My Naturalversary

3 Years Natural

Hairstyles from the 1st half of the year

It's already been another year. Does it feel like it?? YES! I know I've said this many times over the past few weeks, but I've been through the wringer this year with my hair. In last year's Naturalversary post, I had a few updates then, let's see where I stand on those now:

1. I didn't do length checks every other month like I was supposed to. After the year rolled in, I decided to try and get proactive about my damaged hair. I tried different styles like flexi rods and heatless curls, then I revamped those styles when they got old. That worked for me until...

The Finished Product

Full Sew-In With Lace Closure

I finished washing and stretching my natural hair, drove two hours, and arrived at the salon.

I've never been to a weave salon before, so The Weave Express was a new experience. I went on a Sunday which was by appointment only. There was a "weaver" and a "braider". They worked like an assembly line. A customer comes in and, depending on what kind of sew-in they're getting, the braider braids the hair in a style that suits the kind of sew-in she's getting and the weaver sews the weave. To thicken my braids, the braider added strands of braid hair to thicken and strengthen my braids for the sew-in. It took the braider about 20 to 30 minutes to completely braid my hair.

December '14 Length Check

Length Check at 33 Months Natural

I made a length check shirt in April but because of so many reasons (to include a hair cut) I never got around to using the shirt. I'm doing this length check as a fresh start, since I recently had my sew-in taken out.

I used these pictures in my last hair post to show how much length I'd retained with the sew-in despite the TRAUMA I experienced while taking it out!

July 9 = 127 weeks natural (2 years, 5 months, 9 days)

86 weeks since the BC (1 year, 7 months, 26 days)

November 5 = 144 weeks natural (2 years, 9 months, 4 days)

103 weeks since the BC (1 year, 11 months, 26 days...almost 2 years)

My Sew-In Story, Part 4

The Aftermath of My Matted Hair

I know y'all are wondering what happened next, so I'm going to skip the suspense and get right to it.

The way my head looked in Part 3 of my story is exactly how my head looked when I walked into the salon. I'd twisted the hair that had been untangled and left the matted hair as it was. We jumped right on it when I got there. The only parts of my hair that needed detangling now were a few rows in the back half of my head. I told her exactly what I did, and didn't do, and she said: "I knew that's what happened!"