My natural Hair Journey So Far: Doing a protective style for the next 8 months: chasing length

I had always been a short hair girl all through elementary school and high school. Hair was no big deal then. I was a Tom boy , rocked short hair and did baggy clothes. To date, I can not express in words the joy in my mother's eyes when I started to dress like a girl. You know wore clothes that flattered my body. She was so happy. Even though she gave me a male name she never intended for me to take the traits too she had always told me before. And I love dressing up now. Next came love for hair.

Suddenly the saying

hair is the glory of a woman

made lots of sense. And I loved my hair. Learning how to grow it at the beginning. Then hating or having a strong dislike for the kinkiness and the time it took to maintain it. I decided to perm/ relax it. Overtime however, chemically processed hair reaches the end of the line. Not because you do not take care of it, sometimes it just happens. So my hair became thin, no volume. Wearing it out it did not look as flattering as it did before.

So one January morning in 2016 I took scissors and cut it all down. I had had it. Time for a change was beckoning. While people plan for their BIG CUT, I had no plan. I didn't know what I would do after this. The one time I took action with no future plan. I loved the outcome.

Steep Learning curve: Taking care of natural hair

At the beginning it was so easy. Wash and go always worked. Then my hair grew past four inches. I had to learn how to care for it. Learning was a combination of youtube videos and reading hair blogs . I experimented a lot at the beginning looking for hair products that gave my hair the best texture, feel, smell, and glow. Those products that made my hair more manageable. Eventually I came down to:

Water
coconut oil
olive oil
castor oil
black soap shampoo
shea butter.
Aloe vera

These have been the products I have used for my hair the last two years. I usually interchange conditioners and treatments. But maintain three brands (story for another day). So far the journey has been awesome. I have however, never been a length chaser. Infact I always trim my hair after around four to five months. This year I am on a different path. Chasing the length to 20 inches. It can be done.

FAUX LOCKS: LEts see how long it can grow: 8 months protective style

Three weeks ago I had my salonist fix faux braids. While I had experimented on this style before, the previous lady pulled and yanked my hair so much that I did not sleep for a week. Also, I lost a huge chunk of my hairline.

This time round I did my research and had two of my friends get similar style fixed two months in a advance as test subjects guinea pigs they called themselves. I had to have evidence that this wasn't going to take me two steps back. While natural hair can withstand a lot, natural hair with a messed up hairline is just BS. You want to love that hair line to the moon and back. Ensure that any hairstyle you do is not causing harmful manipulation to it. You want to be gentle. You will thank me later for this advice.

Im hoping to keep this hair style for the next 8 months. Do not open your mouth thinking about dirt. I am a clean girl and its going to remain clean.

I will wash it as often as I want. Natural hair thrives on moisture.
I will visit the salon for styling
I will be generous with oil for my scalp
I will apply aloevera gel: Made from my plants on the balcony. My hair loves this stuff.

I hope I will be able to get to the inches I want at the end of that journey. For now I am loving this style. People think they are actual dreads. For any more pointers drop me some comments.

BEFORE