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May/June Newsletter

I usually try to stay ahead of the next month and have a newsletter ready to go, but, May seems to have gotten away from me. So to save me coming up with one halfway through one month just to come up with another in a few weeks, I decided I’m just going to combine the two this time!

The big news

The move is official! My lease begins June 1, 2022. The facility will be painting my suite that day so there’s a small possibility that your June 2 appointment may not be in my actual suite but it will be at the new location. All booking and contact information stays the same, but as of June 1, 2022 you will find me here:

Address:
220 N. Smith St. Ste 117
Palatine, Il, 60067
Suite 206

To enter my suite:
You’ll enter through the front lobby door and page me when you’re there. I’ll either come to the door to meet you, or buzz you in so you can walk to my suite.

Anybody following along with the plastic bag collection, look how much we got! Bonus, these two businesses are still collecting bags until August.

Associated Medical Professional & Therapy (APMT)
350 W. Kensington Rd. #102
Mount Prospect, IL, 60056

Yin Yang Pilates & Yoga Studio
111 S Rand Road
Lake Zurich, IL, 60047

The fun stuff

May saw me sign up for not one, but TWO 5k events this year! I would be honored if you made donations or participated in any way, even if that participation is sharing the events or keeping me in your thoughts. There’s almost zero chance I’ll be doing any running, but I’ve walked 5ks before and I’ll do it again! Here’s all the information for you:

I will be completing a 5k with my team on Sunday June 5, Friday June 3 will be my solo 5k! I intend to stream live on my Facebook page for at least one of those events.

Donate or join my team
Watch the live stream

Saturday, September 17 I will venture to the Chicagoland Out of the Darkness walk. I’ve made no secret of my mental health and the best way to truly end the stigma surrounding mental health is to keep talking about it. I’ll probably be walking this one as well.

Register for your own walk
Donate to me/my team

The promotions

Healthy curls or sleek hair goals?

Give your curls a healthy and balanced shape with the innovative Rëzo haircut.

Frizz can happen to anyone, upgrade your service to include a 3-in-1 Molecular Mender from Leaf and Flower to lock out frizz for up to 10 washes. For longer-lasting results, consider a Cezanne smoothing treatment for up to 5 months of smooth frizz-free hair. As a bonus, when you upgrade to a Cezanne or Mender experience you also take home a mini Instant Frizz Remedy to extend your results even longer.

Book your treatment now

Bleach versus Lightener – What you should know

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard the phrase “bleach this hair” throughout my career. Heck, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said it myself before learning more about it.

The Cambridge and American Dictionaries define “bleach” and “bleaching” as “to remove the colour from something or make it lighter, with the use of chemicals or by the effect of light from the sun; to become lighter in this way. A liquid or powder used to clean or make something whiter or lighter in color.”

So, while technically the process can be correctly described as bleaching, we aren’t using bleach on hair. We use lightener when lifting the hair. Not only does it sound better and less scary, lightener has been designed specifically for use on the hair. Another major difference is what powers bleach versus lightener.

Most of the time when we think of bleach we’re thinking of a chlorine-based bleach. When it comes to hair, we use a peroxide-based bleach, or – lightener. This screenshot from Wikipedia breaks down the difference nicely.

  • Talk all the smack you want about Wikipedia but I love that all of the resources are listed for you to followup on your research

Lifting the hair in the salon is also able to be done in a controlled manner. The cool thing with lightener is that the power is in the product and not in the developer, the developer just changes how quickly you get where you’re going initially.

What most people, in my experience, tend to be worried about is the damage associated with lifting the hair. I want you to know, that’s a very valid concern. So what should you look for in a stylist when you’re exploring options for lifting your hair?

