Wore My Hair Down This Time

I had another function to attend on November 12, 2012.  It was the official opening of the BVI Tourist Board Photo Exhibition.  I submitted some of my photos and one was awarded first place and another got third place.  To read more, click here.

Anyway I did my hair differently, I decided to take a chance and just leave it down even though I sweat alot.  I washed it the night before and went to the hair dresser the next day to have it styled.

The hairdresser who did my hair the last time was off so I had to let another lady do my hair and to be honest she was not very creative, I had to give her some instructions how to style my hair.

Looking at this first photo,you will notice that my scalp (I am on the left) is showing a bit and you maybe wondering if I am loosing my hair.  Well I relaxed my hair about two weeks prior and my hair was limp and straight when it is freshly relaxed.  When my hair begins to grow out it is a bit more thicker.

This is the front look (photo below), you can see a bit of the length.  This is my grandson, you can tell I am a proud grandmother!

My next big event would be for my son's wedding and I would definitely be putting my hair up.  I expect to be very busy that day and maybe sweating alot.

Natty vs Rasta

My husband and I had breakfast at the Trellis Bay coffee shop yesterday and during one of our conversations, he was speaking about a guy that he worked with and he first described him as a Rasta (short for Rastafarian) and quickly corrected himself and said "Natty".  Right away I knew what he meant.

In the Rastafarian community Natty Dreadlocks aka Natty Dreads is the term used for the wearer of the Dreadlocks.  Natty means cool, smart and it also means natural, which more appropriately describes the usage of the word in the term Natty Dreadlocks.  Dreadlocks is the twisting of the hair in its natural and is basically left uncombed uncut.

Rastafarian in an individual who follows the Rasta Movement Spiritual Beliefs.  There is a huge Rasta Community in Jamaica.  The people in this community do not eat meat, strictly vegetables, food from the earth, water that is pure (for example water from high in the mountains where it is clean and fresh).

Now there are people who wear the Natty Dreadlocks but do not follow the Rasta Movement Spiritual Beliefs.  Personally I do not like to see individuals with their natty Dreadlocks because they are worn so untidy and with ugly mounts of netted hair on their head.  Ugh!!  Today alot of people are 'locking' their hair as a style.  The hair is natural, well kept and tidy.

How My Relaxed Hair Was Styled For Grandson Dedication

My grandson was dedicated on Sunday October 28, 2012 in St. Thomas USVI.  He was born there July 23, 2012.  Of course your girl had to look 'fly' for the event, so I went to the hair dresser the day before and had my hair styled.  My hair needed relaxing (that's the reason for the waves at the side of my head) but I decided to let a few more weeks pass before doing a 'touch up'.  

 

Anyway I must say that my hairdresser did a great job.  Her price was quite reasonable and I paid a little more as a token of my appreciation.  I initially asked her to style the back of my hair in a donut but she did something different and I was extremely pleased. That is a 'hump' at the front - actually I got the idea when I went to a coffee shop in town and I saw a lady's hair styled like that.

I was originally thought of maybe getting a wig as wigs are in style now but don't know if that is really for me plus I sweat alot and know I might feel uncomfortable.  So I choose an up-do.  Styling my natural hair would not have lasted because, again, I sweat alot and my hair would have flopped.

 

Everyone at my work place, loved my hair style when they saw me the next day.  But you can bet by Wednesday I had taken down my hair.  My hairdresser put alot of hair styling lotion in my hair and I really do not like alot of these chemicals in my hair. In addition, she had to use a rubber band to hold my hair together - I don't like rubber bands in my hair either, they damage the hair. 

I will do these fancy styles with styling lotions, gels and rubber bands for a special occasions and after about two days, I will wash out my hair.  Not to mention, these chemicals damage the relaxed hair.

The Days When I Had My Hair Pressed

Last night I got this idea to write a post on this topic – Pressing the black woman’s hair.

I remember this oh so clearly, you see when I was a young child, my mother introduced me to the method of straightening my hair by pressing it.  She was trained in this field and had a few clients of her own.  They would come to our home and she would press their hair.

How she did it:  The hair had to be wash and thoroughly dried before starting the process.  She used iron combs that had to be heated - she did this on the regular cooking stove.  She had a special stove that she heats the combs on.  She did not use the stove that our meals were prepared on.  I remember she would have at least two combs on the fire, as she use one comb, the other one would be kept hot so as she finished using one, she would replace it back on the stove and begin using the other one.  That way she would not have to wait for a comb to get hot.

Before applying the hot iron to the hair, my mother would apply some Dax (this was a great product on those days) grease to the section of the hair to keep it moist. 

She would apply the hot comb starting from the root to the end of the hair paying special attention not to burn the scalp and the ears.  May times people would get burnt at the ears.

