Closure

So I got the results back from my doctor a few weeks ago.  I do in fact have Central Scarring Alopecia.  I am happy to finally have closure on this but now it is definitely real.  


She put me on antibiotics twice a day, which is good.  The downside is that they make me nauseous and I have be very careful about what I eat before and after I take the medicine.  I have been on them for almost a month I wasn't sure if they were "working" or not since I am still wearing a weave.  I just got home for break and it was time to get my weave redone.  I was dreading taking out my braids and combing through my hair.  But to my surprise, I didn't lose that much hair and I really think that the medicine is working. My scalp hasn't been sore or itchy either, so I am feeling good about the prospect of not losing anymore hair.


So my plan is to keep wearing this protective style in hopes of giving my natural hair a rest.  It has grown a lot and I hope to continue keeping it "safe" for a little longer.  I figure the longer my hair is, the easier it will be to hide my bald spots.


Once again, the Marcella Ellis Salon did a fantastic job and I opted for something a little shorter this time.  All in all things are well and I will keep you all updated on my hair health.

Weave-a-licious

So the doctors are still trying to figure out if I truly have Alopecia or if something else is going on.  In the mean time, it was getting harder and harder for me to conceal the bald/thin spots so I opted for a full weave.  I used to rock weaves when I had a relaxer, but hadn't really considered getting one once I was natural, until now.

I found a salon in the DC area that specializes in weaves for women with scalp and hair issues.  Marcella Ellis hair salon is located in Greenbelt, MD and was worth the money and the drive!  I will definitely be going back.  Her staff was gentle with my hair and put me at ease.

When I used to get weaves, I ordered my hair from Adorable Hair-Do, but I didn't have enough advance notice this time (they are located in NYC and they actually overnight the hair to you).  I'm actually glad that I didn't, because the salon had virgin Indian Remy hair that I absolutely love!  It is very good quality and I will be able to use it multiple times, just like the hair from Adorable.

Salon Visit + New Products + Pics

Well I had a wonderful weekend and I hope everyone did as well.  My appointment with Nicole at Pure Beauty was wonderful as usual.  She really knows natural hair is an expert colorist - I adore her.  I highly recommend her to anyone in the DC area who wants color (single process, highlights, etc) or a very good blow out.  Her blow drying technique is fantastic.  This time she just touched up my roots, gave me a little trim (not much at all), and blew out my hair in a cute curly look!  Check out the pictures (notice I threw in a picture of my "date night" outfit haha).

I had coupons for my hair services as well as products, so I figured I would splurge a bit.  I feel in love with the Pureology hair products, during my first visit to Pure Beauty, so I picked up the Hydrate shampoo and conditioner (purple bottle) as well as Redken Butter Treat hair conditioner.  The last time I saw Nicole, she said my hair was very dry and told me to use the Butter Treat.  Well in 3 months I finished the whole bottle and she said my hair felt like it did the first time I went to her for a below out - before I had any color.  I warn you that Pureology is expensive, about $30 a bottle, so I don't think I will be able to keep this up! 

In my quest to one day be able to the "wash and go" look, I asked Nicole for some suggestions.  She assured me that there is no reason for me or anyone else not to rock this look.  So here is what she suggested:

1. Wash and condition (and deep condition) as usual.
2. Detangle with conditioner in your hair and rinse.
3. Use a generous amount of Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam (red top - Flexible Style line) mixed with some of the Paul Mitchell Foaming Pommade (red top - Flexible Style line).
4. Distribute thoroughly through your hair.  Your hair should be saturated and covered with white foam, so don't be alarmed.
5. After you work it through, pull it through your hair.  (When I watched the other stylist do this step, it look kinda like she was shingling in an upward motion.)
6. Sit under the dryer for 5 - 10 mintues, just so the foam will disappear.
7. Shape your hair and you are done!

I recorded a video blog post on Friday night and I haven't been able to upload it yet.  So I will try again and this time tape myself trying this new "wash and go" technique.

My 2nd trip to see Nicole @ Pure Beauty + the BEST deep conditioner

So after 7 months (yes shameful) I finally returned to the hair salon for the dreaded "trim". Nicole loved my color but thinks that my color is too drying *sniff sniff*. So I will probably be saying good bye to my beloved Textures & Tones. She suggested that I let her color my roots, put a glaze on my ends, and highlight my hair. So that's the good news - this upcoming Saturday, I hope to be more golden for the summer!!!!

So for the bad news, she trimmed a lot of my hair, so much that we decided not to straighten my hair until I get my color done or even not until I have a really special occasion. She thinks my natural hair suits me sooooo well and since my hair is on the dry side, she wants to hold off on straightening it, until she can color it and I can then get that silky straight look.

So the verdict - I will be visiting Nicole on a much more regular visit to hopefully avoid these traumatic cutting sessions. I was totally bummed on Friday and my poor bf had to listen to me whine all weekend. But yesterday, I had a breakthrough and I am really digging the shape of the cut she gave me, something I had been lacking for a while. You can definitely tell that my hair is shorter in the pictures below. I'll post pictures this week of my twist out.

