Why you haven't seen pics

K, so I know it's been a really long time since I posted pics and some of you may be wondering; What's up?!

Hair's Tha Thing, because of the way my alopecia patched formed (and grew TREMENDOUSLY) in the back of my head, it got to the point that combing my hair down showed no progress b/c there was literally a big hole in the back covering the left side of my head.  The middle hairs came down only so far so it looks pretty lopsided  b/c the right side is APL but the left side looks like it's barely neck length (Yes it's definitely depressing, to say the least)  :(

Don't cry for me, I am surely not anyone's quitter and will fight a battle with tears in my eyes (and I've had many over this fiasco!)

So as far as the pic taking goes, I've come up with this, I will now show you guys progress/comparison pics of the front and side, allowing you to witness the growth and helping me keep track of what's working and what's not.  And b/c of the position of the lost hair, the back is getting some weave tracks, otherwise I would have to shave my head bald as there is not even a hair cut the can really blend it all in and FOR ME that's not happening.

So those are the plans, Stay Tuned.....

Needing a New Moisturizer

I seriously need some suggestions. My hair is so NOT liking anything I have in my cabinet.  Now I was on the last bits of almost all of my products b/4 I started packing and with all the chaos I had going on I haven't had the time to reorder any of my much needed items.  This also got me to thinking.  In situations like these it's a little too much to be dependent on items that you can't replenish immediately.  So, I've always lucked up to find leave-ins, and co-washing condishes locally but I need some ideas on a good daily moisturizer and moisturizing deep conditioners, cone free, found locally.

Any suggestions?!

New Year - New Focus

Happy New Years to my followers and visitors of Hair's Tha Thing! I am so looking forward to gr8 and prosperous things in these years to come!

So I've been gone oh too long and I truly missed blogging.  Back in September the hubs and I were in a serious car accident.  I truly thank God for pulling us through. Being in and out of dr's offices, and therapy 3x's/week is a lot.... a whole lot, but like I said I am truly thankful  b/c it can always be worse.  Needless to say I have soooo NOT been focusing on hair, or anything hair related and my hair has suffered just a lil bit b/c of it.

Well that's why I haven't been around, just wanted to you know I didn't abandoned you or my blog!  It's now time to regain focus and to get back on track.

This year I will be focusing a WHOLE lot more with this battle I've been fighting w/alopecia.  It's been an ongoing, outright war between us for the past 2 years, but I'm competitive and it's a battle I'm determined to win.  My goal's this year will be the following:

1 - Growing out this patch once and for all.  Period. Point. Blank
2 - Getting the patch to shoulder length by the end of 2011.
3 - Overall thickness throughout my entire head
4 - More growth in the temple and nape area (filling in temples - faster growth - nape)

That's it for now, if I think of more I'll add to it as necessary.  Stay tuned!




 

Merry Christmas!

Yes I know I've been gone for a while, but I wanted to make sure I came to wish you all a wonderful, happy, prosperous, and loving Christmas holiday!

I shall return, alive and kickin, in the days to come....

Be Blessed

Sunshine Award

Thanks to our friend over at Diary of a Hair Obsession for nominating us for a Sunshine Award! (isn't that special!).  This award is a great compliment as it's a token of appreciation from  fellow bloggers for your positivity and creativity in inspiring others.  The best thing is I have to spread the love to some of the other great bloggers out there.

So here are the rules:

1. Place the logo within your post 

2. Share the love and link back to the blogger who nominated you. 

3.  Nominate 10 bloggers for the Award (you can go up to 12)

4. Comment on the nominees blog to let them know they've been nominated
5. Link the blog of your nominees in your post

So without further ado, here are my nominees:

1. Fine Hair Sistas

2. Honey Brown Sugar

3. Just Grow Already!

4. Coarse Hair Long Hair

5. Hair Gurl

6. The Anti Hair Slave

7. ZanAndRob

8. Keep It Simple Sista (KISS)

9. Hairlicious Inc

10.Protecting Your Crown and Glory

Test of Time

So I've got a big challenge ahead of me next week.  I am leaving on Sunday for vacay and am officially 13.5 wks post.  Yep, I went past the 3 month/12 week mark that I am accustomed to.  It's not too bad but the only thing is I'm not sure how this is going to pan out with the sun, the beach, cowashing, detangling etc for 7 days....... I've past the point of no return so I'm determined to make it work.  Needless to say I will probably need an extra bag for hair products alone :-(

 I am not going to announce how long I plan on stretching, b/c it seems whenever I do so I have to eat my words.  I am just gonna take it one week at a time.

