Back Again for the Second Time

Hello Again,

This post has been three years in the making. My last post on this blog was in 2014. Several times I have thought about picking up the blog again, but it's like when you haven't spoken to someone in a while. Time passes into that stage where if you call them back it will be awkward. You don't know if you will be well received. Well, three years is definitely in the awkward stage, but I decided to start writing again. This time it isn't just to document my natural hair journey. There have been a lot of things dividing my attention. I became a nail polish enthusiast and learned about nail art, indie polishes, and how to do a pretty good manicure at home. I had a second child. Juggling a 5 year old and a toddler while being a working mom has taken a lot of my time. Life has happened in the past few years, and with it  I have fallen off my hair care regime and my stay at home manicures. I haven't been taking the time I used to for myself for many many reasons.

My goal for this blog is to continue writing about my hair care journey. In addition to that I decided to include anything from my life as a working mom that I feel may be entertaining, helpful, any inquiries I may have or advice I may need. As I was trying to take care of my hair I was also taking care of my nails and I hope to have them healthy again. I am also learning how to take care of my children's hair. Since they are mixed their hair is quite different than mine. I am learning what works, what doesn't, and even how to style my little girl's hair (my french braiding needs a LOT of work). To document the shenanigans with my kids I have created a page titled The Bean Kids. I am hoping to make time at least twice a month, hopefully once per week. I hope you will be along for the ride.

Cheers!

Happy New Year - I'm Back for 2014

Hello Everyone, and Happy New Year!!! I hope the past few months found everyone well and everyone had a good Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Holiday, and New Years Eve!

If you read my last post (months and months ago) then you know that I had some computer trouble. All of a sudden I couldn't even get to my desk top page on my computer. I tried using the blogger app, but typing long blogs as I do was made worse by typos from using my phone, plus the photo placement wouldn't have been what I wanted. I tried using my father in law's laptop that was on loan to us, but Blogger website wouldn't work properly. Yes, these may sound like excuses, but they were true. My wonderful hubby got my computer working again, even though it is literally falling apart thanks to my little girl, and I thought what better way to start my blog again but to start fresh in 2014.

Even though I haven't been posting in my blog for a few months, it doesn't mean I have just been sitting around. My daughter, Lola, turned 2 and with that even more of her rambunctious personality came through. Halloween at my job is always a big event, with departments competing against each other for a company paid lunch (and Lola was Run DMC for Halloween, though she looked more like LL Cool J.) My holidays were good with the family, even though we had to work. Lola just became really aware of Christmas and was excited about everything associated with it. Work has been going well and I became a nail polish addict.

Hair wise, I feel I have been slacking off. There were so many things I wanted to try and do but life got in the way. I still have ideas that I want to make happen and goals I want to obtain, but it may take a bit longer than I imagined. Don't worry, there will be more details in a future blog I have planned. I also discovered two hair products that I absolutely adored and was about to blog about one when the whole computer fiasco happened. I still plan on writing about them in upcoming blogs, but unfortunately there may not be pictures from when I used it. I may have to do some digging.

One thing I have come to realize is blogging about my hair kept me honest. I made sure that I washed, deep conditioned, and moisturized my hair on a regular basis. Even if I wore it in a small fro pushed back with a scarf, I still made sure I moisturize my hair. Not so much since I stopped blogging. This started as a way for me to document my journey and it will continue to be that. I have to look at myself (and my hair) and figure out what I have been doing wrong, what I need to do to fix it, and keep doing it. I have a personal goal to be serious about getting healthy in 2014 and I need to keep that same mindset to get my hair to a healthy place as well. I was off to a good start, now I need to continue. I still keep thinking to myself, "You have been natural for 10 years. How is your hair not longer and healthier?" It is a question I asked myself when I started, and I continue to do so. My goal is to have a definitive answer and make sure I am not asking my self the same question in another 10 years.

On that note, I want to say thank you for bearing with me during my absence, and I hope you all will continue to read as I continue to write.

Here's to 2014. CHEERS!

