Mini-rant

I've got a secret, y'all. Lean in close so no one else can hear.

Sometimes I get tired of the attention my hair brings.

There, I said it. Although I am still in luh with my hair, I've got to admit that I sometimes tire of it's "novelty." I occasionally don't feel like answering questions about my routine, or explaining why I went natural, or listening to someone go on about why they can't/want to do it. I hate people asking me questions like I've become the natural hair guru just because I'm one of only a handful of people they know rocking the hair God gave em. The hands in my hair irk me as well. Sometimes I wish I wasn't now referred to as "the one with the fro" and just "the sexy chocolaty thick goodness" Tori. Oddly, my hair has become yet another way of being "othered."

Yes, I am aware of the irony that I'm complaining about the attention to my hair on a blog I created to discuss my hair. And to that I say, so what. My blog, my rant. -_-

Tori D. needs YOUR help!

This semester is already shaping up to be pretty rough. Since I want to make it out of grad school with a decent GPA & my sanity in tact, I won't be able to update TGHD like I should. I have a few interviews in the works, as well as a giveaway, but I don't have the time to focus on work, school, my sorority obligations and my blogs.

So what do I need from my wonderful readers? I need help! If you want to share your transition story (or know someone who does), have a product that you want to rave or rant about, give a product recipe or just feature pix of you rocking your 'do (natural or relaxed, since I did say this blog would be geared towards both) email them to me at toridblogs@gmail.com.

I will still be posting, just a bit more sporadically than before (bet you didn't think that was possible, huh?). You all can help keep my little blog alive during the down time. And after December, if everything goes well, we'll be back to our regular schedule.

Thanks in advance, y'all!

Naturals In Advertising

Natural hair mentioned in the latest Above the Influence ad

"I Do Me" Video (boo to not having a code to embed it!): http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/the-ads/

Vegetable Glycerin: My new fav

For a while now I've been hearing/reading the term "vegetable glycerin" from various naturals. I didn't know anything about it, so I turned to the net to see what I could find. In the blogosphere I found a post on The Natural Haven that explained what glycerin is and how it works. In short:

1. It is hygroscopic - meaning it bonds to and retains water. (Hygro meaning 'moisture' and scopic in this case meaning 'seeking' - therefore moisture seeking) (Griffin, W. C. et al Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists, 1952)

2. It is a humectant (because of no 1) and therefore can be used to stabilise the water/moisture content in products (perhaps as in KY) (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists,pg 19, 1958)  

3. It makes hair softer (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists pg 251-263 1989)

Sounds pretty good right? So I made my way over to Rainbow Grocery for the first time ever (if you're in the Metro Jackson area, go over to Fondren and check it out) and got a couple ounces of VG. It's colorless, odorless, sticky, and sweet (so I've read, I haven't tasted it and don't plan to). It's advised to mix it with water, as just plan VG (or too much in the mix) isn't particularly good for your hair. I added it to my usual concoction of water & coconut oil. (2:1:1, water, coconut oil & VG). It works great! I usually spritz my hair with the mix every other night before bed. My hair is softer, so that I don't even have to use a product in it unless I want to. My curls also seem to pop a little more, which is always great.

I'm thinking about getting some rosemary & jojoba oils to mix with the water & VG. I can't remember where I got this from, but I do recall reading that these two oils stimulate hair growth when combined and work great with VG. We'll see.

Have any of you used VG in a different mix? Had a bad experience with it? Found a great product that you can buy with VG as the main ingredient? Let us know!

Cold Weather Cometh!

from "LFRENCHE"'s photobucket

Are you excited? I am! I love the fall and winter months. They are the big girls' time to shine! (Seriously y'all, my coat game is ridiculous and is about to get amped up even more... just sayin'.) But while I am happy about sweater weather rolling around, I'm a little nervous because I have to say goodbye to my natural hair stand-by: the wash and go. So while I look for new boots, I have to look for a new style as well... I'm thinking about keeping my hair in a protective style for most of the next few months. I really want flat twists going to the just below the crown of my head with the ends in a bun/knot--something similar to the picture to the right--so that I can put pieces on (I haven't worn my bun or ponytail in forever). Or I'd take flat twists going straight back into a bun/ponytail--similar to the pictures below--but I'd have to have extensions for that since my hair isn't that long.

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pix from blackhair.about.com

Either way, I figure I could keep that for maybe 3-4 weeks, washing my scalp with cheesecloth (isn't that what's recommended for those with locs?) and daily conditioning. Then for about a week I'd wear it in a blow out. This should be the best time for it, as the humidity won't be an issue. Plus I'll have several months of growth to do a length check!

I'd really like to get some kinky twists at some point, but I don't have the patience to sit there that long! I'd get to fidgeting around the hour mark (on a good day) and my hair never would be finished. I need patience, and so does whoever gets stuck with the task of doing my twists. LOL

Oooh, and I need hats, I think. Even though I barely wear them, I think I want them. I especially like the crochet-looking things that aren't really hats; you just kinda tuck your hair into them... Do you know what I'm talking about? If so, help me out! Y'all know I'm terrible with descriptions, especially when talking about something I only have a vague idea about.

What are your plans for your hair now that the season is changing? Does your routine stay consistent through the year, or do you have separate warm weather/cool weather regimens?

