Another Rainy Sunday

I was hoping to touch up my roots today, (it's been 5 weeks already), but I still have the combination migraine and cluster headache that I woke up with on Sunday. So I haven't even been able to drag myself into the shower as yet today, let alone think about colouring my hair.

The weather this summer has been the absolute worst for a migraineur, and I hate to say it, but this year I really won't be sorry to say goodbye to the summer.

So yes, Lulu, we did get the rain last night, overnight and into today. It was really coming down last evening. I hope that you got the rain in your neck of the woods. I'm about halfway between Toronto and Niagara Falls, at the inner elbow of the lake, and where we are positioned geographically, the weather that hits Toronto or Niagara Falls sometimes bypasses us due to lake effect. Not this time though. I hope that you got the rain that the Niagara Region so needs right now.

As far as the coconut oil that I use, I use a very common brand, Spectrum. I found it at a local health food store, but since then I have found it in regular grocery stores as well. Although unrefined coconut oil is the preferred oil by most people, I don't like the coconut odour, so I use refined oil. Clearly it is still effective for me.

I should make it clear though that coconut oil doesn't generally thicken one's hair. In my case, I believe that it has protected my hair against the peroxide damage from hair dye, thus preventing the early breakage that I used to get.

Coconut oil also helps hair, whether coloured or natural, to retain protein. If you don't colour your hair, or use a permanent wave or straightener, it's unlikely that you will suffer any severe protein loss.

A lot of people like to use coconut oil on their ends daily, but it's too rich for everyday use for me. However, different hair types like different oils. Also, many people, including myself, like to use it as a pre-wash deep oiling treatment. I have found that it can make my hair feel softer.

If you have crunchy or velcro ends, remember that usually that's a sign of buildup and the go-to first step to remedy that would be to clarify your hair and then use a deep moisturizing treatment such as a cone-free conditioner mixed with honey.

AutumnLeaves, I agree that it's best to leave well enough alone, but I'm here if the siren call really gets to you.

Thank you again to everyone for your well wishes and kind comments.

'Til tomorrow. Much love to all.

My Hair Really Is Thicker!

It is really not just talk. My hair is measurably thicker since I've been using coconut oil before colouring my hair. It's also visually thicker. I'm showing a side by side comparison of my hair in a braid, the one on the right taken just today.

The photo I'm showing on the left is a picture of my braid when my hair got to this length for the first time almost four years ago. At that time, my bangs were not even cut back as far as they are right now.

Although it may not look like it, I braided my hair as tightly as possible in the picture to the right today. I've noticed that I'm having to relearn how to do a simple single braid with this new thickness, and it often comes out crooked.

As you can see, the ends are still quite thin, and that's a result of the broken ends that I'm always talking about. I've mentioned before that when I hit waist length, I plan to maintain for a while to thicken up those ends.

My nape circumference used to be 2.25 inches/5.7 cm and it is now an even 3 inches/7.6 cm. I am quite pleased, and having to adapt how I do my hairstyles is a small price to pay for the increased thickness.

While I have no concrete proof that the coconut oil pre-colouring treatment is the reason for less breakage, hence increased thickness, it is pretty much at the point of my growth when I started using the coconut oil that the thickness is increased. I can't think of another thing that I've changed since the early days of growing my hair. Even two years after stopping heat styling, and with my bangs grown out, my nape circumference was not much over the 2.25 inches/5.7 cm mark. The nape circumference only shows an increase for about two years worth of growth, which is exactly how long I've been using the coconut oil.

So, seeing the visual proof of my increased thickness has made this another good hair day.

Thank you everyone for your comments yesterday. It's so exciting to be growing along with others who share my enthusiasm. I also appreciate the well wishes for this migraine experience that I continue to have.

AutumnLeaves, if you ever really feel that you are going to succumb to the hair dye again, please message me and we'll discuss strategies to make it a better experience than you had before. Having said that, I think you look lovely just the way you are right now.

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful weekend. 'Til tomorrow, my friends. Love to all.

