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

Hair Journey Spotlight: Alsha from myfroandi.com

In this post I explained that I'm thinking of going natural.

Since then, I realized that going natural would not be the end of my hair journey, and I definitely shouldn't feel disappointed in myself if I do decide to transition.

I know that if I transition that its my personal choice for the health of my hair, as well as to satisfy my curiosity about my natural texture.

Soooo, I've been scouring the internet for 4c hair ladies to act as my inspiration...and here is one of them!


Meet Alsha from myfroandi.com

She is a South African blogger with beautiful type 4 hair. Looks similar to how mine was as a child!

Here is a sample of hairstyles from her recent 30 hair style challenge.

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I was amazed at the gorgeous styles this woman can do! She totally changed my perception of the styles that can be done on 4c hair... I used to think that our thick kinky texture was restricted to twist-outs and afros, but I'm glad that Alsha proves that it's not so.

I think it's so inspiring to see women confidently take the challenge of caring for their type 4 hair...and loving the process!

Check out her website for more pictures of her updos, and information about how she cares for her natural hair.


Who are some of your favourite natural bloggers?

~Hatter

Shut yo mouth! Hair that made my jaw drop.

Long, healthy relaxed hair!

I was browsing hairlista.com tonight when a photo of Sunshyne's hair caught my eye.

Now, I've seen this photo many times before, but as I was reflecting on the current state of my ends, this photo seemed to smack me in the face with its perfection!

The fullness of Sunshyne's hair is amazing. Look at her ends! No thin "hemline", no straggling hairs, no see-through ends...and the shine, the body of that hair! 

Lord knows her hair journey could not have always been easy or enjoyable, but it's inspiring to see the results of Sunshyne's hair work and perseverance.

Sunshyne's thick, healthy, long, relaxed hair is an example of how I want my hair to become as I progress in my hair journey. Her hair gives me the motivation to push through the long washed days and patiently endure the breakage, shedding and setbacks with my end results in mind. 

Who's head of hair makes you say "wow!"?

~Hatter

Protective Styling Inspiration

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One of my hair resolutions for 2013 is to maintain thick healthy ends. One strategy to achieve this goal is through protective styling.

Keeping my ends up and away from my shoulders, clothes, or any surface that can rub against my hair and cause breakage is a must to keep my ends even and healthy. I also want to make sure that my ends do not get dried out by the air or sun.

In the past I wasn't too enthusiastic about protective styling because I thought it was...well, boring. Thankfully, Youtube has since changed my view!

Lilith moon is one of my top inspirations for cute, easy protective styles. Here are some of her looks that I hope to use in my regimen on a regular basis when I hit 6-7 weeks post relaxer:

Here are some other protective styling ideas:

I hope I'll be able to manipulate my hair easily enough to achieve these looks at 7-8 weeks post. 

I plan to use water, moisturizer and a lot of finger-combing to be as gentle as possible on my hair, since I'll be dealing with the thick, coarse texture of my new growth, and the more fragile, straight texture of my relaxed hair.

Do you know any more cute protective styles? Don't hesitate to share them! =)

Lurv,

~Hatter

Airdrying: T-shirt method changed my whole experience!

Shout out to Fancy Flair Lady for sharing her experience with the T-shirt method!

Today I washed and deep conditioned my hair, and instead of my usual rollerset I decided to air dry.

Now, before I tried the T-shirt method I did not like airdrying. My hair would become puffy, slightly rough and very dry.

However, about two weeks ago Ms Fancy Flair Lady posted her wash day in which she simply used a T-shirt to absorb excess water from her hair after washing it. I remember watching a video by Sunshine of hairlista.com with the same method, but because she did not show how her hair looked after drying, I wasn't motivated to try the method at the time. However, seeing a recent post spurred me to try it out for myself.

Today was actually the second time I tried it, and I used the same old, 100% cotton T-shirt and wrapped it around my hair, leaving it to soak up the moisture for about half an hour.

My results?

My hair was soooo soft and fluffy! I honestly thought the ladies who praised the T-shirt method over-exaggerated, but trust me they did not! My hair cuticles were flat and smooth, and my hair was incredibly soft, even before adding my moisturizer. Anndd my hair mooooovesss! *swishes hair back and forth* Before, my airdryed hair was always stiff and dry and did not have the movement and fluffiness I'm experiencing.

