Hair inspiration OTW: Chescalocs

Chescalocs, as you've probably figured from her name, has had locs for the past 6 years. She has the cutest styles and a sweetest personality to match. I've embedded two of her Q&A videos. Check out the other videos on her page and subscribe to her channel. ~B

Going natural makes the news

One of the youtubers that I follow (Africanexport) posted a link to an NBC news report on natural hair. The video actually made me tear up a bit, especially the mother and daughter (ok, yeah i'm a little sensitive!!! lol). It's great that the natural movement is getting more attention in the media.

Link

http://www.newdressaday.com/

Weather you've thought about sewing, are an expert seamstress, or could care less about sewing and are just another girl who likes to shop, this woman on newdressaday.com will give you a new appreciation of the art of sewing and shopping. Choosing to forgo all retail shopping and armed with a sewing machine and a $1 a day budget for the year, this blogger has set out to give her thrift store finds a new identity. From taking ugly mumus to lovely sun dresses, to converting silk nighties to lovely blouses, her work will impress you. I absolutely admire her! She definitely makes me want to start sewing again and try doing something like this (I don't know about every day for a year though; more like 1 outfit a week lol). Click on the link above & visit her page!

Hair Inspiration OTW: Longhairdontcare2011

I've decided that once a week, I will feature a hair inspiration of the day. Hopefully in doing this, you will be motivated and encouraged to continue on your healthy hair journey, whether as a natural or relaxed head. I'll try to feature various textures, lengths, and include both natural (both free & loc'ed) and relaxed heads. Today's inspiration is Longhairdontcare2011. She has been natural for almost 7 years, I believe, and has reached waist length.

Studentrate.com

Studentrate.com

For all of my fellow broke students who live for sales, coupons, and student discounts, check out studentrate.com. It's free to register and provides you access to tons and tons of student discounts and deals that you may have otherwise not known about. All you need is your school email address to confirm that you are a student. So, click on the link above and start saving. Enjoy!! ~B

Welcome to the Blog!

This video is long overdue. It's just me explaining why I started blogging and what I hope to achieve in doing so. Excuse the pauses, constant movement, and tripping over words. It's kind of weird free-styling to a camera lol. I made it a couple of months ago but never got to upload it because I couldn't figure out how to work Windows Movie Maker. I decided to play around with the software a little bit again and used this video as an initial test. Once I know that this works, I'll finally be able to edit and upload the other videos that I've made over the past couple of months. Welcome!! ~B

Noisy, Inconsiderate Neighbors

Don't you just HATE it when you have to deal with noisy neighbors? It frustrates me to no end. As a neighbor, I really try to be considerate. I don't put radios and TVs against shared walls, I keep my music down or play it away from adjacent areas, I give warnings for events that may take place, & I'm quiet for the most part. YET, somehow, I always get stuck with neighbors who don't seem to want to be as considerate. The neighbor who shares a wall in my bedroom always blasts music as early as 6 am, finds it amusing to make beats against my bedroom wall at all hours of the day, including at 2 am in the morning, jolting me out of my sound sleep, and then finds it even more amusing to knock back against the wall when I give a tap to suggest lowering. It's beyond annoying and I'm fed up with the loss of sleep because of their selfishness. I'm going to write them a letter and see if it makes a difference. For some reason, I highly doubt it. Don't be THAT neighbor.

Conair Paddle Brush Review

 

I've been using a paddle brush for the last 3-4 weeks. As I mentioned before, I was finding the Denman brush to be taxing on my delicate strands. I was getting much more breakage than I liked so I finally decided to give it up and explore alternatives. I decided to try a Conair paddle brush to compare. Each time, I have detangled my hair after deep conditioning while in the shower. My hair a) gets thoroughly detangled b) breaks less c) takes less time to detangle d) and does all of this with much more ease. I am very happy that I tried the paddle brush and recommend you consider it if you have been struggling with detangling. Things to consider when selecting a paddle brush is the size (there are more rounded paddle brushes in a addition to the typical square) and the smoothness of the bristles. I made sure to run my fingers along the bristles to ensure that there was a continuous smoothness leading to the ball tips. Otherwise, it would more than likely snag my hair which I wanted to avoid. There are also oil infused brushes and some with tourmaline and ion technology. Figure out what might work for you. I went with a basic one, and I'm content with it.

Kimmaytube's leave in-Follow up Part 1

Like I told you guys a few posts ago, I have been testing out Kimmaytube's leave in. The first week that I used it my hair was soooo soft and moisturized. I have NEVER felt my hair that soft and maintain moisture for such an extended period of time without doing anything to it. I occassionally sprayed distilled water on it to moisturize and that was it. It was great. However, the second week that I tried it, I didn't get those same exact results although my ends were still much smoother. The reason for this could be due to me wearing my hair in a looser state vs twisted up the following week or maybe not prepooing the next week. I'm not exactly sure. But, I will keep tweeking until I get the perfect combo and those original results. If anything, this mixture was helpful in decreasing the amount of knotting on my ends. For that alone, I think it's worth continuing to use.

I'm also doing a little experiement.  I decided to try using the Kimmaytube leave in with Giovanni Direct Leave in, Food grade Aloe vera gel, Castor oil, & Jojoba oil. On one strand I put the other mixture using Herbal essences LTR and on one strand I put nothing at all (post deep condition on dry hair with AO White Camelia, shampooed with Cream of nature, Quick conditioned with Giovanni 50:50). We'll see how it plays out. I realize that it's not exactly the same and will minimize all of the variables the next time I do my hair. So that I know.....plan for next testing on 4 quadrants of my hair:

1) Originally attempted mix of HE LTR

2) Giovanni direct w/ Castor and Olive oil

3) Yes to cucumbers w/ Castor and olive oil

4) nothing

Will keep you updated!

If no one has told you today, you are beautiful

I personally think that India Arie is an underrated artist, as are many others who dare to break away from the themes of  money, sex, and violence that take over the pop airwaves. Oh and let's not forget the other theme of random nothingness that has joined the ranks. It's a shame.

Anyway, listen to this song entitled "Beautiful Flower" and let it remind you that you are a great person and can overcome any burden  that you're going through.

 

Happy Sunday:-)

B

Through The Trees on A Fall Morning

Do You Love Your Hair? I DO!!!

I don't know about you guys but Sesame Street was THE SHOW when I was a little girl. I watched it all the time. I just loved it!!!

Well, thankfully, Sesame Street is still going strong and teaching kids essentials that help to build character. I stumbled upon this video & all I can say is that they hit it on the head with this for little black girls everywhere!! It's the first time that I have seen any media outlet speak so positively to young black children about their hair and loving it as it is.  Unfortunately, how our society is, hair is only beautiful when it is straight. These ideals are implanted into the minds of children very early, leading to kids being teased and ridiculed for their "bushy," "tree hugger," or simply "ugly" hair.

I give kudos to Sesame Street for targeting these children early and encouraging them to be confident in themselves and to appreciate the beautiful hair that they have. Maybe we'll raise a new generation that sees their hair as just another gift that God has blessed them with rather than a curse.

Go 'head Sesame Street!

Kimmaytube

I'm trying out Kimmaytube leave in this week. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXi2k4cFFhI . Kimmaytube has become one of the most popular youtube natural haired guru's. In a short period of time, she has grown extraordinary lengths because she has mastered the art of protective styling and retaining all of her length.

We're Moving!!!!

I'm moving my blog over to onsugar. I think it will provide a better blogging experience for me and a better surfing experience for you. It's still a work in progress, but I'm currently sorting and arranging things over there. And don't worry, all of these posts from here are over there as well, as well as many of your comments. My goal is to have something posted at least 5 times a week. **Fingers Crossed**. Check it out and tell me if you like the set up a little more:) And as always, thanks for your support!!

