happy 2011!

a (late) happy new hair year to everyone! i entered this year with fabulous hair, courtesy of a dominican blowout and some new bangs. i rang in the new year by celebrating the longest hair i have ever had, and i couldn't be happier! i liken it to running a marathon: although i am not a runner, i imagine this must be the feeling you get once you hit the home stretch. this is MY home stretch: my ultimate goals are in sight, i'm comfortable with where i am now, and i'm just so happy.

with that said, i still have a few hair resolutions for this year. i foresee today as being the last day of my blowout, which i have maintained for about 2.5 weeks with avocado oil, a silk scarf, and the occasional touch of mango butter on my ends and edges. after this 'do is done, i'll be returning to twistouts for the rest of the month. my first resolution is to get that perfect twistout (or twist 'n curl) every time i set my hair. while i discovered quite some time ago that five flat twists are pretty much the key to gorgeous twists and awesome hang for me, i haven't quite figured out what products to add to give my twistouts great shine and long-lasting hold. taking a few tips from LHCF and CurlyNikki, i think i will start adding a holding product to my wet hair, like noodle head or maybe some diluted setting lotion. for shine, i'll try chi silk infusion, olive oil, or paul mitchell super skinny serum. thinking about the combinations i will have to go through to nail this thing is a little daunting, but luckily, playing in my hair is a hobby that NEVER gets old!

i have also noticed that while cowashing was even bigger for me than usual in 2010, i want the winter of 2011 to be about deep conditioning. last winter i did really well by utilizing styles that lasted 3-4 days, and i would LOVE to be the girl whose curls go even longer than that. if i want four-day hair, i know that this means i will have to go back to DCing with heat as often as possible. starting tonight, i will make an attempt to DC at least once a week for the remainder of the winter, if not every time i retwist my hair. hopefully, getting that infused moisture will help me rule my hair instead of it ruling me!

thinking ahead, i still don't know whether i will go through february with straight or curly hair. i am kind of upset with myself for not sticking to my original plan to have straight hair the whole winter, but i realize now that besides the fact that i love my curly hair too much to straighten it for 3-4 months straight, my hair doesn't like it either! one of the telltale signs that my hair is losing moisture and getting tired of being straight is an increased amount of shedding or breakage, and knowing this is what is leading me to wash and DC tonight. to make sure i can keep a blowout as long as possible, my next resolution is to only straighten after 2-3 overnight DCs or 2-3 days of DCing with heat. perhaps doing this could get me a 3 or 4 week blowout next month, but only time will tell if this is something i want to pursue. oh yeah, do you notice a common theme here? MOISTURE is what helped me retain as much length as possible, and it will be what gets me to my goal length!

last week i bought a comb for my round blow dryer, and using it on my mom's hair made me realize that with this tool i may be able to tackle straightening my own hair. while i have nothing against salons, another resolution of mine is to perfect the blowout at home. whether it's through rollersetting my own hair, something i haven't done since i was SL or so, or going at it with a blowdryer and flat iron, being able to get that salon swang at home would not only be more cost-effective, but it means that i could go from straight to curly literally whenever i want. without having to worry about "getting my money's worth," i could straighten my hair, wash it the next day, and straighten it again the next week. in reality, i probably wouldn't straighten any more than i already do, but just knowing that i could would be a great feeling. i've already put it off my whole natural journey, but learning how to get "fresh from the salon" hair is a MUST before i reach my final length goal!

the summer of 2010 was probably the biggest learning experience for me and my hair. from that disastrous trim to the sew-in to my three inches in three months, i had some crazy ups and downs. of course i would love to stay away from any further setbacks, so my resolution for 2011 is to wet bun at least one full month in the summer. i am truly a wet bun convert, and if i lived in a warmer climate, i would probably do it year round. i always knew the benefits of rocking a bun, but it wasn't till i made that commitment to try it out and turned 30 days into a new habit that i truly got it. my ends were in fantastic shape, i retained more of that summer growth spurt than i could have ever imagined, and i had a quick and easy everyday style that required only a minute tops to style and set. what more could a girl want?

i made some great progress last year, but a lot of it was because i learned after "getting burned." i hate dwelling on the past, but if i had only learned to do my own trims before that SHS run-in, i could already be MBL. this year, i'm taking things into my own hands and avoiding any possible setbacks. i'd love to hear some resolutions from my readers. where do you see your hair on december 31, 2011, and what steps are you going to take to get it? 12 months may seem like a long time, but it will be here before you know it!