Do More With Less - Stash Busting 2018

How does this keep happening?

There are layers to this madness. Also, the rest of it is in my room.

Looking at this basket full of...well, stuff, I sigh.

My body feels heavy. 

Why do I keep hoarding? 

I find it so easy to tell myself that I'm actually quite minimalistic compared to some people but I know that the only area of my life that I'm truly pleased with how much (little?) I have is my skin care routine. I half want to push it all into a cupboard for another year, shoving my hand in intermittently for whatever single product I desire (ignoring all others!) and then rinse and repeat for the new year 2019.

Naaah. I can feel that this year is a going to be a year of letting go.

And jeez, isn't that a scary thought? To let go? To release? It's almost easier to stay in the spaces we've set out for ourselves than to explore the frightening liberation of a huge world without the weight. To stay buried under all the things I persuaded myself I needed in order to succeed at my hair goals and thus at life.

This year, I want to get down to mid back length (I'm about an inch or two away from my back bra strap). Having this hoard is definitely not going to help me get there. Lemme strip back and find what works for me, rather than trying to (unsuccessfully) emulate the success of others.

I'm still going to try and I AM going to be more mindful about my hair care. No more rush job on a Sunday because I think I should. I want to do less in general, so that I have the time to really experience the little I will be doing.

So rather than: 'wash deep condition strengthen condition stretch moisturise wait to dry style for twenty years go go go'...I want to just do one at a time and do it well. Does that make sense? I feel really wishy washy here and vague with my ramblings, but I know what I mean in my belly. I can feel the fire starting to crackle there for the fighting and struggling and fear and anxiety coming this year and I'm determined to face it without the weight of somebody else's armour.

The plan  hope/desire hair-wise for this year:

• Keep using henna.
• Moisturise regularly using my herb teas.
• Decide what products I like and will actually use (I'm a sucker for a good smell or a natural hair fad). I am currently building a spreadsheet and dear God, it is a behemoth of a thing. I know I'll be grateful when it's done but right now, it feels like extreme self-flagellation by Excel 😂
• Get rid of products I'm ambivalent about [including through this blog and instagram]. 
• Keep my needs and routines simple. 
• Connect with people, not 'brands', on Instagram. (You know what I mean. Can't have a conversation with an actual person, just getting media snippets and regurgitated niceties. If I don't know where their general interests lay...well, no ma'am, no ham, no thank you.)

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My Mini Twist Maintenance

Mini twist maintenance? What's this, Simple? Did you take your old set out and put in a new set?

Well, no, not exactly....

Actually, not at all. I've still got my old set in.

When I was little, I always used to get braid extensions for 3 months. Worked out at £10 a month for hair styling costs. A proper bargain, though a gross one when you think about it now - my mum was encouraged not to wash them regularly by the hair stylists to prevent the hair slipping out.
When I later encountered ladies who changed their hair every 6 weeks, it seemed positively wasteful to me. You pay how much? How often??
Same with my friends cutting their hair every month or so. Who had that kind of money? Or time?

A common piece of advice in the natural hair scene online is to not put extensions or braids or any
sort of protective style in your hair for more than 4 weeks.

However, I reckon that:

1) My hair flourished in its 3 month changing routine as a child, because it is fine and it was like the ultimate protective challenge.

2) Whenever I take my hair down from a long term protective style, there's always a lot of tangling. Why not just prolong having to deal with the inevitable for just a while longer?

3) I don't have much time in the coming weeks to work out how I'm going to stretch my hair every week and then possibly use a drier and then style and....nah. Just nah. In the ever true, ever wise words of Sweet Brown:

So when I am not taking hair advice and life wisdom from Internet memes, what am I doing to my hair exactly?

Note - Since the weather has gotten hotter and more humid last week, I've cut the whole moisturisation process down to either co-washing or moisturising once a week. But during the miserable Spring beginning, this is what I was doing:

Once or twice a week:

• Moisturise hair with the DIY Interim Hair Milk.
• Moisturise scalp with rose water and aloe vera juice mix. 

At least once every two weeks:

•  Pre-poo with Vatika Oil for an hour (the time varies, depending mainly on how badly I need a shower).
•  Shampoo with some of The Wonder Thing's shampoo.
•  Condition for 3 - 5 minutes (depends on how long I can tolerate doing nothing in the shower for) with one of Ultra Conditioners. I use the Avocado and Shea One if my hair is dry, or between the Coconut or Vanilla Papaya one if my hair needs freshening up.
•  Rinse Conditioner Out.
•  Dry my hair with a T-shirt. I find using a T-shirt instead of a towel minimises the amount of fluff and lint that ends up in my hair, thus reducing future tangles and cursing, but that's it. I have too much frizz for frizz to be a major concern. 
• Moisturise with the DIY Interim Hair Milk
•  Seal with Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti Breakage Serum.

