Mobile Update: summer beauty shopping

Greetings from Boston, MA!

I'm finally on my official summer vacation and both my mind and hair are on a much needed break.

My hair is back in braids (shorter and lighter braids this time) so I really don't have much to say hair-wise. Instead, I'll share my recent beauty haul.


Who doesn't like sample-size products? I purchased a small, 2oz dropper bottle, a mini Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisture Conditioner, a mini Satin Care shaving cream and Purell hand sanitizer.

Next is this cute reusable bag I bought from Barnes and Noble. "This Side of Paradise" is one of my favourite books by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I already have "The Great Gatsby" tote. 

 Last are the Satsuma Body Polish and Beautifying Oil I purchased from The Body Shop. Satsuma is apparently a funky citrus fruit that has a bright, zesty scent. I'm loving it so far!

Not too exciting eh? I am trying to control myself from buying too many unnecessary hair products, especially as I can't even use them while my hair is in braids!

However, I must buy some Carol's Daughter hair products before I return home to Trinidad since it's waay cheaper to purchase in the US. Plus, I want to be prepared when I take my braids down again and  battle with my transitioning hair.  >.<

I'm now five months post relaxer and it's been smooth sailing since I don't really have to manipulate my hair. The only issue I've had is my dry, flaky scalp. I want to buy some tea tree oil and add it to my trusty jojoba oil, using my new dropper bottle to apply the mix easily to my scalp.

Have you done any summer beauty shopping?

Cheers,

~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

The Forgotten Conditioners

Dusty, forgotten and shunned...

...When I returned home I was confronted with the miserable sight of instant conditioners I had bought when I first started my hair journey...Conditioners that I soon forgot and have now come back to haunt me.

Okay, to be fair, I did like the Vo5 Moisture Milks, and that's probably why I have two bottles. Because it's cheap I decided to leave it at home when I went to university. I'll give that same reason of cost for why I abandoned the Garnier Fructis Fortifying Cream Conditioner, but the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration just wasn't very impressive. 

Finally, I only used the Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut conditioner once on my relaxed hair and I hated it.

However, I'm willing to give it another chance...in fact, I plan to use up all of these conditioners.

Using them up might be a bit difficult since my hair is in braids, but I think that once I take my braids out, I'll mix each conditioner individually with hair oils and use them as pre-poo treatments.

I hope I remember to use them when the time comes!

How do you use up old products?

~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

The battle for natural hair- it has begun!

source

This Saturday will make me 13 weeks post relaxer. So far my difficulties have been with breakage, detangling and keeping my hair detangled. However, today I experienced another difficulty which shocked me more than expected- opposition to me going natural by my family.

Specifically, it was my brother who, in response to my mom when she mentioned my decision, blurted out that "natural hair doesn't look good."

*cue death stare*

Honestly, I was annoyed; more so at the ignorance of the statement than at the fact that it came from my own brother. However, I had to remind myself that people's opinions and preferences are very different, partly due to their experiences in life. Although natural hair has gained steady momentum in the past years, relaxed hair is still the mainstream in many societies including those here in the Caribbean.

So I really shouldn't be upset with my brother...he, like many of us, was socialized to prefer and desire silky, straight hair. I, myself, wasn't too fond of natural hair before I went on my hair journey. And the poor women walking around with neglected, half-done natural hair certainly doesn't give any support for women who want to wear their natural hair. Of course there are plenty of women who also sport relaxed hair that's far from healthy, but as long as it appears to pursue to Eurocentric ideal, it's okay, right?

My mother has also expressed concern over me going natural, mostly because she remembers how difficult it was to take care of my hair as a child, and she fears that I'm not ready to care for it on my own. I do understand her fears, and this week she had me swayed in the direction of  getting a relaxer and cutting off any damaged hair.

Also, today I was with my mom when she got her hair relaxed at the salon. The hairdresser (who used to relax my hair) looked at my hair and commented that it wasn't looking too hot. Ermm...duhh!
I do have 13 weeks of new growth poppin' out of my scalp! Farrr from tactful madame...

Anyway, today my conviction was sealed by both my brother and former hairdresser. How dare anyone tell me that the hair that God gave me doesn't look good? It's not a subject I will get self-righteous about, but it irks me when people look down on me and underestimate my abilities, thinking that the silly little child is not handling herself or her hair well at all.

It's hair. I'm going to be 18 and I am ready to make my own decisions. And at the end of the day, it's hair! I could be strung out on drugs or preggers with 3 baby daddies but all I want is to go natural!

(okay, that was a bit dramatic...)

I'm fed up of the relaxer process and I hate other people doing my hair. The people in my life who don't approve of my decision to go natural will just have to get over it, because God makes no mistakes, and I'm not on this earth to satisfy anyone's aesthetic pleasures.

source

Goodnight!

~Hatter