Hair Update.

Hello my lovelies! I hope you’re all staying warm during these dark and colder days. I’m loving these colder days, but I will say that this year I’m feeling the cold quite a bit more because I cut all my hair off in March as many of you know! My last hair update was around April, which I can’t believe was 8 months ago; so I figured I would give you another update because my hair has changed a lot recently!

So, let’s jump in to how my hair has looked over the course of the last few months!

First up, we’ve got March, where I finally took the plunge and shaved my hair off, which is still one of the best decisions I’ve ever made not only for my hair health but also for my mental health. I never believed everyone when they said that shaving their hair off was super liberating and freeing, but it really was and it completely shifted my views on my own beauty.

March 2020!

Next up we’ve got April, where I made the decision to trim my hair every two weeks and then at the end of April I made the decision to grow out my hair and see what my curls look like when they’re completely healthy!

April 2020!

After deciding to start growing my hair out, we’ve got May, and my hair is a little bit longer; but it’s not a length where it can be styled yet!

May 2020Q

Next up we’ve got June! June is when my hair got to a length that it could actually be styled, and I ended up going pink for about 2 weeks!

June 2020!

In July I was able to actually get my hair trimmed and then I went back to being a brunette so my hair could grow out as my natural colour without my roots being super bold! Here I had a brief moment where my hair was long enough to be styled, and due to my hair type I could make it fairly straight when I brush it out and dry it without a diffuser, so that’s what I started doing.

July 2020!

Next up is August, and here is when my curls and waved started to come back in full force! I stopped drying my hair to avoid any heat damage, but on the off chance I did dry my hair with a diffuser I used heat protectant spray.

August 2020!

In September I had about 2 weeks of straightening my hair to try and make myself look a little more presentable when going out and about because my hair was getting to a length where the sides were sticking out a bit too much, and then I decided to just go for it and let my crazy hair be what it wants to be.

September 2020!

Next up is October, where my hair health is back in full force and my curls are finally at a point where they’re crazy bouncy and feel super soft. This month I also decided to dye my hair with a semi-permanent dye, which ended up staying permanent (a happy accident!).

October 2020!

And finally, here I am now! I’ve found a method/routine that works well for me, and my curls are now insane! My hair is finally shiny, soft and super bouncy, which I don’t think I’ve ever managed to get before I shaved my head! Some mornings my hair looks absolutely insane, a bit like I’ve been dragged through a hedge, but most mornings that can be hidden with a headband or refreshed with my spray bottle.

November 2020!

So.. that’s where I’m at with my hair now! I’m not going to lie, I now don’t feel like myself when my hair isn’t its natural texture, even if it does look a little crazy from time to time!

My current routine involves washing my hair with shea moisture manuka honey shampoo, following up with shea moistures manuka honey conditioner, then shea moistures strengthen and restore styling lotion and finally a little bit of twisted sistas gel! Then I go in and add a spritz of heat protection spray and diffuse until my hair is 90% dry. Then I scrunch it out and fluff!

I straightened my hair yesterday to check its length and I’m nearly at a short bob/mullet length now, so I can’t wait to check my hair length again in a few more months to see how long it is!

I used to hate having to look after my hair, but now I love looking after my hair and usually dedicate one day in the week to do a hair mask and just chill.

How do you like to take care of your hair? Have you had any big hair transformations over the last year? Show me on insta!

And with that, that’s all from me for today! Have a great weekend my loves!

Love,

in

What I’ve Learnt From Having A Shaved Head So Far.

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This week has flown by for me, I think I’ve lost track of what day it is at least 3 times everyday, and haven’t actually been outside other than twice this week. Today was the first day I’ve actually allowed myself some time to actually have my daily walk, because all throughout the week I’ve just been way too busy to do so!

It feels weird being so busy now, especially because I know a lot of people aren’t working right now. I’m one of the very lucky people who can work from home, so I am working monday – thursday with my full time job and then I’m also running my own business in the evenings and on fridays, as well as writing this blog, trying to stay fit and doing some hobbies.

