In the beginning...my hair was healthy and long (half way down my back & thick). Near the end of grade school, I had a lot of breakage do to excessive hot combing and relaxers. My mother thought that it was best to start over from scratch, so we made an appointment with my regular stylist to have my split ends cut. My hair was suppose to be cut to shoulder length, but my beautician went a little chop happy on me. I ended up with a kind of a bob length haircut. So much for shoulder length...right?! After a while, my hair slowly started to recover. Then in middle school, mandatory swimming came. The chemicals in the pool damaged my hair almost beyond repair.
I started doing my own hair in 7th grade, and I will admit that I had no idea what i was doing! I would use curling irons on it almost every day. On top of that...like a dummy, I was using gel and other products that contained harsh chemicals. It has taken a long time for me to get my hair healthy again. I wised up, and cut out ALL hair products that contain alcohol (the bad kind)!
For the longest time...I kept bouncing around from stylist to stylist trying to find one that wouldn't wreck havoc on my hair. It took me forever to find someone. Then...In 9th grade... I was lucky enough to find a wonderful stylist named Lisa. Her main focus is hair health...which is something that I think a lot of stylists tend to over look. She has given many tips, and would never let me do anything damaging to my hair. I have been going to her home salon for almost 10 years now.
I have to admit that my hair has recovered well. I'm now 25 years old, and my hair is thick and healthy. Currently, my hair is 3 or 4 inches past shoulder length in the back, and my sides touch the base of my neck. I still want to achieve more growth, so I started taking vitamins, eating healthier, and wearing protective styles more often. I never really maintained a hair regimen. I would just do my hair whenever I felt like it, and the products that I was using didn't have any kind of health benefits. Now I try to be more product savvy, and use things that promote hair health. I have also left the relaxers far behind!
In October, I decided to do a search on Google to search for tips on hair growth. That's when I came across my greatest discovery on the net...Long Hair Care Forum. I've learned so much from everyone there. I tried out a lot of the recommended tips, and my hair loves me for it! I've learned a lot of things about my hair over the past several months. For the first time in my life, I have a hair regimen that I keep up with. Thanks to better hair care, and the lovely supportive ladies at the LHCF, my hair continues grow out healthy and strong. Now if I can only find a forum that can help me with my LHCF addiction...
