Protecting what is mine

Hola everybody. Yes, I know, I know, I've been a tad quiet this month, but do not despair, I am still here, and not going anywhere. Just wanted to give y'all a little bit of an update regarding the Longing 4 Length Protective Styling Challenge that I've been participating in. So far, so good. It is hella hot here in the Nams, and the protective styling is assisting me in more ways than one, namely HAIR OUT OF MY NECK! It's too dang hot to even consider wearing ones' hair out. Also, the humidity is also ridiculous (without the rain  yet though. Lord please, pour your blessings down upon us!) so one can't even CONSIDER wearing one's hair straight because reversion is inevitable, especially at 10 weeks post, let's not even talk about my edges. 

Regardless, I've been a very good girl so far regarding the challenge - deep conditioned twice this month, wore my hair pinned up or tucked in or rolled up every day and NO HEAT, roller setting religiously. Just a quick indication of what I've been doing so far style wise:

The picture quality sucks, I know. And not extremely creative yet. But don't despair, I am focusing my positive energies and a new camera is on the horizon! Regardless, I'm feeling pretty confident about my retention with the protective styling, I am however still worried about shedding and breakage. I am EXTREMELY  gentle when handling my hair and still I see WAY to many white bulbed hairs in my hands on wash day. I have been doing tea rinses but they're not doing the job. I'm going to start trying garlic infused oils and see what happens. Also, I am very tempted to relax this weekend at 11 weeks post. The crown of my head is becoming a real hassle to deal with. I've observed that my hair truly does grow faster during the summer months BUT it also sheds more (I find that very ironic) because my new growth is out of control! I'll make a final decision as the weekend rolls around. 

I must mention that during the challenge we get a seven day allowance for wearing our hair out. I am planning to use the first of my seven tomorrow. My friend Ashantè is having her birthday party "The resurrection of her 21st" tomorrow and the theme is "Create you own Super Hero"  I am planning to to go as "Exaggeration Girl" and therefore need BIG hair, and thus will be wearing my hair out. From Friday onwards I shall be back in my EZ comb or pin ups. In the meantime though - BRING ON THE PARTY!!!

And there you have it. Anybody else looking forward to anything special? Have a happy hump day everybody!

PS: And here are some pics from the super Hero party. As y'all can see, I ended up slapping on a faux pony, so protective styling for the win!

                    

What a weekend!

The new week is upon us and again we need to put our noses to the grind stone for the next five days. This past weekend though has left me with some awesome memories. Specifically, I tried something new and although it was a bit of a hair raising experience, it had a positive outcome. One of my oldest friends and her new husband were bound to leave our sunny country for wintry Denmark yesterday, where he is from and where they will be living their lives. Prior to their departure they had a little farewell party where her husband introduced us to a Swedish delicacy, of which the main ingredient was fermented herring. Yeah, it sounds horrible, and when you open the can of fish, it hits you with the smell of a thousand mermaid farts. But it ended up tasting MUCH better than it smelled. On a piece of melba toast, you layer the fish, a piece of boiled potato, a couple of slices of red onion and a dollop of cream cheese, and then you chow it down. The combination of tastes and textures work very well together and I ended up having FOUR servings! 

Prior to the farewell party, I had my wash day and I think it was a success, although I still lost more hair than what I'm comfortable with. I'm nine weeks post and I don't know if I'll make it to a full 12 week stretch. I might just cave in at ten weeks. In any event, quick recap of my wash day:

• Prepoo with ORS Olive Oil Hair Masque. I really do love jars. I finished the Masque and was able to scrape out the very last drops. Due to it being so thick I again sprayed my hair with my water and conditioner mix as I applied the masque. I tried to handle my hair as gently as possible. Wrapped my hair in a plastic cap and watched an episode of 2 Broke Girls. 
• Shampooed with ORS Creamy aloe Shampoo. I LOVE how this shampoo makes my hair feel, although I can't use it too much due to it's chelating properties. 
• Used my Protein Feed Moisturizing Conditioner as instant conditioner, detangling in the process. Even though I'm only nine weeks, my new growth feels insane! Which is another reason I might cave to relax sooner than planned. 
• Did a black tea rinse, using 2 tea bags and mixing in some cinnamon. I didn't rinse the tea immediately afterwards. 
• Deep conditioned with my beloved ORS Replenishing Conditioner, applying it on top of the tea that was still in my hair. Wrapped my hair up in a the plastic cap and bonnet and DC's for almost an hour. Rinsed the conditioner and tea simultaneously and my hair felt awesome. I wrapped it up in a T-shirt for about 5-10 minutes to soak up the excess water. 
• Applied my usual leave ins of Avon 3D and Bone Strait and proceeded to rollerset, spritzing my hair with my water and conditioner mix as I went along. Let my hair air dry in the roller and then pinned it up in a off to the side roll, and off I went to the party. 

It's only been my first tea rinse, so I'll see during the course of the week what my shedding situation looks like. The cinnamon was perhaps not the brightest idea, but it did impart a lovely shine to my hair, the different high and low lights shining nicely in the sun. I need to get a moisturizing deep conditioner as soon as possible. Although I LOVE my Replenishing Conditioner, I do not need my hair to experience a protein over load again. So, that's my mission for the next week - find a nice MOISTURIZING deep conditioner with which to alternate my protein DC. 

How was everybody else's weekend? Hang on to the memories y'all. Have a good week everybody!

Closure...and wash day frustrations

I think it truly is a great moment when one realizes that a certain chapter of your life can be officially closed. It's that moment of clarity, of starting to know exactly what you want and what you don't want. They say an old flame never truly dies. I say that "they" are wrong. This past weekend I experienced closure after spending time with someone from my past. It was both a revelation and a relief when I realized that the spark is gone, and to be honest, he wasn't even that big a part of my history, but if I didn't spend time with him again, I think I always would have wondered. It gave me peace regarding the other, bigger parts of my history. If I can achieve such comforting and final closure in this instance, then surely I can achieve it with another, and I pray that one day soon I'll be able to send him light and love and move on, closing the book on what today I still regard as a bit of nuclear meltdown. Regardless, I am happy knowing that I can achieve closure and have a much clearer view of myself and what I want and what I need. 