Check it out & please subscribe, follow, put it on your RSS feed, & refer your friends: http://naturallyb.onsugar.com/

Regimen Adjustment

So, I'm on a search to reduce the SSKs and midshaft splits that I randomly find in my hair. I don't like them and I feel that they are going to eventually slow/hinder my progress. I was doing some thinking and hypothesized that doing twists so often may actually be encouraging the knotting at the ends and may be creating little weak points in the hair (just a guess). As a result, I'm going to modify some things.

1) Only twist with extensions to add bulk to the ends and decrease the direct interaction between the ends.

2) Continue to keep ends moisturized-Decided to revisit one of the products in my stash this week: Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave In....glad I did. I've focused on putting the product on my ends and this has kept them soft. I'll keep doing this for the week and update later about whether this will be a continued end saver.

3) Consider braids on own hair. I usually avoid doing braids on my own hair, mainly out of laziness. It takes longer for me to do as compared to twists. But, it stretches out my hair more and doesn't result in as much tangling and knotting of the ends due to the nature of how braids are. I may have to revisit this.

4) Detangling method: I've been DC overnight with Aubrey Organics White Camellia, finger detangling, following with my shower comb, and finally my modified denman brush with every other row of teeth removed. My hair gets completely detangled this way. I like the way my hair feels with AOWC overnight. I'm still playing around with it though to decide if it's a keeper or not.

Surgery in a nutshell

Tomorrow begins a new rotation. The 6 weeks of surgery flew by!! I must admit, that despite all of the horrible things that I heard about Surgery, it actually wasn't bad at all. I was fortunate to have some really great residents, cool interns, and pretty nice attendings. The hours still suck though. And my body still hasn't gotten acclimated to normal sleep schedule ( I woke up between 4 and 5 all weekend. smh.) Being at my location, I didn't get to see too many surgeries but I did see a fare number of appendectomies, choles, 1 parathyroid case, hernias, exploratory laps, EGD, a fair share of debridements (the worst being this lady with a sacral wound all the way down to the bone and covereing the majority of the center of her butt....so sad. These nursing homes I tell ya.....), and oh, the one case of the guy who swallowed freaking razor blades!!! What the heck?! I think that was probably the most unexpected case lol. He broke them up into pieces and swallowed them because he claimed that someone was going to get him. Yeah......ok.

Most of the time we rounded on the floors. I can say that I actually like seeing and talking to patients. It's cool. People have a lot to say, and for some reason, many of them like opening up to me about things, which I don't mind. I paid close attention to the different ways that each resident and attending interacted with the patient and the staff, taking note of things that I would and wouldn't do in the future.

Will do: 1) Write please and thank you's in orders, and verbalize those words when interacting with nurses and other staff. They appreciate it (Max taught me this). 2) Teach students things whenever I can, while asking questions in a non pimping manner, to aid in teaching (All of the residents were pretty good at this, as well as some of the attendings). 3) Pay close attention to the notes, orders, etc put in on the patient. Being thorough is beneficial in the management of patients (Dr. Cohen). 4) Be a cool resident that jokes, but teaches and doesn't hold students around just for the fun of it. (All) 5) Put yourself in the patient's shoes. How would you feel in their situation? How about if this person was your family member.

Won't : 1) Constantly cut off patients when they are trying to speak. Let them talk. You can find out a lot more that way. 2) Be half way out the door when the patient is still talking.



All in all, it wasn't that bad. The OR isn't for me, nor is surgery. But I do appreciate the experience and have an even greater respect for surgeons and all that they do. I came in thinking that all that they did was surgery, but they really do have to manage patients as well. Same for anesthesia. I thought that they never spoke to the patient, yet they do. I'm learning:)

Next up: Internal medicine. This should be interesting. I hate the smell of the IM floors........

Quick Tip #2- Soft lips

Tired of dry, cracking lips?

Give your lips a daily exfoliation treatment by using your toothbrush to brush off extra dead skin after brushing your teeth. Follow with some vaseline or lip balm and wala! Smooth, soft lips.

Alternatively, have an old toothbrush dedicated just for this purpose and put vaseline on your lips first, following up with a light exfoliation with your toothbrush. Wipe of the excess vaseline. You'll be left with kissably soft, moisturized lips.

Fashion inspiration of the day

From one of my favorite chictopia fashionistas, Azianeyes. I love the simplicity of this look. It's feminine yet the keds & jean jacket make it chill. Perfect for the Summer/Fall transition. My kind of look!

So you want to transition from relaxed to natural? Some tips

More and more women are seeking out information on how to maintain their hair in its natural state (and when I say this, I mean both kinky haired naturals as well as those with wavy/curly hair. The need to conform to straightness transcends all color lines). With Youtube, forums, blogs and endless articles on taking care of natural hair, the internet has become the place to turn to for getting back to your 'roots'. As a result, we're seeing more fros and curly hair being put on display and more people actually considering going natural.

So are you thinking about it? Or have you started your transition already? Great!! But let me tell you that the transitioning process isn't necessarily an easy one. In fact, it is my opinion that the hardest part of transitioning from relaxed to natural is the actual transitioning time. For those who are unclear about what I mean when I say transition, I'm referring to the time between your last relaxer and actually cutting off the last of the relaxed ends. What makes the transition time hard is the fact that you are dealing with two distinctly different textures that have different needs. (Side note: I've noticed that some people equate being natural to not relaxing your hair in awhile. You are transitioning to natural, but are not natural until you have cut off your relaxed ends). Here are some facts and tips to keep in mind while transitioning.

You can not transition and keep doing the same exact things to your hair. This is the major mistake that people make that leads them back to relaxing their hair. Common complaints of dryness, breakage, or not being able to put a comb through it are reasons that people site for returning to relaxers. Yet, they a) don't ever moisturize their hair or mistake moisturizing for putting some product on their scalp b) don't really condition their hair or wash it at all c) try to pull through their hair from root to tip with the smallest comb ever or simply try to comb through hair that is dry since they don't do a or b. d) constantly put weaves, braids, wigs, or some other thing on their head in order to forget about their hair or e) just believe that not relaxing is all that you should have to do and that your hair should just do its thing. Some of these things may have worked for you as a relaxed head, but certainly won't when you're transitioning.

Dealing with two different textures makes you more prone to breakage if proper precautions aren't made
You'll hear people say "I can't go past 6-8 weeks without perming my hair or else it'll start breaking." This is not true IF you take care of your hair. The problem is that many of us don't take care of our hair in its relaxed state, are at the mercy of stylists, and certainly can't take of it when two textures become involved. When transitioning, this is your hair:

@@@@------- or ~~~~~------- or whatever your hair looks like

The point at which their is a change in textures is called the line of demarcation. This is the weakest point on your hair strand because it represents the point where there are two distinct types of textures. It is this area where breakage will most likely occur when one hasn't gotten a relaxer, leading to the 'breaking hair without relaxers' myth. Thus, when transitioning or stretching relaxers (I'll talk about stretching relaxers in another article), you want to baby this area, keeping it moist and strong and thus, less likely to break. How?

Moisture & Protein balance becomes essential during this time.
You can not transition and slum on the moisture. End result>>dry, brittle, breaking hair. People find success in deep conditioning weekly or twice a week even for some people, using a moisturizing shampoo, cowashing a few times a week, and/or spraying a leave in/moisturizing spritz daily or twice a day focusing on the new growth and the line of demarcation. Whatever it is that you feel works for you, just always remember that the more moisture your roots and the line of demarcation has, the less likely you are to experience breakage and the more that your hair will thrive. That said, don't forget the protein which is needed to maintain strength. Some people like using a spritz that has both protein and moisture as a daily spray but only use moisturizing deep conditioners. Others alternate between moisturizing and protein conditioners and still others do big protein treatments ever month or so (ex aphogee). Figure out what works for your hair and stick with it. Keep in mind that this part is trial and error. One product or method might work for someone and suck for your hair. Another tip: You can also try applying deep conditioners with a relaxer brush as you'd apply a relaxer. This ensures that the conditioner is getting on the roots as well as the length.

