Nightshade's 9 Year LHC Anniversary and AM(A)A [Archive] - The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 08:11 AM

I've managed to forget my own anniversary the last few years, but this time I remembered. I nearly didn't post about it because I thought I may as well just wait for the 10 year mark, but given my track record, I'd probably forget that, too.

THE AM(A)A Portion:
To make this more than another "oh, pretty!" thread, let's do an Ask Me (Almost) Anything :) You don't have to stick to hair-related topics.

Onto the hair bit!
This was my hair back in 2005. I came to LHC from Henna4Hair and had just transitioned from chemical dyes to henna. My hair had been tailbone-length in my late teens, but it really went to hell in college because of me dying it so much. I had black streaks in it (which I miss to this day), but it had crumbled and snapped up to APL. It mended a bit on the henna forums and I'd grown out a fair bit of henna-only length, so by the time I came here, this was my first LHC photo:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WrgWNNXVDB0/VO80nXflX6I/AAAAAAAALx0/zZQBef0zCJM/s264/Goal%2520Hair%25201.jpg

A lot of my early LHC posts (for years) were about growing out the immense amounts of dye damage I had. It was a grueling, slow process. I was trimming 1/4 inch a month, so I gained 1/4 inch a month in length and steadily weeded out the damage.

Here's some of my early progress pictures. When I say the going was slow, I wasn't kidding:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gu6CUnH22dI/VO802pOd7WI/AAAAAAAALyI/V84oPd3Lwrg/s733/Progress.jpg

I also had color issues. My new-penny copper red dye had sponged up into my hair so much it was dark burgundy, and when I first started henna it wasn't common knowledge that multiple applications darkened (which is part of why I say it so often on the fourms). My hair was healthier, but the color wasn't what I wanted, it was much too cool for my skin. I swapped out from 100% henna to a 35% henna 65% cassia and other herbs blend (a ratio I use to this day) and to roots-only applications. Which was great. For the roots. But I had a big color disparity.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HOJd5OyNLKg/VO80NRa_OKI/AAAAAAAALxk/t8UanTGY7os/s647/ColorDifference2.jpg'

But I wasn't sure I wanted to bleach my hair to make the ends match more, so I just dealt with it. In 2007 I got to my goal length of tailbone, and in 2009 FINALLY trimmed out the last of my horrible, damaged ends.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WXVvUOZ1DCo/UtVKOtiSsLI/AAAAAAAAGKQ/IZmYWxcFvlI/s512/5-30-09.jpg

And had pretty (if not not a little darker than I wanted) hair for my wedding:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ffhHVefBW6I/UCJ5Rm0y95I/AAAAAAAADBQ/MxsVxwzH_yA/s512/Wedding-Hair.jpg

I even fixed the color. By using Sun-In I lightened up the length so it matched my roots, and for the first time in years I LOVED my hair.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1AH81I0M_KQ/T_1_p2TzgGI/AAAAAAAAC4Y/vTKo5t7D4ZU/s512/Bun%2520Progress%25202009.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wrNkKOgUpSE/VO80qAmjMSI/AAAAAAAALyA/j7NDvR87l8Q/s731/Color%2520Evolve.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X-B1DySSdio/UtVKgHRLftI/AAAAAAAAGKY/C_E_K5XiVyI/s512/Length%25205-16-09%25202.jpg

And then I switched from birth control pills to an IUD and had the most massive, horrible shed. I lost a third of my hair, easily:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5UQyAO-5Blw/T_s-Ag1OSuI/AAAAAAAAC3c/4d78NRop6OU/s512/Hair-Hand-1.jpg

Which mean I, having JUST finished growing out ALL OF MY HAIR from damage, I had to do it again. (Continued next post)

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 08:14 AM

But last year I FINALLY did it, grew and cut out the last of my stupid shed. I love my color, I love my waves and I bounce around somewhere between fingertip and tailbone with no intent of really going longer:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zbQprfIRb8w/VAoBgpUDPYI/AAAAAAAAJWA/G3TD0Gio-iw/s576/Progress.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8GcFeolIdwQ/VEfCSROFAgI/AAAAAAAAKOw/9XTMZit-PH0/s512/10-21-2014-3.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yo4U_2CxFv4/U_UKWC5-QtI/AAAAAAAAJCM/pbmZxkAKLVE/s512/Green-Moondrop-Stick.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qCAlfUN7KZc/VHPI2jDTsTI/AAAAAAAAKgo/SdnSU5vUUPQ/s512/TT-3.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sc2pARmUloA/UYu5wibQGvI/AAAAAAAAEeM/niA84hnq_M4/s512/Pinny-2-Small.jpg

So that's where I'm at :) And I owe thanks to everyone here for getting me through the rough patches. There's no other place in all of the internets I've stayed this long, and I'm not leaving anytime soon.

neko_kawaii

February 26th, 2015, 08:18 AM

Never mind the hair, tell me more about that dress in the last picture!

Quasiquixotic

February 26th, 2015, 08:23 AM

Hootenanny

February 26th, 2015, 08:25 AM

Absolutely gorgeous, Nightshade! What wonderful progress. :) And your wedding pic is beautiful, btw.

RavennaNight

February 26th, 2015, 08:29 AM

Gorgeous hair! Amazing progress over the years! You've been a font of information here and have always been so helpful. :flower: Happy Hairyversary!! :bounce:

slynr

February 26th, 2015, 08:29 AM

:thudpile::thudpile: Your hair is almost as amazing as your personality. You are such a wonderful resource and a truly nice person. Congratulations on your beautiful hair:)

Stormynights

February 26th, 2015, 08:33 AM

I love the story and the photos. You are so beautiful.

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 08:35 AM

Never mind the hair, tell me more about that dress in the last picture!

That is my Rough Linen Pinafore (http://roughlinen.com/pinafore.html). It is the single more amazing garment I own. It's not nearly as clean as it is in that photo because I use it when mixing up herbal stuff, so it's mostly stained kind of green in the front. ETA: and here are the super-wide leg pants I'm wearing by Treehouse28 on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/transaction/103438843).

oooh so pretty! I really love your hair and your over all look, at least face obscured look ;)

What a beautiful tale! Can you tell me why you bounce around length wise? I have a feeling I'll be similar.

I'm bad about trimming, honestly! I have layers in my hair (which I love), but that means my ends start to thin out at and past classic. Usually I get a trim when DH is like, "Hey, you're looking a little more feral-elf than usual, how about a trim next time I henna you?" So he'll cut it back to tailbone and I'll ignore it until I get another reminder.

Gorgeous hair! Amazing progress over the years! You've been a font of information here and have always been so helpful. :flower: Happy Hairyversary!! :bounce:

Thank you so much :) I try to give back here how I can.

:thudpile::thudpile: Your hair is almost as amazing as your personality. You are such a wonderful resource and a truly nice person. Congratulations on your beautiful hair:)

Aw :flowers: that's so sweet of you to say.

Johannah

February 26th, 2015, 08:38 AM

:thudpile: I love your hair. And color. Happy anniversary :)

Cania

February 26th, 2015, 08:42 AM

Would I be a terrible person if I stole your 'red with black streaks' idea? Your hair is beautiful and I feel like a fangirl squeeing over this post.

Belle Paix

February 26th, 2015, 08:45 AM

Very beautiful, and truly inspiring. I love that your post emphasizes the duration it can take to grow quality hair. Thanks for sharing the pics - and your knowledge! As I scour the older posts for henna, or non-henna related info, your name frequently pops up!

MicheleZ

February 26th, 2015, 08:48 AM

You stayed the course and it was well worth it! Beautiful!

Cristina84

February 26th, 2015, 08:51 AM

wonderful!!!!!
W
O
N
D
E
R
F
U
L
:agape:

lapushka

February 26th, 2015, 08:53 AM

That is very pretty! Congrats, and I so love the fairytaling! :D

rags

February 26th, 2015, 08:53 AM

I love the stories and all the photos of your gorgeous hair! I remember how excited you were to get the last of the dye cut out! Your hair is stunning, almost as much as your personality.

And now you have introduced me to yet another thing I love (the Rough Linen shop). Let's see, that's epilators, linen, some books - and I'm sure there's more.

Happy Hairiverssary, dear Nightshade! :flowers:

Leeloo

February 26th, 2015, 09:01 AM

Happy anniversary Nightshade! You are an amazing and very kind person with dream hair :flowers::flowers::flowers:

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 09:12 AM

oooh so pretty! I really love your hair and your over all look, at least face obscured look ;)

What a beautiful tale! Can you tell me why you bounce around length wise? I have a feeling I'll be similar.

Randomly, here's the non-obscured look if you were curious :)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4Ay7E45diNU/Uaye0JYEEAI/AAAAAAAAExU/3cRH_nqvpZU/s512/Prandana-Face-Small.jpg

:thudpile: I love your hair. And color. Happy anniversary :)

Thank you, you're always so kind!

Would I be a terrible person if I stole your 'red with black streaks' idea? Your hair is beautiful and I feel like a fangirl squeeing over this post.

Not at all! I've dithered doing it again for years, but didn't for a couple reasons: 1) indigo two step is both messy and a pain in the ass, so the streaks would keep getting bigger and bigger each time I did them (I already had this problem with chemical dyes), 2) I'm not sure I ever want to use chemical dyes again, and not sure Manic Panic black would stick to the henna. And you're adorable ^_^

Very beautiful, and truly inspiring. I love that your post emphasizes the duration it can take to grow quality hair. Thanks for sharing the pics - and your knowledge! As I scour the older posts for henna, or non-henna related info, your name frequently pops up!

Thank you! Sometimes I feel like my lack of awesome and impressive length for the amount of time I've been here is a little sad (I always think of Hypnotica who joined shortly after me at BSL and is now at knee), but at the same time, not everyone is here for knee. And some people have sheds, and some people have TONS OF DAMAGE (bonus points for people who get the reference). So my progress is worthwhile and inspiring in its own way. :)

You stayed the course and it was well worth it! Beautiful!

Thank you! :flowers:

That is very pretty! Congrats, and I so love the fairytaling! :D

I really love the fairytailing, too. It took me a bit to get over thinking it was just thin and icky and damaged even after the damage was long gone.

I love the stories and all the photos of your gorgeous hair! I remember how excited you were to get the last of the dye cut out! Your hair is stunning, almost as much as your personality.

And now you have introduced me to yet another thing I love (the Rough Linen shop). Let's see, that's epilators, linen, some books - and I'm sure there's more.

Happy Hairiverssary, dear Nightshade! :flowers:

That's so cool you remember that! I always feel like EVERYONE here knows about all my damage since I cried about it for so long, but then realize that it was really long ago and there's a ton of newbies who have no idea. So maybe I can go back to beating on that particular horse.

Hahhahahaa it is an amazing shop :) I'm glad to have enabled my good friends here in positive (and interesting ways).

dellad

February 26th, 2015, 09:30 AM

Happy anniversary, Nightshade. This was such an inspiring read. It's great seeing that patience pays off and it is possible to grow out after damage and shed. You look amazing!

FuzzyBlackWaves

February 26th, 2015, 09:30 AM

Wow, your hair is absolutely stunning! A fabulous representation of what can happen with patience and dedication. Your colour and texture are so beautiful together. Your hair really suits you, too - your wedding dress was gorgeous on you!

StellaKatherine

February 26th, 2015, 10:09 AM

Oh Nightshade! We haven't talked with your much, but from what I've seen you are such a beautiful and inspirational lady! A true lady by heart! Love to see your progress, I am most amazed on how much your bun changed! Huge difference! And you make me want to henna my hair so much! :D

jeanniet

February 26th, 2015, 10:17 AM

Well, your hair looks absolutely fabulous now. It's an inspiring story, and I'm sure will encourage a lot of members who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Many congrats on your anniversary!

Robot Ninja

February 26th, 2015, 10:19 AM

Happy hairiversary! I'm one of the newish people who didn't know about the long journey to grow out dye, and now that I know, it's pretty inspiring. You have gorgeous hair and great fashion sense. The wedding picture: :thud:

(And is that an American McGee's Alice costume?)

TwilightShadow

February 26th, 2015, 10:26 AM

Happy anniversary, Nightshade! That wedding picture! :thudpile:

Arctic

February 26th, 2015, 10:37 AM

Happy anniversary! You have lovely hair!

bonbon58

February 26th, 2015, 10:45 AM

Happy anniversary!! I would be so happy to have your dark henna color, even though you didn't like it! :love:

Can you share more about your hair losses?? Ideas for causes, and anything you did/used to regain the thickness

jenrjen

February 26th, 2015, 10:47 AM

Your hair is AMAZING! I love the ends. They really complete the elf/fairy image I have of you when I see your posts. Honestly, I love all the pictures, even the ones that you think are damaged hair.
The wedding photo though... Stunning.
And how sweet that your hubby helps with your henna. I adore supportive spouses/significant others!

jel

February 26th, 2015, 10:51 AM

:thudpile: I log into LHC after a few month's break, and what do I see but one of my favourite people's lovely hair :D

Happy LHC anniversary, Nightshade! :flowers: Your hair has always been an inspiration, and so have your experiments on henna and Sun-In. I have a non-hair related question, though: how is your fiction writing going?

MeAndTheMaz

February 26th, 2015, 11:02 AM

Allow me to join the thud pile :thudpile:. Very nice head of hair. Happy Anniversary. :toast:

One question though. Is it not common for the bride to face the camera at her wedding? ;)

MsBubbles

February 26th, 2015, 11:03 AM

Oh pretty!

:laugh:

Seriously though, I love the sun-inned color. 9 years. Wow! Congrats. We have all benefited so much from your trials, errors, and lived-to-tell-about-its. Very inspirational.

Anje

February 26th, 2015, 11:06 AM

That's an awesome retrospective. I'm glad you're here because I wouldn't have gotten to know you otherwise!

