The Hols are here!

Whew!

This week my exams finished so I'm finally free!

If I could sum up how I feel in one video...this would be it:

(And who doesn't love Tom Hiddleston?? :)

This semester has been extra busy for me and unfortunately I haven't blogged nearly as often as I should have.

My second year of university is now half-way finished...I can hardly believe how time is flying!

Since my mini-chop in August I've mostly been keeping my hair in braids. Trust me, this has saved me sooooo much time and energy. All I have to do in the morning is moisturize and seal and I'm out the door. When I get home later this month I plan to take out this current set of braids and maybe...cut off the rest of my straight ends. :)

I'm excited to see how much my roots have grown out since August. I'm still not a big fan of the teenie weenie afro on myself...so we'll see whether I decide to big chop or continue to transition. I'd love to accomplish a long term transition of 1-2 years like some bloggers, but I'm just too impatient!

Watching youtube videos has helped to keep me inspired while I couldn't play with my actual hair.
Here are some of my recent favourites:

As the year comes to an end I feel that I need to sit down and reflect on my highs and lows, strengths and weaknesses. I plan to do this especially for my university experience. Honestly, this semester has been my most challenging so far; emotionally, spiritually and mentally. So, I need to evaluate how I can prepare for next semester so I don't feel like I've been hit with a ton of bricks at the end!

Have you begun to reflect on the past year, or made any goals for the new year?

Oh, and I can't wait for Christmas!!

Lots of love,
~Hatter

Six months post relaxer

August 10th 2013 made me 6 months post relaxer!

That date also marked my mini chop, leaving me with 2-3 inches of relaxed ends attached to my new growth. So far, I can already tell that my natural hair texture is different from when I was a child, and I'm excited for my big chop when I'll finally be able to appreciate and critique every kink and coil.

Currently I am very inspired by this video uploaded by one of my hair crushes, Mae.

She is four years post big chop and I love love love her hair! Her video encourages me to be patient in my transition, as well as to put in the hard work necessary for cultivating healthy, gorgeous natural hair.




After enjoying my short haircut for about 2 weeks, my mother installed another set of braids. Honestly, I would like to maintain my hair myself but since university has started again and my mom is going back to St. Kitts, I know that my laziness and impatience would sabotage my hair-care efforts.




I plan to keep these braids in for 8 weeks, which should last me until the end of October.



How's your hair journey going?
Love!
~Hatter

The braids are out: 17 weeks post relaxer!

Today I finally finished taking out my waist length braids. It took me three days to undo them, mainly because I started with a little at a time and I wanted to work as carefully as possible. 

My patience has definitely paid off! Below is a photo of how much shed and broken hair I lost after having my hair in braids for 4 weeks.

I think this is a moderate amount of hair compared to the amount I have lost in the past when my hair was braided regularly as a child. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not experience heavy breakage. Most of the hair in my hand are shed hairs. While I wore my braids I deep conditioned twice, used my African Pride Braid Sheen Spray weekly and occasionally I sealed my hair with jojoba oil. Now, about three days after my last wash day in braids, my hair is soft and surprisingly manageable. Cheers to successful protective styling!

I used my jojoba oil to lubricate my braids while I took them out. I think the oil did a great job of loosening tangles as well as keeping my two hair textures soft and moisturized.

My new growth @ 17 weeks post relaxer.

For the present I'm wearing my hair in twists for the next few days. Next weekend I have a formal event to go to, so I plan to shampoo, deep condition and hopefully do a proper curly braid-out style to blend my two textures.

My new growth is extremely obvious now that I'm 17 weeks post relaxer. I'm so excited for it to grow out!


Love,
~Hatter

My waist-length braids

Last Sunday my mother finished installing my waist-length braids.

This is the first time I've worn braids in about two years, and I've never had braids so long. I was a bit uncomfortable swinging around all the hair on my head and they also felt quite heavy for the first few days, but I've since adjusted to the weight.

Whenever I saw women with waist-length, or longer, braids I always thought, "Why would anyone want to wear super long extensions??." I assumed that it must be a pain in the neck to take care of them.

Now, I see that they really aren't so annoying, and I love the elegant look I get from wearing the braids cascading around me.

The most annoying thing about them was figuring out how to seal the ends. My mom used 'Xpressions', 100% kanekalon hair, which was very light but tangled very easily when manipulated. I tried plaiting the braids to the very end, then dipped them in boiling hot water. So far, most of the ends have stayed but some are already unraveling.


Here is a tumblr page I found with a lot of inspiration for box braids: iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com


And here is a video of some styles I plan to wear if I'm not lazy.

Yesterday I quickly washed my braids, skipped deep conditioning and proceeded to use a braid spray, then sealed my hair with jojoba oil. Next weekend I'll show my hair some much needed tender loving care by doing a lengthy deep conditioning session.

Love,
~Hatter