Hair Care

Funny topic for a stitching blog? Natalija mentioned it on her sewing blog last week and I went a little obsessive over the weekend. I finally bought some jojoba oil (generally pronounced ho-ho-buh) and started with that on Friday. My hair can go up to a week between washings -boy did that take years to get to! It was greasy after a day when I worked! (4.5 years ago)- so I put off washing it over the weekend at first and have gradually increased as worked in my 'schedule.'

On the long hair boards, they have classifications for hair; mine's about 1b/c (straight, but has body and in humidity can have waves) M/C (strands are medium to coarse, hinting at my caucasian/American Indian heritage) iii (thick - my low pony tail measures 5 1/4" around- I washed it a few hours before measuring and allowed to air dry, so that may be volumized a little.. but generally I have an enormously thick tail/braid down my back -note: measured at end of day and the low pony was 5" thick, slid my hand down to the ends and measured just above my hand at 4.5"). They like to measure from the forehead hairline to the tips (28") and I checked to see what that is from the neck hairline down (14").

So, what does one do with this much hair? Not much right now! That's part of why I'm posting, to remind myself to care for it better. If I leave my hair down, it tangles. That's not good for it. There's too much for a bun, it's heavy and pulls, and the ends stick out in all directions! I wore it in a ponytail, the underside started breaking off at the band (perhaps overuse of the one spot). I switched to a single braid recently to protect it more, but now after reading on the boards I'm concerned that's not enough. My Mom's hair was thigh length when I was little. She used to wear 2 braids. When I worked, I'd do the classic french braid (classic means there's a braid on each side -like mirror images); I could do that and bun the ends.. I'm thinking of starting trying different up-do's for a while -only problem is that the weight makes it uncomfortable after half a day. But, half a day up is better than all day continuously rubbing in the same location!! Some do's I've found that I'd like to try:
Retro Twist would keep the tail from sticking out, but I'd probably have to split it into 2-3 curls because of the thickness.
Classic Retro Updo would probably spread out some of the weight.
This Padme-inspired loose bun would allow the hair to be back still (where I'm currently used to it), but still 'thin' out the bun to maybe work with fun hair things... maybe..
I'll have to practice my Dutch Braid! Because with that I can make a "Crown Braid" which I think is gorgeous! I could do it with the French Braid, but the Dutch version is so much prettier.. Won't look like I've got an armadillo wrapped around my head... (which was an issue when I first taught myself to French braid and was why I chose to go the 'classic' route).
The Double Pony could be a good base for a bun for me. Then it's not all one thickness trying to wrap itself. I could bun the top tail then wrap the lower hair around to make one bun. I kind of did a variation on this in high school: separate the hair ear to ear and French braid up the back portion, join the two in a pony and bun it. That could help protect all the shorter 'under' hairs whilst they grow.
The Double Bun may work out (looks like her hair is almost as thick as mine), just not on a driving day :) Having all that hair between me and the seat pushes me into poor posture!
The Mrs. El Knot looks interesting, but I'm not sure it'll work on my hair - will have to give it a go sometime.
This Y-Braided Chignon is just a slightly loose classic French tucked under. This could be so simple to make!
ooh... and here's the Figure 8 Bun!(scroll down) This is advertised as helping spread the weight of the hair!
And, the Celtic Knot Bun
Can a French Comb work in my hair?

Must style hair...