*** 7 month Update*** (very long)
I'm so glad I joined this challenge!
I was born and raised till age 6 in Notts, UK. There weren't a lot of black people in my classes. My mom had us all in big ol, tacky looking braids/plaits. When we got to the US, my sisters and I looked odd b/c everyone else had relaxed hair in elementary school. We begged my mom for a relaxer and of course our BSL hair broke off to chin and ear length over the years.
I stopped relaxing Mar 09 and BC'd July 09. I realized that although, I looked a mess with my mom's braids, my hair was in the best condition (relaxed or natural) when I was in box braids with my own hair.
I put my first set of braids in Oct 2009:
I hated having short hair, but I had to make it work...
I cowashed to get the ends to curl and wore it like this:
In Feb 2010 I was here:
Comparison Oct 09 vs. Feb 10
These are my braids today, May 2010:
I'm going to need a new protective style, my ends still touch my collar with my banana clip...
I'm happy with my progress!
I've tried braids with extensions and I find they are brutal on my ends b/c the poke out and get frayed. I plan to follow a reggie similar to @Nonie and redo braids as they start looking tatty (about every 4 weeks). I shampoo, cowash, DC and everything else in braids. I'm going to stick to this until December, only taking out my entire head to change the design.