Bang, bang, bang. Still.

I have legitimate bangs.  Like the rest of my hair is long but among my layers I have a relatively short "layer" in front that I wear as a bang. I go back in forth in my head, and sometimes to innocent bystanders, about how I may let it grow out.  I may let my hair grow this time for real.  I may not cut my bang back...

But then...  I cut my bang back.  About a month ago now.  I said I wasn't cutting it then one random day, it was there, and too long, and welllll- I cut it.  And I love it still.  I am re-committed to it to tell the truth.  No matter how my hair is looking I can refresh that front section in minutes and have new hair.  It's liberating and saves me on a bad hair day. It gives me a different look to play with, concerning makeup and earrings. And how about this... It makes my bead head not so bad lol. I can leave it out and fix it easily so I have a cheat.

Last week when I did that twist out I really didn't want to wash my hair again before the week was up.  So it slowly went up into a high bun.

I didn't like brushing it back so tightly though, since I hadn't bunned it from being wet and de-tangled. I felt it was stressing my hairline a little.  I had used a lot of gel to get it all up and smooth. It was flaking by the end of the day too :-(

So the next morning I let it get a little wet in the shower, parted my bangs out and rinsed just that part of my hair out.  I re-shingled it with the power gel since it's still sitting on my dresser.  I used castor oil and layered it in.  I made a low bun with the too-through twistout  to reduce stress on my nape.

So I got two more days out of this :-) I eventually had to wash all of my hair out though.  The accumulation of products on the bunned hair was getting out of hand.

But I definitely appreciate my bangs.  Just wanted to share.  Don't be afraid to cut. A strategic snip or two can make a head-full of hair a lot easier to handle. 

Puff and bang. Fall styling?

This past week was, for all practical purposes, the last week of summer :-(

Labor day weekend eeked by me with nary a fun thing to report, though I did get to see Sheila E perform live at the Howard Theater on Thursday.  It went to prove that I am still a little young, compared to those in attendance who remembered not only all of her songs, but all the songs by the opening act, formerly known as "The Family" o_O  Booties were shaking lol.

But that was it for my weekend. I mowed my front and back lawns, tended my gardens, and painted my dining room a shade of periwinkle. By myself. (forever alone? lol) I spackled the holes and pits, and sanded and blue-taped and everything :-) I was afraid to replace the furniture quite yet but I will post a pic when the now-floating table can go back where it belongs.

Sooo my hair didn't really need to be done this weekend since I went nowhere.  But I guess some sort of "hope" of a fun time lurking behind the next circuit of the hour hand kept me from totally protective styling it away.  I wore my hair as seen below on Friday and just pinappled it most of the weekend.  I co-washed it late Saturday, but essentially styled it right back to how it was.

Then I got paint in my hair Monday.

Just a lil bit lol. I finger smoothed most of it out, only to find more every time I looked in the mirror.

I'm thinking, however, that when I finally do co-wash again that I want to put it in a braid and curl or twist and curl set.  I want to begin doing those for the fall and winter to retain some length.  I've been trimming my hair often to offset the SSKs resulting from my wash&go habit. I prefer it a little shorter for many reasons but I realized that if I were to press my hair right now that it would look much as it did a year ago.  I guess after several years of medium length hair I might be ready for longer hair again.  You never know when that time may come.  Or when it may go :-)  After 11-12 years with no relaxer, length goals are not so much a factor as is diversity of styles.

The Color is...

You've got to be seen green
To show that your stuff's layed
If you're not seen green
You better be wearing jade


Oh, you've got to be seen green
Don't tell them your cupboard's bare
That you gave up one week's feed
To pay for your colored hair
Oh, oh, oh


AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE GREAT POWERFUL OZ:


I thought it over and green is dead
'Till I change my mind, the color is red

 :-) You know where that's from?

So here are some picts of my color. It came out perfectly, finally, after all this time, the reddish orange I had been looking for is MINE! It was hard to get as I detailed here, but I think it will grow out nicely given the strategic placement I did lol

Here is how I have been wearing my hair over the past week and some color shots in the sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you see in some of the pictures it still looks dark (not very noticeable) but in the right light it really glows with the orange color.  It's the perfect balance of light and dark if you ask me :-) I'm very happy with it.  I hope it grows out well because I have no idea how I will duplicate this color when I need to re-up, in say 6 months.  I didn't color all the way down to my roots, except in a few hidden places, so it already looks like I've had it in a while. I hope that buys me some time.

I have also been killing the high puff and bang, a deviation from the bun and bang. Its so easy to re-do in the morning because once the back and sides get stretched initially they go up in a snap each time after. I've been using some old Garnier Fructis Style Styling Glue, Survivor Tough it Out to keep the flyaways up in back- that stuff lasts ALL DAY!  It dries super hard and really controls the friz that tries to come down. I got it to try mixing in with aloe vera and/or flaxseed gel to give it some extra hold, but those experiments have failed. So here it is reincarnated.

Braces, bang and bun. Video!

bang bang bang

You all know how I am about wearing my curly bang, like, almost all the time :-D

Most of this summer I have been wash and going, or shingle and going, and wearing my hair for 3 or 4 days before co-washing and starting over. Nothing spectacular. I am experimenting with beeswax as a sealant, and I am working on some product reviews that I have tried on my wash and goes. Have to give it a few tries before I can speak on it lol.

Anyway- I have trimmed my hair again about .5 inches and cut the bang a bit shorter.  My goal is just to kept my shag shape as exaggerated as I can as the back grows out. My only caveat is that it all still has to fit into one ponytail. But meanwhile I am loving my bang, especially now that it's shorter. So much so that I wore just the bang and a "bun" yesterday. I co-washed and left in some Kiss My Face Organic Miss Treated Conditioner for Damaged Hair (♥♥♥♥♥- reviewing soon)and put some aloe vera gel and castor oil over that.  That's it.  (the beeswax from daaaaays ago is definitely a player here- more on that when I can assess the risks more thoroughly)

Picts!

What a week! Good day 1 results with ultimate fail

I have been MIA I know.  I have a bunch of posts on deck so hopefully they will all trickle out this week.

I went out a lot the week before last and I was dog tired by the end of the weekend.  This week began on the bottom of that hill and it's taken this long to get back on top of it.  I'm also gardening this year and it is sooo much work.  I'm really excited by the prospect of eating foods I've grown myself though.  I am now growing Kale, Spinach, Collards, Peppers, Lettuce and some herbs.  I have tomatoes and beans and cucumbers waiting to go in the ground in early May.  I spent time after work getting some free pots donated by a woman in the area (yey FreeCyclers!), doing some planting, watering, weeding, cutting grass.  Spider webs and tree jizz in my hair. lol. AND I am at war with the darn squirrels lol.  These are not the ramblings of a fashionable urbanista, and I have been anything but.

Also I'm on a medicine now that requires me to change my diet :-\
I'm all low carb and no sugar now but so far I have not had any side effects.  I'm looking forward to seeing it kick in (PCOS related).

As for my hair and what I can say about it, I'm continuing to grow it out. I wore it out last weekend to a few concerts and I was happy for my curlies.  I can't wait for the warm weather to really take hold so that I can just get on with wash and go season in earnest.  I'm still waiting a month more to cut it though.  I don't see myself freeing up to really create the styles I like to try in the next few months.  So far I am still totally in love with the Kiss My Face gel and I have recently tried mixing it with grapeseed oil.  Pretty successful!

A fail I can mention actually yielded the following photos.  Let's get into that!
I went to Yes Organics at lunch one day and picked up some vegetable glycerin, some marshmallow root, a new bottle of castor oil, and the grapeseed oil.  I already have some flax seed and plan on doing some summer experiments bwahahahaaaa!  But I could not help myself, I broke into everything already except the Marshmallow root.  On Saturday I co-washed and then made a quick mix of castor oil, glycerine, KMF gel, burdock root extract, and pure aloe vera gel (food grade).  It was nice when it was wet and drying, but then it got sticky and a bit greasy.  I had to rinse it by Moday night after some time outside.  It had attracted tons of pollen and who knows what after a jaunt through an old shed digging through dirty planters.

But on Saturday night it was cute and that is when i took these picts.  I'll keep you posted if I come up with any cool mixes.  I know they abound on the web but none I've see offer the wash and go definition I seek.  I think the KMF gel will be the key!

I couldn't decide which I liked best so here's a rack of them! this was at the end of the night when I got home at 2am- Hair completely dry.

Update on the new length and color

I have been overjoyed with my hair and can hardly contain my excitement to try styles at this new length. Right now I can't seem to let go of the wash n go, however, because it's just sooo easy! With different amounts of gel and leave in I get different effects and detangling is a breeze so I can refresh it more often than before. Even with just some more water and leave in I can work back through my hair and detangle.
There are a few spots of bright highlights that I like to be under some darker hair, so I do a little finicking in the front and top. Otherwise, I feel like it's growing out already! I think I'd like to keep it this length at least for this summer. I know it will grow fast.
Hmm what else? I can still catch a good low ponytail, or wear a pony n bangs, which I've been doing on the weekends while working on the house. Hence the lack of updates. I'm finding my weekend play time greatly diminished lately!
So far the products I'm trying to stick to are suave professionals and naturals for cowashing, Zuresh foaming cleanser as shampoo, Paul Mitchel The Conditioner as leave in, IC or Eco styler for my gel, and castor oil or natures gate pomade as my oil/sealant. I am debating working Shea butter and Aloe back in, and planning to do a flax seed gel batch soon. And a set of twists. And a roller set... Sigh... Lol.

Blunt Bang

I found the picture I was looking for! This was taken of me and my homegirl (also natural) at a lounge in DC. I had the bang in full effect with eyeliner and a shrunken bob style. I was feeling it :-)


Below are pictures of me yesterday and today rocking the same look. I rather enjoy the shrinkage factor with the bang- it's a ready made style. Eye makeup becomes the key.

I also am thrilled to announce that my face has cleared up! I was on a month long cycle of twice a day antibiotics and continue to apply Tazorac cream once a day. The results are amazing. I just have some scarring that I can easily cover with powder, and no active breakouts :-) See your dermatologist if you continue to struggle despite your best efforts and natural remedies. This has saved my face, and a lot of money (spent on things that were not working).

The Big BANG!

I love my "bang!" I have had, like, 3 moments total where I wish the front was longer again, but I get over it fast when I discover a new style. This week I wore it out in a blunt across bang for a few days, with eyeliner and a shrunken bob shape. It was very girlie :-* and a picture was taken of me at a lounge, which I'm trying to get and post.

But below is how I wore it today. I have been using good ole Kinky Curly custard mixed with Elasta QP mango butter, and refreshing with CHI keratin mist.

I loveeeee the way it smells. And it actually doesn't really even smell good, per se... lol. I got it on super sale ($4 @ Ross!) and wanted to try it but essentially, I use it for smell alone vs plain water.

But here I am today at work with a low side puff and a bang.