It's all fun and games until someone lets their hair down

So I spent Saturday evening at a friend's house re-enacting both fun and challenging games from the popular TV game show "Minute to Win It." Overall, game night was entertaining to say the least. The night, however, took a turn for the better when, midway through the evening, one of the party-goers removed her hair claw clip to reveal this....

From that moment on, I thought quietly to myself on how I would strike up a conversation with her to discuss the particulars of her absolutely fabulous head of hair. So I waited patiently as attendees failed and succeeded at various physical and mental challenges using only common household items. Finally the moment came when people, tired from the nights events, started to depart for home. At this point, I still hadn't figured out a smooth transition from natural conversation to the topic of hair. So I did what I thought made sense.............

We're both beginning to pick up toilet paper pieces, ping pong balls, and other randomness off the hard wood floor when out of nowhere I ask "is your hair natural or relaxed?"
She responds that she relaxes her hair and has done so for years. Next, I dropped the awkward question. "Can I take a picture of it?"

Without even giving it much thought, this person who I literally just met granted me this unusual request of having the back of her head photographed. I'm sure she probably thought the few pictures I took of her would satisfy my curiosity. She had no idea that phase two of my plan would consist of an impromptu interview detailing the steps she takes to care for her lovely tresses.

It turns out her regimen is pretty simple. She just does what works for her hair and it's rewarded her with the wonderful gift of luscious lengths. I wasn't forward enough to ask her to stretch her curls out but I wouldn't be surprised (judging from the pic above) if her hair reached waist length.

So here's the scoop:

• She visits the salon every 3 months or so to receive touchups using a mild relaxer from her stylist. Right now she's in a super long 6 month stretch. This isn't the norm for her. In fact, she states that her stylist will probably not be pleased when he finds out how long she's going without a touch up.
• Between salon visits, she washes weekly and deep conditions with Proclaim or Redken products.
• After washing she allows most of the hair to air dry. She then follows up with a blow dry to remove any remaining moisture, and proceeds to flat iron.
• She applies a Redken Smoothdown serum whenever she uses her iron. Once she's done, she puts the iron away until the following wash. I checked out this product's review on Folica. It looks to be pretty effective. I'm making a mental note to check this product out next time I'm strolling down the aisles of my local Ulta store.
• She helps seal in moisture throughout the week with an oil product from Kera Care.
• I asked if she had ever suffered any set-backs. Surprisingly enough, she said that her set backs came when she wore ponytails on a daily basis. The stress from the additional tension caused extreme breakage at the nape. She lifted the hair do demonstrate and I could see the difference in length between her longest layers and the hair at the nape.
• Her method of making a triumphant comeback from her setback is to wear the hair down or use hair claws in lieu of tight ponytails.
• She also admitted that her current regimen does not cause or contribute to excessive breakage. This means she can continue doing what she's doing knowing that she can easily continue to retain length.
• Finally, she stated that though she has allowed 6 months to pass without a touch up, she plans to continue relaxing for now.

So that's pretty much it. I just wanted to share with you my experience with a real life hair inspiration. I didn't go any deeper into the questioning (although I easily could have) for fear of seeming like a deranged hair lush but I'm glad I at least mustered up the nerve to get the pics.

Will what got me here get me there? My thoughts on achieving the next hair length goal

The other day, while standing in line at a local dine in restaurant, I noticed a customer already ahead of me waiting in line. What caught my eye specifically was her lovely waist-length dark hair. In days past, I would glance only momentarily at such a head of hair before moving on to my next thought. Recently, however, I find myself gazing longingly at low mid-back/waist-length hair. More and more, I am beginning to covet every waist length head of hair that enters my line of sight. I take this as a sign that it's now time to update my hair length goals. Up until now, I rarely focused on reaching specified lengths. I merely focused my energy on discovering ways to impact the health of the hair. While I have gained length along the way, I can honestly say that I haven't focused much on gaining inches as a major priority.