Nicole also put me on to a great deep conditioner and it was only $15! My new "can't leave home without product" is.... *drumroll please* Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat. Ladies, this stuff is amazing. Some of the great ingredients include macadamia oil and candelilla wax. The directions say to leave it in for 5 to 10 minutes, but I left it in for 2 hours while I did some GMAT studying. After I rinsed it out and applied a concoction of my Aveda smooth products, BioSilk and the Fantasia IC anti-humidty serum, I blew out my hair and my, my, my is my hair super soft! So Nicole is my hair angel at the moment and she is quite an expensive one.

Update: Pics of my dry twist out today (one day later) post "trim".

Another salon review soon to come...

Hi all my beautiful nappy followers!

So I am going to a wedding in about 2 weeks and I really want to rock a sleek, straight look since my dress is sleek and sassy.  So one of my "bus stop friends" told me about an Ethiopian shop up the street from me that does natural hair (roller set, blow out, and flat iron) for $40.  She has been taking her daughter for a while who has a beautiful hair of natural, thick hair that she always wears straight.  I am going to give this place a trial run tomorrow morning instead of waiting to the day before the wedding.  Wish me luck.  You all know that I have been trying to find an affordable salon so if this works out, I will have not only an affordable but close (probably not even 3 miles from my home) salon.  The idea of going to a salon really makes me nervous, but I have heard good things about this place so hopefully everything will be okay.

Stay tuned!

Update:  So I am back from the salon.  I rate my experience about a 6 out of 10.  My hair washed, conditioned and then set on rollers.  I sat under the dryer for about 30 minutes and then the styling began.  This shop used a ton of heat!  She pressed my hair then trimmed the ends and then use a flat iron to bump the ends.  I was a bit skeptical at first because she kept telling me how "hard" it was to get my hair straight, but the finished product was nice.  My hair was soft, the ends look neat and it was only $50.  I wouldn't go to this shop all the time because of the heat, but for a special occassion, I would probably go.  I was thinking about putting another dark brown rinse in my hair before the wedding, but I LOVE how my color looks with some heat on it.  Before my next visit I plan on doing some serious deep conditioning as well as a deep condition at the shop.  Pictures are below:

Straight (for about 4 days)

Hello everyone! Well I finally did it. I got my hair straightened at Pure Beauty in DC. My stylist Nicole is fabulous and I have already made my appointment for August. I had no idea how long my hair is. She cut off about 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch and my hair still is a nice length (see pictures). Not only did the length surprise me, but the health of my hair as well as the color did too. She said my hair was in great condition and really not that uneven (considering I cut it myself the first time). But now I am free of all relaxed ends and my hair is free to really do its thang and curl! The major down side to trying to keep my hair straight is the humidity. DC is terribly humid during the summer as well as Atlanta (I'm down there a lot), so it's hard to keep the ends straight. Nicole used Pureology shampoo and conditioner; I really loved the conditioner because it was so cooling and tingled much like tea tree conditioner. I went to purchase it only to discover it was almost $30 for a SMALL bottle. So needless to say, I haven't gotten it yet, instead I purchased the Paul Mitchell tea tree conditioner. I am kinda bummed that my lil fro has taken a step back because of the trim, hopefully it will continue to grow fast :o).

My experience at Salon E’tae in Philadelphia- Update

Happy Monday! As promised, here is my "review" of my experience at Salon E'tae.

Overall I must say my visit was fabulous!

Everyone at E’tae was extremely helpful and readily answered my natural hair care questions. When I got there, the shop was packed, which made me feel a lot better about everything too! I was bummed that I couldn’t get a Carmel treatment because I had oil on my scalp but I was reassured that the other treatments would leave my hair feeling just as bouncing and soft—they weren’t lying!!! I do think that they should tell people how to prep their hair prior to coming into the salon, when they are making their appointments for the first time. So, I had a shampoo treatment. My hair was washed, conditioned and treated using Aloe, Preserve and Nutrient. Next my hair was blown dry (it air dried a bit—maybe 15 minutes) and my stylist clipped my ends and hot curled my hair. She put a bit of the Buttershine on my hair prior to curling it and then put some Watershine on it at the end. My hair was and STILL is very bouncing and light. My stylist suggested that I pin curl my hair for the first few days while I still have the curls and then roll my hair up at night or wrap my hair if I prefer a flatter style. Here are pictures:




I was also told that blow drying my hair once a week won’t damage my hair if I use their products correctly and carefully style my hair during the week (which I already do). So I think I am going to scrap my current hair routine and try this one, being that I am trying to go natural. Maybe I won’t have to get braids after all…

All in all, my drive to Philadelphia was truly worth the trip and I will be going back again soon. I purchased all of the products they used on me at the shop and I was given great instructions on how to use them at home. So check them out (http://www.etaeproducts.com/) and let me know what you think.

Update: When using E'tae Products they recommend using the Creme of Nature shampoo in the yellow bottle with the green writing. I believe it is the Ultra Moist formula.