I have had my fair share of setbacks during my hair journey. It’s like you make so much progress, then BAM! You have to redesign your regimen to accompany the damage.
My current setback is at the crown of my head. There is some major breakage going on there *Sheds tear*. Here is the 5 step plan I have used to help make a come back from setbacks in the past.
1. Identify the problem
First things first. Stop the denial! “Oh it’s just a couple of strands” turns into waking up one day asking “What the heck happened”.
Trust me, and learn from my mistakes. When you first see the problem happening, take action. I did not pay special attention to breakage until it was very noticeable. Embarrassing actually. Once I got out of the denial stage, I decided it was time to find out what to do next.
2. Find out the cause
This step can be quite difficult. As the sources of breakage can come from many places. At first, I thought it was a moisture problem.
All my hair gets the same moisture treatment, and the rest of it was not breaking off, so I figured it was worth a shot. I upped my moisturizing and sealing to twice a day and still nothing. Next thing to try on my list was JBCO*. I oiled that area of my scalp every morning.
Finally, I saw progress! YES! However, as fast as it was repairing itself, the faster it began to break off. At this point I’m running out of ideas. I thought I was doing everything right. I recalled writing my previous article on 5 Ways You Are Damaging Your Hair.
Still nothing rang a bell. Then I realized what it was finally. It was the way I was wearing my hair! I kept my hair parted the same exact way for over a year. I noticed one side thinning and thought nothing of it. I realized I did not have this problem until this style became a consistent part of my regimen.
3. Come up with a plan
After I found the real cause of my breakage I had to come up with a new plan. A new hairstyle was definitely in order. My new hairstyle of choice: A simple african threaded bun pulled back. No more parting. My hair needs a break.
A new style, check! I planned to keep the JBCO* in my regimen because, well it was not doing any harm and did seem to do some good the first go around.