February 7, 2013

Dear Diary,

Today, I have equal shine on both sides of my hair. As a matter of fact, I might have put too much olive oil on their yesterday night.

Doing so has allowed my hair to feel so much softer. Well, I'm exaggerating, but it's definitely holding a lot more moisture. The hair UNDER the top layers feels great too, which is wonderful for me, since I neglect them at times.

I also had a touch of paranoia because I thought I was the one shedding hair all over the dorm room. Low and behold, my transistioning roomie was the one to blame.

My breakage has been reducing since the week began. I definitely had to step in and manage my new growth, bullying my little relaxed hair. Lol. But, in a few weeks I will be getting a relaxer. Best believe it.

If you want to see exactly what I did to my hair, you can read the post for February 6, 2013.
Note: I didn't use the pantene Pro-v, but my hair paid that no mind.

Not the most fabulous thing on Earth, but hey, I'm working on it.


GRADE: STILL GRANNYISH BUT HEALTHY: C-

Have a great day!

Signed,

The Relaxed Harista

February 6, 2012

Dear Diary,
After the travesties that have occurred with my hair the past week, I've decided that I'm suffering from granny hair. However, since my hair has declared it's love for such actions, I have decided to embrace my granny hair (I should add that to the dictionary). The people on campus can just get over it. My hair needs me.

With that said, I decided to attempt a dry roller set on my head with the wide tooth comb. It went pretty well on the right half of my hair. I'm also pretty sure that the size of the rollers on the left side of my hair didn't exactly give me the greatest results. I also replaced my normal heavy oil (castor oil) with olive oil for sealing purposes.  You guys, my hair is already feeling a little better, and my new growth is much more soft and manageable. I love the castor oil for this extra thickness it's putting in my hair, but I'm gonna have to mix it with something a little more light.

Also, I put some of the Pantene Pro-V moisturizer for relaxed and natural hair back into my hair. It feels fine, but it works much better with my tighter curls like bantu knots and all that. I'm not sure why though. Then again, I only used like a dime amount of it that time, so maybe I've been using it incorrectly.

I also used the Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz serum with argan oil  on my hair, and for the past two weeks I've been placing it on my scalp like my roommate does. My new growth is super strong, and call me crazy, but I feel like I'm seeing progress.

Anyways, last night I did all of that and put my little bonnet on my head and went to sleep. The results?

One side of my hair held way more moisture than the other, and I'm honestly not sure what I did differently. Maybe I didn't roll the other side tight enough, or I slept on the other side too heavily.

Below are some horrible photos of the things I did last night...with captions.

Here's the stuff I put in my head. I also sprayed it with the Creme of Nature's Argan Oil Sheen this morning. It's just not pictured. Sorry.

My wide tooth comb that could part the red sea if it wanted to. Seriously, it works wonders that my other combs just can't. 

I have some rollers and some alligator clips here. I also used some satin rollers, seeing as though the other rollers are too big for my hair right now.

After rolling my hair up (see the satin rollers I eased in?), this is what my roller setting skills looked like.

I went to sleep in them. They remained intact  for the night, as far as I know.

And this is the final result.

With my granny hair hanging tough on the left side....

Grade: Not Fabulosity...but not OH MY LAWD WHY

Signed,
-Ashlyn Morton

February 5, 2013

Dear Diary,
Yesterday wasn't my best day. I was tired and irritated. By the time I got back time to my dorm for the night, I  just wasn't in the mood to deal, so I did what seemed best at the time.

I wrapped my hair around my head and went to sleep. I know that cross-wrapping would have been a much better option to limit the breakage, but it was just too much for me.

My hair isn't looking super fly today...but. It's not looking horrible either, except for some unwanted frizz in the back..

But here I am, today.

No fabulosity. :( None whatsoever.

Signed,
-Hairista.

Februrary 4, 2013.

Dear Diary,
This is my very first entry that's recorded online. It's a momentous occasion, seeing as though I have no audience whatsoever, but that's okay. As long as I can see progress, everything will be alright.

