i did another youtube video. this one is about the products i use in my hair. my sister says i look angry in the video. and thats becasue i WAS!!!!! i did that video over and over again. like FOURTEEN TIMES!!!! i kept stuttering and slurring my words so i would start over again. originally, it was like 8 minutes, but by the fourteenth time doing it, i was down to 4 minutes! anyways, enjoy. i want to do another one with one of the hairstyles i do, but my hair is curly now from the braidout i just did, and this particular style looks better with straight hair. maybe after i wash my hair this weekend. we'll see...
I love my hair! But there is so much I have to learn about it!! This is my first time with locs. I thought it would be an easy, carefree (literally "Care Free")hairstyle. Boy was I wrong. Every hair style carries its own set of needs. And I'm learning what my locs need to be the healthiest, best locs they can be.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Henna, the day after
so, its the next day, and let me tell you! i am so excited! the color definately got better. it looks much more reddish and less brown! but let me start from the begining:
so i bought three 4oz containers of henna from the natural food/hair store. two were persian red. one was sherry red. there were only 2 persian reds left, so i bought the sherry too cause i didn't think 2 would be enough. so the directions said mix each container with one cup boiling water. for dry hair, add one egg and 2-4 tablespoons olive oil. so i mixed one package of the persian red with half of the sherry (roughly 6 oz of henna), 2 large eggs, about 3 oz of olive oil, and roughly 1 and 1/4 cup boiling water. the henna stunk at first. it smelled like decaying leaves. but it makes sense, henna is a dried crushed plant product. so i seperated my hair into 8 sections, four on each side, rubber banded them off where the color started, and got ready to color the first half of my hair.
it was an EXTREMELY messy process. the henna was about the consistancy of cake batter. i was putting it on with my hands and smooshing it in. if i took too much, little globs would roll off and into the sink or on the floor. a couple of times i dropped my locs and they smacked me in the face and left smears of henna on my face! i was freaking out cause i thought it would leave stains on my face, so i was hollering for my sister to come help me and wipe my face off. i couldn't do it myself! i had on gloves that were covered in henna! so, it took a long time to finish the first half of my head. probably about 20 minutes or so. i got henna on the floor, on the wall, and all over my shirt! so my sister made me a garbage bag cape! i felt ridiculous, but it was the only solution! so i mixed up the rest of the henna for the other half of my head. this side went faster. i aslo made sure to really smear on a thick layer of henna even after i put my hair in the "princess Leia" buns. then i used some plastic shopping bags to wrap my hair and sat on the phone with my fiancee for a while, watched some tv, chatted with my sister. but the buns were on opposite sides of my head and the henna made the buns REALLY heavy, so i was getting pain along where my hair was parted. it was really uncomfortable so i ended up wrapping a headbacnd around the buns to hold them closer together. i looked like a flippin' fool! thank god there are no pictures to document that part!
so after about 2 hours i rinsed the henna out in the kitchen sink. this was the most grueling part! i rinsed for over half an hour!! now, this may not seem like hard work, but i have carpal tunnel in my hands. i had to squeeze water through my locs over and over to make sure i got all the henna out. my hands went numb and felt really weak after the first ten minutes. i have a good amout of hair, and its pretty heavy when wet. it took so much work to get all the henna out. i was ready to just give up and go to bed with the henna still in my hair. at one point i was slumped over the sink almost ready to cry! i was so tired and my hands hurt so much and i still had so much henna in my hair! that was the low point of the night! but i just took a minute rest leaning over the sink and i got back to work! first i rinsed with hot water, then with cold, as per the directions on the henna package. then i shampooed and rinsed some more!
so, after all that was done, i ran to a mirror to see my shining red glory! and what do i see! BROWN!!!! i was so upset! but it was late and i had to go to bed, so i put my hair in a bun and wrapped it with my silk scarf on and went to sleep with soaking wet hair! yeah, i got a pretty big wet spot on my pillow, but i was so pissed, i didn't care!
