10:38pm

It's 10:38pm on a Thursday and I'm sitting under my heat cap...deep conditioning and watching Snapped. I decided around 9pm that I had to wash my hair TONIGHT! I wasn't going to go to bed with a dirty head of hair. Fortunately, I am not straightening it so I will be able to get into the bed at a decent hour.

But that's not what this post is about.

As you guys know, my hair has grown quite a bit during my journey. However, from time to time I find myself doing the same things I did when I first cut my hair. This was really, really evident when I would wash and condition my hair. Now when my hair was shorter, I never had to worry about product (shampoo, conditioner, etc.) getting onto all of my hair. I mean, how could it not? It was all very no fuss, no muss back then. :sigh:

Well, I have been following the same washing procedure. I didn't section anything off. I just washed.......and apparently I can't do that anymore lol. For awhile, there have been parts of my hair that is OMG amazing! Soft, lush, and all that good stuff. Then, there are other parts that just feel....eh. It's not super duper dry but it's not make you slap your mama soft either-it's just there. So, after doing an intensive search (well, not really intensive. I just used the search function on LHCF) I figured that I have to start washing my hair in sections. That way I can ensure that all of my hair gets the product that it needs. This is what I've been doing:

1) I section my hair into four (4) braids before getting into the shower
2) Once in the shower, I unbraid one (1) section, wet it, finger comb it a bit, and apply shampoo. Once finished, I rebraid that section.
3) Repeat for the other sections (**)
4) Once all sections have been shampooed, I proceed to rinse the shampoo out section by section and rebraid each section once the shampoo is washed out.

**I let the shampoo sit on my hair for at least 5 minutes. I don't know what the science is but I find that sulfate free shampoos work better on my hair that way.

I also apply my deep conditioner to my hair in sections....basically, as of right now, my wash day process is done in sections from start to finish. So far, my hair is loving it! All parts of my hair gets the product it needs and makes my life that much easier.

So the bottom line is this: you gotta learn how to to adapt sometimes! :)

Musings of a Sleepy Girl....

It has been about a week or so since I last updated this thing. I was meaning to but last week, I was just extremely tired for some reason. I would come home 'nap' and wake up around 9pm or 10pm. The post is just random things that are going on and some random thoughts I've had during the week. Now keep in mind, that are absolutely random. Don't expect any logic to them whatsoever lol

1) My french braids are getting better! :D I've been rocking my Tammy half-wig for awhile now and I pretty much keep my hair in two french braids underneath. Now let me tell you, my braids have come a looooooooong way from where I started (meaning: my first set of french braids were really really sloppy). Now, they are much better but you can still tell where my hands got tired-usually on the second braid. I'm finding that I really have to take my time with these particular braids.

2) My hair feels...meh. I need to wash it but this past weekend was not my own. I was in meetings followed by social events..I just haven't found the time. My hair still feels pretty moisturized for the most part but I know I need to wash it and soon.

3) One n' Only Argan Oil is awesome! I'm gonna have to do a product review for it but for now, just know that it's awesomeness.

and finally (and this is totally non hair related)

5) I don't like that Beyonce song. I don't care if her performance was good at the Billboard Awards, that song is still suck-tastic. There I said it.


Happy Monday everyone!

This Can't Be Possible....Right?

Hey everyone!

I hope you guys are having a awesome weekend! Mine has been pretty busy but I thought I'd pop in with a not so random musing of mine.

Last night, I washed and DCed my hair (and actually found that I have to wash and DC my hair in sections-just so all of my hair gets product on it). I then straightened it for this meeting I had to attend (Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama Annual Meeting). For kicks, I wanted to see what my hair progress was...if any. I did a length check on April 19th so I didn't expect much from my hair. However, this is what I saw:

Now if you recall, in April after my relaxer my hair looked like this:

I didn't adjust my bra any differently and I'm not hitting the gangsta lean (lol) to make my hair look longer. I'm just flummoxed. Is it possible to have that kind of retention in 3 weeks? Granted, I bun and half wig (shoot my hair is back in a bun now!) a lot but I wouldn't expect this kind of progress so soon.

Y'all weigh in and tell me what you think!

My First Video (on YouTube)!

Hey everyone!

I just did a super duper quick review on the Goody Bun Spiral. I decided to make a video for it b/c any attempt at a picture review would've been a big fat fail!

Enjoy!

Return to My Beloved: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner

Happy Hump Day!


The mercury is rising here in Alabama (90 degree weather anyone?) and um....I don't feel like going through the motions of straightening my hair. I just really don't feel like it. So the way I see it, this summer is about to be a huge break from heat for my hair. All right, enough with this rambling.

I've started co-washing again (and right on time too since I plan on getting back on a workout schedule sometime this month) and after months and months of not using it, I used my HE Hello Hydration conditioner. I love everything about this conditioner from its smell to the way it moisturizes my hair (and my hair is a serious moisture junkie). I have no clue why I abandoned it to use that Aussie Moist stuff. It just doesn't compare. <3

I just wanted to share my love for this product with you guys. I guess that's the good thing about staple products. You can stray and try new/different products but you can always come back to what works...and this works! :)

Lessons My Mama Taught Me

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!

