*sigh*
It's still down. And yes, I normally write this often about my hair, esp. in the new days of doing stuff.
It's pouring outside, and it's supposed to be generally nasty tonight, so I don't think I'll stop by the grocery store - maybe tomorrow.
I'm also - arrghh! - giving in to the lure of new raw materials, and am having a wee shopping spree at lotioncrafter. So far, I've gotten HoneyQuat, Silk Amino Acids (what I actually went there for), Lactic Acid (I might be doing a curl loosening experiment at some point....hrm, I might wait on that one), some more Citric Acid, some more Shealoe, both of which I've gotten from FNWL before, but Lotioncrafter is MUCH bloody cheaper! 2 lbs of CA at FNWL is six bucks, and 2 pounds at LC is only 4.30. The shealoe is much the same - a lb at FNWL is 14.00 - and it's only 8.25 at LC!!!!! Tis amazing - plus the wee lil 5% discount.... it makes it quite worth it, I think.
So, what do I plan on doing with this?
The Honeyquat I'm going to use as a glycerin sub - it's made from honey, and is apparently a BETTER humectant than glycerin. So, I'll use up the rest of my glycerin, and move onto this. It's funny, because last time I was in the BSS for some conditioner, I had picked up another bottle of glycerin, but put it back, thinking I didn't need any RIGHT then.
The SAA is apparently an all around miracle moisturizing protien. Elasta QP IFC has SAA in it, and we all know how I feel about my conditioner! I want to use it not only on my hair, but also - on my eyelashes. Apparently it makes them thicker and fuller and lords KNOW I want something less skimpy than the eyelashes I have now. So, I'll be adding this to some clear mascara, and using it in the morning when I amla my eyebrows. I'm also considering using castor oil on my lashes and eyebrows at night, but I'm not sure. I'll have to ponder that one.
Oh! It's back! Yes, I'm going to cut this short, and finish over there. I WILL be importing my journal entries to here this weekend though, as that freaked me out.
Okay, to continue!
*sigh* Damn! It's down again, just that fast! Tried to post the previous entry, and nada. Maybe it wasn't ACTUALLY back. :crying: They teasing me!
The lactic acid - I can't remember if I chronicled my yogurt/buttermilk experiments - they are supposed to help loosen the natural curl, rather how the coconut milk/lime mix does - which I had good results from. Someone muttered about using a pure lactic acid + mix (yes, I know it's acid, yes, I know it can burn, no, I'm not crazy, yes, I'm going to invest in some pH strips if I start to experiment like that. After my last close call with citric acid, I'm investing in some pH strips!! :lol:) so, I wanted to pick some up to try it. That's gonna kick it in my bathroom for a while along with the other chemical 'raw' products I got from swap on here. I need to double check what they are - I think ones an emlusifier, and the other a conditioner? I can't remember.
Citric acid, I'm going to keep using (and researching the pH of hair) to smooth and rebalance my hair.
The shealoe I got a TINY thing of from FNWL, and I REALLY like it - it has to be mixed with something else to give a little 'backbone', but I can really see myself using it as a twist holder/moisturizing cream. I'm REALLY trying to winnow myself down to the minimum number of products, and just become a mixmaster to end up with what I REALLY need. Reducing my dependancy on a certain product, ya know?
*sigh* I really do WANT some more Honey Hemp, but I don't NEED anymore honey hemp - I've got half a GALLON of AD sitting in my closet, and erryting I would use the HH for, I could use the AD for. It doesn't smell as good (doesn't really have a smell, I don't think) but.... *sigh* I have to reign in my spending SOMEWHERE, and I know if I even LOOK at the Oyin website, I'm going to spend at least 30 bucks.
AHhhhh!! LHCF is just bad, bad, bad!! So many ideas, so many options, so many ways to be oh so pretty, oh so very pretttttyyyy.