I haven't had a perm since the 7th of December, so it'll be two months since I've had a relaxer on Thursday. I do have a lot of new growth. Well, it feels that way. I actually have around the average amount for eight weeks worth. Now, I'm trying to take care of the permed hair while tending to the natural portion that is there. Apparently, my new growth loves the little argan oil serum by Garnier Fructis more than my relaxed hair does. Go figure.

I'm also rocking my granny hair today, unfortunately. I used the flexi rods, today, and when I brushed them out, this happened. I've only had one awesome experience with them, and I was half asleep, so I'm unsure of what I actually did.

(After I brushed it out. Just imagine)

I took it down expecting the cute little waves I got last time only to recieve the OH MY LAWD WHY (see the Hairista dictionary)  looking kind of hair. Unfortunately, I had a class to attend, so like a true hairista, I played it off as though that's what I meant to do. It didn't really work. The hair sucked to everybody else as much as it did to me, but it's whatever.

My professor never even made it to class, so as soon as I got back to my dorm I tried to brush it out. It's still pretty grannyish to me, but at least it's soft to the touch and smells great.

Signed,
The Relaxed Haironista.

The Haironista Story.

I had hair or whatever. Really. It just never sticks around. When I was younger, my hair was maintained with braids, cute little curls, and other styles that required little to no heat. Of course, my hair was thick and bushy, but. it was also healthy and actually had some length.

However, as I got older, my hair began to suffer from lack of care and use of too much heat. By freshman year of high school. I had a sensitive head of hair that never seemed to do what I wanted. Of course, breakage ensued.

Between sophomore and junior year, I had this habit of rolling my hair all the time, causing crazy growth spurts and leaving me with some really pretty hair that was truly growing. It had really progressed until the second semester of senior year. 

My hair was very damaged and broke off. I had purchased a flat iron without different heat settings. It was far too hot for my hair and immediately broke it off, breaking my heart completely. Afterwards, I started to take steps to grow it back, but I always back tracked by using heat on and off as soon as I saw little growth.

After one of my more recent hair mess ups (rushing in the dorms to get my hair did, excessive blow drying, etc.), I've decided to take the time to focus on putting some health back into my hair. I know that it's going to be hard at first, and it's going to require some patience, but I am making progress. 

So bear with me...

I'm definitely a haironista in progress.

Also, if you scroll down, you can look at some pictures of my hair days.

Baby me! Lol. I don't think I wanted to be photographed here.

Toddler/ Preschool me? Told my mom I wanted my hair to be free, and lawd... lol.

My hair as a youngin. Back when Creme of Nature was the BIZNESS and pressing combs were the hottest thing around.

(I'll find my lengththy days eventually. Lol. I ain't at home with my ALL younger year photos. Sorry.) 

Flash foward to middle school. Pretty thick and kinda dry to the touch if I remember correctly. Stiff too.

My hair looks really smooth here because it was. This was when I had a new beautician who did my hair right, though. I loved it. This was around the eighth grade. Still in middle school.

 Freshman year. I dunno if you see it, but it is slightly broken off due to heat damage. No? Lol. It's there. Trust me.

Sophomore year I got a new beautician, who introduced me to new ways of styling my hair. I don't think this is a good example of the crazy breakage I had by the time I got to her..but hey. I did a great job of destroying any memories of the awkward years.

After rolling my hair a lot, I was starting to actually retain length. Plus, I remember mixing olive oil and shea butter together sometimes with water, resulting in this. One of my first decent hair days in a minute by the end of sophomore year.

By junior year, I was doing random but kind of cute things to my hair. I was actually doing styles that were great for my hair but didn't cause breakage.

Sorry this is tiny, but by the end of junior year my hair was actually holding on to its length. I was really, really excited about it.

During the summer, I was still curling my hair up a lot, and I don't recall any breakage.

I came back home with all of this hair. My beautician, as usual, had my hair laid for my senior pictures, which by the way, I wore NO MAKEUP (well, some gloss) for. They still came out looking great.

