Random train of thought for the day

I found a strange search today in my statistics:

“longhair bun tail shiny hijab”

First thought: Huh?

Second thought: Did someone forget to hit enter between 3-4 different searches?

Third thought: How did this lead someone to my blog?

Fourth thought: *Checks stats again* …Twice?

Fifth thought: Okay, I have to perform this search myself and see! lol

To answer 3-5… My blog shows up on page 4 when you let Google autocorrect to “long hair bun tail shiny hijab”

Since that didn’t satisfy my curiosity, I poked around on the websites that Google had suggested for me.

One link that made me further curious was http://welovehijab.com/2011/02/18/camel-hump-hijab-style-video/

A thread and discussion on the “Camel hump” style hijab. I watched the embedded video to see if it was interesting or inspiring me in new ways of tying a scarf.

It wasn’t particularly interesting. In fact I thought all the styles were extremely unflattering to the model and most of them gave her a really creepy E.T.-look, but maybe that’s just me?

The discussion below the original post then went on if the “camel hump” is allowed or not since there is a passage in the Quoran speaking against women with “the hair on the top of their heads like a camel’s hump”

I more or less couldn’t care about that.

But, what I found intensely fascinating in this very long (Very, very, very long) discussion on what is modest or not, is that not a single poster mentions the models make-up.

To me, the models makeup definitely crosses over in “slutty”. Obviously fake eyelashes, a ton of mascara, lots of black eyeliner, plenty of eye shadow, obviously drawn up eyebrows and shiny lip-gloss to really set off her mouth.

Maybe I just have a strange conception of “modest” but to me, that would be a bigger issue than the debate on if its correct to stuff your hijab or not. But then again, my reality is that I see a lot of Muslim girls looking like that every day. Skin-tight and skimpy clothes, ridiculously overdone makeup and then a big, stuffed hijab. They don’t exactly make a good example for their religion or the modesty they’re supposed to uphold.

Even though I’m happily agnostic, religious double standards really irritate me.

Sunday the 18th of august

(Well, it will be Monday before I finish typing this up)

I kept my hair in the (increasingly messy) 5-stranded braid for 2½ days. It was getting pretty greasy too, so… time to wash. I found a big bottle of V05 in a supermarket some time ago (At Willy’s for any interested Swede reading this)

V05 is pretty famous in the “hair circuit” for being great for CO washing and it didn’t disappoint this time either. Unfortunately I didn’t have the sense to pick up more than one bottle when we were there. I will have to make hubby go there with me… It’s for my hair!

Saturday was supposed to be cholesterol-day according to the hair-health schedule I made some time ago and barely followed since. Well, today I’m following it. Almost. Close enough anyways.

After cleaning the scalp, I wrapped it up in an Ankylosaurus with 2/3^rd cholesterol treatment and 1/3^rd Frank Provost expert repair. I plan to go to sleep after having posted this and let the length soak the conditioners up over night.

My hair will probably be severely irritated after such a deep treatment so I will go for a simple 3 stranded braid tomorrow instead of further training.
               

Am I in fashion yet?

I keep reading that the It (With a capital I) thing in hair right now is a messy side braid with a matte effect. So, since my hair is still in the 5-stranded braid from Friday and we got caught in a rainstorm when we went for a walk earlier…

…Am I in fashion yet??

“…It’s for my hair!”

Hubby learned long ago that “For my hair!” is an argument that trumps anything. It efficiently vetoes anything he could possible come up with as an argument.

Buying expensive and exotic oils and refusing to let him cook with them? It’s for my hair!

Chasing all over town to find a place that sells cassia? It’s for my hair!

Having way too many bottles in the shower? It’s for my hair!

Monopolising the bottle of ACV? It’s for my hair!

Pouting over him eating the last eggs? I needed the yolk… It’s for my hair!

Travelling to meet some people I only know through a forum? It’s for my hair!

But one thing he doesn’t complain about, is the food choices I make when I argue “…It’s for my hair!” because that usually means lots and lots of protein. Like today where I argued for two packs of spareribs instead of one. No protests at all to today’s dinner being 3 kg of honey marinated spareribs. Yum!!

Close-up of a 5-strand braid

Close-up of yesterdays 5 stranded braid

5-stranded braid, third attempt

Today I was going to just try to braid like yesterday for the practise, but I suddenly had an idea that I needed to try.

