Hi all,

I’m still on my blog hiatus! But I had to jump online and let you know about the dangers of a parched ‘fro. My hair adventure started last weekend. I went to Hartford, CT to visit my family and it was hot. I mean real hot, but I didn’t bring any shampoo or conditioner with me (although I did pick up some Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and Hair Milk) so I couldn’t wash my hair. And even if I did, I wasn’t going to have the energy to really style it. Anyhow, I did a dry two-strand twist with the help of my cousin using the Healthy Hair Butter.

On the way back to Toronto, I was overheating in the car – like I was going through the change of life. My scalp was biting and I knew that I couldn’t go to work the following day with my sweaty, hot, unwashed head. By the time I got home, I had to figure out how to wash my hair and style it so I didn’t look crazy at work the following day and not stay up too late. So, I did a quick wash while The Hubby returned the rental car and got some food. I watched The Bachelorette and twisted my hair.

I thought all was good, but the next day, the hair just didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. I rocked it because I had no choice, but the next day I had to wet it down.

Folks, I was tired. Tired and no interested in spending an hour and some working on my hair. So, I was like, let me do a quick wash-n-go. Now, you all know my luck when it comes to wash-n-gos – it doesn’t always work out so well. But the laziness was licking me down, so that trumped a long styling session.

So, I tell you all of this to tell you: I’ve been wearing my hair in a wash-n-go ‘fro since last Wednesday. The first couple of days weren’t too bad because the weather wasn’t especially hot, but by Friday night, I realized that I had to do something. It was getting dry. Really dry and no matter what I used in about six hours it would dry up again. I would wet my hair in the morning, moisturize and seal and by midday, I was dealing with dry hair – not dry as in my hair dried after it was wet, it was dry as in my hair hasn’t seen moisture in a week and boy is it dry!

Saturday, I co-washed with Suave Naturals, moisturized with Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk, sealed with oil and styled with my Ampro Clear Ice gel with the hopes that that extra moisture would hook me up for the day. The Hubby, my sister and some friends and I headed downtown to see Chaka Khan (check the video — not shot by me) and Macy Gray (check the video — also not shot by me) – for FREE!!! – at Dundas Square as part of the the Toronto Jazz Festival (I love Toronto, have I told you that?) and any moisture was sucked from my hair. The hot, humid temperatures, coupled with air conditioning left me with a thirsty, parched ‘fro.

On an aside, for all the people fretting about how natural hair doesn’t attract the fellas, I have to disagree. It seems that my hair, coupled with the hot night air, was an ‘afro’disiac. I was completely covered in a hot pink maxi dress and I have never had so many dudes come at me – when my husband was in the vicinity. Old dudes, young dudes — a cornucopia of dudes enjoying my dusty ‘fro. Try it yourself, ladies, rock the ‘fro and a cute maxi dress and see if the guys don’t try to chat you up. OK, back to the hair post at hand!

Sunday was a full day – church, sleep (I was tired out) and a patio run. When I got home I slathered some Aussie Moist conditioner on my hair, tied everything down and went to sleep. Monday morning, I couldn’t stand the feeling of my hair. It was like steel wool and I was not impressed. I don’t know how people wear wash-n-gos all the time! My hair would break off in revolt and leave. I washed with my Henna Sooq shampoo bar and deep conditioned with QP Elasta’s DPR-11 for the entire day. Next, I used my Giovanni Direct Leave-in conditioner (I bought two more bottles when I was in the States) and moisturized with Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and styled with Darcy Botanicals’ Avocado and Honey Twisting Butter. I did small twists — not the mini ones that I just don’t have the stamina to try although I would love to, but definitely smaller than I usually do.

What’s the verdict? Yay! Soft, fluffy hair in twists 🙂 I would love to show you some pictures, but I’m at work, y’all, sitting in a meeting room with my manager. It would be extra lawless of me to be snapping shots of myself. The weather is still crazy hot — it was 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) yesterday with humidity — and it’s going to be the same thing today. So, I will be keeping it twisted at least until Saturday when I’m going on with the girls and I’ll rock a cute twist-out.

One of the lessons I learned is that protective styles aren’t only useful for winter, but for hot, humid weather. Both seasons can dry out your hair and make it look like you have no natural hair savvy — I was so shamed, I felt like screaming, “I do know how to take care of my hair! I do!!” The point is: you have to protect your hair regardless of temperatures.

Pictures to come this evening!