The Breaking Point

Breakage is the devil. When I was relaxed, my hair suffered breakage like a mutha, which is one of the main reasons I went natural. My natural hair for a while was growing very well and evenly all over. But around October I realized that the front of my hair (i.e. them edges!) wasn't growing at the same pace as the rest of my hair. And then around the beginning of Decemeber I realized that they were simply breaking off.

That red line indicates how long the very front of my hair is...smh!

I didn't understand how this could be happening. I was taking really great care of my hair. Regular washes and deep conditioning. Low manipulation styling. Heat-free styles. Gentle detangling. And yet them edges were leaving faster than ever. And then it hit me. Them God-forsaken puffs! 

I love me a bomb, slicked back, middle of the head, 4inch sittin high, afro puff. It was my go to style since the minute my TWA could fit into one. And yet it is the reason why I'm going bald! Well... no where near that drastic but my hair definitely broke off like CRAZY. I think it was a combination of the pulling of the bands I was using, the tightness of the puffs, the over use of gel and the frequency of the style, that contributed to the loss of my edges.  

Honestly you can't tell just by looking. And I can't either unless I'm trying to slick back my hair in a pony tail or puff, but that's not even a styling option right now. NO puffs anytime soon. It's been 4 months since the last one and I'm in no hurry to wear one.

Lookin' real normal!

Looks can be deceiving! 

 And although I don't think this is directly due to breakage the hair on both sides, on the very back of my neck are identically super short as well. I'm pretty sure that it's because of a shape up I got last summer. And since I never got another one after that, strands "A" (see pic below) are just the regrowth of the shaved off hair. But look at how far it has to go to reach strands "B" which are directly above strands "A" (confused yet? lol). It makes some styling a bit difficult and I'm debating on whether I should just chop it off.

Although I know there is no miracle product that will allow me to declare myself Rapunzel over night, I do have some ideas that I'll be sharing very soon to help retain the length of my edges and hopefully stimulate growth!