Products/Brands I'd Like To Try

1. Mixed Chicks Deep Condish
2. Miss Jessie's
3. Carol's Daughter
4. Quemet Biologics
5. Max Green Alchemy
6. Jamila Henna (BAQ)
7. Karen's Body Beautiful
8. Curls
9. Oyin

I'll post more as I think of them. I posted products that I know I won't find around here.

The "Almost" Big Reveal

Yesterday I finally went to band not wearing a scarf on my head (they weren't satin/silk anyway...). Everyone was shocked. And still shocked. It's funny seeing people's reactions to my hair! Lol. I got all sorts of comments, positive and negative. I call this the "Almost" b/c everyone hasn't seen me yet. The "Big Reveal" will be when school starts back next Thursday!

I'm finally starting to get past the "OMGICMH" stage, and am leaning toward the "Comfortable/Curious" stage. I say comfortable because for all I can remember in my life, I have been relaxed. And I was very uncomfortable. If I could choose to have long, straight, relaxed hair and short, curly, natural hair, I'd choose natural. I'm from the South, and where I stay, I've never seen a natural sista in person. Ever. No, natural weaves don't count! But anyways, I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable in my own skin and with myself. And that's where self confidence starts, isn't it???

I say curious, because now I have to look at all new stuff whenever I go to the store. I went in Walgreens the other day, and it felt so different looking at all the stuff for curly hair instead of the stuff for straight hair. I used to just glance at that stuff, but now I actually look at it to see if I'd try it or not. I'm kinda afraid that this "newly natural" thing is gonna start a product junkie phase that's out of this world...

My dad is "thinking about getting me a celly." When he told me that, I was happy, but in the back of my mind was, "Why do you have to 'think' about it??? I'm a good kid." I really am. Oh yeah! I showed the other half of my fam my hair this weekend. When my dad saw it, he kept grabbing at my head and ruffling it like I was some little boy or something. It was really annoying. Especially when he said, "She got hair like her daddy coming through now!" to everyone.

Friday is tax-free day here. I don't think we've ever had a tax free day. I'm going to try to get my mom to take full advantage of this since I don't have any uniform shirts or any jeans to wear to school.

Well, enough has been said for today. See ya later!


Rae

Well... I (Actually) Did It Cont.

Okay, so my mom was supposed to shape up my hair yesterday, but that didn't happen... So she's gonna do it today. Her boyfriend, Tony, saw my hair last night. He laughed. My hair is kinda uneven since I did it myself and I got impatient. I've been keeping a scarf around my head partly to protect my hair from the sun and partly to hide my short hair until I'm ready for everyone to see it. It'll be interesting to see the surprised looks on everyone's faces and hear the (positive and negative) comments.
So far, the only somewhat positive comment I've gotten from around me is from my mom. I've gotten negative comments from everyone else, even though they haven't seen my hair.
I'm still trying to figure things out... Like how can I avoid matted hair when I get up in the mornings... And how much will my mom have to cut tonight. I'm wearing a scarf now. I just got out of band around 5pm. I'm gonna go to my gma's house and cowash before I go home to my mom and the hair scissors, so my hair won't be matted. It might be hard for her to shape with the mat. Especially since she's never had to deal with natural hair before.

Well... I guess it's time to go home now... Bye Everyone!

Well, I (Acutally) Did It!

Omg! I BC'd Monday. I'm still in the 'Omg, I cut my hair!' stage. It's not a bad OICMH, though. BC-ing has just sorta been on my mind (a LOT) lately. And I've read that you shouldn't BC until you're ready. So I had changed my mind about setting a date for it. What if I wasn't ready on that date? But I was DEFINITELY not expecting to be ready this early.
I decided to go ahead and try to go through with it, Monday. I mean, hey, I must be ready if it won't stay out of my mind. So I just wet my hair (put my cheap-but-loved condish V05 Moisture Milks in) and let it dry so I could tell a little better where the relaxer ended and the NG began. I had to do that b/c I kept it pulled back so much in a bun that sometimes it actually all seemed kinda straight at times. When it dried, I started at the top. I picked up each clump, examined it, and SNIP! I started to get impatient cutting each clump, so they eventually got bigger and bigger... then I just held all the hair I could and started cutting! hehe!
You wanna know something? I thought I was gonna be devastated when I cut my hair. I thought I'd just curl up into a ball and cry my eyes out like I had lost a loved one or something. But, amazingly, I was just like 'hm... I cut my hair. Oh well...It'll grow back.'
Another reason I did it was to help me deal with my SE issues. I believe that you have to have true confidence to rock short hair or to cut all your hair to begin with. Especially if you've never had short hair. And some of the girls from ANTM have had to do it, anyway!
Most of my friends were mad when I told them I cut my hair. LOL! I actually think it's kinda funny. Some of them said if they were my momma, they would beat my tail. But my mom likes short hair! She has really short hair, too.

