For a while, I thought my natural hair was doing great however things turned sour quite quickly.
Prior to me falling back into my laziness, I was washing my hair weekly. Suddenly, skipping 1 week turned into a month of dehydrated, matted straw on my head. The little progress I had made was gone In a matter of weeks. I’m talking about stringy hairpieces, single-stranded hair knots, and matting. I was extremely discouraged about the setback that I just thought, I’ve had enough.
I ordered passion twists crochet hair from amazon and booked an appointment at the hair salon.
The day prior to my appointment I washed my hair and I could just see how my hair was struggling and that in order for me to attain my goal of long natural hair, I need healthy hair. I instantly knew what I had to do, I had to go and get my hair trimmed. In order for you to understand how devasting this is to me, we will have to travel back to the summer of 2019.
Where it all started
In the summer of 2019, I traveled to Cameroon, besides the amazing time I had, it was the perfect occasion to get my hair done. I didn’t have time to get my hair done prior to traveling so, I decided to just do it when I get there. It’s a lot more affordable than where I live. I did my hair 3 times in the month that I was in Cameroon which is a lot more than I would usually do. Because usually, I don’t braid my hair, the puff Is the only hairstyle known to me.
While I was in Cameroon my cousins and I traveled to Kribi and I wanted to get another hairstyle. I was a bit hesitant, as I don’t easily allow strangers to do my hair. At the time I was a lot more protective of my natural hair, it was like little my baby.
People were quite shocked about my hair when they saw me. I could see the looks, and although I say so myself, I never thought my hair was that impressive. I knew that wearing your natural hair wasn’t and still really isn’t a thing in Cameroon as far as I know, which was another reason why I felt uncomfortable with doing my hair there. I oftentimes expect people to treat my hair as delicately as I would but, that may not be realistic. Especially in this particular setting where natural hair care is rare.
Where it all went wrong
If you haven’t figured it out yet, things didn’t go as planned. Let me tell you where it all went wrong. I wanted long cornrows with added extensions, the hairstylist said that my hair was too thick to achieve the hairstyle and used thread to lay my hair down and braided it down afterwards.
I’m not saying the hairstylist is at fault because, as I was looking back I believe the takedown of the hair is where it all went wrong. After having removed the braids from my hair, my cousin helped to remove the thread that was still in my hair with a razor blade. I didn’t even realize how much hair I lost until I did my famous high puff and my puff was significantly smaller than before.
A new leaf for my natural hair
In October 2020, I was feeling motivated to grow my hair again. Kind of like I am now. I made an appointment and was actually willing to big chop but was told it wouldn’t look nice on me. I explained that I wanted a rounder shape in my hair and while I was there I felt that whatever hair was damaged just needed to go. The hard truth was that my hair turned out to be in bad shape and I had different lengths all over my head. Then the hairstylist proceeded to twist my hair and I left the salon with an empty bank account. This is the life of a student.
Fast forward to this year, I was feeling excited to start my healthy hair journey again. I wouldn’t touch my hair for weeks and really wasn’t happy about how my hair looked. It was too short to put in a messy bun and I wasn’t a fan of just wearing my hair out. A health journey was definitely necessary. I washed my hair on a weekly basis and after a while I loved wearing out my afro but, someway somehow my hair just started acting out. It would dry out quickly and I was constantly dealing with single-stranded knots. My hair appeared more dull than usual and I wasn’t feeling it at all. I finally reached my breaking point and I said ‘that’s it.’
Back to the present
Now that we’re all caught up let’s continue the story. I booked my appointment for the 1st of September 2021 and bought twists, locs, and extensions from Amazon. Not to mention that I also got myself some headband wigs from AliExpress for the winter. I had to come prepared because I don’t see myself wearing my hair out that often for now.
This is coming from someone who has only done their hair less than 5 in the past 3 years. There are times where I could have just cut off all my hair but, I had to refrain myself from doing so. Instead, I just came up with a plan that was within my budget and wouldn’t take much of my time. I’ve left those days of having to sit on a chair all day long in the past. Doing crochet hair was the next best thing I could come up with.
This is where I am today, and I can’t say I miss the days where I just left the house looking anyhow because my hair wasn’t working with me. I just wake up, refresh my hair and I’m ready to go. I don’t even have the urge to remove my hair although it’s about time I do so. I don’t want to remove it because I love the low maintenance compared to my natural hair. The hair itself is another story.
But for those who can relate, there was a time where I would just randomly start to take down my hair in the back. I desperately wanted to see the progress I had made and I missed my hair. How things have changed.
My most recent hair appointment
I was a little nervous but excited nonetheless about getting my hair done. This however was the tip of the iceberg in terms of setbacks. There wasn’t much conversation while I was getting my hair done however the unevenness of my hair came up. The stylist suggested that I cut my hair to the shortest point to even out my hair. Not only that but, I could feel the end of my hair snapping as my hair was getting braided. It’s been 2 years since my hair experienced a major setback and I still haven’t recovered.
What is the next step
I’m not the kind of person who would advise you to go and trim your hair everything something goes wrong, especially if your goal is length retention. In my case however, I feel that the only thing that’s left to do is to get my hair trimmed. Hopefully, this time around there won’t be any surprises.
Final thoughts
As upsetting as the setback may be, taking a break is the only way that I see things going right now. I still love my hair which is why I’m taking the necessary steps to get my hair to a healthy state. I want to more be comfortable wearing my natural hair out. I’m just tired of having a negative output after all the input I put into my hair. Although honestly speaking, I did fall off quite a few times.
The only positive I see out of this situation is that I can share it with others and hopefully encourage others not to give up yet. Have you ever experienced a major setback that made you want to chop off all your hair? Let me know your own experience of your natural hair journey.
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