Dusting (Natural) Hair

I felt it was about time that I went ahead and gave my hair a good dusting, so yesterday, I went ahead and flat ironed my hair. I do this because it is a lot easier to see ends fully and get to uneven or even split ends, that you cannot see as well when hair is it's natural state.

* To dust means to cut a very minimal amount of hair, that it resembles dust.

I twisted my hair whole, not two strand twists, and tried to trim most of the hair that poked out of the 'twist', as well as dusting the end of the 'twist'. I got this method from a video by Dprincess28 called How To Trim Split Ends on youtube. I used hair shears, it is important to use shears, as the are made to cut  hair, and are sharp, scissors can be blunt and cause more damage than good.

As this was the first time I've tried to dust my hair, I found that video to be extremely helpful. It was a bit tough to dust the back, but I did the best I could.

Dusting is a good way to scan your hair for split ends, without having to trim inches off your hair! I believe hair only grows 1/4-1 inch a month. So if you trim every three months and you get an inch of growth each month, and you 'trim' 3 inches, you just cut off all your growth. Which could explain how one's hair can stay at the same length for a long time. Which is why I feel trimming should only be done when necessary.

If you go to a stylist to have your hair trimmed, ask them for their honest opinion, if they really feel you need one, if they are a good stylist and value their customers hair, they will tell you the truth. I would also specify how much you wold like to cut, some stylists, not all, not only trim, but try to cut hair to a length where it all looks uniform, which can be great, but that can mean cutting more hair then YOU intended.

So to counter that, I would not only tell the stylist how much you would like trimmed, but also to show you how much they have cut, sure, it may be overbearing, or seem so, but it is your hair! You can also ask for a mirror so you can look at the back of your hair, so you can see what is going on back there. 

I just wanted to share my experience dusting my hair, and the methods I used to do so, and a few tips! 

Until Next Time, HHG to All! Naomi <3

Uneven Hair Growth

As you all know I have been natural for the past six months, and everything has been going well. My bald spots are growing hair, thanks to my cayenne pepper treatments, my hair is healthier than it's ever been, I experience little to no shedding or breakage, I have no heat damage, no split ends that I know of, but yet my hair decided it wanted to grow unevenly.

I BCed at home, and I believe my hair was EL (Ear Length) or close to NL (Neck Length) since then the back has grown to be about SL (Shoulder Length), but yet the front only reaches about CL (Chin Length) /EL, I know this because I decided to flat iron my hair, since I am not home, and cannot style it everyday because I do not have my beloved products! 

I am sure this is pretty common, but I am frustrated! I am hoping my hair becomes even by the end of this year, I refuse to claim SL until then! I also have a piece of hair that broken off while I was relaxed due to hair care ignorance lol. To help influence growth, I will keep up with my reggie, I have not been trimming/dusting (dusting means to trim a tiny amount of hair, small enough to resemble dust, hence the name), because I really haven't felt a need to, my ends are not not split, they are uneven in places, but I want to give it a chance to catch up, especially because it has been so long since I have retained length.

While I was relaxed, my hair never surpassed EL, which was really upsetting, because of how badly broken off it was, I cut my hair short back in 2007 so my hair would look decent. What I did not know, was cutting my hair was not going to solve the problem if I still had the same bad habits, you know, relaxing every 4 weeks, not sealing, not deep conditioning,washing/cowashing, basically not doing anything, and relying only on my visits to the salon, and the "advisory" of the beautician.

Anyway, I am entering myself in my own challenge! The retaining length for even hair challenge! Lol, my goal, like I stated before is to get my hair close or the same length all around without trimming or dusting. I hope it works, I am giving myself until the end of this year to complete this challenge! You all are welcome to join me, or set your own personal challenge, and share your experiences!

Until Next Time, HHG TO ALL! Naomi <3