Last week I took my Marley Braids out. Not the ones from my last post but the super long ones I did afterwards and never got round to posting here. Now it might not seem too strange that I should take out all my braids in between hairstyles but this was actually the first time I've taken them all out since my hair has been long enough to braid!! I've literally been washing it in sections and just re-doing it braid by braid because i've been so reluctant too see all my hair out at once and be crushed by disappointment in the length. Last week that is exactly what happened. After months and months of neglect my hair really hasn't grown very much at all. 10 months of growing it and nothing to show for it. My hair regime has been virtually non-existent and I haven't been moisturising it very often, my diet has been appalling and i've been scraping my braids into tight, high ponytails almost every day. Combine these factors with shrinkage and my painfully unrealistic expectations and there really was only one way this was going to end... In bitter, bitter tears. I really did give up and had resolved to forget the whole frustrating ordeal, nip to the barbers and shave my kinky lil problem off and live my life (at least for the foreseeable future) as a content #NoHairDontCare kinda girl... That was until a few very wise yet very simple points from my mate Cedric changed my mind... He basically made the point that this is where the real growing starts- this is where I begin to work on length.
The reason why this is so important is because I think when your 'big chop' is a real big chop... As in a hardcore 0.5 down to the scalp big chop, it's easy to forget that you are literally starting again. From scratch. It's not like cutting away relaxed ends and growing your hair out from a few inches. This for some reason just jolted me into seeing sense- If I can't get over my impatience I will never have decent length hair. This really is where the true grow out begins and if I look after myself and my hair properly then this time next year I should start to see some real progress. After prescribing myself: Biotin, MSM, lots of water, an improved diet and some serious TLC for my hair- starting with the purchase of a bottle of coconut oil and a tub of raw shea butter, I decided Havana Twists were the next protective destination for my hair...
I'm definitely a fan of this style. I've admired twists for years but always thought they'd be really hard to do (don't ask).... Turns out they're pretty easy. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of room for my technique to improve but I was happy with my first attempt results.
Maintenance wise though I think they will be a bit of a pain and they definitely wont last as long as braids but i'm glad to have a style change... Even if it's only a small one.
What do you guys think of twists??...
Yay or nay?? xx
(P.S. Title = lyrics to 'Cavalier' by James Vincent McMorrow)
