Countdown: 1 day until my birthday

1 day! My family is coming down to Richmond tomorrow for a sermon my cousin is doing at her church. I am going with them, and then we're going to eat somewhere. They're going to leave pretty early though, which is good so that I can finish my Biology essay and study for my tests tomorrow. Yes t-e-s-t-s, on my birthday. I start class at 11a and won't be done until 5ish. :(

Well I have to go do my hair and hope it's dry by 10am.

P.S. *drumroll* IT'S NOVEMBER!!!!

Random fact: November is my favorite month.

• I LOVE November weather
• and the trees changing colors
• and the leaves
  f
  a
  l
  l
  i
  n
  g

• Thanksgiving (I am a self-proclaimed fatty) MAJOR GRUBBING
• My birthday!!
• It just makes me happy all around.

Haircut update!

I have been trimming for a couple days when I feel the need (I'm done though) and I have pictures of my hair right after the cut, and after I straightened it.

Pre-haircut

The back pre-haircut

Pre-cut

Pre-cut

Post-cut straightened.

Roots (henna does wonders!)

Post-cut straightened

The back post-cut straightened

Post-cut straightened

The back post-cut straightened

Who knew I could get my hair this healthy on my own without a perm?

Post-Henna BnC

The henna continues to do wonders for my hair. I don't have the frizz, flat, or crunchiness problem, and have discovered a perfect formula for my hair. It includes

• EVCO for my roots and scalp
• Cantu Shea Butter to seal my ends
• Cantu leave-in conditioner for moisture

This produced the best hold, shine, and moisture. My I am on 3rd day hair and it will have to last until Tuesday (I will freshen with water and more EVCO on Sunday night). I have to say that I LOVE my haircut. I got a compliment the other day from a woman at the bus stop. It was the first compliment I have gotten when wearing a style that works well with my transitioning hair. It so low maintenance and I am a lazy person so that works well. All I have done the last couple nights is a pineapple bun, and since the back pieces are short I pin them up. Pictures!

Rollers

Rollers

Rollers

I let it sit for a while like this because it wasn't really dry and I had to leave.

This is right after I took out the braids without fluffing and pulling.

This is right after I took out the braids without fluffing and pulling.

This is after some fluffing, but no pulling.

This is after some fluffing, but no pulling.

This is after pulling the curls in the front and in the back to make it more even. I made the mistake of parting in the center in the back of my head so it turned into a frizztown back there. I like how it looked though, good frizz!

More curl pulling, you can see the front is a bit more frizzy.

This was achieved after A LOT of fluffing and pulling. The middle part barely shows though.

After fluffing and pulling, another side view.

This is how I chose to wear my hair, I pulled a bit too much in the front, so I pulled it back with a flower clip from H&M and a couple pins to make sure it stayed.

Bout to go partying for Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!

This is my french maid costume. I was NOT going to wear heels like last year.

This is my 3 day old BnC.

My roommate was a vampire (hence the blood). I love the blood tears we put on her face like in True Blood (I am an addict). I did a braid out on her hair, but it was frizzy cause it's 80% humidity here, it didn't full dry, and she isn't natural. She has about the same amount of new growth as me and usually wears tree braids.

Hand in Curls disease

I have a severe ailment. I can't keep my hands out of my curls they are starting to frizz (good frizz, so I don't mind) from constant fluffing and grabbing. But the curls are just so soft and fluffy and they bounce and smell like cocunut, orchids, and lavender.

I can't wait until I can step up to HIF disease (hand in fro!)

Countdown: 5 days until my birthday!

Title is explanatory of the post. My birthday is in 5 days. I turn 19. I have 4 classes (4+ hours of classes) on my birthday :(. But I will be costume partying it up this weekend for my birthday weekend (french maid). I asked for:

• a backup hard drive for my computer
• a guitar
• Alternative Press Magazine
• Vanity Fair Magazine
• A hood dryer (hehe)
• Speakers
• Flip Video Camera
• Bike

So I hope my less expensive (due to the economy) inquiries can be fulfilled

Hmm. . . . Peculiar.

I find myself wanting my hair to be curly right now. I straightened it Monday night after I cut it while it was curly, to clean the cuts up and make it more even (I still find myself looking in the mirror and trimming and more importantly not having a problem with it. One step closer to BCing!!!). And it was 88% humidity in R,VA this morning so I looked like a frizz bucket after a 15 minute walk to class. I keep thinking if I had done a braid-n-curl, or a rollerset the frizz would be positive as opposed to negative.

