Hair Diary *5* - Takedown & Wash Day!

My takedown process is quite a long one. It usually takes an entire weekend to complete.

I started out by saturating my hair with a spray bottle full of water and a ton of conditioner. I am using V05 Moisture milk in Passion Fruit Smoothie, but I prefer Suave.

As I unraveled my braids the pieces of hair slid right out as well. I did encounter a few snarls and to counteract I simply sprayed more conditioner and gently pulled the strands apart one by one.

After unraveling I throughly detangled using a shower comb to remove most of the shed hair. I then went over it with my denman to smooth it all out. Each section was braided up afterwards so that they stayed detangled.

I then pre-pooed overnight with suave, and oil and shampooed in the AM with Aussie Moist, off camera.

Next, it was time for a Henna Gloss treatment. I mixed a bunch of conditioners that I didnt like much(along with some I love), along with some safflower oil, honey, and Jamila Henna powder. I let that sit for a few hours with heat for the first hour or so, to let the henna penetrate.

After rinsing the henna I applied a clear rinse, with a little heat for 20 mins.

I rinsed that out and did my final cowash. I then put my hair into a braided bun for a few days, cowashing daily.

Here are a few pics after the fact. I can kinda see the tint and the shine from the henna and the clear rinse. :)

I went ahead and redid my crochet braids as well. I will post pics and stuff for that in the next post.

:)

Keeping up with your Crochet Braids - Video

I recorded this a good 2-3 weeks ago and haven't had the time to edit and upload. I just finished editing and here it is.

I have worn Crochet Braids in the past but that was years ago. I thought it would be good to share my tips and tricks that I have learned over the years.

When sleeping, I always wear my satin bonnet. If I don't, I wake up with matts and tangles, which is not cool. If I wear my bonnet every night it greatly reduces the amount of times I need to detangle.

Everyday when I wake up I take off the bonnet, shake the hair out, and fluff into place. If any pieces need to be separated I finger comb them out.

Every few days, I spray my scalp with a conditioner, water, and oil mix. Make sure this throughly dries because it can cause the scalp to mildew. I feel like I have much better access to my scalp with this style as opposed to a sew in or wig. You can use whatever you like on your scalp whether it is a liquid, oil, or cream.

Most of the time I just finger comb and separate the curls to keep them looking nice .Whenever I feel like the curls need to really be detangled I spray with Suave and water and comb out using my denman first and then using a wide tooth comb. The denman clumps the curls and gets rid of snarls and the wide tooth comb separates the curls and fluffs the hair out really pretty.

If I feel any of the knots at the base start to loosen up I pull them taught and go through with my soft hold hairspray. This keeps them in place and I haven't had any pieces fall out that I haven't pulled out myself.

Im thinking I might keep these in for maybe a few more days or till next week. Because of everything thats been going on, my hair is the last thing I should be worried about, I guess. Im going to take them down and let my hair rest for a few days and then re-install. I need to shampoo my scalp, as I have a lot of build up and I need to moisturize. Will post about that when I do.

Breed by Chase Novak - Book Review

Its rare for me to find a book that intrigues me enough to read it through and through in less than a day. Due to the so called great reviews about this book, I did just that.

I began reading with great expectations and high hopes to be terrified and disgusted out of my mind.

Unfortunately I was thoroughly disappointed. I expected so much more. The entire time I was reading I was waiting for that climactic moment where the story takes off.

That moment never comes.

-Spoilers Below-

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - TOLT *5*

Thinking Out Loud

The damage that this storm has done is unreal. I live in NY because I'd rather deal with snow than hurricanes, tornadoes, and the like. Because of global warming those southern climate conditions have shifted north.

The reports of the upcoming storm had been on the news for days. People were told to evacuate. Because the storm last year, Irene, had been overhyped many people did not budge. One guy who lived on the south shore of Staten Island's way of preparing for the storm was taking down Halloween decorations and buying gas and water.

So many people stayed home only to be evacuated later by emergency response. Water up to their waists were their indication to get out, never mind that many houses were literally washed away.

It really bothers me to see that people cant seem to take a valid warning seriously. So much could have been avoided during this storm if people would have listened and evacuated when they had the chance.

I have been following all the news reports, although I was without power and only had the car radio for a good 3 days. Our house still has no power and there are no hopes of it being back on any time soon. Most likely another 2-3 weeks. Because there are just so many people without it makes it even more difficult for the companies to handle it all in the projected time frame.

Because of the power outages, the cell towers are all down. I had to travel a half an hour to get a signal on my phone, which is completely outrageous. Last year we had Irene and we had no power for 6 days, but still it wasnt as bad. Other people had power then, but this year Sandy took almost everyone out!

New Jersey and New York were completely unprepared. Its hard to know what the turn out will be, when this type of storm has never hit this area before, so I get it. Yet still, this is completely crazy. Everything flooded and tons of trees were uprooted!!

After reading this article from the New yorker, I am happy to see that people like Chris Christie can set aside their differences and come together in a time in need. It shows real judgement and perspective. I have a new found respect for Christie. Unlike Romney who cant ever seem to keep a consistent position on any issue. How exactly does a person flip flop the way he does? I have not seen anything like it.

Mitt Romney is out of his mind to think that certain things like FEMA and Medicaid should be run by the state. Doesnt he know that will kill the economy even more? We are still in a bad economy and we need improvement, but it takes a day to knock something down.

It takes much longer to build, than it does to tear down.

8 years of Bush and only 4 years of Obama and we have had a surplus in the budget. Romney with his policies and idiocies will bring us down further than Bush ever did. This disaster just proved how wrong he would be as president.

Being a good business owner does not mean you will be a good president. Especially when you are in business looking only for ways to fatten your own wallet, never mind the people who actually do all the work, the employees.

In my opinion he does not know how to handle a situation like this what so ever. Nor does he take it as serious as he should. He wants to be president just to have had that title. He is not in it for the real reasons, the people.

Here are a few photos of the flooding.... The damage the trees have done are just as bad.

This is Seaside Park NJ.

Battery Tunnel Entrance Manhattan.

Cars submerged in an underground parking garage in the Financial District Manhattan.

Source

Absolutely Insane...

Hair Diary *4*

I've had the crochet braids in for a minute but am totally dying to take them out!!

I'm way too impatient.

I still do love the style but I want to change it up. I made the mistake of washing it (a few times) and obviously because this is synthetic hair it has caused it to go a little ratty. I have been cutting the ends out almost daily to try to keep it feeling nice.

It looks fine but it just gets a little more tangled than it probably should or would if I had not have washed the hair.

I really just want to get in there and detangle my hair to see the amount of shedding I have going on.

I also really want to do a good Henna treatment and a Roller set. Once I do those 2 things I think that itch will be gone for the most part and I will put it back up into another set of crochets.

When I take them out I will also do a measurement to see exactly where I am at compared to before.

Here are a few shots of the hair washed and detangled with the denman brush. They clump nicely and after the curls dry I separate with my fingers.

Because its wet, you can see the braids in between. Plus I didn't add as much hair as I should have in the middle, but thats cool with me. I hadn't noticed but since I have been chopping into the hair I can see that it is a little crooked. I'll go back through later and even it out, but it doesn't seem like much reason to if I do decide to take it out within the next few days.

I've had them in for 2 weeks. I said I was going to wear them for a month. I think, I should probably go another week before I take them out.

I shampooed today with my rosemary shampoo and put coffee into my spray bottle with suave conditioner and castor oil. Going to spray my scalp and massage it in a little later.