So how bad is it?

I took this picture of my lazy (Sloppy) braid today. Honestly I think the taper is acceptable. Yes, I do have taper. Yes, the end of my braid is way thinner than the beginning. Yes, I do wish my braid stayed thicker all the way down.

But I don’t think my taper is “unacceptably” high. My taper is pretty much what comes with the natural and unavoidable xx shed hairs per day. I even think my shedding is under normal but since I’ve been growing more or less actively for some 10 years, naturally it results in taper.  

The tassel on the other hand. Yikes, that’s thin and long. The tassel pretty much only consists of the middle part of the 3 parts forming the braid. When I simply can’t braid anymore, I tie if off with an elastic.

I really think that if I went with the reverse U shape I could change that. My theory is that it would result in less braid-length but I would be able to braid further down and it would make the tassel a whole lot thicker. I measured the tassel to around 15 cm and its all from the middle part.

   

    

I feel like I’m becoming obsessed with this idea, hah… 

And then the summer came

Holy crap it’s been hot the last few days!

   

  

I really don’t tolerate heat well (I’m really more comfortable with ice and snow) so the heat has turned me lazy and constantly cranky.

My plan for yesterday was basically to return our rented DVDs and go to the gym. Instead I spent half the day vegetating in front of the computer where it’s nice and cool, before hubby and I grabbed a book each and went outside in the sun (Gasp) to read. 

   

     

There is this weird little place around the corner from us: Literally like someone removed the house from a garden and now it’s mildly overgrown. There is a hedge surrounding the place and decorative bushes and trees and it’s pretty private to lie around in.

   

   

      

Then we decided to go see Avengers and try the new burrito place that just opened. (A recommendation for RockPaperScissorLizardSpock to go check out Bonito Burrito near Saluhallen, they are as good as the Wraphouse hear the central station but a lot cheaper) 

    

You know you’re a really weird longhaired person when you in the middle of a dramatic scene spot a set of hair sticks and want to poke your hubby and squeal “Look, hair stick!!”

Did anyone else spot them in the Stuttgart scene right where the camera pans over the kneeling people?

    

Summer means two things for sure:

• Taking out all my scarves and bandanna to protect my scalp from sunburn
• And cute pedicures for sandals

   

    

I had really hoped that my skin had healed enough and my scars faded so much I would be comfortable wearing shorts this summer, but no. Another year of long pants for me…

    

The Nodosaurus

This is very close to the Ankylosaurus, but since it doesn’t have the “club”, I’m naming it the Nodosaurus.
    

You need

• A bandage
• A plastic bag
• Conditioner or treatment of your choice
• Wear something you don’t mind too much getting spills on. I went with my pyjamas

Braid your hair normally down to about shoulder length.

Add conditioner or treatment to the hair and braid it.

Poke a “hole” in the braid around where you started adding the treatment. I have my thumb through here.

Hook the end of the braid up though itself.

Pull a plastic bag over and wrap it around the length.

Wrap the bandage around the bag and up the braid with “normal” tension.

Then wrap over wrapping tightly to encourage the treatment to be distributed and pushed into the braid. Wrap the bandage above the bag as well to make sure that any accidental “spill” will be absorbed by the bandage and not your clothes or bed linen!

It’s more convenient and less heavy than the Ankylosaurus. You will be able to sleep normally while doing a deep conditioning, unless you sleep on your back. 

Reverse U shape for long hair?

I’ve had this idea rattling around in my head for quite a while:  

Would a reverse U shape be the perfect haircut for a longhair who wears the hair up a lot?

I wear braids a lot but I often find myself being unhappy with the taper. I want them to stay thick all the way down!

The natural taper is accented by the braid-parts having to first “travel” around the head to get to the back where it will be gathered into the braid. Naturally since the hair from the front has to take that “detour” it will “run out” first when braiding and the tassel will be mostly the braid-part from the back of the head.

The same happens for any buns as well: The hair has to go around before being gathered into a bun. When my hair was short the layers actually helped me secure a bun, but now at knee length a near-blunt cut has been just fine.

So would it be beneficial for a longhair wearing a lot of braids to maintain a reverse U shape?

