How did I start my hair journey?

Hi everyone! I hope you are all well. Today, I invite you to discover how did I start my hair journey. I can say that I have come a long way. I used to hate my hair and I was always wearing braids or weave. My hair was too thin and flat. I used to relax my hair every 1.5 months without realising that it was the reason for my hair’s condition. Therefore, I thought I would never have long hair in my life.
Hair loss
In September 2012, I had heard about “hair journey” for a few months. After a few pieces of research, I decided to start taking care of my hair. My hair care regimen was simple and consisted of a moisturiser, oil, a tube of shampoo, and a conditioner. I was ready to acquire beautiful long relaxed hair; however, everything didn’t go as planned.
For Christmas 2012, I went to a hair salon because I wanted a sew-in weave, but the hairdresser made it too tight. When I removed my weave 3 weeks later, my hair edges were gone. The sew-in weave also caused me alopecia. As if it wasn’t enough, I experienced some severe hair loss because of the shampoo I used to use. It contained sulphate, and this chemical is harmful and often causes hair loss. Unfortunately, I realised too late that my hair cannot stand sulphate. With the sew-in weave I made for Christmas 2012 and the shampoo with sulphate, I ended up almost bald. Here is the picture:
I never had my hair in such a bad state in my entire life. It was a disaster. I was so sad and discouraged. All these bad experiences strengthened the idea that my hair would never grow. Nevertheless, I remained hopeful and kept the decision to seriously take care of my hair.
I built myself a strong hair routine. I had limited my use of relaxers to once every seven months, and I only did hairstyles that allowed my front hair to breath. I took pictures of my hair every month to observe the evolution of my hair. Taking monthly pictures of your hair helps you to see your results closer.
Started from the bottom now we hair
A year later, my hair was healthier, had more volume, and was longer. In February 2014, I decided to go natural, and I started transitioning. Here is a picture of my hair after taking care of it for a year:
You can clearly see the difference after eleven months. My hair was not particularly long, but it became healthy, and I also got my hair edges back.
Love your hair
I sincerely hope this article can help other girls. This article shows you that you just need to take good care of your hair and it will grow. It’s important that your hair is in good health to acquire long hair. If this article can motivate a few girls to begin their hair journey, it would already be a victory for me.
My next hair articles will be about my hair care regimen and the products I used to grow my edges back. In the meantime, don’t forget to share my article.
See you soon!
My hair doesn’t grow at all for some reason it stays the same length. I’ve always wanted long hair but gave that up. Love to see the growth for you
Hey Kita. Thanks for your comment but please don’t give up on your hair. The hardest thing in a hair journey is to find the products and a routine that work for your hair. It can take a while but as soon as you get it right, you hair will start growing more and more. I wrote an article about the potential reasons why your hair stop growing. Have a look at it https://by-ema.com/en/hair/8-reasons-hair-stops-growing/ it might help you 😉
I love your courage to post this! I think we’ve all struggled with our hair at times. I look forward to seeing more about your journey.
Thank you very much! Honestly I had no issue to post this. I know how this can be helpful for a lot of girls. I know a lot of girls who have/had the same hair under their wigs and I want this idea of “black hair doesn’t grow” to go away. It’s just a matter of taking care of our hair.
You can find more about my hair journey in these articles 😊:
https://by-ema.com/en/hair/my-natural-hair-transition-one-year-post-relaxer/
https://by-ema.com/en/hair/2-years-natural-hair-growth-journey/
Wow, look at your growth. Glad to see that your hair is growing just like you want it to. What you’re doing is working.
Thanks for sharing your journey. I am still looking for products that work best for me and my daughter.
Wow your hair grew a lot. I need to get back into a good routine. I think that is why my hair is suffering now.
I see so many women without edges. I realize they fall out from a variety of things. Wigs, weaves, and braids are the more obvious ways. I didn’t give thought to the products that we use that our hair may not like. You came a long way, kudos to you for getting serious about your hair care. Your consistency has paid off.
I hate to say but sometimes it be your own hair stylist that jack your hair up into a worst state. I have been natural for 14 years and I went through my transitions but I nursed my hair back to health too.