I think the major difference between using a towel and a T-shirt is that the smooth cotton texture of my shirt did not ruffle or raise my cuticles like the rough, abrasive texture of most towels. The T-shirt allowed my cuticles to stay closed and lock in my hair's moisture.

My hair after moisturizing and de-tangling. 

This method is definitely a good alternative for weekly rollersetting for me as it gets my hair smooth without using any heat at all. I think my results are almost as good as rollersetting! My hair also dries faster and I'm not restricted to sitting under a dryer for an hour waiting for my hair to dry.


T-shirt method, you are here to stay!

Have you tried the T-shirt method?

Ta ta!
~Hatter

Hatter Snap: Braidout Bun

Yesterday's braidout bun.

I slept with my hair in two braids, then in the morning I finger-combed my hair into a top bun. Even though I got really loose waves, I loved the volume I was able to achieve, especially as my hair was just relaxed on Saturday. =)

Protective styling to longer, stronger hair.

Have a happy day peeps.
~Hatter

My kind of inspiration! ;)

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Go on, have one! You deserve it. =]

~Hatter

Hair journey progress! : The Evolution of my Wash Day

The purpose of a hair journey is to make significant progress towards one's hair goals: whether health, length or both. I can happily say that I have experienced noticeable, positive changes in my hair since the beginning of my hair journey. One of these areas is how I wash and condition my hair and my subsequent results.

At the start of my journey in December 2011 I could not successfully wash, condition and dry my hair. (Sounds incredible, I know!) Wash days were literally an experiment- I tried various methods and tweaked my variables in the hope that I would find what worked for my hair!

Some characteristics of my previous wash process:

1. I washed all of my hair at once (i.e. I had never heard of washing in sections)
2. Following from number 1, my scalp was never properly cleansed in my crown area (eww)
3. Washing all my hair at once led to tangles, tangles and more tangles! (Much more than now!)
4. Airdrying was not good for my hair back then. When I say "not good" I mean that my hair wasn't healthy enough to withstand airdrying in a loose state. Looking back, I think I had issues with porosity and raised cuticles as my hair would dry like a lion's mane, and twice it took over 12 hours for my hair to fully dry.
5. My rollersets were fit to be laughed at...Seriously. In the beginning I would fumble and place two or three rollers before giving up, exasperated. 

Some characteristics of my present wash process:

1. I now wash my hair in four sections, focusing on shampooing each one seperately before moving on to the next section.
2. Washing in sections ensures that my entire scalp is cleansed.
3. Using sections also leads to less tangles as the hair is parted, allowing my fingers to access my scalp easier and disturb my hair less.
4. I can now airdry without my hair crying and begging for mercy (yay!). Now my cuticles lay smooth and my hair dries flatter in about 2-3 hours. I definitely attribute this to the general improvement in my hair's health, the new techniques I've adopted and using products more suited to my hair.
5. I can rollerset! (woop woop!) It took three or four desperate efforts before I could rollerset my entire head. For the past five or so weeks I've been consistently airdrying because I'm lazy it's easier and quicker. However, today is wash day and I'm eager to set my hair.

I feel encouraged when I can look back and notice improvements in my hair's health. "Health before length" is what many black ladies prophesy and I'm definitely eager to see my growth and length retention increase as my hair's health also increases.

What progress have you made in your hair journey? Write it down and track how it further improves in the near future as you continue to take stellar care of your hair. =)

Ta ta!

~Hatter

My inspirations: Hair journey

Here are some of the major sources for my hair-spiration, tutorials and indispensible information about caring for relaxed (and natural!) hair.

1. Youtube

• ulovemegz

If you read some of my previous posts you would have realized how much I love Megan's videos! She was my very first youtube hair-spiration who motivated me to start my own hair journey.  

• FusionofCultures

I found out about this cute chic from reading loveyourtresses.com. Laila-Jean transitioned from relaxed to natural hair and is now rocking a head-full of beautiful curls! I always admire ladies who are able to take great care of their natural tresses, making amazing looking natural hair the newest envy on the block. ;)

2. justgrowalready.com




Jen! What more can I say? Besides reading every one of her posts and scouring her blog several times a week, I use Jen as a real hair-spiration for what I want my hair to look like some day! She's transitioning from relaxed to telaxed hair and so far she's almost middle-back length. Every post about her journey is informative and, okay, I admit it, I'm a bit addicted to her site!

