Where to start... I am pretty happy with the length of my hair. Right now the things I would like to work on are shedding and "straw like ends". I really don't have a goal length at least at this point. I just want my hair to look nicer and healthier.

Current Routine
I wash my hair no more than every other day right now. I am hearing a lot of people talking about washing theirs less than that, but I don't know if that is possible for me. It seems as if when I shower without washing my hair that is greasier than if I don't shower at all. Maybe this is just in my head. I have been using Clairol Herbal Essense for about a year now, both conditioner and shampoo. I am not unduly attached to it, but my SO likes it so it is what we have.

Future Plans
My first stop on this voyage will be vitamins. I have been sadly negligent and it is something I should start back into, not just for my hair but for me in general. My multivitamin of choice right now are the women's one-a-day. After reading Bargello's routine (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7994) my plan is to get some methylsufonyl-methane in particular. The shedding has gotten out of control and hopefully this will help my hair be a little thicker in the long run. Additionally I am thinking about trying the GNC Ultra Nourishair, biotin, evening primrose oil, silica, and flax seed oil. That is a whole lot of pills! So rather than add them all at once I think I might start adding them a few at a time.

I would also like to try doing a vinegar rinse at some point. At least at first I plan on doing a homebrew one, but I need to look up more information on this before trying it.

So I went to GNC today on my way home. Gah spent $39.87, but now I have the basics of what I wanted. I got GNC Women's Ultra Nourishair (60 tablets) and 80 softgel capsules of 500 mg Evening Primrose Oil each for $9.99. The methylsufonyl-methane I ended up getting a big bottle because it just wasn't cost effective not too and it is a big part of my hair care plan. 180-1000mg capsules were $17.99. In the future I think I will see if I can get these last two somewhere else, and a bigger bottle of the Ultra Nourishair than our local store carries. Interesting note, apparently the GNC in the Galleria mall is one of the top selling ones in the country so they have sales more often since they have the volume: good to know. So today is the first day on the new vitamin regimen. We will see how well I do with it.

New Vitamin Regimen

1 OneSource Women's caplet
2 Ultra Nourishair tablets (one in the morning, one in the afternoon)
1-1000mg methylsulfonyl-methane capsule
1-500mg Evening Primrose Oil softgel capsule

Just to keep a record here, I washed my hair this morning with both shampoo and conditioner. Without thinking about it I shampooed all of it, not just my scalp. This is the first washing change I would like to try, so I will try to remember for next time. Fortunately the oil I left in overnight last night does seem to have helped as I noticed that the curls were so much better defined and so soft this morning. I had my hair in an english braid all day until I got home and then rebraided it before bed. Sleeping in a braid seems to work better for me than a ponytail for minimizing damage and keeping it from snarling.

Also this morning after my shower I tried using the applicator wand on a BPAL imp of Queen Gertrude along my part before putting it up. Someone from LHC posted this idea on the BPAL forums a while ago, but I had had yet to try it. The affects were lovely. Unlike putting it on my wrist I kept getting wifts of it all day, but nothing over powering. I have to say the fragrance had alot more staying power in my hair than on my skin. I will probably be trying this again with different scents in the near future.

Recieved a very nice pm from Flaxen. I love how supportive and friendly this community is! She confirmed that it isn't just in my head that my hair looking greasier with just rinsing which confirms my avoidance of rinsing on non wash days. She also had some advice about Herbal Essences encouraging at least her to "shed a small squirrel" in the shower when she rinsed. I noticed that I shed most in the shower or directly after so I think I really should change brands as a fresh start. Since so many LHC members seem to have good luck with Aubrey Organics soap based shampoos I think I might look into that next.

I am making so many changes so quickly that it is hard to say what is being effective for what problems, but on the other hand my option is to keep living like this! Had more shedding this morning. After just combing my hair out (dry with a wide tooth comb) and putting it in a bun I noticed about 10-15 hairs on the comb or on my clothes. This has got to get under control!

I put my hair up today in what will probably become a trend. "The boy" (my SO) is happy about that as he loves my hair up.

New rule: Hair must be up or at lest braided back if I am going to wear a backback. There are so many things that when I think about it now I just don't know why I used to do. Hopefully this will discourage more damage and tugging to my length.

While I was thinking about it I just wanted to add a few helpful links to some forum threads

Instructions for Conditioner Only (CO) Wash (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=9367&page=1&pp=15)
Apple Cide Vinegar (ACR) Rinse (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1141)
More Extensive Discussion of ACV Rinse (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=178776#post178776)

My scalp was getting pretty greasy by this evening although I think it looked ok during the day. I think I am going to wash tomorrow morning so my plan for the evening is to use my BB brush at least at the top to move some of the oils onto the length as opposed to just my scalp and first two inches or so. Then I am going to finish the rest of the length with special focus with a little bit of oil. I really liked the results last time and hope that it will continue to work for me. I have just been using canola oil, since I don't like the smell of olive oil. In the future I definately want to look into other types though.

