2016: The start of my Hair Journey
This blog is about my hair journey and the big chop I did 3 years ago. I have worn my hair blonde for over 15 years and boy ol boy did my hair take a beating! Back in 2016, I was fed up of my brittle ends and my hair being so choppy from all the breakage I just grabbed some scissors and cut the majority of my hair off! At the time I had tried everything from Protein treatments, deep conditioning treatments and so much more. After all of that nothing was working or bringing my hair back to life! The blonde had eaten up my hair so bad, that I couldn't even run my fingers through it without the majority of it breaking off in my hand. The big chop was my last option.
But honey, once I cut off all that dead weight, my hair grew like crazy. I did what everyone else would do, WATCHED EVERY YOUTUBE VIDEO on "the big chop". I watched so many women from all different backgrounds with many different hair textures all giving tips and tricks to growing your hair. From all the research I did, this is what worked for me. My hair journey, the big chop has not been easy.
- Satin Pillows
- Protein Treatments every 4-6 wks
- Created my own natural oils ( oiled my scalp 2-3 nights a wk)
- Wore Protective styles ( No Heat, No Color first 12 months)
I committed the next 12 months to not only not coloring my hair ( which is super hard for me) but also no heat! I wore braids the first 8 -9 months after cutting my hair off and then I wore curly sew-ins. The fact that the sew-in was curly worked best for me because all I did was wet my leave out and blended the extensions with my natural hair. I wore Indian Curlyfrom Hair Are Us, that was the best match for my curl pattern. My curly pattern is naturally tight, coarse and thick. However, the crown of my head was still transitioning and was a lot looser than the rest of my curls. So once I applied a little leave-in conditioner and water my hair matched the Indian curly hair perfectly.
2017: 1st time coloring (top only) & applying heat in 12 months
Please keep in mind that I slept on a satin pillow every night and even oiled my scalp 2-3 nights a wk (yes even with my sew-in). My hair was growing 1-2 inches a month! After a year I saw so so much growth, I eventually decided to color my hair because I missed being blonde soooo much!. Why did I do that, I ended up stunting my growth and again my leave out started to get rough real quick! So I again I stopped with the bleaching and went back to braids and sew-ins.
2018: 1st time Coloring my entire head
Fast forward to another year and although my hair was again growing, I now had crazy ends and my hair was several different colors due to the sun, my roots and my old color growing out. I was fed up with looking crazy and resorted to coloring my entire hair AGAIN ( clearly I never learn). By the time January 2019, I was ready to totally commit to no heat or no color for at least 6- 12 months. Well below are the results of how long that lasted.
2019: Went 12 months again with no color until December
January 2019 - July 2019 ( I went with no heat, no color)
December 2019 ( I decided to color my entire head)
My New Regimen:
- Color Hair (Once a year)
- Protein Treatments (every other month)
- Stick with Protective styles (Braids, Wigs, Sew-Ins)
- Trim ends every 60 days ( I didn't do this before & wish I did)
Please keep in mind the above regimen may change. What I have realized is the more I take care of my hair with deep conditioning treatments, protein treatments & mask this helps keep my hair stronger so that I can straighten and color it more often! This hair journey has taught me a lot, to say the least.
My Final Thoughts:
Sometimes I wish I just should have done no color or heat for 24 months and not 12. However, I love me some color and just can't stay away. So now that I have this new soft brown color with a few low and highlights I will keep this color all year so that as my hair continues to grow out the line of demarcation won't be so harsh. The last color I got was not as harsh as the others so I'll keep you guys updated on "Hair Journey 2020".
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