August 2014 Results (Photos)

In my last entry I stated that I'd be consistent, especially for the upcoming months.

Confession:  I have not been consistent with my vites, but I did introduce something new that seems to give me a boost in lieu of my vitamin regimen.  Silica!

I straightened my hair today and was very pleasantly surprised.  For someone that has been uber lazy, I've gotten some good - no, make that great! - growth since the last check.  See for yourself :)

Onwards...

I shan't say I'll be consistent, because it has been oh so hard for me.  Instead, I'm going to do the best that I can and will refrain from punishing myself for not having met my goals/own expectations.

I'll try to cover the basics when time permits.  That is:

• I'll continue eating healthily
• Green smoothies at least once a day
• Eggs for breakfast
• As much protein as I can ingest 
• I'll attempt to do the inversion method for at least 7 days of the month
• it would be nice if I could do this for Sept, Oct, Nov, and Dec
• it would be even nicer if I could squeeze one in for the month of August
• I'm trying a new method touted to work really well on 4c hair!  More on that later!  
• As I think it deserves it's own post/entry :)
• Maybe squeeze in a few protein shakes during the month?  
• Honestly, the taste is disgusting and I'm trying to find a way to yummy-fy it.  (I'm open to suggestions!!)  :)
• I'm thinking maybe I can add raw oatmeal to it and make a porridge like mix..
• Trim
• I think I'll do a nice trim in December
• Exercise
• Yeah...I'll have to incorporate that (i.e. START, lol)
• Running
• Doing it from a DVD 
• Drink tea daily
• Drink water daily
• At least 4 litres, I include tea in the count
• I don't add sugar to my tea
• Deep conditioning at least twice a week
• Keeping my hair braided up continuously

Year in review:

Back on track

So I'll be blunt.  I haven't kept up for the first part of the year.  Because of that, there hasn't been much progress made, let's do a comparison:

JUNE TO DECEMBER

Here's the new plan.  I pledge to be consistent from June to December.

I straightened & trimmed the back of my hair last month (I believe that's when I snapped it) and will be using that as my marker for the rest of this year.

Here's where I am:

It appears I am now at full arm pit length.

Let's do some quick math.  Brace yourself for blabbering --- If hair grows at .5 inches per month and mine grows at .25 per month and I hope to obtain at least an inch a month, where should that put me for December 2014?

Let's eliminate .25 from the equation entirely, as I'm shooting for the stars.

Let's say I have normal growth, within six months I should have 3 inches of growth.

If I get 1 inch a month, I should have 6 inches of growth by December.

Where would six inches take me?  I'd say right ALMOST around bra strap length by December.  Judging by my measurements it won't be full BSL with just 6 inches, so I'll be hovering.

Let's see how this goes.

HHG

Inconsistent

No introductions needed.

I have been atrociously inconsistent.

This is for no reason other than I travelled a great deal in December and, well, have just been super lazy in the month of January.

Normally I'll have a calendar tracking my upkeep and vitamin intake.  I've done NOTHING over the past few months, so there was nothing to track.

I doubt I've gotten anything over my normal growth (sans help) which is less than .25 inches per months.  So at the very most, I probably have about (or less than) half an inch of growth for 2 months.

Yikes!

One thing's for sure, I'll be back on track for the month of February (and onwards!)

HHG

November's Results II (Photos)

As promised, here is my progress!!  :)

November's Results

Photos to follow (next post)

...or perhaps I'll just amend this one.


Soooo... I couldn't wait until the end of the month.

This is the first month that I've managed to keep up my regimen (less 2-3 days thus far).

Last night I detangled, DC'd, and spent the entire night flat ironing.  I like what I am seeing! :)

My hair is definitely stronger, longer, softer and GROWING.

My intention is waist length hair and I am determined to monitor my growth without constantly measuring (if I do, I'll drive myself bonkers!).

Sure, I'll continue to take photos but I'm really going to try to stop flat ironing my entire head.  Instead, I'll do what I did last month -- just the back area.

I'm also not going to do what I did this month, which was to fold 21 days in just to see how well I've been doing.  I'll wait the full month from this point forward.

Other observations:

• I have to get back on my protein kick.  I've noticed that I've stopped doing my monthly (or was it weekly?) light protein reconstructor.  This is an important step for me that I have to put back into rotation.

• I need to get rid of my excess products (I'm not using them but just having them around seems like an absolute waste being that I've already identified my holy grail products).  I've finally figured out what my staples are and will stick to them.  Though I've got to tell you, Black Friday is calling me.  It be callin'!  I have not been on the natural hair products bandwagon and I'm itching to find out about what everyone has been talking about.  I know I shouldn't because I honestly don't need anything else.  On the other hand, we all really should support independent black businesses.   I'm really proud of the ladies that have used the excellent platforms that exist  to launch independent (successful!) ventures.

