Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Anniversary Diva!

Well it was a year today that I decided to "get serious" about my hair...LOL! Well I will say I've become more focused on my hair, but I have to be honest I haven't really been "serious". It's been an interesting ride, and I am now a believer that black woman can have long beautiful hair. No magical pills or "mixed" genetic makeup required. Just patience, education and love (wish I could bottle and sell that). I already posted my thoughts on the past year, so I will not go into a long reflection, but I will add one more thing. As I pointed out above I wasn't as serious as I could have been to maintain my hair in an effort to reach my goals, but that will change. Another thing that will change is the person taking care of my hair. Up to this point it has been a shared effort between my hairdresser and myself. I did the day to day maintenance, and my hairdresser did the relaxer touch ups and trims. Well, no more. No more hairdressers with scissor happy hands, no more appointments that aren't convenient. Just me (and the odd time my sister when I need a trim LOL). I will tell you why:

I got a relaxer on Friday just in time for my blog's anniversary. I was actually looking forward to posting my results as I always do. I didn't expect a huge difference from my last relaxer, but at least an inch or two, because that is what I measured in terms of new growth. Well I will say upfront to avoid any anticipation, there is nothing to report because yet again too much of my hair was "trimmed off" by my hairdresser. As I type this I am getting heated under the collar, but I will stay calm to tell the rest of my tale. Now I admit my hair had been experiencing some challenges in August. I had manage to stop my breakage, and the shedding had even reduced as well. My sides have always been an issue, really slow growth, but putting the slow growth and past breakage aside, I know I couldn't be seeing things. I mean my hair has to be growing, right? So then what's up? Why hasn't it budged since July? I don't wear it on my shoulders, it's always protected, I don't see small broken pieces on the bathroom floor when I wash my hair or comb it... Am I just imagining my hair is growing more than it is and blaming my hairdresser for the lack of proof after my relaxer? I didn't think so, but that could be the case.

To put an end to the mystery I decided to put my hair in two plaits just prior to my touch up and measure the length. Plated with new growth and all, my hair touched my shoulders, I though okay, progress. Once relaxed it should be half and inch or so below that check point. I got my relaxer, it felt good. As I see my hairdresser reaching for his shears I warn him "only a light trim" and he laughs and tells me "I know, but it really needs a trim". Now that was my first mistake, I promised myself last time, no more trims, but since I was having issues this relaxer cycle I thought it may need a slight snip to clean up my ends. So I watch him as best I can as he trims my hair, which he states once again is badly needed--now I am the first to admit when my hair is jacked up looking--it wasn't as bad as he says, come on. Anyway, I couldn't see the back, but thought, it doesn't look like he's taking off too much. All the time he is telling me how much my hair has grown and how much healthier it is. I was pleased to hear the feedback, especially since I was really hard on myself about the state of my hair last month. There I am smiling, proud of myself, and then my heart stops, my smile fades. As he proceeded to work to the sides of my hair I get a better view of what he is doing and that is when I see him cut 2 inches from both the crown and the side of my hair! |It happened so quick I couldn't say "hey that's a little much". At this point I had to let him continue unless I wanted a lop sided hair cut. I lost it! What the Smiley?! I was totally pist! This man has been cutting off my hair. It is no surprise I am not seeing any change in my hair. Here I am driving myself crazy thinking it's me, my hair isn't retaining length, what am I doing wrong, I now know. There he is raving about how much longer and fuller my hair is, "guuurl, look at you" while he chopping it all off. I have to say it again what the Smiley! So there is was the back of my hair just past my should, like it was in June, my sides just past my jawline, like it was in April and it was at that very moment I decided I am going to take care of my hair from this point on. Never again will I sit in a hairdresser's chair to have someone else destroy all my hard work. I don't know if this is a huge mistake because I may totally mess up my hair, but I will risk it. I worked very hard these last two months to achieve the lengths I grew and in seconds it was simply gone. I recently incorporated exercise, regular and balanced meals to boost my overall health in an effort to get better results, and this?! Now I know I should have been doing the exercise and regular meals anyways, not just because of my hair, but I realized the impact it was having on my hair as well and made more of an effort to follow through with these new changes. All for nothing (so to speak--again your overall health is worth the effort too). I braided my hair in two big plaits once I got home to see if I was right, and there it was, just hovering above my shoulders no longer touching my shoulders. So there you have it, my final lesson for the year. I am glad I learned it now rather than later.

Happy birthday "Diva!", and here's to a better new year Smiley

Holy Cream!

Well I have been on the hunt for a really good all natural, inexpensive, moisture based leave in conditioner and I have yet to find (or create) one, but things look promising. I know that there are some great natural products that are currently on the market, but I just can't will myself to pay the hefty price that usually comes along with them. Now I don't mind spending money on my hair--I have a cabinet full of hair products to prove that. I just can't justify paying $25-30 on a hair cream or conditioner, despite their benefits when I know the ingredients being used are quite inexpensive and can be found in my own kitchen. I just need to make a decent batch and I will be on my way..... Now I am not hating on any of these companies and entrepreneurs selling all natural products at retail prices, everyone needs to eat. I guess I've just been disappointed with some of the products out there (given the price) and I have done enough research that I simple can't go back to paying for overpriced products (for the long term). I also have a better understanding of my hair's unique needs and what better way to respond to your hair's needs than create a product that is as unique as your hair? For obvious reasons I still buy hair products, I mean I have hair to maintain don't I? I just don't plan to do it forever. There is simply too much knowledge out there to help you keep most of your money in your pocket by making your own stuff, so why not try--at least. I have no intention of ever selling my homemade hair products once I finally get my thing going. My only goal has been to take care of my own hair, my way. That's my choice, and I stick by it.  Okay, rant over...I was suppose to be posting a review! 