  • Ask them about the process. None of us are going to give you the details you need to replicate our services at home or with a friend, but a colorist that won’t explain the general process to you isn’t one I would feel comfortable with personally.
  • Ask them how long it takes. All colorists should be concerned about your hair health when lifting the hair, my experience in nailing down which ones are the most concerned is the ones who like to lift “low and slow.” What that means is that we’re going to start with a lower volume developer and work our way up from there. This will likely result in the process taking longer, but gives your colorist maximum control along the way.
  • Ask them if they pull the lightener through every foil every time. I’m going to preface my reasoning here with a note that if you have a long-term relationship with your colorist and they do this and your hair looks and feels great, then there’s no reason to change anything up. However, in my personal experience behind the chair I have found that if your ends are already as light as we want or need them to be, there’s no reason to pull lightener through on a consistent basis. This specific action has been responsible for a majority of the damaged hair I’ve seen throughout the years. Is it important to make sure that your toner doesn’t build up and affect the end results? Yep. Are there better ways to do that than pulling the lightener through at the time of application? Also yep.

What else would you like to know about? Let me know! Don’t forget to subscribe for more articles delivered right to your inbox, and follow along on social media!

Ecofin Paraffin-Free Treatments

I’d like to introduce you to one of the most delightful spa treatments I’ve come across in my time behind the chair.

In the salon I’ve paired this with a set of heated mitts to prolong the relaxing experience. How does it work? Well in the salon you choose the scent of the treatment you’d like. I place half a cube in each of your hands and then we slip those into a biodegradable liner, a muslin liner, and finally the delightful heated mitts. You allow each cube to melt and work its way in between your fingers; soothing your skin and adding moisture. Around twenty minutes later, or whenever your color is done processing, we carefully remove all those layers and gently blot off excess treatment, rubbing the remaining into your skin and sealing in nourishment.

Feedback within the salon has led to wanting to find a way to offer this same relaxing experience on demand in the comfort of your own home, so I created an easy guide to help you through it at home!

I know, you’re wondering what all of this is going to cost you, and let me tell you, it’s affordable!

Deluxe kit

$75 – Includes:

  • Salon quality heated mitts
  • 4 Ecofin cubes of your choice of available stock
  • 4 sets of biodegradable liners
  • 1 pair of reusable muslin sleeves
  • 1 travel bottle of sealer spray
  • Instruction sheet

Basic Kit

$30 – Includes:

  • 4 Ecofin cubes of your choice of available stock
  • 4 sets of biodegradable liners
  • 1 pair of reusable muslin sleeves
  • 1 refillable travel bottle of sealer spray
  • Instruction sheet

Replenish your stock

  • $10 – 6 Ecofin cubes: good for 6 hand treatments or 3 foot treatments
  • $1 per pair of biodegradable liners
  • $5 – refillable travel bottle of spray sealer
  • $12 per pair of reusable muslin sleeves

Consider these additions

Travel size items:

  • $7: Leaf and Flower Molecular Skin Shield
  • $15: Leaf and Flower Pain Releaf Cream
  • $7: Eleven Australia Moisture Lotion Hand and Body Cream

Full size items:

  • $29: Leaf and Flower Molecular Skin Shield
  • $89: Leaf and Flower Pain Releaf Cream
  • $22: Eleven Australia Moisture Lotion Hand and Body Cream

How can you enjoy an Ecofin experience?

Purchase for home delivery here
Click here to book your in-salon treatment

The concepts of “nature” and “natural”

Towards the beginning of my Nature and Humanity course, we ventured into the topic of “nature” and “natural” and what those words mean to us and how they’re used in day to day speech in ways that are effective, problematic, and everywhere in between. Today I am going to share with you my initial post, as well as my final essay which asked us to revisit a previous topic and discuss it more thoroughly.

I hope you enjoy.

The words “nature” and “natural” get thrown around a lot to imply that something is good, regardless of how true that statement may or may not be. This is an especially common issue when it comes to the things we expose ourselves to every day like cleaning chemicals, laundry detergents, and the things that make up our skin and haircare routines. Many companies flat out lie about benefits or use very creative wording to imply a much greener business approach than they actually use, a process commonly known as “greenwashing.” As a cosmetologist I see examples of this left, right, and center when talking with my own guests and when exploring products for myself. 