• As it stands, something that has really been working for me is saturating my hair with deep conditioner and coconut oil, then baggying.  That way, I seal in the moisture and I do not need to moisturize and seal daily.    Thus, less manipulation.

• I still need to apply my sulfur daily which I have been absolute horrible at executing.  The problem is that when my hair is super moisturized by implementing the method above, once I apply my sulfur, I am not inclined to reapply for the week due to the baggying.  Needless to say, this is a big no-no.  I need to start applying it, if not daily, then every other day.

• I need to start deep conditioning WITH HEAT every single week, not just every now and then.  It really does make a big difference.  I've fooled myself into thinking that because I baggy almost all the time, it's "like deep conditioning" so I don't need to sit under the dryer every weekend.  *cue Charlie Murphy* WRONG!  WRONG! I really need to put DCing into my Friday or my Saturday rotation every single week.  No excuses.

My hair regimen is really low maintenance, so the things I really do need to put time towards shouldn't be seen as burdensome.  I need to stop being lazy.  Period.

Here are the things that I need to do with my hair ROUTINELY:

• Continue using deep condition to moisturize once a week (lasts the entire week)
• Seal with coconut oil and baggy
• Apply castor oil on edges DAILY
• Apply sulfur on scalp DAILY
• Wash and DC weekly WITH HEAT
• Apply protein reconstructor monthly
• Keep my nape (i.e. the kitchen) cornrowed for the month (undo and redo as necessary, be it every month or every 2 months)
• NEW:  Go back to keeping my edges cornrowed.  It is naturally thin (hereditary) and I am hoping that it will catch up to the rest.  I will try this again for the month of December.  If I notice that I lose hair doing this (I believe I noticed this in the past), then I will discontinue.

That's it really.  I am going to keep my hands out of my hair and stop doing whole head checks.  No more flat ironing (except the very back for length check) until next year.  I have some big plans for next year (non-hair related) so I don't want to put a time frame on it.  I suppose I should though...

Ok, I won't do a full flat iron until next next March 2014.

I'm still hoping for as much growth as possible.  I'll return with photos, I'll be sure to take some today.  I just wanted to log on since I had a few free moments.

HHG!

November: 7 DAY Inversion Method!! 4C

Ok, so I couldn't help myself.

I wanted to see how much growth I'd gotten from inverting for the past 7 days (i.e. from the 2nd to the 8th).  It turns out, in 7 days I've gotten 0.5 inches.

I'm not sure how to feel...

Should I feel bummed that I didn't get the full inch?
Should I feel grateful for 1/2 an inch in a week??

I choose the latter!  Darn right, I'm filled with gratitude!  It can only go up from there.  I'm not going to allow myself to wonder "if" I can hit that milestone of 2.5 inches in a month again.  Instead, I'm going to focus on getting it done.  If I get over an inch a month that is still awesome, knowing my historical growing patterns.  I'm really grateful for all I've learned and what I keep achieving on a daily basis.

It's probably best that I stop anxiously checking on my progress and just let it rideeee.  If I do, things can only look up.  So...nix on the monthly checks.  It's not necessary.  I'll probably just flat iron (lightly..I'm doing really well on avoiding heat, and my hair thanks me!) in December (probably late Dec, not sure) to see how close I am to bra strap and then work my rump off to get to waist length before the end of 2014. The goal, though, is to get there by September.

HHG!

October's Results

Sweet October...

Ahhhh, so....

October was a fail in terms of keeping up with my vitamin regimen.  Of the 31 days, I only managed to take my vitamins 8 times.  *shame faced*  Below is the proof.

I knew I'd have a hard time being consistent but COME ON!!  8 days!?!  Gee whiz...

I'm really glad I decided to keep this blog because it is forcing me to take a good, long look at my actions (or lack thereof).  Despite the fact that I've done horribly this month, I'm proud of the growth obtained.  Below are a couple recent shots.  

Please note that my nape, a problem area, was originally only 1/4 of an inch long.  With new protective styling practices, namely braiding the nape 24/7 and keeping it well moisturized, it has grown tremendously and is now approximately 6 inches long.  

The area right above my nape was flat ironed and is therefore significantly longer.  This accounts for the photo below where it appears that the ends are thin when, in reality, its simply that the area right above is longer and lays atop the shorter nape, causing an overlap.  Next time I take a photo I'll have to remember to braid up the nape like I did before :)  

Take a gander:

 Now, what have I been doing?  As of today, I've switched up a couple of things.  I've implemented the inversion method (1 week out of the month), garlic tablets for my insane shedding, more water and....

Protein!!!  I know how awesome protein is in the quest for long, strong, healthy hair so here's what I'll be  having every morning for the month of November:

To spice it up,  I sprinkle granola on top and keep it moving :)

Just for fun, here's a side by side of how my hair has been doing so far:

Now, on to my outrageous goal for the month of November!  I hope to recreate my 2.5 inch mega growth mojo that I experienced before!!  Can it be done?  We'll see!!