Long time gone

Well I haven't posted in forever. I visited AZ at the end of August and then started work and then started school and life hasn't stopped.

A little update on the hair experiment. I have determined that the weather in WA changes too much to make this experiment very consistent, but I'm still trying new things.

After I tried the creamy Garnier shampoo from the last post. I tried this (Herbal Essences - Body Envy volumizing shampoo) :

I read (somewhere) that to control oily hair it helps to use clear shampoos versus creamy because they contain less oil. I have to say that I didn't see a significant difference, but this shampoo did help my roots not sit flat (it's a volumizing shampoo), so that helps something?

Anyway, I moved on to this (Paul Mitchell - Shampoo 2):

The bottle indicated that it cleanses any build-up from hair products, which helps eliminate oil. This shampoo definitely has been phenomenal, yet it is a little pricier. What I have found that keeping this shampoo in for at least a minute before rinsing it out really helps eliminate oil. Also, I only use very little conditioner (I needed to get over the fact that it would take a little longer to comb out the tangles). My hair now lasts for longer before sitting flat and getting oily, which is nice! I use the Paul Mitchell one most of the time and the herbal essences sometimes too (to save money).

I also have some tea tree shampoo I got when I was in AZ that I will try more when these shampoos run out.

I also just bought this (TIGI Rockaholic - Dry Shampoo):

I had never heard of dry shampoos before, but they are apparently the more expensive version of baby powder for eliminating oil between shampoos. We'll see how well it works! I also have read a lot online about washing your hair less eliminates oil along with using Apple Cider Vinegar and eggs?? to wash your hair. I haven't been brave enough to try those yet, but maybe over winter break when I am not forced to go into public.

I plan to be back blogging now and have many things I'd like to share! Quick update: I love my job at the Experimental Education Unit on campus at UW. I am an aide in a kindergarten classroom and am loving every day of it! Graduate school is...school and Seattle is already getting cold!! AH! Can't wait to share all my stories from the last 2 months.

Already late..

I already missed the mark on starting my experiment, which I am pretty bummed about.

After church yesterday I began intensely cleaning our kitchen and before I knew it I had to leave to babysit. I have to be at work by 7:30 Mon - Wed, so I didn't feel like staying up to blog last night either. Anyway, no one cares for the excuses, so let me lay out my experiment for ya!

The specimen: my too fine, too oily, blonde hair (I'll post a picture at some point?)

The goal: Debunk some oily hair remedy myths while discovering which works best for me!

Procedure: I will try a new remedy each week starting Tuesday August 3

Dependent Variable: I will (to the best of my subjective ability) keep a log of when my hair begins to feel heavier, oily, and so on. This is obviously (and painfully) subjective, but this experiment is mostly for my own sanity because of how much my hair drives me crazy.

Controls:
- Wash hair every other day (I am too lazy to stray from my lifestyle)
- Amount of Shampoo/Remedy = 2 silver dollars worth
- Amount of Scrubbing (scrubbing too much stimulates hair follicles which creates more oil!) = about 30 seconds
- Time w/ shampoo in hair (leaving shampoo in for longer supposedly destroys more build-up) = about a minute
- Amount + placement of Conditioner (I will use the same conditioner throughout..posted below) = 1 silver dollar worth on bottom 2 - 3 inches of hair
- Time between shower and blow dry = about 10 - 15 minutes - Blow dry with round brush + straighten every other day
- Use silver dollar size of these 2 products:

The first is Schwarzkopf BC Bonacure Repair Rescue Sealed Ends, which is self explanatory. I put it on my ends!

The other is Catwalk Fashionista Smooth & Shine, which is supposed to protect my hair against the heat of the blow dryer and straightener. I use it all over but try not to get any on my roots.

Other details: I will keep track of the weather conditions because that will greatly affect my hair. This is obviously something I can't control (Seattle looks to be very cloudy this week, but we'll still go for it)

You may already be bored and be thinking...why do we care about this? You don't have to care. This is more to document for my own sake and anyone who thinks this may be fun. I don't mind if this category only includes my parents (and Kevin for sympathy sake).

