10/28/2015

Hair
Got a chance to measure this morning after washing:  29 inches.  My hair usually grows about half an inch each month, so I can estimate fairly accurately at what length I'll be in any given month.  If I remember correctly, 36 inches is around waist length on me; in another 7 months or so that's where my length will hit.  

I mixed some honey into my conditioner (Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect), 1/2 cup of condish with 3 tablespoons of honey.  Applied a goodly amount to all of my hair (not only the length as usual) after washing with Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume.  Let it sit while I finished my shower and then rinsed well.  My flyaways seem to be a bit better, but not 100%.  I'll give it time.  

Other
One day in early January of this year I stepped on the scale.  To my horror the number was 198.  I have never weighed that much in all my life, not even when I was pregnant.  Three years ago LJ, my granddaughter, was born and around the same time The Mister bought his own business.  The Mister and I caved under pressure and took the easy way out, eating fast food and pretty much whatever the heck we wanted.  Both of us gained a lot of weight and weren't ready to make a change.  A few weeks ago though, I said "enough" and put us both back on a low carbohydrate eating plan that has worked well for us in the past (if we would only stick to it...).  However, I've taken my eating plan a step further, and am actually 98% zero carb.  Once in a great while I'll eat a salad or some low carb veggies, but for the most part I eat meat.  I began regular low carb on October the 1st, weighing 194 1/2 pounds, then made the jump over to zero carb last week.  

I always feel amazing on zero carb.  My energy level is high, the belly bloat goes away, the mood swings are gone, and the pounds drop with very little effort.  Yesterday's number was 183 1/2 pounds (although I don't step on the scale every morning).  I'll continue to update my weight loss story as time goes by.  

Beginning Again

I deleted my original journal about a month and a half ago, believing I would never have the urge to blog again.  Well...we see how long that lasted.  The original journal was several years old; I think I started it around 2009 maybe, and it had grown stale.  Sometimes you simply have to throw away everything and start over, and that's what Hair and Nonsense represents for me.  

In keeping with LongLocks tradition, which used to host a forum, this will primarily be a hair journal, where I keep record of my length, products used & all other hair-related stuff.  I will probably also post mundane life stuff too, hence the "nonsense" portion.  

Hair

Today's style is a side braid.  I was going to wear it down since I had washed this morning, however my granddaughter wanted me to have a braid.  (She's 3 and often has better fashion sense than her ol' Nana.)  My length is about half an inch below bra strap (photo of the back coming soon).  Currently I use Pantene products, specifically the Sheer Volume line.  I wash every 2nd or 3rd day, depending on how lazy I feel, and have even gone a full week without washing.  Sometimes on no-wash days I use a Pantene dry shampoo called Root Reboot.  Because I have thinning hair on top, any amount of grease makes my strands separate which means my scalp is highly visible but let me tell you, the dry shampoo works like a charm.

For a long time now, probably at least 3 years, I've been practicing benign neglect; I simply shampoo and condition, and fuss with my hair as little as possible.  But lately I'm beginning to rethink that strategy.  As I get older so does my hair, and I feel I should reinstate some of the routines I practiced during the LongLocks days.  Things like regular vinegar rinses, and adding honey to conditioner, and even some deep conditioning treatments.  I let go of those practices because frankly, I did not have time.  My granddaughter, LJ, was born about the same time as my husband bought his own business, and suddenly I had very little free time.  But do you know something?  We must take care of ourselves, or we won't be healthy enough to help take care of others.  For me, that also includes pampering my hair.