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!
Showing posts with label regimen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regimen. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Confessions
Forgive me fellow naturals, for I have sinned...
Okay that may be a bit strong! LOL But there are some Dos & Don'ts that I tend to break fairly often. I guess I should change my ways, but for now, let me just absolve my guilt by confessing.
1. I don't detangle as I should. *hears audible gasps from the crowd* I know, I know: it's horrible! But here's the thing: When I do wash & gos, I don't really have time to sit there and detangle. Hello, I gotta go! And when I do a "real" wash complete with deep conditioning, I try detangling while the conditioner is still in my hair and then I have to do it again after I rinse. That's about 40 minutes each time. Who has patience for that? Nuh uh, not Tori D.! And the killer part? As soon as my hair dries, it coils and tangles right back up. >_< Maybe this could be helped if I tried a new tool, like the Tangle Teezer I've been reading about lately or had a product with more slip (I'm out of conditioner and open to suggestions!)
2. I have not done a protective style yet. Yes, I wore my french roll up-do for a couple of days, but considering the fact that I still had the front out, I don't think that was actually a protective style. I would love to do some, especially some of the cute flat twist styles that I have seen. They look so simple and elegant... Unfortunately my skill level is 0 when it comes to those flat twists, honey! I'm not sure if it's due to my length, texture, thickness, or if I just don't know what I'm doing, but the results of my efforts are not anything I would want the general public to see! And I planned on keeping kinky twists in for most of the winter, but time and a tight budget have prevented that.
3. I usually don't do anything to my hair at night. I throw the bonnet over my fro and hope for the best in the morning. Sometimes it's okay after I shower (the power of steam y'all; it works!) and put a little leave-in conditioner on it. Other times? The results make me wanna cry! But doing a head full of two-strand twists can be tedious (especially when you come home tipsy at 2:00 AM) and as I mentioned up there ^ I still have not figured out flat twists... Or cornrows, for that matter.
4. I don't co-wash that often during the winter. I did plenty of co-washing during the summer when morning wash & gos were my go-to style.But since the weather is all types of cold right now, that's not happening. So I spray my Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In on it daily, but honestly I don't think it does as well as a good thorough co-wash. Oh well, it is what it is until it warms up...
5. I still haven't figured out my hair type. Some naturals swear by hair typing, and there are products and tools that supposedly work better for certain types of hair. However, my method of trial and error seems to be going pretty well--even without me knowing whether I'm a 3c or 4a or 5z. Besides, I have patches of hair that completely differ from other sections. It's not as if I'm going to put one product here, another there, etc. because it's been said that one is best for whatever type that patch is. Seems like too much work. I know it's kinky and coily. Good enough.
So what are the "rules" that you tend to break from time to time-- or all the time?
Okay that may be a bit strong! LOL But there are some Dos & Don'ts that I tend to break fairly often. I guess I should change my ways, but for now, let me just absolve my guilt by confessing.
1. I don't detangle as I should. *hears audible gasps from the crowd* I know, I know: it's horrible! But here's the thing: When I do wash & gos, I don't really have time to sit there and detangle. Hello, I gotta go! And when I do a "real" wash complete with deep conditioning, I try detangling while the conditioner is still in my hair and then I have to do it again after I rinse. That's about 40 minutes each time. Who has patience for that? Nuh uh, not Tori D.! And the killer part? As soon as my hair dries, it coils and tangles right back up. >_< Maybe this could be helped if I tried a new tool, like the Tangle Teezer I've been reading about lately or had a product with more slip (I'm out of conditioner and open to suggestions!)
2. I have not done a protective style yet. Yes, I wore my french roll up-do for a couple of days, but considering the fact that I still had the front out, I don't think that was actually a protective style. I would love to do some, especially some of the cute flat twist styles that I have seen. They look so simple and elegant... Unfortunately my skill level is 0 when it comes to those flat twists, honey! I'm not sure if it's due to my length, texture, thickness, or if I just don't know what I'm doing, but the results of my efforts are not anything I would want the general public to see! And I planned on keeping kinky twists in for most of the winter, but time and a tight budget have prevented that.
3. I usually don't do anything to my hair at night. I throw the bonnet over my fro and hope for the best in the morning. Sometimes it's okay after I shower (the power of steam y'all; it works!) and put a little leave-in conditioner on it. Other times? The results make me wanna cry! But doing a head full of two-strand twists can be tedious (especially when you come home tipsy at 2:00 AM) and as I mentioned up there ^ I still have not figured out flat twists... Or cornrows, for that matter.
4. I don't co-wash that often during the winter. I did plenty of co-washing during the summer when morning wash & gos were my go-to style.But since the weather is all types of cold right now, that's not happening. So I spray my Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In on it daily, but honestly I don't think it does as well as a good thorough co-wash. Oh well, it is what it is until it warms up...
