Settling in on the new haircut.

I'm getting used to having my hair cut. It curls up so beautifully (washed with Organix Tea Tree & Mint; combed Organix Grapefruit & Mango Butter through it - no rinse). This is me completely natural. I'm going to forego any chemicals... for now. The most I may do is color the ends... eventually, once my hair has really grown out from my scalp... maybe in October or Nov... I'm not going to even put myself on a time schedule. I may do a hair growth update, every 3 or 4 months. Nothing obsessive like last year. Just remove hair, wash/condition natural hair, then reapply wig, every week.

I just bought my 14" Virgin Malaysian Loose Curly, and I'm predicting it will be here next Wednesday... I hope so, because that's my wig day (I remove on Wednesdays and reapply on Thursdays). I'm so not tripping off of the people at work. I'm on a new mission, and if lace wigs will get me there, so be it. I've never had a 14" wig before, so this should be interesting. It seems when I'm rocking my 18" I usually wear buns so I'm trying something new. I will update with pictures as soon as the wig is delivered.

Finished reading "Curly Like Me" by Teri LaFlesh

I just finished reading Teri LaFlesh's "Curly Like Me". I got the idea of using the Denman brush from her website. Her journey was remarkable. My take away tip for regrowing my natural hair: use tons of conditioner, as a shampoo, a rinse, and a comb through. Hair conditioner is the magic elixir. She recommends Aussie Moist, the Herbal Essences line, and the Tressemme line, all of which I use. She recommends not to rinse the comb through rinse. She recommends to wash your hair maybe once every seven days. I do all of this, and will continue to do this. I'm going to forgo textlaxing too, to see how far I can get. My new growth is not that unruly. I may chronicle this go 'round, I don't know. The best advice is to just let the hair grow with the least amount of manipulation. No chemically altering treatments. She's given me the courage to stop textlaxing. We'll see. I still feel good about cutting my hair off and starting over.

I'm still getting "wiggy" with it, and will do so for awhile. I may order my 14" virgin malaysian loose curly this Friday (dipping into my Apple MacBook Pro fund no less).

Hair Update... hanging by a thread... no pun intended!

I'm so disgusted at myself, still. All this carnage (lol) is from when I "undyed" my hair with the hair remover, then turned around (because I forgot) and textlaxed, back in September (I think). I'm so tempted to chop it all down to the length in the back, but I just trimmed the right side (bottom pics). So basically, I have a bob... kinda. The curls are nice, and I can brush and gel it up and try to keep it moving. I could start over... but I'm going to hold on to it for as long as I can. I'm still dreaming of the Rex 12" malaysian that I'm going to try to slide in next pay period. I haven't had a wig on since maybe September or October. I may have to go back to them full time for the winter months, just to keep my head warm. I'll keep you posted.

Do I Still Have Hair?

So much has happened since my last post. Most importantly, I am now gainfully employed. At this time I won't reveal my employer, but suffice it to say, I'm very happy. Great pay, great benefits, my own cubicle. To some, this may seem like a prison, but to someone who's not worked since April 2008, it's like I've hit the lottery. Funny thing is, I wore my Indian Remy Body Wave during the interview process, but as soon as I got hired, I've worn my own hair. It's too stressful to be worried about if my app is clowing during training, and I didn 't feel like having to explain my hair situation. More on my hair situation in a minute.

I'm so happy that my favorite band, Rush, was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 25, 2010. I wish I could have been there to see it. Their movie "Beyond the Lighted Stage" came on VH1 Classic yesterday, and it was wonderful. Andrew ordered it from Rush.com. I love Rush, and I'm so proud of my tattoos. I'm still wearing my Indian Remy Body Wave to that concert, and if people at work trip, I'll just say it's my "concert" hair.

We also got new phones this weekend. We got (2 for 1) the LG Ally. It's a touch screen with all the doodads, more than I need, of course. I want some games (Monopoly), so I'll have to get my whine on.

