Last night my hair was still damp when I wanted to go to sleep.  I am not yet sure if it was still damp because it has gotten colder this week and it usually takes twice as long for it to dry in the winter, or because of the CWC I tried last night.  When I had used Garnier (EVIL!!) for a while, my hair started feeling gummy and taking much longer to dry.  I did another CWC tonight, same as last night.  I combed my hair hoping that will help it to be dry before bedtime. 

I braided it to go to sleep and since it was damp, when I took it down this morning and combed it, it was huge!    It was also very nice and soft.  If my hair likes it and does not get icky feeling, I will probably stick with this method.

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LOL!  When I first switched to the curly girl cleansing method I also was paranoid about the smell and was always asking hubby to smell my head.  I don't use that method anymore since I'm using Louise Marie Longhairs' products but I remember that transition!

Congrats on your rapid growth!!!!

Last night I went without washing my hair.  And this morning I  only lasted about half an hour before I had to go wash it.   It felt greasy and I could smell my scalp!!  Ick!   Then I went to Whole Foods and spent about an hour buying it new presents to try!

The other lady who was shopping for shampoo terrified my poor hair!  Hers had black roots and was so white blonde that it looked like she had burned it off.  It was above her shoulders and looked crispy and scraggly.  It was not soft looking and just sort of stuck out all around.  If that was a style, it looked like she had cut it with the food processor.   It made my hair cry!! I had to comfort it and promise it I would never never ever never be so mean to it!

I picked up Aubrey organics Island Naturals Replenishing Shampoo and Conditioner.  Ironically enough, the lady with the scorched blender-hair was buying the same thing.  She told me they had been recommended to her for having no parabens or chemicals.  As I stared at her hair in horror, I wondered why she cared?  They are all natural, organic, vegan and not animal tested.  And they smell like allspice, mmmm!!  I can hardly wait to try them out, I wish I had had the self control to suffer through this morning's greasiness until I got home. 

I also bought some jojoba oil and rose water to try, since so many other people here like them.  I love rose water, but have never tried it on my hair til today.  It is simply divine! 

Later today I may go downtown to the Co-op to pick up more henna.  I am so excited that I actually need to use it and its only been 3 weeks since last time.  I just measured and there is half an inch of outgrowth showing. 

I think I will also go through my beads this weekend and make some bun covers.  Must have new accessories!

My hair has recovered from its shock yesterday.

This morning I mixed up a batch of half red and half blonde henna with strong chamomile tea and some olive oil.  I let it sit on the counter until it was cool, then applied it to my hair.  I used the new shampoo and conditioner.  My hair is really soft and it is strawberry blonde I wanted so I am very happy with it.

I spent about 2 hours yesterday beading a bun cover.  Now I will have some more hair jewelry to wear.  I had make it larger than the original pattern to hold all of my hair.

Yeah, I agree with Khrome.  Pictures please!

My hair is wet now, but requests noted!  I will take some pictures and post them. 

I like the new shampoo and conditioner so far.  My hair is very sleek and soft, the little flyaways are lying down and not being such a nuisance.  The shampoo smells strong when I am using it, but afterwards my hair smells just a bit like allspice and feels very clean.  It is drying very quickly.

Beautiful bun cover!

That's a really nice bun cover! You're hair is so nice, Sasha. It's like princess hair! 

Thank you all!

Lately I have been washing my hair daily with the Aubrey Organics.  This weekend my hair started to feel a bit heavy and gummy.  So I took a break and used some Trader Joe's shampoo I had in the cupboard.  When my hair dried it was really fly-away and kept tangling horribly til I put some oil on it.  Even that did not help much.  I washed it again the next day with the Aubrey again.  It is much more managable with the new shampoo.  I may need to take a break from it every week or so if it makes my hair sticky, but I will try something other than the Trader Joe's. 

And after a long weekend of experimentation, frustration, and beads shooting all over the bathroom.... I finally perfected the elastic portion of the bun cover!! Yay!   It takes a bit of practice to put on, but now that I have the hang of it is really simple.  Knowing the elastic is not about to break helps too!