I split my hair up as shown here:

First I split it in 1 and 2 and pulled the parts in front of my shoulders. Then in 3, 4 and 5. I pulled 1 and 2 backwards and switched 4 and 5 to the front of my shoulders. I braided 1, 2 and 3 like a regular 3-stranded braid, before adding 4 and 5 as a 5-stranded.

It worked pretty well!

So what was the difference from my very first attempt? The sad fact that my hair from ears and down is a lot less dense coarse than the top and that in my first attempt those parts ended up pitifully thin which didn’t help me in the braiding at all.

Of course it also really helps that I’m beginning to get a bit of “feel” for it.

My only complaint would be purely cosmetic, that when I added 4 and 5, it “drowned” the detail of adding 3.

Since hubby and I were going out, I ended up pinning the braid up in a bun. Even though I have never experienced any unwanted touching or too pushy attention, I’m still a bit paranoid about it.

With the 5 stranded braid bunned up, I noticed what must be the biggest difference for me: It was really flat. Usually my 3 stranded braids turn into real “balls” and refuse to lie flat, which is the main reason for my favourite bun being a braided Nautilus.  The 5 stranded bun stayed flat and snug all day. Strange how two extra strands can make such a big difference in a bun!

New goodies have been ordered

Lisa posted this on Facebook:

Kevin of Ketylo is offering me an opportunity to get some corian Ketylo sticks. Corian is an acrylic countertop material and is dense, sturdy, and of course, waterproof. This is a one-time only deal, as he will not list them in his store ever. Prices would be $12 for short, $14 for medium, and $16 for long, which is $2 cheaper than his in-store prices. International orders are fine, and will be shipped via fist class international, which is cheaper than Ketylo's shipping rates as well. :) Please contact me directly to place your order. All payments are due by August 27. I will be calling to place the group order on the 28th. Payments accepted via paypal ONLY. Thanks all and happy shopping!

I mean… how could I resist?

I have just sent the payment for 3 pairs in large: The two blue kinds and the spotted grey one.

Impatiently waiting for goodies now!

5-stranded braid, second attempt

So my brilliant idea from yesterday was to split my hair in 5 slices as a cake if you imagine my head seen from above. Then I would take the two front parts, then the second two and finally the back part in and braid that way.

It turned out as a pretty big fail though: The front that I wanted to make the two first parts out of, is so much finer and less dense than the hair from the back of my head. I then thought I could fix it by “fish tailing” and add more hair as I got the first few steps done. Seemed like a good idea in theory, but in reality I ended up in a huge tangled mess of hair! I couldn’t tell where I was coming from or going to or keep the five strands apart at all. Yikes.

I ended up having to comb everything out again and start over. Since my idea of an organised and controlled 5-stranded braid failed so hard, I decided to try once more where I just “feel my way” before quitting.

Next time I just split in five by feeling and started braiding along the way to focus on the “feel” and get used to the motion. The result was much better.

I thought I managed to keep the 5-strand pattern all along the way, but looking at the picture I’m not entirely sure. There are a few messy points above my shoulders where it doesn’t look like I kept the 5-strand pattern, but otherwise it looks pretty acceptable.

The 5-strand pattern doesn’t look very distinguishable from a 3-strand braid until about waist length though. I guess the 5-strand braid is another style that isn’t exactly friendly to thick hair?

I have a note that might be very useful though: Combing the lose hair makes the parts “blend” into each other and makes them hard to separate. I need to learn the balance between combing to keep it smooth and not combing to keep the parts separated.

Leave in conditioners

As readers will know, I’m a big fan of leave in conditioners. My styles usually look smooth, sleek and controlled which is something people often comment on. This is something I thank leave in conditioners for. Other than looks, they make my hair easy to detangle and handle and protect my hair from environmental damage such as being dried out too quickly, being whipped freely in the wind, to some degree from sun bleaching and of course some protection from mechanical damage of handling. In short; I recommend them highly!

They don’t have to be expensive salon bought. I buy Sunsilks orange line, the one for damaged hair and get it at my local H&M. It has a wonderful creamy texture that I like. I use it as a “base” and add other ingredients.

Oils, aloe vera and regular, diluted conditioners work for some people too.

You can also try mixing in those colour-specific, non-deposit leave in conditioners to your regular mix. They give a certain boost to your natural hair colour. Since I have an “in between” colour, I have tried for blondes, brunettes and redheads to intensify one or another tone.

