When you set off on a journey, you have a goal set as well which will guide you to keep on track and motivate you not to give up along the way. One of the benefits of documenting one’s journey is the availability of records which inform you on how much progress you are making in getting to your desired goal and if you are still on the right path. On my hair journey, upon visiting these records, I noticed that my hair needs some extra TLC thus the need of a Healthy, Thicker, Longer hair challenge #HTL. When I went natural, my goal was healthier hair, thicker hair to give me some big hair and longer hair. My hair was doing fine earlier in 2013 but towards the end, I noticed I did not have much of the thickness anymore, I did not retain much length and I was inundated with dry split ends. I have attributed the condition of my hair to post partum shedding, wearing my hair out a lot and not managing stress in the best of ways in 2013. I want 2014 to be different and although there is nothing I could have done about post partum shedding, there is a lot I could have done to minimise its effects by doing more protective styling, washing my hair often and keeping my scalp clean and healthy. This will therefore make up the core of my hair challenge. I am going to be a bit more committed to the health of my hair, listen to it more and keep true to good hair practices. I am to be on this hair challenge for 12 months starting in March 2014 all the way to February 2015. I will do periodic length checks and let you know what I am up to on this challenge.
I have set myself some rules as well and these are generally all about good hair practices for maximum health and growth. These are:
- Wash hair as often as it needs to be washed. If my scalp is itchy and I feel I need to wash it, I will wash it before I scratch it raw
- Desist from scratching my scalp. Keeping my finger nails short may help
- Clarify my hair and scalp when necessary.
- Do a scalp treatment before every wash to control dandruff and excessive shedding
- Deep condition with every wash. even if it is only for 10 minutes
- Use the LOC method to keep moisture levels up always
- Use natural products whenever possible
- Not to wear my hair out for more than a week.
- Protective styling will be my game
- Less to no heat will be used
- Healthy eating
- Exercising to keep fit and good circulation
- Manage stressful situations better.
Most of these rules are based on things I have been doing to my hair but not being consistent enough to reap their full benefits. So now, I really want to commit and do the whole thing. There are so many other Healthy Hair good practices and I did not list them above because I have done so already in another post and for me, I need not be reminded of them. And these are things like, sleeping with a satin scarf or bonnet or on a satin pillow case or the products I will be using. I will share more in my following posts.
November 2013 – My hair is not as thick as it used to be earlier in the year 2013
April 2013- My hair was thicker here. Whether this thickness is still attainable I will find out with this Hair Challenge
Are you facing post partum shedding? You are not alone and you are not doing anything wrong. It is worse for some(like me) and not so bad for others. If you are like me, I believe this setback can help us to understand our hair better with all the other things that influence its growth. Join me on this challenge and let’s help each other regain the health and thickness our hair once had. Till next time. Many blessings to you and your loved ones.
P.S The weather is so crappy in Johannesburg and it has been a week now. What I can tell you is my hair is loving this rain and is just soaking in the moisture. My hair is in medium twists which I have had for just over a week now so I don’t have to dunk and dive from these showers at all. Aww the beauty of natural hair (in twists) I know, if I had a twist out I would not be singing the same song. ha ha ha.
6 comments
Ruth, I’m new to the natural movement. Excited and overwhelmed at the same time. You state that documenting helps you on your natural journey. I’m a bit overwhelmed on the many social media tools available to document my journey. What do you suggest? Blogging, FB, etc.? Where do I start? Tx, Chrizette
Yes documenting one’s journey is a good way of checking your progress. You can start a blog and post pictures and what you are using on your hair and the techniques used to style and the like. Trust me, when you look back after a year or so, you will appreciate the records. You can also start a FB page that is dedicate to your journey. If you do not want to write much but prefer just taking pictures, Instagram may be what you can cope with. You can also start a photo blog. If you do not want your content to go public, you can keep you can also do it by making a kind of online journal of a blog where it stays private and can only be accessed by a password. You can try Wordpress or blogspot. They are easy to set up and you may not need to pay anything for them. Just an internet connection is all you need.
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[…] will be like after 6 months or 12 months. For some background on this hair challenge, please read, #HTL Hair challenge. As I said my hair is improving and my edges are growing in as well. It kind of feels like […]
Hi Ruth
Girl you have hair for dayys …I lurveeee your hair and I have to admit it took me each and every article to really convince me that your hair is real. I have just placed an order for the cap , scarf , coconut , castor oil, olive oil and shea butter. December 2014 will be my start for the challenge. Now before the challenge I have my own challenge I am not used to all this hair talk and its all jargon to me as I always put on weaves and extensions while not really taking care of my natural hair. Please can you tell me (in simple terms) how I will need to apply these products for the next year in the way that will yield results for my hair and scalp?
Hey Luv. Thanks for coming by and the compliment. To answer your question, firstly, the cap/bonnet and scarf you will use when going to sleep or deep conditioning. The coconut oil can be used to get rid of dandruff and itchy scalp and can also be used to seal moisture after washing it. You apply a bit of the coconut oil on the hair after washing and applying leave in conditioner and then after applying the coconut oil, you can twist it or braid it or do threading to stretch it whilst air drying it. You can use the olive oil the same way and also for deep conditioning by adding it to you regular moisturising conditioner and leaving it on your hair for about 30 minutes before rinsing it out. You can also use olive oil to seal moisture. Shea butter is used to seal moisture into your hair and it leaves hair much softer, looser and more manageable. Castor oil is massaged on your hairline if you have hairline issues otherwise it can be used to do oil treatments overnight and the washed off the next morning. This is done by applying the oil onto your hair and scalp. The scalp is then massaged for about 4 minutes and then you can cover with a plastic cap and then a satin cap/bonnet or scarf and go to sleep. The next morning, you will rinse the oil out, shampoo or conditioner wash (co-wash) your hair.
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