Dr. Ali Syed's New Growth System

I've been looking for a hair care "system" to help battle this alopecia.  I basically wanted to get one complete line for the specific use of thinning/balding and shed hair.  In reading Dr. Ali Syed's blog he's introducing a new system coming soon, that I hope may be the answer to my prayers!

Check out the link below:

http://www.dralisyed.com/2010/06/syntonics-grothentic-anti-thin.html#more

Long Time No See

Hey All,

How ya been?!  I know I've been m.i.a. so yes we've got a lot to catch up on but we'll get to that at another time.  One of the things I've been meaning to incorporate in my blog is giveaways.  Since I never got the chance why not advertise for a fellow blogger and take the pressure off of my self ?! (and gain another entry..lol)

So without further ado,  here's your chance to win a Corioliss flat iron courtesy of Misikko over at LHDC. Click the link below to enter and for contest rules.  Good luck!

CONTEST CLOSED

Wonders Never Cease

Funny thing; At one point I used to relax every 4 weeks but I'm 10 wks post this weekend and never been able to better manage my hair this far into a relaxer stretch.  I've got some hardcore newgrowth, I ain't lyin, but I've had absolutely no difficulty managing my tresses.  I think this is largely due to the fact that I've learned what works for MY hair and now I am keeping it simple and sticking to those specific products.  No deviating for me....I even did the unthinkable this past weekend and fell asleep w/o moisturizing, sealing or putting on my scarf!  To make matters worse the next night I wasn't feeling too hot and tied my hair up for bed real half -you- know- what, and when I woke up my scarf was off again! (The next morning the hubby said I look like Edward Scissorhands..lol!!!)  No sweat thought I recovered by giving my hair a lil tlc with a hot oil treatment pre-poo for about an 1.5 hrs, a co-wash w/baking soda, deep conditioned for 45 min w/heat and air-dried.  My hair was like new, my new growth was soft and fluffy and I was cool.

I remember when a light "snip" was the answer to all my hair problems: a lil dryness, limpness, boredom etc but now I opt to fix what's wrong by listening to what my hair needs.  Knowledge is definitely power!

11 1/2 Weeks

Yup, I did it.  Finally a 3 month stretch, one of my resolutions for better hair care in 2010.  Greatest part about is no shedding or breakage.  That's what's up!  It was a lot easier than I thought, which made me realize it's all about the products!  Folks, you need the RIGHT products for YOUR hair.  In the beginning I tried everything that worked for anybody who seemingly had healthy hair.  I thought it must work for me and my issue if its working for them, but that's so wrong.  Don't get me wrong it takes experimentation but the bandwagon can cause you more harm than good at times.

Learn to read ingredients and see the common denominator in different brands that make your hair feel a certain way after use i.e. silicones makes my hair stiff and tangly, I am VERY protein sensitive, olive oil is just too heavy for my hair (I don't my prepooing w/it though b/c of the fact it will get washed out), my hair loves coconut oil and the list can go on but the point is I had to pay attention to what works and what didn't in order to get the perfect regimen for MY hair.  So as I've stated before, I prefer the more natural, organic lines, doesn't mean I shun the rest, I still have a few in the stash, but you get the point.

I will relax this weekend.  I was thinking of going another 4-6 wks but its becoming a pain in the butt and I don't want to overdo it.  One week and one stretch at a time, right?

Happy New Year!

12 days late, I know but better late than never right?!  I always get so wrapped up in the holiday season and festivities that it can take me a while to get back in the swing of things when it's all done but I am back.

