Curly Hair

I’ve been curly for almost a year now. But only a month ago did I get my hands on this book. Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. The book is all about how to take care of curly hair.

A year ago I read about the key elements of her method- shampoo little or not at all, wash with conditioner, squeeze hair dry rather than rub with a towel, use sulfate free products. Those things helped my hair a lot, and I was able to pull off curly hair every day. But reading her book made my good hair days even better. She explains how to find conditioners that will help your hair (what to look for in the label), how to pin curl the top of your hair for more definition, which styling products you need (clear gel- that’s it).

My sister and I went on a trip to Walmart over Christmas and bought a bunch of different conditioners. I was tired of waiting months to try new conditioners and oils. And I kept looking at curly hair websites with web order only conditioners, and thinking I could maybe find what I wanted now that I know what to look for in shampoos and conditioners.

My favorites so far have been:

 

Organix coconut milk conditioner. It has coconut milk, and egg white proteins. The curly girl book has a homemade recipe for soaking your hair in egg whites to nourish it. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt- and it’s been great. My hair isn’t as stringy and has bigger curl with this conditioner. Found at walmart!

The other one I’ve loved is

 Burt’s Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Shampoo and conditioner.

I use the shampoo once a week, and do the sugar beet conditioner or organix (above) the other days. My hair does look shinier afterwards- and smells so good. And it’s free of sulfates and the other stuff that strips your hair of natural oils. Now that I’m convinced I can be curly all the time and not be frizzed out, I just have to figure out how long I want to grow my hair out. I always chicken out about this length and cut it short. I’m going to see how long I go before I feel like an amazon woman.

Hooray for curly hair!

Book Worms

Natalie and I spent way too much time in Half Priced Books last week. We found so many good books at super low prices- and even a paperback Barbie book that I can force my kids into slavery to earn. Um, I mean incentivize them with.

 

See all those clearance stickers? None of my books cost over 2 dollars. Now where can I find some free time? I just finished our February book club book, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. Not a plot driven but character development driven book. It’s about two couples who are friends from their young assistant days, about their friendship, their trials, and how they all face one of the spouses battling cancer. I saw parts of myself in the characters, yet some of it was so foreign to me. The scenery and summer home in the book made me want to be rich and home a summer home and raise my kids in the woods. I’d recommend it if you want to ponder yourself and your spouse and how you value life and friendship.

And these pictures have nothing to do with books. Leo does love books these days. But he’s turning into quite a little character around here.

I  am in love with so many little things about this guy- the way he laughs when he sees an animal, the way he holds his bagel so proper, the way he scowls at me in the mornings when he’s still tired.

Recently he’s given to impersonating me doing kickboxing- he likes to cast spells with his fork and yell at the top of his lungs to us at the table, usually about when the girls are in fits of giggles about something. His intensity is hilarious to us all- and he will smile after his spells and punches to show he’s in on the joke. Man I love this kid.

Hooray for books. And kids, who are the best characters I know.