After the entire head of hair was pressed, she would then use a curling iron which was also put on the stove to hot.  We did not have electrical curling irons in those days.  She had different sizes, a large and a small one. Depending on the length of the hair, she would use the curling iron with the appropriate size iron.


These are my mother's hot combs,  I am sure they are many years old.  Eventhough she does not use them anymore she keeps them in storage.

The pressed hair would last for approximately two weeks.  You could not get anything from the fridge immediately after having the hair pressed, the body had to be allowed to cool down after all that heat to the head.  You could not get your hair wet, or go swimming – the hair will begin to change from being nice and smooth to a bit wavy and eventually back to its original texture (‘kinky’).  If you sweat alot – big trouble!

Check out this website with tips to pressing hair without damage

Why Some People Take Their Umbrellas With Them When Going Out Walking (exercising)

Let's discuss why some people walk with their umbrellas.  A few days ago on my regular early morning walks, I met my niece-in-law along the way and we paused and spoke for a few minutes.  while we were conversing it began to rain (lightly).  She panicked a bit and began looking for a place to shelter.  We parted ways at this point and I smiled as I thought about her.

The reason she panicked was because she did not to ruin her hair style.  She had a weave installed and we all know these (braid included) are expensive and in addition to that, when the hair gets wet, it takes some time to dry.  You may have to go under a hair dryer to speed up the process.

For me I would not leave my home if it is raining and when I am out walking I would eventually develop a sweat so If it rains it will be welcomed as it will cool me down.

Going on a walking exercise routine with an umbrella is an unnecessary burden unless the umbrella is used as a substitute for a dumbbell.

Hairstyle For PhotoShoot Session

These pictures were taken on May 2.  I washed my hair the night before and went to the hairdresser the next morning to have it styled.  My hairdresser would normally style my hair in a 'bob' hair style each time I have my hair relaxed.  I had to make specific request to have it styled differently. 

My hair was recently relaxed and I also put a rinse in my hair to hide the grey hairs.  I am getting alot now, but not the amount you would expect for a 50 year old!  But I notice in the second photo, it looks like I am balding a bit - maybe it is because I just had my hair blow dryed.

I have been using baking soda quite a few times in between my thorough hair washing days and it works great.  I would wet my hair, put a generous amount of baking soda in my hand and then massage the baking soda into my hair.  I will then rinse my hair.  Some people like to mix the baking soda with their conditioner before apply the mixture to their hair.

My initial intention was to have my son take some pictures of me with my camera for an article I wanted to submit for a local magazine.  When we sat down, that day (May 2, 2012), to have something to eat and set up to take the pictures, I realized that he had to have a camera (which he did not have) to take picture of me using my camera.

I was able to schedule an appointment (that same day - I could not afford to waste my well styled hair) with a local photographer to take the pictures for me.  I used one of the pictures on my About Me page of my photography website and one to change my profile picture on my facebook photography page.

I would like to aim to have the length of my hair reach to the middle of my back.  Think I can do it????

Black Woman With Her Hair All Natural

I have not been browsing on Facebook for a while and yesterday I spent a few minutes and I found this beautiful photo of my niece-in-law.  This is a photo of a beautiful black woman with her hair all natural!  I did not realize that she was going natural until I saw this photo.  And her hair is so long.  The thing about black women hair is that you can only realize its full length until you maybe blow dry it or put some texturizer in it.  But trust me her hair is very long.  Again I am tempted but....... 

 

In this other photo, she has applied a homemade treatment to her hair.  I really admire her commitment to stock to this journey.  It seems like she is really enjoying it.

She made her treatment with avocado, raw shea butter, 100% olive oil and honey.  The shea butter is melted and mixed with the other ingredients.  She then put the mixture into her hair and go under the dryer for thirty minutes.   If you don't have a hair dryer, you can place a shower cap over your head for approximately one hour. After that is done, your wash hair. 

 

DreadLocks Wrapped In Tight Curls

I met this young lady today.  I really like her hair style.  But under close investigation, I realized that her hair is in dreadlocks and the locks were wrapped tightly for form these cute curls.

The curls remind me of a weave that I installed in my hair many years ago the name of the weave was called Senegal twist.

Dreadlocks Stocking Cap

Christmas Braid Out

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have been procrastinating on doing this post for some time now. I started the month of December by mostly pulling my hair back into one.  I have been noticing that as I comb my hair, alot of my hair would remain in my comb.   I realized that I have not been taking good care of my hair.  So one evening I decided to apply some moisturizer to my hair and braid it in two.  The next day I unplait my hair and finger combed it.

I got alot of compliments about my hair that day.  Quite a few of my villa guest said that they liked my hair that way.  So I continued doing it and was enjoying my hair as well.  I am also showing off my hair length as well!