Here she is, one year later!
I did it! I have reached my 1 year nappiversary
Even though this is my second big chop it was like learning how to walk all over again. I am more informed via Youtube and inquiries with darling Nauralista this go around but I sill needed to find what works for me. And I am still fine tuning.
For the 1st 3 months of my big chop I elected to try the curly girl method with what I believed to be unsuccessful results. I co-washed 1 - 2 times a week with Suave Naturals and Tresemme Naturals and rocked only wash n go's. By the end of the 3rd month my hair felt uber dry and didn't seem to be retaining length. For moisture I rotated b/t Kemi Oyl's Shea butter pomade, Jane Carter Daily moisturizer, and whatever else was in my cabinet. After not seeing and feeling what I knew my hair had done with my 1st big chop I quit the curly girl.
For the next 6 months I washed my hair once a week with Zuresh full body cleanser. I absolutely love this stuff. It foams up great and leaves my hair feeling clean and smelling great. Lucky for me I found some time to peruse Youtube and stumbled across KimmayTube's channel. I was more than impressed with her technique, formal presentation and design of her channel, and logical and practical content of her information. It just made sense, and to top it off we had the same hair type so I instantly became a fan.
Protective styling was the band wagon I jumped on for the next part of my hair journey. My regimen became washing and deep conditioning once a week with Zuresh and Tresemme Naturals, then applying KimmayTube's homemade leave in conditioner and doing small double strand twists. I would do a twist out on the 2nd day and repeated this every week. That KimmayTube leave in conditioner is the truth. My hair was very soft, shiny, and felt my healthier than the curly girl method. I finally began to see some growth. Thank God lol.
My current routine still includes Zuresh, Tresemme, and Kimmay's leave but now I do a pre-poo with olive oil and switch up the conditioner to Garnier Fructis Fortifying Conditioner with Shea butter, Olive oil, & Argan oil (or aloe I can't remember) and now and again and do flat twist after the wash instead of double strand twists cuz momma is pressed for time! I have also added Black castor oil to my routine, just on my edges to help stimulate growth there again.
All and all I'm very pleased with my hair growth and feel. I expected a little more growth than this but I have discovered that your body (and hair) goes through changes after you have a baby that may not be in the most desired direction.
Speaking of baby. Not only have I tasked myself with maneuvering my own hair journey but my infant daughter as well. The change in her hair over the course of a year has been nothing short of drastic. She went from the soft cute curly baby hair to fro and kink like her momma by the time she turned 7 months.
I am glad I taught myself how to braid from the 1st big chop - once her hair texture changed I went right into protective styling for her. Use a simple Suave shampoo for her wash and Talid Waalid kinky wavy kids detangler for moisture. It's a struggle just to wash her hair so I do NOT condition her hair. Go straight in styling and detangle each section as I part her hair for her conrows. Since Kimmay's leave in has been good to my hair I have now switched from Talid Waalid's detangler to Kimmay's leave in for my daughter as well.
Her hair growth is AMAZING. At 3 months, she began to bald in the back of her head due to always lying and sleeping on her back. It had me so nervous. A routine of washing once a week and protective cornrow styling has proved to be the best option for her at her age and getting maximum growth.
How cute is the baby!!?? Any additional advice for Alicia?
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