So then, me and my hair...

My normal routine:
Shampoo & condition every three days. I used to use a vinegar rinse every time I washed, but my hair started to turn to straw after awhile, and stays softer without it. I now only use it when needed to remove build-up.
I darken my hair with a coffee deep conditioner mixture about every two weeks, or however often I need to to keep it dark.
I never use any heat appliances, hair gels, hairspray, etc. I'll usually braid it at night, and fix it with just my fingers and a comb. Brushes are cruel and unusual torture to my hair.

My favorite hair accessories are hairsticks and cloth headbands - either the wide elastic ones, or colorful scarves and strips of fabric. I like color.  

My current hair product is Redken So Long s&c. They work pretty well for me, though I personally think it's a lot of money to pay for results you could get from cheaper products.

My hair is 33^1/4 inches as of 6/21. It was 32^3/4 on 6/04, meaning it grew a whole half inch in less than 20 days!  I didn't realize my hair grew so quickly. Maybe it's all the extra tender loving care I've been giving it recently.

I am going to coffee-condition tonight and micro-trim the split-ends (I get 'em so easily...I need to find a new conditioner) so I look nice and neat when my family leaves for England tomorrow.

I'll have updates (and if we're lucky, pictures) when I get back on the 7^th. Cheers!

I feel like such a martyr sometimes.

At dinner we were discussing when I need to get my senior pictures taken, and the following conversation ensued between me, my sister and parents:

Stepmom: So, do you want to get your hair styled at all before having your pictures taken?
Me: No.
s/m: But it's so scraggly at the ends. It would look nicer and thicker if you cut it.
Me: . . . . . .
s/m: It would look healthier shorter.
Me: *trying not to laugh*
s/m: It would get rid of your split ends.
Me: I can trim the split ends off myself. I just did it a couple weeks ago.
Sister: Are you sure you got them all?
Me: Yes, I'm sure you got them all.
Sister: Do you even know what split ends are?
Me: *trying to refrain from throwing my plate at her* Yes, I know what split ends are. I'm not stupid.
s/m: Why don't you just go to Great Clips or somewhere and have it trimmed?
Me: Because I don't want to go in for a one-inch cut and end up having 6 inches cut.
s/m: They'd only cut off what you need.
Me: *again trying not to laugh*
sister: You need 6 inches cut off.
Me: No I don't. And I can cut it myself.
s/m: *she doesn't believe me at all* How?
Me: It's easy I've done it before.
s/m: *gives her best "that's stupid, I don't believe you at all" look*
Me: I'll do it myself. It's not that hard.
Dad: Why don't you just have it cut or styled?
Me: Because I like it long.
s/m: Well that's okay, but it would look better shorter.
Sister: *makes disgusted faces at me like I'd just said something horrible*

Lord, someone save me from this family. I'm so sick of these conversations.

Thanks noelkara (and thanks for taking the time to read this, too!). I'm sure my parents were well-meaning, but my sister is just plain rude when it comes to my hair (or my style, or my interests, or my tastes...). Hopefully they'll figure out eventually that I know how to take care of my own hair. 


In other news...

I bought some White Rain conditioner today and COed with it. It didn't turn out quite like I expected; no tangles and nicely manageable, but not as silky as my Redken conditioner. It also feels a bit heavy and leaves residue on my hands when I run them thru the length. I also think I might've used too much on my scalp. It already feels like it could use a good clarifying. Maybe my hair likes -cones after all. Or maybe it's just adjusting to a conditioner without cones. I'll experiment with it some more to see how it keeps working. And I'll be keeping the vinegar close at hand.

I gave myself a trim after showering (I'll admit my parents were right in that I did need to fix up the ends; hopefully this will appease them for awhile). It looks a bit neater, but unfortunately I lost all the length I'd put on in the past month, and then some. I'm now at 32 1/4 inches.  Oh well, at least now I know my hair grows quickly enough to gain it back soon.

I am off tomorrow to go on vacation - again. We're visiting my grandparents in Pennsylvania for a week. I'm so exhausted...though recovering from jet-lag is easier when going west than going east (I'm usually up very late), I'm still struggling. I feel like it's 6 a.m. and I haven't slept at all. I'm off to go repack and go to bed. See you all in a week.