The first thing we usually think when we see the words “all natural” are that “oh, hey! That’s all natural, so it must be good!” Do you know what else is all natural? Cyanide. Nightshade. Hemlock. Arsenic. Even Asbestos is all natural and ready and willing to kill you in some way. And yet for centuries, lead and arsenic were common components of makeup that aimed to give women a more pale appearance. Stopping your arsenic products altogether tended to result in your skin’s appearance going wild which led many people right back to their arsenic-laced products or to seek out mercury-based blemish cures. Women trying to make their eyes look bigger would dilate their eyes with tinctures of Belladonna, or deadly nightshade. Radium was used as a wrinkle remover and X-ray technology was used for hair removal processes.  

I also see the term “natural hair” thrown around a lot, almost always in reference to “unruly” appearing hair that’s usually coily or kinky. In reality the term “natural hair” would refer simply to hair that hasn’t been processed, since color is a process just like permanent curling or straightening. But given that we also can have varying definitions of what we consider to be “natural” when it comes to hair the argument could also be made that your hair isn’t totally natural if there’s even styling product in it because you’ve still done something to alter the appearance of your hair. This is a good example of how something that’s supposed to be “good” actually ends up being problematic because “natural hair” tends to also be viewed as unrefined and otherwise considered less-than, along with the people it’s attached to. This particular description of hair also tends to be used almost exclusively in reference to hair that’s attached to Black people or other people of color.  

The concepts of “nature” and “natural” are great in theory, but also easily manipulated to change our perception of a product or situation.  

For our final paper, we were encouraged to revisit a previous topic that has come up throughout the class and dive more into it. I chose to revisit the concept of “nature vs natural” because it’s something that is impacted by or has an impact on almost every aspect of our lives. As previously mentioned in my first post, most of the time we see the words “all natural” on packaging and think that “all natural” means “definitely good for us and probably for the planet.”  A lot of emphasis gets placed on the word “natural” and it’s even become weaponized in some cases, which I will also cover.  

My background in cosmetology as well as my interest in true crime have led me down some interesting rabbit holes while learning about new things. For instance, did you know that arsenic and lead were some of the main components in makeup? For like, a really long time? During a time when having a pale complexion was desirable, these cosmetics were widely used and stopping them tended to lead to the skin acting out which resulted in people returning to their original regimen or seeking out mercury-based alternatives. These cosmetics were all made from natural materials, but we know now that interacting with any of those elements leads to severe health complications. Simultaneously, arsenic was also a main component in many pest control products which also led to them being used to commit murder. The symptoms of arsenic poisoning also mimic those of numerous other ailments common throughout history such as food poisoning and diphtheria.  

It’s considered “unnatural” for male presenting people to wear nail polish or cosmetic enhancements or long hair, but almost expected from female presenting people. Some people who give birth are told that their birthing story isn’t valid because they had a cesarean instead of a vaginal birth, yet those who birth vaginally but take advantage of an epidural aren’t told that their delivery isn’t valid even though they had an unnatural addition.  

There’s also a lot to unpack when it comes to “natural” and hair. From a purely technical standpoint, when referring to “natural hair” we should mean the hair as it grows out of the head left in the state in which it does so, with no additional chemicals or products added. However, the term is used most frequently to refer to hair that is kinky or coily and almost exclusively coming out of the head of a Black person. When the same texture grows out of the head of a white-passing person it’s almost always referred to as “curly.” This is rooted in systemic racism and perpetuates to this day. People who aren’t white-passing and choose to wear their hair in its naturally curly state tend to be viewed as “wild, un-tamed, less-than, less intelligent” and a whole host of other extremely inaccurate statements.  

Products labeled as “natural” are considered to be better for your hair, whereas when the hair itself is left “natural” it’s considered to be unrefined and treated as less-than, along with the people that hair is attached to. Some natural things are great for your hair, but others are actually pretty terrible for it. For one example, you can easily make a hair gel out of flax seeds that works amazingly to style curly hair; but on the other hand if you use coconut oil on your hair you’re creating a barrier that no longer allows the hair to absorb the water it needs to stay healthy and leads to your hair actually becoming more dry and brittle (causing breakage) and even in some cases, stretchy due to the other properties in the oil (also causing breakage). 

