Babe’s Mane Blog

Veteran's Day

Babe with a Mane — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:07:00 GMT

Thank you.

It's really just that simple.

Babe

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
— Theodore Roosevelt, The Man in the Arena

Thinning hair causes women to alter their lifestyle?

Babe with a Mane — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:54:00 GMT

New Survey Results Reveal That the Effects of Thinning Hair Causes Women to Significantly Alter Their Lifestyle

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS126164+02-Nov-2009+PRN20091102

No offense, but DUH!!! Of course we significantly alter our lifestyle due to thinning hair. Does it take a rocket scientist to figure that out? I used to use products that spent hours to perfect each day! Here are some of the things I tried:

http://www.hairdirect.com/store/Jerome-Russel-Dark-Brown.aspx - plan on buying dark pillowcases and avoiding rain showers or you will find it dripping down your face at the most inopportune times. Works in a pinch, but not a long term solution to hairloss.

http://www.hairdirect.com/store/Xfusion-Hairfibers-Mediumbrown.aspx - Forget about wearing white shirts or sweaters - you have brown "dandruff" everywhere and with every headscratch you MUST clean your fingernails...ewww. Again, a short term emergency fix, but I don't recommend for long term satisfaction.

http://www.hairdirect.com/store/At-Ease-Touchup-Brown-1-4Oz.aspx - Ok, ok, you caught me, I still use this if I don't have time to color my age revealing grandma colored (Yes, gray...) roots. It's great to brush on to cover your aged roots, but heck, I used entire tubes to try to cover my thin hair and it's like putting mascara all over your head. BLECH...talk about sticky hair!

Now? I don't take hours to cover up anymore. Once a week, I have a routine that takes from 30 minutes to an hour. Ever other day during that week it takes me 3-5 minutes to check my hairline and retouch if necessary. Compared to the 2 hours a day I used to spend making my hair presentable - 1 hour a week is just a gift.

This is how I started:

http://www.hairdirect.com/store/Womens-Custom-Fitting-Kit.aspx

Get off the "coverup train" and put some new hair on! You can have whatever style you want without worrying about it sliding down your face every minute. There aren't enough words to describe the benefits it has brought into my life...woot woot...my "coverup train" has parked for good!

Babe

Random Thoughts - Would you take a pill to prevent gray hair?

Babe with a Mane — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:49:00 GMT

A big thanks to HD for the great webcast with Ian Gavet! It was really interesting and as a result I am looking forward to trying the Back2Natural Color Depositing Conditioners!

http://www.hairdirect.com/store/Back2natural-Promo.aspx

Well, it made me start thinking about gray hair and how I would ultimately start blending it in with my units. Horrid thoughts I know, but it's always better to plan ahead. While doing some research on the subject, I found this article about L'Oreal.

Apparently, they are working rather diligently to find a solution to gray hair that actually prevents your hair from turning gray in the first place. Seems to me that wouldn't be a very smart thing for a company that sells zillions of hair dye products. After all, if we take a pill and our hair doesn't turn gray, why would we need the dye? But I digress...

So the question is, if there were a pill you could take to prevent your hair from ever turning gray, would you take it?

http://www.babychums.com/2009/10/loreal-claims-it-could-turn-grey-hair-back-to-its-original-colour/

Let me know, I'm curious...but ten years is an awful long time for me to wait...

Graying by the second,

Babe

Life - Ron White

Babe with a Mane — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:40:00 GMT

Tonight's the night! I'm actually venturing out. Being cooped up since mid-June with my silly injury has finally made me stir crazy! That's it, I'm breaking out of this house!

We have tickets to see Ron White tonight! If you haven't heard him, take a listen:

http://tinyurl.com/yz7on6p

I've heard him a few times and although sometimes he uses a lot of "colorful language", I find the routine pretty darn funny! One of his best jokes is that you should NEVER marry for looks. After all, eventually, all the body parts may need fixing - if your belly gets big, you can have a tummy tuck so you look like a cheerleader, if your face starts drooping, you can have a face lift, but the bottom line is,

"You can't fix stupid. There's not a pill you can take or a class you can attend...Stupid is forever!"

