The Official NW/SO Thread

[sarana]

Abacus, I got the goatshair brush for sebum distribution mainly. It's very new so I'm not sure about its cleansing properties yet. It's quite soft and gentle and I like it though!

[Emissary2ornj]

I started selecting and copying my whole post/reply before trying to post for that very reason, Gwendolynn. I don't trust the Auto-save to restore my content once I log back in. Big congrats on your MOC/SOC success so far! Love that you love your hair.

I've slacked off in paying such intense attention to my hair lately. Life happens, and hopefully it's settling down a bit so I can reconfigure my routine. I included a pretty in-depth hair care tracker and hair/scalp journal in my new planner. I track things like whether I SMPed, how I wore my hair during the day/night, plus notes on anything I do to my hair that doesn't happen every day (whether I wet it, soaked it, got rain/snow on it, sweated heavily, oiled ends, cleaned my tools, ate "fast" food, etc.) My journal page is for noting hair/scalp quality: whether it was extra sebum-y or dry, frizzy or smooth, soft, with a tender or dry or gunky scalp, scalp acne or not. I hope it helps keep me aware of what's going on. Bonus if I gain some more insight into what my hair likes/doesn't like.

[Emissary2ornj]

Life changes! Change of location, change of routine, some significant stressors (mostly resolved). Learning a new job, figuring out the routine, learning what to prioritize and how much energy I have to devote to each thing.
Self-care effects: more hair sheds. Less frequent intense SMP sessions. Almost-daily braids. Moderately good nutrition. More frequent showers (versus preferred sponge baths).
The hair routine I'm aiming for: brief daily scritch & massage followed by brief comb-out; weekly intense SMP (brief SM, intense finger-preen and comb-cleanse); daily braids (if working); down/bunned if off.
I've been oil-cleansing on my face pre-shower. Not sure I have the right carrier oil yet. I have coconut to carry and castor to cleanse; both can be pretty drying. Again we're between seasons - a streak of warm days but back to chilly now.
Still searching out simple goodness. The lure of convenience is tempting when you're tired and busy. My job is in grocery retail - embedded in the capitalism/consumerism machine. Finding the motivation to resist (not to revolutionize anyone else's existence; just to keep my own clean) is more challenging.
Still reading the archives. I'm just at the point where Bedhead reported discovering moringa leaf powder, and one mother struggled through a modified NW/SO for her two adolescent girls. I so enjoy reading everyone's various adventures in self-care!