So this morning I washed my hair. I borrowed some Fructis 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner for my scalp, but just used conditioner on the length and ends. Then I let it air dry almost completely before combing with my wide tooth comb. This was sort of funny because I had to leave the house before then so I combed on the bus. Hey Boston is full of crazy people. I am just one more of them. The results were pretty good. It was very soft and shiny though slightly frizzy on top, but the braid got pretty frizzy too as the day wore on.

On the way home today I picked up some VO5 Nourishing Oasis Calm & Condition conditioner (with lavender and and chamomile). Originally I was going to get a different shampoo to replace the Herbal Essence, but I think I am going to try to go CO for a while instead. If that doesn't work I will probably switch to a 2-in-1 product for my scalp.

Thursday I spent some time waiting for a friend whom I was meeting for dinner. My class got out early so I just hung around the area where I was going to meet him. I got a 20oz bottle of VO5 Split Ends Treatment Conditiner and a 24.5 oz bottle of Citre Shine Shampoo, which I seem to remember that I liked. I just have to remember to be careful with this VO5 which might leave a sealing layer if used too often which could end up damaging my hair. It is not silicon based as far as I can tell though. It says that it's active ingredient for that is Pantenol, which if it following basic IUPAC stadards should be an alcohol. I am not sure how that would help with split ends though...

Yesterday was two days since my last wash. Since I was going in for oral surgery I decided to wash it since I didn't think I would be up to it for the next coule days. It actually looked pretty clean though and I think I could have left it another day.

So I got up a little earlier and did my first CO wash. I smelled so good all day! My hair seemeda little frizzy, but not nearly as bad as with a S/C wash. It was also so soft. I had to restrain myself from stroking it all the time.

We did a little shopping to cheer me up and to kill time before my appointment to have my wisdom teeth pulled. I got a very elegant hair stick at H&M's that I really like. And guess what, it didn't have any seams! I was grinning from ear to ear. Then when I went into the changing room to try something on I saw my reflection for the first time since my hair was dry. SO SHINY! I have never seen my hair this healthy and shiny looking. I came out of the changing room ranting "how come you didn't say anything?" The SO's response "I just figured you knew." Well I do now!

I also finally found some of the VO5 Kiwi and Lime Clarifying Conditioner that quite a few people on LHC have liked at the CVS in the mall. Not only was it just $0.99, I got $1 back in CVS bucks. Free conditioner woohoo!

And on the way out I stepped in Bath and Body works to see if they had any lavendar essential oil. I could not find anywhere in Boston that had pure lavander essential oil! I have been wanting to add some to the lavendar conditioner I bought the other day (which while smelling good wasn't very "lavendary") both for fragrance and other assorted benefits. Not only did the have it but I bought a little set that had the bottle of essential oil, a bottle of apricot kernal oil, and a small bottle of lotion base.

http://nmatrix.mine.nu/images/omly.jpg

Took this picture yesterday. I have been feeling pretty horrendoes after the oral surgery. Had the boy take this to cheer me up. My hair was still behaving really well frm my first CO wash. Unfortunately it was braided for like two days so that I wouldn't have to have it near my face. So the waves you see there are a result of that rather than my own curlies (as you can tell from the crimped wave at my neck). My hair gave me problems trying to categorize. Left alone to air dry it forms ringlets at the bottoms, but unlike my daughter I can brush these out to just be mildly wavy.

I put my lastest picture of my hair (posted yesterday) as my avatar. I will be changing it as I update my pictures.

Did my second CO wash today. Used the same combo as last time, but this time I soaked in a tub. My Lip Stuff (http://mylipstuff.com) makes the most wonderful women's bath salts. I bought some a little while ago to treat myself, but this is the first time I had used it. It is *heavenly* :cloud9: It is a mixture of rose, lavander and tea tree oils with all the regular bath salt stuff. It eacen had a cute little scallop shell to scoop it out with.

So I soaked for a while then put in the conditioner so I could continue letting it sit while I bathed. Maybe I should look into getting a shower cap. I never thought I would ever need one, but mybe that was premature. Anyways to rinse out the conditioner I ran the shower just long enough to get make sure I has gotten it all out. Unfortunately I had to comb it out before it was completely air dried, since we had a meeting to go to tonight. It looks great though, little frizz, very shiny, soft and smells so good. I even went a ways towards convincing one of my roommates to give it a try. We will see if he does.

Happily I seem to be shedding less then I have been the last few days, though no less than normal for before. The day of the oral surgery I noticed I was shedding a *ton* like 50 hairs in the shower alone. I was so scared! I guess it was just stress, but now that I am starting to feel better it is going back to normal.

