Watching for Length is making me INSANE!!!

I have given up straightening my hair looking for more growth. I have grown tired of looking for length after my relaxers. I am just so irritated with not having any growth. But I am thankful for my healthy looking ends. I am thankful that my hair is growing back in on my sides. I am thankful that my hair is growing in where it has broken off from my bonnet. I am thankful for lesser breakage and lesser shedding. I am thankful that I can put my hair into a pony tail. I am thankful that I can call this hair MINES. So, yea I may be disappointed about not meeting hair goals, but my family continues to compliment my hair like its dragging behind me on the floor. SO....I guess that is better than nothing. At this point, I am on a strict hair regimen which includes washes weekly, more clarifiers, more moisturizers, more oils, more vitamins, more protective styles, less heat, less heat, less hands in my hair. My three year heathy hair jounery anniversary is TOMORROW. Three years in a commitment to doing better by my hair. I have done better by my hair, BUT I can do way better. I am so in love with my hair. Currently, I am air drying from a protein wash and coconut deep conditioning.
3yr anny blog post to come soon.

Happy Turkey Day and more news

Happy Turkey Day everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. Well, I will be when the food gets ready, lol. I decided to write this quick blog to talk about what has been going on the last few days. If you are on Hairlista, I wrote a blog on there talking about how I cannot get enough of direct heat. It is more like an addiction. I get so frustrated from doing my hair with bummed sets and dud hhair styles that never turn out right. So, direct heat always come in and save the day, but at what cost? I asked was heat once a week really that bad if I moisturize properly and oil properly. Like I expected, I got mixed opinions. So basically, I decided to try one more time with the different less direct heat hair styles. Before I commit to that, I straightened my hair one more time, lol. When I straightened it, I was so disgusted with the middle in the back thinner than the sides and one side was longer than the other side. So, I jumped the gun from my 2012 goal and went ahead and evened my back. It is not as blunt as I would like for it to be, BUT it looks a whole lot better. The middle doesn't look that thin, the sides are even and my ends are on their way to being at the bluntness that I am looking for. I lost about an inch of hair, but I parted with it because I said that I could be fried from all of the heat and that I was going to enjoy my bluntness more than length. So I am think I am right at APL right now. So basically I am going to miss out on my goal of the year which was to meet BSL for December. But thats ok. I am glad I did it last night so that now it will be no problem for me to continue to keep up with that cut and not be so apprehensive about cutting off more hair to maintain the blunt ends. All and all, I am satisfied. That's the price you have to pay if you love direct heat like me. But like I said in my previous blog, I am more serious about my hair's health more than ever, because I feel like I am behind in growth. I won't be left behind anymore.

Until next time, and don't have too much dressing,
Lex

Contemplating

Hello, world. I hope this message reaches some happy people. I am doing well considering some things, lol. Anyways, I am currently at home enjoying my thanksgiving break. I have been a little confused with my relaxer info. I am usually so good about keeping with this info. This entire time, I thought I was four weeks post. No way! I am actaully six weeks post. I was so taken back. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but I am just so amazed how I lost two whole weeks from my stretching. Anywho....I am going to relax my hair *fingers crossed* (because I have become so impatient) December 14 at 10 weeks. That is only four weeks. I should be able to make four weeks, right?

I have a few goals for the new year. my goal for December 31st or January 1st is that regardless of how high I have to go, I AM BLUNT CUT MY ENDS!!! To me, blunt ends shows good hair health. I am too terrified to go to the salon and get this done. I do not want to leave with this major hair cut. The girl I do trust to do this, well, she didn't know until she was 29 weeks pregnant that she was with child. She is hospitalized until she has the baby. Scary, right? So, I am going to attempt this on my own. I believe when I do this, I will begin to start a new year of healthy hair journey. 2012 is the year of seriousness and hard work. I am going to do WHATEVER I have to do to make it to BSL (if I do not make to BSL by this December) and MBL. I have a small feeling that I will not be quite BSL by graduation, which is fine. After the trim, I am setting a goal for BSL by April 2012.

