This week I’m dedicating the blog to my hair. I know that for a natural hair blog, I don’t really share a lot as much hair content as I used to back in the day, but I promise I’m trying to get better! I know it’s been a while, so in today’s post, I really wanted to share some hair updates and some pictures.
This past Sunday (June 9th) was wash day and right before I started, I noticed how big and puffy my hair looked (insert heart-eye emoji). This made me so happy for THREE main reasons.
1) Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy
For the last couple of months, I had been feeling like my hair growth had really plateaued and wasn’t growing. Even though I know not to do this, I couldn’t help but see pictures of other naturalistas and compare (yes comparison is the thief of joy) how big and/or long other girls’ hair was. I kept feeling like I was doing something wrong and questioning why I couldn’t get my hair to grow just that extra bit more. Honestly, I feel like this has all come from me only styling my hair once a week (more on in this a moment), meaning I’m no longer seeing my hair in its full glory as often as I used to. Because I’m now only styling my hair once a week, it means not only has the time I’m spending with my hair has decreased, but how I’m seeing my hair is rolled up small and in a tiny bun. So to see my hair so big and full reminded me that comparing my hair to another person’s is pointless. My hair is big and beautiful. And even if it isn’t big, I shouldn’t be jealous of someone else’s hair anyway. I am on my own hair journey and should embrace it because it is mine and no one else’s. Plus, I’m sure that there are other people looking at my own hair comparing and wishing they could have what I have.
2) Moringa Oil
Last year I wrote a post about moringa oil, the latest in a long line of uniquely named oils that could apparently transform the state of one’s hair. Well, in a cool twist of fate after months of searching for it to no avail, I managed to finally get a bottle of the stuff in my possession. I’ve been using the oil for just under a month, massaging it through my scalp as a last step before putting my hair into a bun, and allowing it to sit. After a week, I noticed how feathery soft and nourished my hair felt. After two weeks my hair seemed to have blossomed like a regal flower and exploded with abundance. Seeing how full and big my hair is made me see that there is something to moringa oil and that though my scepticism may have been warranted, I was wrong. Moringa oil is an amazing ingredient to help encourage hair growth. I will keep using the oil and will write a longer more detailed post after I’ve been using for at least over a month.
3) Less Styling, Less Manipulation
As I mentioned in my first point, I’m now only styling my hair once a week. A few months ago I watched a video on YouTube about how to encourage hair growth for natural hair, where a woman mentioned less style manipulation. Now, I hardly style my hair every day, but at the time of the video I was styling twice a week: once to restyle and then twice to freshen it up a little. Even though I don’t touch my hair that much, I know that in recent months I was styling my hair a lot more than I had done in the past when I would leave my hair in two braids for a week at a time and really only styled my hair once every ten days or so. I really wanted to see if less manipulation could, in fact, help with my hair growth. So to see my hair reaffirmed to me that sometimes less is more. It reminded me that I need to let my hair rest and do its thing. I realised that I shouldn’t keep touching it and restyling it because all that does is stress out my hair and stunts growth. It also reaffirmed my commitment to trying out more protective styles that would require even less interaction and manipulation of my hair, like wigs.
Final Thoughts
These three reasons are great tips to encourage and celebrate your own natural hair growth and hair journey. I know how difficult and thankless this ride can sometimes be, but it’s times like this when I see how fruitful and worthwhile the experience can be. Try not to compare your hair to others, use oils and products that can really help with growth, and try to style and manipulate your hair less. With these three things, I know that our hair (yes yours and mine) will flourish and grow beyond our imaginations!
Hair Week continues this Friday on the blog where I’ll be showing you how I achieve a super sleek, super style low bun. Not only will I be showing HOW I do my hair, but I’ll also be sharing my TWO top tips to ensuring the best bun every time. See you on Friday!
alice
xo
ps. Can’t wait until Friday? Head over to my YouTube channel now for a preview.
