End of 2011 Length Check

Today is New Years Eve and I joined a challenge on http://www.hairlista.com with a goal to get 12 inches of growth in 12 months. I am so excited for this challenge. Today we had to upload our length check photo's. My hair was last flat ironed on Christmas Eve, and I had been wearing it in a bun this week. I just took down my hair, combed it out a bit, and took a few pictures:

According to the first picture, I believe my length is APL, however, my length check t-shirt says something different, so I have to continue to take length check pictures both ways. I am only about 5 inches away from BSL, and that is my goal length for 2012- Full Bra Strap Length to be exact.

Wish me Luck

Holiday Hair

It is Christmas Eve and I am just getting over food poisoning- so I do not have as much energy as I am use to, but my hair was so dirty that I needed it to be washed, and the family is gathering in Jersey for Christmas- with that comes an annual Family Show Case which my three siblings and I are set to perform a short dance routine, so I know I wanted my hair to be decent enough for the performance- I also want to show off my hair length!!!

Step 1: Get this hair washed!
I use to have my boyfriend wash my hair weekly, but as a graduate student with finals, papers, and reading to do, I fell back to having my hair washed every two weeks. Today I used Suave Humectant Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner.

 Then I applied my ORS Hair Mayonnaise. I needed a heavy protein treatment as I had not had one in almost two months.

The Hair Mayo was left on my hair with a plastic shower cap for one hour

The Hair Mayo was then washed out of my hair and I then sprayed my hair with my Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea  Recontructurizer.

Then I added my homemade leave in conditioner (Kimmaytube's from Youtube's version with different products). And I allowed my hair to air dry for about two hours which is somewhere between 60-75%. I then applied my heat protectant, parted my hair into four sections and blow dried my hair.

After that, I used the same four sections of my hair and flat ironed my hair with my Chi flat iron. And  finally wrapped my hair up and used three rollers to add body to my hair, threw on my scarf and bonnet and went to sleep!.

Below is the look I had for xmas

 

My Favorite Protective Style

My last relaxer was November 8, 2011; I was about 23 weeks post. Since my hair length goal is Bra Strap Length (BSL) I have to keep reminding myself to keep my ends pinned up and protected. So the hair style that I have been wearing at least once a week has been working in my favor!

The style is just two flat twists which goes into a ponytail. The ponytail is then wrapped around itself or placed into a bun. This is an easy to do, quick, heat free protective style and I love it!. Check out the video for more details.

My attempt at a French Braid

So I wanted to do a protective style for work today. It was cold outside and I wanted all of my ends to be hidden. So I decided to do one big French Braid. I did a french braid on myself one time before, but it was from a ponytail, so I knew this would be a challenge for me.

I detangled my hair with my wide tooth comb, and applied my ORS Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion and sealed with my mix of Sweet Almond Oil and a few drops of Peppermint Oil. Then I combed all of my hair towards the back, took a deep breath and proceeded to braid. My boyfriend interrupted me as I was braiding and said that it was looking nice and encouraged me to finished. I said that regardless of what it looks like, this was how I was going to wear my hair.

Wanna see how it turned out???

I realized that it wasn't perfect, but it was good for my first time!
I applied some aloe vera gel to my edges, used a soft bristle brush to brush my hair back, then threw on a bra stap looking head band and was ready to go to work! 

Hair Lengths

Here are hair lengths: My chop in 2006, My starting length on my hair Journey July 2010, Current Length November 2011:

Next Hair Style

So I am contemplating on what hairstyle I want to do next. It is either Micro's or a partial sew in...Here are this year pictures- Partial Sew-In from November 2010 and Micro's from January 2011.

Hairfinity Vitamins

So I decided to give the Hairfinity Vitamins a chance as I have not seen drastic results in the other products I have been using such as Potion and Gro Aut Oil. I actually stopped using Potion before I could see any results because it, along with JBCO, made my scalp itch like crazy. With GAO, I have been using it once to twice a week to oil my scalp.

I decided to order two bottles of Hairfinity and commit myself to finishing those two bottles before giving up. My hair grows about 1/4th of an inch a month, so I am looking to see if Hairfinity boost my hair growth. I started taking the vitamins on December 15th.  I take two at night before going to bed with a glass of water. My next length check is in Mid January 2012.