Length & Nape Check - 2 Year Hair Update

I am like SO overdue on posting this, but my camera took a lovely nose dive to its death around the time I flat ironed my hair which ruined things for awhile. I mean what's a length check posts without pictures?! I still have yet to replace it, but I did manage to recover my pics. I hit my 2 year of mark of being on a hair journey while I had in my last set of crochet braids so I was anxious to see the progress I'd made once I relaxed. So, I have 3 areas I'd like to focus on for this update: my nape, the thickness of my hair, and my length, of course. 

My Nape
Without a doubt, I am most excited about the progress I have made with these 2 layers of my nape. If you follow me on Instagram then you probably saw my progress pics earlier this week. Aaahhh!! I seriously do not remember the last time my nape was this healthy and thick/full. And I don't know if it's ever been this long. I talked about the issues I've had with my nape, discussed the progress I started to see with my nape once I was challenged to consistently take care of it, and now, I am pleased to say it is in a completely different state than it was just seven or so months ago!! Did I say how excited I am about it!?!

It was initially Jen's 6 Month Nape Challenge that truly inspired me to assess my own nape and intentionally do something to change it. I don't think I ever expected it to change as much as it did so quickly. It is close to being the same length as the rest of my hair now. In my opinion, my nape improving this way was a major improvement in the overall health of my hair. Like I actually feel I have a head full of healthy hair at this point. 

Thickness
Next we have my lion's mane! Lol! This stuff speaks for itself. My hair has gotten so thick that sometimes I don't even know what to do with it. I love it though. Even when I'm deep in a stretch, haven't sectioned my hair enough when washing it and realize some of my hair is still completely dry because the thickness is protecting it from the water - yea I still love it during those times. I am learning to whole-heartedly embrace its bigness, too. When I style my hair big, it's great. But when I style my hair one way and then it chooses to get big... yea that's #thestruggle I have right now. I feel like it's disrespecting me, but really it's just doing what it does best. I need to learn to use it to my advantage more. I remember having very thick hair when I was a kid, but I wasn't the one taking care of it back then. So, I'm learning what it is to tame this beast. 


My Length 
Last, but certainly not least, we have my length. My strands hit bra strap length (again!) and then I trimmed cut them (again!). Whyyyy?? Well even though I don't really struggle with split ends or anything like that, I just hate thin ends y'all! Like HATE. I am a reformed I-need-a-trim-every-8-weeks-girl so be patient with me please. I try to tell myself they're not that bad and convince myself to just hold off, but I can't get over them. It's like they're constantly taunting me until I'm forced to remove them with my scissors. If they're see through, they've gotsta go. My last length check & trim had a lot more thin/see thru ends than this one, which I think really speaks to the improving health of my hair. My goal was to grow my hair to my desired length and then trim away the bone straight ends, but apparently I couldn't deal long enough to let that happen. 

I cut about two inches off, pretty much removing the tip of this cute little v-shape tail that I haven't  seen my hair grow into before. Since I want all my bone straight ends gone anyway, I'm never really upset with myself for these cuts. I didn't flat iron my hair bone straight and the humidity was already working on my roots, but hopefully you get the idea of its length. So I'm still hovering right above my bra-strap. My goal is not to cut or trim my ends until the end of the year. Next time I relax, I'll flat iron my hair bone straight for a better pic, too. Even though I'm still around the same length, the fullness of my length has changed so much. I'm quite happy about that since my goal is to have full, thick hair from root to tip. 