Be careful about how you comb, detangle, and manipulate your hair
When washing, smooth your hair in one direction under the shower head. Don't go moving your hair every which way while washing or drying with a towel because not only is it unnecessary, but you also create tangles that way. Only comb through your hair from TIP TO ROOT, on wash day when your hair is wet or damp with conditioner or some type of detangling product that will give your hair some slip. I know some people get scared to touch their roots and they end up with matted, tangled hair. DO NOT SLACK ON DETANGLING. You will hate yourself if you do. If you have enough conditioner, wash your hair in sections, and use a wide tooth/shower comb or detangling paddle/denman brush, you should be able to completely detangle your hair. Furthermore, you shouldn't have to detangle or comb again until the next wash day depending on how you style your hair. Just remember to never ever ever comb your naturally textured hair dry. You're just asking for breakage. Keep a spray bottle of water and whatever else you like to spray when times call for you to manipulate your hair into a style or something outside of wash day but try to avoid styles that require lots of manipulation during the week.

Consider transitioning with braids, weaves, wigs, etc.
This option decreases frustration, allows you to retain a lot more of your growth, and allows and easy way to take care of your hair. Realize that I said an easy way to take care of your hair. As Ive said in other posts, do not put in these protective styles without taking care of your hair underneath. The end result is opposite of what we are trying to achieve. If going this route, find a moisturizing spray(ie African Pride, African Royale braid spray, S curl, Sta So Fro, etc) that works for you and spray it on YOUR hair through the braid/cornrows often, at minimum. If you're like me, deep condition ever week or other week while in these protective styles. With this transitioning method, you can also gradually cut off a set amount of hair after each take down, so that you're gradually cutting off the hair and don't really have to do a big chop at one time.

Avoid the urge to straighten throughout the transition
Some people constantly straighten their hair or use excess heat throughout their entire transition, only to result in thinner or heat damaged hair in the end. If you use heat during your transition, try to avoid doing it too often and be mindful of the amount (maybe a light blow dry here and there & using heat protectants when straightening is preferred). Your goal is to have healthy natural hair in the end. Don't mess it up before you even get to enjoy it.

Master some transition styles
For the transitioner, styling can become frustrating when leaving your hair out. There are some go to styles for transitioners that you should try or learn to master like bantu knot outs, twist/braid outs, various buns, roller sets/flexirod sets, etc. Look on youtube for some creative ideas and get to work! You want styles that blend the two textures and/or are low manipulation styles. Also consider investing in a good wig, instant weave, or phony ponies for those days when you don't have time or your hair isn't cooperating. For the weave wearer, consider getting textured weaves (waves/curly/kinky) if you'll be leaving out some of your hair. It makes it easier to blend your hair with it through braidouts/twistouts, or with your own texture without using heat. Or better yet, just get full head weaves so all of your hair remains protected.

The scarf is your friend
For buns and other styles that require you to lay your hair down, the scarf is your friend. Brush your hair with a boar bristle brush, put a little product (water, your spritz, an alcohol free gel, shea butter, etc), and tie your hair down with a silk or satin scarf for 20 min or overnight. Your hair will lie down and stay sleek.

How long you transition is your choice
Some people master all that is needed to handle their hair and can transition for 2+ years until they have a length that they are comfortable with. Others don't want to put in the work that goes along with a long transition & cut within a few months or do one big cut at once. Figure out what you can handle and weigh the pluses and minuses. If you can rock the low cut look, go for it (spring/summer is ideal for it). If you can't and want to reach a certain length before you cut, transition longer. I personally cut after a 9 month transition that was initially supposed to be a year. I just had that itch to get it over with. This happens too.

Don't let other people dictate what you do to your hair
Transitioning is not only a time to transition your hair, but also your mind. Ignorance is real and many people will show that to you. You have to realize that this is your hair,your choice, and your life. Straight & sleek is still the in thing and many people, including your closest friends and family, will try to discourage you and may even have the negativity about your decision. Develop a tough skin during this time or else you'll continue to do things for others. I heard some crazy things during my transition, some from my own mother. But, I had made up my mind that I was going natural and wasn't about to let anyone's ignorance bother me. Don't worry and don't argue. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just show people. You can toss your hair in their face when your hair becomes longer, fuller, and healthier than theirs:-)
Also, learn to love your natural texture. If every other day, you're talking about the 'nappy mess' on your head or how much you hate your natural hair or questioning God about why he didn't give you hair like Sally's, you are not going to survive the transition or being natural, and probably shouldn't be transitioning. You'll have enough negativity from others. Either take the transition time as a time to become familiar with your texture, love what God gave you, and let go of the negativity that has become so ingrained in our minds about natural hair, or take a step back to do some soul searching and try again another time. Do not become the person who tried for 3 months, quit, and then becomes the natural hair basher.
In the same token, don't transition because you like how someone else's hair looks and you secretly hope that when you become natural, your hair will look just like Sasha's. You will be disappointed. Natural hair textures are so varied from person to person. People have multiple hair types, textures, densities, and colors, that each head of natural hair is pretty unique. Transition because you want to be natural and be willing to except the waviest of hair to the kinkiest of hair and anything or mix in between.

Last but not least, do your research!!!!
There is nothing that frustrates me more than someone complaining about how difficult it is to transition without having done any research. There is no excuse. The information out there is endless. Ask people questions, go on youtube, search forums, look at blogs, do a google search. Just do something. For those of you still in the consideration zone, research before you make the choice to go natural. See what things may be required of you before you jump into it. There is a difference, and I find that those who are uneducated about what the differences are before they start are the ones most likely to give up. I especially think Youtube is great. There is such a great presence of the natural/transitioning community on youtube nowadays, which makes it one of the best resources for people transitioning or newly natural now, as you are able to actually see these people, their methods, struggles, and their progress. Forums are great for actually interacting with others with the same goal and for forming a support system.

Here are some places to start:

Websites, Blogs & Forums
longhaircareforum.com
naturallycurly.com
blackhairmedia.com
nappturality.com
curlynikki.com
thenaturalhairhaven.blogspot.com

Some youtubers

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kimmaytube#p/u
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sera2544
http://www.youtube.com/user/Nikkimae2003
http://www.youtube.com/user/RusticBeauty?recommended=0
http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsMsHeatherNicole?recommended=1
http://www.youtube.com/user/curlychronicles#p/u
http://www.youtube.com/user/PRETTYDIMPLES01#p/u
http://www.youtube.com/FreeWorshipFreeWors#p/u/2/TfOCBvMEBH4
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeautifulBrwnBabyDol#p/u/9/54y6XytcjHQ
http://www.youtube.com/user/AFR0ST0RY#p/u/20/BKfBK7TmP-Y
http://www.youtube.com/user/AyannaNaeela
http://www.youtube.com/user/br0nzeqt
http://www.youtube.com/user/cynthiarf#g/u
http://www.youtube.com/user/crownofHisglory#p/u/0/cG_YqQMOpxU
http://www.youtube.com/user/chisellecouture#p/u/12/ryif4exbU0o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIbcxu9UgOc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6wFWeUg4r8
http://www.youtube.com/user/BlackOnyx77
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFSq1vN9PRE&playnext_from=TL&videos=Jv9dbih-a8U


....y'all get the point. There is so much out there. Do a search on Youtube for subjects like "natural hair," "transitioning to natural," "transitioning hairstyles, "detangling transitioning hair, " and other such subjects that may be of interest to you. Also check out some groups on FB. There is a big one called "natural hair" which is also a good way to learn more. Many naturals also have fotki's (fotki.com) which allow for photographic documentation and journaling. Do a google search of natural hair with fotki's, natural hair & fotki's, or the like. And of course, feel free to ask me or other naturals, any questions that you may have. I'm always willing to help!