~Millah Sirhea

Delay in Blog Posts

Hello readers,

I apologize for the lack in posts. My computer decided to stop working. I am sending this post through blogger's app on my phone. I started a blog posting using this app and the voice to text feature on my phone, but there were many errors. My husband brought home my father in law's computer to use in the mean time, and i thought i would be able to use it to edit my original post. Well, it's not allowing me to. Once my computer is up and running, I will be back to posting.

In the mean time,

Happy Healthy Hair
~Millah Sirhea

The Versatility of Black Hair

I had my hair relaxed for the first time in 3rd grade, I believe. The last time I relaxed my hair, I was 19 years old. The decision to never have a relaxer again wasn't one that I contemplated on for very long. I was about 21 when I made the decision. For two years I kept my hair braided or twisted. As I kept taking them down and combing out my hair, I thought to myself, I look good with a fro. It was then that I realized how versatile my hair can be, and I loved it!

I never knew how confined I was when it came to having relaxed hair because it was all I knew, aside from single braids or cornrows. Relaxing my hair meant having my hair chemically straightened. The relaxer, which was about the consistency of mayonnaise or a thick conditioner was something that could burn your scalp. Because of this, I couldn't scratch my head a week before getting it relaxed or "touched up." This could cause the relaxer to get into the open sore, burn, and create scabs - of which I always had. I couldn't get my hair wet. Water would cause my hair to crinkle or "kink up." When washing my hair every week, I had to wrap or roll it with rollers and sit under the hair dryer. I hated sitting under the hair dryer. Still do. Or, I could blow dry it or use a flat iron to get it as straight as possible. Sure, I could curl it with a curling iron as well, but that was about it. Even if I wanted my hair braided, I was told to wait until I had new growth so that the braids would have something kinky to hold on too, as opposed to the sleek straightened hair. 

During the two years I kept my hair braided and twisted, I kept noticing my afro. After coming to the conclusion that I could rock an afro with complete confidence, I realized that if I relaxed my hair again, I wouldn't be able to wear an afro. I also realized I could get my hair braided when ever I wanted and not have to wait for my kinky hair to grow out before doing so. Lastly, I realized if I wanted my hair straight, I would just get it pressed. I didn't need to have a chemical on my hair to straighten it, and I could still wear any style I wanted to. 

Once I decided to start taking care of my hair, I looked to the internet to find out how. I also found several new hair styles I wasn't aware of. two strand twists, flat twists, twist outs, braid outs, coils, up-dos, even how to give my hair the "spiral curl" look, and the look of having big soft curls, all with out the use of a curling iron. Amazing!  Some styles, I've tried, others I haven't, and still some that need a bit more (okay a lot more) work on my end. I love being able to play with my hair, and I want to be able to master the different styles. I just know it is going to take some time. 

There are even so many styles for men, such as coils, corn rows, dread locks, twsts, twist outs, braid outs, and straw sets - not just the close cut fade that most men wear. I was even able to help a friend out who needed a style that would allow him to retain his length, as he has been growing his hair for months, but still looked neat and professional. I suggested finger coils or comb coils, and he said it was a perfect style for what he needed.

Even though this blog started out as a way to help me document where I've been, where I am, and where I want to go, I am happy that it's helping people out. I'm very excited to be where I am on my kinky hair journey. I am learning to take care of my hair, style it, and I am coming into my own. 

Thank You for reading, and as always,

Happy Healthy Hair,

~Millah Sirhea

Falling Off the Hair Care Wagon - Briefly

Hello Everyone! I hope the days are finding you all well. 

I'm sorry to say, I've fallen off the wagon a little when it comes to taking care of my hair the past couple of weeks. The week before last, I didn't set my hair for five days. In a row. Now, most people would think, "Okay, so what is wrong with not doing anything to your hair for a few days?" When it comes to naturally kinky hair, the best way I have found to manage it is to prepare it the night before. For example, when I would wear my hair in an afro, I would braid my hair into sections so it retains length and is easier to comb out the next day. The same thing goes for achieving a twist out. It helps to twist your hair the night before so when you untwist the next day, you have maximum definition and you can style your hair. Well, because I did not do anything to my hair the night before, if I had somewhere to be, I had to take the extra time to make it look decent. I decided to keep my hair in a small afro. Instead of picking out my fro, I left the curls tightly coiled. I spritzed my hair with water, used Dr. Miracle's Leave-In Conditioner, and I used the Jamaican black castor oil (JCBO) last. My hair was still feeling soft and moisturized. That week I still washed and deep conditioned my hair, and I know the deep conditioning had a lot to do with how my hair felt. How do I know?