Right now I am not happy with any of my hair care products.  The bathroom is full and none of them are working the way I think they should!

The Aubrey organics still makes my hair feel sticky.  I have been trying a vinegar rinse between shampoo and conditioner, but it is not removing all of the gunk.  Last night I used a lot of vinegar in the rinse and then got it in my eyes  ouch! 

I guess all I can do is keep trying new things until I get a combination that works.

hi sasha ,

you have such pretty hair. i really admire it.

caui

Last night I used the Suave clarifying shampoo and worked it all through the length of my hair.  It seems to have removed the last of the sticky feeling.  Now I will just have to use the normal suave or herbal essences for a few days and see if they feel any better over time than the Aubrey. 

If my hair starts to feel nice again on a regular basis, I want to start trying some new styles with it.  I am pretty much stuck in a rut of putting it in a bun or braiding a single braid when I want it up.  I used to be able to put it up in a French Twist, but it has been too long for that for years now.

Everyone else here seems to know how to do nifty alternate buns and things, so I will need to look around for instructions and at all the pictures.  Maybe I can figure out some of them too!  I really want to learn how to make the figure eight bun that Bikerbraid has in her icon.  I tried the other day, but I am not sure where it starts and mine fell apart right away.

I could not remember where my husband measured my hair from last time other than that it was somewhere on top of my head.  So I was unable to accurately measure if it has grown much since last time.  I know it has, I had half an inch of outgrowth to cover with henna a couple weeks ago.  At any rate, I measured from the front of my hairline to have a stationary point of origin and it is currently 37" from hairline to the ends.  I have approximately 6" to go to reach Classic length and about 18" to reach knee length.

So far I have been happy with my Herbal Essences.  Last night I read some posts about people liking Pantene also and I used to like that as well, so maybe I will try it again. 

But then I found the link to the 'Skin Deep' website and I am not sure what I want to use on my hair.  Untested, unlisted toxic ingredients scare me!! Maybe I will go back to Whole Foods and try a different Aubrey Organics product.  One that is not for dry hair. 

Aside from the scary info though, a good thing did come of spending too much time surfing last night.  I finally learned how to do a rope braid on my hair!! I was so excited when it did not just fall apart like my previous attempts.  So this morning I gathered up my pretty hair ribbons and silver pearl strands and rope braided it all into the hair.  I usually wear my hair up to keep it safe at work, but I had to braid it today.    I have been stuck in a rut of only wearing buns for months now, unless I wear it down.  Wearing it down for work though is not very safe as it tends to get caught in everything..the office chair, the headset for the phone. 

I like this new braid because it is simple to do on myself.  My hair is so long now that doing a regular braid is difficult if I want it in the middle of the back of my head.  If I do not care where it starts or if it is lumpy its no problem but lately if I want a neat, single braid my sweet hubby has to do it for me.  He is still asleep though, so this is a great braid!  Time to go to work.

After all the good reviews of Giovanni's Direct Leave in conditioner, I went out and bought a bottle to try.  I think I used too much though, because my hair feels built up on today.  Not much though, and it is very soft. 

I also bought a large bottle of rosewater since mine is nearly empty.  Then I found the best thing possible.  They had jojoba oil mixed with essentials.  They did not have a large selection and had no amber, but they had sandalwood!  I absolutely love sandalwood!  Today I am wearing it just as scent, but tonight I am going to try it on my hair.   The bottle has a little plastic spout inside the neck so I won't spill it all over, also.  Then I spent a long time reading all the hair & skin supplements and bought one to try.  I wonder how many months it will take to notice if there is any change?

Last night I spent a long time reading the Morrocco Method site.  I really liked everything I read there and cannot wait to try their products.  In fact, I am going to force myself to not buy any new products until I can just order theirs.  There are certainly enough bottles hanging out in the shower to keep me going a while!  They even carry them at my local Natural Foods Co-Op.