(Death Star Pumpkin carving)

So I think I will be doing a braid-n-curl for the Halloween festivities. I will be a French Maid again this year. I just wish I had a feather duster and a lace headband and belt to add to it. As of now I only have the dress, stockings, wristlets (I have a feeling that's not a word, but you get what I'm saying right?), and shoes. I want to try some sort of up-do because I know I will be sweatin' on the dance floor. haha.

I'm gonna post pics of my haircut straight later today.

Long Overdue Haircut. Accompanied by tears

Yes I cut my hair. Not exactly a BC, but I took off 4 1/2 inches. 5 in some places (yikes) but I wanted the hair to fall nice curly not just straight and my ends are a mess. Even henna and DTs couldn't fix them. I have NEVER cut my hair before so this is a big step towards my BC. So here is my reactionary video *yikes* lol.

And here are my reactionary pictures (it's OK to laugh at. . . no. . . with me)

Henna Wash-out Method and Results

Three words can sum up my henna experience: I. Love. Henna. My new growth is showing more of the effects of henna, but my relaxed ends are so thick, smooth and healthy. Rinsing it out was , for lack of a better word, a messy experience.

This is the morning after the henna application. I had the henna in from 6pm to 11am.

My method to wash it out took quite a long time, but was very effective.

First, I soaked my head in the tub because some of the henna around my hairline and the nape of my neck had dried. I found that too messy (the water turned completely greenish-brown in 30 seconds) so I stood up to shower only to discover that shower made my hair splatter henna the all over the walls and tub. I advise that, while kneeling, you run your head under the tub faucet until the water leaving your hair is only slightly greenish brown. If you have a detachable shower head you should still stay low or the henna will spray everywhere.

Second, I let the water rinse through my hair for about 5 minutes and then apply two full handfuls of conditioner. I used Aussie Moist and HE Hello Hydration. After the conditioner was applied from root to tip I parted my hair into two sections and ran my hair under the water for a moment than massaged my scalp until the conditioner foamed (it foams light brown, when it's supposed to be white). I made the mistake of not scratching through my scalp (lightly, mind you) the first time so I had to go back and shampoo after I had DCed and co-washed 3-4 times because when I parted my hair after towel drying the henna was still on my scalp.

Third, I DCed with Lustraslik Olive Oil Hair Mayonnaise, and Lustrasilk Cholesterol deep conditioning cream. I saturated my hair with the product and then let it sit on my hair for 2 1/2 hours. I would have let it sit longer, but I was getting impatient and my hair takes FOREVER and a day to dry. When I rinsed out the DC I had to shampoo again, like I said before, so I put HE Hello Hydration on again for about 10 mins in the shower and rinsed with cold water.

At that point my hair was henna free and moisturized. I do agree with others who say henna dries your hair out, cause it did mine.

Finally, I french twist-braided my hair (see the video in the post below) and I can already see the difference in my hair and it's 80% dry. It's so shiny! I will definitely henna again next month.

Until next time: A penguin high five explosion!

French Twist-Braid how to video

I have got to come up with a better name. I did this after I washed out my henna.

I just hennaed!

Let me clarify, cause that verb is insane looking: I just applied henna about 2 hours ago so my head feels really heavy and floppy. My skin is pretty light, so I hope it doesn't stain.

I have pictures:

I used the Curly Nikki's method, only I added lemon juice.

Supplies needed:

• HENNA!
  I bought my 2008 summer crop Jamila henna for $6 ($5 shipping) from mehandi.com. It shipped in 1-2 days.
• Green tea.
  I used Twinings Green Tea, because it was cheap and I don't mind using on my hair because it tastes bitter. (Fact: Rooibos tea is my favorite to drink)
• a container with a lid.
  Make sure is is big enough for you to stir without making a mess. When mixing the henna it can make a mess if you're not careful.
• a disposable spoon.
  I used a plastic spoon which made it difficult to stir, so I would advise using a cheap metal spoon.
  
• a measuring cup.
  you will need around 2 cups of water for 100g depending on the consistency you want it.
  
• honey.
• lemon juice (optional)
• measuring spoons.
  I winged it because I am a poor ole' college student and don't have any. :P
• plastic/latex gloves.
  mehandi.com sells gloves, but I bought some latex gloves from Krogers for about $1. I was afraid that the gloves would snag my hair at first, but they worked well and can be used again.
• plastic shower cap.
  I bought a pack of 15 for a dollar from Walmart.
• newspaper or a plastic bag.
  this is for covering your counter or floor. I used both; Newspaper for the floor and plastic for my counter/table. I took a plastic bag and cut out the shape of the counter or sink I was using before I applied it.

