Saturday, September 24, 2011

Who Knew?

I think I am allergic to bobby pins! W-T-Freak?

A few weeks ago I decided that this fall was all about the updo for 2 reasons: 1- I wanna be chic and do me and so something that isn't necessarily standard, and do me (I know I repeated myself). 2- With this new commute and extra time it takes to get my son to his school across town, I'm tired, and I don't want that tiredness to become laziness, and my hair break off and I end up looking like I'm a crackhead on the corner looking for my next hit.

There is also a #3- hair length retention. While I did go back to a lot of my old routines that worked well before I started trying things by a lot of these "natural hair nazis" on the internet, my routine did need adjustment, and I did just that.

So, I do the lovely tuck and pin do, and I love it. And other people do to. A colleague of mine - a white male from long island - who I'm sure could give a flying 'you-know-what' about the "natural hair movement" stopped me in the hall and said "I really like this hairstyle on you, and I can tell that you do too!" And then a woman stopped me in a bookstore and said "I love your hair. I just had to stop you and tell you - how did you do it." She also told me that it was a very attractive do on me after I expressed how nervous I was to do an updo with my big cheeks. So, I was feeling myself and the 'do a bit. And then my scalp started itching like the aforementioned crackhead on the corner looking for the next hit.

Now, considering I drink like a gallon of water a day, I was confused. And sure, I didn't oil my scalp everyday (I mean, really? Every freaking day????), but I'm not trying to have a haystack ontop my head, so I THOUGHT I maintained well enough. Well "wrong answer!" because like I said, my scalp was itching like a crackhead in a bad '80's movie.

Then I felt sores on my scalp - WTF! Again, WTF! The tuck and pin is not a 'do that is tight, pulling on the edges or anything else. So Why TF am I getting sores on my scalp. And then after a bout a week it hit me that I may actually be having an allergic reaction to my freaking bobby pins. Now I have not seen a dermatologist about this, but let me tell you (or whoever is reading) why I think this: because I notices that these bobby pins be shedding their painted layer at the drop of a hat, and when I was little and my own momma and grandmomma used bobby pins, I don't remember ever seeing them shed that painted layer like they do now - and I'm not just talking about the ones from the 99 cent store either!

So I Googled the "situation" and found that there are, in fact, other people out there with the same symptoms. So now I gotta find something in place of the metal bobby pins. When I do find an efficient enough substitute, I'll write a review, but for now, just damn!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Come on, mane!


Today is one of those DAYS!  One of those days when I want to shave it all OFF!  And usually I would chop it off and then let my sister know so she can yell "you cut it again!", but I am determined to grow this sh.../ stuff out so I can start sporting my old lady plats - that's all I want.  Plat it up and wrap it around my head - yes, I am ready for my old lady look, now.  But instead, I a here, trying to enjoy not laboring on this labor day, and I actually would like to scream.

So here's the deal, went on a mini vacation last week and did not have on my travel hair, aka braids (I took them out after it was confirmed that Hurricane Irene had destroyed my trip to the Caribbean - I was mad).  But I got my head together and we did a road trip that included time at a water park.  I figured, I'll just keep it pinned up, slap on some extra conditioner, blah blah blah.  Well the hair looked pretty good throughout, but it seems that I am now paying for it.  Got home, washed deep conditioned - twice (I won't even go into how the Suave coconut conditioner decided not to work for my hair any longer.  Now I have to find a new conditioner - dayuuummm!) - light blow out (of course with heat protection and all other kinds of hair protection), flat twisted for 2 days.  Whew.  Took the twists out this morning and my hair felt dry.  As the day has progressed, the dryness is driving me nuts because I feel like the next stop is "Breakage City" and considering all the new growth I acquired from my travel hairdo (for the travel that never was IRENE!), I am trying to keep on track and grow this sucka out.

Interestingly, my scalp feels fine, so I'm thinking my hair got fried in that sun in south Jersey, to which my response is "hell no."  So, what I am doing now is boiling together a mixture of green tea, rosemary and sage herbs.  I have used a green tea rinse in the past and it was great for stopping breakage, and according to my trusty resource, Tulani Kinard's book "No Lye", sage herb is good for strengthening the hair, and rosemary stimulates circulation.  I've already oiled my scalp with a simple mixture of extra virgin olive oil, castor oil, jojoba oil and tea tree oil.

Honestly, I planned to be wearing an updo in the coming month anyway, but when I touch my hair, I need it to feel a certain way.  It's like when I'm boxing and hitting the heavy bag, I know when I have hit the bag successfully from the sound of the hit on the bag.  My son came into the bathroom to me yelling at my hair and said "Wow mommy, you got a lot of hair.  I think it looks good."  And hysterical me yelled "no it's not, feel it! It's hard!"  He felt it.  And then he left the room, lol.  I share all of that to say that there is a possibility that this is all in my head, BUT I know how all this hair feels, and it ain't pretty.  Definitely not a 'Luv My Texture' day.

A word of Thanks


No BS – I’m grateful.

Today, I unconsciously spaced out while driving – although I did not know it at the time.  I did not see a street light at all, and even though I have driven on this particular street many times over the years, I did not see it.  It wasn’t until I drove through the intersection that my son told me what had happened, and I was so stunned that I’d done that.  For some reason I thought it was one of the streets in the area with a stop sign (leaving me with the right of way), but I was wrong, and even though the light did change to green when I was in the middle of the intersection, the point is that I ran a red light – and I was devastated at such absent-mindedness.
 
I sit here this morning after a week of ups and downs, but through it all I had maintained a relatively even temper.  Our trip to St. Thomas was cancelled because of Hurricane Irene, and I had to think of something quick (it’s not often that I get a week off).  My son is starting a new school and has to maneuver public transportation – which is something that’s new for the both of us. I had a bad reaction to Acetametaphen which scared the life out of me.  On the flip side, my son and I had a lovely few days away from the loudness of New York.  We did a lot of driving and talking and paddle boat riding and walking and just breathing a bit easier while not being overwhelmed by our standard routine.  And as I tucked my son in to his bed this evening I said to him, “Everything is going to be all right.” And I think I believe that.  And so I sit here, watching a marathon of the TV One series “Unsung,” getting a sneak peak into the lives – the successes and failures – of some famous folks, and I feel especially grateful. 

I’m grateful that I lived another day. Grateful my son lived another day.  Grateful that my son has worn more smiles on his face than I have seen in a long time.  I did my frugal shopping at DEALS, gifted my boy with a new bike (the child’s knees were hitting his elbows on the other one). Grateful that I ran into my son’s old babysitter in the park and talked with her for almost 2 hours. Grateful that it’s my niece’s 12th birthday.  Grateful that my son spent over an hour on Skype with his cousins.  Grateful that my thighs are still sore from a workout that I did 2 days ago! Grateful that I am still inspired to write (note that I totally ignore all grammar rules on this blog). Grateful that despite a little emotional flare up today, I feel calm (for now). I’m just so damn grateful that I made it safely to the other side of that intersection, and no one was hurt.  Yeah, I’m starting to feel my age and I have some new pounds that I’d never seen before, my hair is temperamental, I getting more grays and my back hurts more than before, but I am grateful.