Thursday 29 October 2009

Washing a Short Afro: Some Tips

I thought I'd include this little 'here's what I did earlier' post on washing afro hair that is short. Really, it's because I did a quick google search for some tips from the afro hair guru's that exist out there, particularly on YouTube, and was surprised to come up short. QUE?? Sure, there's advice on all kinds of hair washing to avoid tangles and moisture loss- co-washing (shampooing with conditioner, often with an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse), banding of hair into sections to wash etc. But none of these seemed to address the needs of the short afro'd people.

I'm growing mines out, having said NO MÁS! to my relaxer in December 2008. I won't pretend it was intentional. More like two weeks of regrowth snowballed into a month, and the prospect of shelling out £70 got less appealing. I found all the transition styles fun, such as "china bumps" or bantu knots, although washing with the resultant tangles became more of an issue because of the virgin/relaxed hair split. Since June, I had enough regrowth to feel comfortable chopping off the dead weight, aka big chop time, and enjoyed the ease of washing a short short afro.

Which brings me onto today and washing hair in that 'tween' not-long-enough for a pony stage. I'm always interested in different approaches to hair care, particularly the ones favouring natural ingredients, a gentle touch and efficient use of time. But with all the advice out there, you could find yourself torn here and there with 'sworn by' techniques and tips, when all that really matters is doing what works well for you and your hair.

I've noticed that with my short hair, tangling while washing can be a problem. Previously, I would use a detangling spray and comb through before washing- the hair was much more pliable and suffered less shrinkage.

Today's tip tries to combine the banding hair principle with what is possible for hair that's too short to hold in sections before contact with water.

Very simply:

1. Section the hair into quarters before washing, like you would if banding (tying 1 or 2 bands around each section to keep the hair stretched while washing). If it's uncomfortable to do while the hair is dry, simply wet the hair first and then section.

2. In the shower or under the tap, wet each section without disturbing the divisions made. They don't have to be perfectly separate- all you need is to be able to follow each section with your hands as you go through washing hair. NB: hair is easier to comb when wet and for those with tight curls, stretches out. For those who want to apply bands, you might find the lengths are long enough to apply at this stage and follow that process now.

3. Apply shampoo to each section, paying more attention to massaging the scalp with fingers. Wash hair by rinsing each section- if you're like me, that's literally rotating in the shower for even coverage!
Do the same with your conditioner.

4. I then towel dried, sprayed on a home made leave-in conditioner (one part cream conditioner, whatever you have + water mix in a spray bottle- shake well and spritz).
You can then oil the scalp or air dry first and oil later.

E basta così.

Everyone has their own technique, and as you can see, what I've suggested ain't rocket science. That said, for anyone who might be looking for tips from another woman in the same boat before doing your own, I hope it helps!

Caroline Wozniaki- Amazingly Brave in Doha!


Phew, that was one draining, crazy match! Caroline Wozniaki, no.5 seed, was playing Vera Zvonareva in the 3rd round robin match at the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships, and literally limped her way across the finish line.

Caroline came into the match with a hamstring injury, but has played doggedly well so far against Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka. She should have faced Dinara Safina, no.2 seed, but a back injury ended her challenge yesterday. In the beginning, it looked as if the replacement player Zvonareva would offer little more than hitting practice- the hobbling Dane took the 1st set 6-0. But NO! The Russian came back in the 2nd, 7-5, which dragged us into a long match and the sight of an increasingly weakened and cramp stricken Wozniaki.

As the 3rd set rolled on, Wozniaki was in the lead but stretching manically at every opportunity. Uh oh. You just hoped Wozniaki could see the game out: she's been the more aggressive and focused of the two, but for a little complacency in the 2nd set. And with the 5th game already in play, there would be little choice but to grin and bear the pain or retire from it, so close to a win. On 30-30, that's exactly what happened: after hitting a forehand into the net, a spasm of cramp seemed to strike both legs, and the poor thing fell down unable to move. It was the most uncomfortable thing I've watched in sport, as she lay contorting in pain, all the while knowing the 20 second clock was ticking down in which she'd somehow have to get up and play. Cramp is no joke.

I titled this post 'bravery' because it takes true fighting spirit to plug away as she has in this tournament, and that belief became fact with her incredible effort to go on to win the match. Caroline is usually very good humoured on and off-court, but this show of resilience and will to win in any condition, really marks her mental strength as head and shoulders above most of the WTA players. I'm guessing, future no.1.

Sunday 25 October 2009

X-Factor - Is This Really About Talent?

That's it, I'm done. I'm tired of X-Factor and their TV show pretensions. DOH, it's a TV show! I hear you say? Yeah, you're right. That's exactly why I can't watch any more.

The reason I watch the live shows, once we reach a final 12, is to see singers perform and improve. This season's talent on the UK show has been superb, by and large. Definitely check out clips on youtube if you don't believe me. But for me, the show is about finding real talent- plucking something raw from the mines and developing it, hoping to find a diamond. For tweener girls with a serious crush and plenty of pay-as-you-go minutes, it's about voting for the cute guy with the blonde hair and baby blue eyes. For a sizeable chunk, it's voting for a talentless but chipper pair of odd blond Irish twins you feel sorry for at the expense of kids who bust a gut giving strong performances. For the previous two weeks, it was the consistently strong Rachel Adedeji in the bottom two. The Twins? Never there. Rather like their singing and dancing. That's when it hit me: this is a TV show, and right now, it's nothing but a glorified popularity contest. How silly of me? The "talent" portion of this pageant hasn't yet started!

