Hair updates and length check pictures

Happy new year!2013 was very good to me as far as my hair goals go.I ended 2012  with my hair somewhere above my nose and my goal for 2013 was to try and retain as much length as I could.I had big chopped just months before and I hadn't learnt how to take care of my hair, so I decided to learn to do that and grow my hair out.I wanted my hair to be on my lip when stretched by the end of the year.I don't really use inches because I've never used a measuring tape on my hair.

Nov 29 2012

The great news is I actually exceeded that goal!I just checked and me hair is right below my chin!I am so excited and of course I have the pictures for you( forgive my look as I am sick today).

Dec 31 2013

 I think what helped me this year was minimal manipulation of my hair (even though I experimented a lot and wore my hair out  a lot), more protective styling, more protein treatments and deep conditioning and just paying attention to my hair in order to know what it needs.

I did (and still) struggle with shedding/breakage, but I think its because I washed my hair loose instead of in twists.Every time I've had a lot of shed/broken hair after detangling has been when I washed my hair in a loose state.If I twist up my hair before washing, I get very little shedding.If you're having issues like this then try washing your hair in twists.

Washed loose hair

Shed hair after washing hair in loose state

Washed hair in twists

Shed hair after washing in twists

I also incorporated weekly oil rinsing and monthly  henna treatments into my regimen and I am liking the results so far even though its been only 2 months.I did change my regimen up quite a bit to make it shorter in duration, but I don't think its affected me negatively.Finally,I was invited to blog weekly for the African Naturalistas blog!I will be blogging there every Friday and my first post is out, so please check it out at www.africannaturalistas.com. All in  all, 2013 was a good year.

My goals for 2014 are to be healthier generally, not just with my hair.I want to retain more length, get thicker hair and also learn to cornrow my hair( I can't cornrow to save my life..lol).In terms of health I want to exercise more regularly, eat better and drink more water.
Lets talk!How was 2013 for you?What are your goals for the year?Head on over to the Ghana Hair Chick Facebook page and let's continue our discussion!Once again, Happy New Year and may the year end with you more blessed,more beautiful, and even more thankful than 2013.

Hair Shedding and wash day updates

Hello everyone!
I believe we have begun this week ready to enjoy it.There are only two weeks left in 2013, so I recommend getting as much fun as possible out of 2013 before it goes away.And of course, if you have any health, hair or life goals left, 2 weeks is still plenty!I am definitely going to get at least one more item on my resolution list for 2013 squared off before 31 December.
If you read my last post, you probably know that I am struggling with a bit too much shedding from my hair.If you missed it, here are pictures to summarize the shedding:

Last week's shed hair

A whole pam full of shed hair

That's a whole palm full in case you can't tell! However,this was my first detangling after about 3 months, so I am guessing that may have been the cause.In order to prove that, +Annette Akye of Naturalista Gh suggested I detangle every week, collect the shed hair and put them together for 3 months in order to see if it would be this much.I've taken that suggestion and so this is the beginning!
This weekend I washed my hair in a rather abbreviated fashion.
Since I had my hair in medium size twists I untwisted about 3 or 4 twists at a time, then spritzed a mixture of olive oil,conditioner,black/herbal tea mix and coconut milk onto it.I then rubbed on more conditioner so my hair was  slippery but not dripping wet.Then I finger detangled, followed by a wide toothed comb.That was a very easy detangling!That was my prepoo step, if I was going to use a shampoo.Then I covered my hair with a plastic cap for a couple of hours before I finally co-washed.

The products used in my spray bottle

Untwisting hair-notice hair is  shiny!

After washing with my conditioner, I didn't feel I neded an Apple Cider vinegar rinse for clarifying,since I did one not too long ago.I did an oil rinse instead.This is an update to my regimen, since this is only the second time I've done it.The first time I did it was last week, and my hair was very shiny and moisturised (see picture above) even after a week, so I decided to do that consistently.The oil rinse for me is just olive oil poured into my hair while still wet,massaging it in and rinsing it out completely.After that I used the Shea Moisture leave-in conditioner and my whipped shea butter mix to seal in moisture. I retwisted my hair in smaller twists,since I will be wearing a hat the whole week.

 Here is how much hair I shed this time:

Such a reduction!

That's actually not bad for a week.I will try to keep up this regimen in addition to deep conditioning and other treatments to see how much hair I shed in a month.

How was your wash day and what are your current hair challenges?Head on over to Facebook and join the discussion on the Ghana Hair chick page!

Hair Shedding and the GhanaHairChick Facebook Page

Hello!Its a been a little while since I last posted.I hope everyone is doing well and their hair is too!Before I get into the post, a short announcement:There's a Facebook Page for the blog now!Here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ghana-Hair-Chick/551431108276415
Please go like and share it.I created the page so we could stay in touch even if there's no blog post.Plus,I figured it might be a better place to interact, share our stories and tips, encourage each other and ask questions.Its a community page so please feel free to post to it:pictures, questions, comments etc.
Now on to my hair!I mentioned in a past post that I had an abnormal amount of shedding when I detangled my hair.A fellow blogger suggested a tea rinse or  a variation of that where I actually soak my hair with the tea, cover with a shower cap for a while and then wash my hair.I had been doing tea rinses already so I decided to try the tea soaking for a few months.I'm still not sure if that's helping, because I detangled my hair this past weekend after a henna treatment, and there was a lot of shed hair!However, I think it may have to do with my updated regimen.
My hair had been in twists under a wig for about 6 weeks, and then under just a beanie cap for another month or so.I washed my hair several times during this time, deep conditioned,did two henna treatments and moisturised, but never really detangled.I would only undo the twists, put them together in big ones for easy washing and then re-twist without really detangling. I only used my fingers to kind of part my hair and remove really big knots and shed hair.So with this background, when I took my wide toothed comb this weekend to detangle, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was still a lot of shed hair.
I have put pictures down below 9first one is my hair right after washing). It was enough hair to fill the palm of my hand.I don't know if this may just be normal for me, because I shed this much hair every time I actually detangle my hair (which is usually like once every 3 months).Maybe I need to detangle more often to reduce shedding, but I don't know if that would help.I read around as well, and it looks like amount of shedding is highly variable.What do yo guys think?Is there anyone having this same issue?What has helped you to resolve it, if it is resolved?Please let me know.Others may also benefit.Thanks a lot and see you over on Facebook!