What to do?

Been wearing a lot of different styles lately. Had twists in for a little over a month, took them out too soon. Put in a sew in it was cute but the hair was cheap and it tangled like crazy. I had braids in the front and curly hair in the back, only kept it in for two weeks. Normally a sew in lasts for at least a month or two. I plan on doing the usual again, phony pony with baggie (knock-off of chicoro's) and when I get tired of that, cornrows for a week or two. I don't know what else to do with my hair right now.

My texturizer from last year is growing out gradually. It upsets me because the ends compared to the roots look crazy. You can see where all the baby hairs are growing up. They are at least 4" now. My ends aren't thin they are just not as thick as the roots. I don't think its breakage at the demarcation line because i have been trying to protect it like crazy. I don't touch it or comb it unless I am washing or styling. The most I do my hair is like every 2-3 days and that is only when I am wearing my ponytail. I will just continue what I am doing and just hope for the best.

I finally found a place that sells henna. I got Reshma henna and shikakai powder(haven't tried yet). I still haven't found the cassia though. I did a henna treatment the other day. When the stuff was in my head it felt weird, kind of grainy like it was going to be dry as hell when I rinsed it out. So I deep conditioned with QH and when I rinsed my hair...... let me tell you I was in heaven! I have never felt my hair so soft before in my life, and my hair is already super soft by itself. Is wasn't mushy soft it was strong, healthy soft and smooth and it has a tiny reddish tint. I am in love and I will henna for life!

New findings and misunderstandings

I’m in braids now. Had them in since the beginning of Feb.and plan to keep them until the end of march. I have been following the same braid reg as before and have been using mn and my sulfur oil every other day. Also redoing a few braids here and there so they can stay neat. My braids slip so easily it looks like i have 2 months worth of new growth. They don't look bad though.

After I take these out I will continue to hide my hair until the summertime. That is the only time that I can wear my hair out constantly without a problem. I cowash daily which my hair loves and I wear alot of sleeveless shirts. (I cant wait!) My protective styles will be cornrows/flat twists and phony ponies alternated weekly.

I had a setback over the past few months. It started with a bad rollerset, the ends began to break off. I haven't gained much length since Nov. My measurements as of the end of Jan are:

back 8"

sides & middle 9"

front 10"

I have been using a ruler to measure and I finally got a tape measure. It turns out that my measurements were about 2" off. So APL is actually 11" and BSL is actually 14". The thing is that even with my measurements being completely messed up I will still make my goal of MBL by the end of the year, unless I have some major setbacks which hopefully wont happen. My shortest piece is 8" so I need 3" to be APL and another 3" to be BSL based on the measurements above.

I want to do another rollerset in may. I am still attempting to perfect my technique. What does not work for me is; less products, blowout before and after, combing when finished. What does work is; very well conditioned and moisturized hair, a little setting lotion, completely drying, flat ironed roots. What I want to try are; ponytail sets, silk wrap, different moisturizers. I do also want to get a new flat iron, one with full ceramic plates. If I can find one for cheap I will get it otherwise I will get a maxiglide.

One more thing I wanted to try is henna and cassia. I plan on adding it to the reggi for conditioning benefits and possibly color. Also those henna tattoos are beautiful.

Winter time blues

My hair is making me crazy. Because its so cold out i cant wash like I want to, and its breaking like crazy. I put it in cornrows for two weeks cause school started and i didn't have the time to deal with it. I think I will do the same thing that I did last summer. I am going to braid it up again till it gets warmer. I am going to do a rollerset this weekend to see the length then do a protein treatment and put back in my infamous two strand twists. this time I will make them longer. I plan on keeping them in for at least one or two months. the longer the better. My hair is thickening up like crazy also.
I stretched a piece and I am actually grazing APL. :D YAY!! I didn't do an actual measurement yet but, will do before i put it up in the braids.
Still taking my vits. iron, 500mg msm and epo, 2mg biotin, b complex. Using mtg and mn not too often I'll say twice a week. I haven't measured since i was taking them so i don't really know how much they have been helping. one thing i can say is that i am seeing more and more baby hairs popping up which is really good and bad at the same time. Its becoming more and more difficult to get through the new growth.
I have decided not to texturize again. when i reach MBL I will chop off the remainder of the relaxed hair. it doesn't look bad, its just hard to handle the different textures. if it was all one texture i wouldn't have a hard time getting the comb through it at all.
I still need to figure out how to stop the breakage i have been having. I know it not moisturized properly because it only feels right when I cowash it daily. I don't want to wash every night because putting it in a wet ponytail so often is also contributing to my breakage. Maybe i could just smooth some conditioner on it every night for the same effect. Ill figure it out.