Back to my hair... so after I was offered the job, I decided to refresh my hair color, and to cover my grays (for a more conservative look). I decided on (box color) L'Oreal Preference Dark Ash Blonde... guess what color it decided to be? JET BLACK!!!!

What the F??? So after wearing it like that for a week, I decided that jet black is too dark for me, for the summer. So yesterday, I made my monthly pilgrammage to Sally's Beauty, and I got Color Fix (Jherri Redding). Today, I attacked my problem. It was pretty easy - mix step 1 and step 2 in equal parts and apply. Put a plastic cap on and wait for 30 minutes. Then shampoo out. A nice bright orange:

Then add step 3 (the processing lotion), wait for 5 minutes, then rinse out. The processing lotion turned it from fire orange to a nice medium brown:

Then I decided to re-dye my hair Dark Warm Blonde (Ion Color Brilliance Demi Permanent Creme Hair Color) and guess what color it came out to be? You guessed it, BLACK!!! Again!!!

(what the F is going on????)

So immediately, I blow dried my hair and started over. I'm lucky that I didn't use all the remover solutions. I did it again, but this time, I was too scared to re-dye my hair. After the processing lotion step (which turns it medium brown), I rinsed it and left it the medium brown:


Whew! So I have Silk Elements Luxuy Moisturizing Conditioner in my hair right now. My hair doesn't feel over processed, and it's still curly. What a disaster, but it turned out okay. I used to be a pro at coloring my hair, but today, my skills are in question. None of my hair came out, so I guess that I won...

We got a treadmill this week also, so the weight WILL come off. We've been walking almost everyday but we're going hard core with the treadmill.

I still haven't gotten a grip of this past week. Maybe that's good that I haven't been able to think about it so much... might freak myself out. I'm reading Dale Carnegie's books (How to Win Friends, and The 5 People Skills). I want to be good at this job... not conquer the world, but help people.

What else can I say???? (the following is a happiness rant)

Baby has done it again! I have the best, most loving boyfriend in the universe! All the while I've been whining about wanting a Kindle, and he bought one for me! I think it was purchased when I made the first Kindle blog (see below). I'm ashamed for all the pouting I was doing. I love him so much!

It's already filled up with all the digital media I have (all the free books I've downloaded, all my Audible.com audio books, and select mp3s -
so far, the Snakes & Arrows cd, the Sara Bareilles cd, and You Remind Me - Royskopp). It would have been neat if it had an SD card slot. Books that I read can always be deleted. It's like an iPod for books! I have to be the best girlfriend I can be from here on out!

On the hair front, okay, I know I said I wouldn't do a textlax touchup until April (ha!). I started thinking that I would receive my custom sometime this week (it's in route now, already in Memphis, from China!). As unruly as my new growth was, I couldn't see it blending in to the malaysian hair, so I had to do it:





As you can see, I didn't over do it. I actually microwaved the 'laxer until it was pourable, and poured it into my Sally's bottle with the spout. I believe this was the concoction with the olive oil mixed in. I combed through the roots a little bit. Once I get the unit, I'll look at the color, then determine if I need to comb the Honey Brown rinse on my hair to match the unit. Stay tuned for the sewing in of the new unit. I'm going to video the process. Lord, please let it all blend.

Yes, I'm still knitting on the brown monster (aka Jeri's scarf - two more skeins). After Colbi's Domino scarf, I'm going to do Jeri's scarf for myself in a pink sport weight yarn knit on size 9 circulars, for a more lacy effect. I still have a knit-for-hire hooded cowl, slippers to make, and a shawl for my friend Suzanne. Whew! But I love it!

What an exciting week so far!

App removed, hair fascinating!

