Final Post

Well, this is it! It is finally time to say goodbye to Blogger and The Good Hair Diaries. But there is a bit of good news:

There will be brand new posts over on KinxnQuirx starting MONDAY, MAY 23!

Yup, a whole week earlier than anticipated! 

Thank you for making TGHD what it was. I look forward to seeing you at KnQ soon!

TGHD is Moving!

Yes, my dears & sirs. It's time to move on from here. Blogger has been great but it's time to move on to greener pastures.I want to expand my writing and my personal brand, and this is one step towards that. The Good Hair Diaries and The Eclectic will be combined at my new site, Kinx n Quirx. All of the old posts from both sites will be imported into the new one, and I will leave both blogs up with a redirect to the new site.

The site is still being built, but you are able to read, comment and connect via Google Friend Connect. No new posts until the official "grand opening" of the blog, which should be by May 30. (Yeah, I know that seems like a long time, but between a couple of real estate closings--thank ya Lawd!--and celebrating my birthday hard all month, doesn't seem like I have that long.)

As always, I love suggestions about topics, features, etc. so feel free to email me at ToriDBlogs@gmail.com and shoot me your ideas! Hopefully I will see all of you, plus some new faces, over at the new site!

Morning Rant: Don't tell me I NEED to straighten my hair!

My dad is guiltiest of this offense. When I went to the salon on Monday I ended up getting my hair straightened. Not my intent, but it happened. (Off topic, but not really: I completely wasted my money. The color didn't take because my hair is so dark, and the blowout lasted less than a day thanks to the crazy weather. I was pissed.) He veils his admonitions to go back to creamy crack with compliments:

"You look like a doll with your hair straight."
"Don't you like how it flows and moves when you walk?"
"Look how long it is!"
"When are you gonna get a perm again?" 

Fortunately within the months I've been natural, I've learned to ignore him most of the time and give quick comebacks the rest of the time: 

"They make dolls with afros."
"I like how my fro stays in it's place."
"Straightening it didn't make it longer."
"Never."

Of course I like the look of straight hair, otherwise I'd never bother to straighten it in the first place. But the idea that I need straight hair makes me want to punch someone in the throat. And that's the exact feeling I had when an ex-FB associate from college tweeted "I really don't understand wht is so wrong wit getting a perm. U realize we think u look much better wit straight hair. Dnt nobody wanna grab ur hair and can't get they hand out cuz it's caught n all that kinkiness."

So many questions, mainly "We who?" Cause my bf loves loves loves my coils and doesn't keep his hands out of my hair, unless it's straightened.  Also, why the hell do you think your opinion matters to anyone? Why are you worried about how attractive other women are besides your baby momma/fiancee? How are you talking this mess but still trying to holla at me and Big Sexy (my fro)?!

Yeah, I got a little heated. My point is, have your preferences, because I certainly have mine. But to tell me what I need to do to be more attractive to you when you and your approval aren't even on my radar in the first place? MFer have a seat.

Falling Off the Wagon

I am one of those people with a horrible propensity to start things vigorously but gradually fall off until eventually I'm not doin' a thing. This is particularly true when it involves some type of regimen. The multi-step teeth whitening process dwindled to just daily brushing, mouthwash rinse and occasional flossing (DJM!) and the skin care routine involving about five different products to be used nightly has come to just a good scrub in the morning and before bed.

The hair is slowly going the same way, but maybe if I put myself on blast I'll be more accountable to myself and to y'all. (Maybe... hopefully.) The slack started in the winter months when I was no longer doing wash-and-gos. I went from co-washing every other day to washing weekly or bi-weekly with shampoo and using a leave-in conditioner. Sadly, I don't condition as I should nowadays and I think I'm paying the price for it. I'm finding more and more of those little fairy knots, and my ends are looking a little rough even though I trim them from time to time. Plus (I don't know whether or not this is a result of lack of care) my hair is just limp, lifeless and won't do anything I want it to do. Not typical of Big Sexy.

I'm going to start babying my hair all over again, but I really need something simpler. A regimen with 50-11 steps just isn't going to work for me. As I stated when I first started, I'm lazy! I guess this is where a protective style would really come in handy, huh? Well I should be getting some just in time for graduation (Big Sexy doesn't play well with the graduation cap) so hopefully that will help some. But then what?

I need help y'all! Do you have problems keeping up with your routine? If so, how do you cope? Have you found something simpler, or do you just say "whatever!" and do pretty much nothing until the spirit moves you? C'mon, help me out!

I did it! (Kinda)

Several months ago I made a post about a flat twist updo that I wanted to try. The inspiration was a video by YTer SimplYounique. When I first discovered the video I attempted to copy the style; no luck. But I happened to watch it again on last Saturday night and realized that the problem wasn't just that I didn't know what I was doing when trying to flat twist. It was that I was trying to do too few twists, resulting in... well, there were no results because it wouldn't twist!

This time around I did smaller twists and the results somewhat resembled the style she did! Of course, with this being my first real attempt at flat twists, they were not nearly as neat as they should have been. But that didn't stop me from wearing them Sunday and Monday!

I was reeeeaaaally pleased with the front

front left stuck out a little

front right looked great IMO

side view. couldn't get a good pic of the back

too puffy and loose, especially the back (this was after sleeping on it one night and wearing it one day)

Next time I try this I think I'll make the following changes:
1. after twisting & pinning the top, I'll put them into a ponytail. Then when I twist the back I'll incorporate them into it to make a tiny bun (or if that doesn't work I could cover it with a rounded claw clip)
2. Using coconut or olive oil when I twist. Dunno why I didn't think about that. Frizzies are not the business!
3. Having cute bobby pins strategically placed throughout the hair
4. Using a comb to secure the back. I used almost all my bobby pins and was still uneasy about it staying in place.

11 One-Ingredient Face Masks

11 one-ingredient DIY face masks on Shine

A lot of naturalistas are no stranger to getting in the kitchen and whipping up something for their tresses. Well guess what? In your fridge and pantry there are goodies for your skin as well! Now if you're lazy (like me) you may not be crazy about experimenting with different recipes, finding what mixes well with what, etc. But the good news is that there are little items that we can use as face masks, no recipe needed! Some of these were no surprise to me: I've used honey before (great at fighting monster zits, BTW) and heard about using avocado and raw egg white. But some of these really shocked me! I think I'm going to put some to the test and see what really works.


So what do you say readers? Which of the face masks should I try first? Which, if any, will you be trying?

Essential Oils

I'm looking for information on essential oils. I know about some of them, like jojoba and rosemary, but I want to dig deeper to find what other oils are out there and what they do. So far, the best information that I've found has come from Esoteric Oils. It includes information about various oils and gives a couple hair care recipes. The info is not limited to hair care; there are links about alternative medicine and treating various ailments with oils.

Please note that I am not endorsing anything sold by Esoteric Oils, nor have I tried any of their products/recipes. This is just the most comprehensive list that I have found to date. If any of my readers know of other sites (or better yet: books!) that provide information on essential oils, please hit me up in the comments or via email. I'd appreciate it soooo much!