Vitamins and goals

I have decided to add a few vits to my regimen. I am currently taking a b vitamin complex, 2 mg biotin, and 650mg iron (I'm anemic). I have been taking these for the past month or so(iron longer). i have noticed more growth when I crushed or broken up the pills so that they would dissolve completely. I have also taken flaxseed oil 1t daily, but I found that it made me look very bloated/fat around the midsection. I stopped taking the flax because of that after two weeks.

I would also like to add some msm powder and evening primrose oil because I have heard alot of great things about these two. The msm softens the newgrowth and loosens the curls a little and the epo keeps the skin moist and increases breast size( an added bonus!).

I have yet to measure my hair this month but it is noticeably longer. I will not measure till Jan. My protective styles for this month have been single and flat twists and french braids. I have not worn my phony pony in a while, but I will when I have nothing else to do with my hair.

The end of the year is just about here and I have made my goal of 9 inches or just about. I have not seen my hair completely straight since I had my last relaxer 5/05. My hair still looks and feels shoulder length(too much shrinkage), but I believe that I am just grazing or hovering above APL. I may straighten it for new years via rollerset, but that doesn't really show the true length either.

I have made my goal for 2006, which was to be apl, 9" from the nape. To be at full apl I need a few more inches all over, cause it really doesn't look apl. In order to reach my goal for 2007, which is MBL, I need to have 15" all over. BSL is about 12" from the nape, I should be grazing it at that length. I need 3" to be BSL and another 3" to be at MBL. This can be done in a years time w/o growth aids, because my hair grows an average of 1/2" per month. With the growth aids I definitely can do this and be able to give myself a much needed trim along the way. I have not trimmed since the BC. I have been able to retain all the length from this year and I believe that I can do it next year also.

I am motivated t achieve all of my goals for 2007.

Its getting cold here and my hair is suffering. when my hair was shorter i used to just put it in a ponytail. Now my ponytails rub against my coat/clothes. So in order to protect my hair in this stage where it is always rubbing against my shoulders I have decided on two hairstyles. The first is twists with my natural hair, and the second is a phoney pony.
This is the first time that I have worn my own hair in twists. It is now long enough and doesn't look funny anymore. single twists in the back and flat twist in the front.
The phoney pony I got two in a pack for $2.99. It was a really good deal I think.

Regimen
twists
1. Wash weekly sat/sun(prepoo,poo,& dc).
2. comb out well and add product,let dry.
3. twist it up
4. when done the next morn lightly cowash add product and blow dry so that they will lay right.

They will be retwisted as needed and the scalp oiled as needed. Wear a baggy overnight

Pony
1. wash and dc and comb out.
2. while still wet add suave or vo5 cond, coconut oil, and a little gel to help it lay down.
3. smooth into a ponytail with denman brush and add holder, only wrapping 2-3 times.
4. throw on a scarf and allow to dry overnight.

I would spray with scurl or stasoffro add more cond and coconut oil every night, and flatten with my scarf. my hair is twisted into a bun with a kneehi covering it. I put on my ponytail every morning and when I leave the house.

These two styles I will alternate while it is still cold. I am also wearing rollersets occasionally when I wear it down.


November measurements

front
9"
back
8"
sides
9"
middle
9"

from the middle
14"
from the hairline
19"

I am about an inch away from APL. I will definitely be there by Dec. 31. I will have made my goal for 2006. :D. Then I will give myself a small trim.