I am surprised you haven't yet told your husband that "feral elf" is your preferred look. :D

squirrrel

February 26th, 2015, 11:06 AM

What a fabulous story Nightshade... A long haul for you, but with dedication and patience you've made it. Well done. Here's to another nine years at LHC! :)

lazuliblue

February 26th, 2015, 11:15 AM

It's so wonderful to see how your hair has changed, it looks beautiful!

I have a few questions, if that's ok:
-Do you bun every day?
-I see that you are an ii ponytail circumference, are you on the thicker or thinner end of that? I am an ii too and it is always inspiring to see others who have long hair with a similar thickness.
-And finally...does your hair feel long?! I'm only at mbl and I was sure that when I got here it would feel long...it doesn't :D

texangrrl

February 26th, 2015, 11:22 AM

Those photos are stunning!!! Happy anniversary!!! :flower:

Duchess Fuzzy Buns

February 26th, 2015, 11:36 AM

What patience you have! Happy hairiversary Nightshade! :flowers: You seem like such a sweet and helpful person, and definitely one of my LHC hair inspirations.

missblueeyes

February 26th, 2015, 12:06 PM

I love the bun process! I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your hair in the future. :) Happy Hair-anniversary and happy further growing!

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 12:18 PM

Thank you all for your very sweet words! I'm glad that maybe the pictures can give other people hope. I almost gave up with my big shed when I realized I had to grow all of it out *all over again*, but LHC is what got me through it.

Oh Nightshade! We haven't talked with your much, but from what I've seen you are such a beautiful and inspirational lady! A true lady by heart! Love to see your progress, I am most amazed on how much your bun changed! Huge difference! And you make me want to henna my hair so much! :D

LOL! oh no! XD

Happy hairiversary! I'm one of the newish people who didn't know about the long journey to grow out dye, and now that I know, it's pretty inspiring. You have gorgeous hair and great fashion sense. The wedding picture: :thud:

(And is that an American McGee's Alice costume?)

Yes it is! I sewed it myself. The Alice series is one of my favorite PC games.

Happy anniversary!! I would be so happy to have your dark henna color, even though you didn't like it! :love:

Can you share more about your hair losses?? Ideas for causes, and anything you did/used to regain the thickness

The hair loss, so far as I can tell, was birth control induced "postpartum" shed, essentially. The dosages on birth control pills are much higher and systemic, so when I switched to my IUD it was like my body saying "Oh, not pregnant anymore!"

I tried a lot of things, Monistat, essential oils, etc. But really what it took was just the time for my hormones to stabilize with the new birth control, my hair to return to normal thickness, and then for the thickness to grow down to the ends.

Your hair is AMAZING! I love the ends. They really complete the elf/fairy image I have of you when I see your posts. Honestly, I love all the pictures, even the ones that you think are damaged hair.
The wedding photo though... Stunning.
And how sweet that your hubby helps with your henna. I adore supportive spouses/significant others!

DH is simply amazing and easily the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.

:thudpile: I log into LHC after a few month's break, and what do I see but one of my favourite people's lovely hair :D

Happy LHC anniversary, Nightshade! :flowers: Your hair has always been an inspiration, and so have your experiments on henna and Sun-In. I have a non-hair related question, though: how is your fiction writing going?

I have two novels more or less done and a third in the works. I keep putting off sending it out to agents because while I don't want to self-publish, I know I should have something out there. The current plan is for me to finish the henna book I'm working on, self-publish THAT, and then once that's out there start looking for agents for the novels. In an ideal world, I'd hope to do this by the end of this year.

Allow me to join the thud pile :thudpile:. Very nice head of hair. Happy Anniversary. :toast:

One question though. Is it not common for the bride to face the camera at her wedding? ;)

HA! I have lots of face pictures from that day, but specifically asked for that one because I wanted a picture of my train and my hair.

That's an awesome retrospective. I'm glad you're here because I wouldn't have gotten to know you otherwise!

I am surprised you haven't yet told your husband that "feral elf" is your preferred look. :D

Oh he knows, he just wants to be able to scrub me up and take me in public places once in awhile. XD

It's so wonderful to see how your hair has changed, it looks beautiful!

I have a few questions, if that's ok:
-Do you bun every day?
-I see that you are an ii ponytail circumference, are you on the thicker or thinner end of that? I am an ii too and it is always inspiring to see others who have long hair with a similar thickness.
-And finally...does your hair feel long?! I'm only at mbl and I was sure that when I got here it would feel long...it doesn't :D

- I do bun daily. I work in an office so it's up all day every day there (my go-to is a lazy wrap), and at home I'm often working either in the dirt, with tools, with epoxy, etc. and it's up then too. And I sleep with it bunned usually a Gibraltar bun with TriForce Pins (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TempestMoonStudio/search?search_query=triforce&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search) (side sleeper). It's down if I'm idling around or out doing something like going for a walk or shopping, but it's pretty rare.

- I'm at about 3.25 inches, but I haven't checked in awhile. I used to be really good about keeping up on my measurements, but I haven't for years. Partially why I switched to body markers, I've no clue at all what my hair length is in inches anymore.

- Sometimes? There's a girl in my office with tailbone length hair that I always see and think, "Wow is her hair long!" and sometimes my hair registers as long, but when I see so many pretty heads of hair here that are feet longer than mine, it's hard to remember that. Our perspective on long here is really whacked. People show up thinking APL length is "long" and then you start thinking that BSL is "long" and it just keeps creeping downward.

butterfly_dream

February 26th, 2015, 12:29 PM

Happy anniversary, Nightshade! I'm popping in to say that I decided to henna after I saw your beautiful locks.

TrapperCreekD

February 26th, 2015, 12:31 PM

:agape::thudpile::crush:http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-basic/worthy.gif

Such an inspirational story and gorgeous hair! The wedding and post Sun-In photos are my favorite. If I were to ever go red, that's the color I'd want. :inlove: Out of curiosity, what is your natural color?

Upside Down

February 26th, 2015, 12:42 PM

Really beautiful all together, and the color is aaaaamazing! Sigh.

No questins from me, but I do love your article on damaged hair. It was the first article I read on LHC and it really helped. So, thank you for that!

Happy anniversary!

arelrios

February 26th, 2015, 12:49 PM

I looooved your post... my favorite pic was the wedding (hair + dress + pale skin = perfection) .... also loved the full face pic... you are really beautiful ... Gosh, I hope I don't sound too creepy ... Sorry if I do :flowers:

Now, to the hair.... it gives me hope to know that time, perseverance and patience can lead to gorgeous hair... I also want to henna now hahahahahaaa...

Question: How do you get the benefits of henna without getting the color?

Anje

February 26th, 2015, 12:59 PM

Oh he knows, he just wants to be able to scrub me up and take me in public places once in awhile. XD

You??! Public places?!?!?!

Nah, can't be!

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 01:23 PM

Happy anniversary, Nightshade! I'm popping in to say that I decided to henna after I saw your beautiful locks.

Aw! That's so cool :) I'm glad it worked out for you.

:agape::thudpile::crush:http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-basic/worthy.gif

Such an inspirational story and gorgeous hair! The wedding and post Sun-In photos are my favorite. If I were to ever go red, that's the color I'd want. :inlove: Out of curiosity, what is your natural color?

Uh... well I've been coloring my hair since I was 12. I'm now 34, so to say it's been awhile is a gross understatement. I first wanted red hair when I saw Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and my only 'Barbie' dolls were actually Barbie's red-headed friends. I'd wanted long hair as long as I'd been aware there WAS red hair. But it's a medium ashy brown somewhere under all that henna :)

Really beautiful all together, and the color is aaaaamazing! Sigh.

No questins from me, but I do love your article on damaged hair. It was the first article I read on LHC and it really helped. So, thank you for that!

Happy anniversary!

You're so welcome! I'm glad that it's still holding up and useful to people!

I looooved your post... my favorite pic was the wedding (hair + dress + pale skin = perfection) .... also loved the full face pic... you are really beautiful ... Gosh, I hope I don't sound too creepy ... Sorry if I do :flowers:

Now, to the hair.... it gives me hope to know that time, perseverance and patience can lead to gorgeous hair... I also want to henna now hahahahahaaa...

Question: How do you get the benefits of henna without getting the color?

Hahahah nah, you're not creepy at all, very sweet actually :) As for hennaing without color, don't. Use either cassia or Sedr. There's no reliable way to get the conditioning without the color and it isn't worth the risk if you don't want orange hair.

You??! Public places?!?!?!

Nah, can't be!

I go grocery shopping! (at 1am on weeknights when it's just me, DH, and the stock crew.)

Lavenderhaze

February 26th, 2015, 01:33 PM

Swan Maiden

February 26th, 2015, 01:46 PM

Alexa

February 26th, 2015, 01:49 PM

SO BEAUTIFUL!!! :love:

I have a question: are your waves natural or does the bunning help?

CRX<3

February 26th, 2015, 01:58 PM

I just won a game of Settlers of Catan and then I log in and see this lovley anniversary post! What a great thursday evening :D
And congratulations!! :blossom: And my question to you is: what is your personal favourite strain/brand of henna and why? :D

Anje

February 26th, 2015, 02:00 PM

A post by Nightblooming! I feel like I am catching a glimpse of a unicorn!

Your hair is beautiful. I have to say I love your shop also, and have been aching for a custom stick forever. Freyas salve is a staple for me.
Kinda modly thing: I imagine that shop talk goes into the "Almost" category of the AM(A)A. We try to keep people from treating LHC as the best place ever to market hair stuff, which translates to people keeping a pretty tight lid on talking about things that they personally make and sell.

meteor

February 26th, 2015, 02:09 PM

Absolutely gorgeous, Nightshade! :thudpile: You have fiery, princessy, ethereal, amazing hair!

Thank you so much for the pictures and the story!

Happy hairiversary! :flowers:

lunasea

February 26th, 2015, 02:14 PM

Most beautiful hair ever; and such an inspiration! Happy anniversary!

Ingrid

February 26th, 2015, 02:17 PM

Congratulations, Nightshade! Wow, what a journey. Your story has been so inspirational to me in growing out damaged hair, which is still an ongoing process, and recovering from a massive shed. I've also found your article encouraging to try more natural methods of haircare. And congratulations on achieving the henna coppery-red colour, I spent most of my teenagehood trying to do so and gave up eventually :lol:

arelrios

February 26th, 2015, 02:22 PM

Hahahah nah, you're not creepy at all, very sweet actually :) As for hennaing without color, don't. Use either cassia or Sedr. There's no reliable way to get the conditioning without the color and it isn't worth the risk if you don't want orange hair.

Yeah, that is what I thought.... definitely don't want orange hair....

Now, on cassia or Sedr (first time I read about Sedr), do they leave any color? I read in the threads some people use cassia to enhance light/blonde hair...

Nightshade

February 26th, 2015, 02:43 PM

I second the thanks for the repairing damaged hair article, nightshade. It too is what brought me to lhc through a web search and helped me to start being able to save my badly dye damaged hair. As well as all the other helpful posts on this site.

Hope you remain here with us and best of luck in your future endeavors

That's amazing! I had no idea so many people found their way here because of that :) I'm happy it did, and happy it's helped!

A post by Nightblooming! I feel like I am catching a glimpse of a unicorn!

Your hair is beautiful. I have to say I love your shop also, and have been aching for a custom stick forever. Freyas salve is a staple for me.

Thank you! You're so sweet :)

SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

I have a question: are your waves natural or does the bunning help?

A bit of both :) the last picture in the second post is what they normally are. When you get the corkscrews in the end is when they're from bunning.

I just won a game of Settlers of Catan and then I log in and see this lovley anniversary post! What a great thursday evening :D
And congratulations!! And my question to you is: what is your personal favourite strain/brand of henna and why? :D

Dude! You won a game of Settlers of Catan. That IS a reason to celebrate!

I'm going to go with the cop-out answer here and go with "it depends." There's so many variables that go into henna's final color that I feel that many of those impact the color more than the actual specific region the powder comes from itself. But if I had to pick one I'd say Moroccan or Yemini, because they are generally lower in dye content and more coppery in nature with less dilution than say, Rajastani.

Absolutely gorgeous, Nightshade! :thudpile: You have fiery, princessy, ethereal, amazing hair!

Thank you so much for the pictures and the story!

Happy hairiversary!

That is an amazing and deeply flattering string of compliments! Thank you so much!

Most beautiful hair ever; and such an inspiration! Happy anniversary!

:flowers: Thank you!

Congratulations, Nightshade! Wow, what a journey. Your story has been so inspirational to me in growing out damaged hair, which is still an ongoing process, and recovering from a massive shed. I've also found your article encouraging to try more natural methods of haircare. And congratulations on achieving the henna coppery-red colour, I spent most of my teenagehood trying to do so and gave up eventually :lol:

I'm happy to read that my story has helped you and some others :) There is a light at the end of the damage tunnel!

Yeah, that is what I thought.... definitely don't want orange hair....

Now, on cassia or Sedr (first time I read about Sedr), do they leave any color? I read in the threads some people use cassia to enhance light/blonde hair...

Cassia can leave a golden stain on light hair, but it washes out (unless your hair is bleached and/or very porous). Sedr (http://www.hennasooq.com/organic-zizyphus-spina-christi-sedr/)leaves no color at all :)

arelrios

February 26th, 2015, 02:56 PM

Cassia can leave a golden stain on light hair, but it washes out (unless your hair is bleached and/or very porous). Sedr (http://www.hennasooq.com/organic-zizyphus-spina-christi-sedr/)leaves no color at all :)

Now I might have to try Sedr :whistle:

Laurenji

February 26th, 2015, 03:14 PM

Yay, Nightshade! You've always been one of my idols. Especially my craft idols . . . you are a crafting goddess! Plus you are are always so helpful and kind with your henna advice. I've really appreciated everything I've learned from you here over the years and I'm so glad your hair is starting to get to a completely happy place. I understand feeling like you "dont have much to show" for all your years here . . . my six year anniversary is coming up soon, and I'm not really that much longer than I was 3 years ago.

