Hair Care Blog And Product Reviews

It began in 1976, when I was a little insecure nine-year-old girl, who always felt inadequate, stemming from low self-esteem due to childhood trauma. 

In elementary school, I was often teased and bullied because of my short kinky hair, that was worn in plaits that were a few weeks old; my hair was often unkempt and not cared for.  In contrast to my ear length plaits, girls who were my fellow classmates, wore their hair long, straight and shiny, while other girls wore half ponytails, where the top section of their hair was in a ponytail, while the lower section of their hair  fell to their backs. I remembered having my hair braided by neighbors, I guess because they felt sorry for me, and because my own mom couldn’t  do my hair; I cannot go into any details as to why on this blog. 

I was 11 years old when, I would admire the long  cornrows, that was styled so beautifully  on other girls, but I couldn’t get those styles, because my hair was too short or not long enough.   I had to settle for basic styles for short hair lengths, which was neck length. A year later, I was experiencing hair breakage during the wintertime; I remember that the back was much shorter than the sides and crown section.  I didn’t know how to care for my hair, and only way I knew how was by greasing my scalp.  I had to learn to cornrow my own hair and used to set my hair in small sponge rollers, that would fall out of my very short hair.  

I remember being called this stupid name “baldilocks” where did that name come from?  I was also labeled as “bald eagle” and other cruel names by girls who thrived off  of tearing down my self-esteem, perhaps to assuage their own insecurities.  This of course, was traumatizing for me, being subjected to such cruelty and humiliation. After years of trial and error of hair care,  I  learned some key factors as to why my hair was often breaking and shedding, thereby not retaining any length. 

It started in the mid-late 1980s,  When, I was sporting a curly perm aka Jheri Curl;  which requires daily moisturizing with use of activator and low manipulation.  For the first time in years, I began noticing my hair has become lengthy; this continued for the next few years, with my hair reaching from neck length to shoulder length, what was the reason behind this?   Was it the curl itself or was it the moisturizer and activator?  Jheri curl without moisturizer and activator, leaves your hair dry and brittle prone to breakage; however moisturizing and activating the curls, results in length retention as the hair grows. In the fall of 1988, I switched to hair relaxers, because I was done with having to wear a plastic shower cap constantly and my skin, always breaking out due to glycerine found in moisturizers.  

In 1988 of fall, I cut out all of what was left of my curly perm and a few weeks later, applied a conditioning lye relaxer.  I started out with the mild strength, because I had color treated hair, and the results were not so good, I didn’t achieve the correct results, for it was under processed.  A two months later, I tried it out for the second time and got the same results; despite me  following the instructions carefully as to how to apply the relaxer and length of time to keep on the hair.  I later realized that the mild strength was not strong enough, so I switched from mild to regular strength of the same relaxer brand.  The results this time, was satisfactory, my hair was well-processed; there was no breakage or hair loss.  However, I would only experience damage and breakage due to hair coloring on relaxed hair, such has hair tints and bleach.

During the 1990s , I would color my hair from honey blond, golden blond,  and darker colors, such as black that of course would leave my hair damaged with breakage; and it is because relaxed and colored hair requires a lot of care.  My hair was not well-balanced with protein and moisture, and I didn’t moisturize and seal my hair, which all explained why my hair couldn’t retain length.  My hair would grow only to break off, which I now realized in the past two decades, my hair was always short, never making it past ear length.    In the year of 2007, I embarked on a hair care journey, and throughout my journey, I was learning about my hair and what regimens that worked best for my hair type and porosity.  My hair type is of 4A/4B while my porosity was between normal to high during that time; today my porosity is normal to low. 

 In 2007, I stopped tinting my hair, replacing it with semi-permanent hair color or color rinses that contained no peroxide nor ammonia. I stretch my relaxers up to six months; between my relaxer stretches, I would moisturize and seal it with  carrier oils such as jojoba or castor oil to my new growth. I shampoo my hair with moisturizing shampoos and use protein and moisturizing conditioners; I would deep condition my hair with moisturizing deep conditioners. I would apply moisturizing leave ins after conditioning my hair and depending on the length of my new growth, I would wear plaits as a protective style, while keeping my new growth hydrated; in 2016, however, I would experience a huge setback.

Somewhere back in 2016, I would experience breakage and lots of shedding, despite me keeping my hair balanced and wearing protective styles.  I later found the root cause of my issue, I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia.  I was always tired and suffering from fatigue, in addition to hair loss.  I began taking iron daily that would last up to three years or so.  Long story short, I am no longer anemic, and due to my iron level now at a normal range, my hair has since grown back. 

Fast forward, back in June of this year, I started a relaxer touchup, after a six month stretch. From there, I’ve been using these products, listed below for moisture and protein balance and to help retain length .  The hair regimen I am using now, can be found at Hair Care Treatments, Regimen And Accessories 

In conclusion, our hair are like plants, that needs water in order for it to grow; with that said, drinking plenty of water each day helps keep our hair hydrated leading to growth and retention.