I managed a figure 8 bun today and it looked so nice! My hair seems just long enough to this one. This seems like it will get a little easier when my hair is a little longer though. Even my mom commented on how nice it looked.

My hair seemed moderately greasy, but not just along the closest few inches to my scalp like usual. Rather most of the hair seems rather greasy although the length looks ok and is in good shape. Could this just be build up issues? It seems awfully soon for that. I was reading an old thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=11872) and found a lot of LHC members let the the condition sit a minimum of 10-20 minutes in a CO wash, so I think I am going to stick with 20 minutes unless I start having problems with that.

I went to visit my mom today and I since I seemed to need a wash I brought the VO5 Kiwi and Lime Clarifying Conditioner. But surprise! My sister already had some VO5, and not only that but one I haven't tried, VO5 Pear Mango Passion Herbal Condition for color-treated or permed hair with aloe & passion flower extracts. She neither colors anymore nor perms so I assume it is because she loves mango. To me it just smells like pear though.

I took a bath and let the conditioners sit while I soaked (about 15 minutes althuogh I had no clock) then rinsed with a cool water shower. Thanks to this thread about conditioner washes (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=182246) I tried putting some conditioner in the running bath water since my skin has been feeling so dry. I washed my scalp with this one and used my mom's Dove Intense Moisture Conditioner. She swears by both this shampoo and conditioner. I used it on my length then freaked when I later read the ingredient list.

Dove Intense Moisture Conditioner Ingredients
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconal, Glycerin, Quaternium-18, Fragrance, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Potassium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Lysine Hydrochloride, Silk Amino Acids, Borage Extract, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

Gah! Right now my hair is air drying, but already seems very tangled with very little "slip". I also noticed that the shedding has increased again since putting the conditioner on. I think this is one not to try again. I will have to report back with how it turns out. My skin does feel softer as a result of the conditioner in the bath water except for my face and hands, which weren't under the water that much.

Well the Dove Conditioner didn't leave my hair as tangled as I had feared. It actually felt ok once it dried and combed through alright. By the end of yesterday my hair was looking really greasy all over again though.

So this morning I broke down and CWC'ed. I used that Citre Shine Shampoo and the VO5 Split End Treatment Conditioner. In the shower it felt great, lots of slip. It seems to be taking longer to dry though and the curls seem really weighed down. Help if anyone is reading this with ideas about what is going on and what to do about this. Usually when my hair air dries it is in long loose curls at the bottom, more of a 3a than a 2c. Right now I look like a 2b maybe a 2c.

I know I just washed friday morning, but I did a CO wash last night too to convince my daughter to try it as well. She has 3b curls and doesn't like the frizziness of her hair after she washes. We used the VO5 Kiwi and Lime Clarifying Conditioner. My hair does feel clean, but the tips are pretty fluffy. I think I will need to deep condition after trimming. My poor daughter woke up with *big hair* this morning though. She liked it (she is five) but I don't think that I will try this one with her again.

My roommate very kindly trimmed my hair yesterday morning. I needed it done. It has been over 9 months and I wanted to "start fresh" taking better care of my hair. This meant I had to wash my hair again when I really didn't need to though. Knowing she was giving up her morning to sleep in to do this for me I sucked it up and prepared the best I could. I oiled the length and did a scalp massage with a mixtuer of 2 parts sweet almond oil and one part lavender EO. Then I braided it for bed. My SO actually remarked that my hair smelled really good (yeah!), so I might try this again.

In the morning I conditioned with the VO5 Lavender Nurishing Oasis. After 10 minutes though I realized I was running late so I rinced it out and used some of the Citre Shine Shampoo since my hair still felt kinda oily. Hey this shampoo has no SLS! I didn't notice before. So this turned into a CWC instead of the CO wash as I had planned. Oh well. It feels really good though, lots of slip but clean. After it dried it was really soft, shiny and smooth (the three S's :smile:). It looks great!

So back to the trim. Gah! She wanted to take off 4"! I said no I only wanted 1 to 2" tops taken off. The split ends are minimal, but mostly I wanted to even out the ends a little bit; they are somewhat thin at the bottom. Well she cut about 2" I didn't want to look to closely lest she see me morning after my hair.

It does feel a lot better, but I miss that length. My other roommate (a long hair who should have known better) insisted I wouldn't even notice the difference. Well I notice! My hair isn't staying in a bun as nicely anmore. I have to use a clip because the hair sticks keep sliding out. Even the clip can barely hold it the way I am used to doing. Guess I will have to experiment some more and figure out something that will work. In the meantime I am just braiding my hair. I love running my fingers through it right now. I have to keep fighting the urge to do so. I noticed a few split ends, but I trimmed for fullness not damage. I guess I will have to get the hair scissors out soon and do a S&D.

