My Oyin Products Have Been Shipped!

I'm very excited. My sample pack was shipped on Tuesday, so I hope to receive it by Friday.

Failed Experiment

It wasn't a total failure. I just think it needs to be longer to pull this off. My wash and go is best for now. I did stop using the aloe vera gel. I wasn't too fond of the hardness after a while. I'm not dying for curl definition or anything, so it's whatever. I like the soft, fuzzy feeling better.

Twist Experiment

I was talking to a fellow napptural about her chunky fro and she explained that she twists it in large twists at night to achieve the look. I honestly didn't think my hair was long enough to twist, but low and behold--despite their appearance--I twisted my hair last night while I talked on the phone (had it on speaker). They look like crap, as you can see, but I reallllly want to avoid no-pooing every day as it gets cooler. I don't know if I should untwist it before or after my shower.

As an alternative, I also made a watered down conditioner spritz...another suggestion from the board. Worst cast scenario, I'll have to no-poo this morning and keep experimenting.

Are They Really Concerned with Hair Health?

I used to think my stylist was concerned with the health of my hair more than styling and the profit she made from applying caustic chemicals to my hair and scalp. However, that is clearly a contradiction. We recently had a discussion on NP about Beauticians Not Knowing How to Do Natural Hair. The OP witnessed a young girl getting her hair blowdryed in a salon as "big clusters of hair was FLYING all over the floor. "

A few poignant notes:

• Think about it. Why aren't there any nappy-headed mannequins? (AuNappturale)
• When I went to Cosmetology school, natural hair wasn't something that was taught. There was a section in our book called Thermal Styling which showed how to press natural hair, but nowhere in the textbook did it have a section on natural hair care. It was a shame cause we had 4 black instructors and none of them could tell you about natural hair. When I told one of them I wanted to go into natural styling, she looked at me like and told me more money was in relaxers and weaves. Its a shame we have had to use relaxers so long we have lost touch with who we are. (Trickie Tam)
• Stylists TODAY don't know about hair health or how to do natural hair. I don't ever remember this type of hair drama when I was little. My mother (who is 69 and a beautician) knew how to do natural hair. She is the one who told me how to grow my hair out and what products to use when I experienced breakage, etc. Old school stuff that she used back in the day to get hair to grow and be healthy...not motions or affirm or any of that. (WildlyBeautiful)
  
  

Oyin Handmade

I just ordered a sample pack from Oyin. I hope I like the Whipped Pudding. I would like to be able to use just one product. I like the Mango Butter, but I go through it so quickly.

I'm still suffering from impatience with my hair growth. Tryce has had wonderful growth in a year. It's so inspiring, but it just adds to my impatience problem.

2 Things

1 - I want a new digital camera...which may be what I request for Christmas. 2 - I REALLY want my hair to grow. I'm so bored with it. I love playing in it, but I'm ready for some options. I'm sure I'm looking at May/June before I can really do anything fun with it. The only protective style that's available are coils and I'm really hesitant to pay what he's going to charge. I'd be willing to spend $40...maybe. I'm still not positive that I'd like them. I like them on other people, but I'm just not sure about me. I feel the need to do more protectives styles, but I'd like to be able to do it myself. I know I'll be able to handle twists, but my hair seemed like it wanted to do its own thing when I attempted the coils. I'll have to practice on a weekend.

Everyone Has Their Issues

I was at a restaurant with some friends and later that evening, my friend said to me, "I was the biggest person at the table." Mind you she is not obese or anything, just concerned about weight as may women are. I later thought to myself, "I was the only person at the table with acne."

I spend many days looking at people's skin in envy. My mother had BEAUTIFUL skin...just like a baby's bottom. On many days, I truly believe that I got slightly jipped in the creation process. So while other people worry about their weight, I worry about my skin and work diligently to heal it. I think I'm making progress, but it's just sad that this is something I have to deal with at age 30. I'm really hopeful that in 3 months, I will see a tremendous improvement. Other than the Glycare Cleansing Gel, I'm working with all natural products that have centuries of victories behind them. I'm remaining faithful and as consistent as I can. After all, I am only human...

