Thursday, August 22, 2013

Wet Line Xtreme Gel, KMF gel changes formula!!

I'm not sure what I was doing exactly, but I ran across this video by Healthy Hair Zone about Wetline Xtreme gel.  I was intrigued and went down the rabbit hole of reviews and, like her, found that everyone seems to love it.  It's the number one gel in Mexico apparently and has a strong hold with no flakes.  I saw somewhere that it re-constitutes when wet too, like Kinky Curly custard, and I just had to try it.  My neighborhood "bestway" (latino grocery store) had it in abundance- different sizes, colors, containers... and it's like $3 for a huge, Huge tub or tube. 32-35 ounces!

I don't understand the ingredients to be natural at all, but I looked up the "chemicall-y" sounding ones and none had a hazard rating above a 4 or 5.  I was game.

So this stuff will freeze your curls exactly as they are wet.  It drys hard and shiny, does not flake and mixes with every leave in I've tried it with. I'm a fan of gel in general, but if you are not a fan of a gel "feel", this will be the worst gel ever lol.  For me gel works well because if I can get my curls to hold in my fine hair, I can avoid tangling, de-tangling and manipulating, even in a wash and go, for several days.  I don't mind a bit of crunch!

Here are a few picts of my curls using this gel.  It's very heavy and coating so this is definitely "small hair."  I took these on the day I got my Braces off :-D


 I took these weeks later ~ day 6 of a similar wash & go.  With a little water the gel re-gooes itself so that you can easily create updo's.







I have also been notified on instagram, and since verified that my old favorite, Kiss My Face Upper managment gel has changed their formula.  Most notably, they added Glycerine as the SECOND ingredient. That is a humectant... fine sometimes, but I don't see how it could possibly have the hold I so love.  I do want to get my hands on a new bottle just to see if my fears are unfounded.  Has anyone else tried it yet?

Meantime, if you are a fan of gel, def try the Wetline Xtreme gel.  As far as gel goes, it does the MOST. 5 out of 5.


Monday, August 5, 2013

Hey, I used to blog here!

Right, the blog. That I have not posted in since APRIL.
MIA is not even the right term. Where have I been?

The last post here was about stress, and overcoming it.  Well the sudden stress at the time came from my decision to go back into the job market after a tumultuous few months at work, and a very sudden and wonderful job offer.  Good news right?  BUT what killed me is that I liked my job, mostly.  I just wanted a bargaining chip and a plan B after some dramatic changes at work which required me to step up into an interim management position for 8 months. I'd literally signed up with one agency, and in less than 2 weeks I got a senior level position offer for over 20% more than I was making.  I felt like the universe was playing a joke on me. I was reeling in disbelief, and then anxiety, and then a bit of bitterness that I'd been selling myself short.  Perhaps, as my uncle, dad, boyfriend and freinds has assured me, I was undervaluing myself. It had been 8 months with no assurances and no new compensation.

So I had a week of number crunching, and tough conversations where I asked for a counter offer without spilling the beans.  I wanted to gauge my worth to make sure I was making the right decision.  And I was.  And I did.  I accepted the new job and gave them 12 days notice.  My first day on the new job was in New York.  On a Tuesday, after working my last day on Monday.  It was crazy.  But I am happier.  More empowered, more secure.  phewww.

BUT, I am also more busy.  I am working about the same amount of hours, but traveling at times, and also keeping my skill-set top notch in my spare time to live up to my new title.  Ya'll, I'm a VP :-)

I'm also enjoying the heck out of a fairly new relationship (since March).  It's stable and fun and kinda wild how it came to be, but it's good.  And, I live in DC ya'll... so ya know.
Its like I found a handsome unicorn, with wings and a pot of gold.

Also.  I got my braces taken off!! 

So then some horrible things happened as well.  My uncle was in a critical motorcycle accident at the very beginning of June.  Against all odds, he hung on for a month in ICU, but the doctors and the family were just keeping him alive.  He wasn't living, and the type of traumatic brain injury he had, accompanied with massive/multiple body damage as well, meant that the chances of him ever coming back to us were nil.  We left him in God's hands and on the 4th of July he stopped suffering

I went home to CT 3 times in July.  And I can tell you this. Flying on a buddy pass is not worth it.  Especially not when you are sad, and exhausted.  It's much less expensive, sure, but you still pay good money for not-a-seat.  And you are the lowliest low of travelers.  Everybody bumps you.  Long story short = it took me 12 hours to get home from a place only a 6 hour drive away.  The last 3 hours of that trip, which was the same day as the funeral, was spent on a Bolt bus after taking a cab with a total stranger (also stranded in Philly on a buddy pass). And this after running TOP SPEED, several times, with a bag, trying to make impossible and improbable connections out of desperation. NEVER again.  shin splints, achilles strained. THIS is what money is for.  To buy your way out of bad situations.  I will pay for a full price actual seat, gladly, going forward.

So in terms of this blog...

I don't know what to do.  Of course I still do a million things with my hair.  My job is more formal and corporate so I have pulled out a few new tricks, a few new products.  But I don't think I can continue to micro-focus on hair. The spirit hasn't moved me to post in all these months amidst a bit of personal change.  I feel like the blog lost the race to like 4 other contenders. 

So I have two ideas:
  1. Keep the blog alive! But augment it with auto posts from Instagram and Facebook so that I don't have to write a post when I have a new style or product to mention. Shorter, sweeter posts and pictures, That leaves me open to write more when I want to, make vids when I want to etc. And keeps the focus on hair and its politics.
  2. Change the blog.  Open it up to more topics so I have the range to talk about what is really going on with me.  I garden, I'm into holistic healthcare, web development, cooking, fashion, etc. I could go to Wordpress and expand my topics.  Wrap it into the work on my career and my more general interests.
What do you guys think? Option 1 or 2?

Here I am in my new office :-) 

And wow is my hair growing :-) I'm going to let it grow and I plan to press it in November. It's heavily layered, but the longest parts are as long as it's ever been.

Meanwhile, please follow me on instagram and on FB. I'm still posting pretty regularly over there!
http://instagram.com/justhairblog
https://www.facebook.com/itsjusthairblog

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