Operation: Length Retention -- GIGO

When I was a teenager, there was a saying floating around Evangelical youth groups of America, "Garbage In; Garbage Out."  The thought was that if you put negative/bad things in your life, you'd be adversely affected, whereas if you input good things, you'd become more like Christ.

Regardless, I have been trying to apply this concept in terms of taking care of my hair by putting good things into my body.  I stumbled upon the Kim Coles' Grow-Out Challenge at the end of June.  It's too late to enter the contest, but I still want to do the project because I want to grow healthier hair.  Part of the challenge is to drink 64 ounces of water a day.  What could be a better thing to put into the body?

I'm not the greatest at picturing measurements and sizes in my head (omg, ikr...what kind of science teacher am I????), so at first I thought 64 ounces would be no problem.  I thought I already drank a lot of water.  When I measured it out, it turned out to be enough water to fill an entire pitcher.

I love this pitcher...I got it at a garage sale a few years ago.

Anyway, as it turns out, drinking a whole pitcher of water every day is not as easy as it seems.  I started at the beginning of this month, which was the hardest.  It has become easier with each day passing.  I will say, even though I now have to pee like a madman, my skin seems clearer.  Also, my body seems to tolerate the multi-vitamin I take every day.  Before drinking all of this water, my body didn't seem to like the vitamin so much.  I am looking forward to seeing the long-term effects of this process!

Famous Last Words

Soooo...yeah.  I saw this picture in the July 2011 edition of Essence (p. 56) & thought to myself, "Hey, that looks easy!  I should try it..."

***sigh*** Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought.  After listening to a Church on the Move podcast once & then Israel & New Breed's Live From Another Level [disc 2] three times, here is the final outcome.  I'm not really pleased with the results (I'm a perfectionist) but it's gonna have to do for the week...

A Time to Rest, pt. I

In Ecclesiastes 3, we read that everything has its season.  This summer I have been struggling through a season of rest, and plan on doing a few blogs about the things I am learning.  This post is part one of many.
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Many of my good friends know that I have an, ahem, affinity for cleaning.  It is not uncommon for me to say in the middle of a phone call, "Ay, can I put you on speakerphone right quick?  I'm trying to clean this toilet/clean this fishbowl/dismantle and wipe down this refrigerator/dismantle and wipe down this washing machine."

Some might call me OCD, but I think I clean a lot because it gives me something to do, as well as a sense of satisfaction.  When I was a kid, my mom would compile a long list of things that needed to be cleaned by the end of the summer.  The list ranged from washing blinds to scrubbing tiles on my hands and knees with a small brush.  I always hated pulling weeds, yet every year it'd be on the list.  There was a colony of wasps in the backyard that always lurked around me when I'd pull weeds in the hot sun and make me nervous.  Anyway, every week, she'd choose an area for me to focus on.  By the end of the summer, it was all done.  I swore that once I "grew up," I'd never spend my summers cleaning.

Well, here I am all grown up...and what have I done every summer since I've moved out of my parents' house?  That's right, made a 2 page list of things to clean and proudly completed it by the end of the summer.  This summer, before I even sat down to make my list, I started things off right by giving my refrigerator a thorough cleaning.  Man, there's nothing like taking apart a fridge, cleaning every inch, and putting it together again.  Seriously.

Anyway, shortly after that, I went on vacation with my parents and my paternal side of the family.  When I returned, I got ready to make my list of things to clean (especially since I just discovered "stickies" on my mac), as well as a list of tests/notes/videos to make for next school year.  Suddenly, the Holy Spirit challenged me and I heard a resounding, "NO! Just rest," in my spirit.  I was troubled because there was so much I wanted to DO this summer.  I am a task-oriented person and I just find so much joy in doing.

Instead, I did what I felt instructed to do, to rest.  And I have tried really hard to continue to do that.  At the beginning of this month I would get up, eat, read, catch up on past episodes of SYTYCD, and take a nap.  And even now, as I am doing a brief stint teaching summer school, I am challenging myself not to overplan (which I usually do) and to take things one day at a time.  It's hard to give up control, but I find myself at a greater peace and actually enjoying life.