This week's evidence? The strongest performer, Danyl Johnson, found himself in the bottom two with Miss Frank, a sassy girl group who gave their best performance this week. Neither should even have been there, yet- here we are once again, with a decision that beggars belief. A decision that comes from the well pool of Englands moronic love of The Loser. Time and time again, the nation has shown if you're crap but plucky, if you're cute but dim, if you're something that resembles an underdog, then a significant portion of the public will get the Mariah Carey 'I'll Be There's' on and sing that deadbeat to safety. In this case, voting for duds and dunces.

Is it harsh to react this way? Maybe. But it's hard to not feel for people with talent who get up and deliver performances. Danyl and Miss Frank gave gutsy performances, the former arguably the best on the night with his performance and singing. Yet it's a fallacy to believe that any of those things make a difference in stating your case to stay. How else can you explain the continued popularity of The Twins? It isn't their fault. They try their best and it's a blessing that they are so young and oblivious. It's the public at fault. I don't usually vote until the final, and made exception this week- for Miss Frank and Rachel. Unfortunately, Miss Frank didn't make it. I truly hope they stay together and get a deal. We have no fresh, edgy girl bands at the moment: multicultural, multilingual, singing and rapping. Love them.

My mistake. I'll tune in again when the show reaches the stage where it's about finding the best performer. When the judges stop crying because they've picked the wrong song (Cheryl!), get mock-offended when Simon Cowell is Simon Cowell (Dannii!), when Louis has no more ponies in the stable. When my expectations are in line with what's happening in front of me, then it will be safe to return. The eventual dismissal of the twins will signal that, although knowing this country, that might not be any time soon.

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Me Encanta 'Mi Vida Loca'


Dios Mio, que va a pasar a Merche???


This is the question I'm dying to find out. Actually, it's more like GASPING, after watching the latest episode in the BBC's online spanish language drama, Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life).

It's a fabulous multimedia tool taking the viewer, and language learner, on an adventurous tale with the ultimate goal of learning Spanish. In a series of 22 episodes, you are placed in the shoes of a tourist in Madrid staying at the apartment of your Spanish friend. Once there, the viewer runs into Merche, the busy sister of their absent mate, who it turns out is a journalist investigating corruption in Gran Canaria.


I wanted to learn Spanish using online sources, and this series not only does the trick, but has me gripped with it's addictive, soap opera plotting, engaging characters and the lovely way it makes the interaction with English and Spanish so easy. No surprise then that the show won an Innovation Bafta award in 2009.

Anyway, I have to get back to it. Ep 19, La Inmobiliaria, isn't going to watch itself...

Hasta entonces, chicos!

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Those Virgin Media "Customer Service" Mother ****ers


If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being unfairly treated by a utilities or services provider. Why? Because I am confronted with the maddening maze of (alleged) customer service with call centres worldwide, otherwise known as The Faceless Other and brings out my enraged alter ego, Incredibly Pissed Off.

This weeks offender? Virgin Media: how I can't stand you (my words, but something of a secret motto of theirs right back at the customer too).

They stand guilty of not having any other means of contact outside of speaking on the phone, forcing you into a stand-off with staff who glibly possess a fragile grasp on the meaning of 'customer' and 'service'. The worst part is that this process involves a fair amount of trust on the part of the customer, and it's the ease in which a CS or Collections rep can abuse this trust which triggered the emergence of my IPO self. By trust, I mean the faithful record of a call and the write up of notes summarising the main points of the call on a persons account. This is the least I expect if I'm going to speak to Sundeep in Mumbai's frontline call centre, forwarded to Stacey in a Bolton pod, then to Sunni in Birmingham (let's call him Dick Wad) and then back again to Another Chap at the same B/ham centre, in an annoying, unproductive daisy chain. I never considered the absurdity in how business calls have become a human telefonic version of the pass-the-parcel childs game. Rather, Pass the Buck- Quick!

Call centres are supposed to make customer service seamless; smooth. The end of one call, and the start to another like passing on a baton of information: "Ah, Miss G, I see you called in about that last week"...Instead, this Virgin Media brigade are a dislocated, truncated and downright renegade service on a global scale- literally. One call can involve at least two transfers like Poirot making unplanned pit stops on The Orient en route from Instanbul (Murder on the Orient). Each agent in each transfer screens for the exact same information as the last, before telling you, "Sorry, wrong department. On yer merry way to Scotland, Hercule!".

Hercule Poirot- as confused as I?

Suffice to say, my original complaint is yet to be resolved. We'll see if the unfortunate manager at B/ham's Faceless Other centre honours their 24 hr callback policy that I requested within the first ten seconds of conversation with Dick Wad Sunni, who naively argued that "my colleagues will say the same thing as me". Oddly enough, it brought an odd satisfaction and some restoration to order hearing him say that. You know you've hit that nerve of powerlessness when a CS rep says that- the faint hope that this pesky woman will go away and accept my words, stinks out the air like a putrid possum fart.

Let the battle commence...

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