At night, of course, I sleep on my silk satin pillowcase.
I may have to re-introduce ACV rinses for my scalp.

At least every two weeks
I re-twist. Not a whole section, but I just put my fingers at my roots to see which of the twists have grown out the most.

It looks like a lot, but it's only about half an inch.

Here are my (delightfully large) fingers for comparison.

I slowly unravel it, starting from the ends and ending up at the roots. I sometimes have knots at the end - I either work them carefully or if that fails, I pull *ahem* cut them off.

At the roots, you can clearly see where the new growth has tangled a lot. I simply comb the mass with my fingers, with the goal of separating it back into two equal sections.

And re-twist. 

Easy! I don't always detangle the two sections if I don't feel it's necessary - my aim is to retwist whilst minimising manipulation.

I don't retwist the 'safe' or 'secure' way, because when I do, my twists end up all crinkly like this.

Between everything I'm doing at the moment - work, sports, volunteering, housework (bleurk!) I've found that doing what I used to do is working for me the best. Plus, it's massively protective. The results we will have to wait and see in the middle of July when I will finally have time to deal with my hair on a full grown basis.

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Length Check & Personal Hair Challenge

Fringe:

Just below chin

Length: 10 inches/26cm

Left Side

Just above Armpit Length

Length: 11.5inches/29.5cm

Nape

Just above armpit length

9.75 inches /25cm

Right side

Above Armpit Length

10 inches /26 cm

Measured Sunday 06/04/2014

The stats don’t look favourable. A little bit of progress since the last time I checked but an inch in 18 months is nothing to be shouting from the rooftops about. 
To be honest, I know why it is. I decided last year that I didn’t want to be a natural who had to wear twists as their protective style – I wanted to be a wash and go girl, a 7 day twistout girl; I wanted more choice. More variation. More style.

And I did get what I wanted. But I didn’t get the protective element of it. My hair is too fine for that to be a reality for me. I also didn't really practise styling my hair. I always still wore it back in a ponytail or bun, whether it was twisted, in a braid out or loose. Today, I found myself talking to a work colleague about hair and she (of Indian heritage) complained that her hair didn’t grow. For her, the ladies with hair to envy are Indonesian women with hair that swirls around their ankles.

We chatting about different techniques, and I explained that when your hair colour needs re-touching, it’s proof your hair is growing. It’s just breaking off at the ends. She said she heard you need to trim every 6 weeks to help hair grow. And so forth.

I’m someone who really enjoys putting theory into practise, so I’ve decided to give myself a challenge to actually take into consideration all the advice I read on a daily basis and see some results (and this post is me making myself accountable).

I’m going to follow the rules JC puts in this BGLH article. So the rules are:

1. Give it time -  2-3 months

Well, that’s kind of the whole point: I either give myself unrealistic expectations in too short an amount of time (‘Waist-length this year or bust!’) or take too long and have no accountability for myself.

I don't think the goal of 15 inches of hair I originally wanted for October 2014 is do-able since we're a quarter of the way through the year already and I'm at 10 inches. 
Yeah. This is a bit of a reality check. 
Taking that into consideration, this personal challenge will last 3 months, having decided this on the 7th of April, I'll be finishing on the 7th of July 2014. I'll post my progress weekly on this here blog.

The starting measurements are above – so let’s do this! *Makes ultra-ready noises*

2. Stop trimming. Opt for search and destroy
I think this one’ll be eaaasy. I’ve already had a bit of a cut last month and I'm hoping to have a bigger cut at the end of the year, but I’d kinda like to have some hair to spare after, you know what I mean?

At the end of the three months I might have a little search and destroy session, but 'till then, I’m putting the shears away.

3. Low maintenance AND No manipulation

This is a little bit harder. I’d absolutely LOVE to do a wash and go routine for the next three months but, let’s be honest, I’d be bald before May. Despite the ideas we have wash and goes being easy to upkeep, I feel it’s a little too high maintenance for me. Having to re-wash every single day? NAHP. No thank you. Not for me.

Even a bun is too much temptation, with the unloosening every night...I’m gunning for no manipulation for as long as I can. If I make it to two months in my current set of twists, then that is excellent progress for my recovering Hand-In-Hair Syndrome self. I’m pretty sure excessive manipulation is the main cause of my current plateau, so I’m trying to cut it out as much as I can. Let’s head for an A, instead of an F.