In other news, I am charging full steam ahead in the protective styling challenge. Today specifically I'm wearing my hair pinned up in a 50's inspired fashion, trying my best to have every end tucked away. I must say, since I have bangs, I need to find protective styles that also tuck away and protect the ends of my bangs as well, without me looking like a 15 year old girl. Also, I am going to attempt to manipulate my hair as little as possible during the extent of this challenge, as I'm still experiencing breakage and shedding to a degree that I am not comfortable with. Yesterday was wash day, and with the amount of hair I lost, even though I was being sooooooo very gentle, I wanted to scream. Quick recap of wash day:

• Pre-poo and deep conditioned simultaneously, using the ORS Masque. It's extremely thick and has practically NO slip, so as I applied it, I also sprayed my hair with my water and conditioner spritz mix. That helped me to distribute the masque more evenly and gave it much more slip, so detangling was much easier and I lost very little hair in this process. I covered my hair with a plastic cap and a cotton scarf to try and trap as much heat as possible and sat with it for about an hour.
• Shampooed with Protein Feed Moisturizing Shampoo, focusing on my roots and letting the runoff take care of the ends. 
• Conditioned with the Protein Feed Moisturizing Conditioner, detangling my hair, being as gentle as possible. Experienced more shedding than I'm comfortable with. Seriously contemplating incorporating more tea rinses into my regimen. 
• Rinsed and then applied my ORS Replenishing Conditioner. I swear, this is a true staple. I absolutely LOVE it. My hair always feels great when I use it, whether I condition with it for an hour or for ten minutes. Yesterday, I kept it on for ten minutes and my hair still felt amazing after rinsing it. I will ALWAYS have it in my hair care arsenal. 
• Put in my leave in's of Avon 3D Rescue and Bone Strait and proceeded to roller set. I had to spritz it continuously as my hair dried very quickly due to the heat we've been experiencing. I left my hair to air dry whilst in the rollers, which took less than three hours. After removing the rollers, I put in some Kair Serum and combed my hair into a pony, tucking the ends into the scrunchie and went out to do some errands. When I went to bed, I simply wrapped my hair with my satin scarf and bonnet, as it still felt moisturized enough and I thought additional moisturizing would superfluous.  

 Okay, maybe that recap wasn't that quick, lol. In any event, I am looking forward to finding new ways to protect my hair and to retain length. I'm 8 weeks post now and I want to see a clear improvement in retention by the time of my next touch up. I am kicking everything into high gear now. 2013 is a new year and nothing's gonna break my stride. 

Have a good week everyone!

The Longing4Length Protective Styling Challenge

Here we go people. 2013 is upon us and I have decided to join in on Ebony's Protective Styling Challenge. My hair clearly DOES NOT like the summer. I have been experiencing breakage and shedding and I am truly hoping that this challenge will help me kick start my retention. I'm STILL not at full shoulder length and therefore shall be using my last length check photo as my starting pic as I have literally made NO progress since then, and thus I am very sad. At the same time I am SUPER motivated.

So here's where I am right now:

Here are the rules for the challenge: 

• A protective style for purposes of this challenge is defined as any style in which your ends are not exposed or touching your clothing.  Buns, updos, french braids, french rolls, etc all count.
• You may only wear your hair down for 7 days throughout the entire three months total!  Whether you choose to do one week, a couple of weekends or not at all – you only have a 7 day allowance.
• Only one direct heat pass but try not to use it at all!
• Protective styles means your ends must be hidden, so half up/half down ‘dos don’t count!
• Must deep condition your hair at least two times per month.
• You are not excluding from using fake hair – wigs, weaves, extensions, crochet braids, etc.

And there you have it. I am planing to braid up my hair soon, perhaps even within the next week so as to help me KEEP MY HANDS OUT OF MY HAIR. I am hoping to have a VERY swanging head of hair after this 3 month challenge and also find new and innovative and cute ways to protective style my hair which would benefit it most. 

Anyone else joining a challenge or two?

I need a vacation!

And I'm not kidding. I'm so tired, I truly don't know what to do with myself. Nor do I know what to do with my hair, it's so sad. And right now the summer heat is NOT helping. 

Since I've done nothing cute or exciting, I'll just quickly run through my last wash day, which was on Sunday. 

I woke up feeling like doing NOTHING at all. I've got mono at the moment, and am perpetually tired, so when I decided that I need to wash my hair I simply jumped in the shower, skipping the pre-poo step. I washed my hair with ORS Creamy Aloe shampoo as I felt that it would help with my hair's porosity and since I wanted my hair to feel close to squeaky clean. It sure as hell did that job! What I also love about this shampoo is that although my hair felt almost stripped, it didn't feel dry or hard or tangled. I then used the last bit of my Pantene Sleek and Smooth Conditioner as instant conditioner and then detangled, which was a breeze. After I rinsed and got out of the shower I wrapped an old T-shirt around my hair for about ten minutes till it was more damp than wet and then applied a generous amount of ORS Replenishing Conditioner to deep condition my hair. I covered it with a plastic shower cap and a cotton scarf to trap as much heat as possible while the conditioner did its job. At this stage I felt so tired, I put on my PJ's and got into bed, deep conditioning overnight. The next morning when I rinsed my hair it felt like BUTTER. I applied my normal leave in's (Avon 3D Rescue and Bone Strait) and proceeded to roller set. Due to lack of time I couldn't have my hair air dry in the rollers and thus blasted it with the cool air setting on my blow dryer. Once dry, I removed the rollers and my hair felt so freaking smooth and soft and bouncy. Once again due to fatigue and lack of time I simply pulled it into a little ponytail and then out the door I went. 

Since then my hair has stayed in the ponytail holder (no metal, very soft) and I simply moisturized and sealed every night using my usual moisture spritz and coconut oil. Today my hair still feels ridiculously soft, but a little weighted down. since I'm only about 3 weeks post, so I might do a quick wash tonight as I LOVE the feeling of clean hair. If the laziness  fatigue overwhelms me though, I might leave the washing, will just have to wait and see. 

And there you go darlings. A very quick wash day update. 

Objects of desire - Santa, pay attention!!

I am having the worst case of holiday brain. And with a case of holiday brain comes a case of seeing things and wanting them BADLY. And one such object of desire I encountered this morning, and then I realised that I have quite a wish list actually. now, Santa, if you're listening, I have been a good girl this year, and I feel I deserve some of these things. Yes, some I'll work out myself how to get, that's how life works. Others I wish would simply appear at my doorstep! Guess I should visualizing intensely and they miht just appear on my doorstep!

Well, let's hop to it. I have two lists - objects of desire for me and my life, and objects of desire for my hair. 

Objects of desire for me and my life:

• An E-book reader. I am a avid reader, but if I want to read the way I used to, I would be spending pot loads of money at CNA and Bookden and I would barely eat. Now if I got myself a Kindle or another e-book reader, I could have thousands of books at my fingertips at any given time. Santa, take note!!!

• The entire Platinum range of PlayStation 2 games, as I have lost quite a few due to being robbed and as collateral damage at the end of my last relationship. I would like my game collection to return to the former status quo. 

• In that same vein, an Xbox 360 and LOADS of games to go with it. If I had my way I would own every console with all my favorite games of each. Right now console wise, the Xbox is my object of desire. 

• A new digital camera. I have had two cameras stolen from me, so I am praying that nr 3 stays put whenever I get her, and I really pray that I get her soon. 

• A nice fat shopping voucher to one of my favorite clothing stores - I need a new SUMMER  wardrobe. I have been wearing the same little summer dress for the past 3 or 4 consecutive weekends. A change is as good as a holiday and I need new clothes! 