As I was sharing at worship practice the other day (yes, some kind of way I'm on the worship team at church...I play the violin...that's a whole 'nother story), I'm learning that rest is not passive.  It is active.  As I choose to rest, I allow myself to be filled.  And as I am filled, I will be able to pour out and serve others from the overflow.  The days of striving are over.  Pray for me as I choose to rest.

Stay encouraged.

Product Review: SheaMoisture

Soooo...I'm thinking about renaming my blog "Natural Hair Tips from My Cousin."

My cousin kept raving about SheaMoisture products for months.  She was even leaving cryptic voice messages on my cellular phone about it.  "Oh my hair is so soft now that I'm using SheaMoisture, blah, blah..."

I for one, am a creature of habit and slow to change.  I've been natural for 5 years and kind of had my products & regimen in-tact.  I had a styling product (that I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post) that I'd been using and loving for years and wasn't really looking for anything new.  On top of that, I'm quite frugal...my personal motto for most things in life is "5 dollars or less."  So, when I went to Walgreens to take a look at the SheaMoisture products, I was not thrilled about the price ($9.99 for everything that I saw).  I reluctantly purchased the Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie...mainly because I thought it smelled good.

Let me tell you, that purchase was WELL WORTH the $10 spent!  I have done away with my old styling product and am now hooked on the Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie for several reasons:

1. It smells SO GOOD!  Seriously, it smells like something you want to eat...even days after being applied.
2. It is organic & doesn't have weird, man-made ingredients.  When I look at the label, I can pretty much pronounce all of the ingredients & identify what they are.  I can't remember if I've talked about this before, but a lot of my family has had cancer (either survived it or died from it), so I'm very cautious about chemicals, ingredients, radiation, etc.
3. My hair has been SO SOFT and SO SILKY because of it!  I think part of the manageable texture might be because I have been cowashing, but I think the SheaMoisture product has something to do with it too.
4. The product is not at all sticky, but rather naturally oily.  My old styling creme always left my hands and hair feeling so sticky, that I was self-conscious about anyone touching it because of the sticky residue.  This product is not sticky at all and when I touch my twists, my hands still feel clean.

All in all, another great recommendation from my cousin!  Now, she's leaving msgs on my phone about a black tea rinse...yeah, I'm still skeptical about that one... ;-)

Operation: Length Retention (pt. I)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am trying out a couple techniques this summer because I really want to retain length.  I know that my hair grows, but it seems to stay the same length because of improper maintenance.


Cowashing & Castor Oil
When my cousin first called me about cowashing back in the winter, I seriously thought she had been "smoking that stuff," as we often say in joking.  I am quite particular about cleanliness, and in my mind, there was no way washing my hair with conditioner was going to get it clean the way shampoo did.  Well, after cowashing these past few weeks, I must say I am HOOKED!  My hair is so much more manageable, softer, and moisturized.  And, all of the concerns I had about cleanliness have faded away.


Not only are my hair & scalp really dry, but there are a few spots that itch A LOT!  I have been oiling my scalp with a combination I made out of castor & tea tree oils.  The castor oil is great for the dryness & the tea tree oil soothes my itchy scalp.


Protective Styling
Again, to retain length, this summer I am trying to focus on styles that don’t require a lot of heat (from blow drying) & constant pulling, recombing/restyling, etc.

To achieve this week’s look, I did 3 two-strand flat twists on both sides of my head, plaiting the ends.  Then I horizontally two-strand flat twisted a section in the front so that I could have a wavy pompadour.  Finally, I divided the back of my head into 3 sections, and put 3-5 plaits in each section.  All of this was done while the hair was wet & I let it dry overnight.  In the morning, I took out all the plaits, brushed the hair back into a bun and made the pompadour in the front.

Give Us, Us Free!

“Give us, us free!”

No, that’s not the sound of my 7th & 8th graders anxiously awaiting summer vacation.  It was the sound of my scalp, hair & follicles crying out after being in braids for 2 months!  My plan was to make it from Spring Break (beg. of Apr.) to the end of the school year (middle of June), but I simply couldn’t take it anymore.  Plus after a couple braids that were on my temples suddenly appeared on my floor, I knew that my head just couldn’t handle it anymore.  So, Memorial Day weekend, I spent many hours carefully shedding those braids!

