Braids and Twists Galore!
I was so scared of further damaging my hair that I wasn’t going for any styles that put me at risk for too much tension on my scalp and hair, so I stuck with braiding and twisting my natural hair.
I would do ‘wash and gos’ during the week, and then opt for either a braid out or some flat twists on the weekend. Since these hairstyles were both low manipulation and protective, I was able to grow my hair longer as well as retain length throughout the year.
If I wanted to change my style a little bit, I would add in clip ins* to my ‘wash and go’ or extensions* to my dutch and/or french braids for length. However, I’d take the added hair out before bed to avoid any breakage at the root of my hair.
No Heat For 1 WHOLE Year
Heat was the very reason I was in this situation in the first place. No only did I straighten my hair way too often, but I got some sketchy information about “heat training” and would try to loosen my curl pattern–huge mistake.
Because I was really angry at flat irons*–and well, because my hair was generally fragile anyway–I refrained from using heat for one year. This was one of the reasons why I was able to retain so much length because nothing was really breaking my hair off like heat, and now it was finally out my life. My hair grew quite a few inches before the year was even up, but I still stuck to my original goal.
After the year was up, I didn’t flat iron* my hair for another 3 to 4 months afterward. And when I did, I prepped my hair with with a trim, protein treatment, deep conditioning*, and then I went to a trusted hair salon and got it professionally straightened.
I experienced absolutely no damage and was a very happy camper. Now, I only get my hair flat ironed twice a year so I can still rock straight styles without all of the damage.
I Went Vegan!
Except for cutting out dairy and eggs from my diet, I never had to drastically change what I ate because I was a Vegetarian to begin with. Instead, I decided to focus more on what went into my hair. I began using “chemical free”, “all natural”, Vegan products and recipes.
Unfortunately, finding Vegan products made solely for natural hair was a little difficult at this time because they were either pricey, didn’t work for my hair, or they were non- existent. Because of this, I worked mostly with DIY recipes. I used everything from ginseng, hemp, and shea butter* to avocado, lemon, and honey on my hair daily.
Ultimately, the shea butter*, ginseng, honey, and vinegar mask was the recipe that worked wonders for my hair and really jump started my growth.
After a few fails and some glorious successes, I learned that caring for my type 4 hair wasn’t a cakewalk. But instead of giving up and relaxing or continuing to straighten out my kinks all the time, I learned what worked for me–and it allowed me to begin loving my hair.