• And lastly, a new external hard drive, at least 500gig. I have SO many movies and series stored on my laptop and current hard drives and I want so much more, and I have MANY friends who are willing to share what they have. All I need, is the space. 

Objects of desire for my hair:

• A hooded drier. I can step up my game regarding deep conditioning and treatments and drying my hair using indirect heat to a whole new level with one of these babies.

• A hair steamer. After reading on sooooooo many other ladies' blogs of the benefits of a steamer, I can't help but drool at the thought of one. 

• Other types of rollers - mesh, perm rods, flexi rods. Now that my hair is so much longer than ever before I want to be able to experiment more and be creative, but one needs the correct tools. 

     

• Pretty 100% silk scarves, and satin bedding. 

   

Well, there you have it folks. As you can see, the second list is short, but that's because I feel that once I perfect my regimen and streamline my product choices that these items will give me a BIG boost. Regarding the first list, I'm already salivating at the thought of any of those items in my hands. 

Anybody been good with lists for Santa?

So I went swimming...

and it was absolutely awesome! 

I have holiday brain to a huge degree already and lounging in a pool for most of the past Saturday just made it worse. But it was so much fun and I can't wait for the next pool day.

Which brings me to my poor tresses. On Saturday, prior to plunging into the water, I was rocking my first braid out. i didn't come out THAT great, but it looked okay and I got complimented, so I will definitely try it again. Of course, after a few hours of just floating around on the inflatables (and a few Jagers!) I jumped in the pool, fully emerging myself and beautiful braid out all gone. No regrets, the water was too freaking awesome. The next day however...

After our swim I took a shower, washing and conditioning my hair using Tresseme products, honestly, the specific variants I can't remember right now. My hair FELT fine afterwards, so I simply let it hang loose and let it airdry while we barbecued. My the time I got home I was so exhausted I simply crawled into bed and that was the mistake of the weekend. The next day I woke up with this massive POUF of hair on my head, and I realised that I can NEVER just climb into bed with a damp head of hair. It needs to be dry and smooth and WRAPPED in satin before I dare get under the covers.

To remedy my faux pas, I detangled using my usual moisture spritz, first finger combing then going through with a wide tooth comb. I was VERY lucky. Even though my had looked disastrous, I lost very little hair. After detangling (which took FOREVER) I decided to prepoo using a cheapie Pro-Vitene Conditioner that  had on hand, diligently applying it little section by little section. After all of that it was night time and so i decided to rather put a plastic cap over my head, cover that with a cotton scarf and go to bed.

The next morning I washed my hair with my Repair and Nourish shampoo and conditioned my hair in the shower using a combination of Pantene Sleek and Smooth conditioner and ORS Olive Oil Intensive Treatment Masque for about 5-10 minutes. After I rinsed my hair felt ten thousand times better than the previous afternoon. I blotted my hair dry with a t-shirt, applied my usual leave-ins of Avon 3D Rescue and Bone Strait and proceeded to rollerset. I dried by hair with my blow dryer using the cold air setting, and after removing the rollers applied a bit of ORS Glossing Polisher Serum before putting it up with an EZ comb and headed out to work. My hair felt smooth and soft and I felt generally happy with it. Until the afternoon when I realised my ends look a little off. So I moisturized it using a combination of my usual spritz (water, cheapie conditioner, glycerin) and ORS Olive Oil Moisturizing Lotion, sealing with the ORS serum. Before bed I wrapped my hair and this morning they felt SO soft and nourished. For the sake of low manipulation I pulled it into a cute little ponytail with my bangs out and went on my merry way.

This coming Saturday it's the birthday party of my godson, which will also be next to and probably in a pool. In preparation for that I think that I am simply going to bun my hair for the day (no trying out new styles!) and if I am going into the pool, slather my hair in conditioner, bun it up again and only THEN venture into the water. I want my summer to be as painless as possible when it comes to my hair care whilst still enjoying it as much as possible.

Does anyone have any special "rescue methods" that they use on their hair in similar summer/pool/seaside situations??

Anyhoo, have a great week folks. And remember, just because we all have holiday brain, doesn't mean it's the holidays yet. Suck it up people, just a little bit to go!

What works for others....

...won't necessarily work for me

A review - CoN Argan Oil Deep Conditioner

I am truly coming to the conclusion that certain products simply do not work for me the way they work for others. so many women have raved about the Cream of Nature Argan Oil Deep Conditioner packet, claiming how it leaves their hair soft and how it has lots of slip. Well this past wash day I decided to deep condition with exactly that. I washed with Clicks Repair and Nourish Shampoo, instant conditioned and detangled with Pantene Smooth and Sleek Conditioner and then applied the CoN on my hair after towel drying it lightly. 

There was quite a bit of slip as I applied it. The conditioner is not very thick and doesn't feel as rich as ORS Replenishing Pak. The fragrance was very subtle and it seemed as if my hair soaked in the conditioner. The whole packet just barely covered all my hair, so someone with longer hair should purchase two. I left the DC on with a plastic cap over it, which I then covered with a scarf and a silk bonnet, trying to trap as much heat as possible as I do not own a hooded dryer or heating cap. I let it sit like that for a good hour before jumping back in the shower...and this is where my disappointment starts. 

As I was rinsing the conditioner, my hair started feeling weird. I don't quite know how to describe it. It felt rough to the touch and as if it was not detangled at all, it felt as if the length of the hair was matting together. I detangled once more with the Pantene Conditioner and even then my hair did not end up feeling smooth, and my hair is freshly relaxed. So, yes, it felt very wrong. 

I put in my usual leave ins - Avon 3D Rescue and Bone Strait and proceeded to roller set. During the process of roller setting I tried to be as gentle as possible as it felt as if my hair suddenly became brittle. After the roller set I let it air dry for about an hour before blasting it with the hairdryer on the cold setting. After removing the rollers my hair felt smooth, but my ends felt terribly dry and thus I decided to dust it. I took off very little, literally less than 1/2 a cm, but it made a difference in how my hair and specifically my ends looked and felt. 

At the end of the day I am starting to really know what my hair likes. When it comes to those packets of deep conditioners (and the market is FULL of them) my hair loves the ORS Replenishing Pak and I'm going to stick to it and stop experimenting with the rest. My product junkie days may soon be over. 

Very close to claiming SL.

This past Friday I relaxed my hair at 12 weeks post. I think I'm going to not stretch longer than 12 weeks, which also means that my projected next touch up would be on the 8th of February. I used the ORS Olive Oil No Lye Relaxer kit Regular strength. My BSS was out of stock of the kit for girls, which is the one I prefer, but I thought it would be best then to stick to the ORS brand, and honestly I'm not disappointed. For the most part. 

