My 2010 (Hair) Year in Review

Here we are at the end of 2010, and I just wanted to share with you all (lol, I only have 2 followers) Im sure there's some lurkers...but I want to share where I have been this year. Although Im not new to this healthy natural hair journey (this is my 3rd time natural) I am still learning and growing.
The 1st and most important factor I learned about myself this year is that I lack PATIENCE!! Which is the main reason why I slipped and texturized my hair last year. (Or atleast thats what I was TRYING to do, lol). Had I not made this error I would have a good 4yr of natural hair growth on my head.
Here's a pic of where I started on this (3x around journey) August 09

Looks more relaxed than the "texturized" look I was going for.

As you can see my hair is really fine, as I already knew prior to texturizing but in my frustration and being impatience I overlooked that.  Plus, I was suffering from alot of thinning and breakage as my hormones returned to normal after having my daughter in 9/08. Soon after this mishap, I started to grow this texturizer out and back to my natural hair journey. Luckily I didnt have a long transition since I didnt have much length to trim off.

Which brings me to my 2nd factor I learned this year. Needing a support system!! So at present day I have about 4 1/2 to 5inches of all natural hair. Through this year I realized the importance of having a support system while on this journey to keep you on track because its sooo easy to fall back into old bad hair practices. Although I have been frequenting hair forums for many years,  its nothing like the human in person contact support you need while on this journey. Lucky I have my husband sho is aware of my naturalk hair goals, so he is my voice of reason when Im getting frustrated.

Sadly, I dont have any friends that are interested in going natural so I only have the hair boards and my hubby to vent to.  So big shout out to LHCF and NP for being my sounding boards.

3rd I have found that my hair doesnt require as much trimming as I originally thought while natural. There's no need for perfect even ends in natural hair DUHHH!!!! The 1st time I went all natural back in 1999 or 2000 I didnt have clue what to do for my natural hair. I didnt know how to properly wash, dry, comb my hair in its natural state, so it s no surprise I went back to relaxing after about a yr or so. The 2nd time around, I had a regimen and all but still must admit I was doing some old practices to my hair that didnt agree with my goals. Its only this 3rd time around that Im now able AND willing to apply all the knowledge I have learned about natural hair care. 

Look at this pic where I just learned how to stretch my hair and make detangling easy:

So with those key things in mind Im looking forward to what 2011 will bring. Im sure that I will still be learning, and building on my regimen with key products that works well with my hair. I hope to gain new followers in the new year to come. So many has inspired me other the years I just want to return the favor to someone else.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!  Stay tuned!!!

"Weak Spot" BAMBOO HAIR (Hair Shaft Defect)

Have you ever been told you have this by a hair stylist? I have, and if your anything like me I always wonder what exactly causes a "weak spot", and what cant be done about it. In this journey of mine about my hair, I have been to dermatologist, I have been to "hair doctors", I have just about purchased every product know to man to help me retain some length. In all those woes I have learned that less is better, and some things are just genetic.
So in doing some research, I stumbled across a term BAMBOO HAIR. I had never heard about it, but once I started reading it I wonder if I and MANY other ladies and gents on this HAIR JOURNEY could possibly have this disorder. Bamboo Hair, aka trichorrhexis invaginata is a hair disorder that many of African ancestry find themselves battling. Here is some info I found on the net about the subject:

"Bamboo hair, also known as trichorrhexis invaginata, is very distinctive. The hair fibers have the shape of bamboo. Instead of being smooth along their length, the fibers have focal nodules that make the fiber look like bamboo. The nodules are focal defects in the fiber where a cup and ball shape has developed. The hair closest to the scalp forms a bulge with a cup shape form in which the hair fiber further away from the scalp sits. These defects are weak spots in the hair that are easily broken. The piece of hair that sits in the cup shape gets pulled out leaving the exposed socket. This is now called a golf tee hair because of its shape".

