the curly girl wonder diaries

OK, so I am embarking on Month 4. I've settled into a new reggie. Friday nights are the nights that I do my special treatments...henna, amla & brahmi, or protein, followed by a deep condition. On Saturday mornings, I rinse out the deep conditioner and then spend the next 1 and a half to 2 hours finger coiling my hair. I use Total.ly Tw.isted Herb.al Ess.ence and Vatika oil for hold and shine, respectively. I may wear the coils like this for 2-3 days, pick them out on the 4th day and wear it like that for the rest of the week.

I went to the doctor this week b/c my body is all out of whack from stress (which I didn't realize I was still under) and this rollercoaster that my hormones are on. Both of which are wreaking havoc on my skin and I THOUGHT my hair. During the summer, I washed my hair everyday and I didn't see as much shedding as I do when I wash once a week. I know that this is probably gross to some, but I like to take pictures of my fallen soldierettes.

This is the aftermath of washing and styling. Yes, I understand that we typically lose 50-100 strands a day and yes, I know that this is the hairball that I experience only once a week. This seems excessive to me, in comparison to the few strands that I would lose over the summer. I cannot even run my fingers through my wet hair in the shower without having a bunch of hair stuck to my hands...I'm not even manipulating it that much.

The only reason I wanted to go natural was so that I could have thicker hair. Not b/c I'm down for whatever cause and not b/c I think that relaxers are unhealthy. So this is why I haven't been too hot on my hair lately...it's b/c of the amount of shedding that I'm experiencing, which seems rather counterproductive to my goals. I did an Apho.gee protein treatment last week and it seems that it didn't help a damn thing.

If you think that I'm crazy, join the club. There are people that have either seen that pic of my shed hair or my actual head and think that it's all mental. Everytime I'm ready to throw my hands in the air and quit, my new guy friend brings me back to reality. I dunno...at this point, if I can make it another 6 months without relaxing, I may just shock myself. I'm just being honest. At any rate, I'm back on birth control, an antibiotic, and have started getting my facials again. I'm trying everything that I know to relieve stress. So I guess, we'll see.

This Month's Mythbuster

MY natural hair is stronger than MY relaxed hair. For me, that's the myth.

Comment of the Month

N/A

Overall, I had fun with my hair in June, July, and August. September, and now, October has been a struggle. And it would seem that the best time for me to be stressed would've been the summertime, while I was unemployed. Does stress have a delayed reaction? This all doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, I'm gonna keep it moving...

Still...

Curly Girl Wonder aka LB