the next morning i noticed the color was a little more orange-ish. by the time i got home from work, it looked more orangy-brown. i remember reading from the free henna e-book that the color takes a few days to settle, so i can only hope as the days wear on that the color will start to look more reddish. i am satisfied with the way it loks now. i will try it again in a month or so. heres the youtube video i made
2 quick notes:
(1)the e-book said not to mix the henna with boiling water, that it would make the color fade and its better to mix the henna with lemon juice and let the henna sit over night for a brighter, more vibrant color. so next time, i'm gonna do that. heres the link to that free e-book:
http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/
(2)when i did mix the henna with boiling water for the first batch, i added the water first and then the eggs. for the second batch, i added the eggs first and then the water, and when the hot water hit the egg, it started to cook the egg!!! so if you ARE gonna use boiling water, add the egg AFTER you mix in the water!
so i bought three 4oz containers of henna from the natural food/hair store. two were persian red. one was sherry red. there were only 2 persian reds left, so i bought the sherry too cause i didn't think 2 would be enough. so the directions said mix each container with one cup boiling water. for dry hair, add one egg and 2-4 tablespoons olive oil. so i mixed one package of the persian red with half of the sherry (roughly 6 oz of henna), 2 large eggs, about 3 oz of olive oil, and roughly 1 and 1/4 cup boiling water. the henna stunk at first. it smelled like decaying leaves. but it makes sense, henna is a dried crushed plant product. so i seperated my hair into 8 sections, four on each side, rubber banded them off where the color started, and got ready to color the first half of my hair.
it was an EXTREMELY messy process. the henna was about the consistancy of cake batter. i was putting it on with my hands and smooshing it in. if i took too much, little globs would roll off and into the sink or on the floor. a couple of times i dropped my locs and they smacked me in the face and left smears of henna on my face! i was freaking out cause i thought it would leave stains on my face, so i was hollering for my sister to come help me and wipe my face off. i couldn't do it myself! i had on gloves that were covered in henna! so, it took a long time to finish the first half of my head. probably about 20 minutes or so. i got henna on the floor, on the wall, and all over my shirt! so my sister made me a garbage bag cape! i felt ridiculous, but it was the only solution! so i mixed up the rest of the henna for the other half of my head. this side went faster. i aslo made sure to really smear on a thick layer of henna even after i put my hair in the "princess Leia" buns. then i used some plastic shopping bags to wrap my hair and sat on the phone with my fiancee for a while, watched some tv, chatted with my sister. but the buns were on opposite sides of my head and the henna made the buns REALLY heavy, so i was getting pain along where my hair was parted. it was really uncomfortable so i ended up wrapping a headbacnd around the buns to hold them closer together. i looked like a flippin' fool! thank god there are no pictures to document that part!
so after about 2 hours i rinsed the henna out in the kitchen sink. this was the most grueling part! i rinsed for over half an hour!! now, this may not seem like hard work, but i have carpal tunnel in my hands. i had to squeeze water through my locs over and over to make sure i got all the henna out. my hands went numb and felt really weak after the first ten minutes. i have a good amout of hair, and its pretty heavy when wet. it took so much work to get all the henna out. i was ready to just give up and go to bed with the henna still in my hair. at one point i was slumped over the sink almost ready to cry! i was so tired and my hands hurt so much and i still had so much henna in my hair! that was the low point of the night! but i just took a minute rest leaning over the sink and i got back to work! first i rinsed with hot water, then with cold, as per the directions on the henna package. then i shampooed and rinsed some more!
so, after all that was done, i ran to a mirror to see my shining red glory! and what do i see! BROWN!!!! i was so upset! but it was late and i had to go to bed, so i put my hair in a bun and wrapped it with my silk scarf on and went to sleep with soaking wet hair! yeah, i got a pretty big wet spot on my pillow, but i was so pissed, i didn't care!