Anyways, congrats! We all love you.

Indigo Girl

February 26th, 2015, 03:19 PM

Oh, I'm so glad I didn't miss this thread! Your hair is beautiful - such amazing progress you've made. :bluesmile

Hard to believe it's been 9 years. Happy Anniversary, friend. :flowers:

Shepherdess

February 26th, 2015, 03:27 PM

Congrats on your 9 year LHC anniversary and hair growth! :D It looks like you have had some wonderful progress and your hair is so beautiful! I love the color too, it is so beautiful. :)

ashke50

February 26th, 2015, 04:02 PM

Nightshade your hair is beautiful!! I love the colour and the waves, and the way that when you have it in an updo it always manages to look artistic and elegant. Lovely to see more pictures of it, and to learn a bit more about your journey to get it to this point.
You make really interesting and informative posts on the forum, and what you can do with repairing or upgrading a ficcare is sensational - I am in awe of your crafting skills!

butter52

February 26th, 2015, 04:21 PM

Oh god that is GORGEOUS hair!!!!! im all jealous of you.

Winter Fox

February 26th, 2015, 04:29 PM

Amazing progress Nightshade, thank you so much for sharing, this is a true inspiration!
I come from overdyed/highly damaged hair myself trying to recover from chemical dye (since I was 14) and flat ironing. Your article about damaged hair has been extremely helpful so far and I'm happy to call you a hair idol :cheer: Congrats to 9 years healthy hair journey! :hollie:
Question: How did/do you keep up the motivation for writing your novels? :)

kidari

February 26th, 2015, 04:37 PM

I'm so glad you are not going anywhere! I remember when I first joined LHC your damage article helped me tremendously and all of your input to this forum continues to inspire and help. It's so nice that you were able to come here and get the same support that you give to others. This was an epic anniversary thread! I'm sorry if this was already asked and answered, but could I ask what is your general hair care routine... like how many times you wash or if you do any deep treatments regularly, etc? I love your length, color, texture, everything!

Vanilla

February 26th, 2015, 04:38 PM

Happy anniversary, friend! I had no idea your hair was so damaged when you joined here either. Count me in with the newbies.

DreamSheep

February 26th, 2015, 05:18 PM

Oooh, congrats NightShade!
I was actually first to see this post (according to LHC anyway) - not that this matters, there was just a resounding wow from me when I saw it, but was busy at the time and now I have the time to comment - and all mah questions have been answered (other than... tell me more about Sedr!).

Your photos are truly inspirational, and my favourite too is the wedding picture :) You look just like an elf, even though in wedding attire - and the red hues are just perfect :-3
And I echo others that your hair is making me consider whether to henna mine or not (though first I want to play around with temporary dyes... and then figure out if red would be my colour or not - as you know, red is cool but I don't know if it would look good on me or not).
Thanks for sharing this post with us, and hey, if you remember next year, please do a 10 year anniversary too!

yogagirl

February 26th, 2015, 05:46 PM

Nightshade, happy hairiversary! I love your color and waves. Your wedding picture is absolutely stunning! The color looks great with your white gown, but I have to say your color now looks so natural on you (and naturally beautiful)! I thought you are probably a strawberry blonde until I saw your answer upthread that you are ashy brown. Thank you for sharing your pics :flower:

embee

February 26th, 2015, 05:49 PM

Happy anniversary, NightShade! :) Lovely post.

Your hair is inspiring, as is your lovely garden.

KarpatiiSiv

February 26th, 2015, 06:34 PM

Happy LHC anniversary, Nightshade! http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Nature/flower-039.gif Inspirational story and gorgeous pictures. http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-048.gif

RainbowBowser

February 26th, 2015, 08:19 PM

:crush:
Your hair, omg. <3 Happy LHC anniversary!

Willowyn

February 26th, 2015, 09:00 PM

Happy LHC Anniversary, dear Nightshade. I was smiling and smiling as I read through your post. You are my favorite real-life elf. And when I saw,"DH is simply amazing and easily the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.", I was doubly glad for you.
:flowers:

Beckstar

February 26th, 2015, 09:03 PM

Happy harriversary. Will there be cake? That gorgeous hair needs to be celebrated. Ice cream too!

roseomalley

February 26th, 2015, 09:07 PM

Happy Anniversary, Nightshade! Thank for posting the story of your hair journey and for all the beautiful photos

Swan Maiden

February 26th, 2015, 09:14 PM

Kinda modly thing: I imagine that shop talk goes into the "Almost" category of the AM(A)A. We try to keep people from treating LHC as the best place ever to market hair stuff, which translates to people keeping a pretty tight lid on talking about things that they personally make and sell.

My bad. Inner fan girl got the best of me.

Anje

February 26th, 2015, 09:21 PM

My bad. Inner fan girl got the best of me.

Oh, no problem and no trouble. I just took it as an opportunity for a PSA. I wasn't meaning you in particular. :flower:

BambooBeauty

February 26th, 2015, 09:25 PM

wow! amazing!

LauraLongLocks

February 26th, 2015, 09:37 PM

Happy anniversary! Your journey is an inspiration to me and many others.

hinabelle

February 26th, 2015, 10:15 PM

Hello!
I'm very new here so I'm first of all impressed by the length of time you've been on this forum!
Second, your hair journey is VERY inspiring! You have beautiful hair and I am amazed at the results you got.
It's only recently that I decided that my hair has the capabilities to grow and be healthy, so it's wonderful to see the goal you have achieved. Congratulations!! :o

Some questions!:
Did it feel like the process of growing it out took a long time?
How careful are you with your hair?
How tall are you?
What is your favorite food? :)

poli

February 26th, 2015, 11:43 PM

Hello Nightshade, happy anniversary :)
Love the pictures!
I have few questions:
1. have you used or experimented with manjistha / Indian madder? I was curios what it does for hair apart from giving some color (i have seen it in ingredients list of different henna mixes). And can it enhance henna, make it more copper or more red?
2. have you ever had any other hair dreams than red hair? blond, black, white?

DKSABS

February 27th, 2015, 12:12 AM

Thank you for sharing your story. It is so inspiring. Your wedding dress is beautiful too!

Zebra Fish

February 27th, 2015, 02:09 AM

Love the story :) Read your articles and posts about damage and henna way back, and they helped a lot. Also wanted to say thanks on the other thread where you posted the henna colour under different lights (but saw this thread just after), coz now I see my henna is just fine, looks quite similar under different lights. Love your posts in general and beautiful wedding pic :D I'm afraid of the shedding when getting of birth control pills also :/ (not in any near plan tho) Just keep posting and don't go away from the forum for us noobies :toast:

Stray_mind

February 27th, 2015, 02:22 AM

Beautiful hair transformation :)

Nightshade

February 27th, 2015, 08:27 AM

Wow, I didn't expect quite so many responses :) I'm over the moon; you are all so very sweet and kind. Thank each and every one of you for the compliments and for letting me know that I actually helped some of you find your way to LHC! That's amazing ^_^

Amazing progress Nightshade, thank you so much for sharing, this is a true inspiration!
I come from overdyed/highly damaged hair myself trying to recover from chemical dye (since I was 14) and flat ironing. Your article about damaged hair has been extremely helpful so far and I'm happy to call you a hair idol :cheer: Congrats to 9 years healthy hair journey! :hollie:
Question: How did/do you keep up the motivation for writing your novels? :)

Well, I've been writing them for about ten years now. The reality is I'm very busy with work, other work, hobbies, my house, projects, etc. I'm going to go against what a lot of the happy writerly blogs say and say that it's OKAY not to write every day. It's okay to have other things come up. It's okay to shelve it for a little bit when you struggle. But my motivation is my characters. I love them; they're my friends, and if I'm away from them too long I miss them.

More practically- Having a writing buddy also helps a lot. I have one (who is also a member here) and she is fantastic and amazing, compassionate when needed and also capable of delivering a strong boot to my ass when needed. We have very different strengths and we balance one another out; I'm good at world building and description, she's better at dialogue, identifying tropes/danger zones, and blows me out of the water grammatically. Sometimes it's just nice to send an email with the title #writerangst and know that someone else GETS it, and also respond to a #writerangst email, where even if you're not slogging through your stuff, you're helping someone else slog through theirs, and in a round about way I always find it motivating for my own stuff.

I also read this: Write like a mother****** (http://therumpus.net/2010/08/dear-sugar-the-rumpus-advice-column-48-write-like-a-mother****er/). (some NSFW language, but I bawled the first time I read it because someone else GOT it.)

I'm so glad you are not going anywhere! I remember when I first joined LHC your damage article helped me tremendously and all of your input to this forum continues to inspire and help. It's so nice that you were able to come here and get the same support that you give to others. This was an epic anniversary thread! I'm sorry if this was already asked and answered, but could I ask what is your general hair care routine... like how many times you wash or if you do any deep treatments regularly, etc? I love your length, color, texture, everything!

My routine was a lot more complex when I first got here, and I think that's pretty common. You want to do ALL THE THINGS. But now it's more like:

I wash on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday with Max Green Alchemy shampoo and conditioner. Salve as leave-in. I henna once a month to touch up my roots, and every 6 months or so use a smidge of Sun-In on my newer growth to keep it coppery.

No deep treatments, nothing fancy anymore. :) I'm sorry that's such a boring answer!

Oooh, congrats NightShade!
I was actually first to see this post (according to LHC anyway) - not that this matters, there was just a resounding wow from me when I saw it, but was busy at the time and now I have the time to comment - and all mah questions have been answered (other than... tell me more about Sedr!).

Your photos are truly inspirational, and my favourite too is the wedding picture :) You look just like an elf, even though in wedding attire - and the red hues are just perfect
And I echo others that your hair is making me consider whether to henna mine or not (though first I want to play around with temporary dyes... and then figure out if red would be my colour or not - as you know, red is cool but I don't know if it would look good on me or not).
Thanks for sharing this post with us, and hey, if you remember next year, please do a 10 year anniversary too!

Sedr is fantastic :) I tend to prefer it's texture as a mud to cassia (it feels less gritty to me) and also makes hair a little less fluffy and strange-feeling (henna and cassia both do that for a bit after using it). It also smells a little more woodsy and a little less like grass.

Happy harriversary. Will there be cake? That gorgeous hair needs to be celebrated. Ice cream too!

No cake, just pudding and buttons :)

Hello!
I'm very new here so I'm first of all impressed by the length of time you've been on this forum!
Second, your hair journey is VERY inspiring! You have beautiful hair and I am amazed at the results you got.
It's only recently that I decided that my hair has the capabilities to grow and be healthy, so it's wonderful to see the goal you have achieved. Congratulations!!

Some questions!:
Did it feel like the process of growing it out took a long time?
How careful are you with your hair?
How tall are you?
What is your favorite food? :)

It felt longer the first time, when I was working out the damage. Probably because damaged hair is just harder to work around, and I was also new here. When you're newer you're just dying to see all this progress and change things and make The Perfect Routine. And then about 5-6 years in you realize that the trump card is just time, and you end up with a pretty basic routine. For that reason, growing it out the second time for my shed didn't seem nearly as bad.

I'm pretty careful with it, I suppose? I wear it up about 90% of the time, I don't use brushes only combs, I detangle before and after a shower, only use hair sticks, Ficcares and other hair-friendly toys. etc. But I don't do anything like silk sleep caps or buffs, or whatnot.

I am 5'6" or ~168 cm.

My knee jerk response was "matcha tea" but that's technically not a food. So I'd have to say honey from my own bee hives, like eating a chunk of comb whole. It's like tasting sunshine and flowers.

Hello Nightshade, happy anniversary
Love the pictures!
I have few questions:
1. have you used or experimented with manjistha / Indian madder? I was curios what it does for hair apart from giving some color (i have seen it in ingredients list of different henna mixes). And can it enhance henna, make it more copper or more red?
2. have you ever had any other hair dreams than red hair? blond, black, white?

I have not used either manjistha / Indian madder on my hair, but I've done some strand tests with it on mohair for kicks. It does give a bit of a stain, but it's another one of those natural dyes that is pretty much eclipsed by the potency of henna. If you want more copper red with henna, the best bet is to dilute it with cassia or sedr and use a lower dye content henna like Jamila or Moroccan. My copper is 35% henna, 65% other diluting herbs

White and green. My first dream hair was Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ea/ea/54/eaea54a626833387e5efa5ab69304853.jpg) and one of my very few hair regrets was not ColorFixing my red chemical dye out and doing moss-green for awhile before I started hennaing (I didn't think of the idea until years after I hennaed and there was no way to do that without undoing years of progress growing out my damage and adding more to the grow-out process). So I have mossy-green clip ins instead :)

Robot Ninja

February 27th, 2015, 08:54 AM

Nightshade

February 27th, 2015, 09:04 AM

Oh, I have a question:
You said you weren't sure MP would stick to the henna. Why is that, or do you have any resources for someone who might wish to do further research on the subject? And would the same issues also apply to sedr or cassia?

Well, I should clarify. MP will stick to henna. It might just not stick to henna in the hyper-clean anal retentive way I'd want it to :) One thing I loved with my black streaks was the hard contrast of black against bright copper. And I'd be worried that MP on henna would be dark brownish red, or fade to that quickly, and would muddy the hair around it. So it isn't that it won't work, it just won't work in the way I wish it would :)

hinabelle

February 27th, 2015, 10:02 AM

velorutionista

February 27th, 2015, 10:59 AM

Happy hairiversary! Add me to the ranks who stumbled on LHC via googling your henna and damage articles (thanks for those!). Loved seeing your hair progress over the years (you're definitely one of my hair idols!)

ravenheather

February 27th, 2015, 11:17 AM

Congratulations on 9 years. What was your trimming routine like the second time when you were growing out the shed? I am recovering from a year long shed/stall and keep waffling on how much to trim (also being desperate to reach waist).