When it comes to the things we ingest we like to look for things that are “chemical-free” without totally comprehending that in reality everything is a chemical regardless of where it came from. How strict do we want to be when it comes to classifying food products as “natural”? A whole orange would be natural as that’s how it grows, but what about something like flour? Whatever wheat or nut the flour came from had to be altered from its natural state multiple times to create the flour, but the flour is also an ingredient in many things that would be considered “natural.”  

When you step outside, you usually feel as though you’re taking in nature, but how natural is most of the nature you encounter the most frequently? By the purest definition of the word “natural,” defined by Webster as “growing without human care” and “existing in or produced by nature: not artificial,” are there really that many places left that would be considered completely natural? Even forest preserves are, in essence, forms of landscaping as humans determine their boundaries and, even to an extent, the contents of the land.  

At this point in our society, the concepts of “nature” and “natural” are little more than constructs; almost entirely subsisting of being whatever we make them be. The beauty of nature is that it’s a wide and varied spectrum, not a binary, and is something we should embrace and lean into and learn from. 

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Speciesism and animal rights

Discuss our various attitudes toward animals. Some aspects you may want to focus on: In what ways are we different from animals, in what ways are we equal? How should we treat them? What is the role of suffering in all of this? What do you make of speciesism? 

Animals should be treated with the same basic respect that we would want to be treated with ourselves. There really aren’t that many things that separate us from animals because realistically, we are also animals. One could argue that humans’ communication skills set us apart, but animals communicate as well, we just can’t understand them in the same way. Would you like to discuss the ability to develop and use tools? Because I can find you a few different examples pretty quickly of animals using tools, and even makeshifting tools to use. We do have opposable thumbs which makes manipulating those tools significantly easier, but primates have that same ability as well. Animals have social hierarchies, customs, and rituals, just like humans do. They form emotional connections and actively demonstrate intelligence, much in the same way that humans do. 

For the same reason we find it morally reprehensible to torture, hunt, and kill human beings, we should feel the same when it comes to animals. Animals feel pain and fear just as humans do, but they lack the awareness or ability to choose cruelty just for the sake of being cruel. That’s one major example of how humans do actually differ from animals; their ability to be cruel simply for the sake of being cruel, to torture for enjoyment and kill for the thrill of it, rather than out of necessity. In this way, animals are far superior to humans, at least in my opinion. Choosing cruelty through ignorance for the sake of profits is just as morally unjust as torturing humans for fun. The number of animals per industrial agricultural site has grown significantly since the start of regulations with the actual spaces the animals live in not growing at the same rate, resulting in higher rates of disease outbreak, resistance to antibiotics, lower quality of life, and lower quality of nutrition due to restricted and specialized diets.  

Speciesism has become a very commonplace thing in humanity. The lucky breaks we had that allowed us to propel ourselves to the top of the food web by being able to defeat any natural predators we may have had gives us a false sense of superiority over the animal kingdom. Because we developed control over some other species, we feel that they are worth less and are treated more as objects instead of the living, breathing beings that they truly are.  

There cannot be life without death, and there can be no death without life. However, just because it must occur doesn’t mean we shouldn’t honor the life that was lived before death; especially when it comes to a life that was given so that others may live. If we can believe that Jesus was a real person who sacrificed himself so that we may be forgiven, we can treat the animals that we chose to raise just to sacrifice with the same beliefs and respect that “good Christians” give “the good Lord” who they believe has divine power over all of us. The topic of religion, hypocrisy, and cruelty associated with it is another topic for another time, but aspects of religious attitudes that we should live and lead with love are just as applicable to the topic of animal rights as they are to that of human rights.  

