One year later

You guys! Can you imagine how happy this makes me??? This obviously doesn't show my complete length because it's not relaxed or straightened  but look how much my hair has grown since 07/04/13! This is one year after cutting and 24 weeks post relaxer and trim. I am definitely pleased with my progress. The last year has been major learning experience and I'm so glad I got back on this hair journey. Otherwise who knows what condition my hair would be in. 

My last protective style was the cornrows. I literally just took them out right before this post. I liked the look of them but they were extremely tight. To the point where I have a few scabs in my head. For the health of my hair and my peace of mind, I had to take them out. My worst nightmare (hair wise) is not having any edges. I'm not about that life lol. I'm not sure what my next style will be. I did take some of the hair from the braids and made a ponytail. That will come in handy on the days where it's just ok hot for my wig. Let's face it, in the middle of July that will be almost every day. When I go down to the city I will probably go and get a wash and set just so I can really see the length of my hair. I don't feel like I need a trim right now, my ends seem to be in pretty good condition. As far as a relaxer, I want one and I don't. At 24 weeks post, this is the longest stretch I've done since I natural. The good thing is that my hair isn't at a place where I just can't manage it. So we'll see how that goes. 

Over the next year, I would like my hair to continue thriving. I KNOW I can make it to shoulder length by 7/04/15. So I want to challenge myself to make it to APL. It will definitely take some dedication. I want to limit direct heat, which shouldn't be a problem for me. I haven't used a flat iron or blow dryer since March so it's not a new concept to me. It will be much easier for me now that I have a little bit of length again. My main problem when I first cut my hair was that I didn't know how to manage it. I had never had hair so short so it was completely foreign. I thought it would be easy and it turned out to be the opposite. As far as my current length, I've been here before. This is a little bit longer than my hair was when I got my last relaxer before going natural (02/2011). The difference is that y hair was so damaged then. I was constantly coloring it so it was always dry and seemed much thinner and brittle. So I'm already doing better. 

I used to stick to a regimen. Perhaps I should start doing that again. Things always seem to work better for me when I have a routine. I'm just excited to see what the next year brings. Until next time!