The process - I based my scalp with petroleum jelly. The kit does not contain a scalp protector, which the girls kit does. Secondly, I covered my previously relaxed hair with Pro-Vitene Conditioner,  cheapie conditioner I picked up at Clicks, since the regular kit doesn't contain a product for that either, which the girls' kit does contain. (Get where I'm going with this??? Kit for Girls is BETTER!) Then started applying the mixed relaxer to my new growth with the help of a friend. We started in the middle of my head as I have experienced some breakage around my nape and wanted to avoid that area being over processed. The nape and hairline received relaxer last. 

Even though my scalp was thickly based, we had to work pretty fast. This regular strength is still quite a bit stronger than the Girls' formula and my scalp is pretty sensitive. Application and smoothing in total I think took about 15 minutes and then I immediately got up to rinse. Hair was still relaxed nice and straight, I also think that parts that were slightly under-processed previously were corrected by the chemical run-off as it now feels like I have a uniform relaxed texture again. I rinsed and shampooed with the supplied packet of Creamy Aloe Shampoo. I HATE not neutralizing with a colour indicator neutralizing shampoo, as I'm never sure then whether I neutralized correctly. To make sure of that, by the time I applied the shampoo for the third time, I left it sitting on my hair for a good 10 minutes, after which I rinsed and shampooed at least another two times. Of course I loved the provided Replenishing Pak, deep conditioning with it for a good half an hour. After rinsing that i applied my usual leave in of 3D Rescue and Bone Strait lotion, roller set, dry and straighten with a single heat pass as I wanted to do an official length check. 

My hair felt soft and smooth and straight and I'm generally happy with the results. My ends feel pretty dry though and I'm going to pamper them for the next few weeks so as to soften and nourish them as I do not want to lose any of my progress which I am pretty happy with, and I feel that I am super close to claiming full  shoulder length. 

Sorry lovelies, picture quality is sucky as always but I think it's clear enough to see the progress I've made so far. 

The V of my hair touching the top of my tattoo.  I think it's officially the longest my hair has ever been in my adult life.

Still very much in layers, not quite SL yet, but I can practically taste it!

My last official length check will be on the 31st of December 2012. We have 6 weeks to go until then and I am planning to protective style, moisturize and generally pamper and baby my hair for the next 6 weeks so as to retain every millimeter of growth, and I think I should be able to attain at least 1-2 cm of growth during that time. I love having longer hair and I love that my hair is in such a better condition than it was when I started this journey. I love that I haven't had any major setbacks so far and I pray that it stays that way. Considering where I was when I started, so far I am pretty happy. 

PS I'm thinking of trying a few more available relaxers in the coming year. So far I'm pretty satisfied with ORS, and I've used Dark & Lovely most of my life, but just maybe what is PERFECT for me is something else completely...I'll make a final decision on that in February 2013. 

Breaking Dawn: Part 2 - My review

Yesterday myself and a group of friends all got together to go see the final installment of the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn: Part 2. I have always been a Twilight fan, of both the books and the films. I find it slightly disconcerting and definitely annoying when people compare it to the Harry Potter series or the Hunger Games trilogy, especially comparing the lead female characters. In my mind one must regard each story on its own and not compare apples to oranges. 

That said, I did enjoy the film, specifically with regard to some of the visual effects, such as Bella's first impression of the world around her as a new born vampire, the sharpness of her senses. In my opinion it was brought across quite beautifully. I also think that Kristen Stewart might have felt more comfortable in the role of a new vampiric Bella, she portrayed the character with more life than the annoying mouth breathing that we've come to experience in the previous installments. Bella was also more emotive, although I think the impression of Stewart as a cold fish may just stick for quite a few years to come, unless she finds herself a few comedies and fast. 

SPOILER ALERT: The most impressive scene in my mind was the fight between the Cullens and their friends, including the wolves, and the Volturi. The scene evoked many emotions in the viewer, the greatest one I think being disbelief. The scene was also quite sufficient in making this "chick flick" a little bit more guy friendly for the guys who're taking their girlfriends to see it. The fight does not however end quite the way one would think. 

In my opinion the book to film adaptation was more than adequate; certain elements were portrayed very well, others not so much. The human element of the story was skated over, whilst in the book Stephanie Meyer focused more on the emotions that ran through the characters due to the intense developments - Bella as a new born, Renesme's development, Jacob's imprinting, Aro's desire to acquire the "Cullen" treasures. They focused so much on the visual aspects that they forgot a little that essentially at the end of the day the Twilight stories are less about the fantastical and more about a love surviving and thriving within the fantastical. Regardless, it was a fitting end to the franchise, nicely tying up all the loose ends, and the entertainment value of the film was high enough that I walked out of the cinema satisfied and smiling. I would gladly watch it again. My personal rating is 7/10. 

Looking forward to Friday!

Well, that sums up most people's feeling on a Wednesday, everybody looks forward to the weekend, and Friday is easily most people's favorite day of the week.

Personally I'm looking forward to Friday as I'll be 12 weeks post and I will be doing my touch up, finally. My new growth is ridiculous - thick and wiry and I am fast approaching the stage where my stretch will be doing me more harm than good, I've already started experiencing increased breakage around the demarcation line and I AM NOT HAPPY. To a certain degree I feel a little despondent, as I try to be as gentle as possible with my hair, especially my new growth and still every morning way too many hairs lie in the sink, a mix of long shed hair and short AND long broken hairs. The shed hair I have kind of made peace with - it was simply their time to go. But the broken hair - NOT COOL.

I've noticed that my retention is very good during the first eight weeks of my stretch - very little breakage, even shedding is minimized. Now, I'm not going back to relaxing every 8 weeks, but I do have a plan for that period where me and my new growth don't "get" one another - after this touch up, around week 6, I'm going to have braids installed, which I'll be wearing for 6-8 weeks. I won't have to "deal" with the new growth, the new growth will have a chance to simply grow and I can step up my retention. Braiding in my mind is simpler than weaving as I've had a bad sew in experience after which my hair was very damaged (the track were braided SO tight I had a migraine for 2 days after the install and when it was removed the hair simply broke quick fast and i a hurry in my stylist's hands), and I don't wish to go through that again. So, box braids it is for the remainder of the summer. I did do it once and in my opinion  looked pretty darn cute.

Roger Goode party 2009 - with my friend, the lovely Ms Ashante Manetti and rocking box braids. 

So, very soon,  am going to be walking down that road again, and I'm actually quite looking forward to it. 

Okay, quickly, regarding the touch up. Since I'm doing it on Friday, I will not be washing my hair before then, as it opens up the pores of the scalp, which could lead to scalp burn - ouch! Also, I'm skipping workouts this week - I've got a terrible cold and exercising also opens the pores. Thirdly, to keep on looking presentable I shall continue to M&S every night, wrapping my hair to keep it tamed. On the day of the touch up I am going to protect my previously relaxed hair with a protein conditioner to protect it from the chemical run off, and also because I didn't have time to do a protein DC in this week to prep my hair properly. I will once again be using the ORS Olive Oil No-Lye Relaxer Kit for Girls, after which I will roller set and flat iron my hair to do an official length check, and I am praying hard that I will be able to officially claim full shoulder length by the end of 2012.