Arwenlily

February 27th, 2015, 11:47 AM

Such beautiful hair! You are an inspiration Nightshade, I hope to have progress like you.

Nightshade

February 27th, 2015, 12:32 PM

Nightshade: Thanks for your reply! That honey sounds splendid -- my DBF is interested in keeping bees somewhere down the road so hopefully that sunshine taste is something I can look forward to in the future :o

Have you see the beekeeping thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=119183)? :)

Happy hairiversary! Add me to the ranks who stumbled on LHC via googling your henna and damage articles (thanks for those!). Loved seeing your hair progress over the years (you're definitely one of my hair idols!)

That's so cool that you also came here via the damaged hair article, and very sweet that you think my hair idol-worthy :flowers:

Congratulations on 9 years. What was your trimming routine like the second time when you were growing out the shed? I am recovering from a year long shed/stall and keep waffling on how much to trim (also being desperate to reach waist).

I was much more structured in my approach when trimming out my dye (1/4 in a month) because the damage made things tangly. With the shed growout there wasn't that "oh, my hair is doing the velcro thing, time to trim!) to remind me. Mostly I just hung out around tailbone and once I'd get past it a bit I'd cut back to TB and repeated as often as necessary to grow out the shed :)

Such beautiful hair! You are an inspiration Nightshade, I hope to have progress like you.

I'm sure you will! All it takes is time :)

Avis

February 27th, 2015, 01:38 PM

3 Cat Night

February 27th, 2015, 01:48 PM

What gorgeous hair you have! Congratulations on your anniversary here.:blossom:

memeow

February 27th, 2015, 07:57 PM

Nightshade, thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous pictures and your story. I too have benefited greatly from your damaged hair article, and it is really inspirational to know spent years growing out damage and have the results to show for it! Your hair is truly incredible, and this whole thread has made me more relaxed about the agonizely slow grow-out process. Thank you!

EdG

February 27th, 2015, 09:29 PM

Nightshade - you have great hair and a great hair history! You are one of the people who I associate very strongly with LHC. :)
Ed

mermaid lullaby

February 27th, 2015, 11:39 PM

Happy anniversary Nightshade!

Nightshade

February 28th, 2015, 11:34 AM

Wow, you look like an Elfin angel in your wedding picture! :crush:

Congrats on growing out damage AND a shed. I'm not sure I'd have the patience for that. Your story is truly inspirational. Thank you for sharing it. :bowtome: :blossom:

I'm pretty sure I'd have said the same thing, that I didn't have the patience for it. But when you're in the middle of it, plugging along, it isn't so bad. The plus side is that growing out hair takes a lot, but active effort isn't one of them :)

What gorgeous hair you have! Congratulations on your anniversary here.:blossom:

Thank you so much! :)

Nightshade, thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous pictures and your story. I too have benefited greatly from your damaged hair article, and it is really inspirational to know spent years growing out damage and have the results to show for it! Your hair is truly incredible, and this whole thread has made me more relaxed about the agonizely slow grow-out process. Thank you!

That's good to hear! The grow-out process is a little disheartening at times, but take your victories where you find them. :)

Nightshade - you have great hair and a great hair history! You are one of the people who I associate very strongly with LHC. :)
Ed

That is very, very sweet of you to say Ed. :grouphug:

Happy anniversary Nightshade!

Thank you :flowers:

earthybee

February 28th, 2015, 12:02 PM

Congratulations on such awesome progress! That dress is amazing :o as is your hair! So beautiful.

Narya

February 28th, 2015, 12:21 PM

Happy anniversary, Nightshade! I've always admired your hair, and it's always been my dream hair, as it is close to mine, but with the extra bits I wish mine had (like the color, oh, that color! Mines is way too dark naturally to achieve it without messing it all up...). Anyway, congratulations, and thank you for sharing all you share with us: you're loved around here! (as this thread rightly shows).

As for questions, one I thing I already asked you a long time ago: how do you manage to do so many things? Some kind of system/planner or just natural inclination? It sounds like you do so many times that there couldn't be enough time in a day... the not-so-good-time-manager is in awe.

Naphthylamine

February 28th, 2015, 12:26 PM

Congratulations on your anniversary!! Have to say that both you and your hair are gorgeous! :crush:

hinabelle

February 28th, 2015, 01:02 PM

Nightshade: It looks like I can't access the beekeeping thread just yet, but I will save it to look when I can! I can't believe there's a beekeeping thread, that's so great! Thanks for sharing with me :)

duchess67

March 1st, 2015, 06:36 AM

Happy anniversary! What an inspiring story, like a fairy tale. Your wedding pic is absolutely gorgeous and so are you and your hair.

Quahatundightu

March 1st, 2015, 09:08 AM

Happy anniversary Nightshade!! Your posts and especially article about damaged hair were a major inspiration for me. I always loved that photo you had in your siggy where you were sitting down with a waterfall of red hair down your back! I know I couldn't have grown my hair as long as I have without your advice. Your hair is looking so amazing now, it's incredible! Congratulations :)

Wildcat Diva

March 1st, 2015, 10:13 AM

Thanks for being here. You are one of the reasons LHC is so funny, helpful and amazing.

Here's my question: do you really think this thread can get any closure without eventually posting an action pic of the mossy green clip ins mentioned in post #80? There is foreshadowing there that needs resolution, methinks.

Carolyn

March 1st, 2015, 10:19 AM

How did I miss this thread until now? Congrats on your LHC anniversary Ms Nightshade! Thanks for beings so helpful and kind.

sibylla

March 1st, 2015, 10:46 AM

Hi Nightshade!Nice to see you again and see your progress!I haven´t been here for years but I´m back to grow out layers and to try to grow out my greys.they are green now and the rest of my hair is black.I think I´ve had it with my greys...Tomorrow I´ll color my roots again.Nice to have you here with all your expertise:9

Wavelength

March 1st, 2015, 11:04 AM

Awesome that you've started this thread, and congratulations! This isn't reddit and I'm late to the party so it's not your cake day, but here's one anyway! :cake:

Mind you, this is LHC, so I should be giving you :cheese: and :chocolate:

You've had so many good hair questions that I can't think of any, so I'm gonna go in a completely different direction. I know you're a fellow gamer, and you've played League of Legends, Settlers of Catan, heavily-modded Skyrim, and probably a bunch more I haven't even heard of. So my questions are the following:

How long have you been a gamer? What (or who) was it that introduced you to gaming?

What's the most immersive game you've ever played?

What's the most frustrating, but ultimately satisfying, gaming experience you've ever had?

Have you ever tried cosplay or gone to a gamer con, such as Pax East? (Warning: If you have done cosplay then I'll demand pics!)

And an unrelated question:

What made you decide to try beekeeping? I love following the beekeeping thread and I dearly hope your bees are getting through this winter well. Looking forward to seeing them thrive again in the spring!

(Also, thank you again for sending me that little sample of honey. Your bees really do make honey that tastes of blossoms and sunshine.) :flowers:

MandyBeth

March 1st, 2015, 11:23 AM

Happy anniversary!!!!!!!

How are all the kitties doing, we need updated pictures!

Wavelength

March 1st, 2015, 11:25 AM

Happy anniversary!!!!!!!

How are all the kitties doing, we need updated pictures!

Seconded, yes please!

Savvyhorsez

March 1st, 2015, 11:32 AM

First off Happy Anniversary! :hifive: :cheese: Second, wow! You really have gone through a lot! Third, your hair looks awesome!

Nightshade

March 1st, 2015, 01:30 PM

You are all so overwhelmingly sweet! I wish I had better words with which to thank you all, but know that I'm deeply touched by this thread and that it is both surprising and stunning to know how many people here found help in some of the (many, many, seriously look at my post count, many) things I've written about here!

Happy anniversary, Nightshade! I've always admired your hair, and it's always been my dream hair, as it is close to mine, but with the extra bits I wish mine had (like the color, oh, that color! Mines is way too dark naturally to achieve it without messing it all up...). Anyway, congratulations, and thank you for sharing all you share with us: you're loved around here! (as this thread rightly shows).

As for questions, one I thing I already asked you a long time ago: how do you manage to do so many things? Some kind of system/planner or just natural inclination? It sounds like you do so many times that there couldn't be enough time in a day... the not-so-good-time-manager is in awe.

I get asked this on occasion and my normal, semi-joking response is, "I don't sleep." Which is partially sort of true. I have Delayed Phase Sleep Disorder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder) and have had it all my life. What this means is that my average weekday starts when I get up at 7am for work, come home, nap from 6pm until 7:30 or 8, and then I get up and start the second half of my day. I'm up, working on various things, until I go to bed at 3 am or so (later on a "bad" day.) This also has the interesting side effect of giving me a reboot in between work-work and the rest of my life (including other-work, writing, beekeeping, and all my other hobbies). This, I feel, keeps work from feeling like it's taking over my life, which mentally is huge. It doesn't have to be a totally screwy sleep schedule and naps, but anything that gives you that division and reboot is important.

Personality-wise I'm an INTJ, which is often called a Mastermind or System Builder. I'm happiest when things work and will go well out of my way to make them do so. It's pretty easy for me to take apart processes and make them more efficient, but I think that's a little secondary. My stress response is also to restore order to all the things! Some people have a bad day and hit the couch with ice cream. I clean, relentlessly XD As if ordering the house and having control on my one little corner of the universe will help (it does, if only mentally).

This last bit may be a little sad, so my apologies if it dampens the thread any. I grew up without much of anything- my family lived well below the poverty line. I started saving for college when I was 13 because it was very, very apparent that nobody was going to get me anywhere in my life but me. I was too cynical and too realistic to bank on Prince Charming (yay INTJness), and that's sort of been my take on my entire life: If I want it to happen, I had better be ready to damn well MAKE it happen.

You can probably tack on my somewhat overzealous attitude of, "Okay if [whoever] can do it, it can't be THAT hard" and willingness to *read the directions* on things, and it all rolls up into someone who's willing to read up on and try just about anything that interests her.

Now the downside to all this is I am prone (perhaps unsurprisingly) to massive burnout. It isn't something I can turn off. :| I go and go and go until I realize that I should have stopped about 15 miles back XD But ah well, it's all I know how to do, so I keep on doing.

Nightshade: It looks like I can't access the beekeeping thread just yet, but I will save it to look when I can! I can't believe there's a beekeeping thread, that's so great! Thanks for sharing with me

It is SUCH a fun hobby! You're not too far away from being able to see it!

Thanks for being here. You are one of the reasons LHC is so funny, helpful and amazing.

Here's my question: do you really think this thread can get any closure without eventually posting an action pic of the mossy green clip ins mentioned in post #80? There is foreshadowing there that needs resolution, methinks.

I think I can manage that ^_^ They're awesome!

Awesome that you've started this thread, and congratulations! This isn't reddit and I'm late to the party so it's not your cake day, but here's one anyway! :cake:

Mind you, this is LHC, so I should be giving you :cheese: and :chocolate:

You've had so many good hair questions that I can't think of any, so I'm gonna go in a completely different direction. I know you're a fellow gamer, and you've played League of Legends, Settlers of Catan, heavily-modded Skyrim, and probably a bunch more I haven't even heard of. So my questions are the following:

[snip]

(Also, thank you again for sending me that little sample of honey. Your bees really do make honey that tastes of blossoms and sunshine.) :flowers:

Hey, I'll take cake and cheese any day! :)

How long have you been a gamer? What (or who) was it that introduced you to gaming?
My first console was my grandmother's NES when I was 5. (And yes it was hers, and she still has it, and she will whoop your butt at Bubble Bobble and Hogan's Alley). From there I think we got a Sega when I was 8 or 9? But the big deal was when my family got their first PC when I was 13. The first thing I ever spent my own money on of any substance was Myst. And from there I have been a PC gamer (for those of you doing the math, that's 21 years). What hooked me to gaming was almost the premise as Myst itself has- that there are all these other worlds that can be created and explored in a very immsersive, compelling way. It's like reading a book, in a lot of way. I'm also a complete graphics junkie, which is part of the reason I'm a stalwart PC gamer (my PC has, no joke, melted the paint behind my desk because of the heat output :lol:)

What's the most immersive game you've ever played?
Skyrim. I adore that game (as you know) and have an absurd number of mods (as you also know, and thank you again for Brynjoff's upgrade *fans self*). I've never spent so long on a single game, or ever had a game where I not only adopted, but LIKED my kids. Here, I'll be that person, aren't they adorable?

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ExNx-wVSoQY/VPN05Mq8fpI/AAAAAAAAL1o/HXIO_VDSe4s/s640/Kid-1.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cT7GmfQA5Yg/VPN05Rb4jiI/AAAAAAAAL10/7yKfGQnVRKU/s640/Kid-2.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nk6q9nPD0V4/VPN05e_lnjI/AAAAAAAAL1w/RSCz7K6b-KA/s640/Kid-3.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R_n4-gMxir4/VPN05-1znVI/AAAAAAAAL14/P7sh8gLDBkE/s640/Kid-4.jpg

What's the most frustrating, but ultimately satisfying, gaming experience you've ever had?
Beating the new Thief game with totally absurd custom difficultly settings. No knockouts, no kills, no non-utility weapons, hardest settings. My 17 year old brother (my brothers all game thanks to me XD) just stood behind me shaking his head. (Random aside, Garret was the first game character I really connected with, Karliah from Skyrim is the second.)

