Curly Hair

I figured since I eluded to the fact that I would explain my new curly hair I should probably live up to it.

I mentioned a while ago, as in when I first started this blog, that I lost a lot of hair when I was really sick. This was pretty traumatic (that might be a bit of an exaggeration) for me. I loved me hair. It was thick, shiny, rich colored, silky soft, and I didn't need to do anything to it. I would just wash it, let it dry, and it would be movie start straight with just the right amount of volume (that might be a bit of an exaggeration too, it wasn't always perfect). I always got compliments on my hair, and I liked that.Well I guess we all need a bit of humbling. When I got sick I lost over half of my hair. It turned a funny rusty-dull color, was dry and brittle, and flat as a board.

Since I've gotten better my hair has come back to me, only different. It's not quite as thick anymore, or as soft, but my rich color has come back and on most days it's shiny and healthy looking. Oh and it's curly now... which isn't too much of a surprise because my mom and brother have curly hair and when I was really little my hair was curly too.

By request of Em T here's a picture:

My hair is so curly in fact that it's a pain to straighten it anymore (although I'll admit straight hair is more flattering to my face. Hmmm.... I'm sensing some more humbling needed). Since I'm not really the kind of person who enjoys spending loads of time getting ready I have been trying to figure out what to do. While I do straighten it once a week (which lasts about 3 days) I don't like to do it too often because of the damaging heat.

Here are some things that I have been using lately.

Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo and Knot Today Conditioner
   
On days I know I am going to keep my hair curly I use these. They are all natural products, they smell great, and they are great for naturally curly hair.

Kinky Curly Curling Custard

During the winter months this is a great styling product to use. It only takes a little bit, but it does a good job keeping the frizz down. It also leaves your hair feeling soft and natural, not like you have a stiff gel or other product in it like most other curly hair products. During the summer however, it doesn't do so good because it will actually draw water to your hair making it frizzier.

Herbal Essence Tousle Me Softly Mousse

I use this in the summer months. It controls frizz and holds the curl, but without any stiffness or crunch. It just leaves natural, soft feeling hair. This is what I used the day I took the picture.

I've enjoyed playing with my 'new' hair. I don't know if it will last or what I'll think of it years down the road. Right now I'm just glad it grew back at all.

Apparently I'm just really sensitive.

I don't mean emotionally, although a few my contest that point.

I mean my sensitivity to gluten. I try my hardest to live my life 100% gluten-free. I take measures that most would say are extreme. And yet I am healthier and happier for it so I am not going to change. However, because I have been so strict from the very beginning it has not allowed me to see how sensitive I really am. Recently however I have had a couple experiences that have made me realize how sensitive to gluten I truly am.

The first one really blew my mind. For Christmas my younger brother got me some salon-grade shampoo and conditioner I like. I had already been using the conditioner for a while, but hadn't splurged on the shampoo yet. I started using them right away, and loved them! After the Christmas holidays I started to noticed that my bowels were off. I would have minor cramps and bowel inconsistency. After several weeks of this I went over everything I was eating trying to figure out what was contaminating me. But I couldn't find anything, so I just let it go. A couple weeks later I was out at the store looking for hair products, trying to find something to tame my newly curly hair (more on that later). As I was looking at products I noticed that a lot of them had gluten in them. I decided not to get them, just in case. (At the time I remember questioning myself about whether that was just too extreme.) But then I had a thought. Had I checked the shampoo and conditioner I got for Christmas for gluten? I went home and checked. The conditioner was clean, but lo and behold the shampoo had gluten. So I stopped using them and within a few days my symptoms stopped.
Now let me first say that just using something with gluten in it topically does not induce a gluten reaction. The gluten has to be ingested. I was somehow ingesting enough of it through cross-contamination that it was giving me grief. I don't know how, but it did. That was my first clue that I was WAY sensitive to gluten.

The second one didn't surprise me as much, but it still gave me a clue to my sensitivity level and how I need to live me life going forward. While I was visiting my brothers at college I attended the schools Celiac Club dinner. A group of people with Celiac Disease meet once a week and share dinner. This was the first time in two years that I went to an event and ate freely. Bad move on my part. I still got sick from it. My guess is (and I am pretty confident in this) that the food got contaminated in preparation. Students made the dinner. They all live with roommates who eat gluten and who don't have any clue about cross-contamination issues. This made me realize that my resolve to have my home gluten-free is a good one. It would be so easy to get contaminated with sticky, crumby kids running around. I want to be a healthy, symptom-free mom when that time comes.

As I am becoming more aware of my sensitivity to gluten I am also becoming more aware that many other people with Celiac Disease aren't as sensitive. And actually science is beginning to back this up. It was first thought that anyone with Celiac disease would have the same reaction to the same amount of gluten. It was also believed that Gluten Intolerance, Gluten Sensitivity, and Celiac Disease were completely different things. While it's true that the reactions and severity differ, science is beginning to think that maybe they are not so different after all. The thought is slowly coming out that maybe all of these things fit together on a continuum with Gluten Intolerance being the least sensitive and Celiac Disease being the most sensitive, with different levels of sensitivity in each defined group.

There is still a lot of research to be done to fully connect all of them and there is actually a lot of controversy in the matter. Some people believe that it's unfair to those who have Celiac Disease to link Gluten Intolerance and Gluten Sensitivity into the same category because those who have Celiac Disease have certain genes, whereas those who are intolerant or sensitive don't necessarily need to have those genes. Also, the reaction in Celiac Disease has been proven to be an autoimmune response resulting in villus atrophy, whereas in intolerance and sensitivity that's not the case.

I don't know the answer to this, but I think the information is interesting. I do believe that there is varying sensitivity levels in those with Celiac Disease and I think that science is beginning to realize this as well. It's good for me to know how sensitive I truly I am so that I can live my life in the way I need to, even though some people may think me a bit extreme....