the next morning i noticed the color was a little more orange-ish. by the time i got home from work, it looked more orangy-brown. i remember reading from the free henna e-book that the color takes a few days to settle, so i can only hope as the days wear on that the color will start to look more reddish. i am satisfied with the way it loks now. i will try it again in a month or so. heres the youtube video i made
2 quick notes:
(1)the e-book said not to mix the henna with boiling water, that it would make the color fade and its better to mix the henna with lemon juice and let the henna sit over night for a brighter, more vibrant color. so next time, i'm gonna do that. heres the link to that free e-book:
http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/
(2)when i did mix the henna with boiling water for the first batch, i added the water first and then the eggs. for the second batch, i added the eggs first and then the water, and when the hot water hit the egg, it started to cook the egg!!! so if you ARE gonna use boiling water, add the egg AFTER you mix in the water!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Tried the henna
ok, this is gonna be short cause i don't want to say too much yet. i tried the henna. it was SUPER messy and smelly and it looked like baby poop. once the henna was on my hair, it was extremem;y heavy and uncomfortable. i kept it on for 2 and a half hours and i just washed it out... and i'm not happy with the results. it looks brown! i got the brightest red one at the health store. but i think i read somewhere that it brightend up in a few days, so we'll see how it looks wednesday or thursday. i also did a video. its not finished yet cause it doesn't have the final results. i'll probably post it on youtube a little later. i'll link it. alright. we'll see how this turns out...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Gotta do something about this color!
okay, i can't take it anymore. i've got to make some decisions about what i'm going to do about this color. i really want to try the henna, but it seems like such a complicated process and i have to leave the color on for HOURS!!! i'm talking anywhere from 4 to 6 hours!!! thats a long time. i don't know. maybe i'll visit the natural hair store later this week and take a peek at the henna again. i'm so torn!!!! i don't even want to color it at all! i wish this red would just fade into a nice coppery color and i wouln't have to deal with this at all! oh well.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Washing my hair in the shower
ok. ever since i was little, i always got my hair washed in the sink. i don't know why. i kinda got the idea (from my grandma) that only white people washed their hair in the shower. then i went to camp when i was about 9 and discovered i had swimmers ear and i got a phobia about getting water in my ears! so, all my life, washing my hair had been this big ordeal that has to be planned in advance and it took an hour or more of my time (try three hours or more when i palm rolled my hair myself) and it was pretty much just a pain in the butt. then i got my hair locked. but i didn't know what i was doing, so washing my hair was still this BIG event cause now i had to book a visit to the salon to get it washed. then i learned about latching and i started latching my hair instead. washing was easier, but it was still time consuming cause i had to wash all the dishes first if there were any in the sink, then sanitize the sink, then hook up the little hose (you know the one i'm talking about! that little white one you get from the hair store!) then set up my shampoo mixture (half shampoo, half water in a squirt bottle. maybe'll i'll write another blog all about my shampoo routine later), my conditioner mixture (half conditioner, half water), sometimes get the hot oil treatment ready. it still took a chunk of time, and then i used to sit under the dryer 'cause i had it in my head that i just couldn't let my hair air dry. why? i have no idea!!! but on sunday before i went to work at my second job, i really wanted to wash my hair. and i had to shower, but i didn't have time for both (yes, i take long showers)! so i decided to try out the "white" method and wash my hair in the shower.
it was sooooooo relaxing!!! i love having my hair gently pulled. what does this have to do with washing my hair in the shower? well, when my locs are wet, they weigh three or four times as much. with them soaking wet and hanging down my back ( as opposed to hanging over my head in the sink, which just caused neck pain) it felt like somene was gently pulling on my hair. i sat under the sprayer for five minutes just letting the water run over my hair and feeling the sensation. it felt so good. so i did one shampoo. no conditioner (i'm finding that if i condition too much. my hair starts to unravel!) and a looooooong rinse (for the relaxation factor!) and then out of the shower. i wrapped a towel around my head and continued with my getting ready routine and then i put some JML oil through my hair and let it iar dry for the rest of the day.
