My Length Retention Setback # 2: Irregular Trimming

My other length setback is irregular trimming.  I went 10 months without a trim. There are women who advise not to trim regularly or have a trim schedule.  So essentially, only trim when necessary.  Some women can go a year without trimming.  I am not one of those women.  I tried to follow the aforementioned advice, but I ran into some problems:

1.  Reality: Rarely do I sit and pay close attention to my ends. At night I moisturize, twist or bun, and go to sleep.  
2. Procrastination: When I do notice damage, I tend to put off making a hair appointment. Why? I don't know.  
3. Wishful Thinking:  My hair is kinky and coily.  It is coarse. It is fragile.  If I blow on my ends there is potential for split ends.  I wish I had stronger hair, but I do not.  I need to take better care of my ends. Bottom line.

With all of this said, I NEED to have a trim schedule.  I am not good with noticing the first signs of damage, I wait too long between trims, and I have damage prone hair.  A trim schedule will keep me disciplined and will no doubt help with length retention.

: )

My Length Retention Setback # 1: Blow-Drying

Blown out hair

  

As you all know, I blow-dry my hair.  It gives me softer, fluffier hair.  I am well aware that blow-drying is not the healthiest hair practice, and I am also well aware that I won't retain as much length as I would if I just air-dry.  With that said, I was still not expecting to have to cut as much hair as I did.  

There are two reasons for the severity of the blow-dryer damage:

Frequency:  I wash my hair every 7-10 days.  So naturally I would blow-dry every 7-10 days.  That is clearly too much for my hair.

&

Blow-drying method: I use the comb-attachment.  So not only do I have the heat, but there is added manipulation with the use of the comb.  I've used the tension method before, but found the use of comb attachment to be much faster.  I guess it's time to practice patience.

Will I never use a blow-dryer again? Probably not. Will I have to alter my use of it? Absolutely.

: )

"I've been natural for 4 years. My hair should be this _________ long."

I got my last perm a little over 4 years ago.  I had a certain expectation of how long my hair should be by this time.  Approximately mid-back.  I thought my hair should be approximately mid-back.  Is it there?  No. 

As mentioned in my last post, I cut three inches of hair.  That's approximately 6 months of hair growth.   Straightened, my hair is a little past my shoulders.  I was saddened, but I have no one to blame but myself.  

Here are the two culprits for the hair damage that caused the need to cut (not trim) my hair:

Blow-drying

Lax trimming routine 

So was it realistic for me to think that my hair would that long given my hair habits? Absolutely not.  

I will discuss each setback in detail in another post.

Do you have any length expectations?

 Til next time.

: )

I cut 3 inches of hair...

The day after my hair cut.

Hey!

It's been months and months and months! 

Lots going on career and life wise.

Got my hair cut February 28... a whole 3 inches! I wanted to cry, but it had to be done. 

I'm currently developing a plan to grow my hair back.  Stay tuned.

'Immigration and Assimilation Among African-descendants'

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Today's Hair

I slept with my curls in a ponytail and only re-curled the front section of my hair.  A little bit of wind and a lot of messy curls in the back resulted in what you see before you.

Remington Pearl Ceramic Curling Wand Results

I'm SO late with this but here are the results from using the Remington Curling Wand.  

I am OBSESSED with it.  It takes a little while to get used to but once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze!

I've been wearing my hair like this for about a month now and while I love, love, love it, I need to get back to my twist outs just to give my hair a break from the heat.

To achieve this look I simply:

• Washed and blow-dried
• Lightly flat-ironed
• Then used the Remington curling wand on medium sections

The only product I used was Cantu's Hair Silk. 

If you are looking to try something new, I suggest you try a curling wand.  I love the curl that it gives.

: )