Be Thankful



Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

Hair Care 101; My Hair Story Part 6

We left off in Part 5, at my hair being at my backside and in the year 2004. In mid 2005, my hair grew to my mid thighs. It was super healthy, shiny and so easy to style and manage! Time did a story on me (if you didn't know, don't worry bout it!), and they did a few photo shoots too. The first picture below is from one of those photo shoots. I have cut out my daughter because I don't want her face online to the public.


The next 2 photos are me in a dress that my husband absolutely loved on me. He called it my "Lord of the Rings" dress. I still have it, its just a bit too small (for now) but hopefully will fit one of these days lol. Anyway, we are not concerned about the dress....*ahem*.....just the hair! I had washed my hair and left it in a braid to dry. I then took it down and that is the wave that you see in my hair.



This was the longest my hair has gotten, it was at about 50 inches here. I was doing the same thing with my hair as I have described in previous posts. Same shampoo, etc.

Hair Care 101; Hair Care Part 1

Here are some things I forgot to mention! Some of your comments brought them back to my memory, so thank you! : ) This will start the "Hair Care" posts, but I will also be finishing the "My Hair Story" ones as well. Just wanted to insert this in, since I forgot to include them in the first 6 posts.

When I put conditioner in my hair in the shower, I bend over, flipping my hair over my face and put it all over (lots of it) on all the hair, except the scalp. Then, I take a wide tooth comb (I keep one in the shower) and comb through my hair starting at the ends. Then I put my hair gently in a sort of bun (not tight at all, just loosely) at the back of my head and put a shower cap over it. I then wash my body, shave, etc, usually leaving in the conditioner for about 3-5 minutes. Then rinse and you can do your last rinse for a minute with very cold water, its supposed to add extra shine by sealing the cuticle but I don't always do the cold rinse.

Never, ever, ever, never lol..........use a brush on wet hair! If you must comb your hair after getting out of the shower, use a wide tooth comb!

Then a VERY important step that I failed to mention (but will go back eventually and insert into the posts) is using a clarifying shampoo every 2 weeks to once a month. I have done this for YEARS and I believe everyone should do it. Shampoos, conditioners, products, etc build up on the hair over time. Have you ever noticed when you switch to a different shampoo that your hair will look better the first time you used that different shampoo? Well, its not because you need to switch brands of shampoos all the time, it is because that new shampoo is a different formulation and has been able to remove some of the buildup of your regular shampoo. But keep using that new shampoo and then change again, and you will notice the same thing.

So how do you remove the buildup and keep using the same shampoo/conditioner for years? Do what I have been doing! I used to use Neutrogena's Anti-Residue shampoo but now I have found a cheaper version that works the same: Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo, I LOVE THIS STUFF! Now, this stuff will remove buildup from your hair and you only need to do it every 2 weeks or once a month. Unless, you use a lot of product in your hair, you will need it more often but not too much. So every 2 weeks, I use it for one shampoo and then follow up with normal conditioner and then the next shampoo I go back to my normal shampoo.

If you never remove that buildup, your hair will look dull, lifeless and limp, not to mention it will clog your follicles and prevent faster hair growth! So keep your scalp and hair free from buildup by doing this step every 2 weeks or once a month!

In a later post (more towards the end), I will do a Product List, which will include all products and hopefully photos too that I use and/or recommend!

Hair Care 101; My Hair Story Part 5

We left off with my hair after I had my daughter at the end of 2003 being at my backside. From here on, it didn't grow so quickly, and I believe it had to do with the fact that I grew 10 inches in a year, most of that during pregnancy! I guess it was taking a break lol.

So now we pick up towards the end of 2004, after I had lost all my baby weight (57 pounds!) and my hair was just a bit longer than my backside, I'm guessing it only great 4 inches the year after having my daughter. I was still doing the SAME thing with the Finesse shampoo/conditioner and NO hairspray and no blow drying (maybe occasionally but I don't remember) and those coconut treatments once a month, sometimes once every 2 months. I didn't need product in my hair still because it looked great after letting it air dry still and when I would hot roll my hair about twice a month, the curls would last days.

