3 Year Anniversary of My Big Chop...and Trimming...

I'm so happy that it has been 3 years since I cut my hair and decided to be completely natural.  I have accomplished my goal for my hair.  I made my hair easier to do, more versatile, and healthy.  I have become a genius when it comes to MY hair.  Two things that have been a big part in helping my hair grow long, look thicker and just remain healthy(there is a such thing as healthy hair)  Hair, nails and skin are made of the same content just different proportions but you still have to keep your skin and nail healthy right?...So why wouldn't you have to keep the hair healthy it's still attached to your body. (Someone told me there's no such thing as healthy hair just want to clear that up.)  The 2 things that contribute to my grow are wear wash and gos (the right way) and trimming my hair periodically.  I trim when I need to and I do a REAL trim.  I don't do search and destroys, I don't trim my hair while in twist, and so on.  If you want he goal of having mostly even hair, thicker looking hair, and less split ends then you want to avoid those other methods.  I will tell you wants wrong with both methods.  They sound nice in theory but the fact is when hair is uneven and if there's even one split end if the hair next to it is a different length then it's going to catch on to the other hair and made it split and then it become a ripple down effect.  If you don't around and do an all over trim then you can miss that one split end that is causing the problem and an over trim will mad it easier for you to seek out where's the problem quicker.  I really dislike the twist cutting because you are not seeing all of your hair.  You will miss some on your hair that might have the problem and it's not a true trim.  If your goal is not all 3 of these healthy, thicker looking, long hair then carry on with what you are doing.  If you are a natural who like to wear your hair straight you should definitely avoid these cutting method for trimming.  Remember this is only for trimming not for shaping the hair.  How I trim is on straight hair...I know some don't like to straighten you hair but "straight hair tells you the Truth about your hair."  It reveals just how well or bad your hair is doing!  I trim my hair usually every 3-6 months but you can tell when you need a trim even when hair is curly.  If you ends are looking and feeling rough, ends are very tangled and I mean very tangled and if you can see through them well then you need a trim.

Here's a test take your index finger and thumb and rub it down your strand and it your feel a "BIG" texture difference then that's an indication that you need a trim or if you let it go too long a CUT!












I hope this helped!
Below I will show some pictures of my split end and after

These are my splits

The ends are see through and rough looking 

You can see how some of the ends are tangling up on each other causing the hair to be hair to comb and break.

This is a frontal view not too bad here compared to the back but I still see some so I will go ahead and nip in the bud.

After the Trim

I can actually curl my ends under now that's another sign of split end when you can't curl your ends.

Hair looks fuller and smoother now and HEALTHY

I still have growth and now I can be haircut free for at least another 3 months.

This is all the hair I cut off my entire head not much considering that I went 6 months without a trim but my hair was begging for one and I listened. 

Keratin Treatment...Good or Bad

Keratin Treatment...Good or Bad

Well that depends on what your goal is...First let's understand what the Keratin Treatment is.  Keratin is not marketed as a straighter but is marketed to make the hair smoother.  Now how does that help??? Well when the hair is smoother it can make your hair easier to manage.  The frizz in our hair is what really contribute to the time we spend on our hair.  How many times have you passed the flat iron or straighten comb through the hair until you got it smoother... with the Keratin Treatment it can make your hair so much faster to do.  I've had people come in who has a keratin with afros who want their hair straight and I think to myself well this is going to take awhile but when I start doing the person hair I soon realize how much easier and quicker it is to do.  Another question is can the keratin help with my curly hair?  Yes it can but it depends on what you are going for.   From what I've seen the Keratin Treatment does tend to loosen the curl pattern some and for others it can loosen the curl pattern a lot but the results vary. I've also seen some people who are happy to have their curls a bit looser so it works for them.  Most people whether they are curly or straight like the Keratin because of how much easier it is to do their hair.  As a stylist I must admit it is easier to do a person hair with a Keratin and what I mean by that is the process to so much quicker.  Do I have a Keratin?  No.  Why not?  I don't feel I need one.  I"m natural and I LOVE my hair just the way it is and I feel that it's easy for me to manage my hair.  When I wear my hair straight I could probably use the Keratin but I won't because I wear my hair curly a lot more often than I wear it straight.  I know of naturals who get the Keratin and it works out fine for them but I suggest not getting it every 4 months like some stylist suggest because depending on the brand I believe some Keratins last way longer that 4 months.   Which is not a bad thing.    Also if you are relaxed and wanting to go natural Keratin might actually be a good way to transition especially if you want to still wear your hair straight even if you don't want to go natural and just want a healthier alternative to relaxing just do a keratin.  Yes the Keratin is actually healthier than the relaxer.  Even though it has formaldehyde it's still better than putting that Sodium Hydroxide to your head.  If you don't believe me look it up.   Anyway below are the Pro's a Con's to Keratin Treatment

