Tag Archives: LoveLeavingLegacy

How To Create Beachy Waves For Your Hair In Five Easy Steps

It’s no secret. I am bored stiff growing out my neurosurgeon undercut hair style. While I am grateful he was able to remove my acoustic neuroma tumor, and I’m thankful for the skilled hands of his “day job”, I hope he’s never a hair stylist on the side. Growing a 2 by 8 inch section of my hair around my ear from my face to behind my ear for more than 9 months has been tedious, and I’ve grown weary of my inability to do much with my hair while I wait. I shortened my hair length once my head incision was healed and a little less tender in May, at 6 months post op. For most of this time, I’ve been wearing it down, or pulled back into a half back-not even a full half up- while that shaved hair grows. There were other patchy areas of my head affected by surgery too where hair needed to regrow. It’s been a series of not pretty events.

Many months ago, Lilla Rose released a new product, Sea Salt Spray, used to create and hold beachy waves. While my hair and all my daughters hair was very long, we were not impressed when we did a test pilot run of the product. We felt like it made our hair sticky, greasy, and weighted it down.

However, in the past few weeks, due to the boredom with my hair and the limited ways I can wear it, and noting that the regrowth is at the awkward stage of sticking out in any direction it wants, no longer being hidden by longer hair, I decided to try the Sea Salt Spray again. Now I can honestly say, I at least like it well enough to use it for the purpose of creating waves. For the time being, it is allowing me a different option for a daily easy hair style. When I was much younger, I always longed for loose curls. I don’t have curls, but at least I have loose waves.

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What I’ve been doing:

  1. After washing my hair, I wrap it in my Lilla Rose hair towel for about 15 minutes.
  2. I brush out my damp hair with my Wet brush, spray in Lilla Rose Rose Water to tame my wiry silver hair strands, and blow dry the top back and my forehead area to create some lift.
  3. I finger comb my top areas into place, and scrunch the remainder of my hair while spraying Lilla Rose Sea Salt Spray.
  4. I then let it air dry, but I continue to scrunch my entire head is dry.
  5. I’ve also been pulling what would be my bang area back a little and securing with a bobby pin or Lilla Rose mini hair clip to keep my hair out of my face. Sometimes I spray in additional Sea Salt Spray to tighten the beachy wave just a little bit.

hair tips, hair tutorials, sea salt spray, natural hair care, how to, beachy waves in hair, was and go style

Have you ever tried Sea Salt Spray to create waves or to secure wispy waves in your hair? What were your results? Tell me in the comments.

Blessings,

Deb

Restoration, Renewal, & Hope: The Difference A Month Makes

Taken just five days after brain surgery, December 4, 2018

The scars on my forehead are gradually disappearing.

Forehead scars fading, January 3, 2019

My 8 inch-ish C-shaped incision behind my ear where a piece of bone was removed for surgery and then replaced with titanium screws is also healing. The muscles and nerves there do cause me some discomfort, and I’m having to be sure I’m moving and stretching by turning my head often enough to avoid creating strictures.

I need to keep my head on straight! Literally.

The hair behind my ear was clean shaven for the incision during surgery. The neurosurgeon left a layer of hair that adequately covers that scar. He shouldn’t quit his day job, but it’s clear he is good at what he does do! The good news is that my hair in that area is already an inch long. We’ll see what I do for a hair style once everything is healed, hair grows long enough, and I can return to my actual hair stylist. That is our friend’s, Michael at Identities in Kalamazoo, area of expertise.

I’m nearly off all pain medication. I’ve been off steroids for about 10-14 days. I am definitely thinking more clearly now that I don’t have a tumor, am not on steroids, and I’m going off pain medication. I’m finding myself less tired during the day too.

