October 2010 Update

So, I know it's not October yet.  We have a week to go, and therefore, my hair still has plenty of growing time left before I ought to update.  However, one of the things I have been doing is cutting back on heat usage.  I say that to also say that as a result, I can only properly assess length when straightened.  That just happens to be right now!

 The above shot gives an idea of length.  I still haven't sent my boken Avanti flat iron back for service, so my hair never looks straight to me when I do it at home.  I can see that my hair has grown almost to the length of where I cut it from in March.  Only this time, the ends are not so badly broken, and there's less over all breakage.

Here in the front you can see that ends are still fairly blunt.  I think the last trim was in June.  Can't remember I may have dusted since then.  But yeah, it seems to be stronger, and definitely longer.

Don't get too excited though!  I think this pic will show you that I am still struggling with slower growing areas in the back, various textures and a bit of thinning due to what I refer to as ponytail stress.

I think I'm going to continue Co-washing twice weekly, Spraying daily with Infusium 23, and sealing either with EV Coconut Oil or "Live Clean" Argan Oil.

I have a couple challenge for October. I will be vacationing in Central America, and want to maintain good hair practises while I enjoy the beach and scenery. Sun and salt water are likely to negatively affect my efforts.    

My only plan is to read a little bit about good deep conditioning regimens and I will travel with protective and conditioning products.

What I'm doing wrong ... part 1

Having a negative outlook gets you nowhere, but being realistic produces the opposite.  I can tell that my hair is growing, but I'm not doing the best job possible to get great, lasting results.

I'll list a few of my shortcomings.  Maybe they will help you on your journey.

WRONG  Tight ponytails daily. I am starting to see breakage on the hairs that go from just above my sideburns, and get pulled back by an elastic. 


WRONG  High manipulation when wet.  I regularly wet my hair and slick it back into a ponytail (when it's in it's weakest state).  Hair is stretching from just above the sideburns into a low pony, and breaking where it use to meet!

WRONG  Flat ironing without a heat protectant spray.  I tried one once, and thought my hair came out bushy, and kinda sticky, I hated the results and instead of looking for one that works, I've been using IC hair polisher.  A friend of mine with beautiful hair uses it.  I know they may a heat protector, but I won't buy it till this is done.  I figure it's better than using NOTHING (which is what my stylist and I were doing since age 15).



WRONG Cotton pillow cases! I know I should have silk or satin ones, at the very least, something smooth that won't grate against my hair.  This would reduce stress on my hair from tossing and turning when my doo-rag falls off. (A nightly event)


WRONG  Forgetting to wrap my hair!  When i'm tired, I don't really care if my hair is wrapped.  I know this is just a routine change.  So, I can get in the habit if I stick to it. When I was wearing my hair pressed more often


WRONG  Not deep conditioning.  I know I can use any good conditioning product to apply a DC treatment, but since I started my hair journey, I believe I have only actively deep conditioned on two occasions.  


WRONG  Not drinking much water.  This is a constant overall health issue with me.  I drink water...I love it.  I just don't drink a lot of it...or a lot of other liquid for that matter.  My whole body needs it, not just my hair, but I need to up my game from 2 or three glasses per day to at least 8.  Again, this is about getting a routine started.


WRONG Tucking my ends into an elastic.  This is a bad habit I picked up in high school.  When I don't like the way my hair falls, I double it over  in my pony tail, and allow the elastic to sit right on the ends.  I do this in an effort to "Protective Style".  However, I believe my hair growth suffers because the extra stress on the ends weakend and eventually breaks them.  I need to invest in some decent rollers, and hair pins..and do something to stop the continuous pulling and pinching of my ponytail.




this list could be much longer, but i think these are the items i need to address right away.