This weekend I sennaed my hair again, no henna this time.  I also tried Fia's smooth gelled teabag method.  The process is time consuming and I did not have my proportions right to actually wind up with something the consistancy of hair gel.  I do however have about a litre of thickish dye.  I plan to try thickening this with more pectin in smaller batches as I use it. 

I used it on my hair this sunday for about three hours.  It is fairly liquid so I soaked my hair with it, put on a shower cap and wrapped it in a towel.  I had some dripping but not as bad as the regular mud-pack of henna.  I think it looks much more gold now.  The red seems to be really faded out of the length now and it is shiny gold instead.  I really need to see it in the daylight later after the sun comes up.  And take more pictures!  I want to keep track of this dye experiment.  How long til I am all blonde again with no strawberry?

I had wanted to try the gelled mixture anyway, but the shower backed up on friday and hubby wanted to blame the henna.  Now he thinks it is just the yearly treeroot issue since the washing machine backed up also.   The landlord is coming to fix the drain today, but now I will know that my henna is not what is clogging the drain.  At least from here on out. 

I senna'd again on Saturday.  The length of my hair is definitely blonde again.  The top of my head is another story.  Still quite red.  My outgrowth though, is all golden from the senna.  I wonder if the red will ever fade?  Still have over a liter of dye in the fridge, so I will just keep on experimenting! 

My hair still likes the CWC and the hair wand.  It is so slippery and silky, I really like how it feels.  I am also getting used to getting it into a bun again now.  It still wants to untwist and the coils are much looser than in the past.  The bun still wants to come down, but it is staying put with one stick still also.   I want to try to pick up some aloe gel and try the suggestions that were made at keeping it in line.  I also want to try some of the recipes I have been finding for leave-ins etc.   That all may have to wait til after the holidays.

Hi Moonchild!

When I did my henna research, the name I found attached to what is usually called 'blonde henna' was senna.  I am not sure of the actual scientific name, but I am going with senna both because it is shorter to type than 'blonde henna' and because it does not imply that henna is capable of dyeing in a shade other than red.  Senna is a different but related (if I remember correctly) plant than henna which dyes a golden color.  It does not lighten hair, but bonds with it the same way henna does.  It makes my dark blonde hair a richer shade of gold plus has the conditioning and strengthening benefits of henna.

I love my microfiber towels too!  It really is amazing how much water they can suck up in a hurry.  Isn't it great when you get the gift you REALLY wanted?

Happy New Year!

hey Sasha

It's nice that your husband got you what you wanted.

Just a little question, can i get it only at a pet shop ??? ???

I am loving having my schedule back! My hair has been cooperating better at staying in its bun lately.  It seems to like the routine I am using now.  At this point I am using just a tiny bit of shampoo watered down in an empty shampoo bottle for the washing portion of my CWC and it seems to be working just fine.  My head does not feel itchy from not using enough or anything. 

Usually I leave my hair down to sleep since braiding and sleeping on it makes it huge when i take the braids out in the morning.   But the other night I noticed that when I laid my hair out to the side along the satin pillowcase that half of it was lying on the flannel sheets too.  I don't know why it did not occur to me sooner that my hair is much longer than a pillowcase.  Now I have to reasses my sleeping habits in regards to my hair.  I briefly considered a satin fitted sheet for the bed, but I dont want to slide right out and hit my head on the nightstand either.    Hmmm, what to do.

Since I now have Fridays free again, I want to spend some time trying other hairstyles.  Time to go to work!

lol Poor Sasha.

Just be glad that there isn't such a drastic difference between your natural haircolour and the artificial.
    I walked around with two-tone hair for a year or so after a horrible colouring accident. The bottom half was black and the top half was my natural light brown. Awkward! 

I feel very lucky that the color change on my hair is not that drastic.  But then that is why I was willing to try henna in the first place.  My hair does not like to hold onto red dye at all.  It has always been multishaded blonde anywhere from very dark ash to platinum sections. 