        

 

         

Now that I think about it, actually what you should do it have a slightly shorter “under layer” instead since the hair from the top of your scalp also needs to “travel” a bit too. Especially if you wear Dutch or French braids where the top is lifted and shaped.

         

 

           

Maybe the ideal shape isn’t as much a “revere U shape” but a slightly shorter under layer for a section of your hair?  

Something like the green rectangle, maybe with the top slightly arched instead?

    

         

I think I might go for this some time after I have walked for the modelling. But of course this raises a few questions?

Would it thicken up my braids all the way down?

Would it make my buns less stabile?

Would I notice a shorter under layer when my hair is down?

Would I be happy with this?

And… How in the world would I explain this to a stylist? 

Hair comments in the real world

I went to my first yoga class ever with Chemist Friend yesterday. I’m not really sure what to make of the whole yoga-thing: It seemed to be some light stretching, light meditation, some static body weight exercise and some balance exercises. I think we will try again though, even if it didn’t feel like a “workout” it was still pretty challenging and different.
  

I had my hair in a braided Nautilus bun but it kept getting in my way whenever we were on the back. Even when I pack my buns as tightly as I can, they’re still about the size of an orange. I took the Flexi out but then my braid seemed to enjoy “snaking” itself around me and irritating me.

   

Any hints on how to wear long hair for yoga? Maybe a crown wrap?  

    

After the class when we went to get our clothes, a girl in the shower room suddenly asked me about my hair. I get so completely confused and embarrassed whenever people ask about my hair!

    

Maybe I should read up on the Hair comments in the real world thread so I can learn how to have a normal conversation about a simple subject with strangers?

                                                                   

Between my mumblings and half-answers I managed to give out one of my cards  so maybe she will be reading this. In that case: Hi! I swear I usually make more sense than I did yesterday!
          

Crazy 88

I felt the urge to do something different with my hair today and came up with this…

Double figure 8 buns.

I’m not sure they will hold though; they’re put up with only 2 small claw clips and a hair scoo each and don’t feel entirely stabile. Unfortunately all my other toys are either too big or too small.

Slightly crooked but I think I like…

And now for something completely different

I received an order on contact lenses a few days ago. Aside from my trusty normal lenses, I had ordered coloured ones too.

Why the coloured lenses? Well, why not, really? It’s fun.

Well, actually coloured lenses has a special place in my heart. Back when I first tried contact lenses I had big problems getting my lenses in. Not only did I hate having to touch my eyeballs, the lenses I first used were really slippery and hard to handle. For some reason, probably youthful vanity, I decided to try coloured ones. The coloured lenses were so much easier to handle! They didn’t slip, fold up, collapse on my fingers or turn themselves inside out, so all of a sudden all my handling problems were gone!

(Still disappointed the contact lens girl didn’t recommend those for me when I described the problems I had with my first lenses. It just seems like one of those things you should know when you draw your salary from helping people with contact lenses. “Oh, you have problems with the actual handling? Well, maybe we should try a slightly stiffer lens for you that doesn’t fold up or turn itself inside out.” Yeah…)

After I got into a routine and got the hang of handling, I ended up switching to 1-day lenses. I really like the idea of just taking a fresh new lens out every day. I discovered Acuvue 1-day lenses that I’ve been wearing for, gosh, 10 years? This is by far my favourite lens, ever, hand down, thumbs in the air, fist pumping and what have you. This is one of those things where when you discover it, you stick with it forever. I’ve worn contact lenses for 15 years maybe and these are simply the best. They’re so easy to handle and almost feel like they “blend” into your eyes. I’ve never felt these in my eyes unlike other brands or lines. (Of course excluding when I get a foreign particle in my eye)

Igor with glasses. I hate glasses. They slide, irritate me and narrow my field of vision. Also, completely shallow reason: They make my already small eyes smaller.

Please ignore all stupid expressions!

One green Freshlook one day lens in the right eye.

Both eyes green. I’m not very impressed with the “green”. Honestly it looks any other colour than green! Yellow-ish, brown-ish, blue-ish?

Igor with one blue Freshlook one day lens in the right eye.