 Last week is how I know. Friends coming in from out of town, mixed with working on what would normally be my day off, plus having dinner with friends in the middle of the week put a wrench in my hair care plans. I washed and conditioned my hair with Entwine Naturalle Couture's The Clique Shampoo and Conditioner, which can be found here. I have used it before, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I did. I didn't like the way my hair felt, and it certainly didn't feel soft after using. That being said, I realize two things: I've only used it a few times, and maybe it is something I need to try a little more before forming a proper opinion; I really like how it works on my daughter's hair (who's hair type is waaaayyyyy different from mine.) I had just gone swimming that day, got home at almost 9p and had to be at work by 8a the next day. There was no way I was washing, deep conditioning and setting my hair for twists. After I washed it, I used the Dr. Miracle's Leave-In conditioner and JBCO, braided it in sections and wore a fro to work. Simple enough. Well, that's pretty much how I wore my hair all week. My hair did not have that same soft, moisturized feeling. The up side? At least I know what I did (or rather didn't do) and how that affects my hair. I didn't have a chance to start my weekly hair care regimen back up this week, so I will be resuming it next week. I will be happy to have my soft moisturized hair back!

Happy Healthy Hair, 

~Millah Sirhea

Castor Oil Challenge via Kinky Curly Coily Me - Week 5: Length Check (Part II)

In case you are wondering why I am posting this again, I realized I accidentally deleted the original post. Oops. Of course things are never as good as the first time, but I would like to try to recreate some of that previous blog magic.

Kinky Curly Coily Me, a website that I frequent is doing a summer castor oil challenge. Use any type of castor oil on your hair a minimum of three days a week for three months. Every week we check in, and June 29th happened to be a length check. I decided to use Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) to help retain moisture, help re-grow my edges (as they have been disappearing over the years), and of course length. How did I do, you ask? Well, take a look:

Yay! My hair grew! It went from being at the tip of my nose to the top of my lip. I have to say, in conjunction with my weekly hair care regimen, the JBCO has helped. Unfortunately, I can't tell with my edges. I am assuming since my hair itself grew, then my edges did a bit too. Sounds good, right? I did take a picture of my edges the day I did my length check, so I will compare at the end of July. As far as retaining moisture, I think it has helped. My hair has remained soft. Even on my lazy days when I don't set my hair for bed, it isn't dried out the next day. Before I started taking care of my hair, I would notice that even though I oiled my hair, it still felt crunchy or dry. With the JBCO, my hair doesn't feel oily either. Definitely a big difference, and I am very happy with my results so far.

If you are reading this for a second time, thanks for hanging in there while I repeated my self. To everyone, thank you very much for reading, it is very much appreciated.

Happy Healthy Hair,
~Millah Sirhea

Independence Day Twist Out

It is officially July 5th. I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July celebration and I hope everyone made it home safely.

I had planned to go to my sister's house for a BBQ and to watch the fireworks, and I wanted my hair to look good. My goal was to wash, deep condition, and set my hair for a twist out. Due to a toddler who refused to go to bed in her crib, my plan was a bust. I hadn't done anything to my hair. I didn't braid it, I didn't oil it, and I certainly didn't put my satin cap on before trying to get my daughter to go to bed. I knew I didn't want to put my hair back with a scarf, nor did I want to attempt an up-do for the day's festivities. When I finally did wake, it was next to a snoring toddler and 3:45 am. Not the ideal time for someone to be up trying to figure out what to do with her hair, but I did it anyway.