And there we go. Plans for the week, plans for the weekend( kind of) and plans for when hit 6/7 weeks post already. Happy hump day everyone!!

PS I've come to the conclusion that the best moisturizer for hair truly is WATER - as long as you SEAL it in. No more buying fancy moisturizers for me. Now just to find the perfect LIGHT oil with which to seal. Yay! Only 9 months in and I'm actually streamlining my regimen. 

Everything hurts!

Well, hello there everybody. Today I sit here in some agony. I have decide to get off my lazy ass and start working out AGAIN with vigor! And the result 2 days in - PAIN. It's nice though, walking around the office and feeling that I actually exercised some muscles properly. I'm planning to visit the gym at least 4-5 times a week from here on out and I am praying that I can keep up to the point that NOT working out feels weird and unsettling. 

There is one little con, and it sucks because in the grand scheme of things my health should outweigh it so massively that it's not even an issue, but it is. And that is my hair, eish. I have been sweating like a pig the past couple of days and thus I have been washing my hair every night as well. Yesterday I rocked a knot out  made on damp air dried hair which still looked good. Last night I did a co-wash and simply air dried with a scarf around the edges, which was not that good of an idea since I'm 10.5 weeks post, have a ton of NG and this morning looked a little worse for wear. 

I am BEYOND tempted to either braid these babies up or relax them asap because I don't want my hair to suffer under my new goals of fitness and losing weight, but I also don't want my health and weight to suffer because of my freaking hair. I'm gonna take the rest of the  week to make a decision. One thing is for sure though. If push comes to shove, I would braid it up and forget about it so that for at least a couple of months at a time I can focus on becoming fitter, healthier and THINNER! Anybody else have this issue? Have a great day everybody!

It's Monday...not sure how I feel about it...

My weekend was AMAZING. The Windhoek Jazz Festival was off the hook, my personal high points being the stunning Lira and the amazing Shishani. Lira worked the stage in a manner I have never seen before, and her band, holy mother of Zeus, her band gave me goosebumps! Shishani is truly a local gem, every time I see her perform she steals my heart yet again with that soulful, powerful voice and her meaningful lyrics, wrought with emotions across the spectrum. It truly was a night to remember. Thank you once again to Ms Ashante Manetti - awesome friend of note AND she rocked the stage as the MC!

And now it's Monday, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I feel like I need copious amounts of coffee. Also, I need my shuffle function to read my mood and put together a playlist accordingly. I do have a couple of goals for the week specifically. I need to get to the gym, I have been very lazy in that department. The irony - this morning I'm wearing a shirt that only months ago I couldn't even consider wearing as it was too small. Somehow I'm becoming smaller whilst not putting in nearly as much effort as I should. I'm kind of hoping that my metabolism got a bit of kick in the nuts as that would be awesome!

Second goal is to up the moisture to a high degree to the hair growing out of my head. I'm rocking a knot out and somehow instead of  waves and coils and a few curls (which have been the results of past knot outs) today I look like orphan Annie (from the musical) or Curly Sue - the curls are tight and springy, and I think it may be the go to style for the week as the reversion from sweating in the gym won't be as obvious and would actually aid the curls in being more springy, lol. The down side?? I feel like I lose more hair than usual during the detangling and retwisting processes. At the same time, as I'm a good 10 weeks post, my NG, if stretched, is going to shrink like crazy whilst working out and that's a pain in the butt that I simply do not have the energy for. At the same time, I need to baby my entire head considering that I want to touch up in a week or two. I really feel like I'm not sure what to freaking do! I do know one thing for sure - I am LOOKING forward to the touch up, lol. It is becoming nicely hot and humid and it'll simply make my life easier. Third goal is also hair related - protein treatments in preparation for the touch up. I'm planning to use the ORS Intense Masque again, this time for a good 15 minutes, to make sure that my hair is at its optimal strength when the time comes.

Goal nr 4 - sort out my freaking wardrobe!! I swear, every morning I stand in front of my closet and I feel utterly clueless! Clueless I tell you, and the reason for that is because I have not packed AWAY my winter clothes yet and a lot of my summer clothes are DEEP in the closet, which means scratching like a crazed person and leaving a mess before having to go to work, smh. So, I need to start properly packing away the winter clothes, organizing the summer stuff and also, I need to find something to serve purpose as a linen closet - my linens are with my clothes, taking up a lot of space, and it's making the entire situation a little too cramped!

Goal nr 5 - go see where I can get shelves that I can easily install myself to my walls. I'm planning on printing and framing a LOT of pictures and I don't have the space to display them, so I need to CREATE space. I need to check out the places that sell them, compare and choose and then work out the budget for next month as I'm planning to do it then as birthday gift to myself.

And lastly, but in my mind more pressingly - I need to find a turkey for Thanksgiving! And a birthday gift for my godson! And it's already the 5th of November!! See, things like these make me unsure of how to feel about the fact that it's Monday...again...

In the meantime, have a good week everyone!

On our way to the 2012 Jazz Festival

We are moments away from going to the 2012 Windhoek Jazz Festival and every year it has been a roaring success and soooooo much fun, and I highly doubt that this year would an exception. The greatest thing about the festival is the combination of good music, great friends and being out in the open air. 

Today I need to state that it's the God honest truth that all things happen for a reason. I thought that a year and a half of my life has been wasted, but I realize now that I had to go through that experience to learn things about myself and about life that I never knew of. I learned that I have an amazing temper, the kind that people tremble before. I have also learned how to control it and how to determine when and where it is appropriate to flip my script. I've learned that just because someone says they love you does not always make it true, even when you feel love for them. Sometimes the sad simple truth is that they don't even know what love is. I learned that I am sometimes susceptible to change my behaviour in my quest for happiness, but I've also learned that changing who I am for the sake of someone else is never the answer, and that I would simply lose myself in the process. I've learned that it is not that easy of a task to find yourself again, but it sure as hell is not impossible. I've learned that true friends stick by you, no matter what, and that fair weather friends are many, and they are fickle. I've learned that happiness resides within oneself and that one must not look to someone else to make you happy, nor should anyone burden you for their happiness. At the end of the day I learned that life is what you make of it. 

Now to get back to the Jazz. If I was still in that train wreck of a relationship, I probably would have gotten into an argument to go to the biggest festival in town, and now I'm free to support my friend and have an awesome time. So yeah, I'm happy, truly happy. 

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Here comes summer, but hot sticky hair is not sexy!

Hello lovelies, yes, it's been a minute, but life sometimes has this thing...it goes on and sometimes it moves fast.