Now, I was posing in these photos at the time, to show off my 57 pound weight loss after having my baby, but this is what I found for that time period showing my hair:


This next one is funny because whether you can tell or not, my hair was actually thrown over the FRONT of my face lol. My husband had me do it, we were a bit crazy back then (still are lol). Nevertheless, it was a good shot of my hair at that time. I had shed the normal "after having baby" hair, so it wasn't as thick but then again.....my hair is very fine and thin, I just have a lot of follicles that sometimes make it look thick as I've said before in the Introduction post.




So now we have gone from Dec 1999 when my hair was at my chin to late 2004. That is roughly 5 years and my hair was past my backside, about 38 inches in 5 years.

Hair Care 101; My Hair Story Part 4

I told you all it was going to be a lot of posts, we are just now reaching the halfway point (I think lol). If you are just now coming to my blog, you have a lot of catching up to do! I had the Introduction post, then Part 1, 2 and 3 already! So get to reading.......I plan on going through this quickly because I have more posts for other topics coming next week. ; )

Last post, I ended with my hair being at the middle of my back in mid 2002. Now we jump to Nov 2003, one year later and also right after I had my baby. My hair grew SO MUCH while I was pregnant! It grew in one year, a whopping 10 inches! It also grew in jet black again with some of my hair towards the ends being dark brown.



As you can see it was long (to my backside) and shiny and healthy. It was like silk and I was still only using Finesse shampoo and conditioner with NO other products on my hair and letting it air dry and the occasional curling with hot rollers and still doing the coconut oil treatments, although sometimes it was only once a month.

I long to get pregnant again so I can grow some hair LOL. It was also thicker, because as most people know, you stop shedding hair when you are pregnant and then it is released after the birth of the baby and most people describe it as their hair falling out in handfuls. But don't fret, that is the normal process for hair with pregnancy and birth of a baby. You can google that, not really going to get into a big discussion on that right now.

So from Dec 1999 to Nov 2003, my hair went from my chin to my backside, that is just about 4 years time to get it that long. That is roughly 26 inches in 4 years of new growth; It was about 34 inches above at the time.

Hair Care 101; My Hair Story Part 3

I began to see the rewards of prayer for my hair and use of coconut oil treatments. This was taken in Dec. 2001:



I started using only Finesse Bodifying Shampoo and Moisturizing Conditioner and that's it! I didn't use products on my hair, not even hairspray! I would do the coconut oil treatment every 2 weeks, instead of every week because my hair was so healthy and shiny. It looked good when it air dried even! I didn't need a blow dryer and didn't want to use one either. I was still just washing my hair 3 times a week.

The next year, after losing 60 pounds, my hair had grown to the middle of my back. This was in 2002:


I loved my hair at this time, it looked good air dried straight, didn't need any products and then looked good when I curled it and the curl would last until I washed it, 2 days later! It was the easiest hair to manage that I have ever had and I couldn't even FIND split ends in my hair.

So now we have covered from Dec 1999 when my hair was at my chin till mid 2002, about 2 1/2 years time, my hair went from chin to the middle of my back, growing at a rate of about 6 inches a year.

Hair Care 101; My Hair Story Part 2

So began the "letting my perm grow out" process. At the time, I was still learning about hair and didn't practice what I practice now. So I started curling my hair all the time with rollers. I used those Caruso steam rollers (ya'll remember those? I still have them lol). Within a year my hair had grown past my shoulders and was very light on the ends from the perm (perms lighten your hair in case you didn't know that):



You can see that parts of my perm wouldn't curl with the steam rollers above, so it was odd but hey.....it got better, wait and see in future posts! I started to PRAY for my hair, seriously......pray for your hair!

