curly girl wonder diaries - it's a 6mo celebration

I made it! My 6-month nappiversary was Friday! This has been an interesting journey. Great all day, everyday? HELL NAW!!! I've owned up to my struggles on blog and have even lingered by the aisles in Sally's, stocking the infamous "creamy crack" and reminiscing on how Fabulaxer/Optimum sure did me right...even better than some men have in the past. But do I miss the chemical burns? Not.at.all.

I remember when my scalp was burned so bad (after a trip to my hairdresser back home) that it started draining while my hair was in a wrap. Well...when it came time to comb my hair down, I couldn't. My hair was glued to my head and I had to wash it all over again. Both money and hair down the drain. Needless to say, my scalp was still a little raw but I chalked it up as a price that I'd have to pay for beauty.

Now? I'm contemplating making this a permanent decision. Although I was just in awe of someone's freshly 'laxed roots no less than 2 weeks ago, I think that it's best for me to not chance a mishap. Especially since I developed an allergy to the PPD in hair dye, pretty late in my "coloring" life.

Anyway, I cut off all of my relaxed ends on June 11, 2009...2 days before my 31st birthday. People want to do/have/or be about something new before they enter another year. This was no exception. I was pretty pleased with the outcome.

Out of all the phases, I have to say that this fade-up is my favorite style. It was an automatic confidence boost. Who knew that the person who thought that her cheeks were too big, would actually be fond of them being exposed.

Funny thing is, I didn't realize just how short I had it cut until months later.

I went into my bday feeling dangerous! It was summertime and I was about the wash n' go.

And inevitably, it started to grow out and my wash n' gos were taking too much of my time in the mornings. (The above pic was 2 months in...I forget what happened to my eye, but no, I wasn't punched. I'm sure that I wrote about it.)

So, I became a fan of coils. I have mastered the coil-out. This is my protective style of choice b/c it has lasted me for up to 2 weeks and I could easily keep them moisturized with my coconut/rosemary/vitamin e/castor oil/water mixture. However, they do not keep me from playing in my hair b/c I've been busted at work for that on several occasions.

(I think that I did something else to my eye, but got the wise idea to just lift my glasses up, instead of taking them off altogether for this pic). Unfortunately, this year has not been without stress and this manifested itself in my skin and (what I considered) excessive hair shedding. I began to regret my decision b/c I had nothing to hide behind. I am still trying to repair the damage to my skin but my hair seems fine (or maybe it has always been).

The 3 pictures above were taken 4 months in. The coils kept my hair hidden so much that when I unleashed it, I was surprised that I retained as much length as I did. But what is that saying? A watched pot never boils? Similar to when I was relaxed, my hair seems to retain length more when I don't obsess over it and style it less often. Not to say that I didn't and don't take care of it...I'm just a fan of minimal manipulation.

I tried to go back to the wash n' gos but again, it was more like a "no-go". My personal preference are styles that can and will last for, at least, a week. I do not like having to do my hair on a weeknight and have settled into "spa Fridays" and "styling Saturdays".

And here comes Thanksgiving. I wanted to try something new, so I did the flat twists but STILL refused to stray from my coils (in the back). I got a lot of compliments on this style, but I need some more time to perfect my flat twists. And speaking of twists...

I decided to do a twist-out. My company's holiday party was last night and, again, I wanted to do something different. Admittedly, I haven't been feeling too cute lately and wasn't all that excited about going to the party. Yet, I wanted to show my face...and secretly hoped that the heavy h'or deurves (sp?) would include scallops wrapped in bacon. Well, they didn't.

At any rate, I pulled a dress out of my closet, got dolled up, and picked up my friend, Kat. After the guy drama surrounding my holiday party last year, I figured it best for me to go with a girl...and we had fun. And so did my twist-out. Will this be my next "go-to" style? Probably not. It took entirely too long for me to twist my hair b/c of the length. And taking them down was a bit more cumbersome than my trusty coils. I rocked it, but I may revisit the twists in a couple of months or so...or the next special occasion (whichever comes first).

RESEARCH

Let's see...the natural haircare books that I've read so far:

Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Got Too Ruff by Lonnice Brittenum Bonner

Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey

Textured Tresses by Diane Da Costa

Thank God I'm Natural by Chris-Tia E. Donaldson (my fave)

My favorite natural haircare websites are all listed to the right.

As far as youtubers...yeah, I watch a lot of them...maybe 14 of them semi-regularly. If I had to settle for listing my Top 5, I would say kimmaytube, mahoganycurls, prettydimples01, curlychronicles, and sheacocoaluv. The ones that I'm most drawn to have great attitudes that make me smile just by watching them be happy. I don't necessarily covet anybody's curls b/c my hair is going to do what it wants to, no matter how many ways I try to make it do something unnatural. I'm mostly about getting my hair to a thicker, healthier state...with that comes length and overall satisfaction with 'self'.

REGIMEN

Same ole, same ole. Wash and deep condition on Friday. Style on Saturday. I haven't done any ayurvedic treatments in a while. I hope to get off my arse and do this soon.

Products

Conditoner (Co-Wash): Yes to Carrots

Leave-In: HE Hello Hydration

Oils: Vatika, Spritz (Coconut, Vitamin E, Castor, Rosemary, Water)

It's all working together for the good of my hair, so I'm not much of a product junkie.

Overall, I've received more hair compliments during these past 6 months than I have my whole relaxed life...which spanned about 18 years. And anyone that may have had a problem with it, originally, is over it...as if they had a choice. Through the ups and downs, I am learning a lot about myself and am thankful for this journey. I'm looking forward to another 6 months...and beyond.

Still growing,

Curly Girl Wonder aka LB