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!

the Gerber baby is back!

The last few days have been quite exciting...remember when my hair was shorter & I used to always talk about my curls this, my curl pattern that, oh my cute spirals/springs/coils? It's been a long time since I've seen any of that and I wondered if it would ever be my circumstance again.

Lo and behold.....the curls have returned!

This is what I'm doing these days:

I am limiting co-washes to once or twice a week now. Instead, when I need to cleanse my hair and scalp, I'm doing the baking soda rinse (see below for recipe). It gets everything clean & rinses out the product without being harsh or drying, with the added bonus of making my curls go *POP*!

I have FINALLY figured out that I don't need handfuls of product in my hair. So I have gone back to using MotownGirl's L-IC (see below for recipe). Turns out using a nickel or quarter sized portion goes a long way. And it also doesn't result in the white-head that was happening when I was slathering goo-gobs of the stuff all over myself every day.

I apply the L-IC differently now too. Instead of the aforementioned slathering, I work it around in my hands and only put on what's on my fingertips. Of course what's there doesn't stay for long so then I rub my hands together again to redistribute and go for again, gently, with my fingertips. It helps to control how much product goes on as well as where it goes. It also helps me to touch & manipulate the hair less while it's wet, so that I don't end up with a funky looking fro.

If I feel like I need some additional product or moisture or whatever during the initial styling process, I've been occasionally using either a finger full of the Cantu Shea Butter L-IC or a dab of Herbal Essences None of Your Frizziness Conditioner. If moisture is needed during the day, I spritz with (a lot of) water or (a few squirts of) water/glycerin mix (15:1).

My hair has been full and moist and soft and I really hope it lasts. Oh, and I got this style idea from one of my YouTube girls (Check out nappygungun's "Going To School" vid). I know there's nothing innovative or new about it, necessarily. I just always seem to draw a blank on what to do when I take the twists down.

So here's my most recent pix. All of them should be clicked on and looked at in the giant size so you can really see those curls. Even my "massa" part is starting to curl up a bit!








BAKING SODA RINSE

1 tablespoon Baking Soda
2 cups Warm Water


MOTOWNGIRL'S LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER

1 cup thick, heavy conditioner
1/8 cup oil (I used mostly coconut, then a splash of olive)
1 tblsp Vegetable Glycerin
1 tblsp Silk Peptide Powder