Pros

Makes hair more manageable

Less Frizz

Can do you hair faster

Healthier hair  (If done right)

Great alternative for a relaxer

Can be used for tranistioner

Can also be used for naturals who likes to wear their hair straight and curly

Can promote hair growth (it's acts at a barrier for the hair)

Temporary (Can be a pro or con)

Cons

Formaldehyde (they have non formaldehyde but doesn't seem to work as well)

Can Loosen curl pattern (Can be a pro or con)

Hair Growth Again

I'm so amazed with my hair growth.  I found the key to making the hair grow the way it's supposed to.  I really think I have it down!  It's what worked for me and for others that's listened to what I told them.  I will do a youtube on that when I reach my 3 years anniversary of my Big Chop at the end of November and I will straighten my hair so you all can see my real growth.  Deciding to go against what everyone advised me including my stylist and family going Natural has been one of the BEST decisions I've ever made.  People always say I don't think Natural hair will look good on me...why not????  It's YOU!  It's how God made you and God don't make mistakes.  I'm encouraging people who WANT to go natural!  Do it!  You will not regret it at all!  Check out my growth!

Big Chop

Head bent back more but you can tell the length of it by look at the side pieces.  It's really just at my shoulders or a little below.

At my arm pits

Bra Strap length

Below Bra Strap

I only got 3 more months before I straighten and I should gain 1.5 inches of growth since hair grows .5 inch a month.  So far my hair growth has been on target.  Even with the fact that I straight, color, and do NO Protective styling!  (Just something to think about)  Hmm!  If her hair is growing and she doesn't do any of that stuff then what is it.  I will tell you in NOVEMBER!  So you can see the real proof!

OH! The Versatility of Textured Hair!

Just gotta Love It!  I just did two big braids and got this wavy look that I'm feeling!  I just thought I would share.  My hair was starting to revert so instead of re straightening I just came up with other options. So See...You don't have to keep straightening your hair when you already straighten it once.  Take advance of it and try styles that you normally couldn't do on the curly hair.

Oils are NOT heat protectors for your hair

Wanna straighten your hair but worried about heat damage....Well let me tell you what not to do.  Oil is not your friend when it comes to straightening.  You should never put oil on your hair before straightening.  You are cooking your hair when you do that.  You will develop heat damage!   The oil I"m talking about  is shea butter, olive, castor, coconut, and etc.  A lot of those oil you cook with.  Think about frying chicken when you drop the chicken in the heated oil do it protect the chicken?...no it doesn't... so why do people think oil protects your hair from heat from a flat iron or blow dryer.  You need to use something with silicone to protect your hair from heat.  Silicones are your friend when your hair is straighten or better yet being straighten.  Silicones creates a barrier between your hair and the oil.  Think about it when you use a silicone heat protector like CHI silk infusion and rub it on your hand it doesn't absorb all the way right???  Because it's protecting the outside layer.  When you put oil on your skin it absorbs kind of quick so it's going to absorb in your hair quick too therefore not giving you much protection or any!  Now if you want to put oil on your hair after you straighten it...that will be fine but don't put it up there before straightening it.  I hope this helped someone....Remember we want to protect our strands from heat NOT cook it!

2nd Day Hair Straighten

I'm still happy with my straighten hair but I can tell that it's wanting to revert back already. That's kind of a good sign because that means no heat damage but I'm never worried about that anyway :-) I didn't want to keep straightening it so I decided to work around it and came up with a cute Bohemian like hairdo.  I love the Bohemian style!  I know I"m probably going to have to touch my hair up eventually with the flat iron if I want to wear it down but I might not wear it down again....Anyway here's the second day results. 

I straighten my hair and very impressed with the growth