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My Worst Natural Hair Mistake of 2015 — Using Protein on Hair that Needed Moisture
This past summer I decided to rock my hair in a blow out for weeks at a time. It was great. My hair looked fabulous, but I won’t deny the dryness that ensued once I stopped the process.
My mistake was using a protein rich conditioners and adding oils to it as a weekly treatment. Sounds like a great solution for blow dried, potentially heat damaged hair, but in actuality it was a terrible idea.
Because my hair suffered from moisture loss for so long, it was protein dominant. It didn’t need more protein and oil on a weekly basis. It needed an intense session with moisture-rich products packed with ingredients that penetrate, fortify and smooth down the cuticle.
What I should’ve done in retrospect is:
My focus in 2016 will be to achieve the right moisture/protein balance for my hair, beginning with using moisture heavy products.
My Best Natural Hair Discovery of 2015 — Box Braids as a Long-Term Protective Style
Definitely the best decision I made for my hair in 2015 was using box braids as a long-term protective style.
It was my very first time getting box braids and what I gathered from watching YouTube videos and reading blogs was that while it’s a beautiful style, it can cost more than just the fee you pay your stylist. It can cost you your edges.
The fact that I had a stylist who was very particular about respecting my edges and keeping my hair in great health really helped me to achieve amazing, long lasting results.
During the first week I experienced terrible itching and was able to quickly learn ways to help with that issue, but since then it’s been smooth sailing!
After 3 and a half months of rocking box braids, I’ve noticed a lot of length retention and best of all my waist-length hair is finally low maintenance. A bi-weekly scalp cleanse and touch up plus a moisturizing session a couple of times a week sustains my look and kept it impeccable.
Ladies, what were your worst hair mistakes and best hair discoveries of 2015?
I have two bad mistakes in 2015. One was getting micro cornrows over the summer which jacked up my edges. Second, when I thought I was taking a shortcut to remove the extensions, I mistakenly cut out a large patch of hair. I still have not fully recovered from either.
I made the same mistake as you did. Love your hair!
Did you have to completely skip on all oils? Or just products containing a lot of oil? Were you still able to use oils like coconut oil/olive oil/ castor oil etc?
My worst hair mistake of 2015: getting a weave. In July 2015, I decided to get a full sew-in weave. I wanted something different for my hair and thought that straight hair would be easier to care for with the humidity. Well, I found out that I was completed wrong. I was sweating terribly, my scalp itched all the time, I could hardly reach my scalp to wash and moisturize, and the weave was everywhere! My last weave installed taught me a valuable lesson that it is not always greener on the other side. My best hair discovery of 2015: finding… Read more »
Worst hair mistake of 2015: Thinking I could get away with just doing the WNG while traveling in Europe. My fine 4b/4c strands were too long (APL stretched) and too finicky and I spent more time than I wanted to trying to fix it. I should have just stretched my hair with heat before leaving and stuck to braidouts and BAAs during my stay. It was right after that trip that I made my best decision of 2015 (and 2016, so far): I BC’d to a tapered ‘fro. Because I kept most of my length on top, I can let my… Read more »