Live Clean Argan Oil Smooth & Shine Cream ($5.99 CDN). The other day I was "window shopping" in the hair care aisle at one of my favorite health food stores in Kensington Market, and I came across this product. I thought I'd give it a try because the ingredients looked promising, and although not 100% natural, it was inexpensive. I will say as a pro, it is 98% plant based, vegan and paraben free. It also has a nice consistency (not too thick or thin), which initially gave me concern simply because I have found most moisturizing leave ins tend to be on the runnier/thinner side. The thicker ones are usually either to heavy for my hair or too drying. I must say I was so wrong. My hair came out soooooo amazingly soft and light once it dried I was blown away. At the time I was 7 weeks post relaxer (I got a touch up on Friday) and it made my new growth very manageable. Throughout the week I tried it again on dry hair, and it didn't seem to melt into my hair as well, but eventually got absorbed. The first time I used the product it was on damp hair. The directions state that it should be used on damp hair, so I can't really get mad at that, I was just hoping to use it more than one way. Con: As you know already it isn't 100% natural and the smell is interestingly pleasant LOL. It won't be for everyone! With all this considered it gets a Smiley from me. Definitely will continue, but hopefully not for too much longer!


Smiley - Smiley = not worth the money, don't waste your time.

Smiley - Smiley = neither hit or miss; just okay

Smiley - Smiley = good product; really worth trying.

Smiley = amazing product!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Happy Anniversary: A Time to Reflect

So I am approaching my hair anniversary very soon (October 31), and I have some mixed feelings. This comes from the recent changes I've been noticing with my hair--sadly, not all good at all. In short, I have noticed that I have been experiencing some breakage and my hair/ends seem to be getting thinner. I am scratching my head wondering what is going on, because I think my regimen is pretty solid, but I just don't know what else it could be.I was reviewing some of my previous blog entries to get a handle of the situation, and there were a few things that occurred to me. 

The one thing I noticed was the fact that there was one point where my hair  was really flourishing (January 2010-April 2010). I had significant growth, I was retaining hair, I had less scalp issues--and this all during the coldest time of year! I was being consistent with my regimen, I was also exercising regularly and eating well (enough--LOL). Then I fell short. I'm not sure if I was simply exhausted and not thinking straight or upset because I was not seeing the results I wanted to see, but something changed and simply went soooo wrong.  Key words here: "results I wanted to see"

Because I was so hung up on achieving my ultimate goal of MBL, I did not take the time to acknowledge and enjoy the results I was actually achieving. As a result, I was overdoing things in an effort to accomplish my first hair goal (of SL) at all cost, which led to mental exhaustion, inconsistency with my regimen, a revamped regimen time and time again and a botched experiment with products promising to increase hair growth (I know, I know, no such thing as a miracle hair growth serum).  This also led to protein overload, horrible breakage at the line of demarcation and excess shedding. Luckily I was able to preserve most of the length I had achieved (and oddly enough add some volume to my hair), but it didn't stay that way.

My desire to increase my hair growth carried over into May and June 2010, which leads me to today. Today, a few weeks shy of my anniversary, my hair is in a very different state than it was before. It seems to have taken a 180, or maybe more like 160 because my hair has not reverted to its old ways considering everything it has been through, which I am grateful. It started out broken and damaged, saw the light and began to thrive, but like a plant that gets over watered began to die off in spots from to much love. Learning a great deal from hair sites and blogs I have managed to salvage what I did accomplish, so I have been able to avoid a major disaster, but I came pretty close. Now, I am approaching my anniversary with a lot more knowledge about my hair, what my hair likes and doesn't like and how to manage challenges with my hair much more appropriately.

I think my biggest challenge this past year has been my lack of patience. Impatience, in this case can be far worse than any hot iron or scissor happy hairdresser because it can lead you to make so many mistakes. As you know I am constantly tweeking my hair regimen for one reason or another. Yes my hair has needed additional support at certain points of my journey, but that doesn't necessarily mean I need to revamp my regimen, which is what I did. Truthfully, I think I was also putting way too much emphasis on products: what they can do, should do and weren't doing to help me achieve longer lengths faster rather than simply trying to achieve overall healthier hair. Where did I go wrong? LOL! All I can really do is laugh at myself because at the end of the day it's just hair. Beautiful, shiny, always growing hair. I just need to learn how to hold onto it as it does grow. I see now that I was taking this whole thing way too seriously, not an enjoyable experience at all. All I can do now is approach this new year more aware, more focused, and hopefully much more patient. 

HHG!