This is my favorite month of all! I just arrived back in Dhaka about an hour ago, and it is my birthday in a week! Yay! I am turning 17 . I had a fantastic trip to London and Venice, and I might be posting pics of Venice if I get the chance!
Love,
~*Leia*~
*Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2"
Goal: classic?
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
I washed my hair on the 1st just so I could measure, but alas, I couldn't find my London measuring tape! So I didn't get the chance to measure. I don't want to do it on my next wash, because it won't be very accurate. So I am waiting till September!
Love,
~*Leia*~
*Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2"
Goal: classic?
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
A few days before I left for London, I did a herbal wash on my hair. But travelling hair always gets gunky, so I had to scalpwash 4 days later. 3 days after that it was time for my weekly wash. I blended together two eggs with a tablespoon of vegetable oil, left in overnight, and shampoed the scalp the next morning after rinsing out the egg/oil mixture.
ECK! That was the worst thing I have ever done to my hair. It came out really soft and shiny, but for the next week and a half it STUNK! I think the oil I used was really old, because I didn't smell of eggs at all. Eck. It was soo disgusting, and Mum kept complaining as well!
So I had to do a CW with my Bangkok Caring conditioner and one of the Timotei shampoos that we had lying around just two days after the egg/oil wash. The smell got better after that, and dissipated a few days later. But the initial couple of days were really awful!
I did a scalpwash on the 29th, at 4 am in the morning, right before I left for Venice. I needn't have bothered, because Venice was so HOT that my hair had to constantly be up. I arrived back in London in the 31st, and did a herbal wash on the second.
Tonight, I am going to slather some Lush henna and some powdered indigo in my hair. I have developed some lighter brown streaks, especially in the bottom bit of my hair. I have had TONS of tangles lately as well, especially when french braiding my hair. The bottom braids itself and it gets into such a mess! Hopefully the henna will help, and I can do an S&D soon if I need to. I have been thinking about cutting 3 inches or so off, but I will wait a couple of weeks before deciding.
Love,
~*Leia*~
*Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2"
Goal: classic?
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
I am so silly sometimes. I only have one square of my Lush henna left, and I completely forgot to get it when I went to the Lush store a few days ago in London! So I guess I won't be henna-ing much this year, unless I get the chance to order from them online or something.
In order to make my pathetic 1/4 square of the henna turn into something that I could use on my hair, I added a few extra things to it. First I grated it into a powder and made a thin liquid with it (not too thin, but thinner than most henna mixtures.) Then I added about a tablespoon of indigo powder, a tablespoon of my "henna conditioner" (it contains henna and other herbs) and a tablespoon or so of Lush Arabian Bright. I mixed all of these into the Caca Brun mixture and used that on my damp hair (henna goes better on my hair when it is damp, plus you can use less of it). I will be leaving it in overnight. Tomorrow morning, when I finish the henna procedure, I will write down my steps, and I will try and remember to take pics if I can. I wonder how this new henna mixture will turn out!
My camera is still not working. This happens every time I take the charger away from the computer! It says that the USB device is not recognized, and nothing I can do can make it change its mind. If it is still misbehaving in the morning I will see if there is anything else I can do.
I'll do a trim or S&D on August 12, my birthday , as it is the MM date for strengthening. And I'll go wax on the 14th, the day before school, because that is one of the days for retarding hair growth. I know it may sound silly, but it seems like my hair growth really is retarded when I use these dates!
Off to sleep away my jet lag
Love,
~*Leia*~
*Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2"
Goal: classic?
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
A definite pro of my 4-mixture solution is that it is REALLY easy to rinse out. I guess it's not just henna that I'm putting in - it's henna, lots of oils and butters (from the Caca), other herbs (from the henna conditioner), extra coloring (indigo), and other conditioners (Arabian Bright). It rinsed out almost as fast as a normal conditioner does! Anyway, here are my steps.
1. I rinsed my hair with normal water, just to get it damp to make the henna easier to apply (this works best with especially thick henna). Sometimes I shampoo first, but that is only if I have a lot of build-up on the hair that I think will interfere with the henna color clinging to it. My last wash was herbal, so my hair was clarified and very clean; thus, I didn't feel the need to shampoo.
