BIG Changes Are Here!

It’s probably not much to most of you out there reading this little blog of mine, but this was a BIG change for me:

I got a hair cut yesterday.

Remember my 101 in 1001 list? Well, #24 on that list was to get a “good” haircut and maintain it with quarterly visits for a year. Now let me explain why this was a big deal for me.

I don’t mess with my hair. I was born blessed with beautiful, wonderful naturally curly locks of hair. Actually, I was born bald…and stayed that way for almost three years! But I more than made up for it – once the hair decided to come in, it really came in! It’s thick and wonderful. There was a time during my younger years that I stupidly cursed my curly locks and pined for the pin-straight hair that my sister had…but then I embraced my curls and have never looked back since.

There are several advantages to curly hair like mine. It’s typically low maintenance – shower, shampoo, condition, add mousse/gel and blow dry with a diffuser. Simple and easy, and even easier if you follow the no poo method. I can also just let it air dry. It works either way. Sure, like most other curly hair, it frizzes on occasion when the humidity gets too high…and when it gets really long, it becomes sort of less curly as the weight of my hair “pulls out” the curls. But it’s easy to care for. And I don’t have to have regular cuts. I don’t even have to have good cuts – Super Cuts works great for me…”trim the ends off, put in long layers and thin it a little bit” has been my go-to hair cut for years now.

And if I’m being honest, I can admit to going 9-12 months between visits to Super Cuts. I’ve even had someone at my house trim it with regular scissors – oh the horrors! You see, curly hair people can do that…mistakes are easily covered with the curls. It’s literally hair that you can’t really mess up with a quick trim at home. (Unless we’re talking about trimming up your bangs…let’s not get my Mom started on that story!) LOL, Mom!!!

Anyway, back to my story. So I wanted a good hair cut – someone who knows how to cut hair and can match hair styles to a person’s face – and I want to maintain that style for a year. Then if I don’t like it, I can go back to my “bohemian” ways of hair care…

Yesterday was my first appt. I didn’t take a before picture…it was a rough night for me and I thought that I’d spare you. But if you need a before picture, look at my profile picture…I’m sporting a ponytail 95% of the time, so that’s a good one.

And here’s what I’ve got now…

Here’s another shot of it, but you have to promise not to laugh at me. I don’t know what’s up with the face that I was making, other than to say that I was driving and taking my picture (or sitting at a red light trying to take my own picture with my phone while not looking like I was sitting there snapping away pictures of myself!). But it’s a good picture of the hair, so here you go…

I’m not sure about the Farrah side swept bang style that he dried it in. I can’t wait to shower/wash and dry on my own with my own products…but I think that I love it. It’s short…for me…which is what I wanted…but I always fear that I’ll miss the long hair right after I cut it big like this…but I usually end up loving it! What do you think?

The Results of the "No Poo" Challenge

I posted here about trying the “no poo” method to deal with my naturally curly hair. Or attempt to deal with it. Maybe I should lower my expectations and just attempt to make friends, huh? It would probably be less expensive and totally less stressful for me! But I want the amazing looking hair that I used to have back on a regular basis. Like something more than friends, but less than lovers.


After a little more than two weeks of following these guidelines to the best of my abilities, here’s what I’ve noticed:

1. My hair is curlier…somewhat. Or maybe the curls are just more tame so that they appear to be more when they really aren’t. Like wearing body-shaping garments underneath your clothes and then “surprising” the guy that picked you up at the bar later at his place…

2. My scalp is healthier…less gunk comes off when/if my head itches. That sounds really gross, but it’s not as bad as that makes it sounds, I promise! You know when you scratch your head and a little white stuff comes off on your fingernail…please, somebody – tell me that your scalp does that too and I’m not a complete freak!

3. Although I felt like my hair was clean the first day that I “washed” it, by the second day (with no washing) it felt pretty rank. Not dirty…not oily…just a tangled mess at the roots, for lack of a better way to describe it. I don’t know if that makes sense. Maybe I just didn’t like not even combing it out…if I put that step back in, I might feel better about it all.

Then two days ago, I cheated. I used my Aveeno Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner like normal…and it felt like heaven. Literally. My hair was super-duper soft afterwards. So much so that I was literally amazed at the difference.

I wouldn’t call the “no poo” method a fail for me…but I wouldn’t call it a total win either. What I have decided is that I need a good cut before making a final decision. My hair is like 4-6 inches too long at this point. I need to suck it up, put on my “big girl” panties and go somewhere where I pay more than $15-20 for a hair cut. You know, like to a real salon. Where they know how to do more than cut across the bottom and possibly add some long layers in. I think at that point my hair will be healthier and I can re-do the “no poo” challenge for two weeks and really see what my curls are capable of doing.