Both eyes blue. My eyes look slightly darker, but very close to natural.

One grey Freshlook one day lens in the right eye. The grey ones are definitely the closest to my natural eye colour.

Both eyes grey.

The Freshlook lenses also came in brown but I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t work with my complexion at all. Now I kind of do want to try them though! Maybe my next order. In general, the Freshlook lenses don’t have the same flawless handling and fit as the Acuvue. They slip on my fingers, they collapse, turn themselves inside out and doesn’t “attach” as quickly and seamlessly like the Acuvue. 

Oiling

When it comes to oiling the hair, there are two common methods: Heavy oiling and light oiling.

   

Heavy oiling is when you feed the hair more oil than you know it can absorb. This of course means it’s not really something you can look presentable in public with and it will most likely result in dripping. I prefer doing my Ankylosaurus or Nodosaurus to oil just the length, but other longhairs use different methods and oil the scalp too. This can of course also depend on the different oil since not all oils work for all scalps. Heavy oiling is usually messy and need some sort of containment.

  

Light oiling is when you feed the hair less oil than you know it can absorb. This of course means that you can add oil to the hair and go about your daily business and no one will be the wiser. No evident greasiness or dripping. Usually people will add some drops of oil focussing on the ends. Personally, I prefer an oil spray to do this. I bought a nice oil spray for kitchen use with a pump-action. It does a nice “dusting” of oil over my ends and just needs a quick combing though afterwards.

       

          

I have a pretty random mix of oils in mine at the moment: Bit of olive, some camellia leftovers, hemp, argan and walnut. It works “double” for me too since my ends always have dried a bit too much for my taste before I finish putting my hair up. I can do a quick re-moistening of them with the oil spray and I’m good to go.

My parents have a really clever oil spray! It was bought as a mixer for oil and vinegar for salads, but since it’s just two containers with an adjustable spray, it would work for two oils too. You can slide it between 100% of canister 1 and 100% of canister 2 with all mixes in between. I thought it was really clever and I just might get one for myself even though I don’t consider myself a “real” oil user. I’m imagining filling it with something like a heavy oil mix and a light oil mix that you can adjust.

         

          

      

I had expected it to be really expensive since it’s one of those typical Scandinavian Simplicity-design things, but it is about half what I paid for my own oil pump so that’s pretty cheap and tempting!  

OBH Nordica oil/vinegar spray

Model me?

A friend has asked me to catwalk for her fashion project.

Holy crap!

                     

  

Let’s just say it took me completely by surprise. Let’s just say I have a few complexes about my appearance. I broke my nose twice (Don’t want plastic surgery because the thought of what they actually *do* to your body is completely creeping me out) I have the awful droopy upper eyelids that run in my grandmother’s family where about half her blood relatives have had them done (Geez, thanks for the genetic crap, grandma) And I absolutely hate my fat deposits that refuses to go away. For the last 1½ year or so I’ve been heavy for being me.

Yea, I absolutely can’t see myself as model material.

                      

                      

Although I really, really can’t understand why she asked me, I said yes.

Of course I had to ask what would be done to my hair but luckily she said I could do it myself! Phew!

So I’m thinking I would do something like this:

     

   

The majority of it down but still with some cool braided parts to keep it collected and out of my face.

What do you all think? 

The humpback disguise

Say you’re in the middle of doing a heavy oiling because today is a day where you’re going nowhere. Suddenly you realise you’re out of something that you need.

What do you do? 

Your hair is in a Nodosaurus (Ankylosaurus without the club)

Do you undo your heavy oiling so you can pass for normal out in public or do you try to disguise the weird lump down your back?

Allow me to introduce the humpback disguise!

The Nodosaurus in action: Hair marinating in 2/3 olive oil and 1/3 argan. The braid has been hooked up into itself before being bagged and bandaged.

(Glasses= Igor did not plan to leave the house today)

Now find a nice, tight shirt and slip it over to compress the stump to your back.

     

Next slip your baggiest sweater over (Stealing one from your guy might be a good idea). Go for a hoodie if the bag and/or bandage are going up high.

And ta-dah, no one will be the wiser!