38. Spring 2011 - My Faves

From my favorite Spring 2011 Collections....

Fendi 

Alexander McQueen

Versace

I love the bold colors of Fendi, McQueen's fantastic whimsey, and the lines of Versace's dresses.....

Ahhhhh... Spring has sprung...

34. Misadventures continued...

After the Yes to Carrots, I found a trial size of the Giovanni Tea Tree Conditioner.  I'd read good things about it, and it was $2.00 - of course I bought it.
I applied it the way I usually apply my leave in... Nickel sized amount - sealed with olive oil.  Two ponytails and a scarf later I found myself unimpressed.  Blah even.  My hair felt a bit drier than usual, and I haven't used it since.  Maybe I'll try it again later as just a rinse out... but until then it'll just sit on the shelf.

And then there was my experience with Shea Moisture and some product mixing that left me utterly devastated.

This is how it began...
After about two months I was out of Yes to Cucumbers.  It was sad.  I was putting water in the bottle and shaking up to evacuate the teensy bit that was left.  It was pathetic.  And it wasn't like I was being lazy or anything - the Target near me never had any, and I was going to this Target once or twice a week.  In a last hurrah effort I thought I'd hit the jackpot and they finally had it in stock. I rushed to pay for it and went home to do my hair only to realize that I'd actually purchased the body wash (those bottles look waaaaay too similar).  I returned the next day to exchange only to realize that the only reason I'd picked up the wrong bottle was they mis-racked the products and didn't actually have the conditioner, just the shampoo and body wash... grrr.
Well I needed a leave in and found myself face to face with "the Shelf."  You know that shelf popping up in all the Targets with the Miss Jessie's, Curlz, Kinky Curly, and Shea Moisture products.
In my mind I'd narrowed it down to Curlz and Shea Moisture 'cause, let's face it - I'm cheap, and I'm totally okay with that.  From there Shea Moisture just seemed more economically friendly, but I'm not too fond of the strength of the smell of the Coconut Hibiscus.  So I thought I was doomed, until I realized the Raw Shea Restorative Conditioner (which I previously thought to be lotion because they have basically the exact same packaging, but I digress).  I read the label that said it could be used as a rinse out or leave-in and thought it sounded like just what I was looking for - short of being Yes to Cucumbers, that is.  So I paid the extra dollar  and went home and went to town.

Day 1.  I co-washed with Tressemme Naturals and detangled my hair, got out of the shower and applied about 2 pumps of the Shea Moisture and sealed with coconut oil (I hadn't really been using the olive oil... smelling like pasta all night was starting to get to me).  I tied my hair up and went to bed.  When I woke up, initailly my hair felt soft, but as the day went on it began to dry out.

Day 2.  Same routine, but I tried mixing it with the Yes to Carrots I had left - still no luck.  I also purchased some grape seed oil (well more like a grape seed oil cocktail) which I used... but, like I said, no difference.

Day 3. I remembered reading that coconut oil also had conditioning properties so I had this brilliant idea to put on the coconut and grape seed oil first and then the Shea Moisture when I considered the amount of Shea Butter in the product.  This went okay.  I was appeased at least until I could get some more YTC.

Fast forward to Spring Break.
Long story short I needed to wash my hair (shea butter builds up) and I decided, idiotically, that I would be okay if I didn't have the Tressemme Naturals.  There was some Cream of Nature at my house - the new one, in the ugly orange bottle [insert straight face here].  That ish jacked my hair up.  I went to the Target at home and bought some YTC and Jane Carter leave-in (which I'll talk about later) and that wasn't enough.  I could not wait to get back to Charleston to clarify and deep condition.  My hair was frizzy, dry and gross no matter how much coconut oil and conditioner I put in it after using that crap.

Luckily upon returning to Charleston I was able to fix it... Ironically I read this article the next day. [Elle's got a GREAT blog, bt-dubbs]  The solutions she posted were pretty much what I did (I guess great minds think alike), but I chose yogurt for my protein treatment.

I hope I'm not going on and on... and if I am, no worries - I'm done, for now. Lol.

32. The Last 3 Months...

So today I checked my blog views for the first time - apparently more people look at this thing than I thought.
When I saw that I realized the likelihood that someone was gaining something from my blog.  And to that someone - I am sorry.  I have neglected you; please forgive me.
And so, on this day I, me, vow to turn over a new leaf, and will attempt to no longer neglect sharing my thoughts with whoever will listen.

With that said - I will now chronicle the past 3 months (thanks to cell phone timestamps they'll pretty much be in order!)

Beginning with the rest of January:

I blew my hair out... I wanted to try something new.  It ended up being a #fail for the most part, the styling that is... The blow out itself was interesting

after my failed attempted at a flat twist-out on my blow dried hair this became...

this.

