Shananyganz
New Member
We all have moments in which we FEEL as if we have it ALL under control, trust me when I say that I have gone this journey FEELING like I had a firm grip on this “hair thang”. This is not to say that I haven’t slacked on several key things in my hair journey (cause I have and I will), but what I HAVE realized is that I am not doing as bad as I thought.
I have been protective styling since December 2010; after a recent takedown of an install, I noticed my hair did not feel the same…not as full..not as soft. I did some thinking/researching and finally figured out that (if we want to call it a true discovery; I really just had been super lazy with my hair) I wasn’t moisturizing my hair as much as it requires, which of course leads to breakage. On TOP of that..I needed a trim…badly, which of course leads to split ends. I think my SAVING grace during these past 5/6 months, was the fact that I protective styled like it was going out of style. However, even with that plus, I was VERY worried that my hair was 1) extremely thin (it is already on the thin side IMHO) and 2) I would wind up needing a major CUT versus a MAINTENCE trim.
With that said, my “ahhaaa moment” came this past Saturday when I got my hair straightened. The “aha” here is not that my hair was straight, it was that I could now visually see that my hair was NOT as bad as I thought. I know some of you are aware that hair in its natural state can hide a world of hiccups/problems/issues/insert word here. My hair in its natural state; I could feel there was a difference, but in my mind, it was so much more than what it ended up being.
Once straightened, my hair was a nice thickness…it is FAR from out of control, “can’t put it in one ponytail thick” but it makes for a nice wrap. I also did not need as deep a trim as I had thought. I will say that looking at my hair now after a few days, I could stand to have more trimmed and that will come in my next go-around. What have I learned from this?? While protective styling is my friend, I can ONLY do protective styles that allow me to moisturize; ESPECIALLY when we talking long term protective styles. So I DO have it under control, I just need to be consistent and mindful of what my hair needs.
So…feel free to chime in…whether your hair is relaxed, texlaxed, or natural…whether your goal is health, length, or both--- WHATEVER YOUR GOAL IS…when was your AHHAAA MOMENT??
ETA:: Pictures and additional detail originally posted in the 2011 APL Challenge http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=13350505#post13350505
I have been protective styling since December 2010; after a recent takedown of an install, I noticed my hair did not feel the same…not as full..not as soft. I did some thinking/researching and finally figured out that (if we want to call it a true discovery; I really just had been super lazy with my hair) I wasn’t moisturizing my hair as much as it requires, which of course leads to breakage. On TOP of that..I needed a trim…badly, which of course leads to split ends. I think my SAVING grace during these past 5/6 months, was the fact that I protective styled like it was going out of style. However, even with that plus, I was VERY worried that my hair was 1) extremely thin (it is already on the thin side IMHO) and 2) I would wind up needing a major CUT versus a MAINTENCE trim.
With that said, my “ahhaaa moment” came this past Saturday when I got my hair straightened. The “aha” here is not that my hair was straight, it was that I could now visually see that my hair was NOT as bad as I thought. I know some of you are aware that hair in its natural state can hide a world of hiccups/problems/issues/insert word here. My hair in its natural state; I could feel there was a difference, but in my mind, it was so much more than what it ended up being.
Once straightened, my hair was a nice thickness…it is FAR from out of control, “can’t put it in one ponytail thick” but it makes for a nice wrap. I also did not need as deep a trim as I had thought. I will say that looking at my hair now after a few days, I could stand to have more trimmed and that will come in my next go-around. What have I learned from this?? While protective styling is my friend, I can ONLY do protective styles that allow me to moisturize; ESPECIALLY when we talking long term protective styles. So I DO have it under control, I just need to be consistent and mindful of what my hair needs.
So…feel free to chime in…whether your hair is relaxed, texlaxed, or natural…whether your goal is health, length, or both--- WHATEVER YOUR GOAL IS…when was your AHHAAA MOMENT??
ETA:: Pictures and additional detail originally posted in the 2011 APL Challenge http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=13350505#post13350505
you have pretty hair! 
