When the beat drops

Or in this case the thermometer, you gotta make some adjustments.  This past week it has been mild as all get out.  Not scrap the winter coat entirely but don't have to wear it bundled up like you will die otherwise.  So this morning I was fully prepared to just toss the coat in the back seat and roll out.  Except I stepped outside and was like eff is this.  It was 35 and dropped as I drove.  It started fake snowing, thankfully not trying to have any real snow, and the wind was a hot mess.  Thankfully I made it to the shop on time and my hair feels and looks good to me.  I'll share some photos in a minute.  The back of my hair is the part that comes loose the most was a target of attention and we added a new friend dead center because it wasn't staying in the surrounding locs as I've mentioned before.  This one is a two strand twist because that hair has a different curl pattern and it will blend in with the surrounding hair.  We'll see how long it takes to loc on up.  I may have to TLC it a bit for the next few months.  I think that puts me at 123 locs right now but regardless I'm kinda loving my hair as we slide into the two year point.  I thought the two year target was six months from now but it's apparently about five.  Time has flown by and my hair is healthy and growing.  Today's visit also included trimming the loose tangles off the ends because they were starting to tangle up on each other which was kind of annoying.  It's the only trim I've had in the last 19 months but I don't know that I needed one before now.  Needed to let my hair seal up on its own and for most of the locs it did just that.  There were a few like eff that noise locs towards the front and a few in the back that got a little snip.  She evened them out a bit so a little length is gone in some areas but it feels full and that's important.

So what have I learned in this process?  Probably some things I've said already like if I leave my hair alone it will grow and if I do even the basics it will grow and be healthy.  That my gray hair has its own agenda and is now recruiting my eyebrows to join in on the early pigment betrayal.  I plucked one from each eyebrow months ago and now they are back with friends.  That I could DIY if I had patience but I do not.  I appreciate my monthly appointments for my hair and my massage.  Both keep me sane and the money spent between them is worth it.  That I enjoy being in my own skin and it's not that my locs have made me more vocal but going through becoming loc'd in the world I inhabit has made me more assured of who and what I am.  It's helped me make other decisions like the eye surgery and now Invisalign, resuming tennis, taking drum lessons, and switching PCPs to one that I need to vibe with so I can take care of me.  In short, taking a major step to look at my life differently is rippling through every part of it.  I'm happy with my hair and my world and all that is coming--oh except my stinking license tag renewal.  That was ridiculous.

Here are photos

Who is Massively Sleep Deprived with a Fresh Haircut

If you guessed me you are totally and completely correct.  This week is normally hectic for me because I take students to a different state for a conference.  That means 50 million store runs and stockpiling food for mom so that she doesn't have to cook for the count em THREE WHOLE DAYS I'm not there.  This week to add insult to injury mom gets freakishly sick the night before I need to leave.  So sick that during the wee hours of the day I need to leave we end up at the ER.  As ERs go they worked super fast.  From admission time to keeping her three hours passed.  The problem is those three hours led me into work time.  I had to shower, go back to the hospital, go to work and then decide about taking 11 students on a trip that no one else is prepped for except me.  After consulting with the doctors and seeing her in the morning I decided to go for it and at the worst I would crash when we got to the hotel.  As usual, there was some confusion upon getting to the hotel but we got settled in, went out for dinner and then I eventually crashed 20 hours after I was woken up to start my adventurous day. 

Before the great medical caper occurred I looked to see if there was a natural hair shop near the hotel because I was in desperate need of a trim.  Like my hair was healthy and felt good but the ends were like ma'am please quit playing.  It's been at least a year since I had a trim because my hair has mostly been in twists.  And when I was ready to stop twisting for a bit I looked up and my stylist has left the shop.  This matters cause I live in an area where there is very little option of getting my hair done in town by someone who actually understands African American hair.  If you remember that's part of why I quit relaxing it several years ago now because there was no one around that could be relied on after people got fed up with their shops and just moved to different shops without notice.  So instead of hacking my own hair off cause I would totally be focused on maintaining length more than health I figured it was time to find a professional.  Not surprisingly because of where our hotel is located but the search I did for natural hair salons near X came up with 20 results.  About five of those results were reasonably walkable from the hotel and two of them seemed to actually focus on textured hair not just be a hair salon using "natural" products.  I went with the one that had the most extensive site, reviews and seemed to be focused on hair health more than just providing a style of choice.  Heck I didn't even want a style I just wanted a trim.  Now due to the exhaustion of yesterday I had no idea if I would even make it to this appointment and was prepared to forgo the deposit if sleep said girl naw sit down.

I was in a good session until it wasn't and then I ran up and dropped off some stuff I knew I wouldn't need and headed out because I can get lost faster walking than I can driving.  It wasn't a huge detour but I made it there super early so I wandered around after making sure I was at the right spot.  Side note, the donuts were disappointing and I'm mad they are in my calorie count for the day.  I needed the hair cut like I thought.  And it was about how much hair I thought needed to go after looking at a few youtube videos, thanks ladies, about looking at the areas where our hair starts to then as an indication of health.  Depending on the area of my blown out fro I lost between and inch to two all over and it looked balanced after she was done so that's good.  She wet my hair again and then added a little bit of product to what I thought was scrunch it but it was more of a defining of my curls and put me under the dryer for maybe 15 minutes.  Let's just say I was surprised my hair was behaving and felt full and healthy with no weird knots at the end where it was tangling on itself.  Yeah for hydration, steamers and a good cut.  No photo cause I'm hella tired.  Maybe in a few days when I get home. 

