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!

New Hair Style

Here is my new protective style, as promised. I will not lie, these braids are EXTREMELY tight! I'm planning to keep them in for two weeks but if they don't loosen up in the next day or two, they will be coming out. I need my edges! When I take these out, I will be at 24 weeks post. Yay! This is the longest stretch I've done since I started relaxing again (November 2012). I have no idea what my next step will be. My husband wants me to get a relaxer... I'm not so sure. I like the fact that with protective styling, I can still take care of my hair (moisturizing and sealing) without manipulating it so much. I've never had a weave, and I love my wig but it was just way too hot. Maybe I'll go for some more Senegalese twists... who knows? At least I have some time to decide! 

Protective Styling Update, Unofficial Length Check!

Hey! So I managed to keep the Senegalese twists in for two months. I got them done on April 13th and took them out on June 17th. For the first month I was taking hairfinity, but my bottle for the second month mysteriously disappeared so I didn't get to take them. That's another story for another day. Anyway, even without taking the vitamins for the month of May, my hair definitely grew a lot.

I didn't get a picture of my hair right after I removed the twists but these were taken right after washing and conditioning. Even though there is some shrinkage, you can see that my roots are pretty thick and full. This Friday makes 22 weeks since my last relaxer and I don't plan on getting one any time soon. To me, it's pointless in the summer time. I'm going to straighten my hair just so I can go out and have it stuck to my forehead? I think not. SO, tonight I'll be getting another protective style. I'm being simple this time around, just getting some cornrows braided up into a bun. That should hold me over for a couple of weeks and then I'll be deciding on something else. My goal is to wear protective styles throughout the summer. I'm not sure how that will work out but it's worth a shot. 

Also, 07/04/14 makes one year since I chopped all of my hair off! When I cut it I had all intentions of wearing my hair short forever but I'm just not about that life. Which is how I ended up back on this journey. It's not as long as I would like, but if I hadn't trimmed it in January the length I have now would be worthless. Since my hair is not relaxed and also because I'm braiding my hair up tonight, I won't be able to do an official length check on that day. So here is my length as of today, in comparison to the day I got it cut!  

07/2013

07/04/2013

10/2013 Relaxer

01/24/2014 Relaxer and Trim

06/25/2014 Length Check

I'm pleased with the steady progress I'm making. Hopefully I'll continue moving in the right direction!

Hairfinity Update: Month 1

I finished my first bottle of HairFinity today! So far, so good. If you remember, I began taking the vitamins the day i got my senegalese twists done. As you can see, exactly one month later my roots are looking pretty thick. I am planning to keep these in for another month (while I take the second bottle of Hairfinity) but I really don't think the style is going to last that long. My hair usually grows pretty fast but not THIS fast. We'll see how much longer I can hold on to this style.

My first month taking these vitamins was not too bad. I did have a few minor breakouts at the beginning for about a week, but after that they cleared up. Clearly my hair is growing, and I'm pretty sure it's helping my nails too. They seem to be much stronger and thicker so that's a good thing. I start month two of my two month supply tomorrow, and we'll see how much growth I retain when it's all said and done. I don't know what I am going to do with my hair after I remove the twists. I love this style, it has been my absolute favorite protective style to date. I'm thinking maybe I'll take them out and redo them a week or so later. I do not want to get a relaxer just yet. My last one was on January 24th, so this week makes 16 weeks post and by the time I take these out I'll be 20 weeks post. If I can make it to 24 weeks that would be great, possibly even longer. I may just wear my wigs for awhile. Who knows? I guess we shall see...

Senegalese Twists

I got my Senegalese twists done today. I paid $140 and it took five hours to complete. I love them! They are very lightweight, much lighter than box braids in my opinion. I'm planning to keep these in until June 8th (8 weeks) which will take me to 20 weeks post. At that point I'll decide if I want to do a relaxer or another protective style. Also, during the eight weeks I have the twists in I will be taking hairfinity. I purposely waited until I got my hair done to start taking the vitamins because I want to accurately track my growth. Of course I will be moisturizing and sealing as usual so we'll see how much length I retain!

Hairfinity, protective styling, and update!

I know, I know... It's been forever. But here I am with a quick update. So my hair is doing well. I'm still moisturizing and sealing daily. I haven't washed it in a couple of weeks, which is strange for me, but I'll be getting that done tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to prep my hair by doing the GHE. I have not used heat on my hair since March 14th. This is huge for me because I usually feel like it's necessary to flat iron at least once a week to maintain this short hair.

I know for a fact that the only reason I haven't used heat is because I've been wearing sighs. Yes, me in wigs! I have to admit, there was a time when I wouldn't touch a wig but now I don't leave the house without putting my hair on. I love them! I do make sure that I always put on a silk wig cap before putting it on. The point is to protect my hair, not pull it out.

My next protective style is going to be either box braids or Senegalese twists. I love the look of Senegalese twists but I'm not sure if they will last the full eight weeks that I'm planning to wear the style. I was originally planning to get a relaxer on April 18th but I really want to stretch this relaxer and retain some length. I'm planning to get my hair done next week so that should bring me to about 21 weeks post. At that point I'll decide if I want to do a relaxer or another protective style.

Now, on to Hairfinity!  I ordered a two month supply on Monday and it arrived today (Friday) which made me happy. The packaging was also really nice. I probably won't begin taking it until after I get my hair done next week. Only because I'll be able to see exactly how much growth I get in those eight weeks.  I'm excited to try it and I hope it works!!

Until next time... 😘

Wash day

I finally got around to washing my hair yesterday. I had gotten into a routine of washing it on Wednesdays, which was annoying to me since that is the middle of the week. So this time I waited until Sunday so I could get back to my normal. One thing is for sure, I will not go that long without washing my hair again. I just knew I was going to scratch my scalp away. I have no idea how I used to go two weeks at a time. Anyway, that's in the past.

Saturday night I decided to do the green house effect (GHE). I usually use coconut oil but my hair was feeling especially dry (my silk scarf refused to stay on last week) so I used JBCO. I used it to oil my scalp like I usually do, then I coated my ends with it as well. After that I put on a plastic shower cap and covered both with my silk scarf. I left it that way overnight and the next day my hair was very damp. I decided to wash my hair in the shower so after I shampooed I put in my conditioner and covered it with a plastic cap. It stayed like that for about an hour because I decided to get some chores done. After I rinsed my hair, I applied my leave in conditioner and applied some grape seed oil. I don't usually blow dry my hair, but since I was not planning to flat iron it I wanted it as straight as possible. So the grape seed oil served as my heat protectant (as you know). After my hair was dry, I wrapped it and covered it with my silk scarf.

On the subject of flat ironing, I haven't straightened my hair since the day after Valentine's day. I haven't had a reason to, so I didn't. I don't plan on flat ironing it until it's necessary. I started noticing a bit of breakage around that time and now that I decreased my heat usage, it has slowed down significantly. I REALLY try to avoid the flat iron, but with my hair this length I feel like I HAVE to use it to achieve the style I want. When my hair was longer, it was easy not to flat iron my hair because I could easily wear it in a wrap or throw it in a bun. It's a work in progress and I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

So there's my quick update. I am still washing my hair weekly, moisturizing and sealing daily, and reducing the amount of heat I use (or at least trying to).