P.S. You can tell I'm really tired; it's taken me so long to write this post that my hair is now nearly dry and feels considerably better. Very smooth. Still wish I'd used less on my scalp. Will see how it feels in the morning.

I would have thrown the freakin plate.

I don't think shedding has anything to do with what you do to your hair. It's an internal thing, based on the life cycle of your hair, hormones, and the season, among other things.

I had my hair up in a bun yesterday, and when I took it down in the evening it felt sooo soooft. Sooo I felt inspired to experiment some with updos, and after a while got it into a nice braided bun with two of those funky little looping braids hanging down from it. I was quite proud of myself.  After that I tried doing a Dutch braid, but wasn't quite so successful.  I just can't seem to get the hand positions right.


Am gonna try COing again tonight, with a vinegar rinse after. Or maybe before AND after...hmm...

My stepsister, upon finding me still awake at 1:15 am:

"You need to cut back on this crazy writing thing. You've been at it all day. I know it's your passion...but the passion can wait until after some sleep."

Well actually, I hadn't been writing all day, and no, it can't wait until morning. Not when you're totally in your zone and the creative juices are pulsing. When your muse strikes you just gotta go with it. Time is irrelevant when you're a writer. But at least she was right about it being my passion. 


I coffee deep-conditioned today. mmmm, rich smoothness.  I love it. And I didn't get coffee all over the shower this time.

Just measured my hair: 32 7/8". That's 5/8 inches of growth since I trimmed it on July 9th.

Got another lecture from my stepmom last night about my hair and my senior pictures tomorrow. She really wants me to get it cut or styled, but of course I'm not going to. She actually thinks that my hair looks ugly. Okay, I can understand if long hair isn't her personal style - I'm not a big fan of her curly helmet hair cut myself - but I really do take it as a personal insult when she so blatantly insults something I put so much care and effort into. This is my look, this is who I am, and if she doesn't like it, too bad. They're my senior pictures anyway, not hers.

It just really makes me mad that she can't just respect my choices concerning my personal appearance. I know she loves me, but she's never once complimented me on my hair. Maybe she doesn't realize just how much effort I put into it, but should she have to?

Anyway...to get ready for my senior pictures tomorrow morning (the way I want to), I washed last night with my tea tree oil herbal shampoo. No conditioner - I was still very soft from my last coffee CO. Then this morning I used some of the Hollywood Beauty SuperGro oil stuff I bought yesterday. It worked great, and my hair's very soft and smooth. I did put a bit too much on my scalp, though (it was my first time using this kind of stuff and I wasn't sure how much to use), so I was kinda oily and sticky. I used a tissue to rub off some of the excess and brushed in some baby powder, and it looks okay now. If it's not any better by the end of the day, however, I think I'll do a vinegar rinse to get rid of the buildup.

Besides the oily scalp, I think my hair looks better today than it ever has. So soft and smooth...I dusted off all the split ends too. I'm very pleased with it, even if no one else is.

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LOL Anais, you sound like one of those generic notes companies send you when you write them a complaint letter.   But I know that your note is heartfelt and genuine, and I greatly appreciate it. Thanks for helping me stay long and strong!  


I showered again tonight (two nights in a row - bad Cairn!) to get rid of the greasies from using too much oil stuff. I only used a vinegar rinse and Tresemme clarifying shampoo. I'm gonna use my oil stuff again in the morning to make it nice and shiny and smooth for my pictures. Oil Stuff - I think that's my official name for it now.   I'm actually looking forward to getting my senior pictures taken tomorrow. Which is weird, because I generally hate having photos taken in a studio. Too much bright lighting.  

So I tried an OWC process (oil-wash-condition), a modification of the CWC idea, and got mixed results. Here's what I did:

For the oiling:
-2 tbs. olive oil
-1 egg
I've used this mixture before and it's worked, though I've never had it on for more than half an hour.
-I also added in some super-strong coffee to darken it a little. Of course I wasn't thinking, and it wasn't until after I mixed it all together that I realized - duh, the water I used to make the coffee won't mix with the olive oil.  Someone was paying attention in chemistry class.
Once I rubbed it in my palms and got it into my hair it worked well enough, though. Then it wasn't until after I'd plastered my entire head & length that it occurred to me that perhaps egg isn't the best thing to leave sitting on your head overnight. But I'd heard of other people doing it, and there was nothing I could do about it at that point. So I stuck on a shower cap and wrapped a towel around my head to protect my pillowcase and went to bed around 11:30 pm.