I knew what ever I did with my hair, I wanted it to hold it's definition and not be dried out. Most articles or blogs I have read state that your hair needs moisture, and nothing adds moisture better than water. The trick is to seal it in, and there are several ways in which to do this. I wanted to do a twist on the LOC method to set my hair for the night, however instead of doing it in the order of Liquid Oil Cream, I wanted to do LCO - Liquid Cream Oil. I have found this works best for my hair. Unfortunately I could not find my go-to cream. So, I did the next best thing. I got a spray bottle with water, Dr. Miracle's leave-in conditioner, Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO), and Curly Kinks Twist Whip.

 Here is what I did:

I first wet my hair with water, then I put a generous amount of the leave in conditioner through out my hair. Next, I used the JBCO and worked that into my hair. Last, I twisted my hair using the twist whip, and made sure I had some on each section. I let my hair air dry while I did other things that morning, and when I finally got into the bed this morning (about 7:50 am) I put my satin scarf on. In the afternoon, when I took my twists out, I made sure I had the JBCO on my finger tips to help smooth and polish my hair. I was very happy with my results!

First off, The three with the time stamp - well, you see how late it is, so sorry for the unhappy look. Second, I know these aren't great pictures of the hair style. I really wanted a close up of the definition, but it just didn't happen. My apologies. Still, I hope you can see the style I achieved. 

Why am I so happy with the results? 

• My twists and the twist out actually fell naturally on my head. Usually they are sticking up all over the place. I was starting to think it was because my hair is not as long as other women I see who rock the twist out. Theirs seem to lay down or fall naturally and not stick out at every angle on their head - unless that is how they meant it. Now, I think it has to do with how I set my hair
• My hair held it's definition! Generally when I take out the twists, most strands seem to revert back to it's natural pattern instead of holding the crimped look of the twist-out, especially when it comes to larger sections. As I separated them, they would lose their definition. Not today!

I was in such awe at how my hair turned out, that I kept saying to my husband, "Look babe! It never looks like this." He laughed. By the end of the day my hair didn't frizz nor did it revert back to it's normal pattern. It held. The only thing I complained about is that my hair felt drier than it has been since I started taking care of it. Not sure if I need a moisture spritzer or if I should have done something differently when twisting, but that is something I can play around with. When I do, I will share my results. 

Well, I am off to bed. All I am doing is putting my satin cap on. I think I might have decent second day hair. We will see. 

As always please feel free to comment below or email me directly, and you can also subscribe to my blog via email.

Thank You for reading, and have a wonderful night.

Happy Healthy Hair,

~Millah Sirhea

Braid-out Fail! (Sort of)

Hello Everyone, and happy weekend! This post is brought to you by my anniversary dinner. My husband Mark and I are celebrating two years of marriage and four years together. (yay!) Anywho, Early Friday morning we headed to Auburn, CA. When I say early, I mean I got off work at 1:30 a.m. and we were in the car at 4:30 a.m.. I used the time in the passenger seat to set my hair so it would be ready for when we officially started our day. I decided to braid my hair in sections, hoping it would have some sort of definition. I used As I Am Double Butter Cream Rich Daily Moisturizer to braid and Reggae's Shea Souffle as I was taking down the braids. Here is what happened:

Not so hot, right? I have come to the conclusion that I like the As I Am Double Butter Cream as a once in a while moisturizer for my hair. (See Owning Your Hair page, 6.15.13 post.) I am starting to think maybe braid-outs as it's own style is not going to work for my hair unless I get some length. I will continue to braid my hair in sections for those days I want to pick out my afro and wear my hair big. This was the end result for the day:

Normally I have a flower in my hair, but I forgot them on this trip, so I had to do without. For dinner, I decided to do an updo. It wasn't in the original plans, but we fell asleep and I did not put my hair up, so it was a bit flat. with the luck of bobbie pins and borrowing a flower from the room's decoration, I came up with this:

I was happy with my hair, and even if I wasn't, I would have rocked it like I meant to do it. Confidence is key!

Well, that's it for the night. Thanks for reading.