5. I still haven't figured out my hair type. Some naturals swear by hair typing, and there are products and tools that supposedly work better for certain types of hair. However, my method of trial and error seems to be going pretty well--even without me knowing whether I'm a 3c or 4a or 5z. Besides, I have patches of hair that completely differ from other sections. It's not as if I'm going to put one product here, another there, etc. because it's been said that one is best for whatever type that patch is. Seems like too much work. I know it's kinky and coily. Good enough.
So what are the "rules" that you tend to break from time to time-- or all the time?
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Winter Regimen
This is the *plan*. It may or may not go like this because it's really trial and error. But for my first winter as a natural, I think it's gonna go something like this...
For most of the winter, I plan to wear kinky twists as my protective style. I would love to be able to do this using only my hair, but I think I'm gonna have to go with some additional hair to get the length that I want, since I'd like to be able to pull it back in a ponytail or wear it up occasionally. I really love my soror Dandria's twists (shown to the right) and I'm hoping to achieve a similar look.
I also plan to straighten my hair a couple of times while the weather is cooperative. The first time will be around the first of December so I can do a length check. Although I considered going to a salon to get this done, I've decided todo this myself get my mom to do it. There are two main reasons for this decision. The lady that I went to for my trim was great, but admitted that she doesn't do too much with natural hair other than wash, cut and color it. As fearful as I am of heat damage, I know not to press my luck with that. Secondly, Jackson doesn't have a lot of options for a natural girl, and the one salon I found that "specializes" in natural hair wants to charge a minimum of $65 for a shampoo and press. Ummm, I didn't pay that much to get touch-ups, I'm certainly not gonna pay that for a press. No ma'am, my budget is too tight for that. So the plan is to wash and deep condition as usual, then apply a heat protectant (the Oil Therapy 3-in-1 Creme Moisturizer claims it works as a heat protectant, but I'm not sure... Anyone have a recommendation?) and let my mom blow it out using a blow dryer and flat irons. I'm going back to the lady who clipped my ends before to have her trim and style my hair, because I know nothing about that.
The straight hair will probably last a week, week & a half. Maybe two weeks if I act right. In the time between pressed hair and kinky twists, I will probably continue to do twist outs. I need to work on my two-strand twisting so that I won't be ashamed to wear them for a couple of days. I've gotten so used to doing the chunky twists and immediately doing a twist-out; I think I've gotten rusty!
As far as my product line up, I'm not sure what to change! I know to give the glycerin a rest for a while, since there won't be nearly as much moisture in the air. I'm trying to figure out which essential oils I'll be trying out. First up to try are rosemary and jojoba oils. And I may be regularly going back to Sulfur 8 to oil my scalp. Hey, it works for me! And I know how my scalp gets when it's cold. Of course I'll give the oils a try first, but if it's not satisfactory... back to the grease I go. I'll probably be changing up my shampoo, but that's just because I want to try to full Shea Moisture line. I already stretch washing to about a week and a half, with little to no co-washing in between (bad, bad Tori!) so I'll probably start alternating between shampoo and co-washing every 2 weeks. As the season progresses I will make whatever changes I see are necessary. Hopefully there won't be many!
Soooo yeah! That's how my winter regimen is shaping up in my head. Any natural hair old heads have some advice or go-to winter products?
I also plan to straighten my hair a couple of times while the weather is cooperative. The first time will be around the first of December so I can do a length check. Although I considered going to a salon to get this done, I've decided to
The straight hair will probably last a week, week & a half. Maybe two weeks if I act right. In the time between pressed hair and kinky twists, I will probably continue to do twist outs. I need to work on my two-strand twisting so that I won't be ashamed to wear them for a couple of days. I've gotten so used to doing the chunky twists and immediately doing a twist-out; I think I've gotten rusty!
As far as my product line up, I'm not sure what to change! I know to give the glycerin a rest for a while, since there won't be nearly as much moisture in the air. I'm trying to figure out which essential oils I'll be trying out. First up to try are rosemary and jojoba oils. And I may be regularly going back to Sulfur 8 to oil my scalp. Hey, it works for me! And I know how my scalp gets when it's cold. Of course I'll give the oils a try first, but if it's not satisfactory... back to the grease I go. I'll probably be changing up my shampoo, but that's just because I want to try to full Shea Moisture line. I already stretch washing to about a week and a half, with little to no co-washing in between (bad, bad Tori!) so I'll probably start alternating between shampoo and co-washing every 2 weeks. As the season progresses I will make whatever changes I see are necessary. Hopefully there won't be many!
Soooo yeah! That's how my winter regimen is shaping up in my head. Any natural hair old heads have some advice or go-to winter products?
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