Then, I had a major setback. Thus, my hair was cut. It was still cute, but after extensive heat damage. It had to be done.

The rest of senior year was spent trying to return my hair to normalcy....

I conserved my hair though. I even rocked a fake bob at prom.

First semester of college and through the summer, I conserved my hair. Sometimes, I used bantu knots. (excuse my facials). Other days I just rolled it into my "granny curls" that sometimes turn out cute and not at all grannyish...I digress.

Then, I got a little bit of growth...and didn't know how to act. Got the flat irons and blow dryer ready to show off my length. PLUS, my new beautician by my college...did NOT use conditioner on my hair. You already know, right?

My hair broke off AGAIN.

So now, it's in the reconstruction process. And yes, that's what my dorm walls look like. And ya'll get to witness. Oh mah lawd.

Relaxed Haironista Goals of 2013

• To retain length so it can touch my back AT LEAST. 
• To improve overall softness of the hair.
• To find new ways of styling the hair other than flat ironing it and these raggedy grandma curls.
• To protect my everloving ends.
• To reduce levels of heat usage.
• To be patient with my hair.
• To continue to get my education and maintain my scholarship while maintaining this blog.
• To be open to new ideas.
• To properly style ones hair.
• To maintain Fabulosity at all times.
• To have healthy hair.
• To help at least one person with their hair.

The Haironista Dictionary.

Haironista: (hair-e-sta) noun: One who is always in ones hair. Suffers from addiction to product purchases. Spends countless hours attempting new hairstyles. Always researches new methods of hair fabulosity. Possibly lives for questions such as, "Who did your hair?" Constantly snaps pictures of hair. Possible glares from envious women. One who turns accidents into trends. Can be found anywhere on Earth.

THE OH MY LAWD WHY: (o- mah- la- ward- y) noun, adjective, possible verb: A name for a reaction to a possible bad hair day. One takes down the hair and observes it, wondering what on Earth you did wrong and how one can fix it. My cause frustration, high blood pressure, possible snickers, and head shakes. Makes you truly angry.

Fabulosity: (fab- u- la-sit-tee) adjective: When ones hair does as it should and all is right with the world. 

Fried, Died, and LAID to the Side: (Fry-eyed, Dye- eyed, and  Lay-aid, to the, Si-de) adjective: Describes hair when it is filled with life. Causes one to suffer from constant photographs, date offers, haters, motivators, all that. Hair's greatest state thus far.

A HOT MESS: (a- hot- mess) noun, adjective: Synonymous to "The OH MY LAWD WHY". Hair looks terrible. Hair is deemed one of the worst creations yet. Etc.

Granny Hair: (gran- e- hur) noun, adjective: Hair that has curls and does not necessarily work with ones face, giving them an aged appearance. Granny hair is a great protective style but is not always widely accepted by society let alone by the hairista wearing it.

I'll be sure to add on to this later. If you have some hair definitions of your own feel free to post some in the comment section below. This ought to be good.

The Haironista Purpose.

The purpose of this blog is to promote healthy hair growth.
Many times, it becomes very easy to get frustrated while trying to maintain healthy hair. You get tired of doing so much to the hair and seeing less progress than before. You're sick of trying to create great looking protective styles for your hair at first because they do not always come out beautifully. You moisturize your hair with ten different products and none of them work. You wash your hair once a week and condition it, but you still have significant amounts of breakage.
Do I need to keep going?
The haironistas around the world, however, feel your pain. We've been where you've been. We've seen what you've seen. We're here for you. I'm here for you.
If you're a haironista in any shape, form, or fashion, welcome! I can't wait to track the progress, the ups, and the downs with you. Feel free to comment, criticize, and encourage this haironista! Uplift each other through your hair journey, your life journey, your journey to the supermarket, your journey through classes, your journey to the mountaintop............
Okay...you get the point.
So haironistas, let's get to work shall we?

Signed by this Haironista,
-Ashlyn Nicole Morton