Happy Hair Growing!!
Bee

1 1/2 years of being natural: visual

*click picture to enlarge*



Ok. I finally made my collage for my hair progress. This shows how my hair has grown over the last 1 1/2 years. The ones of me in the red shirt are from around the time that I did my big cut, while the one in my gray shirt is from right before the big cut. So i'm pretty much back to where I was before I cut off my relaxed ends. Theones with the black straps are from the beginning of the year, right after my 1 year naturalversary. And the bigger ones are from the end of my 3 month cycle. Considering that I've trimmed a couple of inches off of my hair 2-3 times since the big cut including the last one during the middle of this last cycle (I get a little scissor happy sometimes...working on it), I'm pleased. Also looking at it, I think I've retained more during this challenge as compared to the year before. I guess this is working for me, and I'll continue with it. I'm looking forward to what my 2 year will bring:)

I didn't have time to reinstall the next twist set after a week, so my hair has actually been out for almost 2 weeks. But, they're going back into the twists by the end of this weekend.

I'm going to work on some other collages for how I play with my twists and what I do with my hair when it's out.

Protective style challenge: Cycle 1 results + anesthesia first 2 days

First of all, I should say that these two days of anesthesia have been good. Besides the fact that I'm always getting lost and sometimes just don't know what to do, I've found the experience thus far, much better than the first two years. The anesthesiology team is super nice. Actually, just about everyone I have come in contact with has been really nice, have helped me out, or had encouraging words. My first case was a robotic total robotic hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with a laparoscopic sacral colpopexy etc etc, some other stuff. When I saw that, I really felt like I was reading a foreign language. In simple english, the woman was having her ovaries, tubes, and cervix taken out and then having her falling vagina lifted back up. The robot part refers to this huge machine with several arms through which the doc operates without touching the patient. It's kind of like a video game. Cool stuff. What else.....ummm...oh yeah. I locked the keys to my lock in the locker. Just as I locked the locker, I realized the stupid thing I had just done. Yeah....not cool. Thank God (who has continually been looking out for me during these few days), the part upon which the lock sat just happened to be loose and the nurse was able to save me.....Got pimped about the lumbar plexus today. Very random question to which I had no answer for. It's very funny how you try to make up stuff to say when you're asked random questions on spot. smh......I've gotten off before 3pm both of these days. Today, I would have gotten off around 12 but I was too scared to leave because even though one doc said I could go home, I didn't want the other doc that I reported to in the morning, to yell at me. So, I always took the other option. They offered eat lunch or go shopping/go home...ate lunch and came back.....said take a walk, find some other cool procedure, or go home.....i walked around and came back. Then the nurse told me to seriously go home and not worry since there wasn't much going on that I had to stay for. After confirming 3 times, I finally left. lol. Two more days in anesthesia before starting the dreaded surgery. I just don't know how i'm going to do it. For this rotation, I'm required to be ready in the OR by 7am, so I get up at 5 and leave around 3. That has been hard enough. I was sooo sleepy today by 2pm, talkless of the 4am-6/7pm schedule looming in the future. Fingers crossed for continued favor.


Ok, so finally the hair updates. Recap: I'm on a protective style challenge for myself for the rest of the year which consists of twist/braiding my hair for 3 months (redoing individual twist/braid each month) followed by a brief break before repeating. During this first cycle, I followed this regimen and also trimmed my hair between 1in-2in after the 2nd redo. I kept the same size throughout and didn't transition styles, as I was too busy to do so. Shampooed and deep conditioned once a week for the most part, and cowashed whenever I felt like it. Third install had less deep conditioning due to boards but still tried to at least cowash. I wanted to do before and after shots and all that....I have tons of pics just not enough time to show them right now as I really have to go to bed. So for now I'll just show where I'm at and hopefully this weekend, I'll be able to do the collage and comparisons. I made arm pit length! Woo hoo! Next goal: bra strap length.

First Day of Rotations!

Ahhhh!!!! I can't believe it. I'm really starting rotations today. Anesthesia for this week and then the dreaded surgery for the next five. Praying for God to sustain me for the next couple of weeks as I wake up at 4am everyday....*shudder*. Yesterday's in class surgery orientation was long enough (630am-345pm). And we learned that we were to be ready and dressed to go into the operating room by 6am....so when the heck am I supposed to get there?? Smh....it's going to be a long 5 weeks. For now, I'm crossing my fingers that this week isn't as bad or as long since its anesthesia.

Anywho, got to get ready to head out. Random side note: camera had no batteries for awhile but now I have pics to post :)

San Francisco: Day 4, 5, 6

Ugh.....I typed this post up already and stupid Blogger didn't save it. So here we go again....probably without as much excitement

Day 4:
After all of the hiking done the day before, I didn't want to do much walking. Plus, the temperatures had dropped from the nice 80s that we had been experiencing, to the lower 60s. I opted to visit SF Museum of Modern Arts. As I perused the different floor after floor of paintings, photography, and sculptures, I tried to see if I could be one of those true artistic people who can stare at a painting and tell you everything about the art work. LOL. Yeah....didn't work. However, I could appreciate it and enjoyed hearing more about the artists and their work with the audio tour that was provided.
*MJ and his monkey in the Pop culture room at SF MOMA

I left SF MOMA and headed to Fisherman's Wharf to board for my Alcatraz tour. For those of you who aren't familiar with Alcatraz, it was a Federal penitentiary decades ago that was home to the likes of criminals such as Alcapone and "Machine Man" Kelly. It was the most feared prison by criminals due to its strict rules and location on an inescapable island known as "The Rock".
We boarded the boat to head across the water to Alcatraz which lies about 1.5 miles away from San Francisco. Upon arriving at the island, we listened to the quick talk by the ranger, watched a video about the history of "The Rock", and then were left to explore the penitentiary. They offered their acclaimed interactive audio tour, which I utilized to explore the prison. It was awesome to hear, from actual former prisoners and staff, about how life was at Alcatraz, failed escape attempts, and about specific prisoners. One thing that I found to be interesting was that the prisoners found being able to actually see San Francisco at a distance and hear the noise from the city to be the most torturous thing, as they knew that the city was within reach, but that no escape attempts would ever allow them to cross the body of water that kept them away from the city. Even still, some still tried just because they were going crazy at Alcatraz. *On the boat to Alcatraz which is in the background

After returning to San Francisco, I went back to the hostel and retired early. But not without first meeting my funny new roommates from NY. They had me cracking up.

