6-Months Down!

Woot Woot!

Yesterday marked 6-months since I big chopped!

Time flies when you're having fun! I am writing this quick post to capture what has occured over the last 6 months in terms of growth! Previous posts go into detail about products, regimen, etc.

 

The picture on the left was my big chop twists and now I've almost doubled my length! (Turn up lol)

Excited to see what the next 6-months will hold.

Thanks for reading!

AR

1st Natural Length Check...

I realized that I had not done any kind of length check since I did the big chop. So here are some (not so good) pics of where I am right now.

 Front: 2.75"

 Right Side 2.5"

Left Side: 2.5"

Nape: 2.25" *NOT PICTURED*

The shrinkage is real! But I think this is a good start for a big chop.

These are just some bonus pics from the wash that I did after I twisted my hair up.

 

Happy Hair Journey!

BIG CHOP!!!

You read that correctly! I did the big chop! May 3rd, 2015 at 10:15pm EST.

After taking my hair down last week I hadn't really decided on a day of when I would actually do my hair. My plans for wash day went left when I decided to have a random wash day on Friday night.

I did prepoo my hair and washed with shampoo and conditioner.

I hadn't cut my hair immediately. Instead I did some twist all over to help with detangling and to allow for a protective style until I decided on my next move.

I fell in LOVE with this picture! My curls are so defined and seeing how thin the ends were let me know that whenever I decided to cut my hair it would so much fun.

Well that decision came much sooner than I anticipated. Rule #1: Never leave Aneesah alone in the bathroom with a mirror, great lighting, and a pair of scissors...unexplainable things are bound to happen. :)

Here is my big chop story:

Sunday evening after church and visiting with family I was sitting on my couch going through online coupon blogs and watching TV with my boyfriend. Once again I was playing with different sections of my hair and it felt so weird because the ends were straight and dull while my roots were really thick.

I got up and went to the bathroom and started to soak each section with warm water and started cutting...and cutting...and cutting some more.

My boyfriend finally screamed from the living room "What's my baby doing!?"
I said "Oh nothing just cutting my hair off."
He said "Oh gosh babe."
While my boyfriend isn't into short hair he is 1000% supportive of letting me take on this adventure.

So supportive that he cut 75% of my hair for me!  I couldn't ask for better results.

While I haven't seen my hair all the way out in an afro, I am instantly hooked by the twists that are now able to stay intact without unraveling.

I AM OFFICIALLY NATURAL!!!

7 months post relaxer... 1 day NATURAL!

Free At Last!!

Hello all!

The day finally came! I took out my Senegalese Twist after having them installed for 14 weeks! That is a huge stretch for me considering I usually leave my braids in for 6-8 weeks at a time.

I have TONS of growth from leaving my hair braided up. I am going to finish cutting off the texlaxed/relaxed ends of my hair to get the full effect of my curls. That is the most exciting part for me.

I have not dedicated a day to pamper my hair yet considering I am working multiple jobs and currently house shopping.

Looking at my schedule I will probably prep my hair for washing on Sunday evening. This will be a 2 day pre-poo with an EVOO and coconut oil mix. I will leave this on my hair under  a saran wrap until Tuesday.

Tuesday I will apply a cheapie conditioner to my hair and let is sit for 30 minutes and follow with a cleansing shampoo. After the cleansing shampoo I will deep condition with a very thick and rich moisturizing conditioner mix (haven't decided on what it will be). I'll do an oil rinse using EVOO and then detangle and trim my ends.

I'll definitely have to keep my spray bottle handy so that I can spritz my hair prior to twisting it up.

I haven't decided if I want to get braids right off or if I want to wait until next month to get it rebraided.

I'm just winging it for right now. What I do know is I will be getting Kinky Twist this time around!

Stay tuned for pictures!

AR

Updates!

Hey All!

Sorry for the delay in posts! I just got back from my cruise so before that time was very limited.

Updates on my hair:

I did my final mini chop on January 26th. I only did a mini chop because I knew I wanted to have senegalese twists installed and didn't want to risk my braids falling out from being too short as mentioned in previous posts. So I don't have very much relaxed hair remaining at all.