So, tonight, I'm limping into a comedy show and I hope to laugh until my sides hurt. Tomorrow? I'll be back in confinement driving you all crazy with my posts!

Happy Friday everyone!

Babe

Still Tweeting on Twitter

Babe with a Mane — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:21:00 GMT

I'm still "Tweeting"...problem is, I just can't figure out why in the world 350 people are "following" me! Do you think they all wear hair or are they just curious about what I had for breakfast?

Are you following me?

http://twitter.com/BabeWithAMane

Babe

Lessons - 1st try with the Sticky Stuff

Babe with a Mane — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:17:00 GMT

Nightmares are scary. Sometimes, my nightmares aren't at night, but instead they happen when a recollection of a moment in time happens...you know, a memory that you wish was buried deep never to resurface again?

So, yesterday - I had one of these "nightmares"...I was remembering my first attempt at attaching my hair. It was quite an emotional day to begin with. After all, I had MADE my own hair piece and was waiting on my first order from Hair Direct. Not only that, but this was the big day I was shaving off my natural hair to make room for the new hair! That alone made this a nightmare day, but nothing had prepared me for the nightmare of glue.

Oh sure, I had read a zillion posts and messages on websites everywhere trying to figure out how to do this myself, so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to do. Nonetheless, when the actual time of attachment was in front of me, all of those tips flew from my mind and I was all alone with my crying hairdresser who was begging me not to shave my hair the whole time!

So, here I was, the top part of my head bald, holding a bottle of UltraHold glue in my hand. The moment of truth. I remembered reading about how the glue should be applied in VERY thin coats and should be allowed to DRY before attaching hair. Humph...what can THEY know. It didn't make any sense to me to let a glue dry BEFORE trying to stick something in it. So, little miss know it all and uncoachable...did it my own way.

I glopped the first coat on and it strung everywhere like little sticky spiderwebs trailing from the bottle to my head. Ugh. I waited a minute or two (it should be dry enough by now right?) and applied another thick, gooey layer. There, that should do it.

Now, the moment of truth as I plopped my newly made hair down over the oozing gooey mess on my head. Uh oh. This can't be good. The glue was seeping through the lace and into the hair. The hair was sliding all over my newly shaven scalp and I couldn't keep it in one place. Every time I touched the hair, it just soaked up more glue. What a DISASTER!

I did try to live with this for a day (as I recall) and then the next day, I tried it again. Of course, it took me 9 hours!!! This time, I decided that little Miss know it all had better eat a bit of humble pie and try to follow instructions!

So, I applied a VERY thin layer of the glue to my head and waited about 20 minutes. Next I applied a 2nd coat. After the 2nd coat had dried, I decided to give it another shot. Miracle of miracles, the glue was MUCH stickier after it was dry and the lace just laid down into the glue and virtually disappeared!

So, this was what everyone was talking about..."invisible lace"! Wow, what a difference following those tips made for me! Now of course, you all know my entire routine is down to 30 minutes and that includes a fresh shave and a shower!

I highly recommend that as a new wearer, you "team up" with someone who has worn hair for a long time and drive them crazy with questions! Don't worry, those of us who have worn hair for a long time understand that this is a "pay it forward" situation. We had people who helped us and now it's our turn to give back! Heck, I've even been known to hook up my webcam and help new wearers with their first attachments step by step.

Hopefully you won't have to suffer through the mistakes Little Miss Know It All did before she ate a big piece of "humble pie"!

Let me know if I can help!

Babe

Random Thoughts - Who takes longer to primp...Blondes or Brunettes?

Babe with a Mane — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:42:00 GMT

Frankly, I can't imagine taking anywhere near the time quoted in this article! Ladies, before you read the article, take a wild guess and vote for who you think takes longer to get ready -

Blondes

Brunettes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6268201/Blondes-take-longer-than-brunettes-to-get-ready.html

Give me a break, those times are so close I'd call that an even race! Besides, as long as we look great - who cares how long we take to get there?

