I have always loved my hair and making hairstyles. It was only in 2016 however, that I started learning about how to take care of mine.
In 2016, I chopped my hair and started doing it at home. I have 4b hair and it really broke when I did styles like braids and tight updos. I have not been in a hair salon in 4 years and I am very proud of being able to do my hair at home.

Here is my hair journey

2012

My hair was healthy. I was blow drying my hair every month and it was only a matter of time before I started noticing some breakage.

2013

The hair was not so bad. I enjoyed this phase most.

2015

I experienced breakage and edges loss. I was also going through the stress of living alone and job hunting. i was not eating so well. My hair started breaking off.

*I am holding wine in most of my pics because the only photos I took back then were for my wine blog

2016

I cut all my hair. The breakage was too much. I enjoyed the cut life for sometime and then I started growing it back and learning about taking care of my hair.

2017

I chopped the top to make my hair an equal length and started with a TWA (teeny weeny afro), 2017 ( stretched frowhawk)

2018

I did not put any heat on my hair. I was now watching YouTube hair videos religiously. I was intentional with my products. I used the warm setting if I had to stretch my hair.

2019

early 2019

I dyed the tips honey brown and this was a huge mistake because the texture of my hair changed.

Late 2019

My hair was growing and it was so full and thick

2020

Clearly, my hair flourished in 2020. I fell in love with my hair and enjoyed learning about it.

2021

My hair is vey healthy in 2021. I have trimmed it but I feel that it is teh best. I am currently chasing health instead of length by practicing my routine below

The hair routine that works (for me)

• Minimal manipulation. My hair is mostly in twists/matutas (three strand braids/twists)
• I do everything (braiding, trimming, straightening, styling) myself and haven't been to a salon in 4 years
• I use castor and olive oil then shea butter. I use Suave shampoo and conditioner
• I wash once every 1.5 weeks. I avoid overwashing. Most people say wash every week but for me that causes breakage. Do what works
• I am not a product junkie at all. I take so long to introduce products to my routine.
• I pay attention to how my hair feels and looks after I use certain products. Does it feel dry, does it cause breakage, flaking etc.
• I use a wide toothed comb* and fingers to detangle.
  
• I protective style a lot. twists, wigs, matutas.
• I avoid braids like the plague as they destroyed my edges a few years back. I had to learn on Youtube how to do my own braids because I couldn't find someone who wouldn't yank out my edges. I didn't look hard enough probably.
• When I braid, I don't just oil my edges/ scalp. I put some water and my oils in a spray bottle and mist my edges.
• I use lots of natural oils and stick to a simple LOC/ LCO routine. I am not a fan of complicated hair routines with 60 expensive products.
• I learn from Youtubers who have the same hair type as mine.
  I.e. I have managed to find like 3 who I have learned from over the years. (OnlyoneJess, Latoya Ebony and Shanique Buntyn).
• Also if I can't find all products that Youtubers speak about, I look for local substitutes, buy on amazon or skip.
• I also avoid heat. I have a blowdrier but I use it when I reaaaaly have to.
  This is what works for me. I am not an expert. All this info I got from Youtube University.
  Lastly. Most importantly: Learn what works for you. Just like skincare, everyone's hair is unique. Educate yourself on Youtube. You will be surprised how much you can learn..