Industrial Agriculture 101. 2020. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agriculture-101 

How we could eat real meat without harming animals – Isha Datar 

Some of you may know that I’m currently enrolled to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainability Studies. I’m not totally sure what I want to use that for yet, but something inside of me feels like it’s a path I need to follow so I’m seeing where it takes me and waiting for my “aha” moment. In the meantime, you’ve probably definitely noticed that the amount I’ve been writing has significantly slowed down. Well, that’s not completely true. I’ve actually been writing more than I used to, it just hasn’t been anything I’ve been publishing. But as I was working on a recent paper it dawned on me that there probably isn’t a reason I couldn’t share my original writings when it comes to homework.

So while I’d love to have more hair-related writings for you, sustainability and ethics are also topics I’ve become incredibly interested in and enjoy learning more about and want to share that with you as well. And, since it’s my website and my business, who’s going to stop me?

I hope you enjoy learning with me.

How we could eat real meat without harming animals – Isha Datar 

Isha Datar presents information on cellular agriculture; a stunning innovation that would allow us to grow, from cells taken in biopsies of live animals, the same meat we have spent millennia slowly devoting increased space on Earth to farming. Cellular agriculture opens opportunities not only for a more sustainable approach to agriculture, but also for a new wave of culinary creativity when it comes to farming these cells. This innovative process would also allow us to expand agriculture vertically rather than horizontally. The costs associated with this process are already 1/27,000th what they were when research was first started, and as more ways are discovered to continue reducing the cost per pound of meat created, the possible positive impacts become almost limitless. 

I first heard this idea when watching Amanda Little discuss more generalized agricultural issues and viable solutions, and the idea intrigued me. Actually watching Isha’s video captivated me with the amount of potential this could bring to the world and progress that could be made on so many levels. My initial concern has a few points: given how many people feel about crops that have been genetically modified they would likely be resistant to trying foods made from cellular agriculture, and people being worried about taking jobs away from farmers who are already struggling as traditional agriculture is starting to crest over its useful peak. 

While I understand the initial concerns about cellular agriculture, I still see a lot of potential benefits. The process requires a similar amount of labor, but significantly more education. One of the big hurdles to making it cost effective is continuing research into reusing growing mediums and reducing cost and consequences associated with the process. Another hurdle is being able to mass produce product, and one of the best ways to do that would be to invest in helping meat farmers transition their current farms to host cellular agriculture and invest in their education in running their facilities.  

Cellular agriculture would be able to positively impact all three pillars of sustainability as well. From an environmental standpoint, reducing the amount of land needed to maintain and farm animals would allow us to start rebuilding large areas of forest that have been cleared to make land for grazing. Currently the amount of land dedicated to farming is the equivalent to the entirety of North and South America. That’s a lot of land. Not only would reclaiming some of that land allow us to start effectively combatting deforestation, but we could also return lands to the Indigenous peoples from whom land was stolen to make room for animals to graze and be raised. Cellular agriculture is also able to be built vertically, and is significantly less susceptible to the issues that crops and animals on land may face like floods, droughts, and other natural disasters.  

Society would be positively impacted by the creation of new jobs that are aimed at adapting to recent technologies and agricultural advancements. With less physical strength requirements needed to farm cellular products, more people would be able to explore farming as a career option. With a more diverse group of people farming using cellular agriculture, there is a higher possibility of using the same principles to make new scientific discoveries.  

The economy benefits from cellular agriculture when there is less volatility in the price of feed for animals and subsequently for the animals themselves because financial stability on the supply end helps to regulate market prices for consumers. Consumers who can plan more easily for their groceries are happier, and more likely to spend their money when they’re happy and not focused on how they are going to feed their families. Another bonus is potential culinary creativity and advancements, creating new restaurants and dishes that encourage people to eat out and stimulate the economy that way. 

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It’s been a while

And I’m not going to make apologies or excuses. I’m a real person with a real life to handle in addition to my business. But I do miss everyone.

What’s been keeping me so busy? I started classes to get a Bachelor’s Degree! Returning to college in my 30s has been equal parts time consuming and rewarding. I’m not 100% sure yet where the college work is going to take me but it felt like something I needed to do so here we are.

