In 2014 I learned ______ about my hair

[Prettymetty]

What did you learn?
Which goals did you achieve?
Are you happy with your progress?

Let's reflect the good, the bad and the ugly of 2014.

This was my first year on Lhcf although I have lurked for years. I finally made the commitment on New Year's Eve last year and joined. I just want to say thanks to all of you for the advice, the hair porn, the laughs, etc. It truly has been a great year for my hair.

This year I learned that protein is a must for heat straightened hair. I do a protein dc before each blowout.

I didn't retain much growth this year, because of trims...but my hair is thicker, stronger and shinier than ever. I have a regimen that I can stick to and staples that I don't plan to stray from

So how about you? How was your year?

 

[Prettymetty]

I'm also proud to say that I didn't jump on any bandwagons and I didn't spend a lot of money testing out products (ex pj here) In the past I have spent hundreds of dollars on products only to give them away to friends and family

 

[claudzie]

I learnt that my hair is not difficult to handle, I just had to give myself a reasonable time to wash, dc and detangle. Patience and careful handling equals easy to manage hair.

 

[mssoconfused]

I learned that my hair isn't as thin as I thought. It does wonderful things! I'm in love with it.

 

[Tulips4u]

I've learned that weaves aren't for me anymore. The process of getting it sewn in then later having to take it out is incredibly uncomfortable. Plus I believe it thins my hair.

 

[Brwnbeauti]

My hair wants to be natural. I have nice runs with relaxed hair but always hit a wall. So I'm transitioning to see what happens.

 

[dachsies_rule!]

I learned that I CAN cowash my hair if I use the right product

 

[Anaisin]

That my hair can get extremely soft lol I've never had a good deep conditioner before. I thought they were pointless extra steps but clearly they were just crappy dc's and my hair wasn't the problem

 

[Lita]

My hair likes con as rinseouts after,wash & DC,leave ins while hair is wet sprays for middle of week refresher & keeping scalp moisturized...


Happy Hair Growing!

 

[Prettymetty]

That my hair can get extremely soft lol I've never had a good deep conditioner before. I thought they were pointless extra steps but clearly they were just crappy dc's and my hair wasn't the problem

Yeah it's amazing what a good dc can do. Moisture, slip, softness and shine

 

[flyygirlll2]

My hair is a finicky diva. She wants what she wants and that's to be left alone lol. My hair flourishes when I'm not doing the most to it.

 

[Pennefeather]

I was thinking about this topic earlier today. I want to make sure that I don't repeat two big mistakes that negatively impacted my hair. The good thing is that I know what not to do in the future.

1. No six month stretches! They lead to massive amounts of SSKs, and breakage. Three months works nicely for my hair.

2. My hair is protein sensitive. Too much protein leads to breakage, and rough hair.

3. When treated well, my hair will grow.

 

[divachyk]

I learned a lot from my Komaza hair analysis and I'm now working on improving my hair's health through the recommendations provided to me....in short, my hair needs more protein than what I was giving it.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I learned that Sybil (my hair) will always find a way to surprise me. Also, she is an expensive lil sumptin. As long as I try to find things she likes, she'll try to work with me. Or I'll threaten to cut her (empty threat by the way lol).

 

[brownb83]

No relaxing and dyeing my hair. One or the other

 

[natura87]

That I have been neglecting my ends and not taking proper care of my hair for years and it shows.

Laziness is not the business. I just have to accept my current length (BSL hair)and take better care of my tresses in 2015.

 

[ResultsMayVary]

In 2014 I learned that less really is more when it comes to my hair and I have the 2014 threads on this board to thank. For over 3 years I have been natural and was never able to find the right product combination for my hair (and trust me, I have tried everything)

Then I learned about the max hydration method (and even that was a fail for me) but I did come across the Terresentials clay wash from that thread and ended up using their detox method for seven days and that is when everything changed from there.

Suddenly my hair responded well in it's naked state, products were no longer needed for me to achieve soft/moisturized hair. Just a natural oil and aloe vera juice or shea butter (and those products never worked for me pre-detox)

Pre-detox my hair would take over 2 days to fully dry when trying to set in in a style while wet (ex. braid-outs and twist -outs) More than likely this was caused from the use of so many products. But after the detox, my hair began to dry overnight using those three products mentioned above.

