August Hair Update: One Year Later and Length Check!

August 1^st has come and gone but I want to acknowledge that it has been 1 year since I did, what I consider to be, my big chop.

Last year in the Spring I began flat ironing my hair more and more frequently.  As a result, I got heat damage.  Tired of the straight ends, I went to the local chop shop and had her cut about 4 inches of hair off.  I had about 4-5 inches remaining.  I wrote about it here.

Although I vowed not to use any heat on my hair for a year, I broke that promise and used a blow dryer several times.  I also flat ironed once and got a professional cut back in May.

Looking back I can say that this has been the best hair year since I made the decision to stop relaxing my hair in 2008.  My good hair days have certainly outweighed the bad and, judging from people’s compliments, the bad hair days weren’t as bad as I thought.  I stuck with the tried and true twist-out as a styling option, throwing in an occasional ‘fro puff for good measure.  My natural hair confidence has been boosted which means I haven’t cared much about what I used to stress over like curl definition, shrinkage and frizz.

About length…

Length was something that I was obsessed with in the beginning.  Not so much any more.  But I realize that it’s probably good to document hair growth if but only to let you know that you’re caring for your hair properly.  Hair grows [hard stop].  Poorly kept hair breaks off and splits which means you’re not retaining length.  If hair grows (on average) 1/4'’-1/2” a month but you have to get a 1/4”-1/2” trim every 6-8 weeks because of split ends, then you’ll see minimal growth.

And while protective styling is a great method that helps with (maximum) length retention; it’s not necessary.  I've only done one protective style (mini twists) in the last year.  Just keep the ends moisturized and handle them gently and you should be fine.

Although you can see my hair growth from my posted pictures below, I went ahead and grabbed a tape measure to record some stats.  My hair in the front is about 8” and when pulled taut, touches right below my chin; the hair on crown is 10”; hair on the sides right above my ears is about 7” and the hair at the very nape of my neck is just about 5”.  Not too bad, in my opinion.

Parting shots:

July 2010 - My Big Chop

August 2010

September 2010

January 2011

February 2011

April 2011

May 2011 - After Cut/Flat Ironed

July 2011

August 2011 - Blow Out/No Flat Iron

Flashback Friday: Mickey Mouse Disco

Am I the only person who owned this album and played it until it couldn't be played anymore?  On special occasions, my mother would allow me to play it on our Hi-Fi that had the multicolored flashing lights.

Ah, the memories!

 

Stream of Consciousness Thursday

I know today is not Sunday but I’ve been wanting to do this for some time and today seemed like a good time as any; because God knows, the likelihood of me blogging on a Sunday is slim to none.

I can not believe that I drove all the way to work yesterday without proper shoes to wear in to work.  I had to stop by Target and purchase something.  I got a lovely pair of wedges on clearance and I love them.  I think it was God’s way of allowing me to buy another pair of shoes that I would have never bought.  Thanks God.  But seriously, I am on a no buy for the next few months.  I don’t need anything.  At all.  I am, however looking forward to purchasing a few newitems for the fall and winter moths.  I’m also quite disgusted by people at work.  I mean, who enters the bathroom talking on the phone and continues to have their conversation while they are actually using the batheroom?  That is just plain old nasty.  Eww!  I really really wish that my sons would get their liceneses right now.  I’m so tired of driving to and fro.  I think that yuesterday’s weather was perfect.  Yes, it was hot but it wasn’t humid.  I love the summer.  My youngest son wants us to become vegetarian in 2012.  I think I’m on board with this idea.  Actually, we’ll be pescatarian but it will be so much healthier for us all.  By the way, I’m joining a gym.  I can no longer deny the fact that I’ve gained a few pounds  And since I have no plans to modify my already pretty decent eating habits, I really need to increase my activity.  The gym is not included in my no buy for the next few months.  Anything for health is worth the money.  So off to the gym I go.  These last few months have been some of the happiest I’ve had in the longest time.  I’ve made new friends, mended some relationships and had tons of fun.

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday Thursday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post below.

Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love

June/July Hair Update: Holy Grail Regimen

I get asked about my regimen a lot.  

“Tell me exactly what you do to your hair.”

And while I always share my routine and products – I mean, I do love talking about hair – I am quick to give my disclosure: what I do to my hair may not work for yours.  

But today, I’m going to give you the Holy Grail method to consistently perfect hair for free.  Brace yourselves.

If you take the time to learn the basic needs of your hair, then the rest is gravy.

Get with that rocket science.  

“Knowing your hair” can only come by fasting & prayer trial and error.  I used to read and hear folks say “listen to your hair” and frankly, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash.  But as I’ve come to learn over the last couple of years (yes, years!), that statement is so very true.  It doesn’t have to take you years to find your groove though.  Keep reading.

