I am on the life-long pursuit of healthy, carefree, beautiful long hair. Below you will read about my experience and hard lessons learned. Stay tuned and I’ll unveil secrets you may or may not have known about.
The beginning of an end:
Around six (6) years ago now, I made a huge mistake. I went to a chain that shall not be named to get a haircut. That is something I will never do again. Before I moved back to the states, I had healthy, carefree, and beautiful long hair. It was simple, I went to the salon every two weeks and at that I went to the top stylist. I miss Felda Del Prado and her team of beauticians. It took a while to find a suitable beauty routine and a reliable consistent team to help with maintenance. Just like real estate or anything else the body and body things require maintenance to meet a high standard of operation.
Who cuts your hair and how it’s cut matters. You can monitor your overall health through the condition of your hair. I had to learn the lesson the hard way. It was a sad day. I only bring it up now because I saw a photo of myself recently and if I wasn’t holding the most precious child in the world – not mine, I would pay to have that photo deleted in every timeline in the universe it exists in. Luckily you can’t see my face… deny, deny, deny. It looked worse than the Titanic wreckage. Part of the issue was that I had overexposed it to hard water for years out of laziness but truly environment/ economic logistics of sourcing soft water. Mostly it was the hack job of a cut.
Keratin for hot and steamy climates:
So, I found another salon and started regimenting regular Keratin treatments to ensure my hair had a fighting chance to grow and thrive in these Houston, TX heat/sauna waves every summer for half of the year. The salon owner after some prompting told me a hard truth, that I would likely be looking at 4-5 years to grow it all back. I will say, there is nothing worse than holding on to dead hair, so I continued to get trims until all the color I had was gone and until today, I give my split ends the business twice a year or more. That was another goal of mine, to nix the dyes from my regimen and eliminate split ends (impossible on the split ends). I have a gorgeous hue to my hair and it was time I let her shine the way she was meant to. The grey hairs must have heard the whispers because less than a year later, they took up box seats in the front row to the Zee show. Keratin is still a staple in this routine. I go all in twice a year.
Challenges:
For a lifetime, I struggled with trichotillomania. There are so many of us out there it’s ridiculous. You most likely know someone who has this too. My interest was at the very front of my hairline. I was relentless, it was the center of activity. Most people would never guess this, but one of the reasons I straighten my hair is because it’s way too appealing when it’s curly. When it’s not curly it’s like when your cat ignores you after calling its name one hundred times, a non-existent exchange.
However, I finally beat it to have the greys take up residence. Perhaps gaining control over impulse was a sign of maturity that came with the cost of greys. Trichotillomania is an obsesses compulsive disorder. I could tell you all about it but looking back… it’s just strange and almost inexplicable to those who have never had the irresistible urge to, well, pull out one’s hair. I’m not trying to relapse, so I’m moving on although I will say I met someone whose main squeeze was their eyebrows and another who delighted in eyelashes. My grandmother used to be all over me from across the room, my mom too. Granny would say, “stop tugging at your hair”. I had a beautiful and delicate routine of playing with my soft curls before the ultimate KO. The strangest thing was that when I would look up at her, 8/10 times she would be tugging at her own hair. The blind leading the blind. I would exit stage left so I could build up on my routine again. Honestly, I’m laughing so hard while I’m writing this because I’m not sure I’ve ever written this down and now it just sounds insane. The crevasse of our minds and the ways in which we experience life are so unique. But I lived it and I do wonder if it will continue down my blood line and how to help my future children cope. Should I leave them hanging or tell them that I spent a lifetime trying to cope with compulsion? Only time will tell on this one. I’ll keep you updated. If you are wondering how I finally overcame the disorder, I went through something traumatic, and it just clicked I was able to change gears and replace the action. Now I obsess over other things and the hair in the front of my head can flourish. I also called myself Edward Scissor Hands one day. Sometimes it’s the messed-up joke that will make you put the proverbial knife down. I won the war that day. I’ll take that “W”.
Why not wear a wig? Why not wear a weave for that finished look 24/7:
I break a sweat thinking about going out in my real hair. I can’t image wearing a whole other set of hair on top. I suppose that’s where breathable wigs come in. Perhaps it’s fine and I’m wrong but I’m not willing to find out in this heat. Once upon a time, I wore a semi-short black bob weave for a whole summer. My hair was on point all day every day until it grew out. It was a time and a statement. But my real hair would suffer in its removal. The end. Also, I have a hard time wearing anything on my head and keeping it on and straight beside a hat. I love hats.
What’s this post really about?
Finally, you are probably asking what the point is here. The point is that we are inundated with products to help grow long strong natural hair. At least, I am – thank you algorithm. I received a product today and I thought to myself, don’t you have enough? Vegamour has been fighting the greys like it’s their business because it is! It’s like the breakfast of champions for hair. Also, for those of you who are thinking greys aren’t bad, I agree with you. I will say that my patch that was coming in was v-uncute. Vegamour has been great for thickness too. My favorite though is the African Chebe powder I use in an overnight soak before heading to the salon every few weeks (MVP) – they know the drill. I wish I could do it more, but it’s very intensely oily. The result is well conditioned hair for a longer period of time.
However, I got very sick a few months ago and my hair started shedding just when it was was back at its prime. Once I got a bit better and really noticed, I was disappointed. Nothing has helped, including my special Pantene formula that I hoard when I cross the Atlantic because you can’t get it in the United States.
Then an advert for Moerie came across my social feed that intrigued me. I just received the products. I will fill you in around 3-6 months from now and what the verdict is, what the routine was and my thoughts exactly.
Update:
So, recently (11.2024) someone came across this post. My first instinct was like, woah, I should revisit this.
I’ve learned a lot more and have no doubt ventured into more methods of healthy hair growth like the Vortex Hair Wand that I will likely review. In addition, my stylist Omar is amazing and got me back to having long, strong thick hair. Then, I got sick. It must have been a Covid variation. Half of my hair fell out and I had to start from scratch. I’ll be quick and short. I will never give up on wearing my own hair. It’s an indication of health. You can book with Omar here. He suggested I use Minoxidil to help revitalize growth. It has worked to create a thicker stronger base. I also just made a personal decision to use the topical treatment rather than the biotin boost/oral version from Hers. I just had a big chop. Stay tuned. I’m going to be very methodical because I think I finally understand how to maintain the growth and health that I want.
