Hey Guys,
As you may recall from my last post, I have been weighing the pros and cons of both cutting off my heat damaged hair or going back to relaxers. Well, I recently saw a YouTube video by DPrincess28 entitled, "Heat Damage 101." I encourage everyone who may be dealing with the same struggle I am to take 12 minutes and 26 seconds out of your day to watch this vlog. In the video, she basically reinforced a few of my previous beliefs about heat damaged hair.
Although I may have heat damaged hair, my hair IS NOT DAMAGED!!! Lol just had to clarify that. That's not what I was trying to say in my last post. What I was really trying to get at in my last post was that my curl pattern has been morphed by constant use of heat. So, instead of being puffy all over, I have straight ends that will not curl again. That's what you call heat damage. The purpose of me waiting until after the hair challenge is over was to assess how my hair is doing overall, meaning whether my ends were really uneven or if the two textures (straight and kinky) affects the overall look of my hair. I do believe my hair is healthy, but if the straight, heat damaged ends are not thriving as much as the roots of my hair, I may be convinced otherwise.
But, anyways, back to the YouTube video. So, it helped me realize that I wasn't "ignoring" my heat damage. Not at all. I always knew my ends were straight. The fact is, as I stated in my last post, I like to wear my hair straight. When I stopped perming my hair, my real thought process was, "Oh, I can get a wash and set without a relaxer and still get the same results? Bye, bye Affirm" lol. Thus, due to my preference for straight hair, I have been tolerant of my heat damaged hair. If I were one of those naturals who wears their hair in its natural curly state 90 or even 80% of the time, I might have taken a scissor to those straight ends a long time ago. However, for me it doesn't make sense. Because when I wear my hair in it's natural state, my mind is set on retaining length so my ends are tucked away in a protective style.
So, here's what I'm thinking now. I will continue to be natural, I'll work on decreasing my usage of heat (really for the sake of retaining length), and I won't be hindered by straight ends because they never really bothered me. If I ever feel different, because let's face it we all change our mindset, I will gradually trim off the straight ends.
Well, that's my decision for now. It may change, it may not. Who's to say *kanye shrug*
Showing posts with label Severe heat damage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Severe heat damage. Show all posts
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
True Life: I Have Severe Heat Damage
Hey All
So I was doing what I do, watching my YouTube videos and I decided to look at some videos of individuals with heat damage. Now, I did not just suddenly come to the revelation that I have heat damage. I always knew that was the condition of my hair.
You see, the real issue is that I can't stay away from the dominican salon. I looooooovvvveeee my wash and sets. When I decided to stop relaxing my hair I never had ANY intention on abandoning my regular wash and sets. Oh No!!! Perish the thought. However, as time went on, I realized that the constant heat was hindering my ability to retain length, a goal which I've always had in mind. So, I cut my heat usage back to once a month, then eventually to once every two months. I did notice a lot of progress in the area of length retention, but I ignored the heat damage.
I decided to write this post because I have finally accepted the fact that my hair is severely heat damaged. Like, if I ever decide to post videos you will definitely see what I'm talking about. So this leaves me at a crossroad in my hair journey.
I don't believe that your hair has to be natural in order to be healthy. I believe that if you take proper care of relaxed hair, you can maintain the hair's health. So, I'm considering two options now: Go back to my relaxed hair or eliminate heat and cut off the damaged hair.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am leaning towards returning to relaxed hair and they support that choice. Why? Because I loooovvveeee my hair straight! That's just a personal preference. I love natural hair and have been on this natural journey for about 2.5 years, but i always return to my straight hair. And honestly I can't see myself straightening my hair only once a year or every six months. That's too infrequent for me. The beautiful thing about a journey is that you can make choices...choices that you're comfortable with because ultimately it's your life and it's your hair.
However, I say all that to say.....I'm not sure what I really want to do yet. I really don't want to perm it because I'm afraid I'll regret my choice and I definitely am not ready to chop off my hair. So, I figure since I'm doing my hair challenge, that will give me time to assess my hair's overall health and eventually make a decision. In the meantime, please sound off and let me know what you think. Should I (a) stay natural and chop of the damaged hair or (b). Go back to the creamy crack lol.
So I was doing what I do, watching my YouTube videos and I decided to look at some videos of individuals with heat damage. Now, I did not just suddenly come to the revelation that I have heat damage. I always knew that was the condition of my hair.
You see, the real issue is that I can't stay away from the dominican salon. I looooooovvvveeee my wash and sets. When I decided to stop relaxing my hair I never had ANY intention on abandoning my regular wash and sets. Oh No!!! Perish the thought. However, as time went on, I realized that the constant heat was hindering my ability to retain length, a goal which I've always had in mind. So, I cut my heat usage back to once a month, then eventually to once every two months. I did notice a lot of progress in the area of length retention, but I ignored the heat damage.
I decided to write this post because I have finally accepted the fact that my hair is severely heat damaged. Like, if I ever decide to post videos you will definitely see what I'm talking about. So this leaves me at a crossroad in my hair journey.
I don't believe that your hair has to be natural in order to be healthy. I believe that if you take proper care of relaxed hair, you can maintain the hair's health. So, I'm considering two options now: Go back to my relaxed hair or eliminate heat and cut off the damaged hair.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am leaning towards returning to relaxed hair and they support that choice. Why? Because I loooovvveeee my hair straight! That's just a personal preference. I love natural hair and have been on this natural journey for about 2.5 years, but i always return to my straight hair. And honestly I can't see myself straightening my hair only once a year or every six months. That's too infrequent for me. The beautiful thing about a journey is that you can make choices...choices that you're comfortable with because ultimately it's your life and it's your hair.
However, I say all that to say.....I'm not sure what I really want to do yet. I really don't want to perm it because I'm afraid I'll regret my choice and I definitely am not ready to chop off my hair. So, I figure since I'm doing my hair challenge, that will give me time to assess my hair's overall health and eventually make a decision. In the meantime, please sound off and let me know what you think. Should I (a) stay natural and chop of the damaged hair or (b). Go back to the creamy crack lol.
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