Hair Journey Update | Growing my Hair Again

Nike Anderson
Jan 30, 2016
2 min read

In April 2015, I made the difficult decision to cut close to seven inches of my natural hair. To paint the picture, my natural hair was mid-back length when straightened, but just below shoulder-length when worn curly. After the haircut, my straightened hair sat just at my collarbone, no longer than chin-length when worn in curly styles. Since I mostly wore my hair curly, this meant I went from shoulder-length curls to chin length curls in a matter of minutes. And, like most people who get dramatic haircuts, it took me some time to get used to this new length.

You’re probably wondering why I cut my hair in the first place. To sum it up—damage! You see, last year I had gotten lazy with my hair because I had a full schedule and did not want to be bothered with styling it. I resorted to heat stretching every two weeks with a blow dryer so that my long hair would be more manageable. My hair hated it! And to add insult to injury, my stress-levels were extremely high due to my hectic schedule, causing my hair to fall out in certain areas.

By the time the storm had passed, my hair was already damaged beyond repair. It was still very long, but my ends were split and my cuticles felt limp. I also had three sections of hair that had broken off to a mere two inches, making my hair look extremely thin. I could hide the damage by pulling it back into a bun, but at this point, I’d had enough. I cut off my hair.

By July 2015, I realized that I made a great decision. Since all of the split ends were gone, my hair looked and felt very healthy. It was even growing in rather quickly. However, I continued to clip at my ends so that the three areas that had broken off could catch up with the rest of my hair. I kept braids in my hair during this time to maximize my hair growth.

Two months later, after taking down my braids, there were no signs of my hair ever being damaged. At this point, I retired the braids (my hairline didn’t like them) and embarked on a new hair journey that consisted of weekly washes, deep conditioning, and wearing my signature updo. My hair loved this and continued to flourish.

Now, in January 2016, my hair is still thriving. I rarely wear my hair down, but today I just had to. I still have three inches of hair growth to go before I reach the length my hair used to be, but I am enjoying the journey. One thing I’ve learned from all of this is that my hair just won’t do what other people’s hair does. Some naturals can flat iron or blow-dry their hair every week and never see damage. My hair is not like that. I accept it.