Usually I mix the cheap Sunsilk with more expensive alternatives. Here is an approximate list of what I mix in for inspiration:

Spring
Weather: Wet and windy.
Spring here offers a huge range of weathers, from burning hot sun to freezing rain. I never add oils during the cold season out of fear of it freezing, stiffening and expanding inside the strands. I never heard any reports of damage, but I’m still suspicious of it. I mean, if an oil changes and solidifies in the fridge, wont it do the same inside a hair strand? Doesn’t sound good to me and I don’t want to risk it.

Summer
Weather: Hot and sunny. Lots of time spent outside in the great weather.
I look for products boasting UV filters and not just for leave in conditioner. Also I add about a tablespoon of regular sunlotion for skin use. More than that will change the texture of the leave in conditioner and make my hair greasy. I know it probably won’t have a big effect, but when it comes to preventing hair bleaching in the sun, everything counts.
I buy a salon bought spray with UV filter too to mist over as a "finishing spray" for all exposed hair. I wear lots of headbands and scarves to protect my scalp and hair from sunburns. I’m suspicious of oils in the summer time. Some oils have been used to intensify tans, so will oils increase the suns effect on hair too?

Autumn
Weather: Sunny and windy.
For me, the autumn is the dullest season. The leaves fall and the sun fades. A wide range of weather, often wet and windy but without the cosines of Christmas approaching. I like shine products to get my hair to get a bit more "umph" in this season of beauty blah. Cone products seems to offer more hold to wind-proof up dos. I also like mixing in leave in conditioners for red hair in my usual mix to give my red tones a bit of a boost. Red tones are usually in fashion around autumn so I like intensifying them.

Winter
Weather: Freezing and wet outside. Hot and dry inside. The temperature and humidity differences between outside and inside are high.
Cone-rich products to protect hair from the sudden changes in humidity. I never add oils during the cold season out of fear of it freezing and stiffening inside the strands. I wear lots of headbands and scarves to protect my scalp and hair from the cold.

5-stranded braid, first attempt

I don’t usually post my fails, but I think I could benefit from working my thoughts and observation through and putting them down.

I had the idea of starting a French braid with 3 strands and then adding 2 parts from the ears down and braiding it into a 5 strand braid.

Well, that was the theory!

I got completely confused and couldn’t separate the different strands and find the pattern with my fingers.

The result ended up as some sad mash-up of fish tail, 3 and 5 strand braids up until I got to shoulder length and could bring the braid in front of me where I could see what I was doing.

Then from shoulder to about BSL I think it ended up as more of a fishtail braid. (As far as I’ve gathered, the difference between fish tail and x-strand braids is that a x-stranded braid works with the same strands separated all along the way and with the fish tail you just take out a part of the whole each time you “braid in”)

But then from BSL and down, I finally got a hang of the motion and could keep the strands separated.

Here is the result:

Close examination shows the difference clearly!

From BSL and down it looks surprisingly good. At least IMHO.

I have an idea for how to try it differently tomorrow…

Hemp oil rules!

Yesterday was wonderfully warm and sunny and hubby suggested we took a long walk together. So I put on a T-shirt, shorts and this pair of heel-less sneakers shoes I have. They’re really great when it’s too hot for sneakers and I don’t feel like wearing sandals.

But I overestimated how hot they would become in the sun and the long walk and they started burning my feet. It hurt really bad!

When I came home I sat with my feet in the tub and cold water for like an hour. I limped pitifully and had to nap on the couch with my feet hanging freely over the side. I couldn’t even stand touching the mattress! I hoped they would stop hurting after the nap. They felt skinless, burning, crunchy dry and I could feel 6 blisters developing.

After my nap I ended up on the UTT chat where I whined about my sore feet. Longhairedfairy (At least I think it was her. Let me know if it isn’t so the right one can get credit!) gave me the advice of using hemp oil because it has healing properties. So I sat with my sore feet in a plastic bag with hemp oil for an hour before patting them dry. The hemp oil instantly soothed them and they stopped burning. Such a relief!

So… Hemp oil rules!
           

Thought of the day

I remember my first thought of super long hair. It will have to be at least 10 years ago. I had started watching Sailor Moon on some German channel and really enjoyed it. Later I found out that the German dub is pretty awesome compared to the English; They haven’t hacked it to bits in editing, removed all the fun jokes or made the voices sound like retarded 7 year olds with a bizarre sense of “slang”.

I started reading some fanfiction too, mostly on fanfiction.net (Which was pretty awesome until they removed the NC 17 option)

In one story which title and author has been lost in the fogs of my memory, Usagi (Sailor Moon) remarks casually to Haruka (Sailor Uranus) about her hair that “…I need to put it up or it will touch the ground”

For some reason that line just burned into my memory.

