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My hair, y'all
1. Since I last posted about my hair, it has gone from 2A waves to 2B-2C waves/curls. This is so wild.
I went to the hairdresser on Tuesday and got a lot of the length cut off and some waves put in to support the curls and OMG it is so curly now. It's very curly at the roots/crown with lots of genuine ringlets and curls/waves on the sides. It's less so in the back, but my stylist says that since the roots are curly all over, she expects that it will continue to get curlier everywhere over the next couple years. She predicts I am headed for genuine 3A-C hair in the near future.
I am having so much fun playing around with my new curly hair. I finally have a diffuser, so I had a go at styling it myself with heat yesterday, and I think I did alright. I need a stronger hold styling gel which I am picking up today, and then I will have all my curly girl accessories and accoutrement. It's just going to take practice. My stylist was so proud of me, though. She said I was very informed and had done my research and had my facts about how to care for and style my new hair correct. I told her I only know how to do one thing and that's research. LOL
I'm still just in shock that this could even be a thing that happens. So wild.
2. My summer class is over, and it was truly a joy. Poets of color often get left out of courses about nature poetry, so it was important to me that the course included them. One of the poets I included that was new to me is LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs. We read her poem My First Black Nature Poem, which is about the struggle to have positive interactions with nature (in this case, natural bodies of water) when it's the site of generational trauma. The poem references Goree, Senegal, the largest hub of Atlantic slave trading from the 15th-19th centuries, and Lake Champlain, which was part of the route of the Underground Railroad. It evokes the practice of drowning black towns to form lakes (like Lake Lanier in GA), and although the poem suggests that African Americans prefer swimming in pools to swimming in natural bodies of water, it evokes the legacy of racism that prevented them access to public pools after desegregation. Many towns closed public pools or turned the public pool into the country club pool to avoid having to allow African Americans to swim with white people. This happened in the town I live in. There's still not a public swimming pool. This has had serious consequences for public safety in that African Americans are still less likely to know how to swim than white people because of historic lack of access to places to learn how to swim.
3. The graduate class I am constructing is going to be really good I think. I feel so much pressure and responsibility for this class to be good because I didn't get any proper instruction about teaching in graduate school, and I think about how much easier my first years of teaching would have gone if I had. I think once the headache and tedium of constructing the class are over, I am going to be very proud of it. I hope to be finished with it this weekend. *crosses fingers*
I think teaching it will be truly delightful, and I'll be posting about it as I teach it.
I went to the hairdresser on Tuesday and got a lot of the length cut off and some waves put in to support the curls and OMG it is so curly now. It's very curly at the roots/crown with lots of genuine ringlets and curls/waves on the sides. It's less so in the back, but my stylist says that since the roots are curly all over, she expects that it will continue to get curlier everywhere over the next couple years. She predicts I am headed for genuine 3A-C hair in the near future.
I am having so much fun playing around with my new curly hair. I finally have a diffuser, so I had a go at styling it myself with heat yesterday, and I think I did alright. I need a stronger hold styling gel which I am picking up today, and then I will have all my curly girl accessories and accoutrement. It's just going to take practice. My stylist was so proud of me, though. She said I was very informed and had done my research and had my facts about how to care for and style my new hair correct. I told her I only know how to do one thing and that's research. LOL
I'm still just in shock that this could even be a thing that happens. So wild.
2. My summer class is over, and it was truly a joy. Poets of color often get left out of courses about nature poetry, so it was important to me that the course included them. One of the poets I included that was new to me is LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs. We read her poem My First Black Nature Poem, which is about the struggle to have positive interactions with nature (in this case, natural bodies of water) when it's the site of generational trauma. The poem references Goree, Senegal, the largest hub of Atlantic slave trading from the 15th-19th centuries, and Lake Champlain, which was part of the route of the Underground Railroad. It evokes the practice of drowning black towns to form lakes (like Lake Lanier in GA), and although the poem suggests that African Americans prefer swimming in pools to swimming in natural bodies of water, it evokes the legacy of racism that prevented them access to public pools after desegregation. Many towns closed public pools or turned the public pool into the country club pool to avoid having to allow African Americans to swim with white people. This happened in the town I live in. There's still not a public swimming pool. This has had serious consequences for public safety in that African Americans are still less likely to know how to swim than white people because of historic lack of access to places to learn how to swim.