I’ll re-do the perimeter ever two weeks and that’ll let me know how tangled my hair may be getting and whether it’s time to take them down before something Terrible Awful happens.

4. Find a washing routine, stick with it

This, for me, was the tricky bit. I’m sticking with the never neglect your hair theme and will moisturize when and if necessary.

I don’t want to wash my hair when in twists – they shrink and tangle and are a pain to take down (I think. It’s been a while since my last set of twists and I opted for no water then, so I don’t remember if washing made them harder to take down. I do remember that I loved the look after they’d been washed and conditioned and my hair felt very moisturized when the twists came down).

If I take this current set down before two months, then I’m going to try every fortnight for my washing schedule to cut down on the hair manipulation.

5. Keep your free hair stretched

This will probably be in the days/week when my hair has just been out of the twists and I’m experimenting with a new style or something.  I never really have a problem stretching my hair – I find my hair a lot easier to work with when it is stretched. My main problem is keeping it stretched, the result of which is I give up and put it in a bun.

So I solemnly swear to give myself permission, on these free hair days when I’m obviously going to be going a bit mad and loose, to scrap the no manipulation malarkey and re-plait or re-twists or re-whatever nightly in order to keep my hair stretched.

 I also want to challenge myself to try a new style at least every month for the next three months.

Who knows? If this works out for me, I might host a similar challenge next year.

Maybe.

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Wash Day

In the aftermath of four weeks no water and then 4 days no moisture, it suffices to say that this was always destined to be a bit of a long and complex one.

(L-R): Darjeeling tea, olive oil, rhassoul clay mix, aloe vera juice.

1). I pre-treated with Vatika Oil...4 days before hand because I had netball come up unexpectedly and life's so busy that it just gets put on hold until I can find the time again.

2). I decided to deep condition before hand with Aubreys Organics Glycogen Protein Balance Conditioner (AOGPB). As I was slicking it on my head, I realised that if I was also planning to do a mud wash, I'd have been better off using the AOGPB after rinsing the mud wash out.
But it was too late, my head was already half saturated and waste not want not, obviously. So I left that on my entire head for about 30 minutes.

3). I made up my mud wash with about 3 teaspoons of rhassoul clay, 3 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar. The mix foamed, which I didn't manage to capture. It does that every time, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the Apple Cider Vinegar I every time. I put that on top of the AOGPB because I don't like ducking in and out of the shower.
Do you know what it smells like when you mix a creamy, milk protein containing conditioner with an acidic clay wash?
Like sour milk, mis amigos.
I tried, but I couldn't stand it and had to rinse out the grossness.


4). I did a black tea rinse in the shower. I put the tea in an applicator bottle and squirted it generously over the twisted sections of my hair and scalp. I then applied Herbal Essences Hello Hydration over the top, with a little bit of olive oil, and then left it on for about 5 minutes.

5). I rinsed out the conditioner, tea business and then spritzed on a generous amount of aloe vera juice to each section.

6). I wrapped my hair in a T-shirt, but after 10 minutes, it was already really dry O_o I don't know what happened, but I'd planned to Curlformer set, so I had to hurry up!

7). At first, I started applying Anita Grant's Cream Cafe Latte Leave in and Organix Anti-Breakage Serum to each section, but it was taking too long, so I just starting using my shea butter mix instead. I think I'm out of the habit, because it took me nearly two hours to put them all in! Not without some casualties, of course...

8). And the resulting Curlformer Set. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Although the wash day was a big mishmash of everything one may want to do to their hair in their entire life, at the end my hair was deliciously soft and scrumptious. I had a little bit of half crescent moon breakage in the shower (from coils at the very ends of my hair) but I already know I'm way overdue for a trim, so I didn't stress too much.
I don't think the tea rinse did too much - my shedding was the same as normal, despite having de-tangled 4 days prior when  I took out my small twists - but maybe I used too little.
Hey, I've got tea to spare, so no worries about wasting any next time...

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CG Girl Gone Cone

It started innocently enough, in Paris. Borrowing a little bit of my house mates anti dandruff shampoo to clarify my scalp properly.

And then it spiralled - aggravated by a crazy life situation, an overwhelming need for convenience and no longer having the time, space and access to ingredients like before.

So here, we have my new list of products I'm using at the moment - at least, until life settles down a little bit more and allows me to get my clay on like I used to.

