Haircare Skincare and Overall Goals

As everyone knows, I'm known for usually having long tresses. That is, before I cut the chemically damaged portions of my hair and decided to completely go natural. The last perm I had was in August of 2009. I did the big chop in July 2010. So it's been 11 months from the time I last straightened my hair until the night I did the Big Chop. It's now October 2010 and it's been about a year and one month since I had a perm.

The average amount of hair growth per year is six inches. That goes for all races. I'm not one of those who believe that certain races naturally grow more hair than other races. People who have a loose or no curl or wave pattern can more easily retain length. I believe that my hair grows faster for some reason, which I do not know of. It's much longer than it was when I cut it. I find that my hair retains length when it is in braids (the ones with fake extensions).

I saw a woman on Youtube who has really long, afro-textured hair. When it's not flat ironed it's bra strap length and when it is flat iron it's almost at hip length (her video here). To be honest, it takes a really long time for anyone's hair to get that long. I'd say about 5 years, but meanwhile, it's really important to take care of your hair while you are trying to achieve your hair goal. I love long hair so much. However, I'm not sure if over thirty inches of thick hair will look right on me. Even when turn 30, I'll most likely try to achieve a look and now I know i like the futuristic look. That type of fashion pretty much requires long hair. It's usually Kool-Aid color, but it's long.

My hair and skincare goals did not tie together until last week when my left eye started itching. Objects, especially skin and hair usually fall into my eyes. I think this time it's skin. I have eczema and it's been a problem for me for pretty much all my life. The skin from my eyebrows would peel and flake. I tried pretty much every thing at my disposal. Petroleum jelly, of all oils worked the best to keep the peeling skin from falling in my eyes. However, I don't really use petroleum anymore because it just sits on the skin. My eyebrows, I love how thick they are, but they can be a problem when hair starts to fall into my eyes. Same can be said about my eyelashes. My eyebrows are the type that have to be carefore like long hair. They need to be washed with real, natural shampoo, not face soap. They need to be combed and waxed in areas that have stray hairs and they need to be moisturized. I'd go so far as to say that they need to be trimmed. Someone reading this maybe laughing at me. I think thin eyebrows are unattractive on me.

Hair Goals

1. A flakeless scalp: I had this for so long that I'm not sure if there is a cure for it. Consistency works best.

2. Keep my hair in twists and wash and condition my hair once a week followed by cowashing twice a week. I will keep my hair in twists, even when washing and conditioning my hair.

3. When I have the chance, keep my hair braided or covered in wigs. The winters here are harsh and the only way I can maintain my hair is if I leave it alone except for washing it.

4. Moisturize my scalp and my hair. I noticed that since doing this, I have less shedding and breaking.

5. Apply no heat to my hair: As long as if I'm trying to get longer and healthier hair for myself, I will not apply any kind of heat to my hair anymore.

6. Clarify my hair when possible: Whenever I have buildup from my hair serum and it's been a while since I washed my hair, I use a clarifying shampoo.

7. Cowashing: Currently I use Suave, but I won't be using that brand anymore, because it seems that my hair and scalp do not respond to it well. It doesn't respond to the two types of shampoo I bought, neither does it respond well to the conditioner I bought for cowashing. I'm going to buy Yes to Carrots. I heard it works wells for natural hair.

8. I will NOT be a product junkie: I see this all the time. People having so many hair products that they don't have room to put their basic toiletries in their bathroom cabinets. When you're newly natural, it is so easy to fall victim of this. I almost did until I did better research about natural hair. Before considering Youtube, I used to ask people who did not perm their hair about different products. That would work if everyone had the same hair texture. So, I have a small but slightly growing product grave yard. I know that the shampoos I bought for my straightened hair did not work for the natural hair. I stopped using everything but the leave-in cond., the deep cond. and the hair serum.These will be mailed to my family this semester. I'll be phasing these products out, because the SheaMoisture products really work. I'm still going to try out different products that I think will work for my hair.

9. I will use a silk bonnet everynight and moisturize my hair before going to bed: this is essential for long hair.


Skin Care Goals

1. I will wash my face twice a day and moisturize and use sunscreen.

2. I will look for a more natural brand of skincare.

3. I will make some terry cloth pillowcases and wash them when needed: Terry cloth does wonders for the skin. Because my skin is both oily and it peels, it's solving two problems with one.

4. When my skin is finally manageble, I am going to find a makeup brand that works best and looks the most natural: I found some brands of makeup. Leremin is the best brand I found so far and I'm going to try it in samples. I have a hard time with makeup, because it's impossible to find a shade that comes close to my skintone.

5. I will give up unnatural (simple) sugars found in sweets and I will stop drinking sweet drinks. If I want something sweet I will drink 100% juice. I will also incorporate water, vitamins and tea into my diet. This will be a little difficult as I stated in the "Foods I Like" post. I will have to find a creative way to get around this.

6. I will groom my eyebrows and use a heavy natural oil to keep them from flaking. I found a brand that has shea butter in it, but it also has honey.

7. Three times a week I will use a clay mask on my face and neck.

8. I will look for a body scrub that really works for getting rid of the extra dead skin and use it everyday if possible..


Other Goals: I've been adapting to some self-distructive habits that I need to break before they affect the rest of my life (at least my college career).

1. I will have a weekday and weekend schedule that will allow me to get up way before 11pm. On the weekdays I think the ideal time to wake up is around 7:30 am, so by 8 I can go to the library and study.

2. I will study on the weekdays and study two hrs a day on the weekends.

3. I will not procastinate: this is one of those habits I said I won't do, but end up doing it anyway. Procastination wasn't much of a problem until Sprin 2009.

4. On my spare time I will work on perfecting my techniques in art and I will dedicate more time to writing my science fiction stories.

5. I will adapt a style and dress better. There was a video done by a Youtuber about Eight Ways to be Beautiful. I didn't believe that dressing well was one of them, until I realized that I feel better about myself when I actually look better.

6. I will be more organized: This includes EVERY aspect of my life. I'll be 25 years old. I know that's still young. If I'm going to get anywhere in life I need to know what I want and do what it takes to obtain it. That starts with cleaning my apartment twice a week.

7. I will be a "better" vegan: I know that sounds weird, but it's possible to be a bad vegan. One of the most common misconceptions about veganism is that there is no unhealthy vegan. This is untrue, because the very definition of veganism allows there to be room for an unhealhty diet. Chips, sodas, frenchfries and overprocessed foods that do not contain animal products are unhealthy. Over the summer, I lived on a diet of mostly rice and beans. That can be unhealthy. For the times that I have little in the fridge, I'll be taking supplements.