Got up this morning at 8:00, meaning the oil mixture was in for about 9 hours. Much of it had dried, making my hair kind of stiff, but once I got into the shower it was alright. From there, I:

-Wet down the length and shampooed my scalp with tea tree oil/herbal shampoo, then rinsed with warm water
-Put conditioner on the length (mainly to ease the tangles and get rid of the egg smell - that latter part didn't succeed so well) and let it soak up under a shower cap while I finished my other showerly duties
-Rinsed out the conditioner and finished with a cold rinse

For the most part it worked great; my hair was very soft, smooth and manageable. The problem is that for some reason the length of my hair on only the right side of my head is still incredibly oily. It feels as though there's still olive oil in it. I don't understand how this happened, as I made sure to rinse very thoroughly and the left side feels great.

I didn't want to wash again though, so I just stuck it up in a bun and it looks good. The oiliness is starting to spread to the rest of my hair, though I can't tell yet if that's good or bad. I guess my body's trying to restore the pH balance, perhaps? I'll see if it looks any better in the morning. If not - hey, that's what hairsticks are for!   

Overall I think it's a great procedure, and I plan on trying it again in the future. I'm sure with more experimenting and perhaps modified ingredients I'll get great results. I wish we actually had some honey in this house...I'll have to go out and buy a big jar for my own use one of these days. Along with some rosemary, and some essential oils...I wonder what I could find at Trader Joe's. I love that store, but I've never looked for hair stuff there.

Just measured my hair. 33 inches on the nose! Almost back to where I was before my last trim.

Hi Cairn, hope you don't mind me writing in your journal!

- Chamomile tea helps lighten hair I think.
- Any other kind of tea should be okay...
- Plain yogurt is a great conditioner.
- Peanut butter - NO idea about this one!
- Molasses is supposed to be good to darken hair.

Thanks, bikerbraid. I figured that'd be the answer.

I did find a recipe with molasses, but it didn't do much for me...apparently it's supposed to help darken gray hairs, though, so I'll keep it in mind if I start going gray early.

I bought some rosemary essential oil while vacationing in Michigan last week, and after one failed attempt to partner it with olive oil, am in search of a more effective way to put it to use. I only have a small vial of it, so I'm trying to conserve it, especially since I can never seem to find essential oils around here. 


In other news, school started today. Ugh, how boring. Yay for being a senior, though! I'm taking some fun classes and like all of my teachers, except for my consumer ed. teacher who likes to repeat herself constantly and looks & dresses more like one of the "popular" girls than an adult, if you get the idea.

I went through a whole long hair routine yesterday, hoping to get it nice and soft so I could wear it down today and show it off. I had to go to sleep with it damp, and unfortunately this morning it was pretty greasy as well as frizzy (weird). I fussed with it for a while, but ran out of time and ended up throwing it into a French braid. I don't want to take the time to wash it again tonight, so I'll probably just do an ACV rinse or something. Or maybe chamomile?? We'll see how experimental I feel. 

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I think there is, but I've never been to it; my family usually goes to Meijers. Thanks for the tip, though; I'll keep it in mind.



So I tried plopping last night (left it wrapped up while I slept), hoping to get some nice waves today. It worked quite well, and gave a much more natural looking wave than braiding does. It started out nice and bouncy; unfortunately it rained all day, which means Flat & Frizzy.  Ah well, at least I know the process works. I'll have to try it again on a drier day.

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We need two years of high school PE, ugh! I'm so glad I'm a junior now - no more PE for me, ever again! Lucky you - only 20 minutes! We were in the pool for 90 minutes, 3 times a week, 6 weeks a year. 

No more PE, lalala, doing a happy dance 

[steps up on soapbox]

In this day and age of couch potatoes - I'm glad to hear some school districts recognize the importance of physical fitness.  I know you may not appreciate it now, but you are learning life long skills and hopefully developing good habits for later in life.  Take it from an "oldster" - you need to be physically active!

