Hair Lessons for 2011

Happy Sunday lovelies!

I hope you are all having a nice, restful, relaxing Sunday evening. For the first time in about a month or so, I have had an entire weekend for myself and let me tell you...I've enjoyed every minute of it!

Anyway, as you guys know we are coming up on the end of the year (can you believe that 2011 has gone by so quickly!?) and usually around this time, I like to take stock of what I did hair-wise through out the year. I sit and figure out what works, what didn't work, what stays in the regimen, what can be replaced, etc. I figure that by keeping my regimen as flexible as a can (because let's face it, there are some things in my regimen that are non-negotiable ), I am constantly doing what is best for my hair. By weeding out the practices that are detrimental for my growth and retention, I can ensure maximal results.


Here is what I learned for 2011:

1) Long stretches are not for me. Recently you guys just saw me complete a 20 week stretch! However, that stretch came with some issues (tangling, matting, etc.). I learn that although some ladies can stretch and stretch and stretch some more, I am not one of those people. My hair rebels at a certain point. Going into 2012, I will stretch only to a maximum of 16 weeks.

2) My hair is not short! Let me explain. Yes I know my hair is long. I know this. However, in terms of product application, I was treating my hair like was still in that short cut and acting like I could just haphazardly plop product on and my hair would get what it needs. Nope. Not now. I really have to make an extra effort to ensure that product gets to my ends. I have to do that at this point. NO ifs, ands, or buts.


3) Low maintenance doesn't mean NO maintenance. From September until now, I had been half wigging my little heart out. I would wash/DC my hair, put plaits in, and put my half wig on. It was a very no fuss, no muss type regimen. And I loved it. However, my hair did not. I have to admit that I got a little lazy in my regimen during this time. I didn't apply product like I should have and I didn't detangle like I should have. The end result? Nasty tangles on wash day. Lesson learned: just because you have a low maintenance regimen, it doesn't mean that it is completely hands off.


4) My hair is a moisture junkie. This is pretty self explanatory. However, when I first started my journey, I was anal about maintaining a strict protein/moisture balance. Now, I tend to err more on the side of moisture and my hair is cool with that.

5) There are more protective styles than braids. The Summer of 2011 was the first summer since the start of my journey where I didn't use braids, kinky twists, etc. to get by. I was quite proud of myself for this AND I got to find new styles to incorporate into the mix (bantu knots, braid outs, mini twists, etc.). Definitely makes protective styling all the more interesting!


Those are the major hair lessons for me this year. I wonder what hair lessons I'll learn as I continue growing to greater lengths in 2012.

What hair lessons did you learn?