So far, I'm very satisfied with my sleep cap. If you order from Tenderheaded, be sure to choose the silk sleep cap. They offer also satin sleep caps that are much cheaper, but I've heard many people to complain that they are too small and tight.

And thanks for the warning! I didn't know that a nail could change its shape! I've worn a fabric plaster on my fingertip for the day, but have tried to let some air in it when I'm not doing much with my hands. It's already feeling better though, and seems to have started healing well. 

I am with you, aging is a good thing.  I am ordering my skin care products from Avalon organics. Sakina mentioned them to me one time when I was on the lookout for natural beauty care. I am very pleased with the results.

If there's one really nice thing about my appearance (while my hair is still "in process"), it's my skin. Even strangers compliment me about it, always asking what products I'm using. Truth? Whatever cleanser, some cream whenever I remember and a diet high in chocolate and Pepsi Max . Seriously, I've become pretty convinced that good skin just like good facial bones is more a matter of genes than anything else. Creams only affect to the topmost layer. Diet may have some influence- but I'm certainly not a living proof of that. And, in any case, in another 30 years most of its radiance will be gone. So, my only goal is to keep my skin somewhat moisturized.
   I'll check if I find Avalon Organics products from internet. That's not a brand I've ever heard of so I probably can't obtain it locally.

But, back to hair, since I'm more fond of things "in process". Today's been a pretty rough day- certain events have reminded me and T once again of the fact that our relationship is still in crisis, though there has been some progress. To cheer myself up (and to hide dirty hair) I made a French braid and tied it with a turquoise ribbon, and a while ago, after I had done today's chores I quickly washed it and applied a generous dose of Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment. At this time of year, it can't hurt, and I need some pampering.

Sleep cap works wonderfully. I've decided that the most comfortable way to wear it is to put my hair in a low ponytail with elastics, then put the cap on and secure it with two snap clips. My hair is now completely tangle- and dustfree in the morning. Good buy!

Health: I couldn't resist weighing myself this morning. A nice surprise: since beginning of the month, I've lost 2 kilos. Though my meal plan is more lenient than what I'm used to in diet time, it seems to be working. I thought that half a kilo per week rate would be good, so I'm not setting any goal for rest of the month- I'll just continue to eat what the list in the fridge door says and will be happy whether or not I lose more weight. 

Thanks for encourgement! 

Election Day

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/ap/20060114/113729322000.html

Yahoo News has noticed the entertainment our presidential elections this year provides. LOL. I and T have already voted, and now we're just waiting for the evening when counting the votes will start. Right now, according to polls, Halonen has over 50% support- but on the other hand, amount of voters who were unsure yesterday was still exceptionally high. Everyone is excited to see, whether Halonen will be voted for second term on first round, or whether we'll have to go to vote on second round. So, for people interested in politics like me (blame my brainwashing in Uni  ), it's going to be an exciting evening. I and T have prepared finger foods and will stay awake until the result of election is clear. 

Hair: The effects of Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment were much less dramatic, but my hair is feeling great. Only problem is, that it's super slippery- even elastics start sliding after a while. After trying three other styles, I've finally ended up with my old remedy- cinnabun with SpiralStix (Spring Daisy).

T tried yesterday washing his hair with CV bars for the first time. He's quite happy with the result, and I think his hair is softer than with his regular stuff (Body Shop's Of a Man body wash/shampoo for men). 

Thanks for the tip.

Mamacat has returned to Ebay!  Unfortunately, her absence from there has created a big hairtoy deprivation among longhairs: at the moment, there's a pair that costs $47 and two others she has aren't coming far behind. I guess I'll wait a good while before bidding- however wonderful her hairsticks are, I just can't bring myself to pay nearly $50 on something that cost me well under $20 just a few months ago. Though the Agatewood pair is drop-dead gorgeous...

Hair: Hair is still very slippery, but also very beautiful. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I suddenly realized that now it's exactly the length of which I dreamed when I first started to grow. I suppose I've reached a goal of a kind, though my idea of good length has changed during this journey. Neverthless, there's no denying that this length looks good on me and is also good for many updo styles. If I one day discover that there's such a thing as "too long for me", I might cut back to this length, but I doubt that I'll ever want to go shorter than this. 
    As I had to visit my mentor in Helsinki today, I just went with foolproof cinnabun (that shows first signs of lumpiness...the Stage is nearing!) with hairsticks (Dragonfly Dreams). I'd gone with a French twist, but temperature has dropped again to readings that say "must wear the bonnet!".