Your PE classes are good for you.  Be thankful for them.

[steps down from soapbox]

There was a football game at my high school tonight, and beforehand my family went out to a pizza place for dinner. There was a table with a man & woman and their 20-something year old son near the hostess both, and while we were waiting to be seated the man suddenly turned to me and said I had really beautiful hair. His wife agreed enthusiastically, and asked her son if he didn't think I had nice hair. He just kinda smiled and nodded (I don't think he cared that much), but the other two were impressed, especially the man. I would've been a little creeped out, except that I never get compliments on my hair (on updos occassionaly, but never on my hair in and of itself), so it felt good. I was also glad my stepmom got to see that yes, some people really do like my hair. I think that was the best part of my night.

Oh, and we won the football game. 

Dorm life!  I had a lot of fun living in the dorm.  Life long frienships can be made there.

Do you have any idea what you would want to major in at college?

Writing is a great objective.  My father had his degree in journalism, and my mother was a freelance writer.

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Hey - it's YOUR journal - you can use it as you like - *I'M the interloper by posting!  But seriously, growing up with two writers, I was always encouraged to read books.  ANYTHING I wrote for school was checked by one of them.  I have a wonderful sense of good english, but can't tell you any of the rules for why! 

My sister lost her make-up at school yesterday, so I took her to Target this afternoon to get some more. While she was finding what she needed, I somehow found myself in the hair-care aisle.  Target has a great product selection, and I ended up buying two conditioners: VO5 Nourishing Oasis Honey & Almond, and Tresemme Vitamin B12 & Gelatin Anti-Breakage conditioner. I'm such a product junkie. 

But more happily, I actually had an intelligent conversation (if obsessing over conditioners counts as intelligent) about hair-care with my sister. She'd bought some John Frieda Brilliant Brunette a while ago mentioned how her friends actually thought her hair looked lighter. I told her how I'd heard the product didn't do much to darken hair, just enhance color (she's got lighter highlights), and then I told her how coffee is a good hair darkener. She seemed interested.  But really, I was just happy that she was actually listening to and respecting my ideas.

So that was my hair excitement for today. I hereby ban myself from buying any more hair products for the rest of the year! 

I went to J.C. Penny's last night, and within the span of 20 minutes spotted three women browsing around the women's section with past-waist-length hair.  One woman was Indian, one was Mexican, and one was Caucasian with lovely blonde hair. I've never seen so many long-haired ladies in such close proximity at one time. I felt quite at home. 


I think school stress is finally starting to get to me - I found my first white hair today while sitting in the parking lot at school. I plucked it out and examined it for a while, marvelling at its length and paleness. It seemed coarser than the rest of my hair. Interesting...I've been trying to imagine myself with long white hair, and just can't see it...I guess because I can't picture myself being old. Urgh, that's creepy...

Thanks cupcake.  And I'm really not worried about it; I'm only 17, after all, and I have a couple friends who were plucking out white hairs in junior high.

I'm jealous    I want snow!

It is snowing here today.  Not hard, and not a lot, but it does look pretty.  Hope it doesn't get too icy for tomorrow as I have to fly out to Colorado.

But I am happy to see the snow!   

Snow falling and sipping eggnog...yummmm!

It was 30 degrees here this morning; our first frost.  It doesn't snow often, but I so look forward to it!

strawberryfine

Bikerbraid,
Glad to hear you arrived safely.  Alot of people missed work on Monday since the roads were so slick.

I think I've finally found it - The Product that my hair just can't live without! Though it'll take a few more tries to really know for sure...I was browsing around my local organic foods store (looking for henna actually, but no luck in that department), when I discovered an all-natural, store-brand citrus conditioner. Considering my hair's dislike for most normal conditioners and love for more acidic products, it seemed like the perfect thing for me. So I COed with it yesterday, and my hair actually LIKED it! I do think I used a bit too much on my scalp, but overall it was a grand success. And cheap, too - only $1.99! 
They also had jojoba oil for a considerably good price - the first time I've ever found it anywhere - so I bought some of that too, and am absolutely loving it. My hair is so soft and shiny.
And then today I FINALLY bought a Boar Bristle Brush at the store while doing some grocery shopping. And on Saturday I got a pair of good cheap hairsticks that actually keep my hair up (just to tide me over until my LongLocks sticks arrive  ) and some all-natural, organic ACV, since my stepmom used up the last of what we had for cooking.  Now I have some just for myself.