I'm getting sleepy (and bored - today was slow) - so I'm a little giddy. *sigh* And obsessively refreshing TLHC. *sigh* But, I think I'm done. Hopefully I'll be able to post this at SOME point.
You Tease!
Caramel!
It's sad, I only write about hair here when TLHC is down, so I can't get to my journal. *sigh* But, I like it that way, as I link to my hair journal from places where I'm NOT 'all out', so it's good to have that (sometimes very public) part of me a little separate. At some point I'll do a copy paste dump to here though, so that I keep everything in one place.
Anyhow!
It's outhair weekend, and DC weekend, and I think I want to try something - new.
Soooo.... I'm gonna try the caramel treatment:
coconut oilI don't have any wheatgerm oil (buggering stuff is expensive, and besides with the health stuff I'm doing, I don't know if putting a grain product on my scalp is REALLY a good idea at this point in time), so I'm debating either leaving it out altogether (which would give me the best idea of how it actually works) or subbing red palm oil (which would be my next step, if I liked it) instead.
olive oil
wheat germ oil
shea butter
honey
molasses
Apple cider vinegar
Two overripe bananas
water
Hrmm, I don't know, I don't know.
In other, hair related news, I'm REALLY - content/happy/pleased with my new regimen - It doesn't bug me to have my hair up until about Wed/Thu of the second week, and by then, I'm in the home stretch! I'm also noticing much fewer broken pieces/shed pieces - I'm REALLY hoping that I'll be a good, healthy, full SL+ by the end of the year - esp. after my warm weather growth spurt kicks in!
Okay, it's taken me most of the morning to write this, so for now, I think I'm done.
Okay, I went to take a shower and rinse the conditioner out of my hair, and thought of a couple of other things. I'll finish up on hair, right now. Flickr is down, so I can't do holes, just yet....
It's funny, that I'm about where I was before, right before I started with dreads, and wearing two strand twists pretty consistently was what got me into dreads. This go around however, I have no INTENTION of locking - it's amazing how much perception and intention affect your actions and your emotions. It's a treat, every two weeks to take me hair down and play with it. This time, I'm putting my hair up to protect it, not to shut it aside. I'm putting my hair up out of love, not out of despair... and thus, it's a whole nother ride.
I wonder if C thinks that I plan on relocking. Hah! I can't even imagine it - I would miss my hair FAR too much!
I was checking out the top of my journal (I had taken down the links a couple of places, since I couldn't get in - I'll have to remedy that in a couple of places. 
And, I've been debating when I'll 'claim' shoulderlength (which in my mind, is the first 'real' milestone. I'm split between ear & crown. Ear (measuring with a lock of hair at the ear hairline) would give me sholderlength faster *doubles checks* actually, based on that, I'm shoulder length NOW.
Crown, on the other hand - I'm not even ear length, yet. *sigh* About 1/2 inch above my ear, I think? And I think that once my crown is actually shoulder length, it'll be REALLY full, and I can REALLY claim it. *sigh*
On the other hand, that will also mean I won't be able to claim shoulder length for about another year. At the same time, it will mean that EVERY milestone I hit will be a full, undoubted, most people would have said it was met long ago (did I mention I have a big head?)
I'm hoping for tailbone in 2017, so. Murph. This May will be a full two years since I've cut it all off, and I'm still not to shoulder length. 
And really, I'm incredibly happy with my hair - if it was a couple of feet longer, it would be perfect. It's so soft. And strong. And curly. And full. And it's really amazing.
It's funny, reading back, I was actually TALKING about starting to use more Indian herbs - it's just that I moved towards them slowly.
I think I'm going to be really pleased though - I need to C&P my comments on my first hair washing with the herbs....
Okay - so I did my first hair 'wash' today while in twists - 1 tblsp amla, 1 tsp fo-ti powder (a powder I've had for a while, Chinese I believe, good for hair) and 2 tblsp shikakai. I mixed it into a thinnish paste with hot water and honey, then got my twists wet, and put it in.
I left it in for about an hour, then rinsed out - very well! I don't think there is any way to sift these perfectly - the grains are SO small. I rinsed for about 20 minutes.
My hair looks LOVELY - it looks smooth and shiny and darker. It feels a TINY bit dry/stripped - but I'll see how it feels tomorrow. If it's still dry, I'll drop the shikakai down to a tablespoon.
The really interesting part is how my scalp is TINGLING - it feels York peppermint patty fresh! So fresh and so clean clean, I'm telling you.... and how ya'll henna sisters fail to mention that the amla/shikaika mixture is SO much prettier than henna? Looks like chocolate pudding, rather than what's left in a diaper...
So far, I'm happy.
Oh, also - a tip for other folx using the coconut oil based oils - I melt it all down, and pour it into a widemouthed tub (I have a couple in the house left over from other stuff, but you can get something close at the dollar store) so that when it hardens back up, I can just scrape a lil off the top with my finger and apply to my scalp as I'm massaging.
Even though the amla oil doesn't solidify - I'm going to do the same.... I think that also minimizes your use of it....
Well, let's start with the hair, shall we?
I'm still in love, basically. We get along marveously - and thus, I'm deciding to change up the relationship. 
I've been doing my usual every week routine - but I switched up in late Dec, because I got on the Ayurvedic kick shortly before (after?) Christmas. Anyhow, that, combined with me wanting to find a way to manipulate my hair even LESS - I've more or less TOTALLY revamped my routine, and I really NEEDED to write it out here... and now I'm here, and I can!
So, just to refresh memories, my OLD routine was this:
Week 1: Henna
Week 2: DC
Week 3: Mild Protien
Week 4: Clarify
Week 1: Henna
So.
I've been wanting to mix things up - I really don't feel like my hair is growing FAST enough, and I know the best two things I can do for that is to wear MORE protective styles (retain EVERY mm) and to massage the scalp (get that blood flowing!), but I was having a really hard time figuring out how to really COMBINE those two, because if my hair is LOOSE - I have no choice but to manipulate it!
Then, a lightbulb went off! What I really want to manipulate is my SCALP, not my hair. Thus, if I had my hair in a style that would allow me to get to my scalp, but still protect my hair - it's a winwin!
It's a flat twisted updo created from two strand twists. I can take it down to massage my scalp, and put it back up to wear (I REALLY hate the way my hair looks down right now - it's horribly short 
So! Now, this new hairstyle opened a WORLD of options to me - and I went a merrily traisping down the path of Ayurvedic herbs.
Now, Ayurveda is the ancient Indian science of healing/maintence using various herbs and oils in different combinations. There are plenty of comments here and other places about Indian women's hair, and it's believed these herbs help them get that way....
(I'm going to have to address my long rambling side note on actual growth vs. optimal growth later......)
But anyhow, the thought of using mostly natural herbs and oils to take care of my hair - and to encourage it to grow - just fit in PERFECTLY with other changes I'm making in my life.
I'm using several different things now, and have several others waiting in the wings for me.
1) Alma Oil - I like it, but I don't like that it's based in mineral oil. Next time I get some, I'll get FNWL's version - I believe theirs is coconut oil based.
2) Brathimi Oil - 22 different herbs - coconut oil based.
3) Vatika Oil - Coconut oil based - 16 different herbs, I think?
4) Shikaika Powder - cleanser, astrignet.
5) Amla Powder - darkener, thickener, strentghener,
6) Fo-ti Powder - this is actually a chinese herb - used to prevent shedding and greys
So. My new routine, is this.
Week 1:
Sun - Hair goes into two strand twists/flat twists.
Mon - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Wed - Hair is 'washed' with a Shikaika, Amla & Fo-Ti Tea
Fri - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Sat - Hair is deep conditioned with a watered down conditioner.