Work: I presented my doctor's thesis disposition to my mentor today. He liked it a lot, in fact, so I don't have to work with it any more. Hooray! Now I can concentrate just in the hard task of finding a grant to start my investigations on. I'm really happy about my disposition getting such a good feedback- the idea of creating a whole new philosophical theory as Doctor's thesis still sounds crazy to my ears. But, my Master's thesis wasn't much less crazy, so maybe I'm just that way.

Presidential Elections: To my disappointment, Halonen got "only" 46.3% of votes, and there will be a second round of elections, now just two candidates. Her challenger is one of most annoying politicians of this country- a right wing candidate who represents faithfully nearly every idea I'm against. On the first round he was 18% behind Halonen, but other right wing and center parties have regrouped behind him pretty fast. I'm preparing to vote and to buy more cheese for another exciting evening...

It's cold! Temperature has dropped to -15 C (5 F )+ windy, and forecast says that it will drop well below -20 (-4 F) during the end of the week. I'll freeze! Ironically, the positive thing is, that we finally had a chance to clean our freeze comfortably as we could just put the foods from there to balcony- the temperature outside was the same  . I'm glad I had scheduled everything that required going to Helsinki (that's by the sea and twice as windy as where I live) to beginning of this week. Besides walking to grocery store, I don't have to stick my nose outside. All I need to do is to sit here and prepare the documents I need to attach my grant applications. Small comforts count!

Bonnet works still relatively well. I wore it yesterday, and it still seemed to keep back of my head warm. With a hood, I was able to cover also my forehead (it was so windy) and was comfortable. I guess I can now finally declare, that bonnet works through Finnish winter, though as I thought, on coldest few days a bit extra is necessary. 

Hair:Yesterday was hair washing day. This time I washed my hair with Honey Beer & Egg SB. I reasoned that in this weather, it needs some extra nourishment.
In general, I'm very happy with the condition of my hair right now. It's in GREAT shape. It looks healthy and happy. Of course, it has been that way for a long time, but I think that sometimes it's good to say it aloud and enjoy it. After all, so many people feel most of the time that they need to "do something" about their hair. I believe that happiness usually requires ability to rejoice of little everyday joys, and today, having a great hair is one of them. I've decorated my bun today with Seafoam Bloom hairsticks- somehow crisp, glittery seafoam green suits the mood of a cold winter day perfectly.

Health: Winter Fast is still going well. My skin is very dry- I've had to resort to my shea body butter. Neverthless, when I was shaving yesterday (first time for weeks), I managed to scratch myself- my skin is in such a shape that I probably better forget shaving for a while again. However, it's much better than last winter. It's not itching, and the shaving scratch is the only one I have. Sounds strange, but plain hot water feels more drying than CV soaps, so I'm washing myself extra thoroughly with soap these days.

The weather is supposed to get milder by tomorrow- I'm waiting for that. Meanwhile, I did yesterday Winter Hair Food treatment with my regular wash. My hair ended up having one oily spot, so I'll have to wash it again later today, but for most part, it just looks strong and happy. Not overconditioned at all in spite of weekly deep treatments. Which probably tells something about winters around here...

I did a split end check yesterday, and found just two baby splits. The progress I've made in split end front is just unbelievable. In the beginning of my hair journey I wouldn't ever have believed that it would be possible to have so few splits. 

As I have that oily spot in the usual place, choosing style was easy- cinnabun with hairsticks (Silver Sphere Spiralstix).

Today I was in Helsinki, which meant, among other things, some shopping. I bought myself new claw clips- I found some that were both hair friendly and cheap, and also some new make up products. I don't wear much make up (on home days, I usually have nothing), and so I discovered a couple of days ago that many of my products had gone bad.
   I also bought my Winter Exchange present, and plan to send it this week. It was surprisingly difficult to put together- there weren't much nice red things around. Apparently, red is not fashionable...

Hair: Weather has warmed a little (relatively speaking, of course) and I have been able to go out wearing only earmuffs. Which has meant some variety with hairstyle. For dentist appt I wore just a plain French braid, and for rest of the day I changed it to a claw clip. Can you tell I'm excited about being able to wear claw clips again?

Health: Today was dentist appointment, and next is scheduled for Thursday morning. I'm still mad at student healthcare...