Day 5:
I started my day at the California Academy of the Sciences. I loved this place. I would definitely return in the future with my children (yes, I think about these things already). It has a natural history museum, a gorgeous aquarium, a rain forest, planetarium, garden, and living roof, all contained in the world's most green and platinum awarded, building. I started on the roof, reading and observing how the building was made to recycle water and nutrients, regulate temperature, and maintain the wild life in the building. . Next, I headed to the "Extreme Mammals" exhibit. Here they showed the evolution of various animals, body parts, etc. But, what really touched me about this exhibit was at the end where they showed a list of animals that had become extinct or are now near extinction due to humans. Some species are down to less than 1000 because we keep eating them, wearing them, taking pieces of them for other things, and what ever else we do. Humans are very destructive, not only to ourselves, but to the earth as we know it. smh
I headed to the rain forest where I saw different species of the most beautiful birds and butterflies flying around. The 4 floor exhibit held various unique rain forest animals as well as plant life. It was really nice. Of course I took tons of pics and made videos.
Next was the aquarium that I loved! Many of the sealife were from the coral reef of the Philippines. Absolutely gorgeous! There were several fish, and other aquatic creatures that I had never seen at any aquarium, such as the upside down jellyfish, for example. Someone made a comment about how many colors and beautiful things live down in the water, beyond what we see and how many of them we're probably killing with this stupid BP oil spill. Smh. Once again, humans, messing up everything.
Outside of the aquarium, in the area called The Swamp, I saw an albino alligator and in the African exhibit, I saw the cutest little penguins!
I ended up spending most of my day in this center. There was just so much to see and do. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go into the planetarium since they had given out all of the entrance tickets for the day. Next time!
*Diver in the Phillipines Coral Reef Exhibit surrounded by fish while giving a talk
*One of the many unique sea creatures, this is a special sea horse that has these look alike leaves on its body; a natural way to blend in with the environment & escape predators
*One of the butterflies in the rain forest
I left the center, which is one of the many things in the huge Golden Gate Park, and accidentally stumbled into the Botanical Gardens. I got lost amongst the pretty flowers and took tons of pictures. The place was so peaceful, yet so beautiful; ideal for a couples stroll (saw a few of these).
*Two of my favorite plants in the garden
Once I found my way out of the maze, I took the bus to the Haight area where all of the hippies of SF stay. Walking through there is really like a flashback to the 60s. Bright psychedelic colors, 60s clothes, people singing and saying promoting one love in the streets....truly funny.

I then headed to Chinatown where I decided to have dinner. I found a nice restaurant that was celebrating their anniversary with potstickers, green tea ice cream, and 20% of of your check. Great! I had lemongrass chili chicken with rice, which was good. However, my waitress was terrible. It took her forever to attend to me, and that only happened after she caught my eyes staring at her. After taking my order, I never saw her at my table again. She didn't check on me, although she checked on those around me, and the busboy was the one serving the food, and I had to call the hostess to get my check and clear my table, after waiting forever. I can't stand rude (racist) people. Whatever....
Afterwards, I walked back to my hostel, packed up and prepared for my departure the next day.

Day 6:
My flight was scheduled to be late at night, around 11:57pm. That meant that I would have to find something to do for the whole day, since I would have to checkout of my room. I had two more Citypass tickets which included a 1 hr boat ride on the Blue & Gold fleet and a pass to the Exploratorium. I also considered taking a day tour to Montery/ Carmel, south of San Francisco. But, I didn't want to have to do that. Instead, I decided to see if I could possibly fly standby for the 1:55pm flight.
I checked out and took one last walk down Powell street to Market street and got on the street car (aka train as they call it). I decided to take the advice of one of the hostel reps and headed to the Mission neighborhood to have breakfast. She had suggested I check out this place called Pork Store, that sold typical American breakfast food, but also mentioned the Crepe place right next to it. I was really looking forward to the Crepe place, but got there (after an unnecessary walk as per the suggestion of someone on the bus; I guess I couldn't leave SF without one more hike) and it was closed. Bummer! I went to the Pork place instead, and ordered eggs, hasbrowns, and biscuits. The eggs had fresh salsa, spinach, and mushrooms. It was good (but not the crepes that I wanted). I left with my full belly, only to see the Crepe place now open....grrr! Oh well.
I took the BART metro to the airport, hoping and praying that I'd be able to get on this flight. Otherwise, I would have made my day even more complicated. I got to the counter, and the man told me what I didn't want to hear: there were a lot of people trying to find standby and he'd recommend that I just stick with my flight. Sigh....great! Now what? I tried to figure out what to do to head back into the city. I decided to at least try to put myself on the next standby list for the 10pm. My luck, the woman I spoke to this time pretty much said that the man didn't know what he was talking about and that she was pretty sure that I would be able to get on the flight. Yes! Thank God! He always comes through.....I ran down to the terminal, praying the whole way that they'd be able to put me on. They were able to and not only that, but I was sitting in business class!! Yes!
*Bye Bye San Francisco! Hello business class!
I finally got to experience what it was like to sit in those spacious, comfortable business class seats (without anyone next to me, woohoo!)and have people attend to you every few minutes with offers of drinks, "salties", and "sweets". It was nice. Some people, who also just ended up in business class didn't know how to act with their taking 2-3 stacks per round, and ordering alcoholic beverages as much as they could. lol. They were so excited though. It did suck that we had some maintenance issues that had us waiting for 1 1/2 before we could take off and that threw off everyone's connecting flight. Mind you, the flight that I was supposed to take from ATL was to depart 35 minutes after our original departure time. That clearly wasn't going to happen. But, God worked it out. There were weather issues in ATL that caused 2-3 hour flight delays at the airport. So, even though I had missed that flight, there was as flight that was supposed to have left at 8:55pm and was now to depart at 11:55pm. Yes! I wouldn't have to sleep at the airport after all (some people had to be put in hotels because the next flight to their destination wasn't leaving until the next day). Everything worked out!


All in all, San Francisco was fun. It was nice to have some alone time to reflect on things and to just get away. But, now I'm happy to be back with friends and family:)

San Francisco: Day 3

*note: click on the pics to make them bigger


I guess I hadn't walked enough the day before because yesterday, I walked at least 10 miles. No joke. I think there is a secret hiker lurking in me somewhere.

Anyway, yesterday, I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. I briefly thought about biking it, as everyone always says to do. But, then reality hit me that I hadn't ridden a bike in....ummmm.....forever? So, it might not have been wise for me to suddenly embark on this journey only to find myself running over pedestrians. Instead, I chose to use the things that I know how to use very well: my two legs.

The walk across was nice. I forgot to mention that the weather has been unseasonably warm here in SF (lucked out again! Same thing they said when I was in Chicago). This is great, because it makes the walks and transportation waiting so much more enjoyable. I took a lot of nice pics and did mini video coverage. I don't know how to share those, but I will figure that out and post a link.


After walking the almost 2 miles across the bridge, and doing a victory dance at the end, I realized that I had two choices: walk back across the bridge or keep walking to Sausalito. Usually, they recommend that you bike across the bridge, to Sausalito, and then take the ferry back. But, hey, I have legs right? I'll just walk.

Mistake! I don't know how long my walk was, but I know that between walking on the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito took me at least 3 hours. The walk to Sausalito was about 3-4 miles, I believe. Smh. Oh, what is this place? It's this small waterfront community outside of San Francisco where the rich people live to escape SF. It has its own microclimate, different from SF ( I believe warmer and less fog). People have yachts and boats and live in these nice looking houses that sit on these....I don't know what to call them....hills? You'll see in pics. Nice place though.


Once I finally reached Sausalito, I spent some time looking for an affordable place to eat. I wasn't about to pay big money just to sit by the water. Ended up having fried Cod and french fries, with coleslaw. It was alright.

Then, I saw that they run shuttles for $3 to Muir Woods, the home of some of the last remaining Red Woods in the country. Well, of course, I had to take advantage of that. The tours charge $65 and up for a tour of Sausalito and Muir Woods. Meanwhile, I got to Sausalito for free, and only had to pay $8 between the Muir woods entry fee and bus ride there.

OMGee the bus ride there. The ride to Muir woods is supposed to be about 40 minutes. I got there in less than 25 minutes. Why? Because this crazy bus driver wanted to risk my life and send us flying off of the side of the cliff! On the bus were myself and this family of like 10. When we go on, the kids were laughing and joking, which the bus driver apparently didn't like. He requested that they be quiet or else they would be kicked off of the bus. Initially, we all thought that he was joking until he repeated. So, everyone quieted down.

