Natural Hair

What is going on?!

Published October 10, 2011 | By K Leslie

What a wild, crazy, insane past couple of weeks this has been people. I had a temp job, got hired at a permanent job (as permanent as employment can be nowadays), and school is running me ragged. I am so tired people. So very, very tired.

The great news is that I am learning tons. I am applying skills that I have learned in my studies. I miss being able to blog more, but I really like having all the little extras that my income affords us.

In hair news, my braids lasted two weeks I think. They were still holding up great, but I wasn’t. I was an itchy wreck. Plus, I forgot my rat-tailed comb one day while at my new job, and was sneaking off to the bathroom to scratch my hair in private. If you know me, this is kind of a big deal. I hate bathrooms. I hate going to the bathroom (as a side note of TMI, I am chronically constipated and I do nothing about it because I’d rather not poo) and I hate listening to people go to the bathroom. It gives me the willies. I am sitting in there scratching my head, when a lady comes in beside me and starts… I don’t even want to get into it. Needless to say, that was the final straw, and the braids had to come out.

Even after only two weeks of no manipulation of my hair, I saw remarkable improvement on how it felt and how it handled. This has made me switch up my regimen just a little bit. The way I figure, the less manipulation I have, the better my hair looks and feels.

My New Regimen

1. Saturday/Sunday: Co-wash hair, blot dry, detangle, and apply leave-in. Seal with Belle Butters shea butter mixture. 2 strand twist hair. 2. Monday-Friday: Untwist in the morning, fluff, and go. In the evening re-twist, adding more Belle Butters if needed. 3. Once a Month: Shampoo scalp

I really think this will work for me. What about you? What works for you?

Me at work in the bathroom. Not the toilet part though, just the sinks.

Finally!

Published September 22, 2011 | By K Leslie

Well, I got my hair braided! I actually got it done on Saturday, however life (work, schoolwork) has not allowed me to blog about it until today. It was an awesome experience.

Sharael (the hair braider my beautician recommended) was super nice. She had to blow my hair out just a little so that my braids wouldn’t be fuzzy. Guys.. with my hair stretched, I am past the shoulder length area! That is the longest my hair has ever been. I don’t normally notice it because I usually have a lot of shrinkage. I kind of want to get my hair pressed now, to see how long it truly is.

Sharael was super gentle with my head, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Her and her friend were hysterical as well. I laughed so hard at that appointment, my stomach hurt. Hot nuts.. that is all I am going to say.

Anyway, I know you guys have been waiting, so here are the pics! The hairstyle was sort of inspired by Miss E on Facebook. She had twists in her head though, I just had braids. Though, Sharael told me that I could do cute protective two strand twists. I might go to her for those, because uh.. you guys know how I do on the two strand twists LOL.

I was going for cute and professional. When I get a chance I will take some closer up shots!

Protective Styles R Us

Published September 14, 2011 | By K Leslie

I have had it up to here with my hair.

Angry panda is ANGRY!!!!!

It doesn’t want to act right. It has been feeing bad and acting worse. I. HAVE. HAD. IT!!!!!

Don’t worry though, and don’t freak out. I am not getting a relaxer. Even though it is acting bat shit cray cray, I can deal with it and figure it out better than I did when I had a relaxer. With a relaxer, I would just walk around looking like ‘whodunnit and why’

No, no relaxer for me. Instead, I am scheduling an appointment soon to get my hair braided.

I was leary about getting my hair braided. I didn’t want to go to the African hairshop, and have them try to give me a permanent facelift with their tight braiding. I have also heard that they say nasty things to girls with natural hair.

I consulted with Cherilyn, my beautician (I don’t go to her often, but I consider her my beautician, because if I do go, she is the one I would go to) and she has a co-worker that braids and has natural hair. I figure she is the best (and safest) bet for me and my hair.

I still have yet to make an appointment, because between work and school I value what little free time I have. But you best believe it is going to be soon. SOON I SAY!!!! *SHAKES FIST OF ANGER*

I seriously think they are trying to kill me.

Published September 12, 2011 | By K Leslie

I just got finished with a gob of homework. I am still not finished. Meh.

Sad Dawson is sad.

So I started a new job this week. I wanted to start off on the right foot, so I two strand twisted my hair on Monday (Labor Day), so I would be rarin’ to go on Tuesday. Yeah, my hair did the same exact thing it did last week.

I was looking at my ends, and they don’t look all that great either. Some of the strands of hair are thick, until you get to the end, and then they are thinner. Not really sure that is normal. Let me show you what I mean.

Can you tell I didn’t turn down a full ride to art school?

So yes, not really certain what is going on with my hair. I think I am getting to the point where I seriously need a trim. Now to figure out how in the world to make time for said trim when I now work 40 hours a week and have 15 credit hours worth of classes.

Have you had any issues like this before? Have you seen hair like this before?