After I remove these braids I am going to a natural hair stylist to completely chop my hair off and then have another set of braids installed for another 3 months.

My focus for this year is to simply grow my hair back out. And in order for me to do that in a way that is healthy I am planning to leave my hair in braids for the entire 2015 year. That's right! The "Totally Tucked Challenge" is under way. I am going to experiment with crochet braids, nubian twists, kinky twists, box braids, and twists in order to have my hair protected. I am seeing growth already in the 3 weeks that I have had these twists installed so I am looking forward to seeing the growth in May when I take them down.

I have struggled this past week with oiling my scalp due to a severe sinus infection but I am back up and running and will be dedicating these next few months to Operation TLC!

I have joined challenges on Hairlista to keep me encouraged as well as to get insight from other ladies dealing with similar issues. If you haven't visited the website head over now and create a free profile and dive into the wonderful world of hair care!

www.hairlista.com

Thanks for reading!
AR

Another Mini Chop...

Hey hey hey!!

I did another mini chop. This chop was mostly out of shear frustration with dealing with two textures.

I was sitting on the couch massaging my scalp and could feel all of my new growth. I could feel my ends and how straight they were and I literally said to myself that I could not take it anymore. I was talking to my boyfriend and I said "I'm going to go wash my hair because it's the only way that I can do anything with it"

I sat in front of the mirror and examined my hair. Looked at the curls....the straight ends....the curls...the straight ends. I got mad. That's pretty much the best way to sum up how I felt at that moment. I detangled my hair and stretched it. (It was a little past shoulder length from the last mini chop). 

I called my boyfriend into the bathroom and said "Babe cut my hair." He looked at me and said "Are you serious?" and I nodded yes. Before I knew it my once shoulder length hair was now ear length. He went ahead and cut the other side. He jokes and says that he cried cutting it. But as I explained to him (and as he knows) it's just hair and it will grow back. 

Although my hair is much shorter I am closer and closer to getting rid of the relaxed ends permanently. 

I am getting my hair braided this week for a cruise that I will be going on here in a couple of weeks. I want to get my hair braided early because I want the braids to loosen up for styling purposes. I am trying to save some of the length for the braids without fearing the them slipping out from my hair being too short.

I am going to leave the braids in for approximately 8-12 weeks and take them out and completely do the big chop.

This mini chop was definitely freeing and I am looking forward to seeing the rest of my curls come later :) 

These are the ends of my hair. I cut about 2-3 inches off.

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for more updates!

AR

2015 is here!

YES!

2015 has been off to a great start in so many aspects of my life including my hair!

I have been spending the past few weeks really catering to my hair in preparation for this big chop. I love seeing the waves of my new growth pop out when I wash and condition my hair.

As I am sitting here typing this my hair is getting the ultimate TLC: deep conditioning masque and a steam treatment. I am sure if my hair could talk she'd say "Mom, I love you!"

Winter 2014/2015:

As many of you know it is "winter" in many parts of the world and the wonderful state of Indiana made no exceptions to the definition. We have had below freezing temperatures, snow, and harsh winds. All the ingredients for a disaster in terms of hair care. These elements seek to take out every bit of moisture my hair can muster up and it can be discouraging at times but I am not giving up.

I have taken on more responsibility for my hair and made a conscious effort to deep condition and moisturize my hair. With that I have moisturized my hair with a whipped shea butter mixture because shea butter is an extremely rich, thick, and moisturizing ingredient in my closet. I refrain from using my lighter conditioners and limit my wash/cowash days to once a week to roughly two weeks to avoid my hair from being wet all the time. I must say its working.

Whenever I finish washing my hair I plat it up in 4-8 granny plats and rock a beanie.

With this plan I am retaining length and even seeing more growth.


Current dilemma:

I have a birthday coming in February that I am planning to take a cruise for. I want my hair to look nice of course but then I am unsure of what protective styles I can get with a TWA if I decide to stick with my original big chop date. I don't want to limit myself to just braids. I think if I do another mini chop and get a sew-in I will be able to extend my big chop date a little bit longer after the cruise. I also feel that if I do braids I will be looking at almost April to do the chop and that was not my plan.