So made my day this evening. "Want me to measure your hair?" He loves me. :grin: So I was right; it was about a 2" trim. My current measurement is 25". But the curliest bit was in those inches though! My hair seems almost 2b now. I am not sure if this is just that the curls are currently weighed down or what. I hope that is all. I would be sad to see my curls lost.

I CO'ed my hair yesterday with Kiwi & Lime on my scalp and the Split End Treatment on my length. It was let to sit 15 minutes. My hair was really greasy. I think that was mostly due the fact that for one reason or another I had ended up washing my hair everyday for a few days. They were CO washes, but still the detergent adds up.

I noticed that the shedding has increased dramatically again over the last few days, but I think that it is just stress related. I have a huge final exam today for a pre-graduate course that covers 3 undergrad courses in one summer session (5 weeks).

On a happier note, I managed a half french braid (french braid starting at middle of back of head instead of hairline) today! Okay, that may not sound impressive to most people, but that is a major accomplishment for me. Generally all I can do is a bun, ponytail or english braid.

I tried doing a french twist today. It didn't go so well. Not only did it not look great, but I lost about 15 hairs in the process! There are some great instructions for french twists and other updo's here (http://www.haarkram.e-something.de/). I have decided that I need a french twist comb though to do these. A clip just didn't cut it. Whew! After the hairscroo and amish hair pin group orders though my hair budget is blown for a little while at least. I guess it will just have to go on the wish list along with the hair fork I have been wanting from Argus Designs (http://www.argusdesigns.com/products/fork/f_exwood.html).

I CO'ed this morning using the Split End Conditioner (scalp and length) for 20 minutes and then using the Lavender Nourishing Oasis as directed on my length. The waves and curls look really nice and well defined. The length feels really nice, soft and clean, but the hair above my ears feels a little coarser than usual. I noticed this the last time I used the Split End VO5, but didn't think anything of it at the time. I had been thinking of incorporating it into a routine so this discovery is somewhat annoying.

On a probably unrelated note, I was finger combing my dry hair today before braiding it and got a clump of hair as a reward. :shocked: Looking at it carefully I can see that it is broken rather than fallen out (damaged end from my head). I guess I hadn't noticed when my hair had the damaged ends (white dots), but since doing a S&D it is all I notice. I don't towel dry, rather air drying only. I never comb when wet. I didn't even use a comb today though! I hope that this is just a remnant of already damaged hair from the days when I didn't take care of my hair as well but that doesn't explain the increase I saw today.

When I ran my fingers through there was no resistance at all so all I can think of is that I damaged it yesterday and it is just coming loos from the intact strands now. Then I braided my hair is quasi-french braids to either side of my face, put the rest up in a bun and then wrapped the bun with the braids. It looks cute and I was so pleased that it sat fairly weightless on my head. Now I fear that in doing it I may have broken a ton of hair in the process and I don't know if I should try again.

Ok I think I am shedding as opposed to breaking now. I still see the white dot damaged ends, but they are on the "correct side". Yes I still have white dots. I thought that I had gotten them all, but I guess they are just there to stay. I might be able to get rid of them if I trimmed a lot more, but I don't want to sacrifice the length on the off chance. As long as they don't split I will leave them. The end of each hair from my head is tapered slightly, so I think these are just normal shedding now.

I was wandering around brunettprincess's journal (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=190671) and found this link (http://www.nocturne.com/swing/hair/hair.html) to Nocturne's Wepage for vintage hairstyles. I am sorely tempted to try pincurls. When my amish hair pins come in from the group order then I will try those. They look very similar to the pin curl pins and shouldn't leave the crimp that bobby pins would. mY mom always said that I should have been a housewife in the 50s :grin:

I CO'ed with VO5 Tangerine Tickle this morning for 15 minutes (scalp and length), then used the Nourishing Oasis on the length before rinsing it about 90% out. It felt a little tangly on top, but I stuck with it and let it finish air drying. Not only is it soft and smooth (no frizzies!)it smells realy good too. I can see why a bunch of people like TT so much. Hopefully I will continue to get good results with it.

Geez I guess it has been a little while since I posted. Well this past weekend I did a little bit of shopping and picked up my first Sauve conditioner, the citris one. We will see how it compares to the VO5 for me. I also found the VO5 Jasmine. Hurrah! I have been looking for it for ages. Everybody is cariung the shampoo, but no conditioner. I finally found it at the Target near my mom's house.

I CO washed tuesday and this morning with VO5 Jasmine, and then conditioned the length with Herbal Essence (the Chamomile one). I was a little nervous since a few people on the boards have mentioned that anything that says "volumizing" tends to go badly on them. So far at least I love the results. My hair is clean and free from tangles. Finger combing after it was dry worked really well for the first time since keeping my hair journal. Yeah!