Hope all is well.

Almost Four Months Natural

Around the time I get my hair twisted again I will be a full four months natural.  I thought about letting it go au natural for a few weeks before getting them put back in but I still deep in classes, got a conference to attend, and really am just not wanting to deal with it for a while as it continues to grow, gray and thicken up as it so desires.  After I took them down a few months ago it seemed like it was growing slowly and felt all around thicker than it had after I chopped it all off in February.  Right now it's feeling like I have a tiny lion's mane on my head and while yes it's growing it felt more like it was just so much thicker and fuller all over.  The very back when stretched is close to my collarbone or on my neck.  I haven't played with the front too much how about yeah hair at this point.  I'm fighting a cold so I don't plan on washing it tonight but since all the hair is free here are some comparison shots from February 2 to know.  I may keep an appointment to get my ends trimmed on Tuesday or I may skip it until August installation and yet another conference.

Wash Day & Fresh Looks

So new month is upon us.  It's not quite as cold this week which is good but I'm not sure if I prefer consistent cold like this winter or ridiculous amounts of snow but periods of warmth like last winter.  That is not to say we haven't had snow this winter it just hasn't beaten us up as badly as it did last year at the same time.  Hopefully that isn't talking up a new round of winter hell cause I would be so mad at myself for even bringing that up.

My last few posts I have been mentioning getting my hair cut or whacking it all off and I'm still not ready for the whacking it all off movement but if the next stretch works okay then I might start texlaxing or maybe transitioning.  While the relaxer moments here are land mines unless I do it myself, I've found a stylist who admittedly knew very little about African American hair the first time I saw her but has spent more time than I have in the three or four months since then learning about it and how to work with it and we discuss that when I go in.  So while I like to do quite a bit myself there are things I just can't do and that with her willingness to expand her horizons makes it easy to trust her with my hair.  So after putting it off for weeks, mostly because I kept forgetting, I finally scheduled an appointment for a trim.

I may have mentioned this before but my front and sides grow way faster than the back.  You will notice breakage in the back way faster and more extensively in that area.  So I figured it was time for an all over trim.  I knew the front and side didn't need as much effort but the back did.  I told her when I sat down I was thinking maybe an inch or two up front would be needing to disappear and then do what she had to in the back.  It's amazing when they listen.  Now I still need to spend time and effort nursing an all over growing movement but I'm happy with what has transpired as of now.  And good Lord my hair is GRAY.  The photos aren't dramatically different but you can see the results of yesterday's cut.

She washed and put on a conditioning treatment before the cut as well.  My hair actually likes the Aveda products in the salon too.  She did blow dry on high but her high and my dryer's high settings are massively different.    My hair does feel much better as well so I need to keep that in mind when a lazy moment hits again because it will so hit again.  How was your wash day?

February Final Thoughts: All things hair

Ok I am really off my publishing cycle.  Work has been kicking my butt and I have just been in a get it done and sleep frame of mind as of late.  I have had good wash days the last few weeks but have mostly opted to air dry and then do something with it if I'm motivated to do so later.  So far that motivation has been lacking so I just faux bun and get off to work or the gym.  As I have been tinkering with my hair I can tell that the same breaking point with my hair has been reached so I have got to do better.  The lower half of the back of my head is always more prone to breakage and damage.  The rest can be full and thick and will cover up the weak spot but this has happened since I was at least 12 off and on and I'm not sure what to do to fix it but I am open to suggestions.  I have yet to consult with the hair braider but that may an option if I can get to their shop.  One because it will let my hair rest a bit and protect it from the ridiculously consistently cold weather and two it will allow me to stretch a bit longer.  Considering I did the last relaxer my roots are not completely out of control as they were the last time I paid someone to put it in.  The length appears to be holding steady but I'm also sure that I am in need of a trim to help even out some of the stuff in the back and just in general.

Otherwise my hair routine hasn't shifted much.  I did finally use the Roux Porosity Control conditioner and my hair loved it last week.  This week it doesn't seem as impressed but we'll keep plugging along to see if anything changes. I was going to say my hair looked pretty much like it does in the photo below because I didn't take a picture today but I am wrong.  It looks a bit longer today than it did a month ago so maybe I'm wrong about the length holding steady.  My hair has been ridiculously dry which I know is partially do to the weather but I'm being super lazy every day except wash day so someone please smack my hand on that if you don't hear me discussing healthy hair habits.  I did add a new hair vitamin the last time I went to grab the natural body wash from the health foods store.  I've only been taking it a few weeks and it hasn't been super consistent.  That's the issue with me lately consistency.

For those that asked yep I plan on self relaxing again.  I just may wear my old glasses next time so that I can be sure to get all the wavy bits covered without it being a touch only process.  When my hair is doing its own thing I also consider whacking it all off lol but I haven't had the motivation to do that either.  Plus as I mentioned it's super duper cold so more hair keeps my head warm.  I haven't had swim class to derail the whole hair journey right now either because the coach has been really ill but in the future that will be back on the agenda I'm sure.  How goes wash day and healthy hair journey for you?