Health Before Length

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For the past year I have been obsessed with growing my hair long.  So you would think after a year of growing my hair out my hair would be down my back, right? Well, that is not the case here. I completely did not think about keeping up with the health of my hair and it is actually shorter than it was when I started. That’s right I went from having armpit length (APL) hair to shoulder length (SL). *smacks forehead*

I have learned that hair grows a ½ inch a month (on average) regardless of what you do and if you keep it healthy the length will come. So this year I am focusing on health before length. I will work on keeping my hair moisturized and my ends in good shape. I have developed the following tips and regimen to help me on my healthy hair journey (HHJ). The plan is to keep it simple. 

Tips (for my hair):

• Stay away from protein (my hair does not like it or need a lot of it)
• Stay away from a lot of mineral oil (my hair doesn’t act right without it)
• My hair loves humectants
• Moisturize my hair every 2 – 3 days
• Moisturize my ends every night
• Detangle only with my fingers (Tip from Rhonda at Glow Salon Miami)
• Sleep with a satin pillow case/bonnet every night (keep one in car in case I’m sleep at a friend’s)
• Keep shampoo washing to a minimum (as needed only)
• Moisture, Moisture, Moisture

Regimen (for winter):

Shampoo: Every two weeks or as needed (Elucence Moisture Shampoo)
Condition/Co-wash: Every 2-3 days (Tressemee Naturals or Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion)
Deep Condition (DC): Twice a week with Steam (currently trying to find a staple moisturizing DC)

Leave-in Conditioner: Apply before styling hair (currently trying to find a staple )

Trims: Every 3 months (necessary for my hair)

Style:  Flat twist in the front and two strand twist, on wet hair or stretched with Curlformers, in the back

Products: I haven’t found my staple products yet so I am still experimenting to find the most moisturizing products. I plan to try Qhemet Boilogics, Silk Dreams, Hair Rules and Miss Jessie (DC only) in the future. If you have any product recommendation, please leave a comment.