How to start a healthy Natural hair journey is not for the weak. It actually takes dedication to take a stand against yourself and say no more neglecting your crown. I must admit I have not been kind to my hair over the years. It has not been able to thrive and grow the way it used to when I was younger. I decided to do something about that and start fresh. In this post I will give you a few tips on how to start your healthy natural hair journey.
How to Start a Healthy Natural Hair Journey: What’s the Damage?
The first thing you need to do is assess the current state of your hair with your stylist. As you can see, I had some serious damage to my hair. The main cause is due to my hair being in knotless braids back-to-back the majority of 2024. I typically would leave them in for about 6 weeks, so imagine my surprise when I noticed that my hair was not growing. Not only was it not growing it was shedding, and I had breakage.
I was so confused as I thought my hair was in a protective style so why is this happening? It wasn’t until I did my research and discussing with my stylist that knotless braids was doing my hair more harm than good. The fact that I wasn’t allowing my hair to breathe, or getting it treated and trimmed between my braid installs was the main problem. Not to mention they synthetic fibers from the braiding hair popping my edges.
How to Start a Healthy Natural Hair Journey: Treat and Trim
When you get assessed by your stylist, they should get you on a hair regimen to get your hair back on track. That usually includes making sure you get your hair treatments and trims every 6-8 weeks. In this picture above I got a deep conditioning, Olaplex treatment and a trim. Now I know it can be some controversy around trims and some stylists being scissor happy cutting what they want to cut off.
But one thing I appreciated about my stylist is that she took pictures for me to see where my hair currently was and what it looked like after a trim. Even after the trim to get rid of some of the split ends, you could still see through my ends. Now most women try to hold on to length by any means necessary. But for me I decided if I really want my hair to be healthier and grow, then I surely needed to cut more off.
The Big Chop
The Big Chop isn’t for everyone but if you want to see results, it may be the best way to go. I didn’t want to keep damaged hair for the sake of length. I wanted my hair to grow thick from roots to ends. My stylist assured me that I was making a great decision. She didn’t pressure me, she let me make the decision before she cut anything. Moving forward, I’ve decided to lay off of the knotless braids for a while.
I’ve realized that one of the best protective styles is leaving the hair completely alone. I plan on rocking some Glueless Wigs this year. This way my hair and edges can have a chance to grow back better than ever. My hair will be in cornrows where I will use different oils like Wild Growth, to keep my scalp moisturized as well as different braid sprays to keep the hair hydrated.
I can’t wait to show you all my progress on my hair growth journey later this year. More to come so stay tuned!