2. After patting my hair down with a towel, I went and made the henna mixture. Just to recap, I used 1/4 square of grated Lush Caca Brun, 1 level tablespoon of indigo powder, 1 level tablespoon of Ozone Henna Conditioner (powder), and 1 tablespoon of Lush Arabian Bright conditioner (which contains henna and some other conditioning agents).
3. I applied plastic gloves, put the bowl of henna mixture in the bathtub, and sectioned my hair off into four sections. I applied henna to the length of all four sections, coating it as best I could. Then I twisted all the sections together into one big section, and coated that, twisting around as I went, getting the henna into the little places that I missed. After that, the mixture was just about finished. I apply it only to my length because I use henna to try and match my length to my scalp (my length gets lighter in the sun).
4. I twirled the henna-coated hair into a topknot, put on a shower cap, and then put on a towel (I do this with all overnight mixtures to ensure no leakage).
5. Since I was sleeping off my travels and such, I had a great 11 hours of sleep . So the henna was on for ages! I woke up, made the vinegar rinse (1 big bowl of undistilled water - distilled makes my hair TOO soft - and a splash of ACV), got the comb and conditioner ready, and rinsed the henna out of my hair.
6. As I said earlier, it was really easy to rinse out. And when I applied the conditioner to my length and started combing it with my plastic comb to get rid of loose henna bits, hardly anything came out. My white conditioner usually turns absolutely green when combing the henna out, but it was only tinted a slight green today. I also massaged in some Body Shop Honey Moisturizing Shampoo into my scalp before applying and combing out the conditioner.
7. I rinsed out the shampoo and conditioner. Then I dunked my length in the ACV rinse. Now, I can never usually use ACV except right after I use henna. It usually doesn't do anything for my hair at all, except leave it a bit lank and greasy. Used after henna, though, it helps lock the henna color in, and I just can't use henna on my hair without it!
8. After leaving the ACV in for a few seconds, I rinsed that out, too. I filled my just-finished conditioner tub (I didn't use the whole tub today, it just happened to be finished!) with water and dunked my ends into it. I shampooed my scalp again because I had got ACV rinse all over it by mistake.
9. Then I rinsed again, and now it is up drying in a towel!
Just for future reference, here are all the ingredients of everything I used in my hair for the "henna."
From the Caca Brun:
- Red Henna (Lawsonia inermis)
- Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao)
- Black Henna (Indigofera tinctoria)
- Ground Coffee
- Fresh Lemon Juice (Citrus limonum)
- Irish Moss Powder (Chondrus crispus)
- Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryophyllus)
- Perfume
From the Arabian Bright:
- Red Henna Infusion (Lawsonia inermis)
- Cetearyl Alcohol (&) Sodium Lauryl Sulphate
- Olive Oil (Olea europaea)
- Frankincence Resinoid (Boswelia carterii)
- Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia)
- Perfume
- Methylparaben
- Propylparaben
From the indigo powder:
- Pure indigo (Indigofera tinctoria)
First, an update to my siggy pic! I took it in London. It's funny - the whole time, my hair felt dry and I thought it looked awful, but I like the way it looks in my pics! And LOOK - it is getting close to classic! YAY !
Here is my new, filled-up hair toy organizer!
THANK YOU BUSYHSMOM! I love it! It's great for all of my non-hairstick toys, because I can see them easily this way.
Here are a few of my best pics from Venice.
This is a huge cathedral - St. Mark's probably - in front of Piazza S. Marco (St. Mark's Square)
This is one of the hundreds of tiny canals.
This is a well - they had tons of these . They aren't in use anymore, though.
The side pillar of a church.
Another church.
Here are a few scattered gondolas on a canal.
Here is a picture I took while on a gondola of the side of one of the buildings.
It is amazing because none of the buildings there are made of any modern material! They have all survived centuries. Even the ground is made of big rocks that have been there forever! It is very hard on the feet, especially since you have got to walk a LOT, and I even had to buy a new pair of shoes because I kept getting blistered!
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2"
Goal: classic?
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
I love the results! My hair is a bit over-conditioned, but that happens with henna. I expected it this time anyway because of all the extra conditioners in the henna mixture. My hair was FULL of waves and curls last night that I just HAD to take pictures! The length picture shows the new color a bit better (it is actually not that dark - it is browner in the sunshine) and the half-braid picture shows the big curls that I had last night . It is also funny that the curls curled up in such a way that I look as if I have a U-cut, when my hair is actually cut straight across. But maybe it is becoming more of a U as it grows longer...