Fast forward to the end of December and, while on "Winter Holiday," I decided no more silicones, mineral oil, or other things deemed "junk".  So I woefully gave my half unused, 25 oz. bottle of Hello Hydration to my little sister and purchased some Yes to Cucumbers and Tressemme Naturals (the moisturizing one) at ULTA. [I also got some Physician's Formula Gel Eyeliner.  Two words: SO COOL!]  I already had some VO5 clarifying shampoo back in Charleston and I was okay with that.

Dropping the 'cones and "junk" has actually served me well.  At this point shea and olive oil were still mainstays in my arsenal and I was cool.  Soft and quite fluffy.

I wore this funky little number for a good bit of the break...

I returned to Charleston in early January and came across this video... I didn't so much mind the shrinkiness of my hair... It was more so the fact that the back and sides would shrink up but not the top - so I would basically never wear my hair down - It just looked off to me... That is until I came across this YouTube video.  I tried it a couple different ways and have pretty much settled on two low ponytails instead of full on French braids and a scarf. Resulting in 

So basically I was wetting my hair to varying degrees basically every night.  The routine was clarify when my scalp was itchy.  Use the Tressemme Naturals when I needed to detangle/cowash.  I decided the fairly thin consistency of the YTC lent itself to being more of a moisturizer and I seal with olive oil.

So besides this the only thing that's really changed was after going on a wild goose chase for coconut oil (Walmart was out - can you believe that?!) I haven't replaced my olive oil use - I'd just say I've supplemented it.  Trying to find a balance.

The end of February/beginning of March brought a few other changes:

• I've pretty much dropped shea butter as far as my hair is concerned unless I want some weight.
• I've been experimenting with yogurt as a deep treatment (and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find full fat yogurt in this day and age!)

I've tried a couple other products - nothing has really tickled my fancy to make me change up things.  And I'm happy to say I've only had one real "hair nightmare."  But that's another story for another time - my fingers hurt.  Enjoy these last few pictures.

28. Sir you just hit a nerve...

So last night I was at this house party looking real cute , I might add in my day old twist out with lace head band accessory - lol.  Being the social floater that I am I was saying hey to people and stuff... you know - the usual.  I was saying hey to this guy, and he says to me "So I see you're doing the Erykah Badu thing."

ERRRRRRRR! *Jamie Foxx Voice*

Flag on the Play!

I'm getting annoyed just remembering this ish!

"Excuse me?!"
"You're hair..."
"Erykah Badu had a platinum blond mohawk..."
"I mean I like the natural styles and all...."

So apparently this was supposed to be a compliment.  And that's fine (I guess).  But what I am unable to understand is why 1. I must be attempting to emulate someone since I changed my hair - I've never really been good at that.  and 2. Why does it have to be Erykah Badu [my hair doesn't even look like hers]?!

Don't get me wrong, I love Erykah Badu's music and she is definitely and individual, but she's a bit eccentric for my taste (and by eccentric I mean just a lil crazy).  And that's fine - for her, but I'm gonna pass on that style icon for inspiration.  Not to mention her fro was a wig.

Anywho.... I was just a slightly offended by what it sounded like he was implying and simply responded, "No, this is just my hair."  I can appreciate the compliment for what it was worth, but maybe some people should consider the context of their words before they speak...

26. Don't trust the media...

So today I was web browsing and came across this photo...

Notice anything strange...?

Well if you don't I'll give you a little nudge in the right direction. Same cover. Different faces.
It appears that Beyonce's face was photo shopped onto Alessandra Ambrosio's body.  Same body position the exact same hands. Some contouring so Beyonce looked a little wider in the hip area but really...?! Do I look like Boo Boo da Fool?! Shame.  Flag on the play. It's like the Vanity Fair skin lightening scandal all over again. But what really gets my goat...

1. Who in the heck said Beyonce is who all Black women aspire to be?!  Yes she's young and successful and doing quite well for herself.  But as the media portrays her [and yes I am a staunch proponent of "reality is perception] she's not a very nice person - just left her girls in the wind to do her solo thing - and she's not that personable - I'm not a big fan of the majority of her interviews.  So when marketing to us who gave the okay for it to be all about Beyonce... I mean ok, better her than some people [Rihanna's crazy, suicidal behind], but is she really what our half of Black culture can most easily be whittled down to? But I digress...

2. If it is indeed the case that Beyonce is what we aspire to be why is the media so quick to try to alter her appearance.  I've seen her nose changed, her skin changed, her hips changed... etc.  She got popular and famous being Beyonce.  Men fell in love with the thick chick doing the "Uh oh" dance and chicks were tryna get "Bootylicious" after she wrote that song.  So why try to change her?  She got famous looking the way she actually [and I use that term loosely... lol] looks.

Between butt and hip silicone injections/implants, pads to make your booty pop, and tanning beds - I'm gonna go with Beyonce is just fine the way she is.  No skin lightening, hip contouring, waist slimming or face transplanting necessary...

23. And I'm Back...

So clearly I've been a little slack... but I think I've snapped out of it... so here I go....

Hair UPDATE!!!

by day...

by night...

