In another edition of "examples of how fast time is going", I truly can't believe that it's been 4 years since I started wearing my hair naturally! They say "hindsight is 20/20", and that is SO true in this case. Had I known how awesome my hair was in its natural state, I surely would have gone down this road a lot sooner, and might not have even deviated from the natural life in the first place. However, it was that deviation that made me really appreciate my hair as is, so I'm grateful for it all.
Now, I look ahead to year 5 - there are a few things I want to do in order to help the health of my hair while keeping it sexy and fun. As I've said before, I need to switch things up often to keep hair boredom at bay - however, I can't afford to sacrifice the health of my hair while doing so. Consider the following my New Year/New Hair Resolutions:
- I resolve to do more dry detangling: When I take the time to do so, detangling my hair dry before washing has saved me from excess breakage and hair loss. Bonus: even though I have my trusty drain tool, dry detangling reduces the amount of hair that gets all over my bathtub, which saves me some cleaning time!
- I resolve to keep up with trimming: I honestly can't remember the last time I had a trim. What I do remember is the last time I had my hair flatironed at Curl Bar (an awesome new salon in downtown Toronto), my stylist told me I needed one...and when I saw my ends, I had to agree. I do my best to treat my ends with care (and thus reducing the amount of trims I need), but I've gotta keep it real with myself - I need to trim 2-3 times a year. We'll see how that goes for year 5.
- I resolve to (safely) go wild with colour: I have always loved colouring my hair. I indulged myself this spring with some bright highlights, and I don't think I'm done yet. I'm thinking I'll add some more flashes of colour just to give my hair some more pizzazz, but I'm definitely leaving that job to the pros!
- I resolve to do some long-term protective styling this winter: I'm leaning towards Senegalese twists. It's funny - when I relaxed my hair, I religiously "put away" my hair in the winter with braids or twists. I haven't done that since I transitioned! I'm thinking I've been having too much fun playing in my hair all year-round, but this year, I think it's time to return to my old practices. Letting my hair rest for a couple months sounds like a good idea to me!
- I resolve to try my hand at being a mixtress: I've started doing some research on creating my own hair products and tailoring things to work best with my hair. Whether that's adding EVOO and jojoba oils to my conditioner, or making my own flax seed gel and ACV rinse, I'm going to try to get a bit more self-sufficient and creative!
- I resolve to hold a hair-based meetup this year: natural hair, curly hair, healthy hair - I love getting together with other ladies and sharing tips, product swapping, and generally having fun. I can literally count on one hand how many hair events I've been to since I went natural, so there is definitely room for more. Before year 5 is through, this will be done! Stay tuned for an '83 To Infinity-hosted event...once I can think of a catchy hair-related event name. All the good ones have been taken!
So, there you have it! Those are my New Year/New Hair Resolutions going into the 5th year of naturalness! What are some hair resolutions you want to implement? No time like the present to start!
DO REMEMBER: The Caribbean Tales Gala Giveaway is still goin’ on! I’ve been getting some interesting email entries – head on over to this post to enter!