Soft-Spikes v. Wrap-A-Loc

Just for contrast, I've dug up some pics of me with Soft Spikes sets for comparison. You can't say I don't go the extra mile for my Sisterlock family...
These are both dated. One I took in Virginia and the other was last winter...
It is definitely a matter of scale. And we'll see how long the curls go...

Wrap-A-Loc Results...

OK...So Monday morning I took down the Wrap-A-Loc set. Here's the results. They are very tight. After work Monday, I put them in a cap while I was at exercise class. They were just as tightly coiled on Tuesday.

I think the set was successful because I sat under the dryer. I used a little diluted Lottabody. But I was not very consistent about applying it. I probably didn't put any on the back.
If it weren't for the heat of the dryer, my hair wouldn't have dried uniformly...and certainly not in time for me to go to sleep at a decent hour. So once again, I love my new hair dryer.
We can track how long the curls last together, ok?

Today--because I was too lame to actually wear a costume--I stuffed my hair in a knit hat and wore lots of make-up....Spooky. I told anyone who asked I was a smooth criminal.

Really I just wanted an excuse to try blacking my eyes out. I have all these MAC paints that I never use and eyeshadow colors that I never really experiment with...So today I did. I used Fluidline liner in black, Carbon and Tuxedo shadow with a thin dusting of Vellum over the top. It was fun. If I was still in high school, I might totally go Goth for awhile...But I'm not in high school. So really, it's just about time for me to wash my face.

And so I find myself...

Sitting under the dryer with Miracle Whip on my face...yeah, yeah, I'll get to that...

I lollygagged most of the day. Shredding paper, violating my lease by drilling a hole in my ceiling, watching the football game in London...I didn't start coloring my hair until after 5pm. I used the old stand-by...Hi-Res Copper Shock. But it's not shocking. It's pretty tame. At least I don't have two-tone hair anymore. I've been using this color so long, I just feel like it looks normal again.

So I started in with the Wrap-A-Locs pretty late. Like around 7pm and I didn't finish until 10:30. The woman who created Wrap-A-Locs-- Sister Nandi--has the patience of Job. After I ordered 5 large sets and received them, I decided I had the wrong size and sent them back un-opened. She and I talked on the phone a few times. She assured me the large size were right for me. But I'm a mule-headed stress-ball right now, so I asked for two sets of medium size. So I finally open them, start setting my hair and realize...yup, I needed all larges. Sigh. I made due with what I have though. I've been under the dryer for thirty minutes. If I had all large size, I actually do think I would leave these in over a weekend, but I won't be wearing them to work

I love this thing! It's a Hot Tools Model 1059 Salon Style Dryer. It says "Purple People Heater" which is pretty cute. It has an ionic setting, two heat settings and three speeds. I know it's listed on Amazon and there's a seller on E-bay. I paid $99.99 at my neighborhood beauty supply which is actually a very good price. They also had a Conair brand one that was $25 more. I was hoping I could adjust it and recline in bed or at least sit in my cushy chair, but I had to use a kitchen chair. An irrelevant inconvenience. I may never go to a salon again. I can now give myself hot conditioning treatments and drastically reduce my drying time--great motivation to actually set my hair and stop with the constant ponytails. I can't hear the television-darn it!- but I can surf the net, read a book or a magazine...Fab. If I would have gotten it together and done this earlier, I could have watched the football or baseball game...Don't need sound for that. Oh well, incentive to start earlier next time.

So you want to know why I have Miracle Whip on my face. I know you do. Well, I had gotten my skin under control last month. But with all the stress, I've backslid with my regimen. I had been having great luck with aspirin facials. Don't laugh...aspirin is salycylic acid on the cheap. I just dissolve about three in my palm, mix with a little moisturizer and voila! a great blow to oil and would-be pimples. I was on the net and saw quite a few posts about the exfoliating property of Miracle Whip and thought I'd try it. Apparently the tangy kick in the Miracle Whip is what distinguishes this from just sitting around with mayonnaise on my face--that would be weird...lol. The vinegar in the Miracle Whip...along with the egg..helps to moisturize and unclog pores at the same time. I'll let you know what happens...Since I'm all clogged again, I figured it would be a great time to try it out...can't hurt. I've been using a facial from Lush called Cupcake that I really like...but I'm all about cheap. Can't beat a jar of Miracle Whip and some store brand aspirin.

Roots...The Next Generation

I haven't posted in a loooonnng time. Sigh. Life has been a little too much to blog. Lately it's taken all my mental energy just to get from Monday to Friday, then on weekends I just decompress. But life has been busy...

So last Saturday, I went to the beauty supply store. Like most black women I know, I think beauty supply stores are magical places. Even though I don't need many products, I find myself leaving with armloads of things anyway. So last Saturday I had bandannas, crocheted caps and a snood. And then I looked up... Now that the weather is getting cooler, I can't just wash my hair in the shower and go on my way. And now that my hair is longer it takes forever to dry. If I don't wash my hair pretty early in the day, it won't be dry before bedtime. Wet hair and pillowcases don't mix...wet hair and damp rollers makes a funny smell that usually requires a vinegar soak to remove....so what's a girl to do. I have a blow dryer and a diffuser. But I am too lazy to stand around waving it at my head and it's useless if I want to set my hair with rollers. I got one of those soft bonnet style dryers but the blower part fried out. I tried attaching it to the blow dryer but it got way too hot and it was so noisy I couldn't take it. So I started fantasizing about the salon-style dryers I saw in the beauty supply store window. Sigh. I even priced them out on Ebay.

So I'm in the beauty supply store... I look up, see the hair dryers and remember that I want a new one. I left with my bandannas and a firm resolve. So it seemed kismet when I went to the beauty supply store right up the street from me...looked down...and saw two salon style dryers, both around the same prices I saw online. But I had no money so no dice. I've been thinking about it all week and today I went back and got one!

My plan was to retighten, wash and try my new Wrap-A-Locs (yes, I bought those too). But when I looked in the mirror, I realized I had another dilemma... You all know I dabble in the dark art of hair-coloring. But I've been good and haven't touched the stuff for months. The proof is that I have over an inch of uncolored growth. I don't like it. Luckily I'm prepared. I have two boxes of the color I usually apply and one of the brown shade of Feria I tried when I decided I wanted to go a shade darker. I'm wondering though if I should hold off on the color until closer to Thanksgiving so it'll be fresh for the holidays. Decisions, decisions....I didn't have an answer after I finished assembling my new dryer, so all I finished was the retightening. One thing I know, two-tone hair is not my thing. So I am either going to use one of the colors I have or make my whole head something closer to my natural color. Given that my natural color is a depressing shade of dark brown that does absolutely nothing for me, I predict this time tomorrow my hair will be copper again. If it's too much of a jolt, I'll cover it with the brown in a couple of weeks to tone it down...

Zahara, I know exactly how you feel...

Zahara Jolie-Pitt expressing herself...