Last time I blogged I was dealing with breakage caused by too frequent use of protein deep conditioners. That one is my own fault as I know too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. I have since rectified the problem. I cut out the protein and upped the moisture and I am no longer seeing the short strands breaking off when I manipulate my hair.
I am currently 3 weeks post and my hair is still growing faster than ever. It is becoming increasingly difficult to style my hair and I will probably have had enough within the next month or so. My edges are fuzzy and I don't really care about that any more. My edges no longer lay flat after Week 3 and I have no intention of fighting with nature and the climate. I allow them to do whatever it is they like and I am unapologetic about them. They probably won't start balling up until I am 6-7 weeks post, so for now, I just let them be.
My hair journey is going to be slightly modified until the end of 2012. When I part my hair horizontally from temple to temple about 4 inches back, the part on the top is my problem area. This section experiences a lot of breakage. I cut side bangs earlier this year and I noticed I didn't even need to cut off more than 1-2 inches because that area was already short. This is my perma-bang area and I have to focus on growing it out.
The game plan is simple. I will not be wearing any ponytail hairstyles. This also includes buns. If I were to do a medium or low bun, the ponytail holder would be resting exactly where the ends of my hair to the front reaches when I brush it back. That is a lot of friction on my ends and could be one of the reasons why this section of my hair just can't seem to retain its length. I will therefore be protective styling using only updos and no buns. Luckily I have Youtube to turn to for inspiration.
Another thing I have noticed since I stopped doing long stretches is that I seem to be retaining my length in my temple area. Usually after completing a 12-16 week stretch I would notice that my temple area was completely natural. Since my stretches have gradually been reduced to 9 weeks (and probably will be reduced to 6-8 weeks) I have noticed that by the time I am ready to relax, my temple area has new growth and relaxed ends. That was the only area that fell victim to stretching and breakage along the demarcation line.
My focus for the rest of the year will be to baby this section and try to grow the hair in this area to my neck, for the shortest, or my shoulders for the longest. I know I would be happier with my hair's appearance if that area would grow out. I think my hair would look a lot better when I leave it out.
Good luck!!!
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