Homecoming Update

Homecoming went well. My new do was well received. My skin was another issue. Earlier that week, I was in a killer 3 hour meeting. Sitting in one spot for that long makes me a little antsy if I'm not fully engaged. At any rate, I recall leaning my face onto my shirt or something. I know it wasn't my hand, because I truly no better than to touch my extremely acne prone face. I don't know why I thought the shirt might have less dirt on it than my hands...so I ended up with about 3-4 pimples on the right side of my jaw. But...I was determined not to let it get me down even though I was really conscious of it. So homecoming came and went. My face wasn't as clear as I wanted it to be but at least my cheeks were pimple-free.

These products are my staple at the moment. I know I keep hopping around, but I think I've settled on these. I'm going to stick with the Glycare Cleansing Gel because it was my saving grace years ago. It cleared my skin without any other products. So, I doubt it's harming me now. I know it does a good job of exfoliating and dead skin cells are famous for clogging pores that result in acne. The aloe vera gel has worked a miracle. If I wasn't so self conscious, I'd post a before and after of my left cheek. I'm sticking with it. I'm using the Vitamin E oil as a moisturizer in the AM and the shea butter in the PM. I'm still looking for a daytime moisturizer that doesn't look so greasy and that is natural. I think it does an okay job of absorbing into my skin, but I don't like that greasy feeling.

What a Pleasure

It was such a pleasure to dine with my nappy sisters. There were 15 of us and it was really nice. The food was pretty good, too. My pictures didn't come out that well. I'm convinced that I don't know how to work my camera and it's kind of old. I'm looking forward to the next one. A year from now would be great; we'll be able to see everyone's hair growth.

My First Napptural Gathering

I am soooo excited. I haven't been in the presence of more than 3 nappies since my journey began...that I can recall anyway. I hope to get some helpful information. I'm taking my Suave 2-minute conditioner to give away or swap. I should take this Suave Coconut too, but I like using it in my spritz, so I'll just keep it. At this moment, I'm deep conditioning. The jar said no heat required, but they say that heat helps the conditioner to penetrate the cuticle or something like that. Hopefully, the heat from my body will do something.

I really enjoy nurturing my hair. I was taking a look at the different textures and it's just amazing what God can create. I really wish my mommie was here to see this. I have no idea what she'd think. We were both natural for quite a while; she probably wouldn't really care as long as it looked neat. I remember her hair being a lot straighter than mine in its natural state. Maybe her hair was more the texture of the back of my hair. We could be taking this journey together; that would be so cool.

Anyway, keeping with the positive spirit of this post...I always feel regret or something like that when I respond to people's question, "Why?" I don't feel like I'm telling them the whole truth, but I also don't feel the need to get into it. I remember reading an article where someone asked Erykah Badu why she cut her locs and I think her response was, "It's personal." It really is. I totally feel her. The response is personal and because it's so personal, I don't think many people could relate anyway, so I just give a vague response about a lot of self reflection and realizing that relaxers are damaging. Sometimes, I don't even say that. Part of me doesn't want to step on anyone's toes, because my answer could imply that the choice that they've made is not a good one.

So...some reasons...