I also made up a spray bottle with deionized water and some lavender oil. I really like this. My hair is so soft after being misted and then braided. The scent was a little stronger than I would have liked though, so next time I might use half as much. All and all I am very happy though.

The day after the last post I washed my hair again. The heat makes my scalp feel gross. I just used the Citrus Suave. It felt pretty good afterwards although I was concerned aout not using a deeper conditioner. Then on Sunday I washed with the VO5 Mango and Pear while I was at my mom's house, not rinsing the last of it out.

Today I used the VO5 Hydrators, the one that I bought by accident. It contains one silicone: Dimethicone PEG-8. I figured that I would at least try it though. Usually the conditioners with silicones have a whole bunch, and this had just one. Bad BAD idea! My hair was falling out it little "wookies" as my SO calls them. It started in the shower, when I noted that it felt kinda weird. By the time the day was half over I had found 3 good sized wookies in addition to the handful of loose hairs I lost throughout the day. So bad! This is worse than any other one that I can remember. Usually I try to use a conditioner a couple times before making a decision, but not this one! Tomorrow I will clarify with Kiwi and Lime and then deep condition in an attempt to fix this.

I washed my hair on wednesday with the Sauve Citrus and Ginger. It looks really good, in fact the second day hair was just as clean as first day hair (though neither was frizzy). I probably could have skipped this morning except that I am goping out tonight and wanted to ensure that it would be ok. My hair is feeling much better for the most part. The funny thing is that my length likes cones, but my scalp apparently does not.

Cones + Scalp -> Wookies

I washed my hair with VO5 Tangerine Tickle and then added some Herbal Essense just on the tips before rinsing. I know a lot of people aren't crazy about it, but I am really liking the results I get from cool/cold water. Since I stopped letting hot/warm water touch my hair I have noticed less breaking and it is so shiny and smooth. :cloud9:

I found this article (http://naturallycurly2.com/curlscene/entry.php?id=341&entrytype=articles) on Naturally Curly that talks chemically about silicones. What a great article! This is a great reference for figuring out what the silicones are doing and why.

I washed my hair yesterday with a CWC wash. That was the fourth day since washing and is the longest I have gone between washes. The third day my scalp seemed really nasty so I threw on a bandana and did my hair in pigtails. I even slept in the bandana, which actually worked very well. No morning frizz! Of course that might also be because it was pretty oily. When I went to go wash my hair I was surprised that it wasn't nearly as oily as I had feared for the fourth day. Still it was just as well that the boy wasn't around or her probably would have been offended.

Anyways so I used a combination of the VO5 mango pear and the Trader Joe's Peppermint Castille Soap. This combo definately did not strip my hair, but I don't know that it made it that clean though. I think this might have to do with the fact that the pear mango conditioner is a little bit on the heavier side for a VO5 product. After drying it was more like second day hair than first day hair. Actually by dry I mean the scalp. I had my hair wet bunned and it was not dry by the time I went to bed. I braided it though and it was mostly dry (though very hydrated) by the morning.

This morning I just misted with lavender water and rebraided. My tips are feeling a little dry, but the length still feels soft. I threw the bandana back on though because I am not crazy about the my roots. I will CO wash tomorrow with something not so heavy and that should help.

So I didn't mention why I was CWC'ing instead of CO'ing like usual. It was my daughter's first day of kindergarten and I need to get ready extra fast to get her to the bus stop. When we put her on the bus we were going to take a picture of her getting on the bus. She was so excited that she zoomed right on without a backwards glance. I was there when she got back off the bus too and she was so happy and excited. With all the stress I have been through this week between her starting kindergarten and me starting grad school it is a wonder that I have any hair left. I definately see an increase in shedding. But know that I am starting classes today and she is doing so well that hopefully it will be decreasing soon.

My hairscroos & dogtowel group order came in on friday (the tenth). I used the dog towel when I washed on saturday. I used the Suave Citrus Ginger on my scalp and some mixed Herbal Essense and Suave CG on the length. I wore a set of the hair scroos all day and my daughter did too. She said that we are hair twins. I wish she has beautiful banana curls she insists on trying to brush out. Anyways more amazing than how well they worked for me was that her bun stayed in all day. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep something like that in a 5 year olds hair? That is the best compliment I can think of for them.

I washed my hair yesterday with the VO5 Jasmine Conditioner. I know a lot of people have been having problems with this one. In fact when I get out of the shower my hair feels awful! It feels tangly on top and frizzy with no slip. But when I get out of the shower I put into a wet bun immediately. It dries smooth and tangle free on top. By the end of the day the hair in the bun goes from wet to damp and when I take it out of the bun it is tangle free with lots of volume and curls.

