Hair Faux Pas: How to Get That Hair Growing...Finally

For the last little while I have been a little less motivated to continue with my journey. I think its something we all go through, but I think a lot of my frustration has been more about the fact that I have seen less than desirable results. The fact that I suffered a small set back hasn't helped the situation at all.

In an effort to keep myself motivated I have been doing my usual round on the internet. Reading this and that, which I enjoy doing because I can often find women that have similar hair textures and/or hair issues as my own. Hearing their story is always inspiring and it helps me push on. Seeing their progress gives me hope, but leads me to ask: why am I not seeing progress? I know the basic stuff I should be doing--or do I? Am I causing the issues with my hair?

Ladies, it goes without saying that hair grows, no matter what you do; it will grow. It also goes without saying that 99% of the upkeep and maintenance of my hair fall solely on my shoulders (pardon the pun). I only go to the salon once every 9-10 weeks for my relaxer touch up (self-relaxing was a disaster), and I have no plans to alter that relationship. So if these two things-- continued hair growth and personal maintenance--are indisputable, then I can only conclude that any hair breakage or damage I experience is the result of something I am doing or not doing to my hair, right?

Now I am not saying any of this to be hard on myself. I believe I have come a loooong way since the beginning of my hair journey in terms of knowledge and the general care of my hair. However, I am not seeing the results that I would like to see, plain and simple. Again, I am not being hard on myself or even unrealistic; I am not expecting to go from SL to APL in two months or anything like that. However, I am expecting to at least see a few inches of progress from one relaxer touch up to the next. Instead, I am seeing breakage on a consistent basis, that is not normal. My hair has also been hovering at SL for the last 4-5 months (taking setback into account), and that is not normal either. So clearly there are things I can be doing better, I just need to figure it out, which brings me to a beautiful hair diva's channel on YouTube.

Let me tell you, this woman Shlinda is funny, sassy, but more importantly, she points out the many hair faux pas that women are doing to their hair that leads to ongoing hair issues, information that may not be new, but helpful none the less. She points out the simple things that make me just shake my head thinking--"Really, how simple is that?! Why haven't I been doing that?" The following tips are some things that Shlinda has suggested on her channel and a few of the things are my own tips that are sure to get that hair growing.

1. Re-evaluate how you HANDLE your hair.

I personally can be VERY rough with my hair. When I M & S, when I detangle and when I style, I AM rough, plain and simple. I never really stopped to think about how hard I was being on my hair, but I have always been quick to tell my hairdresser or my BF, "oh no, you need to be careful" whenever they handled it too roughly. Well, as the saying goes "what is good for the goose, is good for the gander"--I need to start doing what I am instructing other people to do.

2. Maintaining a DAILY journal.

I typically don't do this. I make note of what I have tried/use whenever I wash my hair or use a new product. I also update my blog with any new discoveries, but a daily log is a different thing entirely. For many women this won't be necessary, but for newbies (I consider myself a sophomore) this is a good idea. Record what you are doing to your hair everyday.  How does it feel after using each product? How does it feel at the end of the day? At the end of the week? This will tell you if the product is a keeper or should be trashed. You will also recognize when something isn't going well with you hair sooner than later because you are forcing yourself to be more aware on a daily basis vs. weekly or monthly basis.

3. THROW AWAY products that simply don't work for your hair.

I've already said this and follow this practice, but I've slipped a few times. Now this is a tricky "rule" as some products need adjusting to work effectively on your hair. Not to mention no one is made of money and I know I don't have the luxury of buying and simply throwing out products because they don't work the first time around. But don't feel you must commit to a product simply because "everyone" else swears by it. Products do not work the same way on every person. You know when something is working for your hair or not. My rule of thumb is to let my hair be the true judge. If my hair is generally soft, supple, etc and I use a product that makes it feel like straw, I will not play around with that product to see if I can "make it work". It's simple not for me. Now if a product makes my hair feel "okay" then I will play with oils or combine it with other products to see if it works better. Over the last year or so I have learned more about my hair and I can make these decisions a lot quicker than in the past. Unfortunately, when I've waited too long to throw away a product this has been disastrous for my hair.

4. MAKE TIME for your hair

Now this is not what you think it means. As you know I take time out to do my hair on a weekly basis. What I am talking about is giving yourself the time required to do your hair with the least amount of damage as possible. These are two different things. Sure, I would deep condition my hair every week, M&S everyday, co-wash weekly (sometimes ), but I use to whip through this process. Sometime I did this because I did not have enough time to do these things, so I would rush through it. However, there were times when I just didn't want to do the things I had to do to maintain my hair, so I would just do a quick job to "get it over with".  I would quickly M&S for example just ripping through my hair so I could get to bed or out the door (which highlights tip #1), yet be confused when I saw broken pieces in my hand. I think taking the time to slowly do these things will make a huge difference in your hair. Small changes like waking up earlier, M&Sing as soon as you get home before you get too tired, washing or co-washing on days when you have more time to slow the process down can all be helpful in this area.

See these are all such simple things, but I've been sleeping on it I tell you. It's so simple and doesn't require any effort at all. Rather, it requires you relax on how much "effort" you're putting into your hair.

HHG!