So now I'm in a place where I have to think realistically about how I intend to reach these new lengths. First off, I am not under any impression that obtaining waist length will be easy. On the contrary, I believe that "what got me here won't get me there" with regards to my habits and hair practices. At the moment, I'm at my current length because the consistent actions I've taken up until now create the head of hair I have today. Sure, I may be doing all the right things with regards to washing, conditioning and such, but I'm probably also doing (or not doing) things that keep me at a certain length as time passes.

I'm not making these statements to knock any of my progress thus far. In fact, I'm really happy with all of the progress and learning I've experienced up to this moment. At the same time, I completely understand that with wanting to get to the next level more will be required of me. So now I'm at a place where I am looking critically at all of the patterns and behaviors I carry out related to my hair routines. Without much thought I can easily identify that which holds me back. For the sake of being totally transparent, I'll list some of them below:

• I can't (for the like of me) seem to keep a bun in for longer than 48 hours straight. The thought of wearing a bun for 3-4 weeks (or longer) just pains me.
• Every 10-15 minutes. I fondle my hair. There's no way around it. In fact, I will take various opportunities while writing this post to touch my hair.
• Co-washing between washes feels like somewhat of a burden. Rarely do I wash more than once every 4-6 days.

Mind you, these habits aren't the end of the world, but you can see how I can easily graduate to the next level if only I could overcome the negative repercussions of my naughty hair habits. So now my thoughts are buzzing with the question "can I reach low mid-back/waist length hair if I continue to do what I do today?" If I could honestly answer this question by saying "yes", then I'm in a good place. If, on the other hand, my honest assessment is that I likely won't get to waist length. Then the next question I have to answer is "what's it gonna take?"

Before I answer the "what's it gonna take" question, I first have to identify the negative repercussions of continuing the actions that currently hold me back.

As I review the list above, I come to the following conclusions:

• Lack of consistent protective styling exposes my ends to the drying effects of air. Hair that battles with dryness is likely to be prone to breakage. Breakage is the great hinderer of retention and by stifling my retention rate, I assume the risk of not reaching my length goal.
• Frequent manipulation of my hair can also encourage breakage.

So now I come to a place where I must decide if the repercussions of the negative habits are severe enough to influence a change in my actions so I can experience the results I desire. At this point in time, I'm remain stubborn on not being willing to drastically change those habits. I am motivated, however, to identify and instill some additional strategies that will help minimize the impact of the negative results. This means finding out other ways to fortify the hair to withstand some of the unwanted side effects of frequent manipulation and excessive exposure to air.

.....this will be my area of focus over the next several months......

I don't yet have the solution, but I have implemented a few ideas that have already shown some considerable promise. Some of my other ideas, however, have produced disappointing outcomes. Either way, my focus remains steadfast as I move slowly towards the finish line. The finish line, which seems incredibly far away considering the few unhealthy habits that serve as a handicap. Even though low mid-back may take a bit longer than someone else in the same scenario who hides and doesn't constantly fondle their hair, it is not an impossible task. If courageous individuals born without natural limbs can win foot races, a fondling non-protective styler like me can have long hair.

So what about you?

What hair goals are you striving for at the moment? Do you have any hindering habits that keep you from moving forward? Are those habits worth holding on to despite their obvious repercussions?

You want to take it to the next level....What's it gonna take?

Lessons Learned from my last Relaxer Stretch

I'm so excited. I officially accomplished a personal goal of stretching a full 16 weeks. For me, that was the longest relaxer stretch ever! Four months ago, I visited a Dominican salon for a touch up. I walked in there with three months worth of summer new growth growth, I walked out with freshly relaxed bone straight hair and about 3 inches of hair cut off. No, I didn't ask my stylist to cut my hair but, for some reason, she had a strong desire to do a major trim. Looking back, I know exactly why she did it.

I'll get back to that later but the real reason for this post is because I want to discuss all the good and not so good, I experienced over the past four months. I'd like to be as detailed as possible for my own edification. I'm going to use this post as I would an entry in my hair journal, as a way of sealing in the learning from the last four months so I can replicate the successes and course correct in the areas where I struggled.