I have the name of a guy here in Austin that’s supposed to be amazing…one of those stylists that can tell you what sort of cut you need to wear to maximize how you look. I just need to pick up the phone and make that call.

Wish me luck! I’ll be sure and post some pics when I finally go and let you know how it goes!

Do you “No Poo”?

That’s a funny title, huh? Yeah, I thought so too…and the concept behind it is even weirder to me. Amazingly enough this has nothing to do with my 5 month-old who generates a LOT of “poo” around our house…and I know that you’re relieved to hear it!

The “no poo” method refers to a way to deal with naturally curly hair. Which I have. In abundance. Even though I thought that maybe I was losing all of my hair right after Jax was born. I’ve still got it, quite a lot of it, and still look for ways to “tame” and “manage” it.

Now, to be honest, there’s a lot less curl to my hair these days when compared to how it was when I was younger. It’s gone from a tight Shirley Temple-type of curl to a nice wave that frizzles only minimally when left un-moussed. The humidity is bad here in Texas (although not at this time of year) but it’s pretty good here in Austin for my curly hair…no, living somewhere like Houston has never been and will never be a viable option for someone with curls like mine!

Anyway, back to my point. So this theory comes from this book (which I haven’t read) and basically gives you some guidelines and reasons behind why people with naturally curly hair should treat their hair differently than the rest of the hair world. The gist of it is (and please forgive me if I get this a little wrong since I’ve already admitted that I have NOT read the book!) that shampoo contains harsh chemicals in it that strip hair of its natural oils – reacting even worse on curly hair. Left alone, without treatment of shampoo, the hair will balance itself (along with the scalp) out in terms of oil and moisture and your curls will become more manageable and just better all around.

The first time I heard of this theory, I was like – HUH? Go without shampoo…eeewww! Plus, the blog post was recommending substituting a baking soda paste for shampoo and apple cider vinegar in place of conditioner…and it mentioned going days between shampoos…and a detox period of super greasiness as your hair/scalp adjusted…yucky. All of that did NOT sound fun, but I happened to notice that over the past few months when having a newborn in the house does not tend to leave time each and every day to shower and wash hair that my hair responded favorably to not being washed each day. You’re lucky to shower most days with a newborn, right? Right! But I did see a change in my hair…and in my scalp. So I went back and researched a bit more on this “no poo” business right before the holidays started.

Since I was going to be off of work for almost a week and a half, it seemed like the perfect time to try it out and see what happened. The comments that I gathered said that it sometimes takes the hair up to 2-4 weeks to balance out the oils and such…during which time I’m thinking that your hair can look a bit…not so good. Vacation time seems to be the perfect time to try something that might make you look not so good…especially vacation time spent at home, not actually out on vacation.

Here are some guidelines to follow that I gathered:
1. Wash your hair using only conditioner…only on the roots of your hair. (This is easiest if bent over at the waist – sort of upside down in the shower.)

2. When “scrubbing” your scalp with the conditioner, use only your fingertips…no nails.

3. Apply a generous amount of conditioner to all of hair…leaving it on to soak in for several minutes. Wash about 80% of it off in water that is as cold as you can stand it, leaving the remaining 20% in your hair as a leave-in conditioner.

4. When you get out of the shower, do not use your towel on your hair and scrub vigorously. Use a microfiber towel or a t-shirt to gently squeeze the excess water from your hair. Do NOT wring the excess water from your hair. “Scrunch” the hair up from ends to roots in microfiber towel or t-shirt.

5. Do NOT comb/brush your hair. Gently separate or “finger comb” your hair while in the shower – like after applying the conditioner.

6. Apply gel/mousse and scrunch hair again.

7. If possible do NOT dry your hair with a dryer. Let air dry as often as possible and DO NOT touch your hair while it’s drying. (This will help cut down the frizz factor.) If you must dry your hair with a dryer, use a diffuser and only dry hair until it’s about 80% dry then allow hair to air dry the rest of the way.

At least, those are the guidelines that I gathered and am trying to follow. I also bought a trial/travel size collection of some of the DevaCurl products that the author of the “no poo” theory developed. I bought: No Poo Shampoo, One Conditioner, Set it Free Mist (for frizz control), AnGEL hair gel and Mister Right (revitalizing spray for days of no shampooing at all). I generally liked the look/feel/smell of the products, but would be interested in a heavier gel for my hair…something like the ArcAnGEL gel. I didn’t see it in a trial size at my local Ulta store, so I went with what they had.

I’ve still got a few days left of the initial two-week trial period that I was attempting before I share my results. It’s gone good so far, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a few things that I’ll share when I’m done.

Do you have naturally curly hair? How do you care for it? Ever tried the “no poo” method? Did you notice that your curls changed after having babies? (That last one’s just for my own curiosity…)