Protective styling for awhile

I have decided that I'm going to do some protective styles for awhile. Here is my hair in chunky twists so that I can stretch my hair in preparation for mini twists. I will be starting on these in the morning...Haven't decided how long I will keep them in.

Pictures Coming soon

My small digital camera was stolen so I haven't been taking pictures. I do however have a DSLR but it's kind of awkward taking pictures of my hair myself using that, but as soon as I figure out how I will be posting pics. (I would use my cell phone but I don't particularly like the quality of the pics....it's kinda crappy)

Experiment update

I know this update is kind of late but after leaving the conditioner in over night and rinse out the next morning I'm kind of on the fence about how I feel about the results. My hair was soft and felt moisturized but not quite like I like it. I will be playing around with this (maybe add a thicker base) and see how I like it. But for the most part it is effective if you don't need/want a lot of moisture.

Experiment...

So tonight I decided to wash my hair with Elasta Qp Intensive Treatment Stimulating Shampoo (this wasn't the experiment I just like the tingle and I needed to shampoo my hair). Now here is the experiment: I needed a deep conditioner AND I wanted to try out a new product that I picked up earlier today (V05 Tea Therapy Calming Chamomile). Normally I use V05 as a cowash conditioner but I had never used the Tea Therapy "flavors". Instead of using this for cowashing, I decided that I would mix up my own deep conditioner. So I squirted out some of the conditioner, added some honey and some EVOO, mixed it in a small bowl, then applied the mixture to my hair in sections, twisted each section (6 in all), placed a conditioning cap on my head covered with a satin bonnet, and I'm leaving it on overnight. I will rinse it out in the morning and come back to report how my "experiment" turned out.

Tracking my hair growth

Just wanted to share how I've been tracking my growth. Unfortunately I haven't been taking any pictures (I most definitely need to and will be) but I have been using a spreadsheet that was mentioned over at naturallycurly.com.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/growing-out/105669-hair-growth-chart.html

This chart is great!!! It is helping me make realistic goals and allowing me to know approximately when I will reach those goals.

Vitamin Regimen Starting 02/22/2011

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 22, 2011, I will be beginning a vitamin regimen both for my health and for my hair. I will be taking a women's one a day multivitamin with breakfast; 500mg MSM (may increase gradually later on)with lunch; Super B complex, 500 mg Vitamin C, and 1000mcg Biotin (this also may gradually increase later on) with dinner. I will take these for a few months to see if there will be any difference. I am taking the multivitamin for overall health, MSM for my knees and also hair, and the others are mostly for hair (Vitamin C will also help for my immune system because it seems like I'm always catching a cold). I will keep everyone updated on my progress.

And the winner is....

Photo from MTV.com

I do not/did not watch the Grammy's but I was excited to know that Esperznza Spalding (one of my natural hair inspirations) won best new artist. It's about time that someone recognized REAL music. I had to shake my head however at how Justin Bieber fans responded but then to think about it most are a bunch of children sooooo....Just goes to show that the nonsense that is played on the radio doesn't always win.

My Hair Journey

"Ouch!" I cried. "Be still!" mom said. I was a thick haired, tender headed child. Mom was never much of a hair person so she often did not know what to do with my hair. Most of the time, growing up, I wore my hair braided (cornrows, singles, crochet...you name it I probably had it) with the occasional press and curl (if it was a holiday i.e. Easter, Mother's Day, Christmas, etc.). I NEVER was allowed to wear my hair loose (often heard "You have too much hair for that.") so although I didn't have a relaxer, I unfortunately did not know what my natural texture looked like.

Soon mom became frustrated and impatient, so at the age of eleven (right before starting middle school) my mom had one of my older cousins apply a relaxer to my hair (dad wasn't very happy...). As I waited for the relaxer to process (and felt for the first time "the dreaded tingle")I anticipated seeing myself for the first time with straight, silky hair instead of the braided or puffy,somewhat straight hair (now that I think back, all I can do is shake my head). After the relaxer was rinsed out, my hair was blowed dried and styled...and so the process continued every 8-12 weeks for the next seven years.

At the age of 18, upon graduating high school, I decided that to symbolize me being an adult and the change from high school to college, that I would stop getting relaxers and go natural. So I set out to find as much information I could about natural hair and growing my hair longer. I would spend hours upon hours on hair forums, and spent dollars upon dollars trying hair products. Once I felt I was armed with enough information, I walked into my nearest Hair Cuttery one February morning in 2006 and had all of my relaxed ends cut off. The stylist kept asking if I was REALLY sure I wanted to cut off THAT much hair (was about BSL at the time). I remember taking a deep breath and saying "DO IT!" When I walked out of the shop I was suddenly unsure if I had made the right decision. For the next, 3-4 months I wore my hair flat ironed, a phoney pony, or headwrap. Soon I became comfortable with my natural hair. I was able to find products and techniques that worked with my hair and I received many compliments.

Fast forward to April 2008. I began to get bored with my hair so I decided that I would relax my hair (ugh "the dreaded tingle" AGAIN). I remember sitting in my kitchen one Friday night and having my dad apply a virgin relaxer application to my hair. I would then receive a touch up every 12 weeks until November 2009.