Suddenly, I could do a wet twist-out using only aloe vera juice and shea butter and wake up to a dry head (and an amazing looking twist-out that was moisturized for at least 3 days)

From that point on I vowed only to use (mostly) natural products (I still use Trader Joe's T-Tree Condish erplexed). But I am certain this was all due to the detox (which I found through this board), for the first time in 3 years I can finally say I have a good grasp on being natural..

Thank you LHCF, 2014 has been a great year.

 

[IMFOCSD]

The biggest thing I've learned about my hair is that my natural hair is beautiful and my coils are lovely..

 

[oneastrocurlie]

I learned what ingredients work best
That my hi-po and colored hair like protein
The liquid - cream - butter method is my wash and go's friend
My nape actually grows

 

[CodeRed]

I learned that I CAN cowash my hair if I use the right product

Yep. This right here. I would've saved so much more time and money if I had known this last year. Good to know now though.

 

[WYSIWYG]

In 2014 I learned to stop treating my fine, medium density, highly textured hair with contempt. Why would God bless me with more hair when I was disliking and mistreating the hair I was given? I've discovered my hair has it's own flavor of beauty when it's healthy and allowed to be what it is.

The more I honor my hair's unique qualities, the more it flourishes.

 

[spacetygrss]

I relearned that my hair thrives when I use mostly natural products. Why I always stray I don't know, but I'm glad that I found my way back!

 

[curlyhersheygirl]

I learned that sealing my hair first works best. Doing this has changed the way my hair behaves.

Sent from my XT1080 using LHCF

 

[starchgirl]

I learned that even at 5+ years, there is still more to learn.

I learned to embrace the need to get trims at least quarterly to avoid major set backs instead of waiting 6-9 months between trims.

I learned to fall in love with Alter Ego Garlic conditioner and it's ability to make my 4B hair softer, silkier and more like my 4A hair.

 

[Anaisin]

I relearned that my hair thrives when I use mostly natural products. Why I always stray I don't know, but I'm glad that I found my way back!

Same. I'm a product junkie so maybe that's why I stray lol knowing the other stuff never worked on my hair in any state

 

[Britt]

I am a new natural this year. I've learned that my hair is much easier to manage and deal with than I ever imagined before I went natural.

I learned that I must retwist my hair nightly if I want it to look decent the next morning .... I simply must. Maybe when my hair gets longer that won't be the case, maybe when I grow out some of my heat damage.. idk... but for now --- I just have to retwist.

I learned that going natural wasn't as daunting as I thought it would be. I'd spend tons of time watching videos, staring at pics, and I honestly think I have a unique head of hair. My wash day isn't a long arduous, formidable process. Right now at this length, I just wear twist outs and keep it moving. My next challenge will be doing more styles as it gets longer.

 

[Prettymetty]

I learned that even at 5+ years, there is still more to learn.

I learned to embrace the need to get trims at least quarterly to avoid major set backs instead of waiting 6-9 months between trims.

I learned to fall in love with Alter Ego Garlic conditioner and it's ability to make my 4B hair softer, silkier and more like my 4A hair.

Maybe I should use my Alter Ego more often. I have only used it as a prepoo. How are you using it?

 

[KinksAndInk]

I've learned that my hair is disrespectful. Sunshine will do what she wants when she wants and I just need to let her be. I also learned that she likes mango butter more than shea butter and prefers a wash and go over a twist out but will tolerate a twist and curl. She despises aloe vera juice straight from the bottle or in homemade concoctions but is ok with it if it's in a store bought product.

 

[Nightingale]

I learned a few things this year.

1. That I'm low porosity with thick strands, not fine.
2. Weekly sulfate free poo works best for me.
3. My hair MUST be handled when wet or damp. Never dry.
4. That with the right products and regimen my hair can have shine, moisture, and manageability.

 

[Lissa0821]

After being relaxed over thirty years, my natural hair is actually very soft. For years, I would suffer from a patch of hair in my crown area that would break easily and was very dry and brittle. It would cause my ends of my hair to have that W shape once my hair got beyond a certain length. I didn't make it better with relaxer touch up because I thought this area was coarser than the rest of my hair so I would let the relaxer sit in this area for a longer period of time.

As I transition to natural that is just the opposite, this area of my hair is actually the softest with very little curl. It has completely filled in and the W is gone with I straighten my hair.

Oh yeah, the better my hair is moisturized, it looks full with a lot of volume and curl. As my hair starts to get dry, it is stringy and stiff.