natural hair anniversary #3

Since I have this once-a-month updating routine, I have fallen behind the times with this blogger stuff.  I have no idea who's reading me but I can see that the preferred updates are those related to hair.  It appears that many end up on my page for natural hair inspiration of some sort.  The search terms range from a particular hairstyle to some milestone.  So, I apologize for my lack of timeliness when it comes to hair updates.  Unfortunately, I haven't taken very many pics of myself to document the journey as of late, but I have included some pics that were taken of me to give you an idea of where I stand in my now 3 year anniversary mark, as of mid-June.

                                                                                             

As seen above, I enjoy the fluffiness of an aged twist out.  Probably to the detriment of my hair, the drier...the more voluminous...the better.  I was once a fierce "re-twister" at night, but the pineapple method tends to elongate and volumize at the same damn time.  (Had a 'hood moment).  Another good volumizer is some old-fashioned "sexy time".  I didn't bother to prep my hair once and just allowed the constant "handling" of my hair.  When it was all said and done, I just made sure that I wasn't laying on my hair when I fell asleep.  Now, I wouldn't recommend this method if you work at a very conservative office.  But I got many looks when I walked in with some man-handled hair the following morning.  Good or bad, I didn't mind.  I loved the wild look.  I find that I now totally embrace frizz and am less impressed with the perfect curl.

                                                        

                                                            

However, a few times, I ventured back to the wash n' go.  I celebrated my bday, in the polka dot dress, with an updo that was simply a ponytail that I placed on the top and side of my head and left some hair out in the front to frame my face.  Pinned the hell out of it everywhere.  I just wet my hair that morning and used aloe vera gel to define my curls.  Aloe vera gel is great at elongating and defining at the same damn time, lol.  (Had another 'hood moment).  As for the pic in the purple sundress, I think that I just used goo gobs of the Sh.ea Moi.sture Thick.ening Growth M.ilk while in the shower to add weight to my hair while it was soaked.  I used aloe vera around my edges and twisted the front to look as it were a natural headband.  I was at a rather "earthy" event that day for lack of a better term and fit right on in.

OK, honestly, there is nothing special about this hairstyle.  I just wanted to show what Spec.ial Ed looks like now.  I ran into him at a festival here and had no idea who he was.  I mean, a group of us were just standing around and talking so he seemed like a regular dude to me.  But when I asked (b/c people kept stopping him for photos) and he said that he was the Mag.nificent, himself, I HAD to take a pic.  I went on and on about that episode of The Cos.by Show that he was on.  Yep, it was one of those moments that if I could rewind, I would have spit a couple bars from "I Got It Ma.de".  OK, back to our natural hair special...

If you're anything like me, you DO NOT look forward to wash day.  You want to extend the period between washes as long as possible, but you don't want to look as if you had a fight with the pillow and the pillow won.  I experimented with my steadily growing bushy hair one night and put some Hell.o Hydra.tion conditioner in a spray bottle and diluted it with water.  I only sprayed my ends.  I did not touch my roots.   I retwisted and just hoped for the best.  When I woke up, it was only slightly damp, but it dried like this.  I got a lot of compliments on it, but it's not often that I want my hair to be this perfectly curled.  But ok, that was my tip of the week.  Although, I think it's better to use a natural conditioner b/c over time, my ends started to feel dry.

THE COMPARISON SHOTS

Here is the comparison from last year to this year.  Honestly, I didn't think that I retained that much b/c I have been slacking.  The pic in the black is after I took down my pineapple.  Yes, I still had some eye boogie b/c I was half-asleep.  And yes, I could clean my mirror...

It's probably hard to tell the difference between the contorted monster claw and the more relaxed hand, but I have reached the bottom of my bra strap.

So, earlier this year I was having issues with my hair trying to lock.  My twistouts looked like ratty twigs.  Finger detangling and just combing with my wide tooth shower comb were no longer the business.  I am pretty late to the game, but I purchased a Den.man brush and have been pretty pleased with the detangling process ever since.  I don't think that the Den.man is supposed to be what's hot either, but I just didn't have that kind of time to be picking hairs apart ever-so-gently.  So there...I have sinned.  And I will probably keep sinning until it doesn't work for me anymore. 

And there it is.  Now that I am working remotely, I would like to believe that I'll spend more time nurturing my hair but I won't make any promises.  Life takes over but I WILL have fun with my hair along the way!