However, this wasn't enough for the man. The drive was a curvy one that ascended up and around a canyon. He sped, up and around the canyons, tossing us back and forth and making us motion sick. He kept up with the motorcycle in front of us the whole time and almost hit a bicyclist and another bus due to his reckless driving. When we finally arrived at our destination, the mother made a comment and told him how inappropriate that was. His response? "Your kids were loud and annoying,so I drived like a maniac because the faster I could get here, the faster I could get you guys off." Wow? Really? You want to kill us because of that. Needless to say, a complaint is being filed.

Muir woods itself, was beautiful. Some would say that it's just trees, but it's just wonderful to admire God's work in such a peaceful environment. These trees average 380 ft with a diameter of about 22 ft. It was a nice walk along the trail. I only had an hour, so I couldn't do a proper hike and check out one of the other trails that afforded the opportunity to view the trees from the top and to see the ocean. Yet, it was still a nice experience.

From Drop Box

The shuttle back to Sausalito was much better, taking the full 40 minutes. Upon arriving, I decided to treat myself to some ice cream in a waffle cone. I deserved it! We boarded the ferry and rode across the water, back to San Francisco.


All in all, it was a nice (walk filled) day.

San Francisco: Day 2

*Pics of me at the bottom of Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. And from the top, where you can appreciate the hills of San Francisco.

Day 2 in San Francisco was filled with walking, walking, and more walking. I haven't walked that much in such a long time. And the hills??? They are really crazy. I'd heard about them but I didn't realize just how bad they were until I had to walk them 200 times. Needless to say, my body is extra sore from suddenly tossing it back into active work after such a prolonged sedentary lifestyle.

Oh, lucky for me, the weather is suddenly unseasonably warm, rising to the mid 70s yesterday, and 80s for the rest of the weekend. I always bring the warm weather:)

Things that I did yesterday:

-Made some pancakes. It was funny watching the different hostellers, try their hand at making pancakes. Hilarious! Several of them burnt theirs. Others, had pancakes that ended up being broken up and looking like scrambled eggs. Then, they'd note the ease at which I was making my perfectly round fluffy pancakes and try to peep my technique. LOL. It was quite amusing.

-Saw a bicyclist get hit by a cab driver. Great start to my day. Well, actually, I just missed seeing the event actually occur in two seconds it took me to look down at my map. I looked down, heard a boom, looked up, and there was this man laying on the ground in front of me. A few seconds later, the Indian/South Asian man, got out of the car, yelling at the bicyclists for doing "that". I guess that he tried to cross the street while the cars were still going? I don't know. But, the guy was alright in the sense that he was alert and was able to at least be walked off of the street and onto the sidewalk. Meanwhile, I was thinking hmmm, I hope that he really is ok and doesn't have an epidural hemorrhage.lol. For my nonmed friends, that's pretty much when someone has head trauma, seem like they are fine for awhile, and then suddenly are not (ie: die). This man didn't have a helmet on either, so I hope that he really ends up being ok. The Southasian man reminded me of Nigeria though; where they'll hit you or run you over and then yell at you for not being smart enough to move out of the way. Smh lol.

-Took the historic street cars down to Pier 39. Walked around for a bit then went to the Aquarium by the Bay which was cool. Not nearly as big as the ones in Baltimore or Atlanta. But nice, nonetheless. I got to touch a sting ray, which was slimy feeling, and a star fish, wish surprisingly felt like rock/concrete. Not how I expected them to feel.

-Had a brief personal boat ride along the coastline that allowed me to see Alcatraz, the sea lions, Sausalito, the Golden Gate bridge, the Wharf, and some other little things.

-Hate the infamous clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. It was delicious and filling. I couldn't finish that bowl.

-Quickly walked around Fisherman's Wharf

-Walked to Lombard St to see the Crookedest Street in the world. It was interesting watching the tourists record themselves in the car on the way down. It was also interesting how many freaking hills, and stairs I climbed to get there smh.

-Went to Ghiradelli square and had a sample of the most delicious chocolate! mmmmm....

-Walked to North beach and took a little rest in Washington square ( a park).

-Walked some more to Coit tower. Now, half way to this point, my legs started to give out on me. It started shaking and yelling at me. So I tried to catch the bus. Waited, got on, then got off at the wrong stop, which is how I ended up at Washington Square. I ended up having to walk the rest of the way to the tower anyway. The hills and stairs on this path??? Craaaazy! I had to keep telling myself that I was almost there. The view from Coit was nice, although I didn't pay the $5 to get all the way to the top.

-Finally, I got on the bus to head back to Fisherman's wharf so that I could take the cable car back. This was a journey in itself. The street cars were always so full, that they kept driving by us. I ended up crossing to the other side, so that I could ride back to the end of the line, in order to be able to be at the first stop and ride back up.

-Ended up getting off at the wrong stop and had to wait again.

-Finally, got to the stop closest to the hostel and watched some young black street performers do some dancing. The way they moved their bodies as if they had no joints was cool....and creepy. But, still cool. Continued the walk back to the hostel, hoping to partake in the Lasagna dinner for the night which ended up being canceled. Which means that, yes, I had to go and walk again.

-Ended up getting some, what I call Indian Efo/spinach stew. It was spinach and chicken. Tasted pretty good. Of course, I had to order naan. They did disappoint me however, as it was slightly burnt. Still good.

By the time I got to my room and showered, I literally crashed. I had no recollection of anything going on around me. No roommates moving. Nothing. I was just that exhausted.

Let's see what today brings. I'm thinking Golden Gate Bridge(to walk or to bike it?), Sausalito, and Muir woods. We'll see!


Oh and I'll post a link soon, for those of you who'd like to see the pics.

San Francisco-Day 1

After taking finally taking that dreadful exam that had been a parasite sucking on my life over the past month or so, I exhaled, drove back home to MD to be with my family for a few hours, and then made my way to S.F.

The day had an interesting start. I didn't get much sleep since I got so caught up with my family and even while I was sleeping, random board studying recall was occurring ( I swear, the degree of torture....). So, after my 2 1/2 hour nap, I headed out to make my 6am flight. Some things that happened.
1) I wasn't at the right terminal so I had to wait and take a shuttle to the correct one as time was running short.
2) I got stuck in an extra slow security line for 30 minutes since the employee was just learning.
3) Left my credit card in the ticketing machine somehow.
4) Was told to return to the ticketing booth and that I would have to redo security....at 5:45am....only to get there and find out that it was sent to the gate with an m.i.a supervisor. Seeing that I wasn't going to make the flight, she ended up transferring me to another flight going through Milwalkee. This actually worked out better, since it was shorter.

Anyway, after finally getting to San Francisco, I chatted it up with a black couple from Miami and a man on an interview from South Carolina. All of us griped about the transition to the cold upper 50s weather. Somehow the conversation turned into one about my being in medical school and a career in medicine (Ahhhh! I can't escape lol).

We pulled up to the place that I'm staying at called USA Hostels. Yes. I'm staying in a HOStel. And I'm by myself. And I'm black. Apparently, I'm not supposed to do any of the above because black people stay in hotels, and travel with people (other black people) and don't stay in rooms with a bunch of strangers. I guess i'm different. *shrug*

Since I'm running short on time, I'll quickly summarize everything else.

-Staying in a quad: its me, a girl from Scotland, a girl from Peru, and a girl from Australia. Me and the girl from Australia, Annie, spent the day walking around and getting to know the surrounding areas. Got lunch at a Thai place (drunken noodles), and dinner at a burger place. Both were good. Briefly went to Union Street where all the expensive stores are and also saw the Asian museum ( or something like that.) Not too much.

Room is cool. Hostel is cool. Roommates are cool. I've seen 2 black men, for those who were wondering if there are any other black people staying here. Ummm.....It's supposed to be warmer today (71) and really warm the rest of the weekend (80s). San Francisco's weather is unpredictable, and the forecast constantly changes.

