one big, huge, supersize update

I am a lazy blogger. It's true. Partially that's because I'm a lazy blogger. But additionally, it's because I have been trying to figure out the easiest, most seamless way to update the look & feel and navigate-a-bility of the blog. Any suggestions? I had looked into Wordpress a while ago, but I'm not sure.

[Back on topic]

Here is everything that has happened since my last post.

This is from late October...

...after the co-wash & deep condition I detangled (using Qhemet Biologics Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm and my Denman D3) and put my hair in 5 mini-puffs.

This time I braided the roots and THEN did the 2-strand twists. It prevented them from being puffy at the roots, but it made the take-down time super long!

I twisted using Qhemet Biologic's Amla & Olive Heavy Cream (YUMM!!!) and QB's Hairbush Tea (which is basically a very light gel). This stuff is like Manna from Heaven, y'all...I'm telling you!

...I thought I was really doing something! (CLICK on the pic above to see the detail.) It took 7 hours this time and I think that's because of the braided roots. It took a while for me to get the hang of that and I never did really get into a groove like when I just do straight twists. Oh well, better luck next time...

(CLICK on the pic above to see the detail.)

...the hot roller experiment (it wasn't terribly successful)...I went out and got some of those mesh rollers instead & they worked much better. because of my length, the hot rollers just made the twists stick up a little. the mesh ones made it do more of a spiral-y thing and it was much cuter. I'll have to get more so I can jazz up my future twist styles...

That's some pretty serious shrinkage!

BAM!!! Now you can't tell me that twist-out ain't hot like fire!

This was a labor of love, I swear. I used those same Qhemet Biologics products...

...not exactly my original plan for how the back would look, but OH WELL! By the time I got done with the front I really didn't care WHAT happened back there!

I held on to this style for 2 weeks. Surprisingly it held up fairly well.

Those flat twists unravel very nicely. I like how they maintain the length, unlike the 2 strand twists...

This was the next last-minute-emergency-my-hair-is-staaaaank project. I'm getting pretty creative, huh? :-)

Unfortunately, I didn't love it. The only reason is because of the back. Now how pissed off was I: I have like 4+ inches in the back. But when I did this style, those twists barely came up off the back of my head! It was ridiculous!! So it was reasonably cute in the front and in the back I looked like a 1 year old boy. So, since I had a holiday function to go to & I couldn't possibly go looking like a baldheaded hoe (well, I guess I didn't exactly look like a hoe...I wonder what hoes look like exactly...is there a look, per se?.......)

So this was the resulting twist-out. Cute, huh?

I was knocking 'em dead at that holiday party!

I was so impressed with my hair that after 3 very big, very strong drinks, and a long night of bowling, chatting, and generally being cute, I re-twisted about 80% of it, so it would still have some definition today. Not bad...not bad atall!

I can't believe how much my hair has grown sometimes.

This was my very first twist-out, back in May of this year...the 28th, to be exact. All I can say is WOW! What a difference a few months makes.

here and there and everywhere

I don't have much to say. Just a few things here & there to keep you in the loop.

ROUTINE

My routine has pretty much stayed the same as the last time we spoke. At a minimum I wet my hair every day. At least every other day, I put in a reasonable amount of MotownGirl's L-IC.

Lately I have also added a small amount of Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey to my fingertips also, for some additional moisture & sheen. If I don't use a ton of it (like no more than a dime sized scoop) I don't have the allergic & acne reaction to the stuff that I did when I first got it. I definitely can't use it every day, though. It's way too heavy for that and it does drip down my face if there's too much on there. The rule of thumb has become, one dime-sized application of CD MHH between each co-wash. Anything more is a recipe for disaster. The results have been nice though.

The Clairol Herbal Essences None Of Your Frizziness is working so well, I added it to my latest batch of MotownGirl's L-IC. It is still doing amazing things to my curls!

HAIR STYLES

My hair style has been fairly consistent since we last spoke, but here's a few pix anyway...


(this one above is a good texture shot to click on, if you're not sick of looking at my curls!!)





Those twist-y things in the front take me between 10 and 15 minutes to do, but I am so lazy, once I put them in, there's no taking them out. It's really kinda sad. But oh well...


RESOURCES

I have to take a moment to acknowledge that I have given in and started reading the Nappturality forums. When I initially BCed, I had folks tell me about Nappturality.com. I went & checked it out but didn't care for the format (not to mention it runs slow as molasses on my home computer). But I have been going there recently and it would be wrong for me not to at least give a shout out to that community. Those ladies have been extremely helpful, inspiring and entertaining. It is a fantastic resource and I'm glad to have re-discovered it.

So if you haven't already, check it out.

.....and last but not least.....

GROWTH!!

(can you tell I'm excited??)

I have decided that every now & then I will do a growth check in these same spots on my head. Unfortunately I don't have much of a comparison. I have done the front on 2 separate videos (the first time was on "i'm parched (& wordy...and possibly drunk)" and the second time was on "catch up"). But I don't think I have any pix of the side length or the top length, except the ones below. I'll do better...swear!







After 8 months that's how long my hair is! And this (below) is all I've got for comparison (from week 1 and 2):





[EDIT]

and scrolling through old posts, I found this pic from July




That GNC UltraNourishHair is doing it's thang!

catch up

Did you miss me?

Child, child, honey child....I have been a busy little bee these last 5 weeks or so. I have a few pics, and a few things to say. Hopefully I'll get back onto a more regular schedule soon, so y'all don't forget I'm over here!

JAMAICA

So, I had a week in Jamaica. Before I went, I co-washed, deep conditioned & detangled and in the hours after all that, I got to playing around. Ended up with a modified mohawk.




Anyway, extreme laziness (and business, honestly) set in and I didn't have a chance to start my vacation twists until late the night before departure. Two & a half hours in...




...four hours in...




I was delighted to discover that instead of 8, these twists only took me 5 hours! So I'm getting better at this, thank goodness. I also discovered that you can't take gel on the airplane. Technically I knew that, but the thought didn't cross my mind until we were about to get in the take your shoes off & get groped line. Obviously they threw it away, all while politely turning down my pleading request to "just let me put some in my hands".




I ended up doing the front (my softest part! the part that needs the gel the most!! [groan]) with some honey that I acquired from the Starbucks at the Charlotte airport. I mixed a tiny amount of honey with some water and made a makeshift gel. It was a little bit stuck to my bandana after a few hours but that didn't last. Lucky for me the twists DID last and looked great! They held up well through all kinds of swimming and other random water play (it was a few days prior to the hurricane, so there was lots of rain) and because I was in chlorine and salt water, I did 3 baking soda rinses without the protection of a stocking cap. And I did the Sea Breeze thing on my scalp a few times too.




The twists held on for 4 weeks.





Last Jamaica comment.....I thought it was very nice that the "Children Crossing" sign clearly shows people of color.



TWIST OUT

As always, the twist out was super cute!







THE WASH & CONDISH

A week later & it's time to wash my hair. I used 2 new products....Herbal Essences Hello Hydration and None of Your Frizziness for my co-wash and was happy with the results. I used so much, I actually got a pretty good lather going! I needed it - my hair was a mess after 5 weeks of no combing or detangling and only cleansing the hair/scalp a few times. Surprisingly though, the detangling process was very simple and quick. I mean don't get me wrong, in 5 weeks I had shed enough hair to cover several small children....but the comb through was not problematic. My only issue is my perpetually clogged shower drain.

And boy is it growing!!!!!






THE VIDEO