Ok.. since my last writing, I tried my beloved curlformers and lets just say they worked and didn't work. I ripped out two big chunks of hair and I put waaay too much product in them, which meant my hair was nasty. Since, I paid so much money for them, I figured I better do some more research on them to make them work.
Here's a list of what went wrong with the first session.
1. I styled my hair the night before an early morning flight to Vegas.
2. My hair takes forever to air dry. so I decided to blow dry the hair, before placing it in the curlformers.
3. Due to impatience, I slapped a lot of coconut oil on my hair with the hope that it would provide the necessary slip to get my hair through the contraptions. BIG MF PROBLEM!!! That's how I ripped out two big chunks of hair.
4. I ran out of curlformers for the front part of my hair.
Sooo with all of that drama layed out for you, here's my plan to recover.
1. I will get a hooded dryer.
2. Style my hair when I am not tight for time and I have some patience.
3. I will re-watch Naptural85's tutorial multiple times before I style. I think she's on to something and I think it will help me prevent breakage and make the curlformers that I have cover my entire head.
I tried to assess some things after that god awful session.
The first week I did my hair, I thought I made a mistake by doing a braid out on dry hair.
Now I know that wasn't the case. I did the right thing. My hair takes entirely too long to dry and using that curling butter on damp hair is just plain drama.
So what I plan to do is follow some of the same things I did this week. That includes a thorough washing with lots of lather, deep conditioning immediately after, detangling after the deep conditioner and letting the hair air dry. I will then put it into a bun, until I do everything I need to do for the day, then I will set the braid out:-)
At this point, it takes me a day-and-a-half to do my hair because it takes so long to dry. That takes away time with my husband and makes me uncomfortable in my own appearance. So I think with this minor tweaking, I should be able to work things out:-)
Also, I think I want to try twisting. The braid out is kicking my tail---BIG TIME. Plus, I think it forces me to manipulate the hair more than I think I should be. I mean REALLY?! After a great detangling session, I basically ripped my hair out trying to do those stupid french braids. ugh!
I thought I was finally making some much needed progress on the Do-it-yourself hair, but I was wrong. Here's the long version of the story. I wrote it all up on wash day. I was so optimistic... and so wrong.
There's a strange chance I may be on to something this time around. I had to take a moment to type up everything I did. I hope I can replicate it. Of course, I'm saying this before I even get to the styling portion. BUT I'm just so freaking excited that the detangling process was a breeze.
Before getting in the shower, I sprayed my hair down with the Silken Child detangling leave in conditioner. I let it stay on my hair maybe five minutes. I'm not sure because I wasn't really paying attention. I was just trying this to be goofy. Anyways when the water hit my hair, my hair was soft. Normally it feels raggedy because I'm coming straight out of the braid out situation.
Next I shampooed one half of my head, pinned it up then tacked the other side. I let the shampoo sit on there a few seconds then I rinsed out each side and washed again. I got a really good lather on the second washing and left it on there for a full three minutes (I mean I counted out, 'one one-thousand...'). I'm starting to think this particular shampoo may not be best for me because it makes my hair a bit dry and tangled, but at least it got my hair clean this time.
Once I thoroughly rinsed out all of the shampoo, I applied a HEALTHY amount of my deep conditioner to each half. I stuffed it under two plastic bags and let it sit for a little over an hour while I chatted with my mother. When I hopped back in the shower and rinsed the conditioner out, my hair felt soft, moisturized and DETANGLED. I split each half into a fourth, which left me four sections. Next, I used my wide toothed comb to gently detangle each section and braid.
Before getting out of the shower I squeezed each section to try to get some of the water out. Then I used a white tee-shirt to blot each section. I sat for about ten minutes before I slathered on some Kinky Curly Leave-in. I pinned each section up, while I came to type this up. Once I'm done with this, I'll hop in there and seal in the leave-in with some coconut oil. I'll let it dry some more then I'll tackle the styling part. I'm so hoping this is my break through.
It could be odd since I'm almost out of my shampoo and conditioner. Yikes!
(I should add that even though I feel I got a good wash. My scalp doesn't feel the best. It was a little itchy, but now it's feeling a bit better. I don't know. I'll re-visit this issue later.)
Update:
OMG! I thought everything was going great. My hair was looking shiny and detangled, then I put on all my crap for the braid out and it got tangled again and I couldn't french-braid it. I know I'm tired and I probably should have waited until tomorrow to set my hair because I was mean and brutal to my hair. I feel so bad about it. I left a lot of soldiers on the floor. I just pray that I've mastered the washing part and maybe, I'll begin to master the styling part. I think I'm over the stupid braids! I think I'm going to buy some magnetic rollers and work on a roller-set.
I think I'm hurting my hair more than helping and I'm really disappointed. I wanted to help my hair. NOT kill it. The whole purpose of this journey was to save money and nurse MYSELF back to healthy hair, until I could afford to pay someone to help me. This really just sucks:-(
So, after the curlformers fiasco, I had to style my hair for my Aunt's wedding in Chicago. I couldn't get anyone to do it. So, I washed and braided it the night before my flight. Once again, I left some soldiers on the floor while braiding. I left the braids in for the flight. Heck, they were in for nearly 9 hours and my hair still wasn't dry. Luckily, I had an old hooded dryer from when I tried doing my own hair in my college days (BTW, I only used it once. Whomp!). I sat under that sucker for about 30 minutes. It dried the front really well, but the back was still damp. However, my hair was beyond presentable for the wedding. I even got compliments on it.
The very next week, my friends were flying in from Florida. I had no time to style, I washed and let it air dry about 40%. That was enough to flatten the front, then I bunned. Because the front of my hair is so jacked up, I section the hair in three parts. Two parts in the front and the main part in the back. I place the back in a ponytail holder and make two twist. I wrap those around for a bun. Then, I two-strand twist the front two pieces back towards the bun and pin them underneath. I kind of look like a church girl, but I owned the look and I'm making it last a week. I think I'll keep bunning until I buy my hooded dryer.