Last night I went to bed with my hair in 2 small buns high up on my head. I used one hair scroo for each bun. I can't sleep with one; it is too uncomfortable. This worked surprisingly well. Then this morning I took them out and redid them. They are so cute!

Ok so last night I tried the two buns again, but then scrunchied them together. This actually worked better than the night before, so tonight I will try just one but higher up on my head than I have tried before.

I washed my hair this morning with the Tangerine Tickle on the scalp and a 1 part Herbal Essense/2 part TT on the length. It felt pretty good afterwards. I have only been finger combing for the last couple of days so I combed it today with my really wide tooth comb. I have been finding that if I don't comb periodically I get awful wookies just from the shed hair that is partially held in place by the adjacent hairs, particularly if my hair is up. It isn't snarled at all, merely distressing.

I didn't go to dance today. I have been feeling really tired recently. Instead I went home and took a bath. So I put my hair in a bun on top of my head with one of my sets of hairscroos. These are such a great hair toy :grin:. I found my face sweating a little from the warmth of the water, but I didn't think it was that warm. I am not sure if my scalp was sweating which would leave it looking oily. I guess we will see tomorrow.

I realized that I have been having my period for a week straight now and it doesn't seem much lighter. That probably helps explain why I have been feeling so drained recently. But on the plus side I got my Keeper from a site recommended by LisaJaney today and it is so comfortable! This is the first time I was happy that I was in the middle of my period. I also ordered some TLC pads from LisaJaney, so hopefully I will hear back from her soon about that.

Normally today would be a wash day. But I got home really late last night and was too sleepy this morning. It is pretty greasy not just at the scalp but along the length too. I brushed it to distribute since it was all greasy anyways. The ends feel a little crunchy though. So I threw on a bandana and came in to school like that.

Under the bandana I am trying out a Ficcare that I got at QVC. It is a matte silver maxima. It appears to be a small so we will see if the size works or not. I just wanted to see if I even liked the style. I have to say that I am surprised. I know that other people have said that the curve fits the curve of your head, but it just didn't look like the right curve. I was wrong. It is good for a peacock (more like a waterfall for me) bun, but is a little too small for some styles. I ordered a large maxima in the group order, so I guess we will see if that one is too big.

Later that day I stopped by this little hippy shop and bought a grey bandana. I am so excited! I have been looking for a grey one for ages. I also went to Planet Aid in Harvard square and got a couple of other scarfs. I have been having so much fun with them recently. Anyways I was so excited I exchanged it with the green one I was wearing right away. Phew... dirty hippy smell. Oh well, I put some BPAL Le Petite Mort in between the layers and it was much much better. The wash tomorrow should get any residual smell out of my hair.

Saturday I washed with VO5 TT, which seems to be a good cleansing but not clarifying conditioner. I did't want to overdry in an attempt to clean. I guess this worked. By sunday night it still looked fairly presentable.

Then sunday night I washed my hair at my mom's. My SO has reservations about some of the experimentation with what he views as food products. Since I wasn't home though it was a great opportunity to try a honey and conditioner wash. I did one part of each, but needed to do two palmfuls to get it over all of my hair. It wasn't sticky at all and smells heavenly. I have to look into that Milk and Honey conditioner I have heard other LHC members mention.

In the morning it was still damp when I put it up in a bun. My scalp looked kind of greasy while it was up, but when I took it down it looked fabulous, so shiny and soft. The length seems to have loved it even more though. It has so much body and gentle curl. It feels thicker when I run my fingers run through it. I had never really tried protein on my hair in any form, but apparently it liked it alot!

I CWC'ed this morning. My hair has been progressively been getting a little overconditioned, not too badly but it has been a little limp. So I used the VO5 Jasmine and the Trader Joe's Castille Soap. After washing it, it felt a little tangle like it usually does when I use the jasmine. I used the dog towel in a turban, with the fold posted in an article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=14509) recently. Then before leaving the house I gently squeezed the towel wrapped hair to get more of the water out before putting it in a twist with the silver matte ficcare maxima. It tends to slide out when I use all of my hair, but I put the clip in so the way the hair twisted and folded helps keep the clip from slipping out. I will try to take a picture when I get home.

Ok I feel entitled to a rant about now. If you look back a while ago I let my room mate cut my hair. I had just gotten myself a pair of hair scissors and was like "ok just one more trim and then I will dust instead." She insisted on her scissors which she swears by, and since she was kind enough to do it at all I caved.

SUCH A BAD IDEA! I was looking at my hair today and I can see every single hair that is at the trimmed length (ie not the shorter ones) has a huge white tip like a mm long! Also I found a significant number of "feathered" splits about 1.5 cm long total! :shocked: I think I would have been better off going to a salon. Yes they would have cut too much but at least they would have used good tools.

