The Dash Between

Sweet jesu, I'm SO glad that's over.

So, this weekend was our housewarming, and after all of the running, running, go, go, going of the last week - I'm just so THRILLED to be done with it all, RALLY I am.

Anyhow! Hair type stuff.

I'm still in love with my hairdo, despite the fact that I need a good bit more practice before I'm really comfy rocking it.

I've 'tweaked' the gel a bit by doubling it with half palm oil/half shea butter and dumping the last of the ACS oil in it. It's now a semi-solid that dissolves in my hands into a smooth yet thick creme almost (not greasy at all). I've been using it on my post conditioner hair - I think I may have found/made the perfect leave-in!! And of course, since my hair is all 'put-away' anyhow, I'm really just trying to keep it moisturized enough that it won't get OVERdried out during the two days that it's 'put-up'. Then, I condition, detangle, and put it back up - I think that I might stick with this routine for a WHILE - definitely all through the winter at the least - and as I get better at parts/flat twists, I'll most likely start experimenting with doing then in different 'designs' so to speak.

It's been three weeks now (four, this weekend I think) and I'm itching to use up the last bit of my henna. *hangs head* I know, I know - but I miss my henna!! I haven't made the CASH oil - that might happen this weekend. I'm also considering only hennaing my TIPS, since that's the area that 1) actaully TAKES the dye and 2) actually NEEDS the protection that henna gives. I'm going to try to hold out for a full 6 weeks though.

My hair FEELS wonderful though - strong and smooth from root almost to the end. As I stroke strands of hair, I can feel the difference between my virgin hair and my tips - my tips feel 'wrinkled' while the rest of the strands feels freshly pressed. I would LOVE to get my hands on a super strong microscope and take a gander at my hair.

I'm shedding like a molting butterfly - I'm not the least bit suprised, considering that I go into 'downmode' alltogether once it starts to get chilly. My plan is to get into a really GOOD routine, pattern, habits over the winter, so that when the warm weather comes and my body goes back into 'awake' mode, it will have already been 'trained' to know that it will have all of the building blocks it needs - to make muscle AND to make hair.

I'm still all over the supplements - MSM, O369, Biotin - I'm taking 4000mcg of the biotin, 3600mg of the O369, and some stupid amount of MSM - I love the stuff, not just for my hair, but because when I work out - it makes the soreness and achiness GO AWAY. *swoons* I'll take this stuff for the rest of my LIFE for that reason. The one thing (both for my overall health and my hair health) that I KNOW I'm not up to point with is the amount of protien I'm eating - I'm not getting in NEARLY enough. At some point this week, I plan on going to get a thing of vanilla flavored protien powder, that I can mix in with my oatmeal in the morning....and I'm considering a daily evening shake since I have the other container of PP sitting at home. That way, I know that I'm getting at LEAST an extra 40-60g of protien a day...on top of the amount I'm getting from real food (which is most likey about another 50-60g). *nods* I'll start taking the evening shakes tonight - that should help until I can get the powder for the oatmeal - I've never liked 'chocolate' breakfast cereals.

And - YAY!! I got a camera (finally) so I will start to take progress pictures. How exactly that is going to work, I'm not sure, considering how curly my hair is. I think that I will take mushroom pictures (haircombed out flat from the crown of my head) every month, so I can keep track of the length changes. I'm going to take pictures of the right AND left sides, because of my 'patch' on the left side - I really think it's breaking/shorter simply because of the different texture. I've been loving on it a little more - making sure it gets first dabs of conditioner and leave-in, and combing it especially gentle. THough! I must admit - and I lay all of this at the feet of citric acid - my hair has not been NEARLY as tangly as it was before. It could be the regular moisturizing as well.... And it's either SERIOUSLY releasing curl, or my hair is growing like a mad thing - my hair in the back is fully toching my back now - I have a VERY definite V shape, but it's full and not scraggly looking, so I'm happy with it. I might even start a *gasp* photo journal. That would rock!

I think I have little baby hairs popping up - but I'm not sure if they are babies or if they are the last holdouts from a horribly broken off strand. I think that they are babies jsut because there are so MANY of them. Anytime I touch my parts, there are all of these tiny, fine little hairs that aren't nearly long enough to actually get caught in the hair style. I really HOPE that they are new hairs growing in - maybe by the time my hair is long enough for a ponytail, they'll be long enough to really contribute to my thickness measurement.