I’m also still taking clients behind the chair as well as being a hands on parent to an almost 3 year old. Needless to say, my blogging has taken a back seat to everything else.

What can you expect from me in 2022? Who knows?! I’m working on the finishing touches to my Fresha store, which will let you make online purchases directly through the same account you book your appointments with. I’m trying to move my salon closer to home and my clients. My friend and I might actually start recording the podcast we keep threatening to make. Vaccines may let us feel more comfortable returning to “normal” life. It’s still early in the year, but I’m looking forward to seeing what it brings.

As always, stay safe. You are valid. You are loved. Wear your mask.

Goodbye, 2021!

A lot of good things happened in 2021, and some not so great things. For me, the important part is that I’m still here. I’m still healthy. My family is still healthy. My clients have become even more like family, and I hope you all know how important you really are to me.

2021 saw personal and professional growth. My dear suitemate, Val, has taken the incredible opportunity to branch off on her own, which will give both of us even more opportunities for growth. Another big bonus to that is that I have the opportunity to move closer to home for most of us, so coming in 2022 keep your eye out for my new location in downtown Palatine!

We’ve made it 20 months into a global pandemic fortunate enough to have avoided the virus in question, and for everyone who’s eligible to get vaccinated and boosted. With Omicron on the rise, we’re staying cautious as we enter the new year.

2022 comes with another personal growth challenge as I go back to school to get a Bachelors degree! At a single 8 week class at a time, I have no idea how long it will take me to complete, or how long the Masters degree I want after that will take, but I’m just going to take it one class at a time and see where it takes me. Because nope, I also have no idea what I’m planning to do with the degrees specifically, but I know that the universe is pushing me towards this for a reason and I’m just going to follow my instincts.

I have a lot of ambitious goals for 2022. Each new year has brought me incredible challenges and opportunities, and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for all of us.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. I love you, you are valid.

Let’s talk about photos

I want to cover a few things today; one is why I take my photos behind the chair the way I do, and one is a few ways to spot photoshop when looking for photos.

Behind my chair

I want to start with the way I photograph hair behind the chair. When you’re browsing Instagram or Pinterest, it’s easy to spend hours looking at beautifully posed photos of hair after it’s been done and styled. In general it’s about marketing; the most attractive photos tend to catch the eye and bring you in, which results in more exposure and hopefully more business. You may notice that just about every photo I take of the hair that I do is often while they’re still sitting in my chair, unposed, cape on, salon exactly how it was when I finished the style. There’s a reason for that. Most of my time behind the chair has been spent being a realist when it comes to styling. I’m not the person who spends a long time on their hair every day (and there’s not a single thing wrong with that if you are that person), and most of my clients also don’t tend to be that person either.

Part of what you get when you come to me is someone who will listen to how you like to style your hair and not do a big style that you would never do. Obviously if you prefer something fancier because you’re getting your hair done, then, my friend, we’re gonna do the thing, but most of the time I like to style your hair for you how you would generally style your hair for one major reason – I want us both to see the finished result how you would normally wear it so I can fix any things that might be bothering you before you leave. I stand behind my work and I also give you 7 days from the haircut to come back and have things tweaked at no charge, but let’s be honest, if I can save you that trip I’d like to. Your time is worth something to me, too.

What’s photoshop, a wig, or natural hair in photos?

Something I see a lot is people bringing inspiration photos of hair that just isn’t going to be achievable. More often than not what they’re showing is either a wig, or has been photoshopped to show the desired result rather than the result that was actually achieved. 

A wig tends to be too perfect in photos, and sometimes easy to spot by looking at the hairline for discrepancies. The Cold Wire goes into a lot more detail to identify a wig but the main points are to investigate the hairline for things that don’t line up, the colors don’t match, it looks awkward, it’s too flawless, (in person) the wearer is touching their hair a lot, it looks too stiff, there’s an attachment point, or there’s too much hair. In general when looking at inspiration photos, if it looks too perfect and too good to be true, it probably is.