I wonder if my hair is growing. It's been a long time since I measured, but I don't think it is getting any longer. Just tanglier . I think that it is quite damaged at the ends, and breaking off, so it is not growing any longer. I was quite rough with it on vacation! But I am hoping to pamper it and trim off the damage, so maybe it will start growing again. OR it could be that the growth is slowing down now that I am nearing 40"...
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2"
Goal: classic?
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
My hair is still feeling great. The length is a bit overconditioned, but all it needs is a good clarifying wash (which I am doing with herbs this weekend). I noticed, funnily enough, that I have little red streaks on the very bottom, most damaged (and most porous) part of my hair, which I didn't have before the henna! They are hardly noticable, but I thought it was funny that they were there! I've never had those before. The rest of the hair is the desired, dark brown, natural color .
I think in my experiments with methi I have, in the past month, gone a little overboard . I need just a TINY bit of methi, mixed with the rest of the herbs right at the end, applied to my ends. It is good on my scalp as well, but I have decided not to apply it anywhere but my ends anymore. Every time I have used methi, a few chunks fail to rinse out of my scalp hair and harden, which becomes a pain when combing. There is no way to get them out without harming the hair in some way, so I would rather not risk it. From now on, I am using very little methi, and concentrating it only on the ends.
I am doing a liquid fast today. I haven't done yoga for 2 weeks now, since before I left for London, and I haven't fasted since then either. I am planning to start up my fasting this week and yoga from tomorrow. Hopefully I won't get out of the habit once I start school! That always seems to get me out of my good habits, LOL . That starts on the 15th.
I have been bellydancing for the past couple of days as well. That reminds me, I am never going to order from www.pinkgypsy.com again! I made an order in December 2004, and never got my stuff. She sent me an e-mail asking me to confirm that it was okay to charge $10 shipping on the credit card and I immediately said yes, but 8 months later... no tapes. She didn't even reply my e-mail. She said she didn't know where BD (Bangladesh) was, so I told her that as well. I just hope that the money wasn't taken from my mother's credit card account. It has been so long that I forgot about it. I will have to check that the money is still there!
Anyway, I am just rambling on because it is lunch time, so everyone is at lunch and I am not. LOL. I should probably do some of my AP European History homework.
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
Yesterday was my 17th birthday, and it was a LOVELY day! I spent the morning with my most loved one, the afternoon with all of my family, and the evening with my friends. It was all in all an absolutely wonderful day. And the girls at the Loom are so sweet for starting a birthday thread for me! I am off to go read it .
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
I did a herbal wash (left the herbs in on Friday night, washed out Saturday morning). My hair smells and feels wonderful! I used methi only on the ends, and they feel soft. So, my hair is all set for tomorrow - the first day of school as a high school senior! Ack! I'm nervous and excited all at once. I had tons of homework over the summer, so today I will have to look over all of my notes and make sure I am prepared for tomorrow .
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
Things have been busy with the start of my senior year and all, but I am taking a moment off to do my hair and to update my journal . I took pics ages ago, but since getting a palm pilot on my birthday, I had to use that in my free USB port and haven't had time to switch back over to my camera. So, here they are, from Sunday, right after my herbal wash!
As you can see, my hair felt and looked initially nice after the herbal wash. However, that was the last day that it felt nice . The next day, and for the whole week, my ends felt incredibly dry and crispy. And this is not like 1/2" of the ends, that can be nipped off easily. This is like 4-6" of the ends! I was at a complete loss for solutions. I didn't have much time to spend on my hair, so I misted it with rosemary distilled water, applied almond oil, and shea butter on top of that for a couple of nights in a row. This is usually a "quick fix" for dry ends, and it only slightly helped. It no longer felt crispy, but just dry.
So, last night, I obviously felt the need to add some moisture back into my hair! And this is my week for a non-herbal hair wash anyhow. So I got half a bowl of plain yogurt and added a tablespoon of honey. I applied this to the length of my hair, added a shower cap and a towel, and let it sit overnight. This morning I rinsed it all out and shampooed my scalp with Body Shop Honey Moisturizing Shampoo. My ends still felt dry (and my length didn't feel very conditioned either!) So I "shampooed" my ends with my olive oil shampoo/soap, *didn't* use a vinegar rinse - if it gets too oily on the ends, my hair will probably soak it up!