I am going to establish a baseline (figure out how quickly my hair becomes oily with a typical shampoo) with my current shampoo (along with conditioner) which is this:

Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner for Color-treated or Permed Hair (Yeah...I used to think my hair needed moisture. What a mistake).


If you are even still reading, I will begin this tomorrow and post next Monday on the results of the first week. Let me know if you can think of anything else I may need to control! I realize that this is silly (and crazy nerdy), but humor me as I put my countless hours of learning the scientific method to practical use. (even though I know this experiment would make my thesis adviser screech...)

An Oily Experiment

Upon my arrival to Washington a month ago (where does time go?), I began to realize that my hair got oiler much quicker than it had in the arid desert we like to call Arizona. I have been discussing and researching oily hair remedies for the past week or so and I've come to one conclusion. Talking about oily hair makes people as uneasy as discussing a much needed leg hair shave. The internet has provided far from convincing evidence.

I am the wash your hair every other day kind of gal. With a mixture of busyness + laziness, the pony tail has become a staple hairstyle for day 2 because my hair is just too dang oily. I also have leaned on the much needed support of the blonde's best friend...

I am also the kind of gal who knows little about hair products and chooses from what is inexpensive (okay, let's call it cheap) and sounds like it would be good for my hair. (However, today I realized I was using shampoo for color-treated hair...when I haven't colored my hair in almost 2 years...)

Anyway, after the purchase of 2 different kinds of shampoo that seemed promising for combatting my oily hair, I decided to put on my own scientific experiment!

So here we have it: For the next some odd weeks, I am going to do a case study on oily hair remedies. Each week I am going to try a new product and/or remedy that was suggested by the internet, friends, or simply what looked promising. I will blog about this once a week to detail my opinion on each product. This will begin Sunday August 1.

Until then, I am going to research different remedies, decide on my controls (you must have control variables in order to have convincing results), and lay out my experimental procedure! Each week I will use the same product all week and collect data on how soon my hair feels oily...or something like that. This obviously isn't the best scientific experiment because n=1, but I am going to attempt to keep good controls and an unbiased opinion.

Please, come back soon to see what I find!

A Nanny for YOU

Well after complaining and worrying about having no work, I was swamped with 60 HOURS last week! I worked with 7 different families. Yeah..holy moly is right. Only one of the families are a consistent weekly family. They have a new born baby boy who was born 9 weeks premature. He is full term this week and growing so well! (Note to self: don't have children for a long time. they cry too much).

I have been fully enjoying Seattle despite working so much! Two weekends ago Kevin and I joined some friends in Winthrop, WA for a hike. And let me tell you...it was quite the hike. I did not plan on hiking 7.5 mi with over a mile in SNOW. After the initial frustration (from me mostly...or only), we began sliding down the snow hills on our feet or bottoms and enjoying whatever we (I) could.

My roommates and I have weekly dinner and Bachelorette watching. This week Emily and I made a mass amount of nachos! Also this past weekend Kevin and I went down to Tacoma to go to the Point Defiance Zoo and Engine House No. 9 Brewery. The weather was nearly perfect (it was hot..I like a little chill) and we enjoyed delicious burgers. (I think Kevin actually had a chicken something, but I'll pretend we both had burgers).

Other than that, I have basically been working a ton! I also bought my textbooks online today. For anyone who knows me really well (I like to keep this secret close), I LOVE school. I love registering for classes, buying my textbooks, cramming for tests. The secret is out: I LOVE it. It's kind of a sick joke that this is what I love because some days I'm not sure if it will be the death of me, but whatever.

Well this post got long quickly. With the money from my over-worked last week, I bought a few treasures online so that I can create some new scrapbook and baking creations! Come back later this week and see what I've done (or just begun...).

For your viewing pleasure: here is my wonderful, loyal, loving father...who I miss way too much...in his new Husky Dad shirt! Hooray!