Lately I’ve been thinking about how I want to wear my natural hair this summer. It’s fun to visualize myself with a cute protective style even though the warm weather is dragging it’s feet here in Colorado. We’ve gotten hail storm warnings nearly everyday but it looks as though the sunshine is finally on it’s way.
Long before I started a healthy hair journey, it always seemed like my hair stayed at or above my shoulders. Out of frustration I decided to search online for a solution. I was met with several ads for hair growth vitamins. At the time, it made sense to me that maybe I was lacking nutrition in my diet. I thought I needed a supplement to help my hair grow. I quickly ordered a bottle from some company I don’t even remember and waited for them to arrive.
If I knew then what I know now, I might never have even placed the order. My hair at the time was relaxed (chemically straightened) and color treated. Both of which were damaging chemical processes. Combine that with the fact that I used heat daily and you’ve got a trifecta of unhealthy hair practices happening all at once. After I had zero result from taking the hair growth vitamins I was back to the web to find a solution to why my hair wasn’t growing.
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| Rocking the Verona Girl Half Wig by Freetress for my protective style challenge |
It’s official! In today’s video post I announced my protective style challenge. Now I’m really on the hook to stick with it over the next couple of months. I’ll also do updates periodically to share about the products and styles I’ll be trying so stay tuned to my Youtube channel,”mitchellzee“.
I also thought I would share how I get all of my hair flat enough to wear my new half wig. My hair can be pretty full when dry so my best option is to braid my hair while damp. I also demonstrate what I used to moisturize my hair which we know from my last post was just okay. Still, the braiding proved to be a pretty good option for me. Check out the video to see how I did it and also what I thought of the, “Verona Girl” half wig by Freetress.
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| Satin Bonnet for when I’m wearing rollers and curly braid outs |
I’ve been writing lately about Protective Hairstyles which can help with length retention. Yet another way to protect the hair is by wrapping it up at night. This may sound like a no brainer to some but there is a lot of benefit for the hair by doing this one thing. This practice can be a huge help when trying to reach your hair length goals.
I recently re-read a bit of Wanakee Pugh’s “Practical Guide to Haircare” and something stood out to me. She stated that even if your hair is too short to be pulled back into a protective style, you can still benefit from wrapping your hair at night. This reminded me of the beginning of my Natural Hair journey because I did this faithfully every night. My hair was maybe only 1 1/2 inches long at the time but I kept it wrapped up in my satin scarves when I went to sleep. Now that my hair is longer I can tell a huge difference in my hair when I go to bed without covering it up. I wake up to tangles and sometimes dryness. I agree that it is not the cutest look going but it works.
I mentioned my satin scarves (I have a nice little collection) but you can also use a satin bonnet. Satin is a man made material that is easy to wash and can be long lasting. This is highly recommended as far as material choice because it does not draw moisture away from the hair and is smooth so it won’t disturb it very much while you sleep. When I wear rollers to bed I usually reach for my satin bonnet. Otherwise, I have scarves in a variety of sizes for when I wear braids, twists and protective styles to bed. Here’s a few pics of how I wrap my hair.
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| Pineapple for the Corkscrew Braid Out with my edges protected |
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| Air drying while smoothing my edges |
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| Large Satin Scarf to protect my Roller Set from the rain |
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| Satin Bonnets and Scarves from the local BSS |
The other day I was watching a hair length check video by pltbyCormie on YouTube. She was explaining that if you think that you are not experiencing hair growth, it may be best to start measuring your hair with a tape measure. This way you end up getting a more accurate look at how long your hair truly is. Since I’m trying to avoid straightening my hair for awhile, I can never really “see” where my hair is due to shrinkage. I decided to try it because I have been a little frustrated waiting for APL length hair. This method not only showed me where my current length is, but also gave me an idea of how much longer until I reach my hair length goals. It turns out that I am approximately 2″ away from reaching my goal and another 4″ before I reach BSL (bra strap). I was relieved to finally have something more concrete than just looking in the mirror and waiting for hair growth.  |
| Measuring from shoulder length to APL; about 5 to 6 inches |