I only washed my hair on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays! That is the schedule I followed back then. I started to NOT use hairspray at all around this time also after reading about its effects on hair. So all I used was shampoo and conditioner (at the time it was the Kirkland brand from Costco). I also didn't use a blowdryer, I let my hair dry naturally most of the time.

Here is a photo where it started to get a bit straighter and I started using regular hot rollers:


You can see that my ends were golden from the perm a year before and they were dry from the chemical processing but I dealt with it. This is around the time I started coating my hair (heavily) from root to ends with coconut oil! I had learned this from my Pastor's wife, she had long, beautiful thick hair and she shared with me that she puts it on her ends before she curls it. BUT.....I thought since most of my hair was processed, why not put it all over lol.

I did the coconut oil treatment every Monday and let it stay in there all day and washed it out the next. I did this for years (still practice it today) and it works! I think coconut oil is one of the best treatments for your hair and I didn't just dab a bit back then, I coated every strand on my head! But it worked and you will see in the next post how it helped my hair recover from the perm while it grew out!! That and prayer, my hair grew and became the best hair I ever had in my life!

I will be doing a product post towards the end with the products I recommend and use.

Hair Care 101; My Hair Story Part 1

I'm going to start the photos from when I became a Christian and started keeping my hair uncut and letting it be long. I started with chin-length red hair (that was dyed lol). This was in 1999:



I was 19 and in the USAF at the time. I had just met my (future) husband and started going to church. Right before I got saved, I got a perm in Hawaii (while on vacation there). The perm was a flop and only left a wave really. Here is a photo of the perm:




Back then, I didn't know anything really about hair care. I had always just shampooed and conditioned and sometimes just used a 2-n-1 when I was working in the Air Force. When I got the perm, I started using gel and letting it air dry. I hardly ever blow dried my hair anyway. It's funny now that I think about it, but I was notorious for wearing my hair wet till it dried to church and around town lol.

I started to ask around and read books to learn more on how to take care of my hair, since I knew God wanted me to leave it uncut and let it be long to honor my head (my husband), and it is my covering (and glory) and also for the angels as the Bible commands.

Hair Care 101; Introduction

Thank you all for voting in the hair poll! I see that we got 45 votes and here are the results:

What type of hair do you have?

Straight
16 (35%)

Wavy
20 (44%)

Curly
5 (11%)

Permed
4 (8%)


The majority of my readers have wavy hair, followed by straight, curly and then 4 of us with permed hair. I have naturally stick straight hair but am growing out a perm that I had a year and a half ago.

In case you didn't know, after the hair has grown out of the follicle it is dead. There are different types of hair and also different amounts of follicles that vary from person to person. For instance, I have very fine, thin hair but I have a lot of follicles, so it can sometimes look like I have thick hair.

Here are some hair "facts":
  • Average number of hairs on the head: 100,000
  • With reddish hair: 90,000
  • With black hair: 110,000
  • With blond hair: 140,000
  • Maximal length of hair: 70 to 90 cm (27 to 35 inches - not so see below)
  • Annual growth: 12 cm (about 4.7 inches - not so see below)
  • It is normal to lose 100 hairs per day from the scalp.

Now, those numbers can't be facts because my hair currently is 39 inches long curly (not sure what it is straight) and it was longer than that a few years ago before I got a perm (reaching around 50 inches). Then I have grown 10 inches of new hair since I got my perm in March 07. So that was more than 4.7 inches a year. So those numbers don't apply to everyone and it can depend on your health, age and what you eat as well.

Knowing what type of hair you "naturally" have is key to hair care, unless you have processed hair, which needs lots of TLC! I will be sharing with you, my tips and what I have done over the years and the mistakes I've made also and how I'm learning from them. I hope you will glean something useful from this series on Hair Care for yourself!

Next post, starts my hair story......that is the best way I could see to discuss all that I have done over the years. So I will use each photo as a discussion point.