Have you ever tried cosplay or gone to a gamer con, such as Pax East? (Warning: If you have done cosplay then I'll demand pics!)
Yes. I was actually the grand prize winner of the costume contest at GenCon in 1999 (https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Lx1_oqZ7CCU/UJrFjV8WsKI/AAAAAAAAG3c/UnfL5bbA_yc/s512/MakaylaWings1.jpg), and placed in 2001 (https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLjVZU3ynAg/UJrFlTm3ATI/AAAAAAAAG3c/EZ2FHkSS38k/s512/Goingtoscream.jpg). I haven't been to GenCon since it moved to Indy. One of these years I'll start going to cons again. But yes, I love costuming, my Tauriel costume being my more recent one.

And an unrelated question:

What made you decide to try beekeeping? I love following the beekeeping thread and I dearly hope your bees are getting through this winter well. Looking forward to seeing them thrive again in the spring!

I hope they're okay, too! As for why, I'm not totally sure. I've always been fascinated by bugs (as a kid I would watch animial documentaries for hours), and I'm pretty eco-hippie minded. It also seemed like a fun and challenging hobby, and the poor bees needed some help. DH is also a huge animal lover, and it is by far the coolest couple's hobby ever!

Happy anniversary!!!!!!!

How are all the kitties doing, we need updated pictures!

Okay okay, mossy inserts and kitty pictures, I'm on it!

Wildcat Diva

March 1st, 2015, 01:38 PM

Yay!

Your costume contest pic was awesome!

Nightshade

March 1st, 2015, 01:42 PM

Yay!

Your costume contest pic was awesome!

I made everything but the boots :) the wings are an old backpack, chicken wire, black fabric and a LOT of hot glue and black feathers XD

MandyBeth

March 1st, 2015, 01:46 PM

Yay! Is Miss Juniper still with you? She's Victor's favorite.

Nightshade

March 1st, 2015, 01:47 PM

She's still here :) Tsavo still sings to her and she's still (literally) deaf to his efforts XD

Neptune

March 1st, 2015, 02:23 PM

Congratulations on your hair anniversary Nightshade!! Your posts have helped SO MUCH during my LHC journey thus far!! :cheer: xx

Narya

March 1st, 2015, 03:18 PM

OMG, now that I read my post again there are TONS of mistakes on it :shame: Oops!

Thanks for such a comprehensive answer. I remember when I first asked you answered me something that made total sense and inspired me to try to do more, too, but I can't find it for the life of me. It was probably just the same you said now, which inspires just the same.

:flowers:

TheHowlingWolf

March 1st, 2015, 04:39 PM

I've always admired you and thought you were so cool! You're into really interesting stuff (bee keeping, hair toy making, gaming, etc) & you always seem so educated on every subject matter you're passionate about! I love reading your blog & your hair articles have really helped me! Also, I adore your etsy!!!!

I have some questions:
1)In pictures of your home/yard, I notice you have a lot of beautiful plants! Are you naturally good at taking care of plants or have you ever killed any? I ask because I want my home to be filled with them!....but I keep killing most of them :( I'm wondering if there is a learning curve or if some people are just good with plants and some aren't.
2)What are your favorite kinds of plants to have? (preferably houseplants as I don't have a yard)
3) What are some of your favorite books? Non Fiction & Fiction.

sleepingduty

March 1st, 2015, 06:55 PM

Happy hairiversary nightshade! I have enjoyed reading about your beekeeping and have also learned so very much from you! I feel you have selflessly given your wisdom to me and so many others. You truly have a gift. Thank you for sharing:)

FallingDarkness

March 1st, 2015, 09:27 PM

Late to this party, but just wanted to say that I am absolutely in LOVE with your hair!!! <3

Nightshade

March 2nd, 2015, 08:44 AM

Congratulations on your hair anniversary Nightshade!! Your posts have helped SO MUCH during my LHC journey thus far!! :cheer: xx

That's so kind of you to say :) I'm glad I was able to be helpful!

OMG, now that I read my post again there are TONS of mistakes on it :shame: Oops!

Thanks for such a comprehensive answer. I remember when I first asked you answered me something that made total sense and inspired me to try to do more, too, but I can't find it for the life of me. It was probably just the same you said now, which inspires just the same.

:flowers:

It is both terrifying and insanely liberating to know that you have the power to make things happen for yourself :)

I've always admired you and thought you were so cool! You're into really interesting stuff (bee keeping, hair toy making, gaming, etc) & you always seem so educated on every subject matter you're passionate about! I love reading your blog & your hair articles have really helped me! Also, I adore your etsy!!!!

I have some questions:
1)In pictures of your home/yard, I notice you have a lot of beautiful plants! Are you naturally good at taking care of plants or have you ever killed any? I ask because I want my home to be filled with them!....but I keep killing most of them :( I'm wondering if there is a learning curve or if some people are just good with plants and some aren't.
2)What are your favorite kinds of plants to have? (preferably houseplants as I don't have a yard)
3) What are some of your favorite books? Non Fiction & Fiction.

Thank you for all the kind words :flowers:

1)In pictures of your home/yard, I notice you have a lot of beautiful plants! Are you naturally good at taking care of plants or have you ever killed any? I ask because I want my home to be filled with them!....but I keep killing most of them :( I'm wondering if there is a learning curve or if some people are just good with plants and some aren't.
You haven't seen my many failed attempts at orchids! XD With plants, I think anyone can learn to care for them. It's best to start with things that you know work for your lighting conditions. My house, being very shaded by trees and in a valley to boot, has very little sunlight. Also be careful of overwatering, it's the easiest way to kill plants. There's a houseplant thread around here somewhere, and that might be worth checking out. Perhaps by outlining what your lighting is they could help you pick some starter plants!

2)What are your favorite kinds of plants to have? (preferably houseplants as I don't have a yard)
I love snake plants (http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/snake-plant/snake-plant-care.htm), spider plants (http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/spider-plant/spider-plant-care-gardening-tips-for-spider-plants.htm) (they have the best air turnover of all houseplants!), bamboo (http://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-indoor-bamboo-plant-grows-pebbles-92709.html)and cyclamen (http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/cyclamen.html)(mine is under the counter with a plant light and pure white). I'd love more plants, honestly, but low light and a bunch of cats makes it hard.

3) What are some of your favorite books? Non Fiction & Fiction.

Fiction is easy, because that's the vast majority of what I read. Reading, to me, is primarily about escapism. I also tend to have favorite authors and series:
Dresden Files- Jim Butcher (http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden)
Kushiel's Legacy Series- Jacqueline Carey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushiel%27s_Legacy)
Sevenwater Series- Juliet Marillier (http://www.julietmarillier.com/books/daughteroftheforest.html)
Sandman (graphic novels)- Neil Gaiman (http://www.amazon.com/The-Sandman-Series/lm/RA64P0E3CC2ZP)
The Last Unicorn (http://www.amazon.com/Last-Unicorn-Peter-S-Beagle/dp/1600108512/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1425310528&sr=8-4&keywords=The+last+unicorn) and Twin Hearts (http://www.amazon.com/Line-Between-Peter-S-Beagle/dp/1892391368/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425310570&sr=1-5)- Peter S Beagle.
This list could get very, very long, so I'll stop there. :)

Nonfiction:
Of Flesh & Spirit (http://www.amazon.com/Of-Flesh-Spirit-Wang-Ping/dp/1566890683) by Wang Ping
On Writing (http://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425310867&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+king+on+writing)- Stephen King (it's as much a memoir as a how-to)
The Tea Ceremony (http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Ceremony-Seno-Tanaka/dp/4770025076/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425310928&sr=8-1&keywords=tea+ceremony)- Seno Tanaka

Happy hairiversary nightshade! I have enjoyed reading about your beekeeping and have also learned so very much from you! I feel you have selflessly given your wisdom to me and so many others. You truly have a gift. Thank you for sharing:)

That's the best thing about knowledge, it doesn't take anything away from you to give it to others ^_^

Late to this party, but just wanted to say that I am absolutely in LOVE with your hair!!! <3

Thank you so much :inlove:

Wavelength

March 2nd, 2015, 11:14 AM

The cosplay pics were awesome, and thanks for posting them! I don't think it's something I'd want to do myself, but I appreciate it when someone manages to pull together a good costume and persona. You did a wonderful job, and how cool that you won in the contests!

I loved Myst when it came out and played it near-incessantly, so I completely understand how that game left such an impression on you. I don't think Riven was quite as good as the original -- I got the feeling it was trying to be clever in places, whereas Myst was just happy to immerse you in its world.

Glad you're enjoying the new and improved Brynjolf and all the other yummy males in that Skyrim mod! :wink:

I see you have the same mod I do for elven children! I'm playing a Bosmer so I'm pretty happy with Minna. (My Bosmer's married to another Bosmer from the Interesting NPCs mod.) I've upped the difficulty on wilderness survival by playing with Frostfall, Realistic Needs, Hunterborn and Hunting in Skyrim. I'm also fast-traveling as little as possible. It's going pretty well so far -- I'm up to level 45 and pretty much ignoring the main questline. Getting thrown in Cidhna Mine was seriously problematic. The guards captured me as soon as I approached Markarth and I didn't even have time to get food out of my own backpack, so I went to prison hungry, thirsty, and tired. I spent the first half hour frantically running around the mine and eating all the stale, rotten food I could find out of sacks. I wound up with three diseases at the same time and my hunger still wasn't satisfied. Forget sleeping, there's nowhere to lie down! While Madanach was speechifying, I rifled through all his stuff and ate any untainted food I could find. I figured I'd do what he asked because he basically kept my Bosmer from dying of starvation, and I sure as hell was in no shape to fight him! Made the whole prison experience feel quite a bit more desperate.

I'm also a fan of the Dresden Files and of course, the amazing Neil Gaiman. If you're up for a suggestion, you might want to try reading a series by a Canadian author named Kelley Armstrong. She starts off her series with werewolves, and from there explores other supernaturals like witches, sorcerers, vampires and necromancers. It's very well-written and her protagonists are all women. The series is called "Women of the Otherworld". The second book in the series, Stolen, is one of my hands-down favourites.

First in series: Bitten (http://www.amazon.com/Bitten-Otherworld-Kelley-Armstrong/dp/0452296641/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y)
Second in series: Stolen (http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Women-Otherworld-Kelley-Armstrong/dp/0452296668/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y)

Start with those if it sounds like something you'd enjoy.

Crumpet

March 2nd, 2015, 11:52 AM

This was a lovely update post. I've been stalled since joining the LHC also since I was trimming out layers. Its good to see that patience can pay off so beautifully!

hennalonghair

March 2nd, 2015, 12:04 PM

Happy Anniversary Nightshade
You've contributed so much to the site since you've joined and your pictures look wonderful.

My hats off to you:flower:

Hypnotica

March 3rd, 2015, 01:50 PM

(I always think of Hypnotica who joined shortly after me at BSL and is now at knee),

<correction> CALF lenght </correction>

;)

Nightshade

March 5th, 2015, 07:53 AM

Maelyssa

March 5th, 2015, 05:42 PM

Nightshade

March 6th, 2015, 09:32 AM

Belated 9 year Anniversary dear! Your hair has always been a gorgeous inspiration over the years and I'm so grateful for all that you share. So I have a few questions for you since you're offering up answers right now...

*What time of day do you tend to wash your hair & how do you wear it while drying?

*Does this change during different times of the year?

*I also use Max shampoo and conditioner but have developed what seems to be a very flaky scalp. Ever had any issues using it? It makes my hair so so soft I really don't want to give it up.

*Protein. So I know you eat mostly veggies. Well I've officially lost 40 lbs in the past 6 months and am about to have stomach surgery next Friday. After I'm healed up I'm wanting to go mostly plant based but wonder how I can get enough protein. The nutritionist wants me to aim for 60 grams a day which is quite a bit. I'm anticipating hairloss for a bit so protein will help. Thoughts, tips or suggestions?

By the way, your children are adorable!

Hahaha thanks! They are pretty cute ^_^ My Khajit kid steals from me (which I also think is adorable, as my character's hobby is robbing everything in Skyrim that isn't nailed down. My goal is 1000 stolen items per character level).

*What time of day do you tend to wash your hair & how do you wear it while drying?
Showering is always right before bed and unless I really get filthy in the yard is Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. I'm borderline non-functional in the morning and there's no way on earth I can shower then and ever be to work on time. So usually 2-3 in the morning :) I wrap it up in a microfiber Aquis towel for a couple minutes, take it down, put some salve in it, then do my updo lift so the front part dries not-flat. The rest goes up in a Gibraltar bun held with triforce pins (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TempestMoonStudio/search?search_query=triforce&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search). I sleep on it wet/damp, and then it's still that way when I style it for work a couple hours later. My hair is hopeless to put up dry. It's usually dry-ish by day 2, so I have to mist it in the morning before I put it up again.

*Does this change during different times of the year?
Nope :) I'm boring like that.

*I also use Max shampoo and conditioner but have developed what seems to be a very flaky scalp. Ever had any issues using it? It makes my hair so so soft I really don't want to give it up.
I don't have this issue, but DH seems to. But he also has a very dry scalp in general. Do you use both the shampoo and conditioner on your scalp? That's what the directions say, so might be worth a go if your scalp is dry? Otherwise, if they're more wet, cruddy flakes, don't use the conditioner on your scalp if you do?

*Protein. So I know you eat mostly veggies. Well I've officially lost 40 lbs in the past 6 months and am about to have stomach surgery next Friday. After I'm healed up I'm wanting to go mostly plant based but wonder how I can get enough protein. The nutritionist wants me to aim for 60 grams a day which is quite a bit. I'm anticipating hairloss for a bit so protein will help. Thoughts, tips or suggestions?

Oh wow! That's an amazing accomplishment :)

I do eat a ton of veggies, but usually have meat a couple times a week. This is probably easier for me than most people because I'm on my own for two of three meals a day (breakfast, which is almond butter and a spoon) and lunch (DH and I make our own lunches). In the winter I do most of our dinners inside, and in the warmer months DH grills most our dinners. So, I do eat meat. Venison is actually one of my favorite foods (and it's hard to get more organic than that XD). My preferences run towards chicken and fish, though. I'm very meh on pork (with the rare exception of bacon) and beef is okay so long as it's a grilled steak, not a massive fan of ground beef.

