So after taking the leap of faith and shaving off all of my hair, I wish I could tell you that I embraced my new look and that I strutted around with my brush cut.... BUT I didn't, in fact I went and purchased the absolute best human hair wig that money could buy, a human hair wig so good that it lasted me through the first year of my journey.
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I did other styles as my hair grew out, in between wearing my wigs from sew-ins to box braids and crochet styles all while still keeping a healthy hair regimen for my natural mane. I still did my regular shampooing, deep conditioning and maintaining a good moisture level with my Knotty by Nina moisturizing hair butter of course.
My hair continued to flourish and I was in absolute hair heaven! Cutting my hair off and starting completely over was the best thing I felt I had ever done for my hair.
The first few months of my hair growth started kind of slow but steady, I loved learning and playing with my new curl pattern on wash days. One of things I regret not doing in the beginning of my journey is not wearing my TWA, if I were to ever start my journey over I will definitely be wearing my tiny fro out unapologetically. I put some pics in at the end to show you all the different stages of my hair growth during my first year and I also added a few pics of my protective styles.
Now one of the mistakes I made in the first year of my journey was that I did a sew-in with a leave out, (that I literally only had in for like a week) but yes in that short time frame the front of my hair still suffered from minor heat damage, it wasn't much but it was enough for me to NEVER do another sew-in with a leave out! After that if a sew-in was my choice of style I made sure I did a lace closure. So as time went on I was approaching my first full year natural post BIG CHOP! and I couldn't have been more proud of my hair growth.
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After my first full year natural I was still in good spirits about my journey, and very pleased with the hair growth I had gained over the course of that first year, so I tried a flexi rod set on my hair, and I will say that "It was cute" lol, but that was about it. My hair was in the process of having to be re-trained for this hairstlye or really any hairstyle being that for that past year my hair was only touched or manipulated for regular hair maintenance or a braid down for whatever protective style I was wearing for the moment. The flexi set wasn't terrible it just was not my cup of tea at that length, and don't get me wrong I love a good flexi set, I just was not use to wearing mine at that length. So back to the basics I went! I continued maintaining my hair with protective styles until I was completely comfortable with the length of my hair.
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Moving forward in my hair journey I continued to protective style, along with keeping up my hair regimen. And finally when I made it to my second year post BIG CHOP I got my first blow out!And my first trim.
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Sooooo you know I was super hype about my length lol! I got this blowout before the new year because sis needed her hair done for the holiday's lol, so I still marked this pic as my 2 year post BIG CHOP length check. I must say my blowout held up pretty good, after wearing my hair out for about 2 weeks I started trying twist outs!
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I decided to only get 1 to 2 blowouts a year to minimize heat damage, so I switched between twist outs and protective styles for the rest of the year after my first blowout and of course maintaining my healthy hair regimen. Now I was approaching my third year post BIG CHOP and it was time for another blowout/length check!
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As you can see at this point I had no complaints about the length of my hair now! I was at a lost for words after this blowout, because I had surpassed the length my hair had become stagnant at when my hair was relaxed. This picture that you see to the left (if you are on a desktop) or below (if you are on your phone) was actually taken in October of 2017 so I used it for my 3 year post BIG CHOP length check because it was so close to the new year and I knew I did not plan on getting another blow out anytime soon. This time I wore my hair out a little longer than I did the first time, because I honestly just enjoyed seeing my hair and playing in it a little lol I'm not going to lie. But after about 3 weeks of leaving it out it was back to the basics again y'all already know, say it with me PROTECTIVE STYLE!
Coming up on my fourth year I felt like I had the hang of this natural hair thang lol and I also got flat iron happy because I was enjoying my length more...... (those dots was for the moment of silence I just had to myself) so I wouldn't get upset with myself again (woosah!) lol, that's another story though just stay tuned for my next blog on heat damaged hair, yes I said it heat damage smh.
Enjoy the pics below I promised earlier of the different stages of my hair growth and protective style choices during my journey and feel free to subscribe and leave a comment! I am also open on taking suggestions on different hair topics you all would like for me to blog about!
Thank you for your continued support!
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HEALTHY HAIR IS "GOOD" HAIR!
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