It is officially summer. It is hot and sticky and humid. All I want to do is run around in short skirts and tank tops and lie in a pool as often as I can. Which brings me to the fact that I need to switch up my regime a bit if my hair is to flourish through the sweaty summer months, especially considering that I still have a good 2 weeks to go before I touch up and my new growth is driving me slightly insane.

But lets rewind first - were October's goals achieved?? Well, I did moisturize and seal more often but it still felt insufficient, specifically around my NG. I think I will have to find a richer moisturizer. I truly attempted to baby my nape, I think I've stopped most of the breakage, but it's still a bit of a sad sight. I cheated on the heat usage, I straightened my hair with a ceramic straightener for a Halloween party on the 26th. It took me FOREVER, since I took small sections, and the next day it was a massive puff again due to the fact that I wore a hat as part of my costume, it was hot as all hell and I sweated like Ms Piggy. The next day to salvage as much as I could I put my hair in some rollers with moisturizer and after it was dry again pinned it up. Due to breakage during detangling I've given the bantu knot outs a rest for now, rather simply roller setting, wrapping and pinning my hair for the past 2-3 weeks. So, all in all, October wasn't truly a miss, nor was it a roaring success.

Now, to move on to the month to come. I'm scheduled to have my touch up in 2 weeks, the weekend of the 16th of November. I'm actually looking forward to it, due to my hair being longer than ever before in my adult life, it truly is easier working with one texture instead of two, and right now I'm rocking 3, with bone straight ends, some texlaxed hair and my 4a/b (depending on location) roots. I'm contemplating to, during my next relaxer, correct the texlaxed parts and having all my hair bone straight to combat the breakage from working with multiple textures. I now know that I am not adept enough for multiple textures and thus if I wish my length retention to be out of this world, I need to do what's best for ME and my hair. In the meantime, the next few washes I'm going to step up the protein a bit in preparation for the process, as well as keep moisture levels high and manipulation low. I truly need to baby them if I want to keep up my level of retention.

I'm going to do a black tea rinse this weekend  (either tomorrow or Sunday) as I've also been shedding a bit more than usual and I'm going to get my hands on apple cider vinegar and do a ACV rinse for my porosity issues. I've purchased the Creme of Nature Argan Oil Deep Conditioner and am going to try it soon, and that is going to be the extent of my experimentation this month. I have succeeded in trimming down the supplies and streamlining the products I use, as well as slightly simplifying my regimen on wash days.

This morning I had to do a quick wash (my hair felt AWFUL) and  I gave the ORS Olive Oil Intense Masque another try, and this time it worked SO much better. I'm guessing the reason for that is two fold: 1 - I used Pantene Sleek and Smooth Conditioner beforehand (following the shampoo) to detangle. 2 - I applied the Masque in sections from root to tip on SOAKING wet hair. I had plenty of slip and the 5 minutes in the shower felt sufficient, my hair felt strong and smooth and soft and roller setting was a breeze. I can rollerset my entire head in 20-30 minutes using the mohawk methodology, I'm going to try to keep that time, especially due to the porosity of my hair, if I don't work fast, by the time I'm done with only half my head, the other half would feel dry already. Also, it means that I can shower, wash hair, roller set, dry (using fast cold air on the dryer) get dressed, style my hair and be ready for work in an hour and a half if need be!!

Wow, I have been rambling today! Tomorrow is the Windhoek Jazz Festival, to which me and my ladies are all headed, and of course we'll most probably run into practically everyone we know. As it's festival time, we'll be outside and therefore one on a HHJ like myself need to consider the elements' effect on her tresses. My plan of action would include the following - doing a major wash day tomorrow morning, including an overnight pre-poo and decent DC with CoN, roller setting and air drying, moisturizing and sealing, and pinning up the curls from the rollers. Since it's a big party, I expect nastiness the next day, so I will most probably also do a wash on Sunday, perhaps a co-wash only to increase moisture levels, but will see how it goes. What's everybody else's weekend plans? Have fun and be safe!

Nasty raggedy weaves make my heart sore

You know how a person can be oblivious to something until they have a personal interest in that topic or area? Like how normal drivers rarely actually SEE bikers or cyclists until the day that they themselves have been on a bike or bicycle in the middle of normal traffic. Well, to a certain degree the same thing has been happening to me regarding hair, hair care and what I see on the heads of the many ladies around me in this beautiful city of ours. And because I now know that taking care of one's tresses need not be an extremely time or money consuming exercise, I cringe on a daily basis several times a day as I see girls with either sad, dry, badly broken hair OR wearing the most raggedy, nasty, hot mess weaves imaginable. Which leads me to wonder - with all the info available, why in the world are pretty girls practically uglying themselves up with these crows nests that they're walking around with? 

Okay, let's rewind a little bit. I have NOTHING against weaving it up, wigging it up, nor braiding it up. I've done all of the aforementioned myself and I enjoyed the choice range it provided me with. Done right, it's intense protective styling and your hair will thank you. Done right, you look good and your self esteem will thank you. I don't even have an issue with the arguments of others that weaving it up is playing to "racial insecurities" because I believe that those arguments are often exaggerated and it depends on perspective on any event. What I have an issue with is when a weave is done WRONG. When the hair used for the sew in is the cheapest, most plastic, synthetic kind on the market. When the person who installed it did not focus on the fact that it needs to look natural for it to look good. When puffs of natural new growth peak out around the edges of the sew in looking raggedy and thirsty and damaged. When a girl with a very dark skin tone decides to install hair that is simply too light to look natural, or vice versa. When a weave is worn WAY past the "sell by" date. When good quality human hair is actually used but the wearer is neglecting that hair, as well as her hair beneath it, so that even the HUMAN HAIR weave starts looking like a clumpy, split ended, dry, raggedy mess. ALL of THAT I have a HUGE problem with considering that very often some of these same women ridicule those of us who put concerted effort into their own hair. 

Another aspect of all of the above that struck me is that whenever I walk past such an unfortunate young woman, all I want to do is grab her to the side, buy her a cup of coffee and then start preaching! (Which is ironic, since I've only been on my own journey for a little over 8 months now) But unsolicited advice, especially like THAT (I lack tact sometimes) is NEVER appreciated, soooooooo, since I'm blogging about this, maybe, just maybe, one or two of these women will read this and realise that they can do better. Like Maya Angelou said - when you know better, you DO better. 