One of my favorite sites is deliciouslyella (http://deliciouslyella.com/) who is a fantastic and very non-preachy gluten-free vegan. She talks specifically about plant-based protein here (http://deliciouslyella.com/lifestyles/advice-how-to-eat-plant-based-protein/). She also has a lot of good recipes that are high in plant protein.

In the winter these avocados (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chipotle_cheddar_avocado.html) (well a variation, I use VeggieShreds/Diaya fake cheese and salsa) are my go-to lunch. Warm, squishy, spicy, and filling. I eat a ton of almond butter, which I make at home. This is my go-to recipe (http://www.hipsteaders.com/2012/11/homemade-vanilla-almond-butter/), swapping in homemade maple syrup because I never have agave on hand. The breakfast version has 3TB of coffee beans mulched into it, and sits in a big glass jar at my desk at work XD

My smoothies (go-to lunch in the summer) have avocado, spinach, spirulina, and chia seeds in them, all of which are protein dense plant-based foods.

Quinoa is a huge favorite of mine, and we've swapped that in for almost all of our rice dishes (except sushi). Quinoa crispies (http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-crispy-treats/) with homemade marshmallow (http://wellnessmama.com/6423/healthy-marshmallows/) are a fun treat, as are these cacao quiona crispy bites (http://deliciouslyella.com/recipe/quinoa-and-cacao-crispy-treats/). This cheesy broccoli quinoa (http://damndelicious.net/2014/03/05/broccoli-quinoa-casserole/) is a great swap in for mac & cheese. Even for noodles we use quinoa-based pasta (http://edisongrainery.com/store/9-pastas) now, as it's higher in protein and overall better for you than the wheat stuff. (This site is also where I get puffed quinoa (http://edisongrainery.com/store/grains/38-quinoa-crispies-cereal.html), though you can do it yourself (http://www.wikihow.com/Puff-Quinoa), this stuff just works better, I kept burning mine doing it myself).

Chia seeds are also really easy to add to just about anything (salads, smoothies, etc) and making pudding from them (http://dailyburn.com/life/recipes/chia-breakfast-pudding/) is a great way to get lots of protein.

Thug Kitchen (http://www.thugkitchen.com/) (NSFW LANGUAGE) also has some great stuff (it's a vegetarian site, but they don't play that up much, and this sweet potato loaf (http://www.thugkitchen.com/sweet_potato_loaf) is my favorite. With baking I use flowers like almond, buckwheat, and quinoa, all of which have more protein than wheat.

More or less I try to do as many swap ins for better/more protein-rich plant foods where I can, and focus on nutrition density over empty starches :)

dellad

March 6th, 2015, 10:12 AM

I'm salivating over all these delicious sounding foods!

Hahaha thanks! They are pretty cute ^_^ My Khajit kid steals from me (which I also think is adorable, as my character's hobby is robbing everything in Skyrim that isn't nailed down. My goal is 1000 stolen items per character level).

*What time of day do you tend to wash your hair & how do you wear it while drying?
Showering is always right before bed and unless I really get filthy in the yard is Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. I'm borderline non-functional in the morning and there's no way on earth I can shower then and ever be to work on time. So usually 2-3 in the morning :) I wrap it up in a microfiber Aquis towel for a couple minutes, take it down, put some salve in it, then do my updo lift so the front part dries not-flat. The rest goes up in a Gibraltar bun held with triforce pins (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TempestMoonStudio/search?search_query=triforce&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search). I sleep on it wet/damp, and then it's still that way when I style it for work a couple hours later. My hair is hopeless to put up dry. It's usually dry-ish by day 2, so I have to mist it in the morning before I put it up again.

*Does this change during different times of the year?
Nope :) I'm boring like that.

*I also use Max shampoo and conditioner but have developed what seems to be a very flaky scalp. Ever had any issues using it? It makes my hair so so soft I really don't want to give it up.
I don't have this issue, but DH seems to. But he also has a very dry scalp in general. Do you use both the shampoo and conditioner on your scalp? That's what the directions say, so might be worth a go if your scalp is dry? Otherwise, if they're more wet, cruddy flakes, don't use the conditioner on your scalp if you do?

*Protein. So I know you eat mostly veggies. Well I've officially lost 40 lbs in the past 6 months and am about to have stomach surgery next Friday. After I'm healed up I'm wanting to go mostly plant based but wonder how I can get enough protein. The nutritionist wants me to aim for 60 grams a day which is quite a bit. I'm anticipating hairloss for a bit so protein will help. Thoughts, tips or suggestions?

Oh wow! That's an amazing accomplishment :)

I do eat a ton of veggies, but usually have meat a couple times a week. This is probably easier for me than most people because I'm on my own for two of three meals a day (breakfast, which is almond butter and a spoon) and lunch (DH and I make our own lunches). In the winter I do most of our dinners inside, and in the warmer months DH grills most our dinners. So, I do eat meat. Venison is actually one of my favorite foods (and it's hard to get more organic than that XD). My preferences run towards chicken and fish, though. I'm very meh on pork (with the rare exception of bacon) and beef is okay so long as it's a grilled steak, not a massive fan of ground beef.

One of my favorite sites is deliciouslyella (http://deliciouslyella.com/) who is a fantastic and very non-preachy gluten-free vegan. She talks specifically about plant-based protein here (http://deliciouslyella.com/lifestyles/advice-how-to-eat-plant-based-protein/). She also has a lot of good recipes that are high in plant protein.

In the winter these avocados (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chipotle_cheddar_avocado.html) (well a variation, I use VeggieShreds/Diaya fake cheese and salsa) are my go-to lunch. Warm, squishy, spicy, and filling. I eat a ton of almond butter, which I make at home. This is my go-to recipe (http://www.hipsteaders.com/2012/11/homemade-vanilla-almond-butter/), swapping in homemade maple syrup because I never have agave on hand. The breakfast version has 3TB of coffee beans mulched into it, and sits in a big glass jar at my desk at work XD

My smoothies (go-to lunch in the summer) have avocado, spinach, spirulina, and chia seeds in them, all of which are protein dense plant-based foods.

Quinoa is a huge favorite of mine, and we've swapped that in for almost all of our rice dishes (except sushi). Quinoa crispies (http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-crispy-treats/) with homemade marshmallow (http://wellnessmama.com/6423/healthy-marshmallows/) are a fun treat, as are these cacao quiona crispy bites (http://deliciouslyella.com/recipe/quinoa-and-cacao-crispy-treats/). This cheesy broccoli quinoa (http://damndelicious.net/2014/03/05/broccoli-quinoa-casserole/) is a great swap in for mac & cheese. Even for noodles we use quinoa-based pasta (http://edisongrainery.com/store/9-pastas) now, as it's higher in protein and overall better for you than the wheat stuff. (This site is also where I get puffed quinoa (http://edisongrainery.com/store/grains/38-quinoa-crispies-cereal.html), though you can do it yourself (http://www.wikihow.com/Puff-Quinoa), this stuff just works better, I kept burning mine doing it myself).

Chia seeds are also really easy to add to just about anything (salads, smoothies, etc) and making pudding from them (http://dailyburn.com/life/recipes/chia-breakfast-pudding/) is a great way to get lots of protein.

Thug Kitchen (http://www.thugkitchen.com/) (NSFW LANGUAGE) also has some great stuff (it's a vegetarian site, but they don't play that up much, and this sweet potato loaf (http://www.thugkitchen.com/sweet_potato_loaf) is my favorite. With baking I use flowers like almond, buckwheat, and quinoa, all of which have more protein than wheat.

More or less I try to do as many swap ins for better/more protein-rich plant foods where I can, and focus on nutrition density over empty starches :)

Wavelength

March 6th, 2015, 10:14 AM

I've wanted to try Frostfall and Live another Life, they seem like really challenging mods that add a lot to the game :) I'll check out Bitten and Stolen, they sound like something I'd enjoy!

Oh yes, those mods really make you play the game differently! My current mod combo for a more survival-type game is Live Another Life, Frostfall, Wet & Cold, Realistic Needs & Diseases, and Hunterborn. Frostfall and Realistic Needs make weather and food actually mean something -- you have to avoid getting too cold, too hungry or too tired. You need a tent and food on you when you're traveling out in the wilds, because you can die from things like exposure and hunger, and eating raw or spoiled food can give you diseases so you need to learn to cook over a fire. Hunterborn makes hunting a lot more immersive. You can field dress, skin and butcher game, plus it gives you the Scrimshaw ability and opens up extra materials for crafting and alchemy.

I'm also running another hunting mod called Hunting in Skyrim. It puts a hunt club in Whiterun in the basement of the Drunken Huntsman, and that opens up new hunting quests and crafting features. It's a WIP so it's not finished yet, and I've run into a couple of minor bugs, but it's got great potential. (It mostly plays well with Hunterborn but you do have to tweak it a little.)

Protip: If you're playing with these mods then DO NOT choose the "Shipwreck" player start on Live Another Life, or you will likely die from cold and exposure. The shipwreck occurs near Dawnstar, and you quickly learn that swimming in freezing water is a Very Bad Idea.

If you read Bitten and Stolen, let me know what you think! I was pretty impressed with the quality of writing, and the author has a good handle on the psychology of her characters. That especially came through in Stolen.

ETA: The Khajiit kid steals from you?! That's... amazingly awesome! I definitely have to check that mod out now! :grin:

savfairy

March 6th, 2015, 10:40 AM

Such beautiful hair Nightshade! :thud: How inspiring!

brickworld13

March 6th, 2015, 10:48 AM

:applause: Oh this is lovely!! Congratulations! :cheer:

maskedrose

March 6th, 2015, 10:57 AM

Happy anniversary Nightshade!! I remember being so in awe of you and your hair when I joined in 2007, and I've loved getting to know the person behind the hair a bit over the years. You've always given very thoughtful and meaningful advice in all areas of life...and of course your hair has been a great inspiration, especially since we share a similar type.

I love your hubby's "feral-elf" comment, btw :love: You guys are awesome, and an inspiration in that area as well!

Neecola

March 6th, 2015, 12:07 PM

Happy Anniversary, Nightshade!! What lovely hair you have! I really enjoyed reading your story and seeing your pictures; thanks for taking the time to post it all. You are always so helpful (and funny!)

I am most recently indebted to you for finally using Sun-In to lighten up my henna. I am SO much happier with my hair color now and any damage I may have caused is imperceptible to my eyes. I would not have had the courage without your massive and helpful thread, so my most sincere thanks! :flower:

I keep cutting my hair because the ends are thin... I think it is probably genetics. But your fairy tale ends... :crush: really make me think it might not be so bad to let them do their thing.

Here's my (almost) anything question:

How do you match your brows to your hair color? (You are so pretty, BTW!)

Aaroo

March 6th, 2015, 01:29 PM

Happy Anniversary Nightshade! I had somewhat missed this thread.

And my :thudpile::thudpile: goes to your wedding shot! Amazing :)

nakima

March 6th, 2015, 02:44 PM

Happy Aniversary Night Shade! Your hair is beautiful. Love the curls and the color. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Nightshade

March 6th, 2015, 03:00 PM

I'm salivating over all these delicious sounding foods!

Oh yes, those mods really make you play the game differently! My current mod combo for a more survival-type game is Live Another Life, Frostfall, Wet & Cold, Realistic Needs & Diseases, and Hunterborn. Frostfall and Realistic Needs make weather and food actually mean something -- you have to avoid getting too cold, too hungry or too tired. You need a tent and food on you when you're traveling out in the wilds, because you can die from things like exposure and hunger, and eating raw or spoiled food can give you diseases so you need to learn to cook over a fire. Hunterborn makes hunting a lot more immersive. You can field dress, skin and butcher game, plus it gives you the Scrimshaw ability and opens up extra materials for crafting and alchemy.

I'm also running another hunting mod called Hunting in Skyrim. It puts a hunt club in Whiterun in the basement of the Drunken Huntsman, and that opens up new hunting quests and crafting features. It's a WIP so it's not finished yet, and I've run into a couple of minor bugs, but it's got great potential. (It mostly plays well with Hunterborn but you do have to tweak it a little.)

Protip: If you're playing with these mods then DO NOT choose the "Shipwreck" player start on Live Another Life, or you will likely die from cold and exposure. The shipwreck occurs near Dawnstar, and you quickly learn that swimming in freezing water is a Very Bad Idea.

If you read Bitten and Stolen, let me know what you think! I was pretty impressed with the quality of writing, and the author has a good handle on the psychology of her characters. That especially came through in Stolen.

ETA: The Khajiit kid steals from you?! That's... amazingly awesome! I definitely have to check that mod out now!

Hahahahaa The Khajit mod for him is My Little Kitty. There's a female one, too, but I don't have her, or the Argonian kid (because my house only allows four. You pick him up at the Orphanage (there's two mods, both a stand alone and one where he replaces Samuel), but yeah, he constantly takes small things and puts them in his chest, or you'll see them if you pick his pocket. He'll also steal random things from elsewhere (no idea where he gets them) and give them to you as gifts. I use the Director's Tools to set his clothes (he's wearing Brynjoff's clothes without the hood) because he wears adult clothes and not kid ones.

I'll have to try those other mods on a new character, they sound like a blast :) It makes me both excited and sad for Blackmarsh, because there's so, so many cool Skyrim mods!

Such beautiful hair Nightshade! :thud: How inspiring!

Oh this is lovely!! Congratulations! :cheer:

Thank you both :flowers:

Happy anniversary Nightshade!! I remember being so in awe of you and your hair when I joined in 2007, and I've loved getting to know the person behind the hair a bit over the years. You've always given very thoughtful and meaningful advice in all areas of life...and of course your hair has been a great inspiration, especially since we share a similar type.