Steps I took:

1. I heated up 2 cups of water in a pot until there were bubbles covering the bottom and starting to run up the sides.
2. I put the heated water into the measuring cup and added 3 bags of Twinings Green Tea.
3. I let the tea steep for 5-6 minutes while stirring and blowing on it to cool it down. I then took the tea bags out and put the tea in the fridge for about 5 minutes to cool it more quickly.
4. I put the henna powder into the container and poured the tea in and began to stir. I started by pouring half a cup of tea and mixing that as well as possible. Then I poured about a tablespoon of tea at a time and would mix until the mix resembled mashed potatoes.
5. I kept stirring until there were no dry spots and less lumps. I covered the henna and went to wash my hair.
6. I put down the newspaper and plastic and then hopped into the shower.
7. My intentions were to co-wash, but I felt like there was too much residue on my hair so I used my South of France Shea Butter soap bar ( again, i love that thing tremendously). What I did was strange. I ended up half co-washing with HE Hello Hydration then rinsing out the conditioner and shampooing, and then applying HE Totally Twister and Aussie Moist conditioner for 4 mins at a time twice. It made detangling very easy.
8. After getting out of the shower I took a towel and squeezed the dripping ends with a towel.
9. I split my hair into 2 sections by parting from ear to ear and clipped the top half of the hair.
10. I added 6-8 teaspoons of honey and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice (rough measurements, remember?) to my henna mixture and stirred until it was the consistency of yogurt. Note: my mixture had clumps in it, but for the most part was like thick yogurt. That was after mixing for 5 minutes (doesn't sound like a long time, but when mixing vigorously it feels like an eternity to your arm!).
11. I donned my latex gloves and an old wifebeater. I suggest wearing old and non-cherished clothes because if you can't tell by the below picture, it can get messy if you aren't careful.
12. I split the mixture in half (with the spoon just drew a line down the middle) and started glopping it on the back section. I started in the center and worked outwards, then I glopped it on my ends upwards. I also made sure to get my edges (that part ended up really messy and all over my face, neck and back. After the back was done I unclipped the top half and flopped the hair forward and glopped. then I pushed the hair back and glopped and smoothed. after the hair closest to my head was covered I used the rest of the henna to make sure the my ends and the body of my hair were covered. (I love my verb usage in the step (glop, plop, flop lol)
13. I twisted the extended end of my hair not slicked down by henna in a circular motion and smooshed it to the top of my head and covered my hair with a shower cap.
14. I used a damp washcloth to wipe the henna off of my face, arms, neck, and back (I'm a mess lol) And that's it for now.

I will do the steps to my rinse tomorrow. I have a funeral of a classmate (R.I.P. Bernard) to go to tomorrow at 11a, so I don't know how I will fit in rinsing and deep conditioning. I think I may just put a beanie over my shower cap and call it a day.

On another note, I went to the grocery store to get my meds and some other stuff today and found this gem:

This. stuff. is. AMAZING!!! , although quite the money suck ($10 for 16 oz.). It's called EfaGold Coconut Oil. The ingredients are. . . not are, the ingredient is organic extra virgin coconut oil. It is lovely. You put a little flake on your skin and within seconds it melts into a light oil that smells just like a coconut. JUST like a coconut and isn't too heavy or greasy. I am curious to see how with the incoming cold weather it will look on my hair.

The listed uses are:

Supplement: take 1 tablespoon 1-4 times daily. May be used as a spread (delicious on toast!) or added to salad dressings & smoothies (I will most certainly try this with my usual strawberry-banana or mango-pineapple smoothies. Most likely on the latter. Reminds me of Pina Colada-ness)

For cooking: Use in place of butter, margarine, shortening, or other cooking oils for baking or frying in temperatures up to 350 degrees F.

For skin care: Use as a moisturizing lotion. Place jar in warm water to liquefy, then massage small amounts onto skin.

For hair {:D} care: Use as a conditioner. Place jar in warm water to liquefy, then apply 2 teaspoons to hair 1-2 hours before washing.

I like their recommendations, but I think I will just use it on toast and my hair. ( <--this made me laugh)

While at the store the weather was iffy and when I left it was pouring rain and the wind blew my umbrella to pieces. So I got to the store like this after taking out my french twist braid out

And I got home like this (soaking wet lol)

Rinsing results tomorrow! ( I can't wait to see the results)