Hair Don’t

Published September 1, 2011 | By K Leslie

If you are following me on Facebook (and if you haven’t why aren’t you!? I am a nutcase!), you’ll know that yesterday my hair and I were having a battle of wills. The day prior to this issue, I had co-washed and detangled my hair. They I haphazardly two strand twisted my hair, and wore my hat to class (where I had a rage filled encounter with a boy I am calling ‘Spazzy Steve’. That is a story for another day though) so I wouldn’t have to deal with my hair the next day. I wasn’t planning anything, but it was nice to get the chore out of the way.

When I pulled into the school parking lot, I received a phone call about a job interview. I agreed to meet them the next day in the later morning. I was smugly patting myself on the back yet again for getting my hair under wraps.

Yesterday morning, I woke up sort of early, and got ready for my interview. I untwisted my hair…and was instantly terrified.

The terror felt like this.. and hey! I have a gap too!

I have a story to describe what my hair looked and felt like. From 2nd grade to 4th grade, I had a Jheri Curl. Look over to the right side tool bar. You see that picture that leads to my Amazon store? Yeah, that is my requisite Olan Mills photo from the 4th grade.

Anyway, It was time for a touch-up and my mom kept me out of school for part of the day to go get my hair done. I was looking crazy. The curls were gone and my hair was just all over the place. The lady that was to do my hair (in the salon) had apparently got drunk the night before, and forgot about the little girl she had waiting. So my mom took me home, put some activator on my head, and tried to make the best of a bad situation.

When I got to school, I was putting my coat in my cubby area when my oldest friend (she’s still around to this day) came out to get a drink, did a double take at me, pointed a finger, fell down laughing, and gasped out “You look like you stuck your finger in a light socket!” Thanks Jen… I won’t mention how as a freshmen, when your mom did other people’s hair, you would steal the left over weave and try to put it in your hair (oops!).

That is pretty much what I was dealing with yesterday. I had an hour before my interview (the place was like 15 minutes away, if that) and MY HAIR WOULD NOT LET ME BE GREAT!

I eventually put it in a puff, and it was okay for the most part, but it still looked a little odd.

When I got home from the interview, I took my hair out of the puff, took the dogs out, and settled into my ~~hovel~~ office to start on homework. But my hair was bothering me. I touched it, and I was shedding a lot and it was dry.

Back in 2010, on my regular Facebook, I apparently had a status up that said my hair looked like Fredrick Douglass’. I woke up this morning to a repeat of that.

Somebody please tell me why Frederick Douglass looks like an old Billy Dee Williams to me!?

Another user on the Facebook page was saying that she was having issues with dryness and shedding as well. It is just really weird because I have been using the same products with no issues at all, and this just happened.

Has this ever happened to you? What did you end up doing?

As for me, I am off to research some sort of deep conditioner, but my hair still feels dry as all get out. I want something I can slap on my hair, but the conditioning cap on and just let it sit for a couple of hours while I wrestle with systems analysis and design as well as Trig.

Hair Care Organization.

Published August 30, 2011 | By K Leslie

I know that there are some people out there, who THRIVE on organization. The container store is the epitome of excitement for them and they can’t watch hoarders. Kudos to them. I wish I had that kind of love for it.

For me, organization is a chore. A hard one at that. A friend once pointed out to me “You like to have everything you own in view.” I’ve come to realize this is true. But when you have to work at being organized, this is totally not a good thing. Stuff just ends up in piles.

Same with my hair supplies. I would love for it to be out on my bathroom counter, but there isn’t enough room. To top it all off, I rarely do my hair at the bathroom counter. I am usually in front of my computer or plunked down in front of the television watching ~~Toddlers and Tiara~~s something informative.

Clips, headbands, flowers, butters, gels, etc, it is a lot to keep track of. How do you do it? Me? I throw everything into a medium sized tote that has a lid. It makes sense to me because it is big enough to hold all of my stuff, but small enough that I can drag it where I need it. If I was going for super organized, I would band my clips together, get a smaller container for my flowers and headbands to place within the container, but…I’m not that organized. I take something out and I throw something in. It works for me!

So what do you do to keep organized?

Product Review- Honey and Oats Shampoo Bar

Published August 17, 2011 | By K Leslie

Good afternoon! After yesterday’s mini-rant, I am coming at you today with a product review.

Today’s review comes from the Etsy store Bobeam- Natural Products by Laquita. This is what she says about her shop:

Bobeam's specialty is shampoo bars made with all natural ingredients and they can be used on all hair types, including locs. The shampoo bars contain no SLS or SLES, detergents, surfactants, or sulfates. They are all-natural, 100% vegetable soap, non-comedogenic, hypo-allergenic and biodegradable. Feel free to check my ingredients on www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
Bobeam from the Ghanaian language Twi means 'the way it was created' and it characterizes all of the shop items - they are all handmade.

