Thursday, April 23, 2009

this rollerset thing...


i ponytail rollerset my hair the other day...not in an attempt to get it straight, but just straightER. well...the set itself went ok, but i couldn't sit my impatient self still long enough for it to dry completely, so the ones in the back curled up as soon as i took the rollers off. i left it alone for a few days then washed it out today with HE LTR. back to wet bunning until i can figure out what i want to do next. i really want some twists, either regular two-strand or senegalese, but a) my two strand twists look anorexic and b) i don't feel like marathon twisting this weekend. i got finals next week, for pete's sake. i hate being a libra sometimes; i swear i am the most indecisive person in the world.

p.s. true PJ's see that kenra mc and suave clarifying shampoo on the rack in the background.

Monday, April 20, 2009

back to basics

i found a $1 off 4 bottles of VO5 coupon on LHCF today, so i went to CVS and picked up 2 bottles of VO5 strawberries and creme and 2 bottles of VO5 vanilla mint tea conditioner. i remember when i thought VO5 was the end-all-be-all for cowashing; it sure did get me through the summer of 2008 though. ahh, memories.

i will be 2 years post relaxer, 1 year post BC in june. i think until then i will keep it as simple as possible: weekly wash and DC, not to mention cowashing til i drop.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

"that thing is HORRIBLE!"

my mom did a pop-up visit today...kinda weird, but hey. while she was here, we were talking hair (i'm dragging her through my hair care journey) and she was SO happy to get the chi silk infusion that i pilfered from the house back. i'm so glad she recognizes the need for a heat protectant! she had called me last week and told me she was flat ironing her hair, which boggled my mind because i had the solia with me. turns out she used the cheap old andis that we have from way back when. i was so incredibly stupendously happy when she told me "i threw that thing out, it is HORRIBLE!" it just thrills me that she and my sister are picking up on my hair practices. i can't wait to get back home and take progress pics for my sister; her growth and retention has been amazing.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

what's your affirmation?

I have often seen women on LHCF with affirmations in their signature, and recently I discovered that just reaffirming the things you are doing is worth it. Specifically related to hair care, if you are trying to grow long healthy hair, TELL YOURSELF! Stuff like "this isn't gonna work" or "I don't know why I am trying this, my hair never gets past SL" won't do anything but aggravate you. Here's what I do:
  • regularly look at my old fotki pics
  • look at the progress made by some of my hair idols, such as BrockStar and GoingNatural
  • look for inspirational threads and hair tips from those who are where I want to be
  • tell myself this stuff IS working!
My top affirmation has been this: if hair grows about 1/2" a month, that means every 2 weeks I am gaining at least a quarter inch of growth. All I have to do is worry about retaining it, and the amount of sheer moisture that I provide to my hair means this isn't an issue. There are plenty of better-worded affirmations, that's just what works for me. If you are just starting out, thinking about transitioning, or rebounding from a setback, try this and see where you stand a month from now. All we can do is take it a day at a time!

Here are some inspirational threads that I like to look at. HHG!
WANTED: Progress Pics: After the BC...
BSL and Waist Length Naturals...links here!
Old pictures of your "Damaged Hair" (for motivation)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

10 months post BC: length check

so the DC went great...afterwards i did an ACV rinse and cowashed with aussie moist, then rollerset the bottom half of my head (giovanni direct + GVP leave-in and water in my spray bottle) before i got tired. i twisted the top half and put rollers on the end, then sat under the dryer. before flat ironing i added a drop of chi silk infusion and coconut oil. it took me so long but it was worth it...cause i am APL! yay! i am hoping that by my next length check on june 13th i am full APL. if i am, i will get that professional trim i so badly need!

hair update

i've been going through some things with my hair for the past few weeks, some good and some bad. after realizing that WNGs were murderous on my ends, i had to restructure the way i go about doing things. since i really didn't feel like dealing with it over spring break, i put in senegalese twists on the 4th of march. i ended up keeping them only until the 28th -- no water on my scalp was making me antsy, plus they got really fuzzy.

after i took them out i went back to my first love, WNGs. i decided that it would be better to wash them out after a max of 2 days, since detangling HAS to be what is slowing me down. i also picked up a few new hair products, and i'm not having a single regret about them! here is my new WNG regimen:
  • wet hair down and add HE Hello Hydration. i don't know what it is but this stuff gives the greatest curl definition...
  • rinse most of it out and squeeze out the extra water. some days i switch it up and rinse all of it out.
  • dry with my handy dandy t-shirt for about 5 minutes, then remove it...if i rinsed it all out, i add GVP leave-in
  • seal (yes, me SEALING) with jojoba oil.
  • add lily of the desert AV gelly to keep it fabulous and funky. good to go!
other goodies that i throw in the mix are HE LTR (since i fell in love with the leave-in last summer) as well as aussie moist (for cowashes and DCs), and grapeseed oil. i'm still looking for that quintessential shampoo; the organix has become a body wash and the chi infra shampoo that i bought dried my hair out too. i almost forgot that crappy one night stand i had with ecostyler gel; it may be more cost efficient than the aloe vera gelly, but it certainly doesn't give me the shine, softness, and definition that this double duty gel provides. and you know it's good when you can use it on your face too!

another revelation that i made is my hair likes protein...or at least i think it does. i did a DC with megatek about 2 weeks ago, of course followed with a moisturizing DC, and my hair thanked me for it! i went home and stole both the aphogee 2 min and the nexxus emergencee, so now i have enough strengtheners to last me the rest of the semester.

right now i am sitting under the dryer with aphogee 2 min, grapeseed oil, and GVP conditioning balm in my hair. i'll let this sit for about 40 mins, then it's wash day! i'm definitely gonna try a ponytail rollerset, and since the other one didn't go so hot i hope i can get the hang of it! i will post pics if it comes out right, my camera broke on me (well, someone broke it) so i will try to take a few via webcam.