Once you decide to go on these health hair journeys, or lifestyle changes as I like to say, you make a list and have all these goals & ideas in you mind about how it's going to go. Two years later, I can confidently say that that is probably not going to be the case and that's totally okay. I thought for sure my hair would be my goal length by now, but it's not and I'm genuinely happy with it anyway. We all say "health before length, health before length" and I'm certain we all really do want healthier hair. But let's be real y'all, we WANT the length, too!! I started this solely with length goals, and I could chose to be disappointed because I've basically been chillin at the same length for a year. But I'm not. I feel like that would completely negate all of the rest of the awesome progress I've made. I have definitely achieved health before length and I feel accomplished about it. I am so in LOVE with my hair! Especially its health! And I'm actually quite proud of it, too. Someone please hide my scissors though!! :) 

*cheers to another year!*

8 comments hair anniversary, hair journey, hair trim, length check, nape issues, progress pics, update

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Hair Assessment & Plans to Relax

While my hair was straight, I made sure to assess whether my protective styling was successful or not. So, I took the time to just explore it checking for any signs of breakage, split ends, or anything that could have happened while I had my box braids. I may have failed at capturing a post-worthy pic of its length, but not of my nape progress. I am so excited about how the box braids helped my nape grow out! I think I retained more length at my nape in this period of time than I have in a long time. It has actually made me consider protective styling more often even though I'm not the biggest fan of it. I like playing in my hair too much. But hey, if that's what it takes to get my nape healthy, I'm game for the sacrifice! 

It has only been a couple months since I initially posted about my nape troubles back in November. I'm happy to already see some progress with the changes that I've made. My biggest hurdle has been keeping my hands out of it!! But I finally got to the point where I am conscious of staying out of it. That coupled with being diligent about moisturizing and sealing and protecting it has helped get it on the road to recovery. It still may not compare to the rest of my hair, but I believe it's on it's way there and that is what I'm happy about. 

As for the length of my hair, it seems to be doing quite well, too! I feel like my ends are getting thicker, I don't have the empty spaces I had after my last trim, my hemline is nice and I retained some length as well. Although my bone straight ends are still much thinner in comparison, they're still yet holding on. I'll probably trim more of them away in a few more months. I'm not worried about them right now. 

Basically, I'm very happy with the current state (read: health) of my hair. Yet, at a solid 6 months post relaxer, I've started getting antsy with all this new growth. It is more work balancing the three textures on my head and I started questioning whyyy I was continuing in such a long stretch. I've definitely been having good wash days since taking my braids out, but they are still more work than usual. I'm happy that I've been able to figure out what to do with all the textures on my head to keep them happy because I never thought I would be able to handle a stretch like this without any plans to transition. It makes me feel good about the time and effort I have put into both learning about and taking care of my hair. It continues to pay off. 

Sooo... if you're so happy with your hair, why are you talking about relaxing it, Melanie?? Glad you asked. The first reason is because I am not going natural right now so I can't find a good reason to continue stretching. One of the main goals of stretching is to make sure you have enough new growth to relax without risking over-processing by relaxing hair twice - check. I usually relax when my hair gets to the point that it's being extra aka making me work more than I'd like to and/or testing my patience a tad bit too much - check. I don't really consider relaxing to be rocking the boat or anything because, to me, the goal of any stretch is for it to go well start to finish. Just because it's going well does not mean it shouldn't end, it means you've gotten good at stretching! Yaaay! 

Of course, I don't think there's anything wrong with women who are serial stretchers, stretching for six months or more without the consideration of relaxing. I follow a number of ladies, on YouTube especially, that stretch this way and it works really well for them. Kudos to you ladies! As for me, I want to quit while I'm ahead. I don't want to wait til I run into trouble or breakage before I relax. I don't want to have to start being even more careful with my line(s) of demarcation. And I don't want to start facing any of the woes transitioners face when I'm not even ready to transition. I want my much easier to manage, but still textured hair back. I think I will probably not plan for the length of my stretches anymore because there's no telling how long it'll be before I get to this point again. But hey, whether it's 12 weeks, 16 weeks, or 25 weeks, it'll be okay because I'm a relaxed-haired girl and this is what I do. I think one thing that's cool about these healthy hair lifestyles is making them your own. Do what works for you!

