The Hair Goes On ...

After a few weeks of wearing the La Jay wig, I'm back to wearing, *drum roll, please* my own hair.

No particular reason, just wanted a change. That, and I missed the feel of my own hair. The reactions to my wig have been great. Got lots of, "I like your hair," "awesome hair," and "love your hair like that," but it still took some getting used to.

My hair was so "big" that a lot of times, it would get stuck in branches and other stuff because since it wasn't my hair, I don't think I really knew how big it was. Was almost like it was another object slapped on top of my head. One day last week on a crowded elevator a white dude said, "Wow, that is some hair!" Wasn't sure what the hell he meant by that, but I took it as a compliment and said, "Yes, it is, thank you! and kept it moving.

Meh.

Went clubbin' with the hubs to celebrate our 16th anniversary and he told me the next morning that I kept hitting him all night with my hair, LOL! Girls were laughing at us, but I was having a good time and didn't notice, nor did I care.

Today, I did a new wash-and-go technique and I'm proud to say I achieved 2nd day hair for, like, the first time EVA!

Here's what I did:

1. Co-washed with Herbal Essence Hydration
2. Sealed wet hair with Dax (yes, I said, Dax, HairNistas!)
3. Applied Eco Styler with Argan oil
4. At night, I put my hair in five or six stretchable hair bands and twisted with no product.
5. Fluffed the next morning

This is big for me, because I've never, ever had 2nd day wash and gos. The Dax made my hair super soft and moisturized, an idea I got after reading it on CurlyNikki.com. I've used Vaseline to seal before, but I'm heavy handed at times and my hair can look dull if I'm not careful and apply too much.

Overall, I like it. Seems like the Dax stretched my hair a bit and I got less shrinkage. This morning. doing my hair was easy. I put a little gel on my bang, since I like it curly, fluffed, and I was done in less than 5 minutes.

I've never used Dax on my hair, so I was a bit skeptical. As a kid, my grandmother always used Ultra Sheen and Bergamont grease. My favorite conditioner is Silicon Mix -- which is chock full of mineral oil. And it does wonders on my hair. I figure my hair will tell me if grease is bad -- despite the doomsday warnings about crispy, dry, crunch hair from those in the anti-grease movement.

The real test will be using it on my daughters' hair, because it's only been a few years since I completely stopped using grease on their hair, in favor of moisturizers. You know, I'm all all about doing me and doing what works for me.

So far, so good. Think I'll see how many days I can wear it like this.

Oh, and about the wig. I'll probably still wear it _- heck, I may put it on tomorrow if it's a bad hair day -- but I'll probably only wear it for a week or so at a time. I'm due for a trim, so I'll probably get it professionally straightened in the next week or so.

Am I the only one who's scared to let a stylist go near my hair? I don't have a regular stylist, and to be quite honest with you, the only person who I trust 100% with my strands is the woman who did my hair for 15 years, since I was 12, back at home in Detroit. Unfortunately, I lost touch with her and don't know if she's even still in the business.

If you're out there, Dorothy, I miss you. She labored with me through all my hair iterations -- relaxed, natural, damaged from relaxers, cried with me when I lost a good 4-5 inches of hair when I didn't detangle it and wore it in a gelled ponytail for months when my kids were babies, refused to cut all of my hair off when I wanted to wear it short, asked me what the hell I was doing when I tried to get the curly look by wearing Creme of Nature shampoo (don't ask, but I didn't know about co-washing in the early 1990s, LOL)... You get the idea.

You were a "natural" stylist before natural stylists were in.

JOAN!

How do you like what I call my "Joan" hair  a.k.a the La Jay? After wearing it on Friday, it just became ... too much. I cut off a a good 3-4 inches. And, the wig is still pinned down with bobby pins.

I call this my version of "Joan" hair -- full and thick. What do you think?

Wiggin' It!

I finally wore the La Jay wig.

I worked with it a bit this morning. Meh. I think I just need to get used to looking at myself with big hair. I left the front and part of the side of my hair out. I pinned back the side of the wig because it was just ... too much. So far, the reactions I've gotten from close friends (who have the heart to tell me if I looked jacked up, lol) have been overwhelmingly positive.

I didn't know how I would handle wearing the wig. What if someone thought it looked nice? Do I tell them I have on a wig? Or do I just keep it moving? Overthinking it, no? Got a few compliments, "love your big hair," to someone else who thought my hair just grew a lot, lol. I fessed up, but if it happens again, I think I'm going to just say thank you and that's it.

It's my hair- - bought and paid for!

The La Jay is still growing on me. I  just have to get used to looking a different way, I guess.

Oh, and I realized I don't have any pics of me wearing my hair on this blog. Here are a few for comparison.

Flat twist on shrunken flat ironed hair

My wash and go curls in an updo

Big Hurr E'ry Day

I finally got the La Jay wig by Vanessa!

