Invisible People

So, I started school and boy, am I swamped! I'm working my tail off making sure I get good grades. Any way, I apologize for being so far behind, but I promise it's for a good reason.

I wanted to share something I stumbled upon on YouTube. As someone who has in the past utilized a battered women's shelter, I have an interest in the homeless. In fact, my Intro to Psychology class has a Service Learning assignment and I'm going to volunteer for Sarah's House, which is a local charity that helps the homeless.

Invisiblepeopletv on YouTube does two to three minute interviews with homeless people across the country. It really puts a human face on a problem that most of us forget about in our day to day lives. What surprised me is that most of the people interviewed are so full of hope. I hope you'll check out Invisiblepeopletv's YouTube Channel and watch some of the videos.

When Haircuts Go Wrong

Wow! It's been a while since I last posted. Don't worry, nothing dramatic has happened since my last post. I'm still thinking about cutting my hair, but I've decided to think about it for a while before doing anything drastic that I might regret.

I've been getting a lot of compliments about my daughter's hair lately, so I figured I would share with you guys.

My oldest daughter is five and in kindergarten. She's only had a few trims. The last one I did myself about a month ago and took off about three inches (they were really dry and had started becoming like velcro).

She was really excited that I was taking a length shot of her hair.

If you're wondering about the choppy mess at the front, we're still recovering from a massive chop her brother gave her about a year ago. When I say massive, I mean MASSIVE. I found foot-length swaths of hair all over the house.

It looked like a mullet and was even down to the scalp on top. I was so mad that my son hid in the closet. Sofie, on the other hand, didn't really seem too upset about the hair cut. Thankfully, it's now long enough in the front to french braid back out of her face.

Time To Come Out From Behind The Hair?

I watched a fascinating documentary about hair this evening. It's Chris Rock's "Good Hair." The documentary was about black women's hair.

I don't profess to know much about the care and upkeep of black hair, other than what I learned from girls in high school. The girls I went to high school with kept jars of hair grease in their purses. I often found weave tracks in the sink in the ladies' room. I had one girl tell me that if she washed her hair too often, it would fall out (I don't know how true that is).

The documentary was a fascinating look into the world and culture of black hair, but it raised another point for me: women's beauty is often wrapped up in their hair.

"Jo! Your one true beauty!"Amy, upon discovering her sister Jo has sold her hair.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

"...if a woman has long hair, it is glory to her." 1 Corinthians 11:15

 I personally spend more time and money on my hair than I do on make-up or clothing. Thinking on it now, I'm not really sure why. I have good make-up and I enjoy putting it on, but I seldom do. The time it takes to apply just doesn't seem worth it. I have good, nice clothing, but I spend most of my time in t-shirts and jeans.

In contrast, I comb my hair carefully (at least) twice a day and apply myriad of oils and creams to it every night. I spend a good amount of time on the internet looking at interesting styles to try. I watch infomercials on the "latest European technology" for hair styling tools (but never buy them.)

Although I've found shampoo, conditioner and treatments that work for me, I still try new things out, constantly looking for something better.

I'm wondering if all this time and energy spent on my hair is a good thing.

The idea of being vain about anything is unappealing to me. I value knowledge and personality over looks any day. I don't want people to see me as a vain individual and I'm starting to wonder if that's the way I appear.

Beauty is important, don't get me wrong. Without beauty, life would be pretty boring. Beauty can come from places within, as well, though. I guess I'm wondering if I should really be focusing on working on my inner beauty.

I'm wondering, too, if a decent cut wouldn't do me some good. I love my hair, don't get me wrong, but maybe it's time to come out from behind the hair.

Cool Find: Swashbuckler Hair Swords by Grahtoe

Grahtoe does a lot of "hair swords," but I've never seen any like this!

The amount of time and energy that went into these must have been incredible. These would be awesome for the pirate enthusiast (and I know a few of those.)

CHI Silk Infusion vs. FX Silk Drops

A couple of months ago, I decided I wanted to try silk drops. I stopped into my local CVS and absentmindedly grabbed a bottle of CHI Silk Infusion (it wasn't cheap, either.)

When I saw that I had grabbed the wrong thing, I looked up reviews online, which were mostly favorable, and decided to try it out anyway.

The smell is a bit masculine, but since I don't regularly smell my own hair, I figured that wouldn't really bother me. I really liked it, at first. I smoothed some on my hair and was amazed to see how easily I could comb through tangles.

After regular use, though, I noticed some issues. The smell lingers and it really did bother me. CHI Silk Infusion really builds up in my hair and clings to my comb, even with washing. Combing my hair every morning made my hair look seriously greasy, even if I had recently washed. I was having to wash more frequently, which is a major pain in the butt with as much length as I have. The CHI had to go.

I think the CHI Silk Infusion would probably work better if I washed every day and heat styled (and didn't mind the smell.) For those of you that fit these criteria, you might give it a go if you were curious about it. It does have a lot of reviews by people who really love it, so I do believe it's probably a good product for the right person.

Undaunted, I started looking in my local shops for silk drops and finally found FX Silk Drops. I really like them. They're really light but make my hair smooth and glossy without build up. They don't smell of anything, which is great. It's nice to be able to smooth a couple drops onto my length and braid my hair. Braids stay sleek for longer and don't go "fuzzy" for a much longer time.

I'm going to give it a bit more time before I give it a formal stamp of approval, but so far, I'm really liking it.

And The Winner is...

Thank you for all the entries! Wow! I didn't expect so many but am absolutely thrilled!

I used a random number generator, which gave me number 11. The corresponding comment belonged to Kerrie.

Congrats, Kerrie and I'll be in touch to get your prize to you!

This giveaway was so fun, I'll definitely be doing another one soon.

Happy New Year!