Hair growth progress

My, how the time has flown.

I chopped off my hair in a fit of 'I don't know what' back in May 2010.

It started off as a trim, but I just kept cutting and cutting. There was so much going on in and around me, and when I feel chaos I do drastic things like move furniture, paint walls, purge items from my closet, or cut my hair.

I still do the other things, but I wanted to stop chopping off my hair when I got in a mood, so I decided to look more inward that react outwardly, however, that last big chop was more than necessary. I think I adapted healthier hair care habits, and tested my own patience, as well as learned a lot (and will continue to).

I went from this:

To this:

I won't say that things got easier (except for the fact that I am more comfortable with myself now than I have ever been in my entire life... jobless, loveless, and all), but I damn sure learned other ways, maybe more healthier, productive ways to get through things. I'm no where near my final destination as I embark on healthier living, getting into a bikini for my 38th birthday, lol!, becoming an entrepreneur, and being the artist I set out to be many years ago. It's hard ya'll, but worth the effort. Stay tuned!

Hairline Regrowth Progress

Earlier this month I took photos of my thinning hairline, which was a result of wearing my hair in a top bun ALL THE TIME. I got comfortable...lazy. And I paid for it. For the first time in my life I knew what many other women go through when it came to the thinning hair line. I literally was like "What?" And then I took action.

I immediately pulled out my unopened second bottle of MTG - yes, the -ish that smells like bacon grease! I was a horse losing it's damn hair and I needed help stat! And then I whipped out the Jamaican Castor oil. As mentioned in a previous post, I bought the oil and didn't find much use for it. I even threatened to give it away, but I kept it and used it as a carrier oil for my scalp oil. Well in this case, I mixed the MTG with the Jamaican Castor oil, and massaged my hairline daily.

I thought I'd seen a difference in a couple of days, but figured that was wishful thinking. I wanted to wait a while to take follow up photos to compare to the original ones, but I saw a major difference in the 3 weeks that I have been using this scalp oil, as well as continuing with the Shea Moisture Yucca and Baobob product line (if I could drink the Hair Milk, I would - it has been a miracle to my hair).

(for whatever reason, the date is not showing on the second set of 

photos, which were taken on March 31)

It is without question that I am satisfied with the progress that I am making, and will continue on this path. I also changed my hair maintenance routine a bit, as I've found that the longer my hair gets, the more work it seems to require (and here I thought I would be able to just throw it up in a ponytail or bun and keep it moving... NOT!).

This is the second week where I am wearing my hair in a partial blow out (I blow my hair out with cool and warm air, not the hot air that I used to use back in the day). And I have gone back to styling it daily (ugh!), but mainly because I oil my scalp and re-moisturize every night. That routine goes as follows:

1. I finger-part my hair into 4 sections (I do not use a comb when my hair isn't wet, and even when it is wet, I detangle with my fingers - not a bit comb in hair fan).
2. I apply a quarter size of the Shea Moisture Yucca and Baobob Hair Milk to each section, then apply a dime size of my homemade Hair Buttercream.
3. I place the section in a ponytail and braid the loose hair.

In the morning I add a bit of homemade hair pudding followed by hair buttercream to the sections closest to the roots to control those stray hairs. Just before heading out for the day, I release the 4 braids, shake my head a bit, and peace out.

The one major thing I discovered after using the Shea Moisture Yucca and Baobob hair products (shampoo every other week, conditioner weekly, hair milk daily, and now the hair masque which I will use with every shampoo), is that my hair was soooooo soft, but strong. Strong enough that I feel confident with the blow out hair (I usually get nervous after a couple days and spray it to coil it up).

When an Afro enters "Super Afro" phase

So, it's been almost 2 years (in May) since I chopped off most of my hair again, and I went from this:

to THIS!
(and this isn't even blown out fully because my arms got tired)
 

It's been a journey, but I'm glad to be on track according to my personal goals.  This was the first time in months that I'd blew out my hair with a comb attachment.  I don't do that anymore.  I'm back to my wash and go, moisturize and seal with hair oil, then tension dry method, as outlined below.  And I only do my hair once a week.  Everyday when I get home from work... ponytails (and tucking under the ends).  I'm almost ashamed to admit that this had made me lazy, BUT I love that I can wear my hair the way I like it, the way it is naturally, AND I don't hardly have to do anything during the week?  TOUCHDOWN!

In the meantime, this is my process:

 

 

 

 

 

WHEW!!!
(And I mean that! The process can take hours, but as my hair has grown longer, I find myself either taking some short cuts or just getting through it quicker.)