Now that my hair is back to usual, I have 3 things I want to discuss...and they all start with the letter C!

Color:  Back in December I went to the salon and got my hair colored.  I went to Faye at Faye’s Beauty Salon in the New Center area, and was very pleased with the consultation and service.  I really liked how Faye LOVED working with my hair in its natural state.  Anyway, my hair has grown some since then, and the color is now in the middle/ends of my hair, which I think looks super neat.  I had contemplated getting a touch up of color, but I’m kind of digging the middle/end bursting with color thing.

Cowashing: I have heard lots about cowashing, but have been leery to try it.  My goal this summer is to dabble in cowashing.  I figure, if it goes wrong, at least I won’t have to go in to work the next day!  I bought some more conditioner at the beauty supply (I don’t want to use the my Joico on weekly cowashes...just for deep conditioning) and can’t wait to get started.

Castor Oil: So, at the last hair-meetup, someone mentioned Jamaican Black Castor Oil for the scalp.  I couldn’t find that in any store, so I settled for some generic castor oil.  I must say, I really like using it!  I have a really dry scalp, and most oils don’t do anything for me.  I had been using Isoplus Natural Collection: Braids, Locks, & Twists Scalp Moisturizer because it truly moisturizes my scalp the way I need.  However, I was looking for something else because I get nervous about putting substances on my skin that are man made (ie. Propylene Glycol, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Diazolidinyl Urea!?!?!?!?!).  I will try this for awhile and see how it goes.

Accepted, Affirmed, and...ACCESSORIZED!!!

Last night some of my girlfriends & I attended the Naturally Flyy Detroit Meet-Up #5 at Sweet Potato Sensations in Artist Village.  It was a time of celebration of natural hair, networking, & panel q&a.  I felt SO BLESSED to be amongst like-minded sisters and brothers who have embraced natural hair care.  My only regret is that I forgot my camera!  When I got in my car to go home, the three words I came up with to describe my experience were: accepted, affirmed, & accessorized.

Accepted
I think a few of my closest friends knew about a period of about 3 mos. this past winter/early spring that I refer to myself as "The Dark Night of the Soul."  It was a season of my life where I kept trying to figure out what was "wrong" with me & why I am 27 and still not married.  At one point I even questioned if wearing my hair natural was why I haven't been on a date in a HOT second.  Most of my friends who are married are not natural and a few had encouraged me to "just get your hair pressed."  I've been natural for 5 years.  But in February, I got my hair pressed for the first time in AGES.  And relationally, it got me nowhere.  After 2 weeks, I went back to being natural.

What I had to learn, and what was expressed yesterday by several gentlemen (on the panel & in the audience) is that it isn't the hair that makes you, but the confidence within.  I had worked really hard after undergrad to build my confidence, but somewhere along the way, I let all my hard work unravel.  Being in a room full of naturals (and their supporters) built my confidence in my decision to be natural, as well as to accept and love my decision.

Affirmed
From the moment I pulled into the parking lot, 'til the moment we left, I was affirmed.  The security team not only helped us park, but walked us to and from the venue.  When we entered into the meet-up we were greeted by gentlemen who had nothing but positive things to say about our hair.  All of us even received a wonderful poem, which in all honesty I didn't read until this morning while I was digging through my purse at church.  The poem, "Perfectly Beautiful (Just as You Are!)" made me feel so good, not just to be natural, but to be a BLACK woman.

I live and work in the suburbs, so most of the admirers of my natural hair are my middle-aged/senior, caucasian co-workers or my adolescent students.  While I appreciate their comments, it just doesn't feel the same as when brothers & sisters my own race and age complement me on my hair and affirm my decision.  I definitely left full & feeling like the queen that I am.

Accessorized
Ok, so, I am going to start putting aside money every pay period so that when I go to the next meet-up (July 30), I can have PLENTY of spending money!  There were so many neat things that I wanted to buy, but could only get a few.  I picked up a "Thank God I'm Natural" Shirt (w/ complimentary tote) and a clip from OMSoul.  Next time, I want to get some earrings from Created in His Image.

All in all, a great time, & I CAN'T WAIT for the next meet-up!