The Hair Situ..

Hi doves! How are we today? 

This is a hair journey and there are ups and downs.

Well today i'm sharing one of my downs. Some time in march I got some lovely soft dreads/ nubians. I had the hairdresser cornrow my hair, then sew them on. Kind of like crotchet braids. As hair gets longer, the ends need to be protected because they are the oldest and most fragile part of the strand. Usually most people just have the first one to two inches of hair braided then the rest blends in with the synthetic hair when they get soft dreads. It causes a lot of breakage, thats why I have mine done as if im being weaved.

Anyway take down day came along and I asked my sis to help me remove the hair. She used a razor blade to cut the thread and accidentally cut some of my hair *sniff sniff* so now I have a patch of hair that is about 4 to 5 inches short (when stretched) around the front of my hair. I was pretty upset, but ey, these things happen.



 So instead of being discouraged I took this as an opportunity to really nurture my hair and that patch. Get it back to it's former glory. It will take long to catch up to its friends but I have time. I plan on doing what I normally do, dc, moisturise and seal, rinses, scalp massages etc. I'll just pay special attention to that section. And please use scissors to undo your weaves and soft dreads.

Next is my edges/ hairline.

I discovered the magnificence of the weave in 2011. Yeah I liked the sleek hair and the fact that I could use heat on it and the different woman I became each time. I would weave back to back, undoing and redoing my hair over the weekend (partially cause I was transitioning back to natural hair after a brief three to four month stint of relaxed hair). My hairdresser really pulled the hair a lot and the edges suffered the most. It was only by late 2011 that I really saw the bald, torn out edges on my head. So to get it back to normal I started braiding again because this causes less tension on my hairline and it really began to flourish again. I steered clear of weaves for the next one and a half years or so. Ask anyone, i'm a twists and braids gal.

August/September 2011

June 2013

Notice how scanty and non-existent my hairline was in 2011 lol....and the difference now in 2014 :)))

What I did and am doing to get it full again

-Onion juice massages. I get a little onion juice, massage for a few minutes. Leave for an hour then rinse off. The sulfur in onion juice stimulates hair growth.

-Aloe vera juice. I apply this to my hairline, rub it in and then apply castor oil. It has a lot of nutrients, is anti bacterial and is known to boost the growth of hair.

-Using castor oil. Castor oil is known to stimulate and encourage growth. It also sids in thickening hair.

-Scalp massages. I massage the hairline daily to stimulate blood flow to the follicles. The blood carries nutrients which nourish the hair and encourages it to grow.

-Using peppermint, rosemary, lavender and vatika oils. I add these to my oil mix and rub my scalp with it. They all stimulate blood flow and are known to stimulate growth. 

-Avoiding weaves

-Avoiding tight cornrows (fishtail, pushback)

-Putting less tension on the hairline by tying my hair loosely or putting up hair loosely

-Sleeping with a satin head scarf

* Note the onion juice and aloe vera juice I do in monthly alternations. One or two months I use aloe vera juice, another few months I use the onion juice. I just do this for variety's sake. Right now i'm on that aloe tip.

*I also use the peppermint, vatika, rosemary and lavender oils in alternation. The castor oil is always the base/carrier oil.

I started getting more aggressive about having a fuller hairline around september 2013. I suffered a mini set-back in august 2013 when I got cornrows in the front of my weave and they took out my hair AGAIN. So I realised cornrows aren't my friend. I have fine hair, meaning that the diameter of the hair is small. So my hair is more prone to breakage and thinning. It has taken a bit of time to make it pick up. Well my hairline is recovering quite nicely and i'm pleased with it. I hope to get it nice and completely full again in due time. 

If you notice things like:

• tight  braids
• weaving
• cornrowing
• tight pony tails
• combing edges all the time to make them look good
• tight head bands and hair gel used on your hairline 
• relaxing the hairline

are making your hairline/edges thinner, PLEASE STOP AND FIND OTHER METHODS OF MAKING YOUR HAIR  LOOK GOOD. Assess your hair styling to see which styles thin out your hairline, then do those which don't or modify the style to make it more hairline friendly.

Don't wait till it looks bad to start doing something.