Lets see whats new: I am currently 8.5 weeks posts and there is no major news to it.  Usually I'm like whoa I can't take it anymore but so far so good.  I am moseying along with little to no breakage and/or shedding.  Can you believe it?  My original plan was to relax at 10 weeks post but b/c of the manageability I am going for 12.  Of course if I see too much breakage etc surface I wont push it.  Remember health 1st.  With this, my new goal will be Feb 15 which will put me at 3 months solid.  This will be my longest stretch ever, let's hope I can make it.

Now here are my goals for the new year:
Strengthening and lengthening my nape
Conquering this alopecia patch (once and for all!!!!!)
3 month stretching from hereon in
Consistency with the current products in my regimen (not promising I won't try anything new)
More photos

What are your goals?

Happy Thanksgiving

May your holiday be blessed, happy, healthy and filled with lots of luv!

Almost Time

I am officially 9 weeks post and patiently (ok impatiently) waiting to relax my hair. Not sure if I'm gonna relax next weekend or the weekend after. The dilemma is my 10th anniversary is next saturday so I wanted a fresh one, but we don't have any big plans so I figured I can get the extra week of stretching in and relax b/4 thanksgiving. Not sure. It'll be bitter sweet however. I have mucho new growth (ng) but my alopecia patch is just not good. It's the biggest its ever been and I'm not happy about it!!! On the plus side it's growing back but it's way behind the length of my hair. It's the lenght of a twa and since my hair is on its way to APL (couple of months, hopefully), I think my only option is to add a track to it after this relaxer. I tried to swear off weaves but what's a girl 2 do. One track won't hurt, and it'll add the length to that spot for special occasions when I want to wear my hair out! I began miconazole nitrate in hopes of getting rapid growth, but I'll post on that later when I have a couple months of usage. I have a couple of products to review in the near future. I'll post more on them after the next relaxer. My hair is in a good state right now (sans alopecia) and I don't wanna throw off the balance b/4 the relaxer. So stay tuned more to come. Have a gr8 weekend!

Ciao

To Relax or Not To Relax.....

Okay, so I'm glad I said I was "attempting" a 16 wk stretch and that I didn't commit to it b/c I'm having second thoughts and if I commited I would have to stick to it so whew! I am seven wks post and my oh my I am a fiend for the creamy crack! I am pleased that I was able to really tame my ng after yesterdays wash. I am working out 6 days a week, so this week dealing with workout hair and ng will really let me know if I am up to the challenge for another 2 months.

Yesterday's routine included:

Clarifying - Nexus Aloe Rid

CoWashing - Wen

Deep Condish - Matrix Biolage and NTM Deep Recovery Mask, Sweet Almond Oil

Rinse Condish - Moisture Maniac & Roux Porosity Control

Leave In - Silken Child Detangle, Mane & Tail, Moisture Maniac

I rollerset, sat under the hooded dryer and then flat ironed the ng and length of my hair. It came out great, roots were layed down and both hair and roots were really smooth. IDK ya'll right now it's lookin like I can do it but let's see what happens after 2nites workout!

Bye Bye Wen

Okay,

So you all know I prefer Wen over Hair One, but it looks like Hair One will get my money from here on. If there is one thing I hate it's poor customer service. Since I own a small business, I cant, in anyway form or fashion get away with this b/c people remember and at anytime can choose to go to a much larger agency for services identical to what I'm offering, so I pride myself on making clients happy. Why the hell then can larger companies feel they are so big that they can just handle your account so poorly and get away with it?!

From day 1 Wen has not been on point. I didn't receive an april order until June, then they supposedly were sending me out a new kit to replace the one I didn't receive. Then I notice they've charged me for the 90 day supply for the past 3 months but where the hell is it? Maybe you have it but I sure don't. On top of that, add insult to injury, and I know when Im being insulted the heifer on customer service line had the audacity to ask me "why did I wait till now to call or cancel if I've been charged for 3 months" with an attitude!!! I replied "since we are asking WHY, WHY am I not receiving my orders when you are clearly taking my money". Now of course she has nothing to say but come on this is unacceptable and the attitude. Oh no! I could go on and on about the call but I'm finished ranting right now so all I've got to say is Hair One - your easily accessible, better affordable and now a cleanser of mine!