In the shower:

L - R: Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair Ultimate Colour 
Shampoo with Liquid Keratin, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration.
I do have 5 fingers, I promise.

Name: Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair with Liquid Keratin Ultimate Colour Shampoo .
Cost: £1
Use: Shampoo on a weekly basis


Name: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration.
Cost: £1.97 on offer, normally £3.89 at Boots.
Use: Conditioner after shampoo weekly; As a deep conditioner with an oil added.

Out the shower:

L - R: Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream, Rose Water, Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel, Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment.

Name: Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream

Cost: Free for me, from a stash of a relative, but around £4 from Beauty Shops.

Use: As a moisturiser in the colder days, and when I'm too lazy to condition wash my hair; as a styler for my twists. It was there and it meant I wouldn't have to lug a spritz bottle and a bottle of sealant in all at the same time.

Name:  Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment

Cost: £11 from TK Maxx - the pump was missing and half of the stuff had been poured out, so it was on reduction to £18. I pointed out to the till girl that, if half was missing, shouldn't it have half off...?
She agreed - success!

Use: As a sealant, hair serum, and a hair perfume.

I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with products on my hair and I still have one purchase left to make. It's been nice, as well, getting to give some of the products that the natural forums and community have been buzzing about a bit of a go as well :)

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Washed, not Cut

Wash day/quater of an hour on Thursday was very simple.
1) I pre-treated my hair with coconut oil overnight ( I feel like calling it a pre-poo is a lie, since I don't always shampoo after and it's purpose is more about protecting my hair from protein degradation in the water).
2) The next day, I wet my hair in the shower and then massaged some Apple Cider Vinegar diluted with (warm) water through my hair and scalp. Then rinsed.
3) Added some Garnier Ultra Doux Avocado and Shea Butter Conditioner and left on for 5 minutes, while I finished showering. Rinsed out.
4) Applied Aloe Vera Juice and Felix Capillus.

That's it.

My mini twists are getting to that age where they're really worn in and I love them and like to wear it down most of the time. I forgot that a few of my friends hadn't seen it when it was down, so after I washed it and let it shrink a up to my chin I got a lot of questions about whether I had cut my hair or not.

Course not! My ends are far too happy and I am far too focused to start lopping it off now!

The reactions I get when I wear my hair down can, in my humble opinion, border on the hilarious. The other day when I walked into class, one of the children exclaimed "Woahhhh! Quel coiffure!"

Translations: UK - "Cor, what a hairstyle!"
US - "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaang."

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Wash Day

Since I took so long to put my mini-twists in (finished them Saturday evening), and I didn't want the Curlformer curls to get shrunken, my head /hair hadn't been washed in just over a week. Although the Aloe Vera Juice and Shea butter had done a good job in keeping my hair moisturised for the best part of 4 days, more was needed; hence, the large amount of conditioner used this time around - my hair was craving it mightily. and absorbed it ALL. No drippies on the wall, no siree.
The coconut oil was added in after primarily to semi-mask the smell of the aloe vera juice, but I know that there is some added moisture benefits too.

So I hopped to it  - so quickly in fact, I forgot to pre-poo and do an apple cider vinegar rinse after. Whoopsie.

1) Rinsed through hair and scalp with warm water. 2) Applied Burt's Bronner's Magic Lavender Liquid Soap and gently massaged into my scalp. Rinsed thoroughly. Repeated. 3) Added approximately 3 handfuls of Garnier Ultra Doux Vanille & Papaye Conditioner. Left in for about 5 minutes, then rinsed. 4) I wrapped my head in a towel while I sorted myself out, and then added some aloe vera juice. 5) Added some Extra Virgin Coconut Oil on top.


And...that's it. Honestly. It was very short and quick, which is always great because spending a fortnight in the shower is not where my passions lay.

                                                          It's an ardent pleasure to return to the convenience of twists.

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5 Hour Wash Day

It began with some hubris and my Curlformers.

I can't even remember the last time I did a Curlformer set, so when I saw this tutorial, I was going in like a flash. Yes, I would like stretched out curls for my friend's birthday party! And I had a whole day free as well, so the caveat of it taking 3 hours didn't phase me.
I only remembered to pre-treat my hair with coconut oil that morning, so it got half an hour instead of overnight.
I started off with a bentonite clay treatment, which was bad of me - I've been meaning to do a Cassia for a couple of weeks, but didn't want to end up with minuscule pieces of grass in my head whilst meeting new people. So bentonite only it was. I added a bit more water to it than normal, to make it easier to rinse out, as well as  my usual splash of apple cider vinegar

Using less water meant my hair wasn't as weighed down, but it still had the same effect as normal. I always love the results of my bentonite clay treatments, because they're always the same - happy, bouncy hair, with pretty defined coils.

