I Needed Some Motivation :o)

Today i removed my protective style (latch hook braids). I wore the style for 1 month as part of the Winter Grow Out Ultimate Challenge on MyHairSistas. I am 16-1/2 weeks post, so you know what i was about to encounter. Everything started out great. Removing the latch hook braids was very easy. I had continued to moisturize & seal between the braids. My hair was easy to comb and detangle or so i thought. I proceeded to deep condition on dry hair, parting and applying conditioner as i would do a relaxer touch up. I put on my plastic cap and wrapped a towel around my head for 1 hour (no heat). I used Nourish Spa. This was my first time using this conditioner. I went against one of my rules-never use a new conditioner when coming out of a protective style. Everything was fine while the conditioner was on my hair, it actually felt very good, being that the conditioner was very thick. I love thick conditioner. Okay fast forward to rinse time. Oh boy!!! While rinsing. I noticed my hair didn't feel as soft as with my staple condish. Long story short. My hair was so dry and tangled like crazy!!! It took me 5 hours to slowly untangle. When i was finally done with the long ordeal. I was very disappointed with how my hair looked, broken, uneven, dry. I thought, i'm never getting to waistlength if this keep up. Then i had a thought. Let me see how far i've come. The comparison picture above shows the progress from 2008-2010. With all the breakage, setback, cuts and all. I have made some progress. So, i will press on, continuing the stretch and hoping for the best :o)

Nominated for a Sunshine Award!

My humble little blog has been nominated for the Sunshine Award by Hair's Tha Thing & Just Grow Already!.  I so appreciate these fellow bloggers for the nomination. The Award :

Here are the rules:

• You must post the award's logo in a post or on your blog
• Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers
• Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they've been nominated
• Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

Here are my nominees (all are blogs I love and have learned from):

 

  1.Anastasia's Secret Garden

  2.From Relaxed 2 Natural The Transistioning Story

  3.Ktani's Hair Sense

  4.Simplistic Chic

  5.Saving Your Cents

  6.Sheabutter Cottage

  7.blessednbeautiful1

  8.beautifulums

  9.Black Women In Europe

10.Diary of a Content Black Woman

Decisions, Decisions !!!

I'm 14 weeks post and this stretch has not been the easiest for me. Some weird tangling is happening and i don't know why. It's frustrating me to no end. I feel i'm doing everything right, but my hair feels all wrong. Detangling at this point seems to be a joke!! I'm getting some strange locking hairs that has never happened before. I see breakage, dryness and brittle hair, so i'm going to give my hair a rest and think about my next step. I will keep a protective style for at least 6 months. By then i will decide if i want to transition or not. I am doing a 6 month protective style challenge on MyHairSistas.

The above photos are of my protective style (latch hook braids) I plan to wear these for 2 months.

Join the : Winter Grow Out Ultimate Challenge

Stretch With Me Challenge - Part 3

I'm 12-1/2 weeks post. I have been on the MN challenge on MyHairSistas for 3 months and i have a lot of new growth because of the MN. Here are the results :

I can see progress in growth and thickness, but my ends continue to look chewed up, lol. Even though i trim regularly. I know some of the uneveness has to do with shrinkage from the new growth. I will trim after my touch up. Trying for 6 months this time !!!

Product Review

Nature's Bounty
Hair, Skin and Nails Formula 60 Caplets

Our Hair, Skin and Nails caplets deliver a specialized combination of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients consistently found in healthy skin, hair and nails.* Featuring Vitamin C, Biotin and Zinc, this formula can truly help bring your internal radiance to the surface.*

* Provides vitamins and minerals for glowing skin, lustrous hair and strong, healthy nails*
* Nourishing formula contains 28 key ingredients, including antioxidants*
* Vitamin C contributes to collagen production, which is vital for hair, skin and nail health*

My Opinion :
There has been many questions as to whether or not vitamins for the hair work. I believe any nutritional supplement that supports the body will help the hair. Did you know that the body will utilize all vitamins & nutrients for organs and functioning of the body first, and hair & nails are the last to receive both !!!! From my experience, my hair and nails grow faster & longer with the vitamins than without, so do a little research to find the best combination for you.

Does Hair Need Oxygen To Grow?

For years my edges were gone, bald around the perimeter. I have worked hard on growing my hair back around the edges. I have tried every thing on the market. Some products produced some peach fuzz, only to fall out again and again. I was forced to wear any style that would hide my hairline. I finally researched every thing that had to do with thin edges, balding edges, alopecia, traction alopecia and hair loss. After much research, and many failed products, i finally decided to make my own concoctions for my hair loss problem. I'm happy to report my edges are almost full after 5 years. I thought i was doing well with my growing back the edges. I always made sure i wore protective styles and covered my hair with a satin scarf, 24/7, lol. One day my bf (i didn't know he was a genius, lol) just looked at me with my scarf on in the house and said "How do expect your hair to grow if you never let it get any oxygen?" Whoa, talk about a light bulb moment !!! Every cell in our body thrives off of oxygen. Why not your scalp which produces the hair? OMG, so now when i'm at home and just sitting around or on the computer. I don't cover my head, and since doing that. I can see my edges filling in more. So Sistas. Do you think we cover our hair too much and wear too many hairstyles that constrict hair growth?

Stretch With Me Challenge - Part 3

Okay ladies,

I'm on a new stretch challenge. This time i would like to make it to 6 months. I'm 8 weeks post and my new growth is like super afro right now. I have been using MN and an Indian growth oil and i have about 1 inch of new growth. Usually at 8 weeks i may have 1/2 inch of new growth, so it could be a combination of the heat (almost every day it's been 90 degrees and over in New York), the castor oil, the MN. I don't know but, it's good. I have a lot of shrinkage, so i look like i'm a little past apl. Waistlength where are you? Anyway, i'm not having too much trouble handling my hair right now. Even with the new growth the tangles are minimal. I think the heavy conditioner is keeping the new growth soft. I apply on dry hair, plastic cap, towel wrapped around my head, and leave on for 1 hour.

My deep conditioning mix :
Doo gro Thickening Conditioner
Tresemme Remoisture Conditioner with vitamin E
Vitale Olive Oil Hair Mayonnaise







Want to join the Stretch With Me Challenge

8 weeks down !!!
16 more to go !!!