I think her scissors were not sharp enough. I know she trims her bf's hair with them, but now I am wondering how long she has had them/when they were last sharpened. She trims his about seasonally because he is a shoulder length curly and it gets tangly and damaged. Now all I can think is "is she causing the split ends that make his hair so tangly and damaged in the first place?"

I feel like I have betrayed my hair. It is so bad I can't see any way around doing another trim although I did one not that long ago. This time I am definately going to try to do it by myself (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=6379) first though. Grrrrr! I am so angry about this, but I can't think of any way to say anything to her without sounding incredibly superficial.

Ok so I COed on the 25th with the VO5 TT and a little diluted VO5 Lavender NO on the length. Then instead of washing on the after the second day I washed on the third day. I was surprisingly not too bad. I did wear a bandana on the day when I would have normally washed, but all and all it was acceptable. I could have gone without if I wanted to push it.

Then I CO washed again today, so also on the third day after wash. I used the VO5 TT on my scalp and length and then some of the Fructis Conditioner for Normal Hair on the length. My room mate loves the shampoo and conditioner. It does have cones, but they are all water soluble ones so I figured I would give it a shot.

This time was significantly oiler than last time before wash. Obviously this called for another bandana. It is a good thing I like bandana's so much. No one ever questions why I am wearing one that day. Everyone just assumes its some sort of fashion statement I guess. Oh and Michael's has them on sale for $1 each this week, so I need to go and pick up a larger range of colors.

Ugg so yesterday my hair was really greasy. I can't believe it was first day after wash hair. It was greasy all the way to my chin. Yuck! I had been doing the bandana thing for a while though and wanted to do something different. So I french braided my hair. I have never managed to do a full one by myself so I was pretty pleased by the results. Yes it still looked a little greasy, but more as if I had put too much gel in it or something.

This morning I considered CWC'ing, but decided to give the VO5 Kiwi & Lime Clarifying Conditioner another shot. On my length I used the VO5 Jasmine. Results? It looks fabulous. My scalp is clean and the hair is smooth and shiny. I damp bunned, but let it loose this evening for a couple hours during the debates to finish drying. My only concern now is how long it will stay clean. Hopefully this will have cleared up any build up issues for the moment though.

So yeah, the debate... these things make me so angry at times. I am not entirely sure why I watch them. I guess it is because it seems better to be angry but know why you disagree with a candidate than to reject them without giving them a chance to present their position.

Oct 2rd normally would have been a wash day, but no one was home to harrass me about it, so I didn't. Even by Oct 3rd it wassn't *that* bad. The scalp was getting greasy, but the length was still very clean. So instead of washing, I threw on a rectangular scarf in "the crown". It was a very different look from my normal, but I think I pulled it off all right. I even went out and did errands and what not. Other than one crazy guy who thought I was a nun (his craziness was confimed independantly) no one seemed to even look twice. I don't know that I would wear a scarf like this all the time, but I am glad to know that I can when I want to.

So I Co'ed yesterday with VO5 TT on the scalp and by my neck. Then I used some of the Fructis normal conditioner on the length. It worked to get it nice and clean, but today it is a little stringy. Hmmm I guess it wasn't as clean as I thought. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't just braid it into pigtails though, so I am Pocahontis for the day.

I really hope that I have hair by the time I finish grad school. The stress is really getting to me. Last night I just cried for like an hour and a half, for no particular reason I was just stressed and I have no idea where my life is going. I have to pick an advisor today. I don't think I am ready to commit to a thesis project yet. Last week I had 3 exams. I an terrified of getting them back. I know that they do not look good. Weither that is a matter of I didn't really show what I knew or that I am just completely lost I have no idea. I am changing fields and at times I am way ahead, beause I had a liberal arts training. Other times I am way behind because I don't have the engineering undergraduate. There are things that everyone assumes are common knowledge but take me longer to work out since I have never seen them that way before.

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd093002s.gif (www.phdcomics.com)
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd100202s.gif (www.phdcomics.com)
Sorry for the whine-fest. I just needed to vent a little bit. The worst part of this is that on top of all this stress I then find not only squirrels, but also raccoons, badgers and other medium size mammels falling from my head. I have had to completely give up combing and brushing. I only finger comb, though fortunately I do not tangle much. I am also seriously considering shampooing again simply because the shedding is upsetting me so much. (Many people seem to report more sheding when they CO.)

Sunday night and this morning I CO washed my scalp and length with VO5 TT and then conditioned the length with VO5 Nourishing Oasis Lavender condition. At least it has been clean and manageable. This combination seems to work for me most of the time.

I am happy to announce that the shedding has lessened a bit. Although I am still shedding a fair amount, it isn't the distressing amount from before.