So let me start by discussing the state of my hair as it is today. The goals I set out four months ago were to eliminate/reduce breakage, increase moisture levels, strengthen strands overall, and last but not least, thicken the look of the my hair overall. Four months later, my hair feels much stronger, is more elastic, and has retained length and thickened. I'm not exactly where I want to be but I'm more than half way there. Now let's get into what I did the past four months.

Nutrition
I tried my best to remain as consistent as possible with vitamin support for my hair. If you remember, the last stretch was when I was introduced to Noridic Naturals purified omega 3 fish oils. I must say that I'm pretty proud of myself on how consistent I've been with these fish oils. I've already gone through my first bottle and and now working through my second (larger size) Nordic Naturals Omega 3. We're partners for life now. Other supplements that I've tried to remain consistent with are my chlorella green tablets. I also take biotin, a vitamin B supplement, and a multi from time to time. One other supplement I started taking fairly consistently was Cell Food. I'm not sure what the benefits to the hair are, if any. I really just take it for overall nutritional support. My main goal when taking the supplements was not growth, I take supplements more for support. My theory is that the hair has to be a strong as possible coming out of the scalp so it can be more resilient when it undergoes the relaxer process. Not sure how much truth there is to my theory but it makes sense on the most basic level so I'm stickin' with it. Oh, and I should also mentioned that I reintroduced carrot juice back into the line up late into my stretch. I went to the grocery store one day and found Bolthouse farm juice in new larger sizes. The minute I saw it, I knew I had to get a piece of that action. One area that we struggle most with when taking our vitamins is consistency. What I tried to do was not get down on myself if I missed a day here and there. I just started right where I left off and kept it moving.

Routines
As you may already know, I don't hide my hair like I "should". I know of the incredible benefits of protective styling so I gave in a little this last stretch. I didn't bun more than normal last stretch, what I did do was tie my hair up with my scarf more often. So instead of laying on my couch watching a movie, I'd lay on the couch with my hair tied up while watching a movie. I should also take a moment to say that I love my silk scarf much more than my satin (polyester) ones. This year, I'll be beefing up silk scarf collection. I think my husband is tired of seeing me in the same leopard print design day after day. I have no problem tying my hair up because I think of it as a way of recharging my hair. As my hair is exposed all day, it's kinda like having your cell phone off the charger. Sure you can use it all day but sooner or later, you'll have to charge it to get maximum benefit. You best believe that I'll be continuing this habit over the next 3-4 months.

Another technique I implemented over the past three months was using a plastic cap in the morning's as a way of enhancing moisture. What I tried to do was use the plastic cap to simulate humidity and create a slightly damp feel on the hair. Once the hair felt slightly damp (after about 5-10 minutes), I'd remove the plastic cap, add some Gleau oil and tie the hair down with a silk scarf to seal. This technique really helped with me with dryness issues, especially during the winter months when the air is drier than normal. I hope this technique continues to impact my hair positively going forward. Another routine I implemented was trimming according to the lunar cycle. I don't know if that attributed to more growth but I will say that I trimmed more last stretch than I've done in a while. At one point during my stretch, I trimmed just for the heck of it only to find out that the lunar calendar trim was only a few weeks away. I trimmed anyway and I still retained length overall.

I think the area where I made my biggest progress overall was in my weekly wash routine. Over the past four months, I've been nursing one side of my hair which seemed to struggle more than the other side. With the introduction of my facial steamer to my routine. I was able to dedicate a little more effort to the pre-poo step. This extra attention was absolutely critical to the progress I made this last stretch. Week after week, I spent a large amount of time paying attention to the areas of my hair that needed the most attention. Four months later....progress. I'm not right where I want to be yet, but I am much closer to seeing the light than ever before. I treat my wash routine unlike anything else in my life. There are certain other practices that I'd like to remain consistent on but I have to admit, it sometimes still is a struggle for me. Not with my wash routine. There is never (ever) even the hint of deviation from my routine. My mind never debates whether I should carry out the extended pre-poo step or whether I should skip it this one time. Never! Now if only I can transfer that level of dedication to some of the other areas of my life.