One thing that hasn’t been taking up my time, is doing my hair. Because as you may know from my post a few weeks ago and my insta, about a month ago, I shaved my head for the first time.

And since then, I’ve learnt quite a few things.

1 . I love not having to wake up and think about styling my hair. In fact, I have hardly thought about it at all since chopping it all off, and I’m a lot less stressed when it comes to getting dressed and ready for the day because I’ve saved about 40 minutes from my morning.

2 . My skin is thanking me. I don’t know if it’s related, but before I used to have my hair on my face all of the time, and due to having naturally curly hair, I always used products to tame it, and since having no hair to go on my face my skin appears to have cleared up a bit (I’m also trying out some new skincare products, so that might be helping too).

3 . I love a beanie hat. Or any hat to be honest. When I was younger I loved wearing hats in all forms, but as I’ve gotten older I always struggled to feel comfortable and stylish whilst wearing them. And I realise now that I think it was partly down to hat hair and not finding a way to wear a hat without feeling drowned; but now I don’t have to worry about hat hair, so I bought myself some beanie hats because I was getting a little chilly, and I now wear them nearly every day! They are just so cosy and I have a few colours which go with any of my looks for the day.

4 . Showers are so much quicker, and cheaper! We all knew that showers would become quicker, but I didn’t realise how little shampoo and conditioner I’d actually need. I haven’t had to spend any money keeping up with all of my hair products which is great!

5 . I didn’t realise how much of a comfort blanket my hair was. It’s one of those cases where you can’t see how something has affected you until it’s gone. For me, that was definitely my hair, it’s one of the things everyone recognised me by and knew me for. I think that’s why it took me so long to actually shave it off, I’d always wanted to do it of course, but it was the fear of hating how it looked and being judged and seen differently that stopped me. Now that it’s gone, in fact the second it was gone, I felt so incredibly free that I’m not sure why I hadn’t done it sooner!

6 . Hair doesn’t make you any more or less feminine. I was very paranoid that people would think I was a man or misidentify me. But I don’t know why I thought this, I think this is something that’s unconsciously ingrained in us since we’re young, that girls are supposed to have flowing hair and boys are supposed to have short hair. What I’ve come to see as I’ve gotten older is that I frickin love women with short hair and men with longer hair, and every other form of hair style on all kinds of people. When I had long hair I had days where I felt more masculine and then days where I felt more feminine and then days where I felt neither, and having my hair this short just reinforced that gender stereotypes are a load of bollocks and you should do what makes you happy.

7 . Your hair will grow back, and your hair grows faster than you think it does! I’ve trimmed my hair every weekend since I’ve shaved it, and I’ve had just over half a cm come off each week. It doesn’t sound like a lot I know, but when you think about it, it’s not bad!

8 . I’m not sure I want to grow my hair out again. I don’t know if it’s because it’s so comfy and freeing and easy or if it’s purely for the fact that I love it. Oh and the fact that head massages are even better with no hair.

9 . I’ve never been happier with my appearance. If you would’ve asked me 5 years or even 10 years ago if I would be my most confident self with a shaved head I would have laughed in your face. But who would’ve known! I love it!

10. I know myself better now. In shaving my head, I’ve finally began spending time actually looking at what makes me feel good and feel like myself. And over the last month and a half I have had days here and there where I’ve not felt my best self, but I think that’s pretty normal given the state of things, and then I’ve had days where I absolutely love how I look, but I can honestly say I have 90% more days where I live how I look. I’ve had time to actually look at my face, and I mean really look at my face; it’s not something we usually do, not when you really think about it, we get distracted by our hair and how that changes our face, so I’ve taken time to actually get to know myself better.

And that’s what I’ve learnt so far. I never would’ve thought simply having little to no hair would change me so much, and when I say change me, I don’t mean change who I am, I mean that I’ve changed in the sense that I’ve so much more confident, more accepting and less judgemental of myself and I couldn’t care less about what traditionally makes us attractive in society.

So, after all of that I’ll leave you with this:

One day I woke up and realised I was not made for anyone, I was made for me. I am my own.

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Powerful stuff eh? Anyway, look after yourselves my lovely! Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Lots of love,