i felt so free.
it was sooooooo relaxing!!! i love having my hair gently pulled. what does this have to do with washing my hair in the shower? well, when my locs are wet, they weigh three or four times as much. with them soaking wet and hanging down my back ( as opposed to hanging over my head in the sink, which just caused neck pain) it felt like somene was gently pulling on my hair. i sat under the sprayer for five minutes just letting the water run over my hair and feeling the sensation. it felt so good. so i did one shampoo. no conditioner (i'm finding that if i condition too much. my hair starts to unravel!) and a looooooong rinse (for the relaxation factor!) and then out of the shower. i wrapped a towel around my head and continued with my getting ready routine and then i put some JML oil through my hair and let it iar dry for the rest of the day.
i felt so free.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
I couldn't do it!
so, i've been tryin to latch the back of my hair and palm roll the front two rows. its looks wonderful and it works, but not for me. i had a couple of problems with it:
1) i wasn't washing my hair as often. since i've been latching, i' ve been washing about once every week and a half or even more. but since the first time where i palm rolled the front (about three weeks ago!), i haven't washed my hair since. i "freshened up" the front rows once. but it takes an extra twenty minutes or so to twist the front. and then i have to either sit under the dryer or sleep with the clips. so i just didn't wash my hair. and i felt kinda yucky!
2) i have buildup! so, most of the length of the locs are palm rolled. then i have about an inch 2 inches of latch hair, then there was about 2 inches of palm rolled hair again near my scalp for the front locs. so, not only was there a slight size and texture difference where the was latching in the middle of the loc (which didn't bother me at all) but gel was getting caught in the "knot" where the latched part started! and i use clear JML gel. so you can imagine how terrible it would have looked if i used a creamy gel. i washed my hair and rinsed for OVER HALF AN HOUR with really hot water!!!! i'm not kidding! and i still couldn't get all of the old gel out! you know what a freak i can be about buildup! i destroyed two of my locs already trying to get the buildup out!
so i decided to just go back to latching my whole head. and i discovered a way to make the front look neater. latch it wet. i usually latch dry before i shampoo, but i've found that if i latch wet, i get a neater look. the hair is slicker and it lays flatter ,so the latching looks less frizzy and more tight. it makes sense. when i palm rolled dry, i got a completely different look than when i palm rolled wet. so i might just latch the front few rows after i shampoo so it looks as neat and tight as it can.
i love the freedom of latched hair. why do it half way?
1) i wasn't washing my hair as often. since i've been latching, i' ve been washing about once every week and a half or even more. but since the first time where i palm rolled the front (about three weeks ago!), i haven't washed my hair since. i "freshened up" the front rows once. but it takes an extra twenty minutes or so to twist the front. and then i have to either sit under the dryer or sleep with the clips. so i just didn't wash my hair. and i felt kinda yucky!
2) i have buildup! so, most of the length of the locs are palm rolled. then i have about an inch 2 inches of latch hair, then there was about 2 inches of palm rolled hair again near my scalp for the front locs. so, not only was there a slight size and texture difference where the was latching in the middle of the loc (which didn't bother me at all) but gel was getting caught in the "knot" where the latched part started! and i use clear JML gel. so you can imagine how terrible it would have looked if i used a creamy gel. i washed my hair and rinsed for OVER HALF AN HOUR with really hot water!!!! i'm not kidding! and i still couldn't get all of the old gel out! you know what a freak i can be about buildup! i destroyed two of my locs already trying to get the buildup out!
so i decided to just go back to latching my whole head. and i discovered a way to make the front look neater. latch it wet. i usually latch dry before i shampoo, but i've found that if i latch wet, i get a neater look. the hair is slicker and it lays flatter ,so the latching looks less frizzy and more tight. it makes sense. when i palm rolled dry, i got a completely different look than when i palm rolled wet. so i might just latch the front few rows after i shampoo so it looks as neat and tight as it can.
i love the freedom of latched hair. why do it half way?
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