Week 2:
Mon - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Wed - Hair is 'washed' with a Shikaika, Amla & Fo-Ti Tea
Fri - Hair gets untwisted totally, detangled, combed, DC'd, etc.
Week 3:
Sun - Hair goes into two strand twists/flat twists.
Mon - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Wed - Hair is 'washed' with a Shikaika, Amla & Fo-Ti Tea
Fri - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Sat - Hair is deep conditioned with a watered down mildly protien conditioner.
Week 4:
Mon - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Wed - Hair is 'washed' with a Shikaika, Amla & Fo-Ti Tea
Fri - Hair gets untwisted totally, detangled, combed, DC'd, etc.
Week 5:
Sun - Hair goes into two strand twists/flat twists.
Mon - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Wed - Hair is 'washed' with a Shikaika, Amla & Fo-Ti Tea
Fri - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Sat - Hair is deep conditioned with a watered down conditioner.
Week 6:
Mon - Flat twists come down, scalp is massaged with Amla Oil.
Wed - Hair is 'washed' with a Shikaika, Amla & Fo-Ti Tea
Fri - Hair gets untwisted totally, detangled, combed, hennad, etc.
Week 1, again. And every day, I rub a little amla oil into my hairline, and mist my hair lightly with the tea tree oil/conditioner mixture in my mister.
So, I'll be hennaing a LOT less - once every 6 weeks instead of once every four weeks, but I'm considering making the protien treat on Week 3 a yogurt/buttermilk based one, and if I do that, I would be VERY comfy with reducing the amount of henna - with my hair bound up most of the time, going on the side of a little less protien seems the wisest to me, as it will allow my hair to bend and twist comfortably, without snapping - and the presence of multiple hairs bounded together will make it strong enough to not snap.
Right now, I'm at the end of Week 5, I guess you could say, as I plan on hennaing next weekend - and then I'll go into that schedule. I've tried out bits and pieces of it - I really think that the hardest thing will be dealing with the fuzzies from my fifty million layers.
Though, I have noticed that a good misting and a tight scarf in the morning seems to tame most of the fuzzies.
The UA experiement is still going full steam, and I have to admit, I really think it will have to be a long term wellness/beauty trick - it's scary, but dammit, it works!
AH! Also, I've 'made' a new moisturizer - well, I used that for the set of flat twists I have in now. I combined some Oyin Shine & Define with some Oyin Whipped Pudding (how cool, I found out a couple of days ago that one of the ladies on a Women of Color thread I'm a member of is THE OyinLady. 
I've decided that the carrot oil stuff from CoN is still too oily for my hair (or I'm too heavy handed with it) and it was causing some breakage - so I've decided (along with the more natural focus) to try to figure something out of all these butters, etc I have - or to patronize another natural haircare line.
So, I finally broke down and got the AfroDetangler. I REALLY wanted to try it before I commited to a whole half gallon (what if my hair HATES it???) but after checking out the ingredients (lots of butters!) and reading reviews (raves, even the ones who said it didn't work as well as the website implied it would) and the thought of entering a no-shopping challenge that would require me to stock up - well, yeah, I broke down and got it. I haven't used it yet, as it just got here two days ago, and my hair is staying up, up, up, so I'll try it out when I retwist my hair. It will be interesting following their rountine over a period of months.
I'm really content, honestly. I think that my rountine is simple enough (even though it LOOKS like a lot of steps, it really doesn't take that long) and it fits my lifestyle (I'm SO not into doing my hair during the week) and I can challenge myself to protect and nourish my hair even MORE - it's thrilling, honestly.
Hrm, what else? I've confirmed what I was almost certain of - my hair does NOT like oils. I can put them on my scalp all day, every day, but if I try to use them to style my hair, it's the horror on Elm street. I think that I'll use the oils I have left as 'thinners' in my hair creams I'll make out of the butters. The palm oil (which my skin LOVES) will be used on my skin mostly, I think.
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*