I love your hubby's "feral-elf" comment, btw :love: You guys are awesome, and an inspiration in that area as well!

My husband is truly my better half ^_^ You've always been a good friend to me, maskrose, and it's been great interacting with you here.

Happy Anniversary, Nightshade!! What lovely hair you have! I really enjoyed reading your story and seeing your pictures; thanks for taking the time to post it all. You are always so helpful (and funny!)

I am most recently indebted to you for finally using Sun-In to lighten up my henna. I am SO much happier with my hair color now and any damage I may have caused is imperceptible to my eyes. I would not have had the courage without your massive and helpful thread, so my most sincere thanks! :flower:

I keep cutting my hair because the ends are thin... I think it is probably genetics. But your fairy tale ends... :crush: really make me think it might not be so bad to let them do their thing.

Here's my (almost) anything question:

How do you match your brows to your hair color? (You are so pretty, BTW!)

You're very welcome for the henna advice! I'm glad to hear Sun-In did the trick for you (and without, damage, too!) Can't hurt to let your ends fairy tail a bit, either. Not like you can't trim them back later if you don't like it.

How do you match your brows to your hair color? (You are so pretty, BTW!)

Thank you for the kind words :inlove: My eyebrows are kind of a two step process but the first is that I lighten them a bit. To do this I just take the bottle of peroxide (the stuff you use on cuts, nothing fancy), and a q-tip and brush the peroxide over my eyebrows every time I'm in the bathroom for a day or so. It just lightens them up a little. Step 2 is that when I henna, I also do my brows. I've found that, for whatever reason, the more diluted henna blend I use on my head doesn't take to my eyebrows well, so I have another tiny batch of the full strength stuff that I use for them. I put henna on them, slap on pieces of saran wrap, and let them sit for an hour or two. Like so (https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rw1YRntIcjc/VHyGGl-d3tI/AAAAAAAAKjE/sWo3N2u7aRo/s720/Lip-Stain-4.jpg)! I was also screwing around with trying to stain my lips in that picture.

Happy Anniversary Nightshade! I had somewhat missed this thread.

And my :thudpile: goes to your wedding shot! Amazing :)

Thank you so much! My poor uncle (my photographer). My skin is so pale that between me and my dress he was having a hell of a time white-balancing XD

Happy Aniversary Night Shade! Your hair is beautiful. Love the curls and the color. Thanks for sharing your journey.

You're so sweet! I'm grateful my long and not very impressive progress has bolstered others!

Lavendersugar

March 6th, 2015, 05:31 PM

Aaroo

March 7th, 2015, 03:49 AM

He has done an amazing job for an adorable bride :applause:applause:crush:

Nightshade

March 7th, 2015, 12:34 PM

You are a great inspiration!!!!! Happy anniversary !!!!!

And I love your hair for your wedding. Both color and style.

I'm in awe over your waves. Love them!!

What would be your top three hair nono's? And fave products?

Thank you :flower:

Three top Hair no-nos:

- No heat styling
- no repeated, overlapping chemical coloring
- believing that something will "fix" your hair

Product-wise I'm very boring :) I use Max Green Alchemy shampoo and conditioner, but everything else is herbal and homemade XD I henna my roots once a month or so, use salve as a leave-in, de-mineralize my hair on rare, rare occasion (the water here is freakishly hard) and that's honestly about it!

DweamGoiL

March 7th, 2015, 01:30 PM

Congratulations, Nightshade...AMAZINGLY inspiring journey!!!

Halliday

March 7th, 2015, 03:18 PM

Your hair has the most lustrous colour and shine,

Nightshade

March 7th, 2015, 04:54 PM

Congratulations, Nightshade...AMAZINGLY inspiring journey!!!

Thank you so very much :flowers:

Your hair has the most lustrous colour and shine,

That's the henna talking :)

ghost

March 7th, 2015, 05:28 PM

Lavendersugar

March 7th, 2015, 06:28 PM

Thank you :flower:

Three top Hair no-nos:

- No heat styling
- no repeated, overlapping chemical coloring
- believing that something will "fix" your hair

Product-wise I'm very boring :) I use Max Green Alchemy shampoo and conditioner, but everything else is herbal and homemade XD I henna my roots once a month or so, use salve as a leave-in, de-mineralize my hair on rare, rare occasion (the water here is freakishly hard) and that's honestly about it!

Thank you !!

What do you mean by salve?

Also, on days you wash do you do it at night? I'm far from having long hair but wondering how those with long hair manage with air drying.

ravenheather

March 7th, 2015, 07:04 PM

She means her own salve that she sells on etsy. Its fantastic stuff.

SunlightShines

March 7th, 2015, 07:29 PM

Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures. Your hair is beautiful! It's very inspiring to see the progress you've made! :)

Not Lynn Merely

March 7th, 2015, 07:32 PM

Oh your hair... *happy* Congratulations on nine years!

May I ask for more info on the lip staining experiment?

Neecola

March 8th, 2015, 09:56 AM

You're very welcome for the henna advice! I'm glad to hear Sun-In did the trick for you (and without, damage, too!) Can't hurt to let your ends fairy tail a bit, either. Not like you can't trim them back later if you don't like it.

How do you match your brows to your hair color? (You are so pretty, BTW!)

Thank you for the kind words :inlove: My eyebrows are kind of a two step process but the first is that I lighten them a bit. To do this I just take the bottle of peroxide (the stuff you use on cuts, nothing fancy), and a q-tip and brush the peroxide over my eyebrows every time I'm in the bathroom for a day or so. It just lightens them up a little. Step 2 is that when I henna, I also do my brows. I've found that, for whatever reason, the more diluted henna blend I use on my head doesn't take to my eyebrows well, so I have another tiny batch of the full strength stuff that I use for them. I put henna on them, slap on pieces of saran wrap, and let them sit for an hour or two. Like so (https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rw1YRntIcjc/VHyGGl-d3tI/AAAAAAAAKjE/sWo3N2u7aRo/s720/Lip-Stain-4.jpg)! I was also screwing around with trying to stain my lips in that picture.

Thanks for the details! I once tried to henna my brows but they were very resistant to it; maybe I'll try out the full strength. Great tip on the peroxide too! I'm with Not Lynn Merely: how did your lip stain experiment go?:popcorn:

Nightshade

March 8th, 2015, 01:24 PM

Nightshade!!! This is going to sound funny because I don't think we've ever really interacted, but I absolutely adore you :)
I've read and re-read your posts about growing out damaged hair, because I'm currently doing the same thing -sloooooowly trimming all the damage and thin ends from my TBL hair- and people keep nagging at me "Eventually you are just going to have to cut it all off again!" Now I can just direct them to this post and show them that there's a method to my madness. If your super-gorgeous hair doesn't convince them, probably nothing will.

Happy 9 years on LHC, and thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us!

I know who you are! I know we've crossed in threads a few times ^_^ Keep on going! You'll get rid of all your damage, and then you'll be your own best example of how it should be done!

Thank you !!

Also, on days you wash do you do it at night? I'm far from having long hair but wondering how those with long hair manage with air drying.

I wash my hair right before bed (so 2-3am), towel dry it and bun it. I then take it own an rebun it still damp before work in the morning. If I bun dry I have a nightmare of a time keeping my hair up (I sneeze an buns fall down), so bunning damp also keeps moisture and leave-ins active, and makes it easier to style my hair.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures. Your hair is beautiful! It's very inspiring to see the progress you've made! :)

Thank you so much! :flowers:

Oh your hair... *happy* Congratulations on nine years!

May I ask for more info on the lip staining experiment?

Thanks for the details! I once tried to henna my brows but they were very resistant to it; maybe I'll try out the full strength. Great tip on the peroxide too! I'm with Not Lynn Merely: how did your lip stain experiment go?:popcorn:

And if the full strength doesn't work, do try the peroxide. Brows replenish very quickly and I nearly have totally brown brows again after 3 weeks.

I actually had a thread about the lip stain over here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=121736&p=2885295). It does work, but fades very fast :(

Lavendersugar

March 9th, 2015, 01:57 PM

She means her own salve that she sells on etsy. Its fantastic stuff.

Oh ok thank you will take a look

Medievalmaniac

March 9th, 2015, 02:21 PM

Happy anniversary, Friend. Your journey is so inspiring for so many, and we are very lucky to have you as a wonderful resource and energy presence on the forums! :flower:

Random question: What's on your bookshelf right now? :eyebrows: I'm re-reading Deb Harkness's All Souls trilogy, and trying not to stress about the ginormous stack of books next to my desk that are meant to be incorporated into the dissertation.... somehow....! :O

Alexa

March 9th, 2015, 06:06 PM

Showering is always right before bed and unless I really get filthy in the yard is Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. I'm borderline non-functional in the morning and there's no way on earth I can shower then and ever be to work on time. So usually 2-3 in the morning :) I wrap it up in a microfiber Aquis towel for a couple minutes, take it down, put some salve in it, then do my updo lift so the front part dries not-flat. The rest goes up in a Gibraltar bun held with triforce pins (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TempestMoonStudio/search?search_query=triforce&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search). I sleep on it wet/damp, and then it's still that way when I style it for work a couple hours later. My hair is hopeless to put up dry. It's usually dry-ish by day 2, so I have to mist it in the morning before I put it up again.

Might I ask what is this "updo lift" you speak of? :flower: And how big a towel do you use to wrap up your hair?

ETA: My hair is pretty short (CBL) still, so I've been curious how much towel I will need when it's longer.

young&reckless

March 9th, 2015, 07:37 PM

Thank you for sharing. You are always a huge help on these boards from everything about henna to managing damage and just keeping the peace.

Maelyssa

March 9th, 2015, 09:33 PM

[QUOTE=Nightshade;2960312]My Khajit kid steals from me...

Rotflmao! That's awesome mom...lol! Skyrim sidenote...my oldest turned 18 the end of Jan and proceeded to take herself out and get a Skyrim tattoo. Definitely my daughter. :)

Showering is always right before bed and unless I really get filthy in the yard is Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

I've found the wash before bed is about the only thing that works for me too. I'm glad you shared the triforce pin info because I've been using mini claw clips but I find myself waking up uncomfortable and I won't be able to sleep in many positions very soon so long stretches of comfort is what I'm looking for.

I'm boring like that.

Lol you only wish you were boring. ;)

Do you use both the shampoo and conditioner on your scalp? That's

Well at least someone deals with a similar issue...your poor hubby. I've honestly tried it what feels like 50 different ways to resolve this. I've put conditioner on the scalp a week in a row. I've kept it off for a week. I've put it on and washed it right off. Put it on and let it sit. Mixed some conditioner with the shampoo when shampooing to make it a 2 in 1 then followed up with more conditioner. And it's the dry small flakes. If I use cones I get the grimy wet crap which is why I try like heck to be cone free. Maybe it's just the weather? This didn't start happening until 1/4 through my second bottle of conditioner....that would be halfway through the first shampoo...lol. Darned scalp.

Oh wow! That's an amazing accomplishment...

You gave me some great ideas here...thank you so much! I've recently tried quinoa for the first time in a sushi roll. Yes, me and the man love it too. Our special treat is sushi and even the 4 year old will eat it with us. To die for!

I'm going to pour through these sites. I'll have roughly two months of limited eating so by then I can be well informed and stock my kitchen.
I'm actually very proud of my guy because I've gotten him into shakes and he's made us shakes for dinner every day for a week. He mixes kale, fruit, coconut water, protein powder, chia seeds and a dash of honey. We're trying.

Thank you about the weightloss compliments. It's been a rough year of personal revelation but yes, I am a recovering food addict and got terribly unhealthy because of it. Truthfully, pouring through your blog and posts has inspired me to eat less and eat fresh. That and protein shakes in the.morning because the thought of cooking at that time is so not cool. :D

Thank you dear for sharing!

So one final question I can think of at the moment....

Do you have the Samsung Note phone? I recall you debating getting one at some point in the past. Well, due to one of our phones being stolen while we were out at the mall he upgraded us to the Note 4 which is absolutely AMAZING! That said any cool apps or games you recommend for the Note? Hated my last phone so I didn't care to do any of that. Now I want to use the heck out of my device.:D

Nightshade

March 10th, 2015, 08:16 AM

Happy Aniversary Night Shade! Your hair is beautiful. Love the curls and the color. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Thank you so very much! :flowers:

Happy anniversary, Friend. Your journey is so inspiring for so many, and we are very lucky to have you as a wonderful resource and energy presence on the forums! :flower:

Random question: What's on your bookshelf right now? :eyebrows: I'm re-reading Deb Harkness's All Souls trilogy, and trying not to stress about the ginormous stack of books next to my desk that are meant to be incorporated into the dissertation.... somehow....! :O

I'm working on the last few Dresden books right now. I like to read Dresden in big gluts. I read the first six, and then the next three, and wound back to Small Favor, so I'm rereading that through the end of the series right now.

Might I ask what is this "updo lift" you speak of? :flower: And how big a towel do you use to wrap up your hair?

ETA: My hair is pretty short (CBL) still, so I've been curious how much towel I will need when it's longer.

I use an Aquis (http://aquis.com/)towel (green, to the surprise of nobody), but it is small enough that my hair has to be folded over inside of it. This doesn't seem to cause any problems however.

Here's my updo lift (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=123606&p=2739620&viewfull=1#post2739620). Doing this at night when my hair is wet makes it dry not totally flat, and gives my face-framing layers some volume and arch near the roots. :)

Thank you for sharing. You are always a huge help on these boards from everything about henna to managing damage and just keeping the peace.

You are so very welcome! I'm happy to help ^_^

[QUOTE=Nightshade;2960312]My Khajit kid steals from me...

