you win some, you lose some.

i recently stopped to assess the resolutions i made a mere 4 weeks ago concerning my hair. the good news? while i can't exactly pinpoint the one thing that did it, i will say that my hair has been behaving pretty well, and i have a renewed affinity for twistouts and the twist-n-curl. the bad news? of course i didn't stick to all my resolutions. the better news? i am still learning about my hair, still trying new products, and most importantly, STILL enjoying this natural hair journey.

.:getting the perfect twistout
now this one, i can actually admit, was pretty easy to keep. i jumped in head first with the twistouts, alternating between five flat twists, 4-5 twists on either side of my head with a white or pink perm rod on the lower half, and flat twists with perm rods on the bottom. i also switched up my products, starting out with just a little giovanni smooth as silk conditioner as leave-in, then using some kinky curly knot today i got as a (generous) free sample from whole foods as my leave-in, then adding noodle head for hold, then using some kinky curly curling custard i ALSO got as a (generous) free sample from whole foods on a different set of twists. i did wet twistouts vs dry twistouts, twistout buns vs twistout updos, pineappling vs retwisting at night.....phew! basically, all that experimenting taught me that less product is still more for my hair (read: a holding product is kinda unnecessary for my twistouts), third-day hair is still pretty elusive, and KCKT is some good stuff. i'm currently rocking a three-day-old twistout from the five flat twists that looked GREAT on day one, okay on day two, and never should have really made it to today, but i was lazy. i'm toying with the idea of spraying it down and wet bunning tomorrow, but i won't really know until i hit the shower.

.:weekly DCs
in a word -- FAIL. i really was motivated to do this one since i know how much my hair loves a good DC, but between the cowashing and multi-day hair attempts and the lack of a dome dryer in durham, it just didn't happen. i got in maybe two DCs over the last month, with the last one being this past monday when i did get to my beloved standup dryer at my mom's house in virginia. if only i had two, maybe i'd be set, but i won't bet on it. cowashing is simply more convenient at this point in time. *shrug*

.:straightening after 2-3 days of DCs
ehh, not really applicable since i haven't straightened my hair. i will give myself a slap on the wrist, though, since i was toying with the idea of straightening my hair for the super bowl party (go steelers!) and i am probably only going to have time for one DC between now and then. but who knows -- pigs may fly and i may get it done. don't hold your breath though, guys.

.:perfect blowout at home
although i haven't attempted this on my head, i'm still pretty darn excited about it. there's nothing like having a guinea pig, and i've been practicing that "flat iron wrist flick" on my mom, who has been wearing her hair straight for about 6 weeks now. so far my lacio lacio and that blow dryer nozzle have really been helping straighten out her 4a curls, and the solia is doing a fine job of getting that fresh out the salon look she wants. i'm just hoping my hair looks as great when i get the guts....i mean, the time to do my own hair.

i'm down to one month till my next length check, and four months before i'm three years natural. hopefully i'll have more good news to share, more discoveries, and maybe even more inspiration to share throughout 2011.