This is successful flat twist out #2.  And clearly I have decided to stop being soooo fricken lazy and actually style my hair.  Mostly due to the fact that since it's getting colder I'm showering at night now which means I [co]wash my hair its at night.  And for those of you on the kinkier side of curly, you know that sleeping = flattening = smushed hair.  Not cute.  I've also decided that I really don't want to cowash as much right now and possibly do some experiments with stretching (at this length, protective stying isn't quite for me).

I did another flat twist out when I visited DC and got second day hair... Pretty Awesome! But sorry no pictures...

I was also able to do my first real twist out... It came out really well and lasted for 3 days - but alas, still no pictures... So slack. I know. I will do better.

I actually washed, deep conditioned and twisted my hair yesterday so I will definitely take pictures this time.

22. Hair Stuff

So if you hadn't noticed, my one-picture-per-day-to-track-progress method didn't so much work out.  Between the move, bad lighting, and technical difficulties (including, but not limited to, not having Internet for a month) the original plan kinda fell through... but I do have some pictures courtesy of Facebook as well as my Blackberry.  Lol.

I promise I will try to do better..... as soon as I get some batteries for my camera.

Yes there's a tattoo in my ear....

Pre Club

Only successful [flat] twist out!

Most days the puff is enough... lol.

12. Inspiration of the Day

Yep.... a natural Barbie.

10. Okay... I'm ready to talk...

It's been a few days and now I'm ready...

So this is how it happened.  It was Thursday night.  I decided to forgo the antics of the previous two weeks and stay in.  I washed my hair.  I was trying to employ the baggy method and just watching tv.  I was also having mixed emotions about boy issues, but I'll save that for another time.  I was almost asleep and at 2 a.m. started getting texts from friends about how much fun they'd had going out as well as a, less than sober, late night visit from the bff who "didn't feel like walking up the stairs" - but I digress.  Anywho, all my friends were home safely and I couldn't sleep, still thinking about "boy stuff."

My head was starting to itch and I decided to remove the plastic cap, but my hair felt funny.  Not soft and fluffy, not like the last time I'd done this.  When I went in the bathroom to look in the mirror, my hair looked dreaded.  It was tangled and it felt dry.  I was not happy.  On top of the fact that I was already thinking too hard I thought to myself, "Something's gotta give."

I looked and random pieces and snipped a few.  I'd done this before; no big deal - or so I thought.  But this time was different.  This time I didn't stop.  It was 4 am and I was doing it.  This was it - the BIG CHOP.  What actually happened was after the first few little random snips, I grabbed this huge section at my crown the length of my fingers, and I cut it. I dropped the hair in the sink and just stared at it in awe.  Limp and lifeless in the sink was my hair.  A big, fat chunk of my hair.  I felt amazing and terrified all at the same time.  Amazing because I was finally doing something I'd talked about for months.  Terrified because my hair hadn't been this short since like 10th grade.  Then I cried.  'Twas brief.  I thought I was going crazy.  I felt like my motives weren't right.  Then again maybe it was the push I needed.  At any rate it was done, nothing else to do at that point.

The one thing I couldn't do just yet though was cut my bangs, I pinned them out of the way.  Partially because I was afraid to eff it up.  Partially because I have always reserved the option to hide behind my hair.

Two hours later and the length of my hair was in the sink and I was back in the shower washing and conditioning.  I told a few friends and was mostly met by congratulations.  My only real reservation was the fact that that evening I'd be going home... and I'd have to face my mother.

My Facebook status simply read: "my mom is so gonna kill me..."

(I decided to cut the bangs last night.)

4. Life's funny like that.....

Today just may be the day that has made the last 9 1/2 months totally worth it.

I was awakened this morning by a phone call informing me that I was late for work (not my fault there was a time miscommunication, but I digress).  I didn't have time to do anything but brush my teeth.  Yesterday I wore my hair out all day to some compliments and some not-so-compliments, but you win some you lose some.  Last night I just kinda pineappled it all on top of my head to keep it out of my face while I slept.  Well that's also exactly how I walked out of the house this morning.  Not my most attractive moment in my eyes.

At work, I sit at a desk for countless hours making sure summer guests and residents are legit and happy.  Well in the last two hours I got two hair compliments!  They both kinda caught me off guard.  On a day that I feel mediocre, at best, two girls, on different occasions, asked me if I did my hair myself, and then proceeded to tell me it looked nice.  It was just one of those unexpected things that make make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

It reminded me of my former waitressing experiences.  Where I worked people tipped for two reasons - respect and attraction.  I worked as a waitress in a "topless dance club" I think is the PC term... lol.  In general, speedy service and physical appearance are what make you money in that environment.  But today I couldn't help but reminisce about the few times I felt much less that beautiful and some slightly less that sober middle aged man telling me I was the prettiest girl in the whole place.  Given the atmosphere I took all compliments (and criticisms) with a grain of salt, but when you feel like you're less that peek, its nice to have someone tell you otherwise, even if only halfheartedly (esp if you can't tell the  difference... lol).

Just one of those unexpected things that makes you feel good I guess...