6 comments 24 weeks post, hair journey, nape hair, nape issues, progress pics, random hair talk, relaxer stretching

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Improving the State of My Nape

Oh, the nape, the hair right above the back of our necks - what a problem area this is for many black women. Some women have no problem whatsoever with their napes, however, for many of us, it may seem like an area that just is not meant to grow very long. This has been the case with my nape for as long as I can remember. It's always the first area to break off if I am experiencing breakage and its length retention has been virtually non-existent. It is, sadly, also the target of my hand-in-hair syndrome. Sigh. When my hands subconsciously venture into my hair, here is where they rest, rub and probably wreak havoc. If I am extremely stressed, this is where my hair thins first. You get it, right? You name it, here is the place it has happened.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of the state of my nape when I began all of this because I'm positive it was a lot worse off than it is now. That said, pictured to the left is the current state of my nape. I think it is about shoulder length, a kind of thin shoulder length. I think that both relaxing my hair less often and leaving this area for last (to process the least amount of time), have contributed to allowing my nape to progress more than it has in the past. Still, it is not as healthy as I know it could be or even as healthy as the hair directly above it (see pic below). I want to be more intentional about changing that. 

There are numerous factors that are known to play a role in nape breakage and/or thinness. The hair at the nape can often be finer, less dense, softer, or a completely different texture from other areas of your hair which causes it to be more prone to breakage. For example, the hair at my nape (and in the back of my head overall) is much more kinky and coarse than the rest of my hair. This makes it more tangle prone and harder to keep moisturized in comparison. Combined with this are a list of things that can keep this area damaged such as: too much manipulation (with your fingers, combs and/or brushes), too much tension (from too tight buns, braids and other styles), overprocessing with harsh chemicals, friction (from headbands, clothing, scarves and/or coats), and heat damage.

To me, the hair at the back of my head is seemingly less thick than the rest of my hair. I haven't completely figured out why that is yet. Even with that, the hair at my nape is noticeably shorter and thinner than the hair directly over it. So, I need to step up my game of taking care of my nape. I already relax it last and it is now the most textured part of my hair due to that. That's about where my extra care stops.

Left: from middle of my ears down, Right: from top of my ears & down

Right now, I just want to make a few changes to see if they make a difference. My first goal is to try to make a conscious effort to keep my hands out of it. Extra moisturizing and sealing is next on the list. I want to start paying special attention here like I do the ends of my hair. I need to cut down on styles that cause me to put too much tension on my nape. Or perhaps just embracing messy hair a little more would help, too. Lastly, I will be more mindful, during this winter season, of my turtlenecks, scarves and coats contact with my hair. I also have a go-to headband that ties in the back which could be contributing to the problem. The thought of giving that up is just sad. Hopefully, this will be a good start to improving the current state of my nape.

Anyone else have any trouble with their hair at the nape?

4 comments hair journey, hair tips, length check, nape hair, nape issues, progress pics

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1 Year Later... (Hair-anniversary!)

As I was reflecting on the end of the protective styling challenge coming and anticipating the length of my hair, I realized it's officially been one year since I started this whole "hair journey" thing (I really don't like to call it that lol!). A full year of researching and being intentional about my hair care with the purpose of growing my hair down my back. Yaaay! It's always great when you commit yourself to doing something and can look back and see the progress that has been made because you stayed committed.

I like to think I had a nice amount of hair knowledge and a solid head of hair beforehand. Fortunately for me, I didn't start this with a head full of damage to overcome. I just felt like I was stuck at just past shoulder length hair, despite the fact that I always had a significant amount of new growth every 8-10 weeks. It was a conundrum to me. So I brought it up to my stylist (whom I love!) and was catapulted into this whole world of hair science, tip, tricks and healthy hair enthusiasts. 