After rinsing out the bentonite, my hair felt so yummy, I considered skipping conditioning. Then I realised that this was crazy talk, conditioned as normal (leaving conditioner on for 5 minutes) and the skipped out the shower.

Once out, I applied aloe vera juice to my hair, and then split it up into sections, in preparation for the curlformer business. Smaller sections = easier to handle. I deliberately made myself choose smaller sections, and on those sections, I applied some Shea butter mix and Eco Styler Olive Oil gel. 

I knew I didn't have enough Curlformers for my entire head (I hoped...), but because my sections were so small, they dried faster than normal and initially still came out silky smooth when I took the Curlformers off that section to use elsewhere. I used rosewater in my spray bottle to refresh the parts of my hair that had dried whilst waiting. 

I started all these shennanigans (from the pre-poo) at 10 in the morning. 

By half 3 in the afternoon, I was done. 

5 hours??

It was all pink on the left and all orange on the right.
I need to be more strategic where I use my curlformers - in some parts, my hair has already outgrown them!

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 Becase of my haphazard placement of the curlformers, I couldn't stretch them in the same manner as naptural85 does in her video, so I gently pulled the curls to one side, for a regal pinned up kind of look.

I only have one picture because by the time I was ready, it was time to go! I over applied the gel in some areas, so I got flakes *sigh*

I find that Curlformers only ever last me one day. I'll have to work out a way to make them work for me for longer.

But despite the loss of the curls, I didn't want to let the awesome stretch go. So I started mini twists the next day (Saturday), trying to do at least 2 for each curl section. Today is the third day, and I'm barely halfway through >.< However, my hair still feels so moisturised from the aloe vera juice and shea butter from Saturday! Win!

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Bun Challenge, Week 3

My scalp had been really oily for the last week. Like, rubbing-my-finger-on-my-scalp-meant-I-didn't-need-to-use-oil-my-cuticles oily. I reckon this is because I only did a Cassia last week instead of a cleansing wash. If it continues to act like this, I'm going to have to do a proper wash every week, despite the other shenanigans I may be planning.

 The thought of having to do a Bentonite mask...then a Cassia treatment...then a deep condition....all in the same day is seriously filling me with dread.
I'll try it out eventually - not today though!

On a fantastic note, I checked out my ends the other day to check for splits. I have to do this every month, since my hair is so fine, they tend to pop up regularly.
Over the entirety of my head, I only found two.

Yeah, that's how excited I was. Two splits? Over my entire head of fine hair? Including my crown? 

Hello happiness!

I snipped them off, because they were pretty huge BUT I think this is a definite sign of progress!

 - I oiled hair with coconut oil, finger detangled and then left it overnight.

- Mixed up bentonite clay with water and ACV, slathered my head and scalp in it. Left on for 30 minutes.

- Rinsed thoroughly, making sure to aim the shower head at my scalp to remove any debris.

- Gently wrung excess water out of my hair and applied the oily conditioner from last week. Left on for about 5 minutes and then rinsed.

- Applied home made leave in, and then sealed with a few drops (like, 6 per side) of hemp seed oil, and then coconut oil to cover the smell. It's so...pungent that it makes me really paranoid that I'll be stopped by the sniffer dogs at the station.

Then I flat twisted the hair in two parts back into a ponytail. Divided ponytail into three twists and finally, pinned them up into a bun.

Yeah, the lighting is pretty appalling...

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The Aftermath Wash

Theme tune for this post? 

It's been a long time (Cassia), shouldn't have left you, left you without a dope beat to step to...

 It's been a while, but I said I would, so I did - another Cassia treatment that it!

- Generously applied coconut oil all over and left it overnight.
- Shampooed front (and highly abused) section of hair with some random sulphate body wash to get the cones out.

- Mixed up my Cassia mix: Three shovels tablespoons of Cassia and enough hot water till it looked like cake batter. Not overly runny but not as thick as before.

- Slathered it all over my loose hair and covered it and left it for an hour.

Lack of a plastic cap meant that I used a plastic bag. However, I do not (yet) lack the pride to put that picture up here.

- Before I jumped in the shower to rinse it all out, I poured some more hot water in a bowl. In a separate bowl, I mixed together some conditioner and hair oil, and then plunked the bowl full of conditioner into the hot water bowl. Like a bain marie.