Curls: The Day After and Other Things

Yesterday, I did that 90-minute damp set of spiral curls.  Since then, I've brushed and oiled my hair and put it in my bedtime bun, and had a nap. It's also more humid in the house than usual. Yet here is a photo of my hair after all of that, 30 hours later.  Much to my amazement, I still have some curls!  Also to my amazement, I can run my fingers through my hair, and my ends feel soft and smooth.  That really is some amazing hair gel.

I rarely could get my hair to look as curly/wavy as it does in today's photo back when I did heat styling.  Curls just fell out of my hair, even with hairspray.  I wouldn't touch hairspray anymore.  I like my hair to be touchable, which hairspray does not allow, and most drugstore hairsprays are quite drying.

I will reiterate that nothing makes a curl last better than a damp or wet set.

On another note, I was on the lookout for split ends today.  I still can't find any.  I suppose that they will be inevitable by the time I reach waist length, but wouldn't it be nice not to have splits? One can dream, I suppose, but I also have to be realistic.

I don't know whether my hair is suddenly getting even more silver, or whether my hair is growing faster, but it's 4 weeks tomorrow since I last touched up my roots and my roots are huge already. I will likely have to touch them up tomorrow.  I used to go 6 weeks  between touch-ups. I'm not thrilled with this development.  If my hair had more curl and therefore some height, it wouldn't be as obvious, but with my hair being so flat, my part really shows up.

Also, I want to mention to any trimmers that according to The Almanac, today and tomorrow are best day for cutting hair to encourage growth.  So if you are in need of a small trim, or even just a dusting (that's when you trim off so little, that it's just like dust), this weekend is a good time for it.

'Til tomorrow, and love to all.

To Dye Or Not To Dye?

It's pretty much agreed upon by everyone that colouring hair is damaging, and that to attain extreme hair lengths, it's best to stick with one's natural colour.


However many of us, for whatever reason, choose to dye our hair.  For many in their teens and twenties, it's to experiment with colour.  For those of us who are older it may be to cover the silvers.  That is the case for me.  I use L'Oreal's Preference hair colour in Medium Blonde.  It's not to ashy and not too golden--just right for me.

While I know many beautiful women with salt and pepper or silver hair, it's just not a look that I'm comfortable with.  I feel as though I'd disappear if my hair was its natural colour, which is now predominantly white.


I may or may not be correct in that assessment, but I am not prepared to give up my blonde locks.  Whether or not that may change in the future, I don't know.


I do know that by the very fact that I'm colouring my hair, I am limiting its ultimate length. While my real final goal is tailbone length hair, I may have to accept that I won't be able to grow healthy looking hair beyond waist length. I guess I won't know until I get there.


There are some things that I've learned that have helped keep my coloured hair in better shape than it's been in the past.


There has been research done that shows that the application of anti-oxidants before colouring may help to reduce peroxide damage. Ktani, a member of the Long Hair Community, found that coconut oil has these properties. I was one of her first guinea pigs, and I've been coconut oiling my hair before colouring for over a year and a half now. While the evidence thus far is merely anecdotal, I've been very pleased with the results.


I apply coconut oil all over the length of my hair, right up to the roots before a touch-up.  I leave it on for a minimum of 15 minutes and sometimes as long as several hours before I apply the dye to my roots.





I make sure that I rinse very, very thoroughly, and I use a lot of colour safe conditioner afterwards.


Additionally, I try to go as long as possible between touch-ups; I go about 6 weeks.


With regular deep moisture treatments in between colourings, and my regular small trims, I'm managing to keep my hair looking and feeling relatively healthy, and I'm happy to say, split-end free thus far.


So while I would never recommend that anyone dye their hair, I know that many will anyway, so I thought I'd share some of the tips that I've learned.  While they may work for me, they may not work for everyone.  And remember; dying your hair is a commitment.  It does require upkeep, and should you decide to go natural, depending on the colour you use, there will be demarcation during grow-out.  Not everyone is comfortable with this idea.


However, for me, it's a small commitment of time and energy, and it keeps me feeling happy.  Feeling happy with my hair is all that I really want from my hair anyway.