Products
Over the past four months, I used pretty much the same staples. The only new products I used were the Asience conditioner, and I also purchased Burt's Bees Hair Repair Shea and Grapefruit deep conditioner. I didn't do an official review post on this product because I don't really use it for it's intended purposes. It's supposed to be a 2 minute treatment but I've been using it consistently in my pre-poos. The ingredients are more in line with a moisturizing conditioner than a 2 minute treatment. Since it contained practically no proteins, I put it to use for other purposes. So far so good. Overall, my routine has been a moisture routine with a little protein mixed in. Since my hair doesn't appreciate protein like it should, I sneak the protein into it's food as one would a stubborn child who won't take it's medicine. This method works really well for me so far, but as always, if there's a better way, I'll find it and I'll chuck this routine without even batting an eye.

Struggles
I'd like to talk a little about where I struggled and what I'll do going forward to avoid or minimize the issues I experienced. This stretch just happened to land right in the middle of shedding season. Every year, around fall, my hair begins it's shedding ritual. The crazy amount of shedding pretty much created the worse bout of tangles I've ever experienced in my life. Even after I relaxed, I had beaucoup tangles to contend with. I take 100% accountability for what I had to go through when I spent pretty much all day babying tangles out of my hair. That's the reason why the lady at the Dominican salon cut my hair last relaxer, they neither had the time nor the patience to deal with my hair's issues. When I stretch, I have the tendency to detangle the length of the hair, while overlooking the roots. What I do is allow the roots to remain in it's compacted position without doing my due diligence in detangling. Meanwhile, my shed coils are getting even more deeply intertwined with it's neighbors. I can't let this happen ever again, so I'll have to do a major detangle at least once a week during my pre-poo so I can release all the hair that's been shed throughout the week. If I find that once a week ain't cuttin' it, I'll increase the frequency. Not only will I play defense by detangling on a regular basis, I'll also have to play some offense and implement strategies that slow the amount shedding.

So here I stand ready to begin another long stretch. I've got a lot to look forward to. I hope to learn even more about my hair this go around. And with the focus on uber-healthy ingredients like ceramides and such, only good things will come about I'm sure. If I had to attribute anything to the success of the past stretch, I would say it was consistency. One thing I could certainly say about my last stretch is that I maintained a laser like focus pretty much the entire time. I knew the day would come when I would enjoy the wonderful fruits of my labor in the form of healthier hair. Today, I look back and smile proudly at what I was able to accomplish. Again, I'm not talking so much about the results as I am the focus and dedication level. As long as these remain, the results will follow. Thanks you all for being in it with me for the long haul. Now enough talking about the past, I'm ready to focus on what's next for my hair.

Thanks for listening.

Healthy Hair Resolutions for 2010

2010 is fast approaching. With only a couple weeks left in the year, I knew that I'd had to take the opportunity, now, to set my hair intentions for the year to come. I believe setting intentions is a powerful way of guiding the outcomes we experience in life. Without clear intentions, we are leaving our results to environment and chance. There's no way I'm letting chance be the decider on what happens to my hair.

So here we go.....

First I'l start by taking a look back. This past year was the year I was introduced to many staples. Some of them now include: Burt's Bee's Avocado pre-poo. 2009 was also the year that I experimented with little known products such as the Asience product line. Last but not least, my most favorite addition in 2009 was the purchase of my beloved facial steamer which I now use weekly when I pre-poo and deep condition. This past year was also the year I began creating online videos and product giveaways on my blog.

So now we're at a place where it's time to look forward. My focus now is geared towards the days and months ahead. I'd like to take both my hair, this site, and my youtube channel, to the next level. I've heard that one should always dream big, that way even if the biggest goals aren't reached, you are likely to still end up a lot further than if you dreamed small.

Let's start dreaming big shall we?