Okay, so here's some tips for these ladies, most of which I've learned from trial and error upon my own head:

• Since you're paying money for the hair that you'l be covering your own hair with, take some time and choose carefully. Compare colour, texture, human vs synthetic. Price is only relevant in your determination of "value for money". BUYING cheap leads to LOOKING cheap. If your budget is constrained, rather wait and save up for decent hair, or make peace with the fact that you'll be buying new packs of cheap hair every month. 
• Speaking of decent hair, quality 100% human hair can be re-used, unlike synthetic brands. It may cost you more initially, but THIS is where VALUE for money comes in. Of course, you need to actually TAKE CARE of it to get true bang for your buck.
• When having the weave installed, make sure that person installing it actually KNOWS what they're doing, and not the chick around the corner who does it for a nickle and a dime, because then you'll end up looking like a Medusa instead of an Athena. Look for a reputable stylist, get references from ladies that you've seen wearing some enviable weaves, and once again, be willing to pay a little more, as it's worth it in the end. 
• Whilst having your weave installed, SPEAK to your stylist, especially if you experience any pain or discomfort from the minute that the stylist or her assistant starts with your tracks. Even though a weave is a protective style, the hair underneath needs to be taken care as well, from the second the process starts, otherwise you'll be LOSING hair when the weave is removed. So, don't forget to USE YOUR VOICE.
• Now we move on to the weave being installed and the after care that YOU, the wearer need to do. It makes no sense to pay the money for the hair and the install and then not take care of it as well as your own hair. Lack of after care definitely leads to the existence of a crow's nest. 
• First of all, just because you're weaved up does NOT mean that you shouldn't WASH your hair. Use a gentle or diluted shampoo, get an applicator bottle so to get the shampoo in between the tracks so as to clean your own hair. Gently wash the weave itself as well, with either the same shampoo if you've installed 100% human hair, or if you've installed synthetic, a shampoo meant for synthetic hair. BE GENTLE. 
• Secondly, CONDITION. Use the same methodology as above. If 100% human hair has been installed, nothing prevents you from even deep conditioning THAT hair AS IF it was your own. 
• Thirdly, RINSE thoroughly. You DO NOT want any build up of product. ALWAYS BE GENTLE. Rough handling will damage your own hair as well as the weave, causing tangles and shedding. 
• Fourthly, nourish your scalp and own hair by gently massaging a nourishing product such as olive, castor or coconut oil into the tracks. USE A LIGHT HAND THOUGH. 
• Regarding your install, avoid heavy products. Perhaps use a light serum to detangle and then let air dry. If wearing a very curly weave, one can use a little more product than with a straight weave, but once again, avoid a heavy hand. AVOID products containing petrolatum and mineral oil. It'll just make that weave look nasty. 
• Lastly, but definitely not least, DO NOT wear a weave for too long. Even the best quality of hair, if worn for too long, will start looking raggedy, and your own hair beneath will also suffer. In my opinion 4-6 weeks is long enough for a weave install. When removing it, I would recommend that it be done by the same stylist who installed it. In addition you MUST let you hair REST for at least 2 weeks after removal, taking care of it gently before either installing another weave or relaxing.

I believe that the pointers I put out above represent BASICS for those who prefer to wear weaves on a regular basis. And therefore it makes my heart sore to see SOOOO many sad raggedy weaves around when  it is so simple. The information is all around us. Ignorance cannot be an excuse, and it most definitely is not bliss. So ladies, PLEASE, do YOURSELVES the favour and treat your hair and your weave like the crown it's meant to be. 

A bit of a ramble, and review

So, this week I've been trying to keep my hands out of my hair as much as possible by bunning, moisturizing like a crazy person and this coming weekend I'm planning to spoil my tresses with a moisturizing prepoo AND deep conditioning treatment. I really feel that I can practically see being full shoulder length and with summer on our doorstep I want to do the most I could possibly do. 

I quickly want to talk about the moisturizer I'm currently using, Revlon's Super Soft Activator, a water and glycerin based product also containing a couple of silicones. I bought a small bottle for N$ 14 (about US$ 2) and it's been lasting quite a while as I've only been using it sporadically. For the past week however I have been drenching moisturizing my hair with this stuff every day and sealing with either coconut oil or ORS Olive Oil hair dressing, wrapped it up and went to bed. My hair is SUPER soft, just like the name says, and it does feel very nice and moisturized. Only one negative point, it does make my hair feel slightly sticky and a little limp, as if there's build up, and I'm guessing it's from the cones. I will definitely have to give my hair a nice thorough shampoo this weekend. Regarding the moisturizer, next week I'm going to experiment my diluting it with water and putting it in a spritz bottle and then using THAT to moisturize and see how the results differ. 

I've realised that my hair must be pretty porous. Why I say this: this weekend I washed and roller set my hair twice, Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Both days I used Clicks Repair and Restore Shampoo (lower in sulphates, nice and gentle) Pantene Smooth and Sleek Conditioner as rinsing conditioner and my usual leave ins of Avon 3D Rescue, ORS Glossing Polisher and Bone Straight. On Friday I used the Clicks Repair and Restore Masque as treatment and on Sunday the ORS Replenishing Pak as DC.(I LOVE the smell of the Replenishing Pak. And the slip. And how it makes my hair feel like BUTTER.) I started roller setting while my hair was soaking wet. When I was completely done, the hair around the first three rollers was practically bone dry already. I realised that my hair drying that quickly must be due to the porous nature of my hair and the fact that moisture escapes quickly. Thus the experiment this week with the Super Soft Activator. 

I have no idea what products are available here in Namibia which  can use to correct the porosity of my hair, but I am on a mission to find out. Dry hair equals breakage which equals crappy retention, and I want ALL the retention I can get. So, if anybody knows of a product or regimen change which would help my current situation I'm ALL ears. In the meantime, I am going to attempt consistent care and TLC, keep my hands OUT of my hair, keep the heat FAR away from my tresses for as long as possible and keep my true length hidden from myself and other for as LONG as possible. Planning an official length check and "reveal" in December around the time of my birthday, and I am praying to not be disappointed. Have a fabulous Thursday peeps, and remember, if you're having a phuza Thursday tonight, be safe!

Weekend hair plans

Good morning people and happy Friday to all. We are having the most awesome Friday, the weather is lovely, although it does create a longing for pancakes and one's bed. It's over cast and humid, and the rain is looming over the horizon - Summer is officially here! And it's only October.

Last weekend my social calender was quite full and busy, this weekend the set plan is a motorsport event, King of Spin, tomorrow and it starts relatively early, which means that I need to start my hair pampering tonight if I wish to look like a decent human being tomorrow. Of course, I have plans to get drinks with a possible gentleman suitor tonight, so I don't really know how I'm going to squeeze everything in, but it needs to be done.

Okay the long and the short of my plans is to do the major wash day routine and maybe split it over the course of tonight and tomorrow morning. Prepoo with cheapie conditioner and coconut oil, wash, do a black tea rinse, detangle with Pantene Smooth and Sleek conditioner and DC with Clicks Repair and Nourish Conditioning Mask tonight, keeping on the deep conditioner overnight. In the morning, rinse the DC and roller set, using usual leave-in's and drying hair with dryer on cool, but fast setting. When hair is dry I'll decide then on the style to employ, but one thing is certain - NO HEAT shall be applied to my hair.

