Its been a year....

Hello,

Well its been a year since I have been on this HHJ and I must say, I am very happy I started and I am pleased with my progress. In my last post, I lamented on the problems I had during the first few months, plus my decision to just "chill" on the length issue and focus on the health.

I am happy to say that while I focused on the health issue, I saw tons of growth. :) My last touch up was a month and some ago. I can totally see the difference in my hair from the last time. I used to be worried about my uneven growth, but I have come to learn that not all sides grow equally. Peep my progress below. These are the best comparison pictures I have as these were the only times I flat iron during this 1 year HHJ. On the left, I was 8 weeks post relaxer/ post beginning of my HHJ and on the right, 3 weeks post relaxer, after my one year mark.

I see about 3 inches progress (out of the 6"/yr)? From between shoulder and armpit length to between armpit and bra strap length. Thats good enough for me, especially after my 'August relaxer problem' and my trim.

Well, guess what? Now that I have learnt how to better take care of my hair, I have been dabbling with the idea of going natural. I am really indecisive about this one, but I think I will try and transition and then see. I know for sure that if I do decide to go natural, I will long term transition, so I have been searching for long term 4a/b/c transitioners to use as guides.

Guys, I think I found one. One of my all time fav relaxed hair ladies Jen from just grow already!, recently announced that she will be long term transitioning from her texlaxed hair, and from the pictures, seems like her hair falls in the 4 type category. I plan to follow her lead on this one as she inspired and helped (unknowingly) with my HHJ.

I think seeing her post was really the 'sign' if you may cause just like her, I am totally indecisive. Anyways, I have a little more free time now so I will keep you posted on this long-stretch/transitioning journey of mine.

Love,
Dumebi.

My Journey: 8 months and counting. Performance, Problems, Pictures.

Hello,

Perhaps I should first start by apologizing? I have not blogged in months and I have no reason. For that, I am sorry. Today I decided to check my blog and I found out I have few readers. As little as they may be, I am happy. Hello readers!!! This blog is not only to inform people about my findings, and my hair journey, it is also for me to keep track of my "doings".

Right now, I am torn. I started this journey back in March with hair barley touching my shoulder. I had just taken out my braids and was well past 12 weeks posts. Decided to "nurture" my hair they right way and then relaxed two weeks after. After my relaxer, I continued with my regimen and decided to stretch. Between that stretch, I had braids for about a month and a half, and by August, I relaxed again after about 19 weeks and some days stretch.

My August touch up was a fail. I left the relaxer in for way too long and let my sister comb it (this I know is a nono). The result? My hair fell out!! It was everywhere and I cried. I was mad at everyone including myself. I was mad that I was watching all my hard work fall into the drain. I was just furious. This is why I am torn. I expected to see growth but my hair seemed "stagnant". There was no difference between my March touch up and August, at least in my eyes.

However, I see a difference with thickness. My ends seem healthier, and for that I should and am happy.

I guess you can say I was reminded that for one to retain length, one has to grow healthy hair. I have now chucked up the past 8 months to learning about how to get healthy hair and now, as from next week when I plan to get my next relaxer (15 weeks post), I will focus more on maintaining health and now retaining length.

I have read and I am still reading on how and what to do before, during and after getting a relaxer. I still have not decided wether or not I should go get it professionally done or do it myself (never done it myself btw). But by next week, I will know.

I am currently deciding if I should do the inversion method for the days leading up to my relaxer. Please let me know your views on this.

Below are my pictures from March till now. I will do an official length check after my relaxer next week and use that as my base for this "new" journey.

Tell me what you think. Do I still need to work on my ends? Although I got a trim two weeks ago, I still feel I should trim again.

Love,
Dumebi :)

The very beginning

Left - September 2013, Right - March 2013 (Right when I began my journey)

Left - August '13 Touch up, Right March '13 Touch up.
As you can see, the difference is little due to the relaxer mishap.

Why I Decided to Embark on This HHJ

Hey,

So some morning after class, I decided to go to the library to do some studying. Before I start a study session, I check Facebook, thesun.co.uk, and Bella Naija. Yep, as I was going through the posts on Bella Naija, I saw a post about a full blooded Nigerian girl with MBL and was shocked. I always imagined that length like that was only possible for African American and mixed girls, so I asked myself why my hair was not as long or even close, and decided to go through her blog. From her blog, I discovered lots of new information.

I learnt that to gain such length, I have to retain what I currently have. I also learned that even though I had braids in or a weave, I should wash, condition and moisturize my hair underneath as frequently as I would if my hair was 'free'. Furthermore, I discovered the art of different protective stylings to do while I had my hair 'free'. I aslo learned that I NEED to sleep with a satin or silk scarf/pillowcase in order to retain moisture.

Yes, as you can imagine, these were 'common' knowledge to most girls but me. I became a youtube addict. I started researching all things relaxed, hair growth and the likes.

So, here I am, with my new 'addiction' if you may. I call it an addiction, not in a bad way, but in a good way. This is because I really to get attached to something I am determined to achieve. For instance, last year, I was determined to lose weight and I did just that (13kg lighter). Some saw my little habits that led to my weight loss (constantly checking my weight) as addictive, I saw it as motivation? Now I look at 'researching and learning about hair' as my new motivation.

Thanks for reading and join me in this journey.
Dumebi. :)

Introduction?

Hey guys,

First of all, I am new to blogging, so excuse me if I make any newbie mistakes. I decided to create this blog to keep track of my healthy hair journey, and share with you all, what I will be doing and not doing during this journey.

A little about me and my hair?

I am a full blown Nigerian Igbo girl studying in the Netherlands. I truly have no clue about my hair type, but if I am to guess, I would say I am either 4b/c. My current length is somewhat shoulder, just touching shoulder blades? My craze about hair length has been going on forever, but my dedication to achieve it just started this month. My current goal is BSL as I have recently learnt, which means, Bra Strap Length.

So yea, with dedication, patience and God, lets see how far I can go.

Thanks for reading and join me in this journey.

Dumebi. :)