Yesterday I went to the salon for my quarterly trim and I also learned how to use the timer on my camera. I don't really like having my picture taken, but I forced myself to do a few impromptu photo-shoots to document how my hair looked yesterday. Since July 2009, I have been straightening my hair on a quarterly basis. I'm currently trying to grow my hair out and straightening allows me to see what kind of growth I'm getting and if their is any breakage. This is me on the way to the salon rocking a braid-out and my new favorite outfit.

Sidebar: I personally dislike leggings, but since that is all you see at the stores, I've decided to just go with the flow. Plus, the pair of leggings I'm wearing were only $5, so you can't beat that.The following pictures are right after my stylist took the cape off. My length is okay and I can see that the broken off section in my crown is about shoulder length, which is what I was most concerned with. My nape is fine textured and grows like a weed. Most of my thickness is in my crown, so I need that area to grow so my hair won't look so anemic. When my hair is straight the longest layer about 1-2 inches from arm-pit length (APL).



I only got a light dusting this time around. Hopefully I'll be grazing APL by December. I put a semi-permanent black dye on my hair about 4 weeks ago, and I like the results. It helps hide the 3 separate layers I have in the back. The remaining pictures were taken at the end of the day when my hair had reverted slightly. I went downtown to check out a new store near Michigan Ave and the wind batted my hair to death.


I was in the midst of saying something profound at the exact moment this picture was taken. My friend who took the last picture thought I was wearing a wig! Not sure why because you could see my scalp. I had to let him touch it and show my scalp in the back before he believed me.

I plan to rock the straight hair for about a week. This was the first time since I first started wearing curly styles that I wasn't excited about getting my hair straightened. But when I got it straightened, I liked the results. I don't know why, but my demeanor changes when my hair is straight and flowing. I have been debating getting braids or twists until December, but for now I plan to just continue with the braid-outs. This last quarter I have focused on moisturizing daily and that seems to make a difference. I finally also tried sealing my cuticles with a 2 minute cold water rinse. Before I would just do it for 20 seconds, but I noticed the difference after doing it for 2 minutes. Once I get to APL, I'll be more focused on getting rid of the layers and thickening up my hair in the back. The thought of having stringy bra strap length hair doesn't appeal to me, so I may just stay at APL until my thickness is satisfactory.