This morning I woke up extra early, as my body hasn't adjusted. I made some pancakes with the all you can make pancake batter. And now i'm about to really start exploring.

Extra! Extra! Confirmation! Officially Done with 2nd year!

We had the challenge session. And there were no challenges....

So, that meant I had to wait and see if they would round up my grade. But, I had already decided that they would. Why? Well because My God told me so:)


Finally! I got the confirmation from my professor. Just as simple as his response to my original email read "Call me may 20th. On vacay", he just as simply wrote me saying " You passed." LOL I love it!!! Thank God!

Then course director also sent me an email (I didn't even email him), saying that my grade had been rounded.

Halleluyah! And thank the Lord!!


Now I'm just going to need God to continue working His miracles because this boards prep is draining me :-/

Count down to San Francisco continues!

Single Stranded Knots

http://www.hairdressersus.com/micro/Image10b.jpg


Have you ever looked at a strand of your hair and noticed a dark dot on it? That, my friend, is a single strand knot. Single strand knots (ssk) occur most often on curly or kinky hair. This results from a single strand of hair wrapping around itself and forming a knot. The more curly the hair is, the more likely you are to get them. Likewise, fine hair is a little more prone to knotting as well.

While they are almost impossible to completely get rid of, there are ways that you can minimize ssk.
1) Keep your hair, especially your ends, very moisturized.

2) Consider sealing wet ends with oils like coconut oil or olive oil or butters like shea butter, to allow the hair stands to easily glide past each other.

3) Keep your ends in tip top shape. If you notice a lot of splits or a sudden increase in ssk, then it is time to trim. Splits encourage knotting.

4) Make sure your hair is thoroughly detangled from root to tip with a product that gives your hair good slip. Hair that is improperly detangled contains shed hair that wraps around other stands of hair (particularly those with splits or knots),to form double stranded knots. Also, pull hair up and out of tangles & knots, rather than tugging downwards on knots. This is something that I learned during my first year natural.

5)Limit wearing your hair in its completely shrunken state (ie: constant wash and gos). Shrunken hair is a play ground for the curls to play. Use braids and twists to stretch the hair before unraveling, to rock a larger and more stretched fro. Or do rollersets and the occasional straight hair style to keep knots at bay. Focus on stretching the ends above all else. #2 & 4 become especially important should you decide to wear your hair in its shrunken state (you may need to detangle more frequently).

6) Avoid playing in your hair too much. Knots are created when two pieces of the same strand are pulled in opposite direction. A lot of times, we create these knots on our own.

7) Be aware of how your hair reacts. Some people notice that combs actually encourage knots in their own hair and prefer finger combing. Take note if that applies to you.

8)Keep your ends protected (ie: buns) as much as possible.

9)Do the occasional search and destroy with a good pair of hair shears, to decrease the number of them if they become a problem. DO NOT PULL OR SNAP THEM OFF OF YOUR HAIR! This weakens the hair and leads to splits.

10) Consider washing your hair in sections, braids, or twists as it gets longer, to minimize tangling.


Realize that these knots come with the territory of having curly hair. Do not let it drive you crazy and give you OCD. If you spent everyday cutting them off, you'd loose a lot of your progress. Half of the time, they come right back so you'll just drive yourself crazy. They are pretty harmless for the most part. But, if you do notice that they are causing you problems, then beginning snipping them off and getting rid of them.


Happy Hair Growing,


Bee

Hair Journaling: 1

I trimmed my hair during the 2nd month retwist session last month. It took a long time because I initially was doing search & destroy. However, days later, I decided that I was just going to do an overall trim. Depending on the location, I took off anywhere from .5inches to 2 inches. I had a couple of single stranded knots that I wanted to get rid of and a lot of mid shaft splits, both of which were making my ends feel a little rough and encouraging tangling. Since trimming, there have been less tangles and my ends feel & look better. This will set me back about a month or so in reaching my goal but healthy hair comes first!

I am currently DCing with ORS replenishing (layered with coconut oil) after shampooing with organix coconut (trying to use it up). I will begin retwisting for the last month of the 1st cycle. I've decided to double up on the twists this time and go up a size.

This method has been working for me since it has reduced my need to manipulate my hair, thus resulting in less breakage. It is also time effective, considering my busy schedule. My hair has stayed very moisturized. For the most part I've been using my spray mix of wave nouveau, water, aussie moist, & giovanni direct leave in, and then sealing the ends with either shea butter or coconut oil. Co-washing has been done alternating between HE LTR and Giovanni 50:50.

Hair Texture

Hair texture is often improperly described. Many people say that their hair is thick, when they really mean coarse. And some people say that their hair is fine, when they really mean thin. So, I'm going to clarify a little bit.



Fine, Medium, & Coarse

These terms refer to the diameter of each individual strand of hair. Comparing an individual strand of hair from someone with fine hair with a strand of coarse hair, would reveal that the fine hair is smaller in diameter. A quick test that would help you to determine the diameter of your hair is to separate a 2 ply piece of thread, so that you have only 1 ply. Compare a strand of hair to this. Is your hair about the same size? Then your hair has medium diameter. Larger? Then it is coarse. Smaller? Then it is fine. Alternatively, you can draw a line on a piece of paper with a fine ball point pen and compare that way.

Thin, Medium, & Thick

These terms refer to how much hair is on your head; the density. If you don't have a lot of hair on your head, then it is thin. On the opposite end, if your hair is very dense, then it is considered thick. The ponytail test requires you to measure the circumference around your ponytail with all haired pulled back (if your hair can't all fit in the ponytail because of Thin (less than 2 inches/5 centimeters)
Normal (between 2-4 inches or 5-10 centimeters)
Thick (more than 4 inches/10 centimeters)


Within all of this, you can have silky, cottony, wooley, or wirey texture and a straight, curly, or wavy shape.

It is helpful to understand these concepts because it makes a difference when considering what products and/or techniques may work for your hair. For example, fine hair (which many black people actually have) is more likely to be overprocessed & damaged by a relaxer or hair coloring faster and requires less heat when flat ironing. It snaps easily, may be easily weighed down by too many products, and may require weekly doses of light protein treatments to maintain its strength, but yet may easily suffer from protein overload when hard-core proteins are used. Coarse hair is usually stronger but takes longer to accept chemical processing. Also remember, you may have a thick head of fine hair, for example. Often times, people make the mistake that this type of combination can take aggressive brushing and treatment. However, it is requires a lot a delicacy, as the individual strands are still very fine.


I may delve a little deeper into these different textures and combinations later. But, hopefully this gives you a start that will enable you to search for more information about your hair and what it may need. Also, take note that, "ethnic hair" is not a hair classification, as many people may try to categorize it. They act like black people can't have varied hair textures. But, I digress.


Happy Hair Growing,

Bee

Co-Washing

What?
Co-washing is conditioner washing; washing your hair with conditioner.

Who?
Co washing has been tauted to help some naturals/curly/dry haired people to keep their hair constantly moisturized.

When?
How often it is done depends on the person, with some people doing it every day to others doing it only once a week or as needed (when their hair needs a boost of moisture or they require more curl definition/less frizz).

Why?
The reasons why people do it vary. Some of the common reasons include:
To get clean hair without the stripping, damaging effects of shampoo
To keep the hair soft and moisturized
To minimize frizz
To encourage the natural curl pattern
To be able to wash hair kinky hair daily

How do you do it? The steps for cowashing are pretty simple, though they may very slightly depending on the person. You simply rinse, apply a rinse out conditioner to your hair , let it sit for a couple of minutes,finger comb through and then rinse again. Wala! You've just cowashed. I personally can't do a wash and go at my current length, as my hair will tangle at the site of any shrinkage. So, I always keep my hair in a few chunky braids or twists (this is just in general when I'm washing my hair) to minimize this problem.

