Tis the season...for protective styling.

I have a half wig.  On so many forums and blogs, I read about girls who use wigs to protective style during the harsh weather months.  I am attempting to do the same.  On Saturday, I washed my hair and deep conditioned.  I let it air dry over night and corn-rowed the back the next morning.  I flat ironed the bangs and then some...and slapped on my one and only half wig.  I trimmed it so the longest length would go to no longer than my armpits. That way it wouldn't be noticeably longer than my real length.  But guess what!!! I still feel weird wearing it in public. I wore it to church on Sunday..and felt like my head was so big!  The false hair feels so dry and crunchy compared to my real hair.  It doesn't move the same way...and looks a little greasy (probably my own doing!)  Ah well.  If I can make this work for me for the next two work weeks, I know it will be good for my hair.  The temperature is about 0 to 7 celsius on average these days...the air is soooo dry.  So, I don't want to wait until February until I start finding ways to prevent breakage.  Looking at pictures from the past few years, I've noticed that my hair always looks full and thick around my birthday...and straggly by spring.  Not this year. Why?  Deep conditioning, protective styling, and proper nutrition.  Wish me luck!

Time for an update

Big thanks to Rochie for reminding me of this blog!  I think we both just got busy this year, and stopped tracking our progress. I HAVE been paying attention, but not posting.  Will try to change that in the new year!

Where my journey started: This was taken on the day of my last major haircut March 24, 2010. You can see that my hair was broken, thing, and dry looking...even though I was really pleased with my cut (at the time!) The collar of my coat is deceiving.  It goes right up to the botton of my ears. So if we had to give my length a name, I'd say  Jawbone length.

So big news!  I'm expecting a new addition to my little family in 2012.  Many have suggested that this news is responsible for my hair growth.  Perhaps it has contributed somewhat, but that insinuation annoys me a bit, because those people are unaware of how much time and effort I have invested in learning proper care of my hair.  In fact, begining in June (before I was pregnant).  I started noticing that my hair was already past my shoulders and I couldn't resist the urge to wear it pressed all summer long.  Usually in the summer I am the queen of fros and curly styles, but I was very pleased with how far my hair had come along..and found myself wearing it straight after most washes.

This is me now... (November 14, 2011) Also taken about 3 days after a trim.  Stylist took of 1.5 to 2 inches all over to even out my end and remove splits.  Haven't measured, but from my Jaw to almost my Armpit is around 8 inches of growth.

So how did I get here?

My last post was about protective styling.
- Protective styling: I wore a half weave for 3 weeks last february (i couldn't stand it any longer) ...which cut down on wear and tear.  it really helped the weaker/short parts in the back to catch up with the rest.  Now it's all filled in!  I wanted to reduce heat, and I was good with that till summer came around.  Then I took another break from September to November.  I think if I limit flat ironing or blow drying to once a month, I'll be ok.
-Protected my hair from the elements.  Canadian Winters are brutal!  I wore hats daily when travelling outdoors.  And I moved my daily walks indoors.  Instead of strolling the city streets on my lunch breaks, I chose to walk the indoor network of shops and food courts that connects all the financial office buildings.  It's big enough that it was never hard to spend 20 minutes down there, get my daily exercise without stressing my hair or immune system.
- Moisture:  This is a key element for me.  I have a humidifier I got as a Christmas gift a few years ago.  I now know my old apartment was so dry it literally made my hair snap off all over the bathroom floor.  I knew less about hair then...so I only used it sporadically.  This year, I got it right and turned the humidifier on in the house for a few hours while sleeping almost nightly.  It kept the air from being so hot and dry indoors.  My deep conditioning has become Pre-Pooing.  I mix conditioner with Coconut oil or Olive Oil..a and put it my damp hair, and slap a plastic bag on for a couple hours before shampooing (or overnight the night before). Then I just wash and condition the normal way.  Sulfate free 3 our of 4 washes, and I used baby shampoo the other time as a clarifier.  Now, I'm cutting out the baby shampoo.  Found out it has some wacky ingredients that aren't so good.
- Vitamins - Being consistent helps.  Some people think that no matter what you consume it won't affect hair growth, but I disagree.  I don't think my hair was growing faster.  But I believe that it was growing healthier, more manageable, and less brittle. Giving your body the best building blocks for nutrition affects your overall health.  It just has to.

So, that's how I'm doing...and I have a long way to go.  Now that I think I have a better idea of what I'm doing...I have higher expectations for success.

I'll let you know how it goes!