"Right honey?...uh...honey???? Is that our car driving away with you in it?"

"Humph...so much for a nice dinner out!"

Babe

Recommendations - No Sweat

Babe with a Mane — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:10:00 GMT

Every once in a while, I'm introduced to a product that appears to be a real "game changer". This product is turning into one quickly! The test bottle was marked "No Sweat" and wow...it means what it says! Not only did it keep any moisture at bay, it also helped to protect my tape so the breakdown has been much slower! AND...as a result, my bond lasted much longer...what's not to love about that?

This is a product I could use for other applications too. How about when Brandon says, "Lights, camera, action!" and I start sweating like a fat man chasing a runaway M&M? Nice visual, huh? Well think about it, I could just dab a bit on those special places and I would be as dry as a popcorn toot! bah ha ha ha - I saw that line on google and had to use it!

So, when you see "No Sweat" hit the shelves, run to get yours! After all, if you put it in the right places, it's the last time you will sweat when you run!

Babe

Random Thoughts - Chris Rock on Oprah

Babe with a Mane — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:45:00 GMT

Oprah - you know...I really do love you. But yesterday while watching your show? The few natural hairs I have left on my head stood up. Chris Rock? He may know a bit about hair, but I'm thinking he needs more education before spouting off lines like, "Black women shouldn't care about what white people think." How about re-phrasing that to say, "women (no matter their color) shouldn't care what others think." That's more like it since there are 20 MILLION of us suffering from hairloss. Here's another big suprise for you Chris, we come from all walks of life, we earn all different amounts of money, we all have different reasons for our hairloss and even different ways we try to solve our issues. So, I figure it's up to me to help Oprah teach him...even though right now, I'd just like to take him to school.

I'm a 45 year old white woman and let me tell you, ALL women, no matter the color of their skin have the SAME issues! I consider myself one of the lucky white girls who actually worked part time in a store that sold weave hair, thread, needles, you know...the tools of the trade for weaves. Not one white woman ventured in during my employment. Why? They just don't know about all of their options yet. I was FULL of questions when I worked there because little by little my hair was disappearing and I HATED it. Thankfully, my black girlfriends were wonderfully patient with me and taught me that I could do the same thing! They ordered my hair for me, braided me up, sewed those tracks on and I was instantly transformed into a woman with hair. I didn't care what color they were and they didn't care what color I was. We were WOMEN WITH HAIRLOSS supporting each other.

That was when I gave up the wigs and started wearing weaves. Yes, AA women know MUCH more about the options since it is part of your culture. White women? Most have no knowledge about the options and continue to struggle in silence and shame...just wishing they knew where to turn for help.

Wigs? Oh sure, we know about wigs, but as most of us know, those are just plain yucky. You have to take them off at night and then what, hide it in the bathroom, come out in a beautiful set of lingerie, with no hair on and say seductively to your husband, "Here I am darling, how do I look?" Umm yeah, I'm sure he's thrilled with the vision of hairless beauty he sees before him. Come on...get real.

White women end up finding a solution online and some are paying THOUSANDS of dollars for hairpieces and roped into a contract. I found a website just yesterday that charges women over $16,000.00 for ONE hair piece. Did you catch that????? $16,000.00!!!!! White women flock to Hair Club for Men/Women because they think it's their only option. What do you say Oprah, let's educate the 20 MILLION american women of all colors what the options are if you have thin hair or you're bald.

My natural hair has not been seen for over 20 years. It has hidden under wigs and weaves, under toppik, colored sprays, couvre and dermatch. My growing hair is a significant burden. It takes too much time to try to fix it up to be presentable, too much money to try to fix, too much energy to worry about and conceal.

Every day, I used to wish for great hair. Every day I was ashamed of my thin hair. Every day, I woke up feeling confident, feminine and sexy inside. Then, I looked in the mirror at my natural hair and those positive thoughts were robbed from me. My natural hair forced me to feel unattractive, timid and insecure.