"Bamboo hair is often seen along side other hair fibers the have focal twists in them. These twists, called torsion nodes, create stress on the chemical bonds in the hair and are also weak points where hair fiber is liable to break if pulled.
These bamboo hairs and golf tee hairs can occasionally develop in normal hair from over processing but more likely trichorrhexis invaginata is a congenital defect often a symptom of another disease. Netherton's syndrome is a disease that can involve bamboo hair as well as ichthyosis and atopy. Netherton's syndrome is usually evident from birth with flaking skin, red rashes and sparse hair growth involving fragile bamboo hair.
Netherton's syndrome is probably the result of an autosomal recessive gene expression. The gene seems to be involved in keratinization of the hair cortex. Examination of hair fibers has shown that the cuticle is normal but the internal cortex is not completely keratinized at sporadic points along its length. These incompletely keratinized areas are soft and weak and the hard, fully keratinized portions of the fiber become impacted into the soft portion creating the cup and socket structure. The improperly keratinized areas of the hair fiber can also become twisted making torsion nodes.
Bamboo hair often improves spontaneously as the individual grows. Most treatments involve preventative measures to avoid over processing and physical manipulation. Several treatments are available to remedy skin problems that develop in ichthyosis and Netherton's syndrome and these may also help improve hair quality".

Im sharing this bit of info with my followers, because I know that knowledge is power! Lack of knowledge can cost you ALOT of PAIN and MONEY!! Especially for us as African American/Black females. The Black haircare market is a billion dollar industry, and think we can spare ourselves ALOT of doe if we know what might be at the ROOT (pun intended) of our hair woes.

Development of a "Regimen"

Ok, so Im trying to see what works for my hair now that I have vowed never to blowdry my hair again. And I can say so far so good with a tip I received from over at Nappurality on twisting to stretch has been working well.
So here is how my hair looks freshly washed, and ready to be oiled:

Looks kinda chunky fro-ish but I like. I get my Proclaim Natuarl 7 Oils, that consist of Olive oil, Jojoba oil, and a few other good oils. I use about a 1/2 dollar size full in my hands, rub together on my from then start twisting til it looks like this:

Not making any real effort to part neatly and this is the end product. Im pretty happy with it so far. I was originally have a hard time airdrying because my hair would be so hard, and shrunked to my scalp, it made attempting to detangle a nightmare. So, now this is leaving my hair stretched some, and easier to detangle.
I had to revamp some of the products I was using, and I am now boiling water to wash (since we have hard water) and Im noticing some good changes in how my hair behaves. I put on my Christmas list a shower filter so I wont have boil water when I want to wash, so hopefully it will be an end to that soon.

In other NEWS...

So, in other news going on in my life. Last week I had a breast reduction which was pretty awesome. No problems or complications. My surgeon was FABULOUS!! I feel sooooo much better about my over all look. PLUS, I feel sooo much lighter up top! I mean, I had 2lbs worth of boobage removed, but it feels more like 50lbs lifted off me. It was one of the first things I noticed after awaking from surgery.
I went from a 34DD/DDD to Im hoping for a C cup. I have been awaiting this time in my life for a very very very long time. Ive suffered from migraines, neck, shoulder and back pains for YEARS!!!! But, now Im looking forward to pain free days.

Here is a before pic of my boobage

And here is a pic after my reduction (3 days post op)

Im pleased!! Anyone on the fence about getting this done, I say GO FOR IT!!! I feel amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Trouble Spot

So Ive had this "trouble spot" in the back of my head for as long as I can remember. I dont know what to do for this thin spot to help it fill in and thicken up. Its been this way since I was relaxed. Back then I thought it was relaxer related, but Ive been "natural" several times an this area is always the same. Im thinking about visiting the derm to see what the problem could be and if anything can be done to remedy it. I take my vitamins (nothing excessive), and Ive tried massages the area to stimulate blood flow and growth. What gives? Im getting frustrated. This area must get better if I'm going to get SL's. The hair texture in this area is not as kinky as the rest if my hair. The hair feel really fine, and not as dense as rest of my hair. Any suggestions?

Back center

PICS-Oct 5, 2010

Front view

Side view


These pics are before I knew how to stretch with twist while wet, etc. So as you can see major shrinkage is going on here. Im happy I learned how to stretch because my hair really got tight to my scalp when I airdried, and really made me reluctant to do so. But, now I know better so I will do better.
Shrunken, I have about an inch or so size from. But streched Im about 3 or 4in.

