Setbacks and Comebacks

I started my healthy hair journey (HHJ) in mid-2010. I kept the use of heat styling tools to a minimum, stretched the time between relaxers, did not over-process my hair, did not overlap relaxers, wore low-manipulation hair styles, deep conditioned my hair, kept my hair moisturised, and sealed the moisture in using various natural oils like avocado oil. I was doing everything right!

I saw huge improvement in the state of my hair. There was a lot less breakage, my hair looked thicker and fuller. It was longer, bouncier... full of life. By mid-2011 my hair had gone past shoulder length and was grazing arm-pit length - the longest my hair has ever been. However, I got so excited about having reached that length, and all my healthy hair habits flew right out the window. I was so excited to show off my hair that I started flat-ironing it twice a week. I stopped moisturising and sealing it daily because I did not want to weigh it down with products... I wanted that "swang"! When my hair was down, I would touch it constantly. When it wasn't down, I would have it in a ponytail. Then to top it all off, I decided I wanted to relax my hair bone straight, and did a "corrective" relaxer in January.

Naturally, I am now paying for my mistakes. I am experiencing my second setback in my HHJ. (The first setback was a thinning hair line. Click here to see how I grew back my hairline and nape.) I went from this:

September 2011

to this:

February 2012

The last picture was taken in February 2012. It shows the breakage just below the crown area due to wearing ponytails excessively. It also shows how thin my ends became from the heat styling and the corrective relaxer.

So how am I going to fix this?

Since the beginning of March, I have started looking after my hair again... doing all the things I'm supposed to do. I am currently on a heavy protein regimen in order to counter the effects of flat-ironing and relaxing. I use a protein treatment every time I was my hair. I also use a protein leave-in every time I wash my hair. It is almost April, and I can already see a difference in my hair. I plan to trim off the scraggly ends over time. For the time being, I am using protective styles to keep my ends hidden. I will also stretch the time between relaxers to at least 12 weeks.

Lately, I have been contemplating texlaxing my hair, or maybe even going natural. I'm still mulling over it. With all the shedding I'm experiencing, it is likely that I will get at least one more relaxer before making my decision.