I know who I am inside and I wanted to project that image to everyone else. To do that, my hair had to change.

Women who are bald or have very thin hair, are not considered "socially acceptable" in the general public's eye. I wanted to be considered socially acceptable, my natural hair wouldn't let me.

Now, my dream hair allows me to lead a normal life. I wake up to my husband nuzzling my neck while my soft hair is brushed aside. I jump in the shower to wash my hair. I look in the mirror to see a confident and sexy woman, looking back at me. Nope, it's not my natural hair, I buy it, shave my head and glue my dream hair to my scalp once a week where it perches 24/7.

I don't waste hours trying to disguise myself to fit in. I blow dry and curl my hair and start my day with a spring in my step. I don't catch others staring at my thin hair while trying to have a conversation with me. The same confident, self assurance that I feel inside is now projected on the outside. There are no further internal battles between true persona and an incongruous outward appearance. I am finally, after a lifetime of dreaming, able to project an image that reflects the confident, sexy, intelligent, feminine woman I truly am.

I now help others learn how to wear hair if that is what they desire. It's a wonderful feeling to help women around the entire world who have been searching for a solution and like me, just want to project who they really are. What do you say Oprah, how about you send Chris Rock to me for a day and let me teach him what hairloss really means to women? Don't worry, I won't hurt him!

Babe With a Mane

Lessons - Weather and Adhesives

Babe with a Mane — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:42:00 GMT

Sitting here looking out the window (which is the only thing I can do for quite some time) I'm watching my leaves turn red and begin to fall. After several deep sighs, I realize that summer is over and fall has definitely arrived. Now don't get me wrong, fall is one of my favorite seasons, it's just that I thought I would be active again by now...you know, raking leaves, picking pumpkins and apples, baking pies...yep, I do love fall!

Another thing I love about fall is that the temperatures start to drop. For all of us who wear hair, it's a great time of the year and a not-so-great time of the year. For our attachments, the news is fabulous! I find that in the fall, my attachments are much longer lasting and the adhesives don't break down nearly as quickly. I'm sure that makes a lot of sense to you. Hot water and hot weather both break down adhesives quickly. Cool water and cool weather help to keep the adhesives stable for a longer time. Usually, during the fall/winter, I can easily get a two week attachment from my combination method of Safegrip glue at the hairline and NS tape all the way around the perimeter and as my stabilizing center strips.

The not-so-good news about the fall/winter is that the lack of moisture in the air can dry out our hair more quickly. Make sure you take extra care in keeping your hair moist. Leave in conditioners are great and there are lots of products in the HD store to help you through the dry seasons. It's really important to remember to take great care of your hair because once it gets super dry, it's very hard to get your shine back. So, slather it on, spray it on, goop it up and keep that shiny hair smiling!

Below is a link to my recommended leave-in conditioner - give it a try and let me know how you like it!

http://www.hairdirect.com/store/Moisture-Mist-16Oz.aspx

If you don't mind, I'm just going to sit here a while longer and enjoy these leaves. After all, there are probably more ways to enjoy the season that I have yet to explore from my chair!

Gosh it's a beautiful day!

Babe With a Mane

Life - Surgery Update

Babe with a Mane — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:19:00 GMT

Hello to all!

Well first of all...OUCH!!!!

Now that it's out of my system, I just wanted to let you know that everything went fine and I'm home. I'm so thankful for the great staff and the educated hands that "fixed me"! I have to remain in this immobilizer for one month and then it's back to physical therapy for another three months, but hopefully, after that, I'll be back to normal...whatever that may mean!

I'll spare you the pictures, just suffice it to say that it looks a little "halloweenish". After surgery, I had a migraine that wanted to stick with me for the day. The morphine didn't work, so they gave me something called dilaudid. If you've ever had it, you won't forget it. Let's just say that after two doses, I didn't remember much about the trip home. However, I wouldn't want to take it again since the side effects lasted for at least 24 hours...bllleeechhhh...I hate nausea.