How does it work? Some people think the idea of only washing your hair with conditioner won't get your hair clean. Actually, there are many conditioners that are formulated with mild cleansing ingredients in addition to the typical moisturizing agents. That is why there are some people who use the No-Poo method and still have clean, moisturized hair since. This is because they are cleansing and moisturizing their hair with conditioner. Of course, to be on the No-poo regimen, one must not be using any products that require stronger cleaners to removed (ie: silicones, some quats, etc). But you don't have to be on the no-poo regimen to cowash.

What do I look for?

From thebeautybrains.com, here is a list of the cleansing agents that you should look for when looking for a good co-wash conditioner.
* Behentrimonium Methosulfate
* Dicetyldimonium Chloride
* Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
* Cetrimonium Chloride
* Stearyalkonium Chloride

What to use:Don't spend an arm and a leg on expensive conditioners for this purpose. You may have success with using cheaper brands like V05 (ie: moisture milks line) & Suave(humectant, tropical coconut, etc), to slightly more expensive brands like Pantene, Herbal Essences (Hello Hydration, Long term Relationship, etc), Tresemme, Aussie Moist, etc. For the no cone person,the V05 and Suave formulations usually have minimal cones, while the more expensive Giovanni Direct 50:50 & Smooth as Silk are two products that have no cones & come to mind.

So give cowashing a try! Find a nice moisturizing conditioner that you like (I love the ones with nice scents; people love to comment on how good your hair smells). Try different variations (once a week between weekly DCs, daily for a couple of days, as a pre-treatment on dry hair before rinsing it out; whatever! Have fun with it. It just may be the moisture boost that your hair needs.

Done with 2nd Year?!?

On May 3rd, I had my last set of exams for my classroom career. It was the last time I would have to cram tons of information for 3 different classes (pathology, clinical medicine, and pharmacology)and regurgitate it within a back to back marathon 8am-3pm exam day. I woke up around 5am that morning, to begin my review for my first exam which would be Medicine. As I poured myself over the ways to distinguish between chronic anemia vs iron deficiency anemia, Rheumatoid arthritis vs osteoarthritis, CML vs ALL, and whatever other information that has since escaped my brain, it dawned on me that this day was it! This day represented the end of two of the hardest, most depressing, and frustrating years of my life. It was a day that marked the official 1/2 of my journey towards becoming Dr.O. It was a day of joy!!!

Yet, by the time 8am rolled around, and I began flipping through my Clinical Medicine exam, it quickly became a day of questionable happiness. Despite all of my studying, I was unsure about half of the questions to what the teacher had said would be a straight forward exam. Right. To who?

I completed that exam, with my happy balloon severely deflated. You see, our school has made a lot of things very hard on us. Why? We don't know. However, they decided to implement a new grading policy in the middle of our first semester of 2nd year. We were to never fail any of our Medicine exams. If we did, we would be required to retake the exam for that module and if that re-take exam was failed, then we would fail the course. Now, failing this course is not an option at our school, because you will not be allowed to go on to 3rd year. To take it even further, they made an even.....ummm.....yeah couldn't think of a nicer word....stupider......change to the policy during second semester, saying that if we failed one exam, no matter what our grade was in the class, our transcript would show LP-R (low pass-remediation; we have a Honors, high pass, pass, low pass, fail, system). So, to summarize: From failing one exam in one class, you could potentially have to repeat an entire year of medical school. Makes so much sense, right? (rolls eyes).

So, as you can now see, leaving such an exam feeling anything but comfortable can be downright depressing. However, I had no time to focus on that. I had finished with about 45min to spare before my next exam, so it was time to find a corner and try to cram/review as much as I could for Pharm. Took the exam. Once again, not entirely comfortable.

Repeated the find a corner, cram/review for the last exam which was Pathology, and ended up flipping through that exam wondering if I had even studied the right lectures. It was brutal. I quickly finished that exam simply because I realized that all I could do was guess. The questions weren't any that you could rationalize. You either knew it or didn't. So 30 min into the 60 question exam, I was done.

I walked out of the classroom feeling like I had just been to battle and lost. The excitement that had been in my heart that morning, was so far away now. I couldn't scream and celebrate the end of my second year. That had been stripped from me (typical of them). That burden that was supposed to be lifted wasn't. In fact, an additional 30 lbs had been added. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I couldn't bring myself to say "We're done!!!" Instead, I was left with questions about whether I was really done. Had I done well enough to pass all of my classes? What if I had failed the Medicine exam? Remediation would mean having to push back the date to take my boards and definitely not having any type of break before the start of 3rd year.

I ate at our 2nd year BBQ and watched all of the water balloon fights going on (our solution to the fact that they had decided to ban us from the traditional last day of second year fountain jump...sigh). Yet, these thoughts haunted me. I couldn't wait to get my grades. I prayed to God and prayed some more, that he would deliver me from 2nd year and allow me to move on with my life. I wanted to finally be able to breathe that sigh of relief and not be waiting to exhale.

Days later, to only prolong the torture, we received word that one of our classmates had yet to take the exam for Medicine and would not be taking it until the 18th. To them, this translated into us not finding out about where we stand in the class until after the 18th. You mean to tell me that you want me to live with the "what if" question for another 2 1/2 weeks?!?! I was livid. However, after discussion, the grades were released.

As I sat in Border's studying for my boards, I received the long awaited text from Grade Boy: Medicine grades were up. My heart sank. This was the moment of truth. Would I not be re-mediating Clinical Medicine? I couldn't bring myself to check at Border's, for fear that I might end up sobbing and looking like a fool. I completed my studying, saw Damon Waynes (I know this is random in my story, but he was there for a book signing), and made my way home. I shared the update with my mom, who was nervous right along with me (lol, gotta love moms!), and had her check. She read my overall course grade to me and from the amount that I dropped, I figured I couldn't have failed horribly. So, I decided to brave it and took a look. After praying to God that He just allow me to low pass, even if it was 65 on the dot, I look and see: 64.9%!!! I said, God, you are too good!!! Even though it's not 65, He knew that I would stand a chance with that grade. Despite how crazy my school can be, I know that God is greater than them and that He will touch someone's heart to make it so that they don't hold me for that .1%. Also, we have yet to do the challenge session for the exam, so all it will take is 1 exam question being challenged and accepted, and then I'll officially be done with them!

An even greater testimony of God's goodness: Today, we received an email about all of our classes and the status of grade releases and calculations. We were told that for our Pathology class,even though only one question was challenged and accepted for our exam (we get lazy with challenges at the end of the semester), our super-nice professor (God bless him!) challenged himself and because he didn't want to hurt us, decided that (probably because many people would have been failing due to this exam) he would allow us to keep our pre-exam overall class grades unless the exam actually helped us. Thank God for answered prayers!!!

I've finally begun to exhale after holding my breath for almost 2 weeks. It's not over until I get my transcript saying that I've passed everything. But, God has shown me that with Him on my side, I truly have nothing to fear :) So with that said, I bought my ticket, and I'll be off to San Francisco for a personal "Me Time" trip after the boards. I've always wanted to go to Cali. Definitely something to look forward to!

As for now: Hit the books and hit Step 1 out of the ball park!!

Tune In: Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance

I love music! I love singing to it, dancing to it, writing it. I just love it. And for me, I listen to music in just about every genre. Beautiful music is available in different forms.

There's nothing better than hearing a song that actually speaks to you about something meaningful and makes you think. That's what this song of the day always does to me.
Lee Ann Womack tells us to take chances in life, enjoy it, and never put ourselves in a position to look back on it and wonder what you've done.

Here is the song and the lyrics. Enjoy!


I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)





I hope you dance today:)

~Bee