I know what my hair likes (oils and creams)…I know what my hair doesn’t like (protein and coconut oil).  I know when to wash with a shampoo (about once every 3-4 weeks or when I know I’ve been heavy-handed with product)…I know when I can get away with just a co-wash (about once a week).  I know when my hair needs moisture (always)…I know when my hair needs a protein treatment (never).  I know which products will net successful results…I know which products will have my hair looking a hot, sticky, unmanageable mess.  And I only know this because I’ve taken the time to try a whole bunch of methods and products to come to these conclusions.

Anything worth having is certainly worth taking the time to obtain, even if in that time you get frustrated.  And believe me; you will get frustrated…a lot.

So, I’m not going to tell you exactly what I do to my hair to achieve my results because over the past couple of months I’ve changed my method and tried different products.  But what I will suggest are some tips to you finding your Holy Grail regimen.

·        Document (mentally, on paper or through pictures…or all 3) what products and methods you used and the results.  

·        Try your method at least 3 times before you write it off as a complete failure, unless you get success on the first try.  Sometimes it’s not the combination of products that you use but the amount of product or the method in which you styled your hair.

·        Don’t use a whole bunch of products in one styling session because then it’s almost impossible to determine what is not working.  My general rule is to use a shampoo and/or a conditioner to cleanse, 1 leave in, 1 styler and an oil.  On the days that I need it, I’ll throw in a deep conditioner.

·        If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  But if you just have to try something new, only replace 1 product at a time.

·        Have a back up plan if things go south, because they will.  And it will be at the most inopportune time like 5 minutes before you have to leave for work.  My rescue style is a puff.  A large elastic band, some gel to smooth back the edges, a scarf to set the edges in place while I’m driving to work and a little fluff here and there ain’t never failed me yet.  Never!

In closing, and this probably should have been first, stop stressing!  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Be patient.  If you stay the course, you’ll get there.

Parting shot. I styled my hair last night after a co-wash.  Although my products were the same, I used a different styling method – smaller twists on damp hair, diffused for about 5 minutes and then stretched the twists by pinning them back.  This morning I unraveled the twists, fluffed a little and...

#Winning

May Hair Update: Scissor Happy!

I was planning to wait until the end of June or July to straighten my hair and get a little trim.  You see, last year when I had some heat damage chopped off, there was no rhyme or reason to my hair.  It wasn’t shaped and I didn’t care because I didn’t plan on straightening it again for at least a year.  I had been researching salons and was set on a spot in New York that I planned to patronize on my business trip in June. 

I viewed this Youtube video last Thursday and was inspired to try this style out since all of my hair could gather into a substantial ponytail without me feeling like I was giving myself a facelift from pulling my hair so tight.  And the style was a huge success (I only used one pack of hair, not the 2 as suggested in the video).  Anyway, folks loved my bun and I’d settled on the fact that I was going to wear this style for 3 more days and on and off for the next month until I got my hair done professionally.

But then something happened.  I loathed the amount of gel I had to use to slick the hair down.   And then my scalp started feeling a little suffocated.  And then suddenly, I was fixated on getting my hair cut, not trimmed.  Then I talked myself off the ledge and tied a satin scarf around my edges, put on my satin bonnet and went to sleep Friday night with the intentions of repeating the bun.

But…what had happened was…

I woke up at 8:00 Saturday morning and HAD TO wash that product out of my hair.  And then I started digging in my stash of products for the blow-drying cream, and then the maxi.glide was plugged up and then…

A couple of hours later I was in my car, driving to my local chop shop where I have a tried and true stylist that does what I ask.  And I told her to cut my hair…even out the length…layer it. 

It was funny because even though she hadn’t seen me in almost a year she said, “No, you mean a small trim like usual, right?”  I shook my head and repeated my instructions.  She then says, “You know you’ll lose about 1-1/2” of hair off the back, yes?”  And I said without hesitation, “Yep, get started.”  She smiled and got to cutting.

She did mention while cutting my hair that it was very healthy (much healthier than the 1^st time she cut it a couple of years ago) and that with the type of growth I got in the span of 10 months, my hair would grow back in no time if I kept doing what I was doing.  Little does she know that my hair should have been at least 2 inches longer because I had been snipping and clipping ends like nobodies business over the last 10 months.

By the way, I love it!

Pre-Cut

Post Cut

Styled!

Full disclosure: I did have a few splits and knots that can only be attributed to wearing my hair out throughout the winter months.  But said splits certainly weren’t running an inch and a half up my hair strands.  This cut was done because I wanted a noticeable change to my hair.  I also needed to even out the length and give my hair some shape.