GettingKinky
Well-Known Member
This is a long rambling post, but after 10 years of working I have reached a place of total acceptance of my hair and I want to share the journey I took to get to this point.
10 years ago this week I started my HHJ when I got my last bone straight relaxer (12-8-11)
Prior to starting this journey I got my hair relaxed bone straight every 6 weeks and used heat on my hair (curling iron) EVERY day. My hair was about collar bone length, but thin and I couldn’t get it to grow much longer.
My original goal was to have APL hair and I got there pretty quickly (about a year) once I gave up heat and switched from bone straight relaxers to texlaxing.
Jan 2012 - starting point
Jan 2013 - already APL
Dec 2013
I was pretty happy with my hair, but texlaxing gave me inconsistent results. Some touch ups went perfectly, but some got my hair too straight. So I decided to transition to natural. My last texlax was in June 2014.
During my 3 year transition to natural I mostly wore buns and braidouts.
I cut off the last of my relaxed hair in June 2017.
Here is my hair at that point. My hair is fully stretched because I hated shrinkage
At that point I wanted to wear wash n gos. I tried for about 6 months, but I was getting so many single strand knots so I stopped for all of 2018 and went back to bunning.
In 2019 I decided what was the point of growing my hair if I never wore it out. So I forced myself to wear my hair out and curly every day- even when I thought it looked crazy. I tried so many methods and products (MHM, oil rinsing, shea butter)but I was never totally happy with my results.
This is my hair in early 2019
I got a Deva Cut in May 2019 and that helped a lot, my hair looked decent without having to stretch it. This meant I could wear my hair out the day I washed it. Previously I would let it air dry for a day in ponytails to stretch it.
But I really got on the right track when I found Black Girl Curls in Aug 2019. Since then my hair has steadily gotten better and better.
The last step was when I found a stylist who specializes in tight curls. I got a great cut in July 2021 and now I’m in love with my hair.
I’m so happy that I can wear my hair as it grows from my scalp and LOVE it. I’ve accepted my shrinkage, and the fact that my hair isn’t shiny. I’ve accepted that it doesn’t look perfect every day, and that it grows in size over the course of the week between wash days. I love my hair for what it is and what it does.
Going forward I think my hair journey is going to be pretty boring I have my staple products that I always use so unless I decide to get color or that I want to wear my hair straight, I’m not planning on changing a thing.
10 years ago this week I started my HHJ when I got my last bone straight relaxer (12-8-11)
Prior to starting this journey I got my hair relaxed bone straight every 6 weeks and used heat on my hair (curling iron) EVERY day. My hair was about collar bone length, but thin and I couldn’t get it to grow much longer.
My original goal was to have APL hair and I got there pretty quickly (about a year) once I gave up heat and switched from bone straight relaxers to texlaxing.
Jan 2012 - starting point
Jan 2013 - already APL
Dec 2013
I was pretty happy with my hair, but texlaxing gave me inconsistent results. Some touch ups went perfectly, but some got my hair too straight. So I decided to transition to natural. My last texlax was in June 2014.
During my 3 year transition to natural I mostly wore buns and braidouts.
I cut off the last of my relaxed hair in June 2017.
Here is my hair at that point. My hair is fully stretched because I hated shrinkage
At that point I wanted to wear wash n gos. I tried for about 6 months, but I was getting so many single strand knots so I stopped for all of 2018 and went back to bunning.
In 2019 I decided what was the point of growing my hair if I never wore it out. So I forced myself to wear my hair out and curly every day- even when I thought it looked crazy. I tried so many methods and products (MHM, oil rinsing, shea butter)but I was never totally happy with my results.
This is my hair in early 2019
I got a Deva Cut in May 2019 and that helped a lot, my hair looked decent without having to stretch it. This meant I could wear my hair out the day I washed it. Previously I would let it air dry for a day in ponytails to stretch it.
But I really got on the right track when I found Black Girl Curls in Aug 2019. Since then my hair has steadily gotten better and better.
The last step was when I found a stylist who specializes in tight curls. I got a great cut in July 2021 and now I’m in love with my hair.
I’m so happy that I can wear my hair as it grows from my scalp and LOVE it. I’ve accepted my shrinkage, and the fact that my hair isn’t shiny. I’ve accepted that it doesn’t look perfect every day, and that it grows in size over the course of the week between wash days. I love my hair for what it is and what it does.
Going forward I think my hair journey is going to be pretty boring I have my staple products that I always use so unless I decide to get color or that I want to wear my hair straight, I’m not planning on changing a thing.
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