OK, you know me, I don't want to dwell on the negative anymore, so I'm going to move past it and do what the Dr. said will make me "all better"! I have a fabulous family that takes very good care of me, loving friends who have filled my dresser with wonderfully scented flowers and my email inbox with notes of thoughtful encouragement and a host of gracious neighbors who have supplied me with enough home-made goodies, I won't remember how to cook when this is over.

I wonder how long I can keep this up?! Tee hee...well, I really would rather be healthy, promise.

Love Ya',

Babe With a Mane

Life - Sugery Panic

Babe with a Mane — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:21:00 GMT

Now it's my turn. I am usually the one telling everyone else that fear stands for F=false E=evidence A=appearing R=real. Isn't it pathetic that I'm having difficulty believing my own words today? I've had surgeries before and have never been afraid, but I'm here to tell you that this time, I'm scared. Now there isn't any rational reason for me to be so chicken, but I can't seem to help myself.

So, although most of you know my story, I'll give a brief version of it here. On June 27th, I had a really bad equestrian accident. In layman's terms, my voluptuous butt was thrown from a very large horse (who I hope has since been turned into glue...sorry PETA). Apparently on my way down, I did some olympian gymnastic moves but the landing wasn't so beautiful. I ended up with a broken right ankle and then there's my left knee. Ok, so, I can handle someone telling me I have a torn ACL, but when you add to that a ruptured (stage 3) Medial Collateral Ligament and a ruptured (stage 3) Lateral Collateral Ligament, for some reason, I start to sweat ...errr....glow.

I have been living in a cast on my right leg and a full brace on my left leg since June 27th. This Wednesday, day after tomorrow, I go in for surgery. They will repair my mcl and lcl and then....take a "gently used" ACL from a cadaver and drill it into my leg. While I'm truly looking forward to being able to bend my knee again and even walk up or down the stairs, the fear is taking it's toll on me. If any of you have gone through an experience like this, would you mind reassuring me a little bit?

I am usually so positive it would make you nauseous and most of you know just what I mean. Actually, I think I can pinpoint the exact moment I lost my bravado...it was just after I watched just the acl part of the surgery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8EpT3uCVWU . Watching this was NOT a good idea. So, anyone want to kick my butt to get me over this fear? Or ...would you like to join my pathetic little pity party?

I hate owwwies...

Babe

Lessons - Do you know what you pay for?

Babe with a Mane — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:58:00 GMT

People ask me very often why I get my hair from Hair Direct. Those of you who know me, know that I am not considered a "salesperson". Frankly, I've never been very good in that arena. Instead, I'm someone just like you who was desperately seeking a way to make my hair look good. You can read all about my search and how I ended up here in my blogs and on the message board at Hair Direct, but I'll spare you all of the details and give you my "Reader's Digest" version of why I settled here.

First of all, I love the hair. It's the highest quality I've ever seen.

Secondly, I love the support of the hair techs, the message boards and the blogs.

Thirdly, I respect the company and it's leadership.

Now let me be very clear. There are lots of companies you can buy hair from. Some of them charge crazy amounts of money for the same hair you can buy at HD. Matter of fact, today I found a site that charges women $7,800.00 for (1) ONE unit of Kosher hair. Some companies require contracts and still charge you over $2,000.00 per unit. Of course, there are companies that say they will charge you less...but are they really charging you less?

Well, I'm no rocket scientist and I didn't do so well in math, but I bet if we add up a few things here, you may be suprised. I researched one competitor to see how they stacked up in the cost department and here is what I found. At first glance, the cost seemed pretty reasonable.

$295.00 for a standard unit up to 6" in length (not too bad!)

But....there are no extras. The company doesn't provide any. You will get your hair, but just the standard hair unit. Matter of fact, the company doesn't even cut off the extra lace and you will have about 4 inches of lace to cut off the perimeter of the hair.

