Have you ever had setbacks while being on your natural hair journey? The important thing to remember is that setbacks can be overcome. You have to identify the setback and work to restructure your mind about the way you view the setback. This is very important because your mind can hinder you from overcoming whatever the setback might be. This applies not only to your hair, but to every facet of your life.
I've have faced setbacks with my hair; dryness, breakage, no length retention and comparison. There is no set time limit for rebounding from your setback.
Once I combated the dryness, the breakage was taken care of as well as the length retention. They all play a role in working together to get the maximum potential from your hair. To combat dryness I had to moisturize my hair more than once or twice a week. I had to amp it up to at least 4 days out of the week. Some of those days I moisturize in the morning and at night. Moisturizing can be as simple as spritzing your hair with water. You can also use water based creams to do the job as well. For me, I use a water based cream as well as pure water. I usually alternate between the two. Make sure you seal in the moisture with an oil based product. I have become a lover of Grape seed oil and Dax pomade in the form of grease. Yep. I use grease too. I don't slather it on. It only takes a pea sized amount to do the trick. I have tried using olive oil, but it is too heavy for my hair.
When your hair is moisturized, breakage becomes very minimal. Breakage can be overcome by being gentle with your hair. Treat it like you are handling a piece of silk. Also, protect your hair from snags, be it your nails, jewelry, clothing etc. Believe it or not, jagged nails can slice through strands of your hair. Necklaces and earrings can also become grounds for getting your strands all caught up in the metal. If your hair is constantly rubbing against a fabric such as wool, it can be detrimental to your ends. Whenever you choose to wear fabrics that have the potential to snag your hair, minimize wearing your hair in a style that can come in contact the fabric at that time. Make sure that the tools you use on your hair are in supreme working condition. Broken teeth in combs and worn bristles in brushes are a set up for damaging your hair.
Once all of the aforementioned are taken care of, length retention can take place. Keeping your ends in tip top shape will aid in length retention as well. Cut away those split ends. Natural hair needs trimming as well. The frequency of your trims depends on you. Monitor your ends. If you see and overage of split ends, then it is time for a trim.
Lastly, do not compare your hair to anyone else's. This is easier said than done. Accept YOUR hair. No two heads of hair are the same. I am so guilty of this. I used to think, she has be natural for a shorter period of time that me and her hair is longer, fuller, blah blah blah. Stop doing that. Work with what YOU have. Make it reach its maximum potential. Care for it and treat it with gentleness and love.
Please share your setbacks and how you overcame them or how you are overcoming them.
Until Next Time,