Since I have stopped using henna I have been using blonde henna and chamomile.  This is gradually fading out the red and bringing back the gold.  Right now, my darkest streaks are reddish but it looks like the naturally varied colors of hair so I don't really mind.  I actually kind of like it.  But wow that line around the crown had to go!  I just made sure to lemon juice the top right before my shower so it did not sit in my hair.  When it really starts to grow out more than a couple inches I think it will look more drastic, but by then I am hoping the red will be mostly faded away.

Yesterday was Day 2 of the Curly Girl Experiment.
I went ahead and used Sunday as my shampoo day since it is right before I go to work Monday.  I coated my length with conditioner and then massaged my scalp with the barest amount of shampoo.  I put a tiny bit on my hands and rubbed them together to make it lather, which it did but only a very little.  I just kept getting a bit more onto my finger tips from my palms as I worked my way around my head. 

After rinsing the shampoo I reconditioned the length as usual.  I squeezed and scrunched my hair in the microfiber towel.  When it was scrunched to my liking I misted it with aloe and scrunched just a bit more.  The waves seem to be a bit more separated and defined.  They are also starting to go all the way up to the crown of my head, whereas they usually start up a couple inches down.  The very front is the only place it has been waving right from the roots, and yesterday those locks of hair were spiralling from the roots down!

The thing I have not figured out is if she wants you to comb your hair at all.  I have been finger combing when dry, applying a bit of jojoba oil then combing it lightly to insure all tangles are gone.  Then I mist with Lavendar or Rose water to re-separate the waves. 

Today hair is very soft and feels very good.  My scalp is not itchy and so far, not greasy.  I wonder what will happen when I wash with conditioner for the rest of the week?

Friday night in SF hubby and I were walking and it was misting, not really raining.  My foot went right out from under me at the curb and I tried to catch myself since I was holding onto him.  All I succeeded in doing was yanking him down on top of me when I hit the pavement.     I landed on my right hip and elbow, he fell on me then over and landed on his left knee on the cobblestones.   We were both pretty shocked.  I think adrenaline is all that got us home that night because I ache all over now!  I never bruise but I have a gigantic black and purple bruise on my hip now and it really hurts!  Hubby says it is fist sized.  I feel like such a baby...

My girlfriend says it is a haematoma, which after her explanation is just a fancy word for a really bad, deep bruise.  So today I will sit at home with hubby and we will trade off use of the frozen peas.

The only fortunate thing is that we were at our LARP game and part of my winter 'costume' is this really heavy wool Russian greatcoat.  I could tell it cushioned me.  I hate to think what I would look like had it been June.  Kind of funny to think that as I was lying in the gutter in SF, all I was thinking was, 'OMG I broke a button!!!' And lying there staring at it gleaming in the streetlights.  Yes, I grabbed my button and hopefully can repair it.

Egad, Sasha...I hope you recover soon. Sounds like quite the nasty fall.  Lucky that you didn't chip any bones...your coat may well have saved you from it.

Thanks everyone.   I am feeling better, but sitting is still not so comfortable.  I am taking a big thick pillow to work with me tomorrow to sit on.    Even sleeping is a challenge since I can only really sleep on my back, or my right side for a little while due to injuring my back a couple times in the past.  And guess what? Right and back are where the bruise is!  Figures. 

Yesterday I continued the curly girl experiment.  Today my hair felt sort of limp.  It was very soft but felt a bit odd and I don't know quite how to describe it yet.  It might just be the start of too much build up from the conditioner.  I used conditioner only yesterday and today, just massaging my scalp under the water. I only put the conditioner on the length. 

It is pretty wavy, but not drastically moreso than  normal.  The difference I have noticed is that the waves go up higher on the crown of my head.  I think this is in part due to the microfiber towel though. I have been flipping my hair upside down and wrapping the towel around my head turban-style.  When I take it off, the roots are dry and have a lot of lift from being upside down and having no water to weigh them down. 