Now that I got it, umm... I don't know if I'm feeling it. I heard -- and saw-- on YouTube that it was big. But I don't think I was prepared for how big it was until I got it yesterday. I'm on some 80s Diana Ross and Chaka Khan ish, lol!

It's similar to my natural texture, but it's longer and fuller -- which is the look I'm going for. But the thing is so. damn. BIG!

Takes a bit of getting used to. I wore it right out of the beauty supply shop to the Goodwill next door (came home empty handed, unfortunately). Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt like everybody was staring at me.

Then, when I got home, my hubby and kids clowned me. My son said, "Mom, it looks like you  have fake hair, but I know it's not."

My daughters were not fans, and my hubby teased me about it all night. Didn't know it could be this hard to wear a wig! Despite what they say, I think I'm going to stick it out a little bit more. I wouldn't mind cutting it to shoulder length.

Hopefully, I'll grow to like it a bit more once I style it a bit more.

I didn't wear it today because I'm wearing a curly fro (plus, I figure it'll be easier to transition to the La
Jay after a day of wearing my own "big" hair, instead of my usual wash and go) and I needed a bit more time to work with it.

This morning, I went straight to YouTube to see how people style it. Seems like it looks the best when the front is left out, but it's a half wig that can also be worn as a full wig. I like the way this blogger styled it.

Here are a few pics. Let me know what you think.

Yay or nay?

Stylin and profilin the La Jay wig at Goodwill



Not so sure if I'm feelin' La Jay!



I Got Wig Checked!

Recently, I've thought about buying a natural wig and strongly considered the La Jay by Vanessa and Creta Girl by Freetress. So, I went to Atlanta Beauty Depot in Smyrna and tried a few on Wednesday. They were sold out of Creta, and I tried on their other natural wigs, but no luck.

La Jay by Vanessa

I wanted big hair, half wig, but natural looking curls and only color highlights.

The attendant was nice enough to let me try on several wigs (I absolutely hate and refuse to  patronize some beauty supply stores that limit customers to try on three wigs or so at a time). That's like going to Marshall's or TJ Maxx and only allowed to try on three items!

One wig was a honey blond -- hated it. OK for highlights, but it just had too much going on. Another wig looked too fake and wiggy looking.

While she was helping me try one on, she said:

Her: "You're wearing a wig now, right?"
Me:  "No, this is my hair."
The wig I tried on matched my curl pattern somewhat.
Her: "Why do you want to wear a wig?"
Me: "I want to protect my hair, and I want my curls to hang shoulder length. My  hair only hangs that way when it's flat ironed. Otherwise, my curls shrink up."

I wasn't offended, because she just asked a question. But I couldn't help thinking: I've been weave checked before, but hardly ever wig checked! LOL.

Wig it Up!

It can turn into an ugly, vicious debate in the natural community: Wigs/weaves vs. naturals.

But really, there shouldn't be an us vs. them.  I think naturals feel some type of way about weaving/wigging up, but I'm all about doing "you" and whatever that means for Y-O-U.

If that means wearing a wig or a weave to protect your precious tresses, then so be it. If length is your goal, the wig/weave wearer (depending on how well they maintain their natural hair, of course), will probably retain more length than those twist outs, braid outs and wash and go girls who wear their hair out non-stop.

Pick the wig or weave that looks best on you and do you, BOO!

Heck, I wore a straight wig three years ago to grow out a pixie cut. And I'm strongly considering buying a few natural wigs just to give my hair a much-needed break. I probably won't wear a straight wig, but a natural wig? Yeps, that's the plan.

If you haven't checked kinky wigs out recently, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. There are so, so many on the market these days. From short to long to everything in between, natural wigs are all the rage. Why buy all these concoctions, curly cremes, $40 puddings and all of that when I can buy a wig with realistic looking curls?

I think my hair just might thank me for it.  Even weaves have gone kinky. I saw a kinky weave on a model in a magazine that was just GORGEOUS!

I don't have a problem with curls in my natural hair; my problem is uniform curls. My curls are about the size of the tiny metal pieces inside a push-button pin. But they're not uniform. And shrinkage is a MUTHA! Some days my curls are poppin' all over. Other days, ehh.

That, and I get tired of manipulating my hair at times. I think of wigs as an accessory. I'm easily bored. I probably won't color my hair, but I sure will sport a wig with the color I'm feeling at the moment -- and save my natural hair from the maintenance and upkeep that comes with color.

I'm loving the La Jay by Vanessa and Creta Girl by Freetress. I hate wig stock photos, (they look SO much better on a real person) so I'm showing images of wigs that were posted online or in forums with a link back their original source.

Would you wear a wig or no?

Creta Wig by Freetress

La Jay by Vanessa