On a side note: I just got my order of Shea Moisture products from Walgreen's. I'm really hoping they will work. I'll let you know how the washing and detangling goes from there.
I think I have some breakage in the crown area. I don't know if it was there already and I just started noticing it or I ripped it out. I'm leaning towards the latter. I think I need a new detangling comb. My current one misses some things and causes frustration. That's when I get to pulling and breaking.
I really need a hooded dryer. I want to buy this Babyliss one, but with shipping, it costs $103. I guess I need to stop being cheap. Then again, maybe they should be cheaper.
Jesus! My hair seems to not just despise, but hate me.
I spent three long painful hours detangling it on Saturday only to have it rebel against me again the very next day.
I am trying desperately to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I used a moisturizing shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner. My hair felt fantastic wet, but when I got out of the shower, it straight up cussed me out.
I dont know if my hair wants me to give up, get a perm or simply go to a professional.
As for my hairline, it is still jacked and I don't see any signs of recovery.
In all, I think my hair is breaking off more than growing. I really thought that if anyone could nurse my hair back to health with love and care, it would be me. BUT apparently that's not the case:-(
At this point, I have the entire kitchen sink in my hair (leave-in coconut oil, herbal essence long term relationship, aloe vera gel and Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie). And believe me it has done nothing to stop the hair rebellion. I'm seeing quitting, defeat and failure in my future:-(
I heard and read a lot of people's opinions about the VHI show, "Single Ladies" before I watched it myself. I feared that it would fall into the category of "Basketball Wives." You know what I'm talking about...shows that make you cringe as a Black woman because you feel all other ethnicity's and races will assume you act like the women on the TV screen. BUT since I recorded every episode, I figure I should at least give it a try. AND let me tell you... I LOVED IT.
Let me explain why. It's a low budget "Sex and the City" with brown women. Plus, it's like a great soap opera and as you all know, the networks are cutting those left and right. Where are we supposed to find our fantasy worlds--- on the Internet? No thank you. I am not a perv.
So, let's get down to the nitty gritty.
Keisha, the former video vixen and man-eater turned Realtor, is my favorite character. Yes, I said Keisha and yes, she is played by Lisa Raye. I am not deaf, nor blind and I know Lisa Raye can not act, but you can't knock her hustle. PLUS, she is from my beloved hometown. She is South side Chicago down to the core and she spews it all over this character. I can't stop watching her, she reminds me of home. In fact, my mother and I discussed this issue and I told her that I noticed the writers write to Lisa Raye's strength, which is home girl attitude, with a bit of bourgeois mixed in. Just a day after that conversation, I read an article on the creator of the show and she said she'd written for Lisa Raye before on a show called "All of Us" and knows her tone. Hey, it is what it is.
The actresses who play Val and April aren't much better than Lisa Raye, but anyway let's break them down.
Stacey Dash plays Val, a fashion designer and boutique owner. Val's core is like mine. She wants the perfect life: wedding, husband and kids. Unlike me, she is unrealistic. Anyways, I love how naive and caring she is.
Then there's April, the white girl (the one on the far white of the picture). I've read some criticism that some people don't like the fact that she was married to a black man. Those critics would have preferred an interracial relationship between a Black woman and a White man. I say...whatever! Her story line is awesome. She had a great husband who took care of her, but he was controlling. She stepped out on him, had an affair with the mayor and boom--- lost everything. Now, she's starting from scratch. I don't care about his race or her race, the story line has all of the drama that this soap-opera-loving chick could ever want.
Finally, the side characters... there's a female intern (the white girl on the left side of the picture) and the "gay guy." Between those two, you see the dynamic of gay men trying to pretend their relationships don't mirror those of straight couples when it comes to monogamy. Plus, you see what happens when a young girl tries to dabble in "sex" only relationships and threesomes.
It's over the top, outlandish and cheap. It could possibly overtake "All My Children" in my heart. Sure it's filled with gratuitous kissing, hugging and "sexing", but wasn't "Sex and the City?" I disagree with anyone who says this show makes Black women look bad. It's fun, over the top and NOT billed as reality TV. If you can't slip into a little fantasy world, then get over yourself. If the white chicks in "Sex and the City" could be celebrated for owning their sexuality, why can't the black chicks in "Single Ladies?" AND the acting is on par with my beloved Soap Operas...so I'll keep it. I'm so happy this show was picked up for a second season. I just hope that all the actors return.
Oh Snap! I am a hot mess. My forehead is breaking out like mad and my hairline is receding. I am almost 31 years old. I don't know why I am going through an ugly mix of menopause and puberty all at once. Of course I don't think I'm experiencing the hormonal imbalances that comes with those two awful times in life, but I'm certainly suffering from the external issues. Soooo, I'll break it down: puberty + menopause = ugly!
Yikes and Yikes is all I can say about those pictures. So, since I'll have a lot of time on my hands in the near future, I've decided to focus on bringing back my pretty. I mean if Justin can bring sexy back, I should at least be able to muster up a cute.
As you can see from this performance, it even took some work for Justin to get the job done. I've got some things I need to do. It begins with vitamins and ends with waxying. Did you see my eyebrows in that picture? Wow!
Anyways, I am just a week from taking on my first and biggest challenge--- doing my own hair. For some people, this may seem stupid and simple. For me, it's a big deal. I've already gotten most of the stuff on my list. Now all I need is some plastic caps, coconut oil, olive oil and a spray bottle. I'm sure I will look a hot mess the first time I do this, but whatever. This is what I need to do to begin snapping some life back into myself.