What are the extras you ask? Of course you don't know - neither did I - but now I sure do! Here are some extras a different company offers:

$60.00 for webcam consultation and help with order - it's free at HD and so are the phone calls and advice.

$50.00 for Knot bleaching - you get your hair without the knots bleached and then you have to send it in to another company to have your knots bleached - it's included with HD hair.

$35.00 and up for coloring (definitely much higher for highlights, etc.) - it's included with HD hair.

$34.00 and up for a haircut (definitely more for longer hair depending on the style) - it's included with HD hair.

$25.00 for sealing knots - it's included with HD hair.

Now, as I mentioned above, I've never been great at math, but since this is simple addition, I'm gonna' give it my best shot.

Umm...running out of fingers and toes...

That total is $499.00.

AND I would have had to sent my hair somewhere for all of those extras so my wait would have been longer. AND I don't know any hairdressers that would only charge me $34.00 for a cut and $35.00 for a color with highlights...so I tried to be very conservative.

So, you ask me why I get my hair from Hair Direct? Because I know it's the right place for me.

Kisses to my peeps!

Babe With a Mane

Random Thoughts - RIP Patrick Swayze

Babe with a Mane — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:42:00 GMT

From the rough and tumble "Roadhouse" to the clash of the classes in "Dirty Dancing", Patrick Swayze was one of my favorite actors. Maybe it's because I used to teach Ballroom Dancing and compete professionally. After all, both of his parents were professional ballroom dancers. It could be that I yearned to dance like they did in Dirty Dancing and he was such a hero to me when he uttered those words,

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

But whatever the draw was, I really did love his movies.

Perhaps the most romantic moment in a movie was when he starred in "Ghost". Do you remember?

"Ditto" Such a simple word. It had been around for decades when Swayze used it as Sam Wheat," but once it left his lips in that film, it was forever his.

One of the most powerful romance films of our time, "Ghost" saw Swayze as a man so completely in love with his fiancé that he actually comes back from the grave to let her know how much in love with her he really is.

The first time he says "Ditto" in the film, while still alive, the line is practically a throw away, but when he repeats it again from the other side, it becomes something much more powerful.

At the end when he finally says "I love you" to Molly and she responds with his classic "ditto," it becomes something we'll never forget.

Rest in peace Patrick, your fans all love you....

Did you hear that? I think he just said, "Ditto".

Babe With A Mane

Lessons - Applying Adhesive

Babe with a Mane — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:29:00 GMT

This point can't be stressed enough...LET IT DRY!!!!!!

Ok, I won't yell anymore, but I just have to be heard. The first time I applied glue to my freshly shaven scalp, I glopped it on and then slapped the hairpiece I had made on top of it. Those of you who have worn hair for years are probably gasping in horror. Well, I did too. Especially when the Ultrahold started seeping through the lace and the hair. It took HOURS to clean and I kept trying to make it look presentable. It didn't work.

After finding the HairDirect website, I finally read enough to realize I just wasn't being patient enough. Instead of my usual mantra - More has to be better! - I realized that I had to change the way I was thinking. More wasn't better, it was a disaster. So, less is more...

The next time was much better! I applied a VERY thin coat of ultrahold and then used a hair dryer to make certain it was totally dry. Guess what?! The glue only holds well when it's totally dry before laying the lace on top of it. I actually applied 3 coats of glue and let each coat dry for at least 15 minutes before applying the next. When I say thin coats? I mean really thin coats - almost as thin as paper!

Of course, most of you know that I now use tape for most of my attachment. For me, it's just way easier to attach and to clean up. I still do use a bit of glue, but only for my hairline right in the front. I promise you, if you follow our tips without trying to be original, these methods will work for you!

When we mentor the new hair wearers, we want you to listen to our advice because we don't want you to make the same mistakes we did. We want you to succeed much more quickly than we did. It's just like I tell my children, I'm giving you shortcuts because I want you to be more successful than I am! Be open and take notes if you have to, it will save you so many hair-aches!

Trust me,

Babe