The product I am reviewing is the Honey and Oats Shampoo Bar

Taken from her Etsy store

This is what her shop says about this bar:

Pamper your hair with honey and oatmeal :o) This 4oz shampoo bar is made with oatmeal and honey, and will leave your hair super soft!
It's packed with honey and smells good enough to eat!
Oatmeal - There are several DIY oatmeal hair shampoo/rinses for your hair - here’s a way to use oatmeal without the mess or trial of rinsing it out of your hair.
There are traces of tiny grains of oatmeal in the bar which gently exfoliates your scalp and rinses away clean.
Honey adds shine and is a humectant, which means it holds moisture. It is a natural antiseptic full of antioxidants. It also provides softness and shine.
It is packed with vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sulphur, iron, zinc and vitamins B1, B2, B3, which aid in hair growth.
*Shampoo bars can be used as body soaps as well*
*Shampoo bars are unscented unless specified*

Packaging: This bar came in plain cardboard colored packaging. It was also wrapped in saran wrap, which I greatly appreciated.

First impression: No scent (On her site it tells you that unless it is stated, everything is unscented), which, I am not sure how I feel about this. I love pretty smells, but I understand the draw for people that are allergic to such things. I really like how this bar looks. It is layered with a solid layer, then an opaque layer.

First use: When I use solid shampoos (only kind I pretty much use now), I break off a piece and using a downward motion, I rub the shampoo on my hair. I would say this bar has a medium lather. I also used it instead of my normal body wash.

First use thoughts: My hair felt clean, and didn’t feel stripped. It cleared my hair of any buildup I had (and I had a lot; thanks a lot Cantu Shea Butter! *coughs*), and my hair felt good afterwards. It doesn’t really add any additional moisture to my hair, but retains what I have. My body felt good as well. My body (as well as my hair) dries out really easily, and this didn’t strip any moisture and make me feel as if I have scleroderma like some washes do.

Continued use thoughts: I like this shampoo, I like it so much, I threw out the bottle of stuff that I purchased a while ago (Skala I think it’s called). This works much better for me. Sometimes when I am rinsing my hair, shampoo gets in my mouth. With the Skala when it got in my mouth, it was this nasty chemical taste. Horrid. I don’t get that with this shampoo bar. Yay!

One thing I would want to see with this bar is maybe some sort of scent. That is just me though, I know there are people out there that would appreciate the fact that this has no scent to it.

Other than that, this is a good product. It lasts a long time, a little bit goes a long way, and it is good for both your body and hair.

A semi-fight on the Twitter

Published August 16, 2011 | By K Leslie

Note: I didn’t intend on having an entry today. I was going to wait until Wednesday. There is going to be one on Wednesday as well

This entry could also be entitled “I’m too old for this shit.”

I don’t use the actual Twitter application. I use a program called Hoot Suite. It allows me to have different streams that I don’t have to switch back and forth to view. The top ones that I show are my general stream, the hash tags for natural hair and the hash tags for Indianapolis.

I was reading yesterday when this little gem came through:

SHOUTOUT to all the Hoes claiming #TeamNatural because they can't AFFORD the REMY, ACRYLIC, LASHES, AND A HAIR STYLIST.

At first I just blinked. I was confused. I responded to the girl (not woman, GIRL) asking her why would anyone want all of that crap on? That is a ton of artifice. Even if you weren’t natural, that is a lot of stuff. If you met someone with that stuff on, and then took it off they wouldn’t recognize you.

Her response:

I'm guessing your a broke bitch

Um, no, I was just trying to figure out what the heck is going on in your head. I didn’t say much after that, just told her, no, I was not broke, nor a bitch,and I was trying to get into her head and understand the need for all of that.

Her response:

lmao why would u think I would consider explaining anything to u

Then she proceeded to poked fun at my AVI. She went on to say that maybe I should wear all of that.

Honestly? The child is 22 years old. Her twitter background is of her boobs and face with blond hair cascading down (she’s black) her back. It makes no difference what she thinks and what she does. But the fact of the matter that I got caught up in this nonsense, what does that say about me? And did I really get caught up in it? I wanted an honest and logical answer to where her thought processes were on this. Guess I am the stupid one for thinking that this bitch (and yes, she is a bitch) had home training or common sense (when she said she had to get back to work, I may have said she probably worked in the world’s oldest profession. She never said anything back, so she might not understand what I was inferring.)

From now on when I ask a question to someone on Twitter, I am going to look at their profile. If they have boobs all over the place, I’m just going to disregard. I’m too old for all this nonsense.

I made it myself

Hair styling attempt

Published August 3, 2011 | By K Leslie

Anyone that truly knows me in real life, knows that I should generally leave hair styling to the professionals. If it ain’t simple, it ain’t me. I am very creative, but when it comes to my hair sometimes, I. JUST. CAN’T. WIN.

But damn it all if I was going to let this stop me! No! I was going to give it a go!

I started by watching this video: