A Quiet Little Woman

curly girl catch up!!

okay, I've learned my lesson, ALWAYS save a draft when you start, then half way through and again towards the end!!  I had a long post all typed up and well.. it's gone!!  Here is a brief version as I don't have time to type it all again!!

I'm sorry I haven't been doing curly girl updates, I just don't usually have time to do it everyday!!  Plus, my new blog has been keeping me busy!!  Guess what!  I have now been doing the curly girl method for 2 weeks and I think it's working great!  I've only shampooed (is that a word??) once as we retired a flag and I had lovely smokey-smelling hair!!  I've also used the baking soda/water a couple of days as I've had slightly greasy hair a couple of days.  But, I would say that is pretty good for not washing for 2 weeks!!  (i can just picture all the disgusted looks, "no washing or brushing for 2 weeks and you expect us to think it looks good??"  no worries, it's looking pretty good!)  It has actually been a little less curly than usual, but I remembered something I learned from the curly girl book... the top part of your hair is called the canopy and it is exposed to LOTS more than the rest of your hair (wind, sun, chemicals, etc.), so it just might take awhile longer to rehydrate!  On sunday the top part of my hair was really wavy and frizzy, then next layer was better looking, but the bottom layer was simply beautiful... moist and curly!!!  I hope and pray that the rest of my hair starts looking like that!!  

So, has any one else been trying the curly girl method??  If so, have you had any luck?  OH, and on a side note, Belle asked about taking care of straight hair... here is a link from a curly girl website on taking care of straight hair!  I think that a lot of you straight haired (believe it or not, that IS A word!!) girls might really be wavy ones in disguise!! 

photo courtesy of fotosearch.com

Curly Girl: days 2 &3

Day 2: My roots were quite greasy when I woke up, but my ends were kind of dry, so I washed the top of my head with the only shampoo that is allowed BAKING SODA and WATER (1 TBLS to 1 CUP), and then conditioned with coconut oil.  My hair still seemed greasy that day, but better (I think it is starting to adjust!).

Day 3: Today when I woke up my roots were still a little greasy, so I washed again with baking soda and water... but just a tiny little bit.  Then I conditioned with coconut oil and scrunched like you are supposed to.  It's didn't seem as curly at first, but then it was after!  I had to clean at my grandma's today, so I put my hair in a bun with some bobby pins, and my sister told me that my hair looked like Nancy's hair in "Pollyanna" (the 2004 version, an EXCELLENT movie!!).  Quite a compliment, since I LOVE Nancy's hair!!  She ALSO said that on the first day she thought that if my hair kept looking like that (very greasy), she was going to have to disown me!!  (he, he ;)  My hair has been changing, which is very encouraging!!  I had about a 5-6 inch area on top of my head that wasn't curly, but it's starting to become very curly!!  And even when I pull my hair back into a loose bun, I still have waves, which is VERY cool!! 

And while we are on the topic of hair... has anyone here used hairsticks?  I found some VERY neat instructions on how to make you own here.  I really want to make some, so hopefully I'll be able to get some made in the next little while.  Oh, and I also found a website that has some beautiful hair-do's using hairsticks!!  Have a most wonderful rest of this terrific thursday!! 

My Curly Girl 'do: day 1

Well, fellow homesteaders... I've been trying for awhile to make my own shampoo, use different things (like baking soda, egg), use a multi-purpose soap, and MANY other things to try and save money.  I stumbled upon a new way of washing hair awhile ago... or actually UNWASHING!  I just got my new book in the mail yesterday "CURLY GIRL", read through it... and promptly started it this morning.  I know from my own experience that it can be down-right mortifying to have curly hair at times, it never does what you want, curls the WRONG way, and can be just plain ornery!  So, I've decided that I'll journal my journey and you can follow along and hopefully glean something! 

Ever since I was a little girl I have had curly hair, it used to get straighter as it got longer, but the past few years it has gotten down-right crazy!!  We've been changing our diet and changing our lives too... and I feel so much better!  My hair must too, because where it used to be wavy, with some ringlets... now it looks like a perm!  In fact, LOTS of people have asked me if I got a perm, or asked if I got a haircut (nope, just my curly-curls drying!).  But I've still had a ways to go as it was quite dry and didn't quite do what I wanted it to.  Hence the reason I bought the book... 

The curly-girl way is to not just get rid of harsh shampoos and styling aids that strip your hair of essential oils, BUT to get rid of EVERYTHING!  UNPLUG the hairdryer, straightener, curler, etc, throw away your hairbrush and THROW OUT the shampoo!!

So, today I didn't shampoo, but followed the curly-girl method... just rinsing, massaging and conditioning (with coconut oil).  Well, to be perfectly honest with you, it didn't work so well!!  BUT if at first you don't succeed, TRY, TRY AGAIN!!  My hair is a little greasy (actually a little more that greasy!!), but certainly LOTS curlier than usual!!  Lorraine Massey (the lady who wrote Curly Girl) says that it can take 2-3 weeks for your hair to regain its moisture... so I'll give it awhile!  I'll keep 'ya all posted on how my locks transform (at least that's what I'm praying for!!).  So, do any of you have curls that have been driving you crazy, or caused you to shed a few tears?  If so, join me on my journey to better hair!!