Well, I'll elaborate more on this soon. The library I'm in is about to close. Bye world!

Now That's Just LOVELYISH!

I'm currently on Lovelyish.com (I have the same blog on there, too!) and ran across an article that was right on point. No, it isn't about hair. Just read it and then read the rest of this entry.


http://www.lovelyish.com/707242461/why-do-you-talk-white/?cuttag=true

I feel like the girl who wrote this article is so on point! I've been told that so much growing up! "You act so white!" and "Girl you aint black" and blah blah blah! I'm even told that by a couple of white people! They say it like it's a bad thing. It's just like when someone calls something 'gay'. That is offensive. It's kinda racist.

This article made me think. Is the world on a downward spiral? Years ago, black AND white people fought for our freedom and right to vote and right to a proper education. And yet now when we see people who wear their clothes the right size (not falling off of them or so tight you might as well just walk around butt-booty-hole-naked), who don't talk 'ghetto', who can read and spell properly, who care about their education and future, we call these people (no matter their color) 'white', like it's a bad thing. But people are so quick to get upset when they are called or accused of being racist. What's up with that?

If you think about it, it is a slightly racist comment. And if it's not, then it's just saying that black people don't care about their education or future, and don't carry themselves properly. A lot of black people that I know would get really mad if I accused them of saying that too. But if you aren't being racist, and if you aren't downing yourself by calling someone 'white', then what ARE you saying? People (African Americans in particular) look down on African Americans who carry themselves properly, yet when Barrack Obama was elected president, black people were so quick to claim him and be like, 'Yea, that's a BLACK man they elected president!' Obama talks properly. Obama wears his clothes in the right proportions for his body. Obama is an educated black man. The same goes for Michelle Obama. I'm sure it's probably been said elsewhere, but I haven't heard anyone refer to Obama as 'white.' I mean, come on people! What is the deal here??? Why are people so hypocritical nowadays???

Some Things I've Noticed Since Starting My Transition

1. I used to have REALLY dry scalp. Seriously! I never went a day without not having dandruff or a head so itchy I just wanted to scratch off my whole scalp. The dandruff would just come back no matter how much I washed. The only time I didn't have dry scalp was when I was washing. You used to could look at my scalp and see how flaky it was. Since I've started transitioning (and becoming more 'hair-conscious'), my scalp looks AND feels So. MuCh. BETTER!
2. The texture of my hair is so much softer! I love running my hands through my hair and feeling all the thick, baby-soft curls! My hair used to look so thin after a fresh relaxer! A couple of [grown] women have told me how my hair texture looks so much better. Even my mom! AND my g-ma!
3. The hair on my temples has started to grow in some. I guess the relaxers hindered that.
4. I feel like I'm becoming more of who I am on the inside. On the outside I feel so quiet and nervous and insecure... And I feel like part of that has something to do with my hair. The me on the inside is just dying to come out and show everyone how unique and confident she is! You know I don't even sing and/or dance around my own mom and g-ma? I don't. I just feel so uncomfortable. I try to... It just doesn't happen. I would be more confident with big natural curly hair! It would match the inside me, the true me, and more allow her to come out.
5. My g-ma reminisces about the days when I was relaxed. I don't ever go a day without her telling me how long and pretty my hair would be now it I let my mom put a relaxer in it. Or how she could just get a straightening comb and go to town on my head... But I'm not doing this for anyone else. Not even g-ma. This is something I have to do for me.
6. People think I'm crazy when they find out I don't use shampoo anymore (well, rarely). AND when they find out that I wash my hair every few days. "Black folks ain't s'posed to wash they hair every day!" That's what I used to hear when I first started transitioning. I used to cowash nightly. But it was too much hassle (and costly). The people around here don't know how almost wrong they may be. They aren't really aware that African-American hair is probably the most fragile, dryest hair there is.
7. I'm learning more and more as I go on this journey. I can't wait to see what else I'll learn!

I'll update this list as I continue on my transition journey.

The Execution Date is Set... dUm DuM DUUUUUUM!

Lol! It ain't that serious! Well it is in a way. I have finally set the date for my BC. Well... not exactly.
I'm gonna transition until summer of next year. So over my summer break, sometime in June or July, I will be fully natural. Don't worry. I plan to post before and afters!
Here's my plan:
I'm gonna wet my hair and leave it out to dry instead of pulling it back to dry so I can better identify my line of demarcation. I keep my hair pulled back so much, it gets kinda straightened out at times. Then, I'm gonna break out the shears. I'm gonna examine the hair about to be cut and cut off all that I think is relaxed hair on that strand. Well, clump. My hair clumps a lot, so I take back the word strand.
Well, there ya go! I'm probably gonna do at the beginning/mid July since band camp is at the end of July. That will be my last band camp... Tear... Wow. What a great way to start Senior year fresh! With fully natural hair! I have a feeling my senior (and this year!) year will be my best year ever!