Here is what my hair looked like last year, April 2012:

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And what it looks like now, at my most recent length check, April 2013:

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I would have to say that this past year has been a great success! I haven't had any setbacks and I have made, what I consider to be, a significant amount of progress. My hair is so thick now, and slowly, but surely, it is inching down my back. I don't think my hair has ever been this long (or healthy!). Nor do I think I actually knew too much about what my hair needed before I started this. My hair is now thriving, from learning information that, initially, I thought was just doing entirely too much and applying it to my hair care. When I first started reading about all these BLACK women talking about washing and deep conditioning their hair weekly (sometimes more often!), and moisturizing and sealing daily and blah blah blah. I was like... "-_- you're kidding me right? That's doing entirely too much! I don't eva gots the time for that!..." Not to mention the loads of hair myths that entered my mind at the thought of doing some of these things.

Ha! Boy was I wrong! Even though I thought these ideas were ridiculous, I was still willing to at least try them out. Why you ask? Because the women who were going on and on about these tips had beautiful heads of hair! Like heads of hair that made me no longer consider my hair to be allll that. I wanted that. So I went for it and I'm so glad I did because they worked. My scalp now gets a serious attitude with me if I try to go two weeks without washing it. My hair cries when I don't moisturize and seal. And I feel like something is wrong if I haven't deep conditioned in over a week. I don't even remember the last time I used my curling iron. It's no longer my go to when my hair's not working the way I want it. Check out my full regimen here (got a new tab up there, too!).

I have learned so much and I know I still have so much to learn. The nerdy girl in me loves all the [good] science research behind many of the hair rules I now follow. While I haven't had any setbacks, it certainly wasn't easy getting myself used to this whole new way and mindset of taking care of my hair. Old habits die hard and progress is a process. So to any of you ladies who have just started out, only been going for a matter of months, or even have been in this longer than I have and are just not seeing the progress you would like - I say: STICK WITH IT!! I was blessed to kinda know my hair and have a stylist, who definitely knew my hair and was big on healthy hair practices, to give me the push I needed. It really boils down to learning your hair; what it loves, hates, and needs. What works for me may not work for you, that's a serious annoying truth of hair care. However, learning will always be worth the time it took in the end.

*cheers to another year!!*

12 comments hair anniversary, hair journey, hair tips, length check, progress pics

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L4L Protective Styling Final Update

In the past few weeks since this challenge ended, I have been in a state of packing/moving/going without internet & cable which has left my blog quiet and me behind on the newest episodes of Scandal (ah!). So, I will be in serious update mode over the next few days starting with recapping the protective styling challenge! I think I've said in previous posts that this challenge went very well for me.

Here is what the rules were again:

• A protective style for purposes of this challenge is defined as any style in which your ends are not exposed or touching your clothing.  Buns, updos, french braids, french rolls, etc all count.
• You may only wear your hair down for 7 days throughout the entire three months total!  Whether you choose to do one week, a couple of weekends or not at all – you only have a 7 day allowance.
• Only one direct heat pass but try not to use it at all!
• Protective styles means your ends must be hidden, so half up/half down ‘dos don’t count!
• Must deep condition your hair at least two times per month.
• You are not excluding from using fake hair – wigs, weaves, extensions, crochet braids, etc.

I didn't use any down days or heat passes pretty much the entire challenge. The first time I used direct heat and wore my hair down was April 14th. The last time I flat ironed my hair before that was in December. I deep conditioned my hair weekly and my ends were always tucked away. I stuck to the rules and met my goals for this challenge. 

Here is my starting length picture:

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Here is my final length picture:

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I am very happy with my results! I don't think my hair grew several inches, but my ends thickened up some. Those few think spots seemed to have filled in and I think I retained a nice amount of length as well. The very thin ends have got to go tho. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this challenge. It changed my mindset about protective styling. I am more used to wearing my hair up than down now. I'm also considering doing a long-term protective style for the summer. Now that I can see how close I am to my length goal, I feel like if I protective style some more I could make it by the end of the year. It also helped keep me accountable and forced me to try things I wouldn't have ordinarily.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along with me during this challenge. I hope I receive your vote!! That Pepco dryer would be a great addition to my beauty supply arsenal :)

Here's the link to Ebony's post so you can go vote!

3 comments length check, longing4length protective styling challenge, progress pics, protective styles

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