Tuesday, June 8, 2010

*Late* May Update.


Ive gained more thickness from leaving my hair alone.
It's not for everyone but I do protective styles that dont have to be detangled on wash day i.e braids/cornrows under a half-wig . I also only comb on wash day. Low- manipulation has been KEY for me.

Other than that my steamer and my seamless comb help with losing less hair and my regimen is pretty simple now: I always pre-poo under a heat cap w/ olive oil or coconut oil then detangle(which reminds me! I dont detangle with conditioner. I detangle with oil because I have fine strands). Wash w/ shampoo (in Celie plaits- not loyal to any brand), do an ACV rinse and DC. Im a fan of AOHSR and Aveda DR.

TTYL :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Moving on...


It's 2010. Renew your goals.
(my wrapping skills suck btw)

This is my starting point this year.



Challenges last year:

-Finding a cute protective style: Half-wigs only worked for so long because my hair underneath was too thick and single braids with my own hair wasn't cutting it. Fake hair is not really my cup of tea anymore although they did help me reach my goal.. I'm still trying to find a style that works for me.

-Cutting down hair loss on wash day: Having dense hair (meaning a lot of strands) is a challenge but when you have fine hair, you better proceed with caution whenever manipulating it. Towards the end of the year I learned that dry detangling with EVOO before washing was better than detangling with conditioner for my hair. I think I made a significant reduction in breakage from detangling.

-Putting the scissors down: I dont know what it is about self-trims that make me feel as if I've just remodeled my bedroom. I just need to develop a schedule and stick to it instead of sporadic urges to trim my hair. I haven't had any issues with splits. That is definitely due to moisturizing and sealing.

-Questioning protective styles: I want to do more styles that I love. So Im going to experiment with not wearing protective styles & see how my hair responds in 3 months. Not wearing protective styles means more frequent trims because of more frequent manipulation & exposure to the elements as well has harsh fabric. I may have to extend my goal if things go left lol. We'll see what happens...

Successes:

-Less product trials, therefore, less money wasted. I pretty much have my set products for heat-styling as well as my normal routine products.

-My regimen is predictable with certain set variations depending on what I plan on doing to my hair and how my hair is behaving (i.e hot oil treatments & light protein). Listen to your hair!

-I found out that my hair doesn't like hardcore protein treatments, Ive been trying to force feed it and it hasn't turned out well. My hair craves mostly moisture.

-Keeping it simple is easier. I gave away products I don't use and I stopped looking for reasons to add things I don't need into my routine. Less really is more for me.

-Investments: I bought two Hercules combs (they were expensive) and I realized after buying all those cheap wide-tooth combs that snagged my hair, I could've bought the Hercules earlier and saved a lot of money and hair strands! I also bought a steamer in December while they were on sale. Heaven. On. Earth. My detangling sessions have decreased, so has hair loss. My moisture level is retained longer and my scalp feels so much better. If you want to take your DC's to a whole new level, get a steamer...NOW. I wish I had bought mine much earlier.


2010 Goals:
Full MBL would be nice. I mean, is that so much to ask?
TTYL...

A year later

<---We're retiring the old profile pic.
A few things have changed...







January 2010...



A year later, this is where I am now. Setbacks and all.


Fuller. Shinier. Softer. Longer. It's been a pretty decent year.
I've made mistakes and learned from them. Ive been inconsistent and switched things up.
That's what the first year is all about. That's what this journey is all about. Learning, re-learning, dispelling myths and getting better before you ultimately get it right.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my current progress.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

End of '09 Random Pics



These are just some pics I had in my phone of a length check, my hair wet with conditioner and a bantu-knot fail. I have another set of pics for January. I'll go into detail, telling you what I've been doing, changed, my new goals for 2010, etc...

I just want to say. It has NOT been easy. There were days when I got really frustrated but... long hair don't care lol!