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.