• Relaxers are caustic chemicals that alter your hair and can cause great damage. There are countless women walking around with limp hair that breaks off every second because of the chemicals and their reckless use of heat.
• I decided to stop believing the lye that the slave masters instilled in us that our hair is not beautiful in its natural state. This lie has been perpetuated through the generations. Talk of good hair makes my skin boil. All hair is good hair if it's healthy. So what, if it doesn't curl...it's not supposed to. It's supposed to do what it does.
• I decided to stop fighting with my hair to make it something it isn't and was never meant to be.
• I have decided to embrace what God gave me. It's about self-acceptance and self love.
• It's political. I reject the European standard of beauty that African-American women have adopted.
• Once I asked myself the question, "Why am I putting these dangerous chemicals on my hair and scalp?" "Why do I want my hair to be straight?" I realized that could no longer be my truth. It didn't take long for me to see the light. It was a paradigm shift.
• After spending time on NP and hearing others declare their love for their hair, the path to self-acceptance and self-love seemed easy. In every day life, there aren't a lot of people you can talk to about these issues. Oftentimes, other people who are natural aren't also napptural. It's encouraging and empowering to spend time with likeminded people, even if it's in a virtual world. It's a state of mind that is often uncommon.

Definite Improvement

I definitely see improvement with my skin. This may be the first week in a month when I haven't had any new pimples. Hopefully, it will stay that way. I added shea butter to my routine yesterday. I replaced the vitamin E oil. I've read wonderful things about the shea butter and hopefully it will help with the blemishes, but more than anything, I hope that it will make my skin soft and supple. In 3 months, I should have beautiful skin...I hope. My pictures definitely show improvement in the past month. In 4 more weeks I hope to see more improvement since I could possibly run into someone I haven't seen in a while. By homecoming, next week this time, I may not see a big difference. But that's okay, because I'm no longer disgusted when I look in the mirror.

Still Waiting

I am still anxiously awaiting growth, although I know it is futile. I sent an email today and realize that it hasn't even been one month yet. Geez. I need to let this go. I just keep seeing all of these hairstyles that I'd love to have and I can't until I get more hair. Plus, I'm easily bored and although I love the ease of this TWA, I wish I could change it up a bit. I'd at least like to have enough hair so I could tie a scarf around it or something. IMO that would look a bit silly at this stage. I saw a picture of Tryce today after 10 months of growth and it was definitely significant, so I know I'll be pleased. By that time, I should have at least 6 or 7 inches. I tell you, I know I better stop thinking about it, because I can already tell this stuff is probably going to be dense.

I've really been thinking about the overmanipulation and protective styles thing I keep reading about on NP. I know some people wear their hair out all the time and don't suffer any damage. I wonder if there's a difference between those people who are outside and in the elements versus people like me who are inside most of the day. I'll just continue to keep the ends moisturized and see how it goes. Luckily, I don't have to deal with tangles at this point. I'm hoping that I can detangle with my fingers for a little while before I need to purchase that famous Denman brush. We shall see...

I'm Guilty

I changed my routine again. I am now washing with a strawberry yogurt and honey mix. The lactic acid should do the same thing as the glycolic acid, so we'll see. I hope I'm not making a mistake. At this very moment, I have no pimples. The few I've gotten have flattened out without growing into monstrosities. In 2 months, I don't want to see any dark spots...let's cross our fingers.

Mist, Fog and Rain

I'm no longer afraid of what they might do to my hair...that is just sooooo great. It's been misting a lot here lately too.

http://www.loccorg.com - My new project. I did the web design for Pookeylou. I was so happy to do it, because she had posted a topic on NP last year. I just knew she was already on a roll. I need to send an email to friends to get them to take the survey. I wish some of these online survey services weren't so expensive, but it's probably well worth it if you do a lot of them or have a lot of people taking it. $350 is a lot if you're not using it a lot.

Hair Growth

I think I have 2 inches. It's barely 2, but it's 2. Now, I'm just waiting for these sideburns to grow in. I can't believe I agreed to that...what a nut! I'm going to follow everyone's advice and I EXPECT to have a total of 3 inches by December...no less.

I know I shouldn't be focused on length, but rather health. However, I think length can be an indicator of health...

Chlyric on Hair Growth

Question

Hello Everyone!!I've been natural for about 7 years and my hair isn't even shoulder length. When I pull it almost reaches my shoulders but will it ever get any longer? How long have you guys been natural and how long is your hair?What rituals do you guys do to get your hair longer? Are you taking vitamins? Are you drinking certain teas? How often do you wash your hair? I'm just a bit frustrated right now. Don't get me wrong I Love MY hair but sometimes I wish it were longer.. Any suggestions that don't include adding hair?

