Progress...

Well it's been a while since I "chopped" my hair and began to work through the damage ends that I had. To clarify, I did not cut my hair, only trimmed a few inches every few weeks as it continued to grow out. I was already 100% natural at this point, but had scaggly, broken off ends. I still do in some sections, but this is the state of my hair so far.

For the length check I simply twisted, then retwisted my hair and then used a hair straightener on a low setting to stretch it out a bit in the back, rather than press it out completely. I did not want to straighten my entire head because the goal was merely to check my length, as I will putting my hair in a protective style for the next two weeks (twist). It's getting cold and I am getting lazy and I do not want that to negatively impact my progress. In the process of stretching my hair two things became very apparent. First, the left side of my head is much thicker ( and a bit longer) than the right side. Not just on the back, but in the side and front as well. I am really puzzled by this discovery. I can understand the sides of my head being different length and thickness because I sleep on my right side. This tends to stunt hair growth a little bit. However, the back and the front *scratch head*? I don't get that at all. I will try rubbing some JBCO on that side to see what happens. I actually planned to do a 6 month JBCO challenge between Oct 12-Mar 28 (details to follow), so I need to figure out how to adjust that for this issue if I hope to see a difference. My hope is that it will help thicken up my hair some since I do not think it really works as a growth aid.

The second issue I notice with my hair is the fact that I have a "gap" around my nape. If you look closely, you can see it looks thin right in the middle. That is because the nape is spotty. I am not sure how to fix that, but I will do some research and see what I can do. Beyond that, I am pleased with my progress. I completed a hot oil treatment this weekend and my hair felt really good after I did my final rinse (e.g. shampoo, DC, etc). Changing my regimen has done wonders for my hair. It feels softer, looks shinier and I am experience less breakage and dryness.