strands themselves is more accurate (esp. for someone like me who has a BIG head of strands which are generally all the same length which = layers) them measuring from hairline to bottom of the longest strand at the nape.

Let's put it this way - measuring strands of hair (which to me, is usuable hair length) is seven inches, or so. My 'TLHC' length is 17 inches - and my head is about 16 inches. See - I told you I have a big head. :laugh: I guess it's just that - heck, it seems like I should be able to make a ponytail with 17 inches of hair, but with the size of my head - that's a total no go. I'm thinking - 16 inch head, I need at least 8-9 inches of hair to be able to pull it all together (which would translate into about 20 inches) and at least 12 (24-26 inches) to really be able to start doing nice buns, etc..... but then, having just done a quick measurement check, that's about halfway between SL and APL, which, really is about the point in time that most people really ARE able to pull their hair up.

*sigh* Let's see, count bald from May 2006, and I've gotten to 16 inches in - 16 months - that's a 'virtual' inch a month, which really is AMAZING growth. In strand length, I'm at more 1/2 an inch a month. *sigh* So - that should mean that I would be at full sholder length in another 8-10 months, or so - that's not bad - in fact, that's right fair growth for two years. *stops my whinging*

Seriously? June 19th?

Holy cow!!!!

I haven't really been doing much new with my hair - I've been hennaing every month, and HLC'ing whenever I feel like it. :lol: Urm, I haven't trimmed in a while, and it doesn't really need it, based on how it acted in twists. Still using the same products.......

I'm really boring, in other words. I'm going into the more shedding/slower growing period, and I'm considering a topical potion to charge up my temples (yes, another one) because honestly - that's the ONLY part of my hair that I'm anything less than totally pleased with.

I'd like to put my hair in yarn twists for most of the winter, but I'm being a lazy git, and not only haven't found the yarn, I also haven't praticed one bit (though I've stalked MANY a fotki).

I've been hanging around LHCF for the last few days out of boredom, and it's inspiring in me a vibe to try some new stuff, mix up some stuff out of the ingredients I already have.

I actually need to go back through my journal and IDENTIFY some stuff - I have no clue what some of my mystery mixes are.

Well, it's been a NICE little while since I last updated. As usual, I'll start with hair, and move to holes.

My hair is - it's amazing, really. It's slowly turning into something - someting wonderful. It's growing (man, is it growing!) but more importantly, it FEELS happy. I was just reading my last journal entry, and realized that this weekends henna is supposed to be a henna/coconut/lime mix - hrm, that should be interesting. I can't remember if I left any henna powdered, like I was supposed to! *slaps forehead* I'll go home tonight and check.

Okay - pictures!

February to June comparison:



I posted this in my photo journal, and several people commented that it looked thicker and shinier (and obviously longer) and it IS. It's MUCH thicker - I'm not sure if it's just as it gets longer, it 'poofs' more, or what - but it's WAY thicker than it was - but it still compresses down to about nothing. It's also shinier - that, I assume is the combination of continual henna'ing and jsut general improvement in it's overall health.

When it's wet, it's - wavy - really, and it LAYS DOWN. I'm sure KeenKitty will talk about me flashing again ( :laugh: ) but I'll have to take a fresh out of the shower picture jsut to show what I'm talking about - hrm, I think I'll do a before/after picture this weekend for the HLC treatment.

It's also gotten ALMOST long enough (if I twist right on the edge of my crown) that I can put my hair into two flattwists down either side of my head. I haven't been able to do that since I cut the last of the bleach/dyed hair out.
It's interesting, because the nape hairs don't seem INSANE long anymore - but they aren't SHORTER than they used to be, the rest of my hair has just caught up.

Hrm. I ran out of the Creme of Nature stuff that I had been using in my hair, and forgot to pic up a new container, so desparate, I broke into the Hair Souffle that I had tried before and hated. I don't remember WHY I hated it (I'll have to scan back and see if I talk about it) but it ROCKED on my hair Sunday. I have two WHOLE containers of it, and it's rich, so I only need to use a little bit, so if my hair seems happy when I take it down this weekend, I'll continue to use that.

*thinks* What else, what else? I'm starting to see breakage again, and I think it might be the MTG I was putting in my mister - so I'm stopping that once I empty out the last of this mister bottle (tomorrow or Thursday, I'm sure). The breakage isn't NEARLY as bad what I was getting before, and I've noticed that if I don't 'swish' my hair around (I take it out, comb it straight back, condition it straight back, dentangle straight back, and then twist/braid as needed) it stays MUCH less tangled, and seems happier, in general.

Or, it could be that I've skipped my protien treatments the last two months - hrm, maybe my hair is getting TOO soft. I need to read back and see my logic for determining when my next HLC treatment would be - as to me, that works as an INTENSIVE protien treatment. I think doing it every other month - even skipping the week 3 protien treatment, might be overkill. *Thinks*

Month 1 - HLC/no protien
Month 2 - henna/no protien
Month 3 - henna/protien
Month 4 - henna/no protien
Month 5 - HLC/no protien

Hrm - that's kinda spread out - I would only do a HLC twice a year on that schedule - I think I wanted to it it every 3 months..... I'd much rather do that treatment, and just totally dump the week 3 protien treatment, and replace it with something else.
Hrm. I've also been kinda 'skimping' on the clarifying on week 4 - I REALLY don't use much in my hair (though, I've started back with the Burnt Sugar this week, so I'll definitely need to clarify) - so I haven't felt the need to 'strip' my hair. If anything, I've mixed a wee bit of BS with my conditioner, and run that through my hair RIGHT before I henna.

