Hair Journey Blog 1

Okay, so I was trying to limit how many pictures I included with this post, but we will see how it goes. Like my body, I have not had the best of relationships with my hair. Up until 5th grade I had natural hair, as all kids do. Then my mother convinced me to get a Jerry Curl, because she said that would help it grow. I will not post a picture of that here,  but let's just say I looked like Michael Jackson. It was not a good time for my hair and of course I was teased because of it. Kids would make fun of my hair and how wet it was. Because you have to keep a Jerry Curl moist, they would say, "Drip, drip, drip" whenever I was around. It was awful.

After about a year of that, I decided to go ahead and get a relaxer put in my hair which I kept for years, until my mother told me it was time for me to take care of my own hair. Well, I did not know anything about hair. Instead of caring for it, I just chopped it all off, which was not a good look for me. 

Then in 2008, I decided that since I did not know how to care for my hair, I would get the easiest maintenance free hairstyle I could think of. So I got locs. 

2008

It actually required more maintenance than I thought, but I was able to work with it. My hair grew with this style because it did not require me to comb my hair, just re-twist it and wash every so often. 

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Looking back on the pictures now, it seems my hair grew pretty fast, at least for me. I actually did not take care of my hair during this time. My hair was often dry because I did not moisturize it. I went for long periods of time without washing it and had it re-twisted maybe twice a year by a professional and then I would do it myself around every two months or so. 

While I was pregnant with my third child, I decided I wanted to do something different. Natural hair was making a come back. Although I had technically been natural for five years, I wanted the versatility I was seeing on other women. I did not, however, want to chop all my hair off again. Instead, I worked for two weeks, using a ton of conditioner, to detangle my locs. 

 2013

I am not sure why I thought this would be better for me. After it was finished, I realized I had no idea how to style natural hair. I almost regretted my decision. Then a friend of mine told me about the twist out, and that became my hairstyle. I wore my hair out for the majority of 2014 and 2015, and guess what; my hair did not grow, not even an inch. I think it actually got shorter. 

2014

I became tired of doing the same hair do over and over again so I decided to research natural hair styles. I came across quite a few that I have tried, but most importantly, I came across some hair care challenges. I realized the reason my hair is not growing is because I am not caring for it properly. For instance, I was unaware that if you co-wash your hair, you still need to use a conditioner. I also have not used a leave-in conditioner since I was a kid, not to mention the fact that I do not regularly moisturize my hair. I have been abusing my hair and it knows it. 

With that being said, I came across a relatively simple hair challenge that I want to try for the next six months. I am going to nourish and nurture my hair. Right now it seems to be thinning, I am hoping to reverse that. I would also like to get some vitamins to take in the near future that contain biotin since I heard that helps hair to grow.  

If you have any suggestions or know of routines to help natural hair grow, please leave them in the comments section below.