Also, my 3 year HHJ anny is coming up next month, December 8th! I cannot believe that it has been three years since I made the move to do good by my hair. Oh, I cannot wait. Watch out for that blog, I am going to talk about everything, from the beginning, to my starting picture, to my five week stretches between relaxers, my mother's disapproval, my new hair styles I learned to make, wigs, weave, boyfriend, edges, trims, swimming regimen, texlax, considering going natural, difficult hair, weak hair, hands always in my head, constant questions whether this is my hair, ETC!!! The list goes on and on and on. One more important thing is where I avoid being a product junkie and started loving my hair. So, be on the look out for that blog, and it is going to be a long one.

Another goal of mines is to have a more active blog. I am trying to get my mother more involved in the hair journey. I already have my grandmother on board, but I need to educate her alittle on what products to use and when. I am also going to do longer stretches, so I can have more NG for my relaxers. I would love to do a four month (16 week) stretch in 2012. I would love to do it from July 1st to November 1st. I would also love to do two whole months in braids at a time. I would like to have braids from Feburary 20th to April 20th. I would love to have my hair relaxed on May 1st and stretch from May 1st to July 1st. My goal for 2012 would be also to only get four relaxers that yearm but if not no more than five. I do not want to do another trim until December, just a S and D. I am also considering cutting the front of my hair different, just to have variation in the front.
So...this is only the tip of the iceberg with what I have planned. None of this matters if I do not put it into motion. Follow on my journey to have long healthy hair.

Muah! See you in the under the dryer...

Havent Blogged in a while

Apologize for that. It is November and I am trying to graduate next semester, lol. So you already know that the pressure is on. I hope everyone is doing well. I am under the weather; however, I have not failed to keep my hair's health up to par. I am two weeks post today. I have only one goal in November, NO RELAXER! I am trying to get more growth for my upcoming graduation. However, I am no longer predicting my relaxers. I never meet the dates that I would really like for my hair to be relaxed anyway. So, I am going to play it by ear.

As of right now, I only have a couple of problem areas. One, I have a prob with handling my hair after NG has came in, so I am going to work on that one this month. Also, I am going to be working on my left side of my edges, trying to grow them in. I am also trying fill in the gap in the back of my head. I am also want my left side to grow out and maintain even hair. PLUS growth! So, I guess I have more than a couple of things I am working on.

I wasn't ready

What is my title about? Today was my alma mater's homecoming. I haven't attended a high school event since I have been out of school, five years ago. I haven't seen many of my classmates, maybe two every now and then. But the opportunity arosed today to go tailgate. I went to the tailgate. I saw three classmates then. One asked me to come to homecoming game. I told her ok. My brother has only been out of high school a year. When my brother came home for the festivities, he made sure he looked good for the parade and the tailgating. For the game, he dressed up really nice. He wanted to look like an "alumini," he said. I asked jokingly, you want to show people that you are doing something with your life. He said of course. After the comment was made and responded to, I started feeling uneasy. I didn't want to go all of a sudden. I felt inferior to people, even though I am probably one out of every twenty five people I would have bumped into to go to college. But why did I feel like I wasn't doing anything with myself. I felt really bad. I did not feel like I had anything going for me. So, I stayed home, writing this blog, feeling like a lame. I was not ready to show my face. I was not ready to go out and do this. My high school experience was horrible; I didn't have many friends. I was picked on alot. Even though I am probably doing alot more than what some of these same people are doing, I did not feel that way.
What is wrong with me???

What have you been doing?