So there's a great deal to consider.

Texture Shots From Wash Day:

Thank you for letting me ramble and for following my journey!

Happy Hair Growing

ASR

Mini Chop

If you all read my previous posts you are aware that I am planning to big chop in January.

In the mean time I have been doing mini chops to get rid of my straggly relaxed ends. My hair was grazing shoulder length and I cut back to neck length.

I am still able to braid my hair into a french braid which makes for an easy protective style.

I have just grown really tired of the tangles that come with the different textures.

I am seeing my new growth coming in at a great rate and has been easy to manage. My plan is to increase the moisture focusing on the new growth. The back of my hair is a lot more coarse so that is my biggest issue right now.

Last night I washed my hair and blew it out so I could cut my hair evenly. I didn't flat iron my hair because I didn't want to use too much heat in one setting so the hair was not bone straight.

I cannot wait for January to come!

AR

Dry Scalp...WHAT!?

Hey all,

Talk about issues! So for the first time in 20 years I am having a strange case of dry scalp. It is the weirdest thing because I have not had this issue since I last saw a dermatologist for it.

I removed some braids that were installed for approximately 2 weeks and did my normal routine (wash and deep condition)

What I noticed the day after my wash was crazy. FLAKES! I almost freaked out because I'm like no way. So I cowashed my hair and made sure to apply a light oil to my scalp to prevent any dryness. Epic fail.

Today when I was at work I looked at my hair and low and behold MORE flakes! It was as if I never washed or oiled my scalp. At this point I'm thinking back on changes in my regimen, diet, water intake, products, etc. I couldn't point anything out so I went online and did a mass search on dry scalp and dandruff. I found some things that could be applicable

• Changes in weather
• Severe dehydration
• Hard water
• Shampooing/Washing too frequently

The list could go on but I knew I needed to fix this sooner than later especially with my plans to big chop next month.

I remembered what my dermatologist recommended from when I was a child that worked for me. So I decided to pick up a bottle of Selsun Blue and Sulfur 8 from WalMart. Both products combat dandruff and dry scalp. As an added bonus sulfur has been used in growth aides so I may see some increased growth from applying the Sulfur 8 to my scalp. I only plan to apply it every other day.

Tonight's wash was simple and to the point. I washed with the Selsun Blue and applied the Sulfur 8 to my scalp. I applied raw shea butter to the length of my for moisture and put my hair in bantu knots to dry.

My new growth feels amazing! I enjoy seeing the little curls coming through.

Today started my week for the inversion method as well so I have to keep a good plan from week to week until this big chop so I can reap all of the benefits!

#60days #BigChop #Countdown 

Going Natural...Sticking with Relaxers?

Hello All,

This post really is just an illustration of the thoughts I've had about my hair as of late. So it may seem like I am rambling but most importantly I am being completely transparent.

The past 6 months with my hair has been a "journey" in every shape of the word. I have had setbacks, comebacks, and everything in between. I have seen my hair grow but for some reason I am not having the same satisfaction with my hair that I had when I first started my relaxed hair journey. It feels like something is missing. I don't feel as enthused about my hair anymore and I find that I want to make a change.

So I have been praying about this and what I think will give me some peace of mind is to completely start my hair from scratch. I have never had my hair shorter than neck length and doing a big chop sounds so extreme but it is what I want to do.

I was natural for 18 years before I started relaxing my hair and before I knew anything about a hair journey. So with that I am fully comfortable with caring for my hair in it's natural state especially now that I am better equipped with all this hair knowledge that I have gained over the years.

I am excited to cut my hair but nervous as well because I don't know what styles to do with a TWA. I have researched TONS of blogs, YouTube videos, Pinterest posts, Google searches, and have had countless conversations with friends and family about this change so that I am able to map out a game plan for when I do decide to cut it.

As of right now I have the date set for January 31st, 2015.

From there I have dates marked that I plan to get my hair braided up to allow my hair to grow for the first six months without manipulation.

I am very excited to make this change and cannot wait to share the experience with you all!

If anyone is natural or big chopped please share any tips, tricks, or suggestions that may be helpful for me going forward

Thanks everyone for the support!

ASR