Hey, beautiful people.  Happy New Year!!!  Like many others, I am happy to see the end of 2016.  It just was not one of my favorite years.

For many, the new year brings a time for resolutions.  It may be a distinction without a different, but I have always disliked the term “resolutions” because it feels like a setup for failure.  I prefer goals, and I like to start the ball rolling before the new year.  Here are 5 goals that I low key started in December that I plan to continue:

1.   Drink at least 80 oz of water per day.  I have found that my whole body does better when I drink a good amount of water throughout the day.  From what I have read, studies have moved away from drinking 8 glasses of water to drinking half your body weight.  For me, I wanted to up that a little bit.  My plan is to drink 12-20 oz of water first thing in the morning, and then two 32 oz – 1 liter (33.81 oz) bottles of water during the day.  I have two plastic mason jars that are 32 oz. each.  I also have a bunch of old soda stream 1L bottles that I can no longer use because my soda stream broke (tear).  To help keep me motivated, I have joined a “Drink Your Water” challenge, with daily check-ins, and I am using the water tracker in my Fitbit app.

2.   Have 7 good, quick styles that work on my fine hair, and a regimen that incorporates more protein.  As you may remember from some of my other posts, my hair is low porosity, fine, high density, and a 4A/4B mix.  In the past, I have been very focused on taking care of my hair based on it being low porosity, and spent little time researching how to make my fine strands look best.  For example, individual mini twists tend to look very sad when I try to use them as a style, and tend to break my hair when I take them out.  My hair seems to do better with low manipulation, “big” styles, like 2 cornrows, buns and wash n’ gos, and I am a lazy natural, so I need quick styles.  I plan to play around with styles in 2017 to give myself some more versatile looks (more on this throughout the year).  I also haven’t been using as much protein as I should, and I have seen more breakage as a result. 

3.   Create mini makeup challenges every 1-2 months until I can do a full face.  Growing up and even now, I have not been very big on makeup or beauty upkeep in general.  Most days, you are lucky if you see me in lipstick.  I’ll also admit there have been some days that my eyebrows needed serious help.  At the end of last year, I put myself on an informal challenge, forcing myself to fill in my eyebrows every day for two weeks.  I was proud of myself because I stuck to it too.  One day, I even had to stop at the drugstore on the way to work because I forgot to do my brows before I left the house.  It worked out well because I saw marked improvement in my eyebrow shape, and I learned a few tricks through Youtube.  Youtube also inspired me to go a little crazy buying makeup products on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and I bought a few makeup organizers.  With all the new stuff I bought, I want to extend my informal challenge to other makeup areas over the course of 2017.  I may stay in the eye area for now, and work on eye shadow.  I have always wanted to learn smoky eye and cat eye.

4.   Exercise for 30 minutes at least 1 time a week.  This may sound like a bare minimum, but I like to set goals that are measurable and achievable.  Typically, I say that I am going to work out every day or 3 times per week, fail miserably and stop working out altogether.  This time, I am starting with 1 day and we will see how it goes.  I have no excuse for not getting in 1 day because I have 7 days and multiple options.  If I am traveling that week, the Sworkit app on my phone is awesome for squeezing in a workout.  If I am feeling ambitious, there is a gym less than 10 minutes from my house and I can text a friend to meet me.  If I want to do something fun, there is a community center that is about 20 minutes away that has drop in classes and, in the summer, there is outdoor Zumba.

5.   Read a book every two months, alternating between one self-improvement book and one “just for fun” book.  I love reading.  I just did not do much of it in 2016.  I have a Goodreads account and set a goal for myself of 6 books in 2016, but I only finished 5.  I also haven’t been to my one of my book clubs in about a year (I'm in two), and I miss it.  In 2017, I’m going to do better because it speaks to how many other things took priority over what I did for myself last year. 

What are your goals for 2017?  Make them measureable and achievable!

1.  Hair porosity - There are a few tests to determine hair porosity. GreenBeauty has a great Youtube video on three of them.  The most popular is the water cup test. Take a clean strand (i.e., no products on it) and place it in a clear cup of room temperature water. If the strand sinks to the bottom, it is high porosity.  If it floats in the middle, it is normal.  If it continues to float on top after several minutes, it is low porosity. Low porosity hair also usually takes a long time to dry.  It also doesn't need much protein, and you really have to work to get moisture into it because the cuticles on the hair shaft like to stay closed.  You may even notice water beading on top of it.  With high porosity hair, it's easy to get moisture in, but the trick is keeping it in because the cuticles like to stay open.  My hair is a mix of low and normal porosity, so it is really hard for me to get water or anything else into my strands.  I need to use lighter products, and I have to give products time to absorb.

2.  Hair Width  - This is the thickness of each hair strand.  Fine is thinner than a piece of thread. Medium is about the same diameter as a piece of thread, and coarse is thicker than a piece of thread. Fine is usually more fragile, and cannot use "heavy" products. Fine hair tends to like protein.  Again, my hair is a mix.  Due to my hair width and porosity, I can only use lighter proteins.  Note that hair width is different from hair density.  For example, I have fine hair, but high density (meaning a lot of it).

3.  Hair Texture/Type (Curl Pattern) - Some people would disagree with me on whether this is important, particularly because so many people get hair typing wrong.  However, if used right, I think typing can be helpful, just not as much as hair texture and porosity. There are a number of hair typing systems. The most popular is the Andre Walker system. This picture and this link from NaturallyCurly.com are a good descriptive guide on the system.  Like the other two properties, my hair is a mix here as well.  I have pen-sized curls (3C) in my crown, frizzy masses (4B/C) around my edges from the front to my ears, and the majority of my hair is small crochet needle size or smaller curls (4A).  I usually use product consistency and styles that suit my smaller curls, but use more product and twists on the edges or hairpins to blend the textures.

On my pinterest page, I have more hair property tips that I've picked up along the way.

HAPPY ANALYZING!!

*This post was updated 1/1/2017 to add a sentence on hair density.