It was slightly too much...

...So I spooned it back into the bottle #NoWastage.

- Rinsed Cassia out and then applied conditioner mix to hair, also separating hair into six twisted sections.

- Covered with another plastic bag and gently heated up the whole bag situation with a hair dryer 10 minutes for 2 minutes at a time, every 5-10 minutes. I kept the hair dryer at least 6 inches away the whole time - I didn't really fancy melting the bag onto my head.
When I went to rinse, it looked like the conditioner had absorbed beautifully into my hair. Good sign, I hope!

 Rinsing out was easy as eating pie - literally. I finger de-tangled in the sections and my hair just did it. No complaints. No questions asked - it just happened.

- I wrapped my hair in a towel while I lotioned up, to absorb excess water.

- Then I applied my homemade leave in to each section, and some hempseed oil on the ends, since I've run out of brazil nut oil. Hempseed oil does not even smell half as good as brazil nut oil does :( Satin scarf on under a hat and out I went.

- Hair still wasn't dry 5 hours later (of course), so I used a blowdryer on the twisted sections on cool, so I wouldn't have to go to bed with wet hair. Wrapped the ends of my twists around bobby pins and then pinned them up onto my head,

- Unravelled in the morning (after putting them in a ponytail for a bit, to remind my hair of gravity's purpose).

Definitely not a twist out to be worn outside the house, but brilliant for my stretching purposes! 

The resulting bun.

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I Can't Do Big Hair

I did a braid/plait out this weekend, using tap water and some hair oil.

Unlike when I do twistouts, I didn't immediately hate it. Having had to twirl the ends meant that they weren't as scraggly as when I do a twistout, and blended in well the tighter curl style.

But I still found myself pulling the top half up into a ponytail and only leaving the bottom part.
I've always said I have a problem wearing sets in my hair just as they are.

And this weekend, I worked out a few reasons why (SPOILER: it basically boils down to vanity):

1. The  idea that big hair suits everyone who has the potential to achieve it is a myth. When my hair is at it's most voluminous, I look ridiculous.

2. I get mushroom hair. This is mainly due to the shape [or lack thereof] of my my hair.As soon as any soon of fluffing occurs, the top half billows out and lo and behold, thus appears my resemblance to your average supermarket portobello.

3. I don't have the personality to wear big hair. Not to say I have no confidence - I'm confident in who I am. And I am someone who like hiding behind her hair, not having it draw attention to her.
No, seriously, I really don't like people looking at me because of my appearance. It makes me very uncomfortable - eek! It's just not my style (though as I write this, I'm wearing a yellow top with a pink and purple printed skirt. And I'm happy with it).

4. It acts as a sort of homing beacon for fluff and other stuff whenever my hair is out and being loud, which will necessitate a wash day sooner than expected.
Which makes me feel like it's a waste of time.

This isn't to say I hate big hair completely - I think it's fun and at times, it's a massive relief. But it's not my go-to way of referring to my hair and I don't think I'm particularly bothered about the pursuit for volume. That's never really been a problem - it's just not very flattering on me at the moment.
I guess I'm definitely definition over volume then [like this gorgeous picture of Alice from Alice in Nappyland.

However, it seems that in every blog post I read or vlog I watch, big hair is touted as the ultimate destination, making me feel as though the fact I think smaller hair suits me should be a dirty secret...like using hair grease.

Maybe it is just me?

But I guess that's okay. I'm not doing all this to my hair to simply get caught up in someone else's rules.

Heck, this is going to be my new passport picture! :)

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Wash and Go girl?

So, this is the post where I hold my hands up and say - okay. Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe ponytails can be protective.

What with all the running about I was doing between the North and South and Midlands of England, as well as trekking continuously through Hyde Park, my hair was at the bottom of the list of things to talk about.

You know, next to laundry and other non important things like that.

Anyway, I stuck my hair in a double ponytail.
Basically, I put the top half in a ponytail and then add the bottom to the top ponytail with another ponytail holder/ hair band.

Voila!

If none of that made any sense, it's a lot like this (except my hair never looks like that):

Maintenance was easy - let the shower hit it in the morning. If it felt extra dry, add some aloe vera gel and oil.

Tie a scarf around it at night, which revealed this in the morning.

And then it started all over again. Incredibly easy to maintain and so little effort. It did shrink up over the week but I really enjoyed the simplicity of it. Low maintenance, the shrinkage meant my ends weren't rubbing on my clothes and my clumped ends were protecting each other. Brilliant!

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