Pretty weird though because my hair then was about mid back and I had no intention of growing it super long. The longest hair I had ever seen was about classic. Sure I knew that people with super-super-super long hair existed, but that was in the reality of Guinness records books along the lines of “Most live snakes inserted in body cavities” aka: Freaks with no real-life application.

I never really “noticed” the super long hair in Sailor Moon as such. I mean, in anime you have the strangest and most alien hair styles and colours, so the classic to knee length hair of Venus, Mars and Moon wasn’t strange at all.

Maybe the line struck a cord because the writer thought of the “option” of growing your hair that long? I’m not even sure.

It’s funny to think back on.

1-2 (maybe 3?) years later I would shave my head and end up growing super long…

Hair nerd thought

If sailor moon is just 150 cm tall or 4´11” (Why yes, I Googled for it!) She would still have had to have been actively growing her hair long for almost her entire life to reach the classic to knee length with her hair put up in odangos like she has in the beginning of the series (Where she is 14)

First season

Speaking of those funny odangos, they never really looked like real buns to me (Has the hair-nerd finally crossed the line into insanity when she analyses “reality” in anime?) but more like hair being draped over balls

Hehe…
I never understood that extremely heavy fringe thing all the characters has going on…

Venus posing as Sailor Moon. Notice how short her hair suddenly is! Usually Venus is drawn having classic to knee-ish long hair, but with those odango, her hair shrinks back to BSL?

Sailor Venus flipping her hair lose. Nothing much to say other than “Pretty!”

Oh and this has nothing to do with the hair, I just think it’s hilarious because it’s true!

Saturday the 20th of August

CO washed with a leftover handful of Frank Provost expert colour. Did an ACV dip in the end. Put the mane up in a braided Nautilus bun with a Flexi 8.
 

Ms. Noob reminded me that it’s been a while since last I did a cassia treatment so since I had to run errands (*Cough* Pick up Thai food) I went by Life butiken and picked up cassia and coconut oil. I’ve been out of coconut oil for a few months and haven’t bothered restocking. Hah.

Here between my two laptops: The cassia brand I use is sold as “neutral henna” which always makes me mentally roll my eyes.

I have a question for all the clever people: When it comes to coconut oil, is there really a difference in the effect compared to manufacturing?  The oil made from fresh squeezed coconut is so much more expensive than the oil made from dried coconut.

Today’s hair

Simple English braid. Actually this braid doesn’t work so well for me because

a)      it cant contain my new growth/regrowth very well

b)      its long enough to get thoroughly caught between my ass and shoulder bag or any couch/soft chair I sit in

Random thought of the day

Messing around “behind the scenes” in my blog can be quite amusing and a little bit scary!

Under “referring sites” I had hits from www.jobsforsmartpeople.com/, http://www.unlockiphone.com/  and www.moredietplan.com. One word: “Wha…?”

Under “search keywords”:

"what type of hijabs do the anime people use?"
I know I’m not the most eager anime-viewer in the world, but does anyone in anime wear hijabi ever? I mean, you wouldn’t want to cover up the bright blue hair and crazy gravity-defying style, would you? Well, at least not in Japan I guess. Indonesia maybe? Do they make anime there?

"igor s if you be my girl"

"fake ponytails"
How did that even lead to my blog? I haven’t worn a ponytail in… 6 years? (I might as well leave it loose. It would get tangled in everything!)

"longhair bun tail shiny hijab"
This one makes me think the Googler forgot to hit enter between 3 different searches. I mean, I can’t even imagine what result they had hoped to get out from this search mash-up?

"smurf pictures and names"
"how to draw a smurf"
This one took me a few minutes to figure out: The Sexysmurf lead the Googler here. Wow, someone was disappointed in Google that day.

” extremely sick from overdose of biotin”
Well, duh.
I’m thinking two things here:

1. It’s unbelievable that people think you can’t get a bad reaction from something because “It’s natural!” So are wasps and pollen and yet people have severe allergic reactions or even die from that every year.
2. It’s unbelievable that people can be so stupid they think they are much smarter than the professionals who studied vitamins for decades and came up with the recommendations on dosage. But maybe they just think some bald, jealous doctor wants to spoil their chances of growing a healthy head of hair? It’s probably the same type of idiot who also thinks speed limits are just there to ruin their fun instead of keeping them, and people around them safe.

But hey, this is a pet peeve of mine. Guess I have spent too much time and energy trying to educate stupid people on LHC who think I just want to keep them from growing better hair than me!