So finally, I think I'm able to check off everything on my Hair Care Wish List - for the time being, at least.

I also went out tonight and collected some snow to melt for a rinse next time I wash. So, everything is good in the world of my hair.

Anais, just make sure to keep in mind when collecting the snow that water takes up much more space when frozen than as a liquid. I gathered about 3/4 a gallon of snow one morning, and by the end of the day had about 2 cups of water left. 

so ... no more zoo/ poop smell? cuze that one scared the hell out of me. can't imaine to smell like that for a week. 

Hehe! When I received my first LL hairsticks I also thought: "These are beautiful, but so short!" The truth is- they don't need to be a millimeter longer to hold hair. Now that I own more quality hairsticks, I've stopped using my cheap, long hairsticks altogether- the extra length feels just annoying, especially when my LL sticks still hold my hair much better.

Enjoy your sticks! They sound really gorgeous. 

I bought some new henna supplies while I was in Germany (I found 'em for pretty cheap), but now I'm stuck trying to decide when to actually use it on my hair. I could do it now, but I'm leaving on July 15 to volunteer at a camp in Colorado for a month. While I won't be getting real down and dirty, I'll be scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets and such, so I'll probably be washing more often and won't have time for giving extra care to freshly henna'd hair. I'll also be around strong cleaning chemicals and possibly swimming in the camp's chlorinated pool. Plus I'd like it to look a bit more fresh before I leave for college. I could do it after returning from camp; the problem there is that I only have four days between when I return and when I have to leave for school, so I'll probably be too frantic with that whole transition to put extra time and effort into the actual henna-ing process. Plus if I waited till then I wouldn't have much time for a strand test, and I don't know how red the stuff I bought will turn out...I want it to look fresh when I go to school, but not that fresh. And since dorm bathrooms aren't exactly the ideal place to henna one's hair, I don't have any other options.

I think I'm leaning more towards doing it now, but I could use a second opinion. What do you all think?

In other news, I'm going to try sock curling tonight, per Anais's instructions on her wonderful website.  I just showered (C-COW-C; again, thanks to Anais! My hair feels wonderful!) and am waiting for it hair to dry a bit more before putting it up, but I can't wait to see how it turns out!

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Well I'll be using my own towel, so that's not a problem - but good point...

The sock curling turned out pretty nicely, though I could definitely use some more practice. And next time I might try three or four sock curls, instead of just two.

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That's actually a pretty good idea...the only thing that worries me about henna-ing when I get back is that after I do it, I won't be washing my hair again until I get to college. And if this henna is anything like my last attempt, I'll be getting lots of color runnage for the first few washes, which I would have to deal with in dorm showers with my new towels (yet to be bought...). But then, I could always buy red towels, and dorm showers probably aren't the cleanest anyway...

I saw the movie Dark Water last night; not very good, and not very scary (not to mention the screaming 13-year-olds who made up most of the audience), but Camryn Manheim's hair was very nice, and I really liked Jennifer Connelly's funky braid 'do from the first half of the movie. I tried to do it on myself, but my hair's way too long; I did, however, come up with a pretty funky style:
-Start with two braids started at the top of the ears.
-Single knot the two braids at the back of the head, so they cross just above the nape of the neck.
-"Tie" the braids together two or three more times, depending on the length, building the knots on top of each other.
-Tuck in the ends and secure with bobby pins and/or hairsticks.

I really like the result; kind of "Italian peasant" (well, that's the first thing that came to mind). It's also very light - so much so that I was almost afraid at first that it'd come undone, but it stays very well. I really don't notice the weight of my hair at all. I think it needs a bit more practice to get it looking a bit neater, but all in all a successful 'do; very nice for lazing around or doing housework. 

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tsssssssssssss, i so loved the original japanese version though. but then again, some people hated the japanese version of the ring too ... ~¤ shakes head ¤~