Anyway, the results are pending as my hair is still sopping wet.
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
It seems like I only have time to update on Saturdays, which are incidentally wash days!
The yogurt-honey wash certainly did help bring some moisture back into my hair. It felt incredibly soft and moisturized; however, my ends were still a problem (though I think I have them figured out now!) Anyway, here is a picture I snapped a couple of days after the honey wash.
During the week, my hair was alright, but my ends started drying up on Monday/Tuesday. So, every night, I did an intensive ends-only treatment. In the past, when my ends have been slightly dry, I have just put shea butter on the last inch or so before I slept. However, this was more like 4-6", and MUCH dryer than I have ever had before, so every night I did this:
- Misted the ends down with my distilled water/rosemary EO/almond oil mix
- Applied a thin sheen of almond oil
- Coated with shea butter
Then I braided (usually my folded braid) and went to bed. My ends have improved after that, but a couple of days ago I was hit with a revelation.
Oh! Before that! (lol) I forgot another pic I took. This was from Thursday. I wanted to leave my hair "down" and soft around the face, but I knew the bottom length wasn't looking/feeling great. So I folded the bottom underneath the rest of the hair and secured with a ribbon. Here is the result.
And now to my revelation! In the past, my routine has been: Saturday - conditioning wash; Saturday - herbal (clarifying) wash; Saturday - conditioning wash... etc. However, for the past month or so, I have been applying methi on my ends during my "clarifying" herbal wash, when methi is actually SOLELY a conditioner. Thus, I had herbal build-up on my ends, causing them to be crunchy and dry! That's why it wasn't just the bottom inch as usual; and was rather the last 4-6" - where I had been applying the methi! Once I figured out I had build-up - which was rather difficult to figure out seeing as how I usually don't think about it; my herbal wash takes care of it - I knew that this weeks herbal wash had to exclude methi and use only bhringraj, shikakai, amla, aritha, and sandalwood. I combatted the after-wash dryness by oiling my hair first (I used to do this before as well, before I discovered methi, and it made it MUCH softer than had methi) with EverydayMehndi Lavender Hair Growth Oil on my scalp and bhringraj oil on my length. Then I made a thin mixture - thick enough to feel a bit squidgy, but thin enough to not feel like mud and to be easily applied to the hair. I applied this only to my length at first. Then I covered my palm with some and just gave one "swipe" through the ends. Too much means dryness, but just enough cleanses and clarifies. Then, with the tiny bit that was left in the bowl, I added water and made a rinse. I dunked my scalp only into the rinse and then wrapped everything up into a shower cap and towel.
This morning, all I did was rinse and shampoo my scalp with my Body Shop Honey Moisturizing shampoo. I am awaiting the results! I hope I was right and the clarifying will help my ends!
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 3, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
Finally my ends are feeling better. I guess all I needed was a good clarifying! My hair has been feeling soft and wonderful ever since.
I will hopefully be getting some Lotus Powder Plus from EverydayMehndi (have heard rave reviews!) - I tried looking for jojoba on the EverydayMehndi site but it kept making me order some ceramic bowls whenever I clicked it - a shampoo bar and lotion from Chagrin Valley Soaps, and both of Karen Ribble's braiding books. Yesterday I decided to splurge a little on the online shopping .
This weekend I definitely need to do a protein wash. My hair feels thin and needs some fluffing up! I am thinking of whipping up something with eggs, the Proactiv protein treatment I have, and maybe some honey and oil for extra moisturizing. Oh, and definitely some essential oils. I do NOT want to go through the smelly-hair-for-a-week syndrome again!
Off to catch up on the Loom, relax, and do some homework
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 22, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
I also ordered a pillowcase from LisaJaney as well as an extra-long towel from her. I can't wait! I have heard such excellent reviews about her and I finally have the chance to try her things! Hopefully I will have everything by the end of October; that's when my dad will be back from Vancouver .
Love,
~*Leia*~
Pic from August 22, 2005 *Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
2bMiii
Current length: 39.2" (July 2005)
Goal: Short term goal 40"
Growing since January 2003; found TLHL at the end of June 2003 and was at 25". I am 5'4.5".
. I had a fantastic trip to London and Venice, and I might be posting pics of Venice if I get the chance! 
*Special thanks to Carlynn for this gorgeous doll!*