That's my best guess, anyway.  Still wondering:  To comb or not to comb, that is the question!  Hair looks kind of frizzy uncombed, but more waves soften a lot when I comb.  They mostly come back with spritzing but I keep trying to not comb and just finger-comb.  Then before I leave the house I break down and comb my hair.  Ah well, if I can get used to this washing routine maybe the combing question can be answered later.

hee hee - you've created a hair snob for a boyfriend! 

This marks Day 7 of the curly girl experiment.  Today I used the brown sugar scrub and just conditioned.  I pressed my hair in the microfiber towel and spritzed with aloe gel.  My 'gel' is actually a mixture of aloe gel and aloe juice to make a fine mist.  Then I scrunched my hair til I liked it and now it is finishing drying.

This morning I stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a very wide-toothed 'wet comb.'  I used it in the shower when I had the conditioner in my hair and it separated the waves nicely with no pulling.  My ends are making lovely long, loose spirals.  The two locks on either side of my face are also spiraling loosely. 

I went to Whole Foods for more Rosewater, and  picked up Lavendar water too.  I have a small bottle of Rosewater to keep in my bag now for while I am out or at work.  I love the scent and it's nice to just spritz it on my hair or face, very refreshing.

The arnica gel seems to be helping.  The first day I went back to work was agony after 5 minutes.  The second (first gel day) was somewhat better, but my whole thigh was aching.  Today it feels pretty good.  Although I must admit I can get more comfortable with pillows and such at home than I can at work.  My team was laughing with me at me carrying my pillow around everywhere.   

My girlfriend is teaching me to belly-dance, but we took a break for the holidays.  We are going to start back up in February.  But in the meantime, she has gotten 2 other friends involved.  One of them lives in a complex that has a gym which we can all use as long as we are with her.  AND there is a free yoga class we can all take as well!!  I am so excited about all this!  I have a hard time motivating myself to exercize alone so this is just perfect.   My Sundays are about to become quite busy! I actually have a yoga DVD but it really kicks my behind, I can only do a small fraction of what that lady manages.  It sure looks easy when she does it! 

And the best possible news is that I finally had my first review since graduation from the in-house training program.  I got 'Exceeds Expectations' on everything but the stuff you can only get 'Meets Expectations' on, like attendance.   It really made my day to know that I am doing well and they all really like me and my work!

Sending good vibes your way 

and I liked the story about your new "hair snob"

Yesterday my hair felt like it had conditioner built up on it for the first time since I began this experiment.  I am wondering though if it was just that I used too much aloe on my braid.  Hair still feels nice and soft.  Aloe gel makes the braid stay together better, it does not get so fuzzy over the course of the day. 

My coworker came over to my desk and told me she liked my hair braided like this.  Then proceeded to tell me how hers used to be waist length before she cut it short and how she dyed the silver but was thinking about whether she should stop or grow it out or what.  I have always thought her hair would be gorgeous if she would stop with the black dye.  Her roots come in this fabulous metallic-shining silvery white.  It is just the color I hope mine would turn someday! 

She was worried having white hair would make her look old!  I told her I thought only the Q-tip style would do that to someone.  All the long-haired ladies I have seen with silver hair look younger.  And she has a young face anyway, she does not look like her hair should be white.  But she said she has not cut it for a while, and it is back at her shoulders.   I really hope she lets it grow out silver!  She even asked if I thought she should have the color removed.  I told her not to damage her hair and that I thought it would look beautiful even if she just let it grow out like it is but to do what made her happy.  And I told her about the East Indian lady I saw when I was 5.

I can hardly wait to see her with long white hair!

Yesterday I forgot to take my pillow.  The bruise is fading but oh was I sorry!  My whole thigh aches if I have to sit in that hard chair.  NOT forgetting it today!!

I hope your hip gets better soon. 

I love silvery-white hair too!  I can only hope mine will get that way.  But judging from my aunts, I may have to settle for salt-n-pepper until at least 80..   

Cynde