Most photoshopping with hair tends to be the color of the hair, which can be really hard to spot. In general you’re looking for color to be too even and the shadows are in the wrong spot. You’re also looking to see if the same person is appearing in the same position. This person gives a step by step tutorial for doing the photoshop, which also helps you to pinpoint some of the things you should look for like edges not lining up/being too soft or harsh/bleeding of the colors, etc. On her you can see her unfiltered blonde hair on the right, a photoshopped brunette in the middle, and a lavender on the end. you’ll notice that the two photos on the left look too soft particularly in the area at her chin and traveling down across her chest.

Here’s another one that gives good instructions to help you know what to look for, like a solid contrasting background, and some of her results.

Want to check a photo? There’s a number of places you can check to see if a photo has been edited. You can do a reverse image search and see if the same photo comes up with a variety of finishes. You can also check on Tin Eye or Google Images.

So what do I suggest for inspiration photos?

Honestly, mirror selfies. It’s hard to see the back usually but more often than not a selfie taken in a mirror or clearly somewhere in a person’s home tends to be minimally filtered and pretty close to the result that you would see in person. The more candid the photo, the more realistic it tends to be in regards to real life. You can also look for a complex background and how smooth the hair appears to be. It’s hard to alter messy hair, especially against a complex background.

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Holy Vaccine Response, Batman

Many of you knew I got two doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine in early 2021 and that the second dose kicked my butt. My second dose was about 12:30 pm and by 10:30 I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly, but something felt off. By 3:30 am the body aches and chills and sweats had kept me from sleeping easily, and thus it began. I managed to make it to the couch about 10:30 am, and spent the following 5 hours in and out of sleep, just trying to get comfortable. By 3:30 I was able to stay awake more, by 7:30 I was able to handle standing long enough to shower, and I managed to stay awake until about 10:30, just to try and keep my sleep schedule somewhat on track.

October 29, 2021, I got my flu shot. I knew to expect the sore arm but I wasn’t expecting the extra fatigue and general body aches. I was still totally functional, but definitely moving a lot slower than usual.

So here comes the time that I can get my Covid booster! More long term information is in and shows that my initial vaccine didn’t have as high of a long term protection rate as the other major option, and the CDC ok’d a mix and match approach if you felt comfortable with it and your doctor didn’t advise you not to. Well, since I don’t have a general primary physician (I’m getting there, I just have to sit down and do it), I weighed the options and decided to mix it up and get Moderna for my booster shot. The complicated part was going to be picking a day that had availability when I did, and I wasn’t going to have to be at all responsible for childcare the next day just in case; knowing how my body reacted to Pfizer and how other people in my age bracket reacted to Moderna.

Cue the day of boosting. Got my shot at 11am. By 7pm I’m starting to feel off. The chills and aches started coming very shortly after that. Sometime around 11 hours after the shot, I woke up in pain from the aches and had a hard time feeling my fingertips. That kinda had me worried, but it subsided fairly quickly, along with what seemed like the worst of the aches up to that point. Pretty much all of Thursday was spent either in bed or on the couch. It hurt to move. I couldn’t get warm. It sucked. But I made it through the day, and so did my sick husband (unrelated to Covid). Thursday night was a very similar situation to Wednesday night, only without the finger numbness. By Friday morning, the injection site hurt and I had moments of being lightheaded, similar to standing up too fast, and that was about it.

Did it suck? Yes. Would I do it again? Absolutely yes.

Getting vaccinated is one of the easiest ways to protect myself and the people I care about. Could I possibly still get and pass Covid on? Of course. The purpose of the vaccine was never to be a cure all, it was meant to reduce severity and keep the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. Protection is a layered approach. The vaccine covers most of the inside, and wearing my mask properly (over the nose and mouth) keeps any germs I might have to myself and away from you. Conversely, you wearing your mask properly keeps your germs to yourself and away from me, regardless of your vaccine status.

Do I feel like everyone who can get vaccinated should? I do. But I also recognize that there is the potential for the vaccine (or lack of) to only affect you. But. The masks will always affect other people, and I won’t bend on that. I will die on that hill.

Stay safe, everyone.