Natural Hair Growth 3 years Later: I still have a lot to learn

Natural Hair Growth May 2009	Natural Hair Growth May 2010	Natural Hair Growth May 2011

I’m almost there!! So I have approximately 2 years left of these shenanigans. I can’t believe it has been 3 years already. When I started, I was so impatient yet I’m starting to see the results of not attacking your hair with heat as often as I previously did.

Now I still have breakage, but I know why. I colored my hair before I started this experiment and I have a lot of weak, old, split and dried out ends from the color yet trimming will handle that. Right now, I just trim my hair when I see any crazy hairs or damage like split ends or trichoclasis. However, I don’t intend to start formally trimming until the end of the 5 years.

So based on the these three years I have more words of wisdom:

1) Measure your hair AND take pictures

I know I’ve advised taking pictures of your hair growth, but pictures aren’t enough; measure your hair as well, 4b hair especially. One day it will look long and then days later it might look like you got a severe hair cut, because of the shrinkage. A ruler will confirm the truth, so along with pictures record the measurements. Trust me you will see in black and white that indeed your hair has been growing. By just looking at the pictures above, I would think that my hair wasn't growing, but actually it is.

January 31, 2011

Front of hair: 14 inches

Left side in the back: 13.5 inches

Middle back: 12 inches

Right side in the back: 14 inches

May 23, 2011

Front of hair: 16 inches (2 inches growth)

Left side in the back: 15 in (1.5 inches)

Middle back: 14 in (2 in)

Right side in the back: 15 in (1 inch)

2) Enjoy your hair: Really!!!

Sometimes, I get so obsessed with getting to a certain length, I’m not enjoying my hair right now. Other people actually rather enjoy seeing my hair out and about in a free style, yet me, I’m just very blasé about my hair. I think because I really am surprised when my hair grows, because for so long I really thought it wouldn’t get past a certain point. Yet slowly but surely, (very slowly by the way) my hair is inching along and growing.

So that is it. I can’t believe three years have passed, but I plan to stay the course and lay off the heat for the next two years. Below are the results of a poll I took from February to May. The majority agrees, lay off the heat. So that is what I plan to do.