So, if I dump the protien treatment it would be -
Week 1 - Henna
Week 2 - Deep conditioner (Still in love with the Elasta - though, I've started 'craving' something new.....)
Week 3 - ????
Week 4 - Clarifying, if needed, otherwise another DC

and

Month 1 - HLC
Month 2 - Henna
Month 3 - Henna
Month 4 - HLC

Hrmm.. moisture/protien balance is the crucial thing. I don't want to over moisturize (and shockingly enough, I think my hair is getting to the point where that MIGHT be a possibility) and I KNOW my hair gets grumpy REAL quick if I over protein. Hrrrm.
Maybe I'll start experimenting with various herb washes/treatments on Week 3 - that might be fun.

I totally stopped using the Lenzi's Request - *shrug* it jst seemed to be more of a headache than it was worth. I has started using the MTG I got in a swap - shaking up the bottle, dipping a qtip into it, and just dabbing alng my hairline. I did that for about three weeks, didn't see any change, and was like - screw it. So, that's that for the topical treatments - I'm so happy to see my hair GROWING, that the speed is - eh. It'll happen as it happens, ya know?

*LOL* I have flyaway hairs that are long enough to get into my EYES when I'm driving - not many, mainly from that odd section of hair right behind my ear, but it's throughly amazing and amusing all the same.


I thnk that about wraps it up... I'mREALLY going to try to be better about posting/hanging out here - it's just that truly - besides the CONDITION of my hair - nothing's changed. I've hit that wonderful place where stuff WORKS, and I know what to do when it DOESN'T work, and - :grouphug: I really owe MOST of that to the wonderful folx at TLHC.

Thanks ya'll, on the real.

Hair!!!!

Urmmm. Let's see - last weekend was SUPPOSED to be clarifying (it's henna time again, ALREADY??), but as I was out in the woods, dancing with the pagans, it was more of a sun-in time, and lots-of-water-time. I took it out on Saturday, as the fuzz was starting to eat my head, and I gently untangled it, got it good and wet, rubbed some HH into it, and rolled on. Since then, I've HH'd it twice, Elasta'd it once, and misted it twice daily. So, yeah. It's still out - I'm wearing a loose wild choppy fro - the one thing that DOES suprise me is the number of wavy hairs I have coated the top of my fro - there are a bunch of little flyaways.

And - I have some hair - the stuff right behind my ears - that isn't my hair. I don't know whose hair is growing out of my scalp - but um - it ain't mine. It's 3a - MAYBE - back there - possibly 2b. Which - um - huh? :lol: Soooo.... I plan on wearing it out all week, detangling, henna'ing, and - oh, going back into my usual style, I suppose. I've been thinking about maybe doing some two strand twists, but dammit, what I REALLY want are the yarnbraids.

Other good news - my breakage is still close to nil - even with me playing in my hair - I get the occasional 'clumps' of broken hair and I've got a couple of tangles that I know have broken hairs in the middle, but gentle contact/fingercombing is giving me NOTHING but shed hairs - so I'm VERY pleased with that. Tiny knots are really still my worst problem - though, my hair is getting long enough that I can SEE the knots on the ends, now. I notice that most of them are very red, still - and that I get more knots where the dyed hair is still hanging out - figures. But! Henna is starting to work - I can see a distinct reddish/orange overtone to my hair! :hollie:

Henna this weekend is going to be standard - I'm going to finally mix up a big bunch of it to freeze - thick henna + water paste. I'm going to leave a good bit still powdered, so that I can mix it with coconut milk & lime as needed (my next one should be - the June Henna, I think). Hrmmmmm. Yes, that sounds about right.

I think that my nape/hairline hairs have slowed down, and the hair in the center of my head is catching up - I don't see any changes in the overall length - but little things (like being able to see my ends) are telling me that my hair is growing. OooHH!!! It's been a year! Holy Cow! I've decided that the bleached blond hair picture is my offical starting picture - it's my version of bald. :lol: *whips out a ruler* roughly four inches in 12 months - that's what? 1/3 an inch, a month? Not too bad, not too bad at all. Slower than I hoped, but I'm cool with that - now, I can start thinking about topical potions. *wiggles eyebrows* I do still have sulfur AND MTG in my cabinent.

Picbacks...

So - this weekend was protien. I considered not doing it, since I did henna AND coconut milk - but I said no, I need to stick to my schedule, so I did the protien.

Looking back, urmh. I could have gone either way. I could imeadiately tell that my fine, fine, hair had too much protien in it, so I only left the protien in for about 2 hours, and then, put in doube moisturizing - the last of the Silk Elements (I'll never buy it again - I HATE the little grainy poppyseed sized things in it - ew!) and my love, my moisture, ElastaQP. That restored the balance nicely (thankfully). I then stretched it in the usual 2-strands with CoN....and then, I got the urge to try an old hairstyle, to see how much hair I've 'lost' by rigously trimming all of the color out of my hair.

This style:



has converted itself to this:



For one thing, it's DEFINITELY shorter. A good two inches shorter, I'd say. But! Much more importantly - it's also DEFINITELY thicker. I mean - HUGELY thicker - it's really amazing how much HAIR I have on my head - I truly cannot wait to see what it looks like as it gets longer. And it's healthier FEELING. Just looking at those two pictures - the second one looks - alive. It looks moist and rich and dense. *happy dance*

I think this is the first time I've REALLY been able to see a clear difference in the HEALTH my hair! The only real difference I was seeing was in length, and that was going the wrong direction.... but seeing this - I'm pleased.