Hair Goals

So I've decided to make a commitment to get this hair thang right! Like most women I have come across I am experiencing some bad days and good days on my hair journey. Some of my fellow hair Divas at LHCF and HI are helping me out, but I realized that I had to stop, slow down and really figure out what I am trying to achieve because honestly just saying that I am trying to achieve "long hair" is just too vague to be a goal! So to avoid the pitfalls of the past (e.g. becoming a serious PJ) I decided to sit down and really organize my thoughts. What am I trying to achieve? What are some of the issues I have with my hair right now? Basically, what I was trying to do was come up with some mini goals, so that in time I would be able to achieve my overall goal of beautiful healthy hair. 

This is what I came up with:

1. Eliminate (or at least seriously reduce) dry/itchy scalp
2. Achieve strength/moisture balance
3. Reduce breakage
4. Reduce shedding
5. Increase growth and even out hair length (SL by Summer 2010)
6. Improve circulation

 
If you've read my Back to Basics post you will know that the way this works is to take each mini goal one at a time, only moving to the goal once the previous one has been achieved (to my satisfaction). It's a slow process, but it will help me find the right products for my hair and really know how my hair is responding to a particular product. Before I was throwing everything except the kitchen sink on my head and I had no idea what was or wasn't working for me.  

In addition to these mini goals I want to do a few things that should help my goals along nicely and just keep me and my hair healthy overall:

1. Drink more H2O (minimum 2 litres/day)
2. Eat 6 small well balanced meals everyday (esp. breakfast!)
3. Take a good quality multivitamin (3x/day) as well as regular Iron, Calcium and B-vitamin complex
4. Get adequate sleep
5. De-stress with regular exercise/fun activity

Some of you may be asking, "well if your overall goal is to grow longer lengths why is it the last thing on your list?". Well I've done that for a few reasons: 1) I've heard conflicting thoughts on encouraging hair growth. Some believe that hair will grow at the rate it is meant to grow (approx 1/2 inch per month), and nothing can make more hair come out of your head, while there are the faithful few that swear by some hair growth aids (e.g. castor oil) and have "proof" of these miracle serums. 2) Plain and simple, if I am able to accomplish the other five mini goals, then I should be able to achieve number six without issue--right? Here's hoping.

I'll keep you posted, and I will post picture of my hair as soon as I get my next relaxer*....

                                 

*ETA: As of 2012 I've decided to wear my natural hair.