Hello...I have been looking at my hair in disgust. lol...That is what I have been doing. My hair is blah and I am ashamed. What happened was I was experiencing serious shedding that did not go away with my protein treatments. So, at six or seven weeks, I decided to relax. I didn't see to much growth and I was still shedding. So, I styled my hair, moisturized and kept moving. The next week, I noticed more shedding hair. So I decided to wash my hair and DC. While I was air drying, I dared myself to give my hair that even back trim that I needed so bad. And I did. It looks so much better...but one side could be trim 1/4 to 1/2 inch more. But I am going to wait next relaxer. Last week, I decided to wash my hair again but instead of DC and then a leave in, I only decided to do my protein and the water based leave in moisturizer. BEST THING I EVER DID!!! My hair is so much better. I still have some shedding, but not like I used to. So, I am cutting down my usage of moisture. Slowly, I am going to reteach myself moisture and protein balance without experimenting in my head.

I am still hoping for BSL for Christmas, despite the trim. I am still hopeful. I am also waiting for MBL before the end of summer 2012.
Continue to follow me. Hopefully, I will get a camera soon for pix.

-Lex-

Coming Soon: Melanie Fiona inspired hair

So, I was looking on the internet and found this hairstyle on Melanie Fiona that I want so bad.

It is youthful, but very adult, in my opinion. The only problem is....my hair is obviously not long enough for that side braid. I tried it with my real hair. It was a cute hair style for the beach, but it is not what I am exactly looking for. So I went to BSS and bought a pack of PERM YAKY BRAID hair. I am going to use this hair for my braid. I am still working out the kinks of how I am going insert the hair to look natural. I am six weeks post, looking a hot mess, lol, so I believe this will help my hair and the weave look cohesive, if anything. I will probably be doing hairstyle in the next few days...so be looking out for the end results, comparison, my opinion and a tutorial.

with love,
Lex

Researching For My Hair's Sake

So, I am home for this Labor Day weekend. I washed my hair today. I look into the mirror at my airdrying hair, and I am so bored with it. I am getting frustrated with so many things about my hair that I have two choices: find some solutions asap or cut it all off. Since no one is gonna go for that last one, I am going to attempt to research all of September to get on board by October or this ish is getting the boot. I have so many problems that I am about to face:

boring hairstyles - need to find better styles with little manipulation and heat

breakage - my bonnet is breaking off my edges all the way around my head

thin ends - that should be easy to treat

overall thickness - something should help it

more growth - i would like to see an extra but of NG with my relaxers

lack of moisture - ehh

find balance with protein - ehh

The list goes on and on. I am so ready for change, regardless of the overall result. Ugh!!!!!! Wish me luck...I'll keep you updated.

Back at School

Hello, everyone. I am back at school now. I am about three hours away from my home town. I feel guilty having to leave because no one is going to have full time care of my mother's and grandmother's hair like I did. Also, when I was home, I would sway both of them from unhealthy habits, like grandmother use a lot of heat and my mother picks in her hair which leave bare spots. BUT, I am going home this weekend. I am going to relax my mother's hair and take a pic for everyone to see. I also need to have a list of products made up for them both to use as reference while I am not there. I could also refer to it, for I am not an expert, lol.

A little update about my hair. So, I decided to blow dry and flat iron my hair Friday. I tugged on my hair to do a quick length check. I had to do it over and over and over and over. Why? Because I could have sworn that a couple of strands were touching my BRA! I was too excited! But I am almost five weeks post. I will relax in another five. So, I will just see what my October relaxer will bring me. This weekend I am going to try another roller set and start wearing them for a few months to help with low manipulation between classes. I am still working on my problem areas, and I will have a complete update on those when I am either closer to my relaxer or post relaxer. I would love to sit here and talk about hair all day. But I do have a class in 19 mins. So, I will end here. But I am going to pick up on another post about a friend of mines and how I may be assisting in growing her hair back, also.
Muah, with love,
Lexie

Still working on my BLOG

So, I promised to have my blog up and running, but I haven't tweaked all the way. I had a very devastating death in my family. That put me way back, plus I had three finals to take. The classes are over and my grandfather is put to rest; maybe I can start getting used to this new adjustment.
Before he passed, my grandfather told me that he would never want to see me with short hair again. He got his wish, and I going to continue to push for longer lengths. I am going to make him so proud.