For the past two years, I've used this blog as a means to share my thoughts and ideas about creating healthy hair. Moreso, this blog, for me, has been a tool I've used to address my own hair issues and find solutions to the hair dilemmas I was experiencing. This year will be no different. My greatest hair desires still remain. I still wish to elevate strength and moisture levels of the hair. My topics of discussion will continue to revolve around these topics. Recently, I've had random thoughts popping into my mind about increasing elasticity levels in the hair. Moisture, strength, and elasticity are the holy trinity of healthy hair so I'll be seeking out ways to promote these three qualities with every action I take. Not only that, I'll also want to focus on eradicating the actions, products, and methods that work against achieving the big three.


The dilemma we face, as women who subject our hair to chemical processes, is having hair which is robbed of moisture, strength and elasticity every time we undergo a chemical process. Don't get me wrong, chemicals aren't the only culprit but it's certainly a viable enemy. So of course I'll make it my mission this year to find out the little known secrets of supporting the development of the "big three."

On a more personal level, the intentions for my hair health are as follows:

* Rehabilitation- I talked a little in my deep conditioning post about treating areas of damage with a more effective deep conditioning method. In 2009, I identified some real opportunity areas in my hair where the length and health isn't evenly distributed. In other words, I've got some damage. Actually the areas aren't as damaged now as they were when I first identified them. But now, I'm in intensive repair mode. This year will be the year when those areas are brought back (length and strength) levels of the healthiest parts of my hair.

* Thickness-More often than not, my ends are exposed to the open air. Manipulation is also a major detractor in my routine. As a result, I feel I'm sacrificing much needed thickness especially on the ends of my hair. So my objective this year will be to promote retention and health from root to tip (focusing on tip). How will I do this, I'm not sure yet. There's obviously something amiss in what I'm doing now which causes my current results. So this year I'll closely scrutinize what I do day to day to find solutions to this issue.

*Elasticity-I would love to create a documented systematic process that is proven to increase elasticity in each individual strand of hair. I'm not sure what that looks like yet but I salivate at the thought of making this possible. Look out for more posts on this topic to come.

*Moisturizing-I'd like to compile a powerful moisturizer that could incorporate into my routine. This moisturizer would work hand in hand with the oil blend I now use to create hair that is absolutely fabulous.

*Styling-Even though I vehemently vowed several times never to go back to a Dominican salon, I still keep going back. Why? Because I absolutely can not deny the wonderful results of having perfectly silky hair. But it never fails, I always seem to suffer some type of set back shortly after my visit. This last visit in September was no different. In 2010, I'd like to go the entire year without visiting the salon. Now that I think about it, there is a reason why I might go back. There's this girl who attends frequently who has some bomb hair. I salivate over her tresses every time I visit. It never seems to fail that every time she steps into the salon, some admirer begins to interview her for her hair secrets. What I love about her is that she's always willing to give her hair tips. I would love to interview her on this blog next year. Either way, my focus next year is to perfect a method of creating professionally looking results from home.

I think I'll wrap up my list there for now. I'm sure many more goals/intentions will become areas of focus for me next year. Until then, I'll start marinating over these as a starting point. I'm really excited about these and everything we'll accomplish next year.

What about you? What hair intentions are you working on this for 2010?

Detangling just became a whole lot easier

I've talked about the importance of documenting your hair journey in previous posts. Well I just became the beneficiary of my own written documentation process when I came across a draft of an old post that I never published.

Just last week, while I was setting my hair, I thought about setting a goal of reducing the amount of loss (breakage and/or shedding) week after week. After analyzing my routine over and over, I still couldn't figure out what I needed to do differently to loose less hair. That is until I found this excerpt taken from my drafts folder.

Take a gander:

In my quest for glorious hair, I've often sat back and thought about the washing process in general. I know that wash day should be the one time of the week were I'm nourishing and replenishing the health back into my hair. But for some reason, I could never become comfortable with loosing a lot of hair in the process. Well not too long ago, I heard about a method of washing the hair in braids section by section. The idea never caught on with me because I figured that because I wasn't scrubbing the hair and overmanipulating, there was no need to go the extra step.

This week, however, I bought into the idea that I need to try something different if I want to experience different results. So here's what I did:

-A day or two prior to washing I pre-pooed with one of my fav conditioners. My schedule that day prevented me from washing. Actually, I didn't get to wash until two days later. The morning of the actual wash, I re-applied a bit more conditioner and some Alma oil and proceed to create four large braids.

