Yes, that’s my hair, my scraggly eyebrows and what my eyes look like under layers of mascara. 

It’s been 13 months since I chopped off my relaxed hair and went ‘natural’. Although my hair’s grown,  I’m not 100% happy. I could be doing better, but I’ve been making soooo many errors. Proving that ‘Mistakes’ isn’t just a banging AKA track.

So, below, are the things I’ve been doing badly and the things I’ve been doing goodly (I know that’s not a word) and I hope someone in the big wide internets learns something out of this. 

MISTAKES! BOOOO! 

1. Still using shampoo. I know I shouldn’t be, and I’m trying, but it’s sooo haaard. I think I’m just going to bin each and every single bottle of shampoo that exists in my home.

2. Not using a proper moisturising method. I’ve only been doing the LO part of the LOC method (that’s Liquid, Oil and Cream) and I’ve definitely been struggling with moisture retention. I’m definitely adding a cream to my hair routine this summer. 

3. Not taking care of my ends. My ends are a hot mess. I have not been moisturising them as I should be and I’ve got split ends like crazy, which is why I’ve resorted to the next mistake: 

4. Cutting too frequently. I’ve had 3 cuts in the last year because of the split ends, but what else am I supposed to do to rid myself of them? I need to do better!

NOT MISTAKES! YAY! 

1. Wearing protective styles during winter. I’m wearing my third round of twists now. I’m going to take this out after 3 weeks, so that’s a total of 9 weeks of twisted hair. My hair’s grown so much during this time.  

2. Using good oils. I might have a wack moisturising routine, but I’ve been using cool products: coconut and olive oil! 

3. Phasing out mineral oil-based products. Anytime anyone brings anything with mineral oil near my hair, my scalp starts itching like crazy. I’ve done a good job of getting rid of crap products. Yay me!  

4. Educating myself. I’m addicted to www.goodhairdiaries.blogspot.com; www.curlynikki.com and www.blackgirllonghair.com. Such great resources. Go to there!