Why My Six Month Stretch Was a Success

Hey! As you all know, it has been six months (or 25 weeks) since my last relaxer. Someone asked me how I made it so long without the creamy crack. My answer to that is protective styling. That has been the absolute biggest help during this stretch. I've had box braids, Senegalese twists, cornrows, and of course my trusty wig. All I had to do was moisturize and seal every day, oil my scalp, and wash my hair every other week. It's great to know that I can still baby my hair and protect it at the same time. 

Another reason this stretch was a success is because I limited my heat usage. In fact, I didn't use heat at all for four of those six months. It might make your hair slightly less easy to manage, but the benefits outweigh that by far. 

When I say this was a success, I don't say that because I made it this long without relaxing. Because if you think about it, you can go six months without a relaxer and not retain a bit of hair (trust me, I see it all the time). So to me, I was successful because I retained what I grew, my hair feels moisturized, and it feels healthy in general. That is my main concern. So for anyone who wants to do a stretch, do it! It's not as hard as it may seem. 

Regimen

Here it is guys! I finally sat down and wrote one up instead of keeping it all in my head. I have to give the credit for this one to my little sister. She's decided to go on a healthy hair journey  and I told her I would show her my regimen. Anyway, it's pretty basic. Not much has changed other than the length of time between my relaxers. As for trims, I have every six months because that's what works for ME. Everything won't work for everybody so this is just my personal preference. I know people who trim every time they get a relaxer and I just don't get it. That's basically cutting off the hair you just grew. Oh well. So for me it will be every six months or as needed. 

For my relaxers, as you can see, I have a minimum of every 16 weeks. Right now I'm going on 25 weeks. I think I'll see a nice amount of growth since I spent a lot of that time doing protective styles. As much as I wanted to stretch through the whole summer, I don't think it's going to happen. I went to Walgreens and picked up a relaxer yesterday (along with the biotin). I didn't do it yet but I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I MAY do a tiny trim, and I may not. I saw a few split ends and I want them gone. It's definitely not like it was last time I did a trim and I don't want to get to that point. On top of that, it's been six months. So we'll see. Like I said, it won't be anything major. If I do decide to do it, it will be done tomorrow since I'll be home all day. 

So there's my regimen! I'm excited to finally have it all mapped out. Now all I have to do is stick to it! Until next time...

Biotin!

Hey! Today I decided to go and pick up some biotin. I've been planning to get it ever since my bottle of hairfinity went missing. Anyway, I think it's about time I give it a try. I have read mixed reviews so I figured I would start off with the 1000mcg tablets. Since the bottle has 100 tablets in it, I'll be documenting my progress. Think of it as a biotin challenge. I have to say, I'm excited! Anything that promotes healthy hair is good in my book. I started taking it today so hopefully we see a good change in 100 days!

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...