Yesterday I felt confident that I had a grip on creating the rope braid on myself, and I went for it. This time without putting it in an elastic first.
...Can you tell that I'm pleased with the result??
After some fumbling, I found that the thing that worked the best was... not looking at what I was doing? Strange but true. Just going by the feel was way more efficient than trying to follow my progress in the mirror.
Maybe it's because I have to go two different ways for the two braids?
When starting the braid, I had to make sure I would sweep the hair away from my face to get that "Dutch braid effect" where the braid "traps" the hair underneath itself, instead of the hair going up and over the braid.
Next time I think I will try to start it up higher!
I then put it up in a Chinese bun pattern, but that looked really odd.
So Instead I tried to wrap it in a infinity pattern, where I pull the braid in and through its own pattern.
And that looked really awesome!
The contrast between the thick rope braids and the thin rope braids look really pretty in my opinion.
Also I think the rope braid really beefed my already thick hair up compared to regular braids, so the ropes looked massive.
Can you tell that I was pleased?
I really like the rope pattern that this braid results in.
Here you can see how I went in different directions for the two braids to get it symmetric around my face.
By evening, I took the bun down and was pretty much just lounging around before bedtime. But mr Igor talked me into going to the gym, so I put it up again.
Learning from my mistake earlier, I put the hairstick in much lower and this time the Chinese bun pattern worked well for it. Not as impressive as the infinity bun pattern, but still good.
So I "borrowed" a coworkers hair again to get my muscle memory going.
Super awkward cropping because it was in the middle of the lunch break and we were surrounded by people I don't want to ask if they want to be featured on my blog, which they don't even know exist.
Mr Igor and I really enjoyed Fuerteventura. It was very windy and very much a desert island, just like we had been "warned", but it was very enjoyable.
Impressive nature, so much history, really great food and a constant pleasant warmth in the air. Not too much, not too little.
I honestly didn't think it was possible that one island could have so many different types of beaches!
Golden sand, black sand, red sand, grey sand, beige sand... And let's not forget about the popcorn beaches! We found two smaller deposits along the beach in Corralejo and of course the bigger, famous one a 5 km hike away.
I did my best at protecting my hair from the near-constant sun and wind with SPF, protective styles and headwraps in different styles.
Of course the access to really nice pools and a really nice spa didn't make it better.
I could feel how dry my skin got from the chlorine...
But still... Worth it!
But the real problem was with the water in the pipes. The water in Fuerteventura is seawater, with the salt removed and treated somehow. I've been trying to find any actual data on how it's been treated and what is left in the water, but with no luck. All I can say is that it smelled... Strange.
Something slightly like chlorine, except not. Almost sort of like ozone. I think it was mostly the smell that bothered me about it, my skin and hair seemed surprisingly okay. A little dry, but that was to be expected. No major hissyfits from either the diva Hair or the chaotic mental patient I call my skin.
One thing is subjecting my skin and hair to wind, sand in the wind, sunlight and poolwater, but not being able to get rid of it by washing in good, clean water? Not good. I seriously considering using some of our bottled drinking water for it, but that felt like too much trouble. I figured I should just enjoy the vacation and deal with it once I got back home to our super clean, very natural water instead. My hair should bounce right back after a treatment or two.
We met JP and Sue of JP in Fuerteventura
(First shoutout at the timestamp. We're not featured in the video though)
Wonderful, sweet people!
I also met my nemesis!
Complete with creepy, unblinking eyes in his poop-emoji-shaped face, boxing glove-hands and kneeless legs with webbed feet.
One of the things I enjoy about travelling is finding those tiny little differences in regular household items, such as hair products.
I found Timotei products in Fuerteventura, and I was a little surprised. I remember back when I first encountered the longhair circuit that people saw the shampoo as a cult product. Then later is disappeared from stores and people were unhappy. But it sounded like it still sort of existed until it disappeared again, except that I guess it didn't?
