WASHING DILEMMA

This Sunday just gone, I washed my hair and braided and banded the front only. The back was fine and it was lovely just to be able to get to my scalp and scrub gently. The issue am experiencing here is over the past month or so I have be suffering from dry scalp in the front...(I believe the problem is not being able to get to my scalp because its in a braid!) Its so bad it resembles 'Cradle Cap' the new born often get....just too nasty, and the only time I notice this is when I have just removed the towel from my head. I mean who would believe I have just washed my hair???

So two big questions here fellow bloggers:

1) From the picture below do you think I am ready to wash (7.5 months) without braiding? (click on the picture to get more detail.)

2) If am not, how can I avoid the 'Cradle Cap' situation?

PREPARING FOR GOING SOLO

Can anyone guess what is in this chocolate tin? Wrong not chocolate!
It has all the little tools I need to go solo
And here they all are! Right beside the scissors are my home made locking tools. On the far right is my invisible thread for holding stubborn locks and fixing minor repairs. Did someone just ask 'HOW COME IF ITS INVISIBLE YOU CAN SEE IT?' Honestly.....you try threading the damn thing and you'll soon know about it. No seriously, it just blends on right in there with your hair...its brilliant am sure a lot of you use it. If you don't go get some!
And this is all the work I got to do.......3 MORE WEEKS AND COUNTING.
YIKES......YIKES.....YIKES

28 WEEKS (7 MONTHS)

Well let me just tell you now that I couldn't get past 15 days without washing....I really tried and the funny thing was that the idea of braiding and banding seemed like a small prize to pay. I was/am grateful to go through that process.....the process that enables us to achieve wetting the hair to clean it!!

What I found from not washing was that my hair got drier by the day and honestly when i put my hand in my hair it was not a good feeling....so in order to change that feel to a good one...I washed. And guess what....if i have to continue braiding and banding for another year, i will do so.....the consolation prize here is that it wont be long before I can just stand under the shower and wash freely.

I tell you like children, you tell them what to do and they don't listen and then you let them learn through their own mistakes and hey presto they remember and don't need reminding quite so often.

We all have a little of the kids that don't entirely go away...(Thank God!!)....because as you know we all need the ability to carry on learning in our own way but learn we will!

THE HUMAN PSYCHE

The human psyche is a funny old thing! From my last post you will know that I am virtually on my own now regarding the re-tight thing.

All of a sudden I have decided that am going to see how long I can go without washing my hair for up to a month (and only using anti-bacteria gel as often as i please). Challenging for me because i have always washed once a week and since getting installed i have left it up to 10 days. Now i am convinced I can hold out for up to a month at a time. Why I hear you ask.........because I will be self maintaining from now on!! Why add stress to my first re tight?? How about colour???? Yep that too.......am going to be such a good girl......he he he.......well a girl can try can't she?? (though this Wednesday will make it 2 weeks since i last coloured and already my hair styles are slowly limiting as I try and hide the greys :..( )

As my consultant Marie put it......(in similar words anyway) we need to take the security blanket away....its the only way to go solo........The girl is not wrong! My lovely blanket is gone and I am following her advise to the letter. Total madness? Not really I suppose...it makes perfect sense while Marie still re-tightened my hair I could shrug my shoulders and think.....Marie will sort me out....now I just think....Don't need the stress on my 1st solo re-tight

4TH AND LAST RETIGHT WITH CONSULTANT

Below is the parting I will have to make in order to organise my self re tightening in 5 weeks time. Marie very kindly countered my locks horizontally and vertically to the centre of my head , using my centre part and my ears as starting points. This will enable me to achieve my 4 bunches which I will tackle a bunch at a time. (YIKES!!)

My re-tight took 4 hours as supposed to the normal 2.5 hours owing to the fact that I coloured my hair with henna and there was some slippage. (I must admit I kind of over did it a little....coloured a total of 4 times!!!!! YES I MUST HAVE BEEN OFF MY ROCKER!!!)

Hey but I knew there was a chance it was going to happen. I took a calculated risk and it paid off. It cost me an extra £10.00...on the face of it, it was well worth every penny because Marie wants me to have a crack at starting to 'self maintain'.

The plan is that in 5 weeks time I will attempt (and succeed) in re tightening myself and then 2 weeks later I will see her for a review (which cost considerably less at £15.00 for the hour) to see how I get on. Yay me.

I forgot to mention a little while back that Marie noticed that I had been doing some re tightening here and there and she confirmed that I was doing it right. Yay me again! However am to keep and eye on ending the correct position etc etc. (Mental note, take phone of the hook or let it go to voice mail....oh yes AND CONCENTRATE WOMAN ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING).

Back view 1st day of installation. Back view 25 weeks later.

25 weeks later 1st day of installation