Happy Healthy Hair, 

~Millah Sirhea

Back to the Beginning.....

When starting  this blog, I knew I wanted to talk about my hair both past and present. I also knew that meant showing where I have been and where I am now. In order to do this I had to go back....way back...to the days of Myspace! I pulled several pictures from myspace.com, but in doing so I realized two things: I had no pictures of myself from before 2006, and even back then my hair was long. Well, longer than it is today. So I asked myself, what was I doing then that I am not doing now, and how is it I have been natural for TEN years and have not had any length past the nape of my neck, but there are those who have done the big chop and after less than a year, their length has surpassed mine? These are the things I hope to address not only in this post, but in future posts as well.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine called me to talk about our hair. He wants to grow his hair, but doesn't want to have to keep his hair braided or get dreads or locks. I mentioned a lot of the websites I frequented when I first started searching for ways to maintain my hair. I spoke about my trip down hair memory lane on myspace.com and I told him i didn't realize how long my hair was then. He asked me, "What happened!?" While I am not entirely sure what happened between then and now, I did realize something. Back then, I braided my hair in sections every night, covered it up, and picked it out every morning. (In the past year and a half, not so much.) I didn't do anything special to moisturize it, nor did I have a set hair regimen. I always wore it in an afro with my front pinned back, or in an afro puff with a scarf. When I wanted a different look, I would get my hair braided in singles, cornrows, or twists.

Cornrows

braid out

twists

afro

When I washed my hair I mostly used Pantene for Women of Color shampoo and conditioner. Then, while my hair was soaking wet, I would use blue magic hair grease or the coconut oil hair grease. I would put that on my hair then braid my hair in sections. After a couple of years doing this, I found that my hair would hold the crimp made from the braid (see braid out.) That style didn't last long, as my hair changed and it never captured the same style again.

I went back to my natural hair at a time when everyone wasn't doing it.  I didn't have anyone around me that was natural as I was, so there wasn't anyone I could go to specifically for help.  My mother advised me that I didn't need heavy grease, and not to grease my hair, but oiling my scalp would suffice. She even suggested a light perm to make my hair more manageable and give it a bit more definition, but I declined. I did not want to put a relaxer on my hair again. Ever.

So I soldiered on with my kinky hair, never looking back.

Thanks for reading, and until the next post,

Happy Healthy Hair,
~Millah Sirhea

Castor Oil Challenge via Kinky Curly Coily Me

Once I decided to get it together and start getting my hair to a healthy state, I started looking online for tips, products, and support. I found several on Facebook as well as through  a plain old internet search. While browsing one site, something might catch my eye and it would lead me to another. One website I found is Kinky Curly Coily Me. A week or so ago I came across a castor oil challenge for the summer months.

Some problem areas I am working on are obtaining length, getting my edges back (they are  ever so slowly disappearing), and keeping my scalp nice and moisturized. I seem to have issue with a flaky scalp. Castor oil is supposed to help in all of these areas! Go figure. Seems like I came across this challenge at just the right time.

According to Help Health, massaging castor oil into your scalp helps to stimulate it which improves the blood flow to your skin and hair follicles, thus improving hair growth. The antibacterial and anti-fungal properties also improve the quality of the scalp helping your hair to grow as well.

Kinky Curly Coily Me has several before and after photos of people who have used castor oil and saw results. Even though the challenge began June 1st, you have until June 7th to join and you can do that by going here.

June 1st was the start of the challenge. I have never used castor oil before, but I committed myself to using it at least 3 times a week for 3 months for this challenge. I started by oiling my scalp with Jamaican Black Castor Oil after twisting my hair before bed. I also plan on doing a hot oil treatment once per week. I plan to document each week, and below is my twist out the next morning. Eh, still a work in progress for that amazing twist out, but that is why I am here, right?

If you are unsure on how to use castor oil for your hair, eHow and Transitioning Movement offer options. Not sure where to buy? One site I frequent is curlmart.com, but I bought mine on Amazon.

Well, I am signing off for the night. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment with any feedback.

Happy Healthy Hair!

~Millah Sirhea