I’ve walked up to 3300 steps out on the road in front of our house with my bright red walker. There is one small hill that I call “you won’t own me” that does get my heart rate up and kicks my rear. Last year at this time I would not have even considered it a hill to be conquered. In doing my walking, I have put myself in great shape for the vestibular physical therapy I’m doing at Core Balance in Kalamazoo three times/week, an hour each time. And boy, let me tell you I leave there with rubber legs. I work hard. They are encouraging me to do as much as can at home, and that includes walking, grocery shopping, housework and homeschooling, but nothing that involves ladders.

I’m sleeping, and that is HUGE. It’s an incredible gift.

I still have facial droop and numbness. I still can’t blink my right eye, and if I’m not careful, could actually sleep with one eye open. I CAN drink with a straw and eat on my right side, although I have to be careful not to bite myself. I have hope that this will result in full facial functioning in coming weeks or months. While I was at Walmart the other day, I forgot that I need a straw to drink . I took a swig of Sprite and spilled it all down my front at the checkout. That is embarrassing, and frankly, this is part of a grief process that I am going through. Even though the people that love me aren’t noticing some of my limitations, I do. And they can’t be minimized to me. I don’t like scaring children when I try to smile at them, and can only do what looks like a grimace. Strangers can just be rude, and that is hard to take.

Keep your big girl pants on, Deb.

That’s harder to embrace than I realized it would be. And, often, my family receives the impact of my impatience, anger, and demoralized feelings. So here I am on January 3rd, trying to keep up the good fight and to keep faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

January 3rd, the difference a month makes: forehead scars are lightening, less tired looking, inflammation reducing, same attempt at smiling.

Clinging to Restoration, Renewal, and Hope in 2019,

Deb

Real

Hi, Family and Friends. It’s been since December 5th that I’ve been able to update, and after a rigorous few days up here at Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids, I thought I’d give a quick update.

I had a piece of my skull bone behind my ear removed during surgery, and I still have quite . a bit of brain and scalp swelling from that. I still have facial droop. Speech is good, though, and so is swallowing.

I am still really unable to handle visitors, and that is mostly because of the vestibular hearing loss and brain processing. I can’t handle more than a few minutes of talking at a time without severe exhaustion, and I can’t have competing noises. I can’t handle the television or music either.

At my initial arrival to Mary Free Bed, I was still a fall risk. I basically have done nothing independent of a nurse or patient tech until today since prior to surgery. I’ve been working with PT, OT, and ST all week and weekend since my arrival. There were many impairments pre-surgery, actually, that we were not aware were impairments until I started therapy here. What I’ve learned is that for every day one takes of rest prior to surgery, four days of therapy are added to the post surgery regimen!

I worked really hard at PT through the weekend, actually, and today for the first time am able to self ambulate around my room and to do self care. Until Peter is cleared for my safety, which he needs to be up here for, I am not able to walk halls. This would benefit me greatly and benefit my ability to go home, but I also need him to see what I’ve been doing for therapy so we don’t have competing agendas. I will be going home with some assistive devices, but mostly for when I’m running errands or doing PT. I will be doing therapy three times/week once home, and in an outpatient situation. I will be in therapy for at least a year. The surgical recovery is only what is up to 3 months, but brain recovery is going to take much, much longer.

The long and short is this: I’ve worked really hard these last few days, and as a result of that hard work, will get sutures removed on Thursday and will likely be discharged to home on Friday. I still need to keep a low profile for quite a while longer.

We still don’t have a radiation verdict.

The girls were up here last night to visit for the first time since prior to surgery. It was a hard visit. There are lots of “scary” feelings, and concerns. When they left, I was super homesick, though.

I miss my family.

God is good, and I am grateful for everything.

I am grateful to be here.

I’m grateful for healing, even if it is going to take a long time.

In the meantime, we’ve had a new well dug. Hopefully that will be fixed by the time I’m home. I’m uncertain of the communication behind this process. Peter is trying to finish semesters, the kids are doing school. We’re trying to keep a sense of normalcy when nothing is normal. And there are already a ton of appointments to be sorted through all the way through February.

My parents are leaving this weekend.

So that is my “real.”

That is our “real.”

Blessings,

Deb