I just removed my app. I can feel the tingle of the Dr. Miracle's Intense Spot Serum as I type this. Of course, I took lots of pictures. The Walker No Shine Tape is the DEVIL to remove. Still only using oil sheen, 91% alcohol, and Goo Gone Gel, I sprayed my hairline, and waited for it to work. Whew lawd! After all the adhesive residue came up, I washed my hair with the Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo and the Cream of Nature Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo. Clearly, I don't know what I'm doing. There's no rhyme or reason to my hair madness. After I washed it, this is what it looked like:
I think it's neat. It kind of looks like sheep wool. Then I put Mane N Tail and the Nexxus Humectress on it, and it looked like this:
peep the Michael Jackson curl that fell (I swear I didn't pull it down!). I don't know what's going on with the straight ends: I haven't put any creamy crack on the ends, just the roots (the 3 times I've done it). I think the weight of the hair or maybe when I cornrow it, is straightening the hair, I think the hair on my sides is just a different type, maybe a 3a and my other areas are 3c. The shrinkage is disheartening. I'm praying that I can stretch (not textlax) until December, maybe do it in the middle of the month. I need some more MegaTek in my life. I'm putting on the Rex Virgin Malaysian Natural Straight probably on Friday morning, before we go to the cabin. I'll wear a cute scarf in the car... I may be daring and not even wear a wig on this trip!

Me natural in 2000

I found this picture while I was cleaning today. This is me natural in 2000. Check the length! I was with my friend Lauren and we were at some poetry function. I used to spit spoken word... word.

We're going to the cabin this weekend (Friday), so I'm going to do a new app on Wednesday. I don't want to be worried about my hair up there. I'll take pictures. That area is really beautiful. It's near Yosemite. I'll take my laptop because the writing faucet is ON... eventhough I'm still distracted with everything else. There is no internet access up there, oh well.

My Hair Idols - Yvette Nicole Brown & Rachel True

Yes, I'm still on my naturally curly hair kick. I found my hair idol's blogsite. Her name is Yvette Nicole Brown, and you all have seen her before, in commercials and movies. She's my Myspace and Facebook friend. Anyway, she did a really good blog on what she does to her hair: Questions About My Hair. My hair probably won't be that thick, but that's the curl it will have, if I can hang on. Lacefronts, don't fail me now. I'm also loving Rachel True's hair (she played in The Craft, among other things). I'm loving her color. I will channel the two.

I've found lots of sites and products today. It's going to be between Kinky Curly products and Miss Jessie's products. Everyone's complaining about Miss Jessie's prices, so in this recession, that may be the deciding factor. I've always been a lover of Finesse conditioners. I've got to also get used to the co-washing technique. All of this is still premature, as my hair is still in the embryonic stage. I'm just excited of the new direction.

Back on the Lace front (no pun intended), hunny bunny just brought home my Ms. Lola's Adhesive Cream. I'm not doing another app until either Friday or Saturday. I will definitely post results and pictures.

Getting Naturally Curly Obsessed!

Oh Lawd, I don' found Miss Jessie's website! I am really determined to grow out my natural hair. This website is really interesting, founded by Miko and Titi, two black/japanese women. The website is really professional, lively, informative, and fun. It makes me want to buy up everything they have. I'm jumping the gun though, my hair is probably not even an inch long yet. Now, I know that I'll be armed with what I need. I still can't get over what my curls looked like circa 2006. WHY did I ruin that beautiful texture? It was Eva-perfect. I can't really remember what I did to get it to that texture, I can't remember what I used... probably Optimum relaxer. I'm so glad I have the lace units to keep me from cutting my hair again. It's going to be hard not fooling with the texture as it grows out. I tend to be really impatient. I don't want to do another textlax until I get some significant new growth. I'm going to wear it in cornrows the majority of the time anyway. I hate my obsessive personality... I wish I obsessed about things that made me money.

I've found a number of natural/curly blogs that I've linked in the Link column. I'm also a new forum member on the Afrobella.com forum. I'll be lurking for awhile. I'm falling in love with the prospect of finally realizing that I'll be able to get past the Eva stage and can get to the Rachel True stage. Lace wigs or natural, it's all magic hair!