Time for updates:
I was going to relax next week on August 7th, but because of the untimely passing, I decided to cut my stretch short to a very shocking 7 weeks. This is the shorts stretch on record for me. I will NOT do this again. I did not lose any hair nor do I feel like I over processed. I feel like I was very mindful of my NG and my treated hair. I had to be more careful which made my relaxer time longer. That I did not care for. But I had a great relaxer. I will one week post tomorrow. As of right now, I do not have any updates to address about my mother's and grandmother's hair.

I will enter my last semester of my BS this month. I am so excited! I will attempting 19 hours, whoo! I know people have had more, but this will be the most for me. Graduation is December 9th, 2011 and I am hoping for BSL hair to go with my cap and gown. Oh!...and also straight A's, lol. But that is all I have to report at the time. Check out the new additions to my blog coming up REAL SOON this time, I promise.
Until next time,
Muah, Lexie

Sad, sad day.

Yesterday, July 23, 2011, 3 days before his 63rd birthday, my grandfather lost his short battle with lung cancer. My heart is absolutely torn to bits.
My grandfather meant the world to me. I love him with all of my heart. I am going to miss his conversations (mostly about fishing). I am going to miss his jokes (mostly about how others sucked at fishing). I am going to miss his laugh. He and I argued everytime I saw him because I would ask him how he was doing and his same reply was, "I am going alright for an old man." We would bicker for a while about that. I would hug him tight, even when he was drenched in his fishy smells from being out on the river all day long. I am going to miss him falling asleep with the remote in his hand on the couch. Even when he was down sick, he could make you feel like there was nothing wrong in the world. He was in better spirits in his last days than a healthy person was in.
One day my granddaddy saw my hair and told me it was beautiful. I thanked him and he told me it would hurt him something bad if I cut it. So, I am on a mission, to grow my hair to MBL in memory of my granddaddy. I promise, Granddaddy, I will grow it and I will take great care of it. I know you are smiling down on me. I am sorry that I am choking up and crying as I type this about you. But you know that you were a great impact on me and my life. I touched your things at your house today and broke down. You are no longer here. Your things seem cold and untouched. I wish you were, but I know that you are in so much peace that you would not trade it for the world. We all know that you are in heaven. You may not have had real gold in your life, but I hope the golden paved roads in heaven feel good on your feet. I love you, and I am wrapped eternally in your love and comfort from heaven. Love you always, you will never be too far away, Alexis.

My Hair Blog

Hello, bloggies. So, my page is getting pretty blah! I am so bored with it. I have decided to spruce things up and re-decorate. I want a little more organization and a lot activity. So, I am dedicating the next two days to re-designing my page. I am going to send out another blog when I feel like I am totally satisfied with everything. This up-coming blog will explain everything on my page also. I am going to adding additions to my page. I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!! Excitement!!!

Muah!

Hair Updates

Hello. I want to give everyone an update about my hair and the two heads that I am taking care of. I hope you do not find this entry boring, but I must warn you...this one is going to be quite long.

So, I will talk about my head first. I am five weeks post. I want to do a nine or ten week stretch. However, if I am not satisfied with the amount of NG at the time of my intended relaxer, I continue to stretch. I just started showing signs of NG this week. I have plans on rinsing my hair in about two weeks. I want to try this auburn color. My regimen is quite simple. I wash once a week, sometimes once every other week. I have been doing more DCs and protein treatments. I am APL, on my way to BSL. I have a few goals that I am trying to accomplish this year. One, I want to have overall softness to my hair. My hair is becoming more dull. Two, I am struggling with breakage around my edges all the way around my head. Three, I want to work on my ends. I want my hair to have an even look. I want have 50% improvement by the end of the year. I want to be BSL by christmas.

Today, I saw this girl of the mother I work for. Her hair is clearly BSL. I was so excited to see this on her. I longed for this length for myself. BSL all one length on me would be a dream. I cannot wait until it is my turn. I asked her who was she under, as far as stylist. She said this new stylist that just began her business as a hairdresser. I feel like I can accomplish the same if not more on my own. I may not have a degree or a certification, but I am equipped with the knowledge to take care of my hair. I am even taking care of two heads including mines.