HEHH and Aussie Moist Condish

These did not work for me... I was getting them b/c they didn't cost much and I heard they work really well. And I was gonna use these in place of my current products to see if my hair needed a break from proteins for a little while. But I guess this isn't the case... I was gonna Cowash with HEHH Condish and use the aussie as a detangler/LI. But my hair reacted horribly to the HH. Well... my relaxed hair did, anyway. It kinda felt like what I wish a shampoo would feel more like on the rare occasions that I use them. It felt like a gentler, less tangling shampoo. My NG felt great, however! But, I mean, what's the point in using it if it isn't gonna work for both types? I'm not fully natural just yet. The Aussie didn't react too well, either. After trying to put it in and detangle (for like ever!) I finally just rinsed it out and put in my Giovanni. Unfortunately, I don't have the receipt for HH and AussieM. So I guess I'll just stash them away and give them another chance when I'm fully natural. They smell delish!
Sigh... this is my last week of freedom... Band camp starts next Monday. So for Monday-thursday, for 2 weeks from 8am-12pm and 1:30pm-5pm I will be out behind the track at the sun's mercy, practicing movements for our show this year... Pray for me. I hope I don't pass out.

I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE tha song, "On The Ocean"!!!!!!

No, this post isn't all about K 'Jon and his FAB song! I just wanted 2 say that hehe!

The Bad: 1 of my managers that made the schedule 4 tha last couple of weeks, had me off all last week AND this week 2!

The Good!: My BFFL from Memphis is coming down here this weekend! Yayness! Also, the head manager at my job called me last night and told me to come in today. So I did. And she gave me some hours for the rest of the week too! I hate the freakin job, but I do need the money. So I'm tryna use that as inspiration. The other good thing that happened is that my NG has been very beautiful and not very itchy for the last few days! A few nights ago, I just decided to use my Cantu Shea Butter :Leave-in Conditioning Repair Cream I recently got and worked it into my roots. I just started getting this weird feeling like I could moisturize my NG a lot better than I've been doing. So I only concentrated on them. I didn't bother with trying to wash/co-wash or anything this time since I had washed with some Johnson's Shampoo+Conditioner for Curly Hair the other night. So I worked in the Cantu LI into my roots and NG and just pulled my hair back again like I always do. My hair looked extra wavy and soft the next morning (my hair was still pulled back). And my scalp wasn't as itchy as it usually is. My only complaint is that I had little white flakes in my hair. I felt them all in the jar when I was apply the CLI. and I saw them in my hair after I put it in, too. I don't think it's because I used too much. I just brushed out the flakes at the top of my head and went on about my day.

So see??? the bad out-weighed the good this week!
I've also decided that I'm gonna start shampooing again... yea just to be safe. But I think my hair has become allergic to shampoo. I don't remember if my hair used to react to shampoo the way it does now or not. But I got the Johnson's b/c I figured it would be more gentler that normal shampoo. And it said shampoo+condish. But my hair got all tangly and stuff this time too. And so much hair came out! But the Johnson's was a little better than other shampoos I have used. So I may just wash maybe every two weeks with it and follow that up by DT-ing with ORS Replenishing Pak.
I would LOVE to try the Mixed Chicks Deep Condish. I may just order some when I get some money.

Regimen Over

I no longer have a set regimen... I kinda just fell out of it. I'm not a "planned out" sort of person. I've just started co-washing or just conditioning every 3-4 days (or whenever my scalp starts to get really really itchy...). I don't really use the Esencia too much anymore... I used it last night, though and left it in for a while since it's very thick. lately I've been mostly washing with some Alberto V05 condish I recently bought (99 cents... ScOrE!!!!!). I got Moisture Milks Strawberries and Creme... It smells so good I wish it was edible... And I use Giovanni Smooth as Silk as my LI. I've been getting really anxious lately. I can't wait until next summer. That's when I'm gonna BC. I'll have about 12 or more inches of hair by then. I could work wit that for a while. I haven't trimmed my ends in a while, mostly because I don't know how to identify a split/damaged end.
I tried to do a staw set last night. But it was a disaster. It was late and I just couldn't do it right last night. So I just took out the straws that I had in and pulled it back. I'm rocking my fake afro puff again today. The first (and last) time I did a straw set, it didn't come at all like I had planned, but I loved the results. I had cornrowed the hair on the sides of my head, made a hump with the hair on the top of my head, and strawed up the rest. It came out looking like a baby fro with twists an a hump. It was so cute! I'll try it again... someday. I just don't really have the patience for it!