3. longing4length.com




Ms Ebony, like Jen, is a seasoned lady on her hair journey and likewise inspires me very much. She has hosted many hair challenges (like the Six Month Rollerset) and recently debuted her first e-book! Check out her website, you won't regret it. =)

4. relaxedhairhealth.blogspot.com

Ahhhh, Nadege. May I say she is the top of the top of hair-spiration? Her blog was the first I found that I thought was the key to healthy, long relaxed hair. lol Nadege is always on the look-out to discover better and better products for her hair and blogs about her progress. Jen and Nadege's blog definitely top my list of best hair blogs.

5. hairlista.com

Yup! A great forum site to ask, discuss and receive answers on all and anything hair related. Reminds me of longhaircareforum.com but honestly I prefer hairlista! Like LHCF, you must have an account to access the forum and create a profile. However, the set-up is easy and I recommend any serious hairlista to sign up for the site to expand her knowledge of hair care (both natural and relaxed). Are you a hairlista like me? Check out my hairlista page here.

6. naturalchica.com

The best natural hair care site I've found so far! Like I said before, I admire natural-haired ladies and I can see myself transitioning back to natural hair in the future. After searching youtube I came across Mae's channel, which linked to her site naturalchica.com. Interested in transitioning, caring for natural hair, or, (like me) just love to look at gorgeous hair? haha this is the site for you. Mae also provides tons of great info from hair doctors and other professionals about natural hair care.

I hope these sites inspire you as they inspired me!
Are any of these sites among your favourites? Did I miss any?

Happy hair day!
~Hatter

Hair Journey Spotlight: ulovemegz!

Good Sunday morning! Today I thought I would create a new post on one of my favourite hair/beauty bloggers: Megz!

Megz (Megan) goes by ulovemegz on youtube, where she posts tons of videos about her hair regimen, makeup ideas and fashion excursions.

She was undoubtedly one of the very first black women I ever saw with real, long, gorgeous hair who inspired me to start my hair journey in December last year.
Yup, its allllll her's, folks!

Watching her youtube videos was addictive! I learned a lot of tips from her about moisturing and sealing, protective styles and deep conditioning. She's also such a genuinely real, amiable person! Unlike a lot of black women out there, Megz doesn't think anything should stop us from achieving the lengths and full health that we desire from our hair. I remember one video in which Megz addressed comments that she has long hair because she's "mixed". Ladies, when you explore her vigorous regimen, its obvious genes don't have much to do with it!

I also admire how she does everything herself. From self-relaxing to washing, styling and trimming. She has inspired me to take much more control over my hair and believe that I don't need to have a hairdresser to achieve gorgeous hair!

Even though Megz's hair isn't the thickest of the bunch, she appreciates it for what it is and doesn't try to work against it. Whether you're hair is thick, thin, coarse or stringy...love it!
In the words of Megz: "It's okay, cause it's my hair." :)

Megan definitely deserves this Hair Journey Spotlight for my favourite hair blogger!

Check out Megz on youtube and on her blog.

Who has inspired your hair journey?

Happy hair!
~Hatter

Hair goals!

I can't wait to get back to collarbone length!

The last time my hair grew out to collarbone length it had to be cut around September of last year due to an "experimental" hairstyle I did for my graduation. Translation: lots of curls, hairspray and glitter. Combined with the flare-up of seborrhoeic dermatitis, switching between Head and Shoulders shampoo & Neutragena tar shampoo and changing hairdressers and I was one hot mess. =(

This time I'm determined to get to my ultimate goal of waist length within four years:

• Year one target: to reach armpit length by Demember of this year, 2012. Eh, it'll be a breeze. (I hope!)
• Year two target: to reach brastrap length by December 2013.
• Year three target: to reach middle-back length by December 2014
• Year four target: (trumpets please!) to reach waist length by December 2015.

As you can see, I've been doing a bit of planning. I hope my calculations match my hair growth rate.

Waiting patiently for it to look like this! =)

This length will take quite a bit of time and patience, but while we're waiting check out some of my favourite relaxed hair bloggers for long, healthy and beautiful relaxed hair inspiration: relaxedhairhealth.blogspot.com and myhealthyhairjourney.blogspot.com.

Love ~

Hatter