My mother's head is quite different from mines. She has four problem areas: big thin spot at the top, each side of her head and thinning hair in the back. My mom was very unsupportive when I began my HHJ almost three years ago. However, after my first year, she saw a huge difference in my hair. So, I have been taking care of her hair for about a year and a half. Sadly, my mom hair shows no difference. It is because of her lack of protecting her hair at night. I feel like if she improves that 100 percent, she will a big difference in her problem areas and her overall hair. My goal for my mom hair is to grow out her hair at the top of her head and grow it out in the back where it is thinning. I recently trimmed and relaxed my mom's hair. It looks good straight and very curly, but between washes and five weeks into her stretches, it can really look like a disaster at times. I am afraid because I am leaving next month for school, and she will home taking care of her hair by herself (except for relaxers). But, I am planning on sitting her down and talking to her about the dos and don'ts of taking care of her hair without me. She is going to have to help with my grandmother's hair.

This grandmother I speak of is my mom's mother. I have been taking care of her hair for about a month. Her hair was in bad shape. It was very dry and very hard. It was also very uneven. But I woke up from a nap one day and asked to my grandmother's hair. This was my first time doing her hair. I was so glad that I could finally do something to it. She washed it, and I dried it. I cut a good deal of her damaged hair. If it was up to me, I would have cut a lot more, but I knew she would not be down for that. So, I have this personal goal for my gran's hair: to cut her hair even all over. This is a goal that is going to take a while to acheive, but I am willing to do whatever I can to grow her hair out and even it all over. Even though my gran's hair needs alot more work, I have successfully styled her hair three times with the flatiron and a gorgeous roller set. More importantly, she absolutely loved it. It was very soft and it moved with her. I was so proud of myself, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

So, that is my updates. Also, I am changing the entire look of my blog page. Check it out when you get a chance. Stay tune for more!

Hiatus, and I am sorry

Sorry for being gone so long. I have been trying to graduate. I think I am at the point where I can juggle school and my social networks now, so I am back and ready to get back on my HHJ for real this time. I have not blogged since July 2010 (long time). So this is what has happened sinc I have been away from my desk. I relaxed twice more in 2010. Here in 2011, I have relaxed only once so far in January. At the moment I am one day from being five weeks post relaxer. I have decided not to try several long stretches. I will leave my long stretches for the summer and do small 8-10 week stretches. My hair does not like long stretches during the winter time. Weird, my hair is more dry in the winter than the summer. So that is my plan. I wish that I could get my relaxers down to four times a year. That was my resolution this year, but the year is not up. so I am going to try, try, try but we can only hope, lol. My goal for December 2011 is to have BSL hair. I am slightly APL. You only can tell if i stretch or if my hair is wet. Im like four inches away and I am claiming that length. So this is what I am doing differently to acheive this goal: I only use heat once a month. I have cheated in the past. I am also washing my hair every two weeks. It sounds disgusting to the people who washes every week, but my hair does not like weekly washes. This is what I do - I wash my hair, the next week I will apply Suave Humectant Conditioner to my entire hair and let air dry and wear either a bun or my hanging dried hair for that week and wash my hair the next week. During these two weeks, I still seal, moisturize and protect my hair with satin covering for bed. That is pretty much it. I decided to really, really simplify my regimen. So, I did. I will post a list of my products in the next few days. Also, I going to show pics on how I my two week process. I promise you this takes alot of time off my hair and into other things. I cannot wait to show you everything. Also, I am saving money for three new material things, lol: a tattoo, a smartphone and a laptop. I am trying to achieve these things by myself before August 4th!!!!! Nothing special about the day, so follow me as I do that too. Later I will tell you how I am achieving the finances for these items (nothing illegal or immoral, lol). Until time, sweeties.
Muah!!!