3. The graduate class I am constructing is going to be really good I think. I feel so much pressure and responsibility for this class to be good because I didn't get any proper instruction about teaching in graduate school, and I think about how much easier my first years of teaching would have gone if I had. I think once the headache and tedium of constructing the class are over, I am going to be very proud of it. I hope to be finished with it this weekend. *crosses fingers*
I think teaching it will be truly delightful, and I'll be posting about it as I teach it.
no subject
Don't take the scrunchy out until after you've showered and are ready to address your hair, skin, teeth, etc. The moisture in the shower helps and this allows it to get to the roots and ends, the most important parts in curly hair.
By all means buy a pillowcase in a colour that will match your decor but if you find you like the results, buy an additional one in a distinctive colour (mainly not white). That second one is because you're going to want to take it on trips with you and if it's a colour that doesn't blend into hotel/friends or family's decor you're far less likely to forget it and leave it behind.
As to curl refresh, you'll need to acquire a spray bottle but a particular type - don't worry, they're not expensive. The key words are 'continuous' or 'ultrafine' mist, something like this. When you press the spray button, it delivers a long shot of mist 'level' spray rather then the type you're used to getting from a spray bottle. This means you can moisten your hair to reactivate your product without getting it really wet again. Then you can very lightly scrunch, VERY lightly, if that doesn't prove to be enough on its own. You can also do a little more of that finger root shake out as necessary but again, lightly and be careful not to drag your fingers out through the hair.
If you have thick hair, you can take some of your leave-in conditioner and add a small amount to the water in your spray bottle. You'll need to experiment to get the right amount. Just remember to shake the bottle a bit before spraying.
You'll read articles that will talk about basically re-gelling it every day and that might work great in non-humid/non-baking hot climates but otherwise it'll lead to build-up that will turn crunchy on you and crunchy is one of the things you're trying to avoid.
I'd like to mention one product specific thing. Do NOT buy Deva Curl, no matter how many times you see it recommended. Yes, it was originally developed by Lorraine Massey, the writer of the Curly Girl Method but it got bought out by another company a few years back and now the reports of product failure/hair damage/hair falling out have sky rocketed.
You'll also see lots of recommendations for 'Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel' and for Ouidad in general. Ouidad products are some of the most pirated of the curly hair products so if you want to try them, you either need to order them from their website, order them from Ulta or buy them in person from an Ulta or a hair salon. If you have thick hair and a lot of frizz problems, the Ouidad climate control gel may work well for you but it can be a bit hit and miss for a lot of people.
Obvious statement is obvious but the most expensive products aren't always the best. The two most beloved products amongst my curly haired mates are Dippity-do, a hair gel that's been around since 1965 and can normally be bought for around $10 a tub and the Bounce Curl range.
Which also reminds me. If you have thick hair, you'll probably want to do a deep condition at least once a week - just pick one of the times you'd be washing your hair anyway. If your hair is thick but not inclined to dryness, skip it or cut it back to maybe once a month.
no subject
My MIL gave me a set of satin pillowcases for Christmas a couple of holidays ago, so I'm set there. I slept on them last night! Excitement! LOL And my silk scrunchies arrived from Amazon, so I pineappled last night and that was very comfortable; no trouble sleeping, so I'm good to go there.
My continuous mist sprayer arrived yesterday, but it was defective, so I have to return it. Boo. It sprayed water but also leaked all over my hand from where the cap screwed into the bottle. So I still have to get another one of those.
My hair is not thick. It is thinnish (yay, thyroid!). And it's not uniformly curly yet. It is much curlier on the crown and sides than the back which is super annoying. So I'm finding that I'm in that weird place where I would like a firmer hold, but it makes my hair stringy and even thinner looking. So it ends up looking better with looser hold stuff like the Odele Air Dry Styler even if the back just kinda fall out into wavy.
I haven't bought any Deva Curl or Ouidad products, but I've thought about it, so thanks for the anti-recs.
no subject
I would suggest trying some finger training in the back though, as I mentioned earlier.
Fine curly hair needs the right product, not more of the wrong product. I would recommend Jessicurl Gelebration Spray, Bounce Curl and Verb Ghost to you as particularly good with fine curls but, then again, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. It's also okay to use the ones made for thicker hair but you need to use less and/or water them down a bit in your hand.
no subject
I'm so grateful for your advice and help and all the other curly girls on the flist. :)