2009 was an interesting year for me. I graduated college in May, I cut my APL hair to a SL bob in June, my best friend moved to the other side of the world in July, started graduate school in August, got my last relaxer on November 6, chopped my then slightly grown out SL bob to a chin length assymetrical bob later that month, watched the movie "Good Hair", and decided to transition again to natural hair in December.

In 2010, I pretty much used protective styles and did not use heat. On November 20, 2010, after a veryyyyyyyyyyyyyy frustrating experience, I stood in front of my bathroom mirror and began cutting my hair (6 months before I had originally planned). At first I thought "What am I doing?!?" but soon I became excited and liberated. Now I have decided that I will NEVER use another relaxer and I am embarking on a lifelong (??) journey to healthy, long, natural hair.

Makeup Haul

So within the last couple of days I have purchased what you see above (including the container currently housing my products).
I bought:
Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 501B ($0.93 @ Walmart)
Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 509A ($0.93 @ Walmart)
Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 521A ($0.93 @ Walmart)
Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 525D ($0.93 @ Walmart)
Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 534A ($0.93 @ Walmart)
Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 553B ($0.93 @ Walmart)
Sally Hansen Satin Effects Lip Gloss in Glamorous ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
Sally Hansen Satin Effects Lip Gloss in Intrigue ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
Sally Hansen Satin Effects Lip Gloss in Tempting ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
Sally Hansen Moist & Matte Liquid Color in Chiffon ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
Sally Hansen Moist & Matte Liquid Color in Linen ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
Sally Hansen Moist & Matte Liquid Color in Shauntung ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
L'Oreal On the Loose Shimmering Powder in Vintage ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
N.Y.C. Smooth Mineral Loose Eye Powder ($1.00 @ Dollar Tree)
e.l.f. Dramatic Lash Kit ($1.00 @ Dollar General)
e.l.f. Natural Lash Kit ($1.00 @ Dollar General)
L.A. Colors 5 Color Metallic Eyeshadow in Tease ($1.50 @ Dollar General)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Beige ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Blue Marine ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Bronze ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Charcoal ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Espresso ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Glow Green ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Mint ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Navy ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Snow ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Sky ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Starry Night ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Sally Girl Eyeshadow in Teal ($0.89 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
***I got the Sally Girl Eyeshadows "Buy 5, Get 1 Free"***
Love My Face Cover Stick in Light ($2.00 @ Walmart)
Sterilite Latch Box with lid ($3.00 @ Walmart)

So I spent a total of $30.98 + tax (more than I wanted to spend :( )

♥My Other Love♥

I LOVE MAKEUP!!! If I knew for sure I could have a promising career as a makeup artist, I would aspire to become one. But because I may or may not be able to make a living (especially with all the other competition) I have stuck to being what I call a "hobby makeup artist". I pretty much just do my own, my mom's, aunts', cousins', and friends' makeup. One of my cousins calls me her "personal stylist" because I frequently do her hair and makeup. My best friend (who never wears makeup because she says "I don't even know where to begin")has been my canvas several times. One of her (and mine) favorite looks that I did for her was a black, gray, and gunmetal smokey eye, with bronze blush, and a slightly pink, nude lip. I did this for her birthday right before we went out for the night (she got soooooo many compliments and her hubby loved it). I love to be experimental especially with eye makeup. I will try anything from neutral to bright & bold. I just love it....okay enough of my rambling...

I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it LOL!

So I saw one of my cousins a few days ago and she was asking me about my hair. It seems that I've inspired her to transition. Now this is a big deal because she's the type of person that always felt she had to have straight hair. She would relax every 6 weeks and relaxed bone straight. So we're talking and she mentions that she's growing her hair out naturally because she's tired of relaxing her hair and wants to see what her natural hair looks like (she's been relaxed since she was 3...I know bad bad baddddddddd...and she's now 21 so she's pretty much never seen her natural texture). I just made 12 weeks into my transition as of today and she will be 12 weeks into her's on Sunday, January 31, so she's only a few days off from me so this should be a fun journey for us both. (That's 2 people I've convinced to go natural, let's see how many more I can convince ;) )

Just Checking in

So I just made 11 weeks post on Friday, January 22, 2010. So far so good. I just need to start coming up with some styles I can do to help make this transition easier. I had planned on braiding my hair the end of this month when I had some time off, but some things have come up which means I will not have the time to sit down and braid my hair. So until I can get some free time I need to find something to do to my hair that will not take hours at a time....This is gonna be interesting considering I'm growing out an assymetrical bob so these varying lengths is beginning to drive me crazy (I may end up BC'ing sooner if the length gets to be too much)

Braids/twists: Protective & transitioning style

So I've been searching the internet, watching vids on youtube, and looking at a book I've had for a couple of years (Hair Talk: Stylish Braids From African Roots by Duyan James) and I have come up with some braid styles I would like to try this year. First, it will either be yarn braids or hair lacing/individual tree braids (Haven't quite decided yet, but I plan to braid my hair at the end of this month). Other types of braids/twists i would like to do this year unless I find one I really like (in no particular order): nubian twists,kinky twists, pixies, individual braids with the ends left out (can't deal with the itty bitty micro braids),senegalese twists, and cornrows. I am determined to learn how to do these myself (youtube is about to be a very useful tool...)