My HairSTORY

I can't say for certain when I first heard the term "hairstory", but the term instantly grabbed me, and I knew at one point I wanted and NEEDED to tell mine. However, I knew in doing so it would reveal areas about me that I (and Im sure MANY others) should not be proud about. But, acknowledgment of those feelings of insecurity has definitely set me on this path Im on today of, LOVING, EMBRACING, and UNDERSTANDING my hair in its natural state.

Ok, so on to my hairstory....I cant really remember my hair prior to my first MAJOR hair alteration at the age of 8. I recall my sister and I begging my mother for a Jheri Curl, It came after watching I guess one to many Michael Jackson videos. The way his hair swang, and the sheer selling power of the MJ machine had me HOOKED!! So, of course after alot of begging my mother obliged. I believe I wore a Jheri Curl til I was age 12 or 13 yrs old. Thats around the age I took on the task of doing my hair on my own. After the curl, my hair had some really good length (the longest I can remember it being). I recall my hair appearing really light sandy brown. Not the color of my hair today. (I think all the yrs of chemicals changed the colored).

From then on it was relaxers every 6 to 8wks, and going along with what every other hair fashion trends that was going on at the time. All I can say now, is the appearnce of any nappy roots showing wasnt it! Soon came alot of breakage and hair damage (that I can say now) I inflicted on myself to maintain a certain "image". So, to combat the breakage and to go along with the current hair trends, I did the very short pixie (beehive) hair cut taht emerged on the scene during the early to mid 90's.
After that phase, and never really liking the "short" look for myself,s oon the weave EXPLOSION happened. Weave became more affordable, and it became OBVIOUSLY marketed towards Blacks. Once again, I was hooked to something else.
But, sometime around 1999 or 2000 I made my first attempt at "going natural". However, it wasn't my intent to wear my hair out in its natural state. I was doing so in a attempt to get my hair back to a healthy state, only so I could go back to what I had done that made it so damaged in the first place. I know, crazy right?? My plan was to cover up with weaves as I grew it out naturally til it got to a point where it was long enough to be pressed or blow dried straight to a style of my liken. ( I always wanted that long swinging wrap). HA HAHAHAHA! Yeah, funny right?

I know at this point I still had so much to learn. I did the natural grow out for about 3 or 4yrs. No relaxers!! But stil using heat for blowdrying, straightening for length checks, etc.. I did achieve "some" length, but not anything to brag about. Plus my edges were always shorter than the rest of my hair. So, out of frustration, I relaxed for the convience of style for about 6mths or so. But, I did feel bad about relaxing again. As I was learning to pay attention to my hair, and how much more my scalp itched when relaxing it finally clicked that relaxers wasnt for me and I grew out the relaxer again.

The 2nd time around my plan was somewhat the same. I planned to be more concious of products I used, less heat styling and all, but still was in the grip of WEAVES!!!! Although, I knew weaves could be damaging, I thought I could get around it with some careful techniques. I would rest in between weaves, with braids or wigs. I thought once again, I would obtain the length I craved. Well, that didnt happen. Then major life changing events happened. I had a baby, got married AND moved out of state. Post-partum shedding, lack of haircare resources, and sheer frsutation caused me to do something I thought I was away from. (CHEMICALS!!!)

This time is was a texturizer! Thats not so bad right? LOL, I knew better. But anything to justify it made me go through with it. Plus, my hair was a MESS after I had my baby. The "look" I was going for was a short pixie cut (tapered back) with a nice texturized look on top. Well, I didnt get that either. I had more frizz than curl, so once again I went with the ole fail proof weaves to see me through this last relapse. I know I have to admit it, Im addicted to weaves! But, one step at a time right?

Well, that last relapse was about a year ago. At this point I have about a good 3-4inches of natural hair.  Now Im on the road to kicking my weave habit, lol. Im still LEARNING, EMBRACING, and BABYING my natural hair and Im LOVING IT!!! At this point I looking for natural  styles that I feel look good ON ME. Stick around and watch my hair BLOSSOM!!