July 21, 2016

Why I Cut 6 Inches Of My Hair…

'Gasp', on average our hair grows at a rate of ½ inch per month, which totals 6 inches of growth in 1 year and it disappeared in a blink of an eye.  My entire experience of my big chop can be found here, if you haven’t read it yet.  I have been thinking about a major cut for a while but didn't realize my hair needed much more than that.


It all started when my weekly deep conditioning and moisturizing sealing became almost non-existent in my regimen which I discussed in detail here. As you can see from my relaxer results in October my ends started thinning but it was still manageable.  I was very impressed that my hair’s health after a 4 month stretch of inconsistency still looked healthy.  

My ends started to go down hill from here because my beloved Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer hasn’t touched my strands for more than 6 months.  Don’t be mad at me but moving to a new country causes somethings to be left behind and sadly my hair happened to be one of them. It breaks my heart that a year ago my hair and ends were thick and luscious and now its pretty sad to look at. I'm trying not to beat myself up too much but this is a PRIME example of taking the simple things in life for granted.

I was using my moisturizing mix but now I don’t think it was enough. Moisturizing every strand is very important.  In all fairness when I air dry and look into the mirror, I see my hair full on the left side and right side but of course I never see the middle only if my husband takes photos which happens mainly on relaxer day because I can capture my hair needs.


Even after my May 2016 relaxer I still wasn't convinced my hair was in that bad shape until 2 weeks after I washed my hair and was totally devastated.  Who is to blame? Slowly points finger at myself.  I took for granted the basic needs my hair thrived on for many years and now I’m paying for it. No one like sharing the bad parts of their healthy hair journey, but I want to be accountable for my actions and also act as an example for you guys.


I thought about just nursing my breakage back to health but I didn't want to be dealing with uneven limp ends. The decision wasn't tough and I’m happy to be working with the same length and thickness.  Initially I thought my stylist was going to cut my hair at B, since I asked her to cut just above my breakage,  but she went up to A. Its shorter and I’ll work with it, after all I have no other choice now.

I know many of you are shocked and probably questioning why I cut so much but I want you to join me on growing our hair back as healthy as possible.  I will admit I miss the length and its pretty awkward  for me now since I have had my hair passed my armpit for atleast 3 years.

My downfall started back in October.  Not deep conditioning weekly, moisturizing and sealing every 2-3days were the reasons which led to this setback. I’m creating a regimen for my comeback which will be solid to produce results. Join me!

Where would you have cut?



40 comments:

  1. I know it hurts to see all that hair get cut off but I think you definitely made the right choice. I think where your stylist cut is exactly where I would have cut. But I just know in just a few short months we'll be seeing new & healthy growth!

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  2. Facing the reality that you dropped the ball is hard but you did the right thing. Starting with a clean slate is easier from my experience. You will bounce back in no time. ☺

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  3. I think A was a good point to cut to, fresh start. I am willing to join you on your quest to grow out your hair healthy again

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    1. Thank you Mzddamn, let's grow together.

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  4. You did the right thing, Tomi! But you already knew that was the right thing to do. I can see the difference from a year ago. Moving to a different county i a big step. I hope you find your Elasta QP where you are.

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  5. A year goes by so fast and within months, you will see a huge difference in the length of your hair. I still remember when I big chopped. I thought it would take FOREVER for my hair to be able to fit in a bun. That was almost 3 years ago. I still can't believe how much it has grown in that short amount of time.

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    1. Thanks Joy, I'm looking forward to having my long hair again.

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  6. I think you did what's best for your hair right now. Plus, you know what the issue was so you can take steps to correct it. I hope you can find your moisturizer.

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    1. Thanks Uzoma, I'm definitely changing up things

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  7. Haven't been on the scene so long but still reading the blogs tho lol. Your hair has grown like crazy but the health of ur hair looks much better since the cut. Once u start back on ur old regimen I'm sure your hair will bounce right back!!

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  8. I like how honest you are about why you had to cut your hair. I am definitely looking forward to your progress.

    www.wurassecrethair.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Tonkabelle, sometimes we as bloggers don't show the negative to avoid critics but i think its part of growth.

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  9. this will give you a fresh start. Your hair will bounce back as you know what the issues were.

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  10. You definitely made the right decision for your hair and I think it will be easy for you to bounce back and maintain the health this time around. Sometimes life gets in the way and things get neglected. Cant wait to read about your comeback regimen!

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    1. Thanks Andrea, that's coming up shortly.

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  11. I have been experiencing a lack of interest in my hair care routine as well. I totally understand. It will all fall back into place :) you did the right thing.

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    1. Thanks Fatima, i hope you get back on track soon.

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  12. Thanks for sharing the reality of a hair journey; it's called a journey for a reason: there will be ups and downs. But I believe you will bounce back from this.

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  13. You did the right thing. Now you know what went wrong and you can move forward with that information.

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  14. I definitely understand how hard that is! I was natural for 5 years and I had to cut off 3 inches of my curls and I wanted to cry but I soon seen this as a new beginning to taking better care of my hair. I was so heart broken! My ends were thin JUST like that and to top things off, My hair is very fine and not thick.

    xo
    lipstickvillain.com

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    1. I'm sure your hair is thriving now. Its hair and will certainly grow back.

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  15. I'm willing to join you as well! I've had issues growing the middle (crown?) of my hair for years, and decided in February to cut it into a bob. WRONG. Then I decided to grow out my relaxer. DEAD WRONG. Now I have half and half hair that I'm planning on cutting, getting it to a uniform length and then relaxing to start all over.

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    1. I hope you find the reason and solve quickly. Thanks Jessica.

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  16. Ouch! My best friend got a bad dye job at the salon and lost over a foot due to breakage. She is trying to grow hers out and she asked if my husband could help her being he trims mine. He is doing micro trims just to get the splits and keep the ends even. I asked his opinion on yours and he said rather than hack off six inches like your barber did, he would have taken no more than 1/2" as you will continue to get splits and taking off that much length, it will never grow out. But the barber is in the business to give haircuts, not help you grow your hair out. Mine is now past my elbows, I have been salon free for several ears and his patience dusting just the ends is the reason mine is not still at collar bone length.

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    1. Thank you for your insight. Please take a look at my progress pics tab and you will see I started off with Shoulder length, I grew to Midback. All hair grows and this time i going back to the basics to re-grow my hair back to my bra.

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  17. Girl I am sure that you will thrive on this new hair journey. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes and have those times when hair is not a priority. Looking forward to seeing the awesome growth again :-)

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  18. You totally made the right decision, it hurts a lot to lose that much hair but it will grow back in due time. I am like you, I can't stand thin ends

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  19. What is sealing? I also use QP Elasta. I have gone through phases where I didn't use it as much as I should but I'll have to make I keep up with it. It sucks to lose the length but it looks so much better blunt and healthy.

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    1. Sealing is locking in the moisture you have added with the use of oils. I have a video of how i moisturize and seal my hair. Thanks Cece

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  20. I have this method used on my hair. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SZq_oqjQa1w
    My husband listens and does it for me. Hair breaks from the ends and worst damage in the layers underneath. Minimal trims to remove the damage, yet let the hair grow are the way to getting longer, fuller hair. The big chop myth doesn't get you longer, fuller hair. You just get short hair and unless you properly keep the ends in good shape with the minimal trims, it will stay short. Most salon products are over priced and destroy your hair. Bleach and the salon color are loaded with toxic chemicals that not only destroy your hair, but are known carcinogens.

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  21. So beautiful!! Time to start taking my hair seriously again!! Love your blog!

    Kimberly
    fromawildflower.com

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