Now I feel the need to ramble a little bit with regard to the fact that I REALLY REALLY want to reach full shoulder length by the end of the year, which gives me a bare 2 months to kick up the retention and thus I need to be extra gentle and extra caring. I am actively hiding my full length currently by wearing buns and pining my hair up, however sometimes I can't help myself, when prepping for bed, combing out my hair to see what's happening. And it annoys me to no end that the front half of my hair is not thriving as much as the back. I know that one must be patient, but I am not the most patient person on earth and I am wondering what else I can do to increase growth and retention without looking like sorry sad Susie who's hair is always in a bun. Protective styling is not all that fun.

So apart from my general goals, I'm going to add another - actively find cute protective styles so as to retain every millimeter of growth. I'm currently 6 weeks post and thus have another 6 weeks to go before touching up and I need to baby and nourish my new growth even more than ever before, especially around my nape and hairline, so as to minimize breakage and shedding. I am hoping that all of the effort (which I have not done prior to this journey of mine) will reap many fruit so that one day other ladies can approach me and ask me how in the world did I get my hair to grow so long and healthy and shiny. I know it's petty, wanting others to envy me a little, but I've never denied the size and fragile nature of my ego, she loves such boosts.

So that's my ramble for the day. What's everybody's plans for this weekend? Whatever y'all do, be safe and have fun!

Post weekend update, with some pics

Good morning, happy October and I trust everybody's ready to take on the new month with vigor. This will also be when one truly feels the effects of the new season, it becoming cooler in the northern hemisphere and warming up considerably here in the south. It 's spring (although in all honesty, it often feels as if Namibia only has two seasons - winter and summer, and that autumn and spring fall by the wayside) and thus the days are longer and warmer and just generally more fun. It's easier to go the gym after work, since it's not dark when you're done after a good hour long session and driving home. Sun downers are so much more fun because cold funky cocktails don't really go down well during winter and the sun sets too damn early in any event. One's social calendar fills up much more easily as everyone actually wishes to come out of their state of winter hibernation and laziness and shake off the cobwebs of the cold season. Personally, the only thing I miss about the colder seasons is that my wardrobe and sense of style was so much easier while still being creative, and hair care, for me personally, was a little easier, as a simple bun in winter is so much more the norm, as summer asks for more flirty fun styles and thus much more care so as to minimize breakage and shedding.

Talking of fun and flirty, this weekend was amazing and very fun. Friday night I went to a themed Red Light District Party: Heels and Top Hats with my girl Ash. Upon entering one received complimentary champagne, and my glass was almost never empty. There were live performances, which included stand up comedy, poetry and singing. The DJ burned up the decks and the next day my feet were in absolute agony as I danced the night away in heels, which I NEVER do, ask ANYONE who knows me. My feet only truly feel better today! But heels were part of the theme so I threw them on,lol.

The rest of my outfit consisted of an ankle length black fitted skirt with a slit on the side and a black corset. My hair I simply retwisted my knots a little and then fluffed them out. Make up was simple and then we partied the night away.







I need to make the following statement - girls of today DO NOT know how to dress with class and style so as to look like LADIES. I verily believe that me and my friends were some of the very few classy ladies at the party. The GIRLS do know however how to look like very expensive prostitutes. A style lesson that I know is absolutely timeless - one must choose the focal point between chest and legs. You CANNOT show off both, because then you end up looking trashy and cheap.

I saw SO many girls on Friday night who's boobs were falling out of their dresses which were so short that daring the sit down would have been a challenge and wearing underwear would not have been great because their were SO tight that even the tiniest of thongs would leave a visible pantie line, and on top of it, wearing hooker heels. As a woman, I found it disgraceful. There is nothing wrong with sexy, and there is nothing wrong with flaunting your best assets, as long as it's done tastefully and with class and not like you're the lead in a porno movie and the clothes are gonna fly in about 2 minutes anyway! Girls!! Learn to have some self respect! If you don't respect your own body and your own image that you're projecting to the world, how on earth do you expect anyone to respect you??

Okay, enough about that rant and on to the awesomeness that was yesterday and the Trevor Noah show. The man is brilliant! I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. He has been one of my favorite comedians for a couple of years now, and it was awesome seeing him live here in Windhoek as I missed his show last year which he did before leaving for the States for about a year. I am so grateful to Ashante for hooking us all up and making sure that we don't miss the comedy show of the year.

As a precursor, I decided that I must look decidedly cute, and thus yesterday morning was a wash day, which I ended with a roller set, After taking out the rollers, I pinned my hair up in a slightly 40's and 50's style, took out some tendrils to frame my face and wore a strapless dress that I picked up at American Eagle a few years ago with a tiny little cardigan over.









I apologise for the quality of the pics, I'm still relegated to my cell phone. I pray that the situation will change soon.

Also, I realized that I need to have a ton of oils for when detangling my curls from a knot out to minimise the breakage, so I will be adding that to the planned hair haul which will probably occur this afternoon.

In any event, that was my weekend y'all (and I also watched A LOT of Grey's Anatomy over the weekend - some tears were shed, was intense). Wishing everyone an awesome week ahead and a happy, not blue, Monday further.

Goals for the month to come

The first month of spring is over and we are experiencing hotter and hotter weather, but the humidity levels have not quite risen as much as I hoped and thus I am experiencing a little dryness, which I will be focusing on for the month of October. 

I'm gonna keep this short, so as to not overload myself, as exams are also around the corner. 

• Moisturize and seal twice a day. I have become lazy in this department, only sealing in the evenings, and I need to do it more than that, I can feel it. 
• Continue rocking the knot outs but pro-actively learn how to do them with less manipulation and a softer touch. The knot outs hide my true length, and I think it's good
• Get back to basics - MY basics. I have been gallivanting with a million different products, trying everything new, experimenting, become a junkie. I'm going to scale down big time and get back to my staples - Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner, ORS Hair Mayonnaise, Pantene Moisturizing DC, coconut oil, castor oil, ORS Hair Fertilizer, ORS Glossing Polisher, roller setting. I believe that I will get more consistent results with these base products and a consistent approach. 
• Moisturizing DC once to twice a week, ONE protein DC for the month. I've experienced over load before, the memory still haunts me, and I am not making the same mistake again! 
• Scalp massages with the castor oil the night before wash days, intense massages, especially around the hairline. Followed with overnight coconut oil prepoo. 
• BABY my nape. I've been having some bad breakage and it needs to stop! It's messing with my mojo.
• NO HEAT for the entire month. NONE. 

The ultimate goal is that I need the front half of my hair to catch up with the back, my nape to stop breaking and my hairline to fill out even more. Hot on the heels of that, I want retention without obsessing, thus hiding the true length for at least another month. I want my hair to feel soft and lush and nourished. And I want to STOP spending SO much money on hair products, OMG, it's ridiculous. 

So, those are my goals for October. Regarding this immediate weekend, I'm going to the hottest party in town - rocking the bantu knot out, fierce make up, and a head turning outfit. Will attempt pics, decent ones this time. Happy Friday everybody, and blessed weekend!!