I wasn't sure if this was the real, authentic Timotei, so I opted out of buying them. Could be interesting if it was?
Some Googling informs me that Timotei actually does exist today, but I'm not sure this is the same formulation that made it so popular in the first place? It probably isn't.
I also recognized this one! A product I liked. Charlaine was absolutely right to recommend this conditioner enough to gift me one :)
I brought this one home from Tenerife two years back.
(Bonus Igor reflection in the background)
I decided to bring home two bottles of Herbal Essences conditioners because this is another brand I remember being mentioned a lot in the longhair circuit.
The ingredient lists looked good and I'm just always a sucker for the larger conditioner bottles (Yay! I might get two used out of each!)
I found a Garnier Fructis line I hadn't seen before: Hair Food. Again, I liked the ingredient list and the size, so I went for the papaya and the macadamia version.
I liked the concept: They have the ingredient lists listed vertically with "origin vegetal" written next to the ingredients that are of "natural origin" (Whatever that really, truly means) and the common Spanish names for the fruits used in the formula. I know it doesn't make the ingredient list completely understandable, but it's a step in the right direction to have any sort of transparency in your ingredient list. I would personally have preferred an explanation of why each ingredient has been put in the product, but I applaud any sort of transparency of ingredients.
But then again, I'm not someone who is impressed by "natural origin" or "organic" or "vegan" or anything like that in my ingredient lists.
I also found a brand I had never heard of before: Deliplus.
The products have some very interesting ingredient lists, but since I can't seem to find them online, I'm not going to write them down manually. But the ingredient lists looked very much like true hair masks with lots of ingredients that could potentially repair and hydrate hair. (Also I would be genuinely bummed out if I could analyse these and find that the ingredient lists are truly awesome, but how am I supposed to get my hands on more of these again?) I think I found them in Mercadona and not any of the Superdino/Hiperdino's that were more common.
In Marina Rubicón on Lanzarote, I found someone who sold hairsticks!
I probably already have like a hundred pairs or singles, but I had to bring home a souvenir. Or two.
The seller was really sweet and enthusiastic. Funnily, just that day I had my hair in a figure 8 with my WoodArtJewelry stick. So we had a bit of a talk. I never really know how much to talk to people in a situation like this: Is she just polite and waiting to make a sale, or is she really interested?
I settled on three sticks I really liked.
One is slim and simple with a metal detail near the top. One has a little dragon wrapped around a reflective ball that even rotates freely in the dragons grip. And one has a shimmering top layer in different metallic tones.
Apparently they come from a business with a webstore: Palospelos.
I really like this cat hair fork design and the tree of life they have on the website:
I really like the feel of the "usable" part of the sticks. If a hairstick isn't strong, smooth and slim, it doesn't matter how pretty the topper is.
The metallic topper turned out to be really hard to get a picture of. I like all three designs!
But the dragon design will definitely be in my hair for our next board game session, especially if it's a fantasy setting.
Mr Igor trying to catch his own reflection in the little shiny ball.
But what did I find in my local supermarket once we came home again?
Yep, the Fructis Garnier Hair Food line. Hmpf.
I bought a Swedish version so compare to the Spanish one.
The first difference is on the lid, where the Swedish version for some reason has no Swedish on it. The Spanish one is all in Spanish (I assume. I don't speak any Spanish)
The same situation on the front: The Swedish one has no Swedish text, but is in English and the Spanish one is in Spanish.
The slight difference in ingredient lists made me confused: Why bother to change the ingredient list like this? The difference is only in ingredients 6 to 13, and only in a slight difference in order of those 7 ingredients. It's bizarre. I couldn't find anything about EU regulations of those ingredients, but then again, the Canary islands are kind of, but not really EU member states. So is that the reason?
The Spanish one also has the ingredient list listed vertically with "origin vegetal" written next to the ingredients that are of "natural origin" (Whatever that really, truly means) and the common Spanish names for the fruits used in the formula.