-Next I stepped into the shower and took one braid loose so I can apply Keracare Dry Itchy Scalp shampoo liberally to my scalp. Then came the Hair One conditioning shampoo down the length of the hair. This product is so moisturizing that I am able to begin detangling with ease. Afterwards I apply a really moisturizing conditioner to that section and two strand twist.

-I repeated this step with each section seperately making sure to keep re-twist each section after applying shampoo and conditioner. By keeping each section separate, I found that I had more control of the entire process. I wasn't dealing with an entire head of hair at once, I could focus on one manageble section at a time.

-Finally, I took the sections individually and applied a heavier conditioner. I re-twisted once again, put on a plastic cap and went on about my business.

By the time I did my final rinse, you could imagine my glee when I washed the conditioner out of perfectly detangled hair. I rinsed each section separately. I also opted not to retwist after the final rinse. The results were amazing! I normally air dry in a pony tail and loose a ton of hair trying to work the tangles through. This time was a totally different experience. I had no worries once I stepped out of that shower.

This method does take a little bit more time than normal to execute but believe me, the results are well worth it. I can only imagine who easy rollersetting will be going forward. Today I'm going about my day as normal but I've got a bit of a swagger. My confidence is sky high because my hair feels good, looks, good, and will only get better.

I'm excited about being reintroduced to this method of detangling. I'm going to reinstitute this method into my routine going forward. Will keep you posted on how this works for me long term.

Frustrated with your hair goal progress?

Hair goals. We all have 'em. Whether you're striving for armpit, brastrap, or butt-length, chances are you're hoping to have reached a specific length by a certain period of time. Today I want to talk a little about hair goals and how we can get closer to the all allusive next step of our hair journey

What I'd like to do is take this opportunity to challenge you on your current hair goal. When I say challenge, I'm not asking you to give up your hair goal. What I'd like you to do instead is to reconsider how you vocalize and strive towards your hair goals. Actually, I'll start by asking that you change your vocabulary and replace hair goals with hair intentions. For instance, when you say "I want to have bra-strap length hair." That is an intention. By intention, I mean your desire to bring about something. In this case, your desire is to bring about healthy hair at a certain length. Simple enough.

Now let's talk about hair goals. For the purposes of this discussion, you should think of hair goals, going forward, as the results you want to create that will bring about your intention. Let me clarify. If your intention is to create bra-strap length hair, your goal should be to achieve the results needed to create hair that length. Let's take a look at some examples of what hair goals should actually look like


*Have more flexible hair that is resistant to breakage.
*Increase shine levels of the hair.
*Reduce the amount of breakage occurring during wash and set every week.
*Thicker even length ends via trims.
*Create a healthier detangling routine on wash days.
*Increase (and retain) moisture levels in the hair.
*Improve the deep conditioning step of wash to address protein/moisture balance.
*Take hair vitamins at least 4 times a week.
*Protective style at least 4 days out of the week.
*Stimulate scalp via massages on a nightly basis.

The list goes on....

As you can see, I'm recommending that you break your "goal" down into several action steps which you can implement directly into your routine. These more specific and actionable goals helps to keep your focus on what you really need to do get to your intended length. Sure you can keep walking around talking about mid-back but unless you address your breakage issue and set your goals accordingly, mid-back probably won't happen. What I'm asking you to do is shift your focus in a way that addresses specific issues in your hair care regimen, one at a time, until your hair has no option but to respond accordingly.


So from this day forward, think of your length goal as an intention you wish to bring about. Then break down the results you want to experience one by one and attack them like a wild animal attacks its prey. Also, by focusing on and hitting each one of your goals, you're not having to deal with the frustration of not having the length you want (yet). You can keep your eyes on one goal and focus until you have it conquered. All you have to do is focus on moisture, or strength, or thickness, or whatever.

It's all about harnessing the power of focus and directing that power towards overcoming obstacles. The intended length you want is just a sweet by-product of doing the right things.