In honor of Mother's Day, I just want to take a moment to talk about my mom and share some hair related (and some non hair related) things I have learned from her.

Onto the hair stuff.....

Now let me say that during the time that my mom had me, she was the tomboy of all tomboys. She wasn't into hair or makeup for real but then here I come...her firstborn...all extra girly and stuff lol. However, she has taught me some important lessons about hair.

1)You should wash your hair frequently. When I was coming up, my hair got done weekly (usually on a Saturday or a Sunday). That was just what you did. Now granted, we had no clue about sulfate free shampoos or deep conditioners but we did know that you couldn't go weeks (or months) at a time w/o washing it.

2) Relaxer broke your hair off? Stop using it! Ah. The Great Relaxer Debacle of '98. I had gotten my first relaxer (hey..I was in middle school and wanted to be like the other girls in my class), my hair was super straight, and my hair began to break off. It was my mother who first took notice of it and it was my mother who put the breaks on me relaxing for awhile. She set up a regimen of sorts for me during that time too. I was to wash and condition my hair weekly, then she would braid it (cornrows, french braids...it didn't matter). It actually turned out to be something good for my hair.

3) You aren't supposed to relax that frequently. When I was in high school, I started relaxing my hair again but this time, it was my mom who would relax my hair. Now the frequency in which my hair was relaxed was entirely dependent on my mom and a lot of times she just didn't feel like it. Shoot, a lot of times she didn't feel like relaxing her own hair. The result? I would go 3,4, or 5 months between relaxers. I was stretch before I even knew what it was! In retrospect, my hair was a lot healthier then. I really didn't begin to see damage in my hair until I went to college and started relaxing every 4 weeks.

Since life isn't only about hair, I've learned a lot of life lessons from my mom as well. However, since I don't have the space or the time to list out almost 26 years worth of lessons (and I'm sure you guys don't feel like reading all of that lol), I'm narrowing it down to the 3 big ones.

1) Be yourself. Yeah I know. It's so simple but it is so true. I spent a good portion of my life trying to fit what other people thought of me--and I was miserable for it. Now, however, I am 100% me--quirks and all. I can be a little too blunt sometimes (well a lot of the time), I'm kind of a nerd, and a tad bit goofy ...and that's ok with me. That's the person I am.

2)It's never too late to do the right thing. Admittedly, this is something I struggle with from time to time b/c I find it difficult to forget when someone has slighted me in some way. However, I can now appreciate someone making the effort to want to make things right and I can be a little more receptive to hearing their side of the tale. On the flip side, I can realize that if I have slighted someone, it's never too late for me to make things right.

3) Get your finances in order. This is something I learned a long time ago as a child. My mom struggled to make ends meet during my childhood. Even though she was in the military, there were plenty of times when Pepco turned our lights off, our water got turned off, we had to go into the Commissary w/ only $50 to spend on food, etc. I knew at the age of 9 that I didn't want to struggle like that when I was a grownup. Growing up through that not only taught me that you have to be able to discern between a need and a want (I mean it really did) but it taught me the importance of budgeting and paying your bills on time. I'm still working on the budgeting thing but I definitely pay those bills on time lol.

I know this was kinda long but I just wanted to share some things that I have learned from my mother and let y'all know just how awesome she is!

What lessons have you learned from your mother?

Goody Bun Spiral=One Big Ol' Spin Pin

So it's Saturday and I haven't done much of anything all day. I have been playing in my hair though. Well, playing isn't the word...I've been doing "search and destroys." I noticed a lot of single strand knots (ssks) and splits in my hair and them suckers had to go! Now, my hair is in a Kourtney Kardashian inspired bun (and I'm gonna keep it bunned b/c lawdhammercy I have to lay off the heat!). Anyway, that's not important. What is important is this new gadget I bought about an hour ago- the Goody Bun Spiral. The bun spiral has been out for awhile and I've had my eye on it for awhile but just never purchased it until now.

The Goody Bun Spiral cost me $5.99+tax at Walgreens (side note: I actually was able to purchase 2 different Goody gadgets for $8.98 since there is a sale going on). Like the spin pins, the bun spiral comes in 2 colors: light and dark (of course I purchased dark). What I like about the spril is that it is super duper easy to use! All you have to do is gather your hair into a ponytail, secure it or not secure it with a ponytail holder (according to the package you don't need a ponytail holder but I guess it depends on how sleek you want your bun.), twist your hair into a bun, place the bun spiral onto your bun(make sure your hair goes through the opening), and twist the spiral clockwise to secure. That's it! I kinda like it so far. My bun is definitely secure and there isn't a chance of two spirals latching together and getting tangled in your hair---don't ask me how I know.

All in all, I say definitely pick this spiral up-especially if you bun a lot!

Look of the Day: 5/3/11

Good afternoon everyone!

I decided to give Tammy a break today and wear my Outre Monica half wig. So far I love it! The style reminds me of a loose bantu knot out. Like Tammy, I purchased Monica in 1B from blackhairspray.com for $17.99. I did my blending using 2 headbands (didn't have time this morning to mess with blending my actual hair with the wig).

So..would you wear this wig? Is Monica a yay or a nay?