Goodbye Greys!!

Today is the day that I said goodbye to my grey hairs.  I have had enough of them.  These bad puppies had to go.  My pharmacy-purchased attempts at colouring them didn't work well.  So it was time to pull out the big guns.  I made an appointment at the salon and got my hair professionally coloured.  The lady who did my hair has beautifully coloured locks herself, so I figured she must know what she is doing.  I didn't want any fancy colour today.  All I wanted was to cover the grey.

I asked her to match my hair colour. She actually went a little darker than my natural colour, but I like it very much.  Then she asked me if I wanted a deep conditioning treatment, because my hair felt dry.  I said "sure, why not?!"  Well, she used Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat for Very Dry Hair.  She slathered it on, put a steam cap, and I sat under the hairdryer for about 15 minutes

This product smells absolutely divine.  I have to go and look for some to use at home.  It felt so good to have someone else take care of my hair.  I have not had someone else wash my hair in about 4 years.  I promise to treat myself to this salon thing every now and then.  My hair really feels nice.  And the greys are gone! For now. Yayyy!  My salon lady recommended that I use a temporary colour in my hair instead of a permanent colour, because the temporary colour does far less damage than the harsher permanent colour.  I came home from the salon and set my hair on my soft spikes.  Tomorrow, when my hair is dry and curled, I will get a really good view of the new me.  I am so excited.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from my house to all yours!

Tomorrow I return to work.  New year, new attitude.  I am going to try to simplify my life. Sometimes I feel like I am overloaded with information.  Too much clutter, too much unnecessary email, too many phone calls.  Not enough time to be still to hear the voice of God and not enough time to reflect quietly.  So starting this weekend, I have been de-cluttering my physical surroundings.  And I have unsubscribed from all of the automatic emails that I signed up for.  So.......off to a good start.

I have now accepted that there are some sections of my hair that will never lock. There are some sections along my hairline where my hair is too sparse and too fine-textured for it to lock.  I also have this issue at the back of my hair.  Even though the hair is very dense at the back, it is forever unraveling.

As little as a week after re-tightening, my hairline starts to look fuzzy.  I have started to palm roll a few of the fuzzy locks at the front, using Jamaica Mango and Lime Locking Gel.  I hold the rolled locks in place with Scunci clips, until they dry and are set.  This really makes a difference to how tidy my hair looks.  And the rolled set stays in place for several days before unraveling again.

Lovin' my Locks

I just decided to wash my hair, because my scalp was feeling a little itchy.  I washed it, towel dried it, put a little oil on it, and Voila!! I am ready to hit the road again.  Locks are really great for a busy lifestyle.

2nd Anniversary

At the end of November I quietly celebrated my 2nd anniversary of lockdom. After two years, I still have no regrets.  With each passing month, and with every inch of growth, it just gets better and better.  I am really enjoying my hair.  Even when I have not had a chance to wash and style it, I am still able to have a nice looking style, thanks to hair ties and hair bands. 

This was also a time that was tinged with sadness, as the wonderful lady who first installed my locks two years ago died. She was in and out of hospital for months, which is why I had to switch to another consultant.  She sadly succumbed to her illness.  May her soul rest in peace.  I would still call her from time to time, and have a chit chat with her. She was still interested in the progress of my hair, and was always asking if my new consultant was caring for my hair properly.  I assured her that my hair is fine.  I will miss her.

Here is a picture taken in my car, with my phone, during a rare moment of idleness.  I just washed and set my hair on soft spikes last night.  The curls are still quite tight.  As the week progresses, the curls will relax.

Pony Tail

Well, as predicted, it was an uncomfortable night sleeping on those hard Chiney Bumps.  But I persevered and did not pull them out during the night.  Unfortunately after I unraveled the Bumps, the resulting hairstyle was rather unflattering.  The curls were wild and were going in every direction you can imagine. Not a pretty sight.  Anyway, my hair tie came to the rescue.  I put it up in a pony tail.

 

Here is a picture showing the curls after a day.  They have significantly relaxed, and don't look quite so frantic.

Bantu Knots

Tonight I decided to set my hair in Bantu Knots.  In Jamaica we call these Chiney Bumps. These were fun to do, and brought back childhood memories of my mom combing my hair in these Chiney Bumps after washing every Saturday morning. I would get a really pretty, curly hairstyle after the bumps were pulled out the next day.

Each Chiney Bump consists of 8 or 9 locks. I had to secure the ends with bobby pins, because the ends of my locks are plump, and don't tuck under very well.  I mildly dampened my hair after I was finished, because it is a very cool night, and if my hair is too wet, it will not dry on its own by tomorrow morning.

I had my hair re-tightened this week, and my scalp is a bit tender.  I am predicting that it is going to be difficult to sleep with this style tonight.  I also predict that I will probably pull out many of these Chiney Bumps during the night.  We'll see.

Here we go again

Well, we are all here bracing ourselves for Tropical Storm Tomas.  Here in Kingston, he seems to be playing a bit of hide and seek with us at the moment.  We had expected that by now, heavy rain would be tearing up the place.  So far it has just been drizzling on and off.  Not that I am complaining.  Quite the contrary.  I hope Senor Tomas moves right along and leaves us all alone.

My 2-year lock-versary is fast approaching - at the end of this month.  I cannot believe that the 2 years have gone by so quickly.  Sometimes I feel that my hair growth rate has slowed down, but I regain some perspective and objectivity when I compare a picture of two years ago, with a recent picture.

That's quite a difference isn't it?

By the way, I got a new toy last week.  I purchased a Kindle.  It is just the coolest toy ever!!  My husband calls it my new boyfriend, because it gets a lot of my undivided attention, and I do snuggle down with it at times.  Ha! Ha! He is such a joker.  I have not been reading as much as I used to, mainly because I am so darn tired all the time.  I am hoping that this gadget will entice me to say awake past the first two pages of a book!  We'll see.

I love Tomoka's Hair Ties I have one, and I absolutely love it. I decided to purchase two more today.  Here are the one's that I chose:
http://www.tomokastwists.com/images/thumbnails/GoGoDark.jpg

http://www.tomokastwists.com/item_226/Rae-II.htm

Aren't they gorgeous?  Can't wait for them to arrive.