Chlyric's Response

Sounds like it's damaged. 7 years of growth would have my hair sweeping my butt. No magic teas or vitamins either.

You don't wash your hair enough too. I bet u money if you wash your hair twice a week or even everyday you can grow it down your back.

Two weeks of not washing creates a buildup that doesn't promote growth. There's a reason why people who only wash once a month usually have a teaspoon of hair.

Cut off three inches. Wash and shampoo every other day. Don't brush it anymore and only detangle in the shower. Your hair will be twice as long this time next year.

My Comments

This makes a lot of sense. I don't think I ever thought about it that way. Something else that other people said was NOT to comb/brush our hair while it's dry...only detangle when it is wet and saturated with conditioner. I bet a lot of people's hair is just snapping off. I always think it is interesting when I see some people who have been natural for 4 years and others who have been growing their natural hair for 2 and the latter group's hair is longer.

I know we tend to think that our hair doesn't grow, but it does; it's just popping off at the same rate or faster. We have to remember that although our hair appears to be strong, it is actually quite fragile and we have to treat it like fine silk. Every coil, bend, zig and zag is a potential breaking point.

A Book Idea...or an Annotated Bibliography

It looks like there some pretty good books out there on the topic of the "Black Woman and Her Hair." One, by a professor at Tech, even includes studies. It looks like she did what I was thinking about doing. My question is...how do we effectively share the message, the stories. I think I'm going to at least write an annotated bibliography. I just ordered 3 from Amazon and 1 from the library. I want to be able to reach the others, but I'm almost positive that a book isn't the vehicle. I'm pretty sure that leading by example is the best way to get the message out, but it just seems like a slow process. And maybe it is and will be and maybe that's okay.

Napptural Gathering

I'm on the list to attend my very first Napptural Gathering on the 22nd. I'm very excited. I can't wait. One of my sorors who is also a member will probably go with me. Isn't that dandy! I can talk about hair, see hair and we can all fill the room with the love of our hair. I'm insane...I know. I really think we need to start a revolution, but since I know nothing about those things I wouldn't know where to start. Although I think we can do a lot by example.

Acne Update
No new pimples. I still have the sore spot on my right cheek but a pimple has not surfaced, thank God. However, my cheek is a little red/brown where the sore spot resides. I'm looking forward to taking a picture today, not because there has been drastic improvement, but because the pimple is gone. I am truly hoping that in 3 months my skin will be dramatically clearer.

Does the Absence of a Comment Equal Disapproval?

I went out to dinner with a girlfriend of mine last night and she never said anything about my hair. I suppose I am just used to people making some comment when they see it for the first time. She was one of the few people who expressed disapproval about my decision, so it wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't like it at all. It was just a little weird because it was a different reaction. You wait...a year from now, it will be a totally different situation.

Pimple Status

Well, I peeled off scabs last night and they bled....but, I kept cotton pads with toner pressed on them for a while and it looks like they are finally flat. I did the honey mask this morning as well. I've got to figure out what will dry them up quickly. The aloe vera seems to have done a descent job of making sure the new ones didn't grow into full blown pimples. That big one I got last week was a handfull. I'm not sure what I should have done differently since I kept changing my routine every other day or so. I did the neosporin, the honey and then just the aloe vera. The honey seemed to bring the blood up or something....I don't know; it's all gross. So the goal at this point is NO NEW PIMPLES. I'm going to remain consistent with this routine:

AM
Wash with Glycare
Either - Strawberry Yogurt Mask or Honey Mask
Tone with Neutrogena
Moisturize with Aloe Vera

PM
Wash with Glycare
Tone with Neutrogena
Moisturize with Aloe Vera