On other thoughts, although they smell somewhat similar there really is no comparison between Sauve's Citrus and Ginger conditioner and VO5's TT. Suave's C&G leaves my scalp greasy the first day after washing, unlike VO5's TT which can go 2-3 days after washing.

Yesterday I CO'ed with VO5 Kiwi and Lime Clarifying conditioner. It had been getting a little greasy right after wash. At the time I thought it was buildup, although it was early for that. Unfortunately it was just the Suave C&G. As a result the scalp is clean enough I guess, but the length feels a little stripped. This is in spite of the Herbal Essense that I left on the length as a heavy mousturising conditioner. I had my hair in a pony tail for a little bit, but the style just accentuated the length's dryness. :/ I will just have to use something mroe gentle and conditioning tomorrow.

I got the best compliment yesterday. I was out yesterday with a very nice young man, whom I like very much. Abd yes indeed he is a long hair as well. So we were talking and I am yammering on. And what do we start talking about but COing. So I go on for a little bit and he stops and looks at me. Thinking I had scared him off I asked him if he thought I was obsessed. He paused and then said "No, I don't think you are obsessed. I was actually thinking that I know a lot of people who spend a lot of time on their hair, but you are the first hair geek I have ever met." For those who may not be aware, that was a compliment. There are many types of geek in the world, but among other types he considers me to be a hair geek: a person who doesn't worry about what other people think so long as I do it well. He says that the way I go about it, keeping a journal to keep track of how well things work and possible causes is really scientific and thourough. He even expressed sadness that he knew he wouldn't be able to keep at such a project. So hear that ladies and gentlemen? You are all scientists at heart and I know and love you guys as "hair geeks" too!
http://scruss.com/blog/archives/geekwarning-thumb.png (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://scruss.com/blog/archives/geekwarning.png&imgrefurl=http://scruss.com/blog/archives/000131.html&h=528&w=408&sz=16&tbnid=N7OPak-nC_IJ:&tbnh=128&tbnw=99&start=43&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgeek%26start%3D40%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%2 6sa%3DN)

Measured my hair today, 25.5"! That is only 0.5" longer than on Aug 3rd (nearly 3 months ago)! The boy says "well you are really stressed and doing weird shit to yourself". I guess so... but... This is really distressing. So although I had decided to trim tonight, I was going to make it as small amount as I could manage. I did Feye's straight across trim. It was 1/4 to 1/8" most places, although it did end up being 1/2" at the worst spots. The length still seems the same, but the ends feel much better/not nearly so tangly. The splits higher up still need to be done, but I think I will just get them by dusting later.

Whew! Grad school is slowly killing me. As a result i have had no time to post recently. But I have done a few things that have really worked for me since posting last. First I bought some jojoba oil, which my hair really seemed to drink up. I also did a S&D a few days ago. I need to go back and do it again though, since I have found a few that I missed the first time round. (I discovered this during Mathematical Methods for Chemical Engineers and had to fight the urge to pull out the trimming scissors in my purse and fix the ones I saw right then.)

Also I have been using the amish hair pins and they are awesome! I have some 2" and 3" pins. The 3" are alittle too long, but maybe when I have a little more growth. The 2" work well, but I wonder if I should have gotten some 2.5" now. maybe I will try to swap some 3" for 2.5" ones.

So I have been trying Snowy's Scalp Massage Technique (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=15976) and I have to say that it is awesome. Not only does it feel really good while I am doing it, but my hair looks better afterwards (the oils distributed on a 2nd to 3rd day so that it doesn't look greasy). I don't know if it is helping the growth rate, but it definately seems worth doing weither or not it helps my hair grow faster.

UGH I haven't really been psting due to much craziness in my life. But I have finished my first semester of grad school (I think i passed 2 out of my 3 courses). About this time I realized that I was getting a crazy number of split ends, and not only that but at least one of the feathery kind each day. I think this might be a result of the weather though. We have those giant metal radiators in our apartment, and the dry out the air a lot.

Directly after though I got incredibly incredibly sick. I am still recovering. The worst thing about being sick is that my hair mats itself into layers while I sleep. It must be all the tossing and turning or something. In anycase this requires a huge amount of time untangling/unmatting it each morning. It got so bad that I actually had tobreak out my Pantene Pro-V detangler which I told myself I wasn't going to use anymore because of the cones.

I finished my first CO bottle of conditioner the other day. It was the VO5 jasmine. We had our differences, but in the end I sort of got to like it. Still, I don't think that I will be buying another bottle right now. I want to get through some of the other bottles I have.

I have noticed that I have more than a few crazy bad split ends, such as multiple splits or feathering. I think it is just due to how dry the air is all of the time with the heaters trying to make a dent in the new england cold. Anyways I have been S&D at least once a week, which is helpping but it got pretty rough and snarly before I became more aggressive about it.