8 months post BC
Wow! I will be 8 months post BC this week. How does time really fly so fast? My next blog post was going to be about how much I am truly enjoying my natural journey this time compared to the last. I definitely am…
I love how healthy my hair feels. I love how easy it is to take care of it. So far, I haven’t had any setbacks or any feelings remotely resembling discouragement. Of course, at this point in my journey, when I was relaxed, it was the same… The honeymoon period lasted at least 9 months for me back then. So, we’ll see in December how my hair does. But honestly, I don’t foresee any setbacks or boredom any time soon.
But really how is my hair doing?
Well, let’s see… My hair is doing well. My hair is in the kinky category. It can curl, tight curls the size of a pencil or smaller. It grows at a regular rate. I haven’t measured as a natural but when I was relaxed, it was growing at about a half an inch per month. So this is what I’m guessing for my hair now.
For the first six months of my journey, I hardly ever detangled my hair. I saw shed hairs (quite a few) every time I did my hair. They would stick to my hands while I applied my products. Now, I detangle once a week on wash day. The rest of the week, I cowash without detangling. The little ball of shed hair is small and mostly the same size every week.
It’s hard to detangle from the bottom up with my length so I am extremely careful when I do it. I use a wide tooth shower comb and detangle only when hair is wet and loaded with conditioner. I’ve use the same method and shower comb when I was relaxed.
Experiments so far
In all honesty, I am pretty lazy when it comes to my hair. I have three kids and by the time I have time to take care of my hair, I am just too tired to even try anything.
I did my big chop at the end of winter, beginning of spring (last March). It was cold then, but I managed my wash and gos easily because my hair would dry super fast when it was short. So, I did wash and gos all spring, summer and fall. Now, winter is starting and I’ve been trying out a few things on Saturday nights.
Perm-rod set
I don’t have nearly enough perm-rods to do my whole head. Nevertheless, I thought it would be fun to try this style but I only did the front of my head. My first impression on this, I think I would like this style but I have a really sensitive area in my scalp (the crown) and pulling my hair taught there is difficult. If the perm-rods aren’t tight to the scalp, the roots are really puffy. With shorter hair the roots show a lot. I would have to either perfect my technique or wait until my hair is longer to do it. But I did like the results on the areas that turn out good.
Straightening
I did try to straighten my hair a couple of time. Both times, I just gave up after a section or two. It takes too long compared to my relaxed hair, but I am impressed. My hair straightens really nicely. I have to use the proper technique for smoother ends but other than that, it was so soft but strong.
It is way too short for me to spend this much time on the style. I am ear length right now. I’ll wait until I am shoulder length or almost there to straighten my hair for real. Oh, and I forgot to mention, no heat damage…
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| My hair two days after straightening the front |
Twist out
I can definitely twist my hair. I am lazy, like I said before, and it seems like a never-ending task. Still, I was able to twist half my head while watching a movie this weekend. It turned out really nice. I will try it again, for real this time, next weekend. Apparently, I have to make sure I use the right products for hold to give me second and third day hair. I will do my hair on Saturday night sleep on it, rock it for Sunday morning. And then see how long I can hold the style without doing much to it (like re-twisting).
What I don’t like about my journey so far
Single strand knots!!!!! OMG! Every time I touch my hair I feel one! I can’t take it!!!!! I had never encountered anything like this as a relaxed girl. And, I have to say, I don’t remember feeling them in my daughters’ hair. They plague me. They have been for a long time.
I think they are caused by my signature style, my wash and go. For this reason, I have to move on from this style a.s.a.p. Those things are a pain in my butt. I have to stop myself from pulling on my hair and ripping the ends where I feel the “ssk”. I know it’s wrong, but sometimes I can’t help myself. I’m praying I get over this really soon.
Other than that, there isn’t anything else I don’t like about my journey. It’s pretty cool. And I do love taking the time to write about it or taking a picture to document it.
I didn’t take any pics of my experiments this weekend (sad face)… Next experiment, I won’t forget…