It's September?!

So that means two things:
1) it's been three months since the Big Chop--Yay me!
2) the 31BNB Challenge is over, meaning I missed almost half the challenges. Booo Tori, booo.

I'm sorry y'all, I know I suck! Somewhere around the middle of the month my ADD kicked in something serious & I just couldn't focus. But I will be going back to cover the days that I missed once I create a schedule for my blog (see, I learned something!) And I'll still be visiting the blogs of other 31BNB participants. There are really some great blogs out there, and I'm really glad to have discovered them via this challenge! Rosetta at www.bloggingforbranding.com is awesome for this; a big thank you to her! Although I didn't stay on track, this has helped me to become a better blogger. (At least, I think so. If not, let me know & bring me back to earth!)

A Few of My Favorite Things (and some new products)

I'm feeling kinda Oprah-ish today (okay, not really, but it sounded good) so I want to share some of my favorite things with y'all. The inspiration for this post was my impromptu trip to Target on Sunday. Of course I wandered over to the health & beauty section and ended up finding something I've been looking for for a while (and got some new finds... more on that later). So I got to thinking about how much I love certain products/items for my hair & decided to let you in on them.

 I love these Goody bobby slides. They hold more hair than a regular bobby pin, and don't pull my hair out when I remove them. I bought some years ago but somehow managed to lose most of them. Now they are available in the color collection: blond (not pictured since they were out), brunette, & black. I am happy that I got my hands on these again, although I would have loved to find some straight up silver slides. My one complaint: Goody didn't use paint that would stand up to hair & hair products! After wearing one for half a day yesterday, the paint is already peeling. I experienced this before, though, so I knew what I was getting myself into. At least this time around the paint is black instead of light pink like last time... :-/ Anyway, a set of six will cost you about $3.49 at Target.

What are these, you ask? Cloth belts, the kind that come with tops from places like New York & Company. Now if you didn't know, these belts are the big girl's natural enemy. Here I am trying to find ways to minimize my tummy, and this belt comes along drawing attention to it! Hmph! These belts from old tops almost took a trip to the dump, but I realized they could serve another purpose: headbands. Yup, I use these babies as cute little headbands, especially when wearing a puff. It's a simple little way to add a bit of color, and I don't have to pay for new headbands, so yay! Ghetto? I guess. Cheap? You bet!


Although I'm just seriously getting into eyeshadow, I tend to get a ton of compliments when I use these eyeshadow palettes. As much as I love MAC eye shadows, $14 a pot is a bit pricey for me. Plus I have to sit there and figure out what colors to pair and I really suck at that. But for $4-$6 (depending on where I'm shopping) I can get Maybelline's Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quads or Rimmel's Colour Rush Trio Eyeshadow. (IDK why Rimmel's site only shows eight shades. The one in my hand is Dark Angel.) They have great pigmentation and last all day. Plus the Maybelline shadows have a little diagram on the back for slow folks like me who don't know where to apply what... LOL

 I got this super wide-tooth comb in a pack of like six combs for $2 at Big Lots years & years ago. Never had much use for it until I went natural. Unfortunately, I forgot about this comb until after I bought another comb, but hands down, this one is my fav! It gets rid of tangles like it's nothing. Unfortunately, I have no idea what brand it is, where you can find it, anything. Sorry.

This photo combines old and new. On the left is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal. The right is Milani in Wild Violet. I picked it up at Target on Sunday (for $.99!) because I needed a purple polish. It wasn't quite the shade I was looking for, but it was cute so I figured what the heck. I got it on & loved it! Since I'm really feeling purple and gray/silver right now, I had to do both. The result:

I love it! In person, the purple is more of a metallic plum color :)

The only things I planned to buy were the bobby slides, but then I thought about the fact that I was out of leave-in conditioner, so I wandered up & down the isles looking for something new to try. I came across Shea Moisture Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk. I'd never heard of the Shea Moisture brand, but at $8.99, why not? My aunt told me that my cousin had been using Carol's Daughter Hair Milk and that she liked it, so I figured I'd try this. (Yes, I know it's not the same thing, but milk is milk is milk, right? IDK) So I've been using it since Sunday and I am in love!  I usually mist my hair with the water/coconut oil mix, then apply the hair milk. It has my hair feeling sooo soft! It doesn't dry out & get all stiff/crunchy feeling, but it's not oily. It gives my curls some nice definition, even in the spots that appear to be type 4b/c. Plus I get a nice natural looking shin and it smells great. Now I want to give some of their other products a try! And I will, once I run out of my current products. I'm trying to avoid becoming a product junkie! According to the Shea Moisture website, their hair care collection is only available through Target.

I also picked up the Twisted Sista Curl Activator by Urban Therapy. I realize now that I really could've done without this, seeing as how the hair milk says CURL & Style Milk right on the label... But whatever, I have it now. I must say, I could've done without this one. It doesn't do much as far as defining curls, and I find that my hair is a little stiffer than I'd like. Not a terrible product, but I don't think it's right for me. It was only $4.99 at Target, so I don't feel like it's too big of a loss.

So there you have it, a few of my favorite (hair) things... plus one not so favorite thing! Feel free to share yours!