Rotflmao! That's awesome mom...lol! Skyrim sidenote...my oldest turned 18 the end of Jan and proceeded to take herself out and get a Skyrim tattoo. Definitely my daughter. :)

Showering is always right before bed and unless I really get filthy in the yard is Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

I've found the wash before bed is about the only thing that works for me too. I'm glad you shared the triforce pin info because I've been using mini claw clips but I find myself waking up uncomfortable and I won't be able to sleep in many positions very soon so long stretches of comfort is what I'm looking for.

I'm boring like that.

Lol you only wish you were boring. ;)

Do you use both the shampoo and conditioner on your scalp? That's

Well at least someone deals with a similar issue...your poor hubby. I've honestly tried it what feels like 50 different ways to resolve this. I've put conditioner on the scalp a week in a row. I've kept it off for a week. I've put it on and washed it right off. Put it on and let it sit. Mixed some conditioner with the shampoo when shampooing to make it a 2 in 1 then followed up with more conditioner. And it's the dry small flakes. If I use cones I get the grimy wet crap which is why I try like heck to be cone free. Maybe it's just the weather? This didn't start happening until 1/4 through my second bottle of conditioner....that would be halfway through the first shampoo...lol. Darned scalp.

Oh wow! That's an amazing accomplishment...

You gave me some great ideas here...thank you so much! I've recently tried quinoa for the first time in a sushi roll. Yes, me and the man love it too. Our special treat is sushi and even the 4 year old will eat it with us. To die for!

I'm going to pour through these sites. I'll have roughly two months of limited eating so by then I can be well informed and stock my kitchen.
I'm actually very proud of my guy because I've gotten him into shakes and he's made us shakes for dinner every day for a week. He mixes kale, fruit, coconut water, protein powder, chia seeds and a dash of honey. We're trying.

Thank you about the weightloss compliments. It's been a rough year of personal revelation but yes, I am a recovering food addict and got terribly unhealthy because of it. Truthfully, pouring through your blog and posts has inspired me to eat less and eat fresh. That and protein shakes in the.morning because the thought of cooking at that time is so not cool. :D

Thank you dear for sharing!

So one final question I can think of at the moment....

Do you have the Samsung Note phone? I recall you debating getting one at some point in the past. Well, due to one of our phones being stolen while we were out at the mall he upgraded us to the Note 4 which is absolutely AMAZING! That said any cool apps or games you recommend for the Note? Hated my last phone so I didn't care to do any of that. Now I want to use the heck out of my device.:D

Oh, what was her Skyrim tattoo of? And those triforce pins are amazing. I sleep in the aluminum ones because they're so much lighter than the copper ones, but you can't beat the copper ones for use in hennaed hair, especially once they oxidize and dull.

I grew up in a house where PopTarts were what you grabbed for a snack and after every dinner was 4-6 scoops of ice cream :| Teaching myself to cook and eat healthy was definitely a wise investment.

I have a Note 3. As for apps, I'm pretty lame. My phone is mostly just a portable internet device/ mini tablet and I don't play games on it. I do have Our Groceries, which is awesome because DH and I can share the list so if someone stops at the store they can get everything. PaperKarma is great for getting rid of junk mail. Pandora, both Etsy apps, and the Teavana tea timer app :) Oh, and my Live Koi wallpaper. I love that thing XD

Maelyssa

March 11th, 2015, 07:02 PM

Thank you so very much! :

Oh, what was her Skyrim tattoo of? And those triforce pins are amazing. I sleep in the aluminum ones because they're so much lighter than the copper ones, but you can't beat the copper ones for use in hennaed hair, especially once they oxidize and dull.

I grew up in a house where PopTarts were what you grabbed for a snack and after every dinner was 4-6 scoops of ice cream :| Teaching myself to cook and eat healthy was definitely a wise investment.

I have a Note 3. As for apps, I'm pretty lame. My phone is mostly just a portable internet device/ mini tablet and I don't play games on it. I do have Our Groceries, which is awesome because DH and I can share the list so if someone stops at the store they can get everything. PaperKarma is great for getting rid of junk mail. Pandora, both Etsy apps, and the Teavana tea timer app :) Oh, and my Live Koi wallpaper. I love that thing XD

'Dovahkiin' of course...lol. And I'm very glad you mentioned the weight of the cooper pins vs aluminum because I was thinking if copper but it might not be the best choice functionally for me. Good to know.

And talk about crappy food habits growing up. We learned to add sugar to our frosted flakes and we're always forced to clean our plates which were nearly as big as our fathers. But I'm fighting against old, bad habits and hanging in there so far.

I'm glad you shared app info. We're loving Our Groceries. That is so perfect for our lifestyle. And two of my daughters were already obsessed with Live Koi so I grabbed that one right off the bat. :)

Nightshade

March 16th, 2015, 01:53 PM

That sounds awesome :) Your kiddos are very, very lucky to have you!

Remi

March 16th, 2015, 02:36 PM

Oh my goodness...I just saw this thread. Congratulations and happy anniversary. You have been so helpful with your advice over the years. :magic:

Not Lynn Merely

April 19th, 2015, 04:58 PM

A late thank-you on the henna lipstain info! A day is short for henna, but it is many times longer than the few hours I get with commercial lipstains. :blossom:

ReadingRenee

April 19th, 2015, 06:30 PM

Yay! Im so glad this thread got bumped!

Not to sound creepy, but your anniversary post was a total walk down memory lane for me. I was also growing out dye damage when I joined and I also ended up hennaing my hair so I read all your posts with avid interest. I was and am a big admirer of your hair and I have been a big fan of yours since you joined LHC. I am so glad you stuck around here. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures and all your info. I think everyone asked any questions I had. I just wanted you to know how glad I am that you are here. :blossom:

ETA: I DID think of a question. You mentioned layers, I love how your layers look. Im sure you have mentioned it before but I can't remember. How do you cut your layers? Do you have a certain method, get them professionally done or does your husband do it? Thank you! :)

Nadine <3

April 19th, 2015, 08:13 PM

How did I miss this! What beautiful hair you have!!

I have a question! You're so darn pretty, and your skin is FLAWLESS like, my word. What is your skin care routine like? :p

DizzyGinger

April 19th, 2015, 09:21 PM

I loved reading about your journey. Pretty hair ;)

Lady Katherine

April 20th, 2015, 07:58 AM

This is my first time seeing this but WOW your hair is great!!! Oh, and I second on the skincare routine! Congrats on the anniversary! :blossom:

Nightshade

April 20th, 2015, 12:41 PM

Oh my goodness...I just saw this thread. Congratulations and happy anniversary. You have been so helpful with your advice over the years. :magic:

Thank you so much!

A late thank-you on the henna lipstain info! A day is short for henna, but it is many times longer than the few hours I get with commercial lipstains. :blossom:

That's awesome to hear! And I agree, it does at least last longer than commercial lip stains.

Yay! Im so glad this thread got bumped!

Not to sound creepy, but your anniversary post was a total walk down memory lane for me. I was also growing out dye damage when I joined and I also ended up hennaing my hair so I read all your posts with avid interest. I was and am a big admirer of your hair and I have been a big fan of yours since you joined LHC. I am so glad you stuck around here. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures and all your info. I think everyone asked any questions I had. I just wanted you to know how glad I am that you are here. :blossom:

ETA: I DID think of a question. You mentioned layers, I love how your layers look. Im sure you have mentioned it before but I can't remember. How do you cut your layers? Do you have a certain method, get them professionally done or does your husband do it? Thank you! :)

You don't sound creepy at all! It's good to have people who remember all the way back to the beginning.

I do cut my own layers. I talk about it here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=103422)and here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=103421)in my blog. Just shoot me a request if you can't see them.

How did I miss this! What beautiful hair you have!!

I have a question! You're so darn pretty, and your skin is FLAWLESS like, my word. What is your skin care routine like? :p

I loved reading about your journey. Pretty hair ;)

This is my first time seeing this but WOW your hair is great!!! Oh, and I second on the skincare routine! Congrats on the anniversary! :blossom:

Thank you, ladies :flowers:

My skin is picky in that it hates moisturizer. I have a mister of distilled water, honey, aloe, and some EOs that I shake and use because anything more rich than that and my face explodes. I wash my face with Aubrey Organics Sea Buckthorn Cleanser (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CC89LIA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and honey (slather honey on my face and let it sit for a few minutes, then wash it off with the AO and warm water), and use Acure Brightening Scrub (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z4OD24/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) when I shower (three times a week). Once or twice a month I'll also do an aspirin mask (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1222) with Aloe, honey, sea buckthorn, witchazel, and some EOs added into the aspirin powder. If I'm soaking in the tub I might mix up a green clay mask with some EOs and other stuff, but that's more just for fun than part of a routine.

That's it :) That and sun hats and sunscreen. I have super-fair skin and go to great lengths to keep the sun off it despite how much time I spend outside.

harpgal

April 20th, 2015, 01:06 PM

Congratulations my dear, on a job well done.

ReadingRenee

April 21st, 2015, 09:59 AM

You don't sound creepy at all! It's good to have people who remember all the way back to the beginning.

I do cut my own layers. I talk about it here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=103422)and here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=103421)in my blog. Just shoot me a request if you can't see them.
Thank you! That was very helpful. :)

Nightshade

April 21st, 2015, 10:07 AM

Congratulations my dear, on a job well done.

Thank you so very much. I'm honored you dropped in to say hi :grouphug:

Thank you! That was very helpful. :)

You're so welcome! I really should do that again, it's been awhile and my hair is going kinda feral (surprise).

Generally, I did have something else I remembered about my skin: I stopped eating dairy. I used to have terrible cystic acne and stopped all dairy consumption 8 years ago (give or take). My cystic acne totally disappeared and my skin has been a million times better every since. I also eat very, very few processed foods, but lots of fresh fruits and veggies :)

Agnes Hannah

April 21st, 2015, 11:12 AM

Wow! I found this thread and was intrigued to read all the lovely things people have posted about you Nightshade, and I can see why! Your wedding dress was beautiful, I loved the train (I had one too - so romantic!) and your hair journey must inspire even those who don't believe they can reach their goals.
I have seen your work on other threads and you are very artistic!
I hope you enjoy your hairiversary and get the success you deserve in your endeavours.
Will keep following you!

Maelyssa

May 8th, 2015, 10:09 PM

pili

May 10th, 2015, 02:25 PM

WOW! First of all, your hair is gorgeous. I loved reading through this thread. It was great to follow some of the links you put up. I have only recently come back here after briefly joining some time ago, and I have learned more following the links here than in doing forum searches!

I was wondering how I can read some of the blog posts you linked. It appears I do not have access. If you have limited access to only those you know, I understand, but I thought I'd ask. :)

VisionOne

May 10th, 2015, 02:32 PM

9 years at LHC, that is impressive! What a journey you have made. And the wedding photo is phenomenal, beautiful hair, bouquet and dress! :o

Not Lynn Merely

May 10th, 2015, 03:01 PM

Pili, if you become LHC "friends" with Nightshade, then you will be able to see her blog posts, so send her a friend request. :)

pili

May 10th, 2015, 03:09 PM

Pili, if you become LHC "friends" with Nightshade, then you will be able to see her blog posts, so send her a friend request. :)

Thank you! I did, just hoping she accepts it.

Nightshade

May 11th, 2015, 08:18 AM

So I'm resurrecting this thread one last time If I could Nightshade dear. You know I'm a fan of your style, and for the first time in years upon years I've dropped so much weight that I'm entering regular sizes as opposed to plus sizes. That said, does your style carry over to lounge/around the house and sleepwear? Who knows...perhaps you like to lounge around sky clad all the time. But if you dont, any cool sleepwear or lounge wear that you've tried out and is comfortable as well? I'm buying myself new clothes but haven't found something I like in this realm. Thoughts?

Skyclad? I live in Minnesota :lol:

For lounging around the house I more or less live in these super-huge pants by treehouse28 (https://www.etsy.com/listing/63579425). I have three pairs: black, green, and one double-layer reversible black/green that's warmer for winter. In general, I have quite a few of her clothes. They're super-comfy, but still nice-looking. Stuff like this thumbhole top (https://www.etsy.com/listing/61061740), this tank top (https://www.etsy.com/listing/103109381), and this slide-slit tunic (https://www.etsy.com/listing/63578776). I really tend to like tatty, comfortable fabrics that are still fitted. Like this tunic top (https://www.etsy.com/listing/108355643). I pretty much require my shirts to be fitted, I don't own a single normal t-shirt. I just drown in all that boxy fabric and wind up looking like I'm eleven.

Crinkle cami tops from Maurice's (http://www.maurices.com/product/index.jsp;jsessionid=9v24VQ4YqVsTcpGvlG9Jz4mBzdqTY SLZGz2LbG9yZKPD1jkMLm41!1758975004?expcsl=1082323% 7c%7c&productId=18664116) are another massive go-to of mine. I have a long torso, so this makes my shirts and pants meet up somewhere in the middle. Their colors change with each season, but I have piles of black, green and brown ones. They make good sleeping shirts, too. And these (https://www.etsy.com/listing/183067362)are great for sleeping bottoms. I don't like baggy sleepwear that twists up (I sleep like an eggbeater :P )

I hope that helps! Let me know if this isn't your style and I can dig around in my favorites some more :)

WOW! First of all, your hair is gorgeous. I loved reading through this thread. It was great to follow some of the links you put up. I have only recently come back here after briefly joining some time ago, and I have learned more following the links here than in doing forum searches!

I was wondering how I can read some of the blog posts you linked. It appears I do not have access. If you have limited access to only those you know, I understand, but I thought I'd ask. :)

Heh, yeah, I'm a gigantic blabbefingers! And you're all added and should have access now :)

9 years at LHC, that is impressive! What a journey you have made. And the wedding photo is phenomenal, beautiful hair, bouquet and dress! :o

Thank you so much! I asked for that shot specifically and haven't regretted that decision for a second :flowers: