2016 | Looking Back

Hi everyone, I hope you are all up and ready for the holidays. Happy Holidays, this will probably be one of my last posts (if not last) for 2016. I always like to look back at the year and my goals and to be true to myself in evaluating what I have achieved.

This year was nothing short of amazing! So many great things happened in my life for which I am grateful! My hair on the other hand, did not fair as well. If I were to count the number of setbacks, it would probably come to about 2 in total...

I started the year off with a bang! 

Protective styled most of the first half of the year, only to realize that my hair was breaking as the ends of my hair were not tucked in properly while I had my crochet braids... 

Then I went on holiday without a protective style! Another not so good thing especially because Greece was super hot.. My hair ended up looking like this, I had gained some length but my ends were in a bad shape.

I had to part with quite a lot of my hair - I have not shared pics of my trim, I am not ready to share this as yet but I will in due time.

I have been on a back-to-back protective style regimen for about 16 weeks now, just to give my hair a break from me and everything else that has happened to it. I was meant to relax my hair this month but I decided to postpone until some time next year.. And no, I am not transitioning to natural as yet...

In terms of my hair goals:

1. Maintain healthy & thick ends. Partly achieved, last few months of the year...

2. Do long-term protective styles for at least half of the year. Achieved, protective styled for about 8 months...

3. Reach Bra-strap Length. Not yet

4. Continue with relaxer stretches, for at least 16 weeks at a time. Achieved, but I need to see if this is working for me, especially my ends.

5. Participate in at least 2 hair challenges this year. Nope, I fell off the bandwagon here..

6. Drink at least 1 litre of water a day. Yes, most times :-)

7. Revamp my blog. Yes, I did! At a very low cost, it is looking much better than it did before - I love it, I hope you do too!

8. Post at least 4 blog posts per month. Hmmm, I did about 2 a month on average

9. Exercise at least 3 times a week. Unfortunately not, but I have done about once a week on average, which is much better than nothing at all. 

10. Reduce my stash!! Yes! My stash has reduced by more than half! Will share pics after the holidays

And to end it off..

I hope you had a healthy hair year!

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It's a New Year. With New Goals. 2016

This will be my second year on this healthy hair journey. I must say that I have learnt so much over the past year, and I am ready to have another successful year. Although I achieved 60% last year, I think I would have achieved more if I specified my goals in a different way. So this year I will not be as rigid as I was last year in putting down my hopes for the  year.

1. Maintain healthy & thick ends. 

I will continue with my current regimen for hair thickness, which is:

- To take hair vitamins at least once every other day

- To do a scalp massage with Jamaican Black Castor Oil every other day

2. Do long-term protective styles for at least half of the year. 

I achieved this last year, and I am hoping to take the long-term protective styling up a notch this year. My aim is to do long-term protective styles for at least 4 weeks at a time. This has really helped me to retain length.

3. Reach Bra-strap Length

This was my goal last year, but I guess I may have been a bit unrealistic. More than anything I wanted to prove to myself that I could grow and retain length, and I did. 

4. Continue with relaxer stretches, for at least 16 weeks at a time

I am currently on a stretch that has lasted 24 weeks so far. My mind is going crazy with all the maintenance that I have to do, so I do not think that 6 months stretches are the right thing for me to do. I will probably keep to a 16-20 week limit on any stretch this year.

5. Participate in at least 2 hair challenges this year 

I will continue with the hair challenges that I participated in last year, namely: Kibibi Facebook Group challenges, Naija Hair Can Grow 6-inch challenge and Hairlista Castor Oil Challenges. 

6. Drink at least 1 litre of water a day

I might get an app to track my intake, but I tend to forget to update it. I will just carry my water bottle daily and make sure I finish it before I get home.

7. Revamp my blog

I want to change it up a bit but I am still figuring out what to change. I am hoping to be more consistent with the quality of the photos and fonts. One of the bloggers that I follow suggested that I use pic monkey, which I am still learning. Canva is also a nice online design program that I have discovered. Hopefully I will move the blog to a .com address as well.

8. Post at least 4 blog posts per month

There are weeks when I get busy so it will be safer for me to use a monthly target here than a weekly one.

9. Exercise at least 3 times a week

This is tied to some other goals for the year, but I guess it is still important for healthy hair

10. Reduce my stash!!

I am very committed to this goal.I will do a detailed post soon to show my progress in managing my stash.

With the right attitude, discipline and commitment, anything is possible!

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Review of my 2015 Hair Goals

Happy new year!!! I hope the year has started on a high note!

The hardest part of goal setting for me is reviewing my achievements with as much self-honesty as possible. But it must be done, there is always something to learn when you look back on what you achieved and what you didn't.

So here it is:

Hair Goal #1. I will put health before length this year. I aim to have thick, healthy texlaxed hair with healthy ends.

Achieved. My hair has thickened significantly since the beginning of last year. Castor oil and hair vitamins have helped me achieve this goal.

Hair goal #2. Ultimately my 2015 hair goal is to reach full bra strap length. I am currently 2 inches above armpit length. Therefore I need to grow and retain 6 inches of hair. I am fully on line 2 on my length check t-shirt, so I need to reach line 7.

Not achieved. I reached armpit length, and have 3 inches to go until I reach Bra Strap Length.

    

Hair Goal #3. I will deep condition my hair every week, unless I am in a long-term protective style, in which case I will deep condition every second week.

Achieved.

Hair Goal #4. I will try to stretch my relaxers for as long as I can (not more than 20 weeks) I will have a maximum of 4 relaxers this year.

Achieved. I stretched for a minimum of 16 weeks, and relaxed my hair twice in 2015. 

Hair Goal #5. I will use the inversion method once a month with castor oil.

Achieved... See Journey to Waist Length's youtube video on what this is all about.

Hair Goal #6. I will do scalp massages three times a week, alternating between Doo Gro oil and Wild growth oil each month.

Achieved, but mostly with Jamaican Black Castor Oil. 

Hair Goal #7. I will participate in at least 1 healthy hair challenge each month.

Achieved. I have been on the 2015 Change your hair challenge by Ms Kibibi and the Hairlista Castor Oil Challenges throughout the year

Hair Goal #8. I will drink at least 1 litre water a day.
Not achieved. I was very inconsistent, I will be tracking my daily intake this year.

Hair Goal #9. I will take my Groganics hair vitamins consistently every month.

Not achieved. I had a bit of a vitamin mishap when I started on the Mane Choice vitamin intake. I have 1 bottle left, which I hope to finish in January 2016. 

Hair Goal #10. I will update my blog by adding at least 1 post each week.
Not achieved, I missed a few weeks, and I will be more realistic this year when it comes to setting goals about my blog.

So, I have achieved 6 out of 10 goals! I am very pleased with myself for being disciplined and consistent. It has also helped me to apply the same principles in other areas of my life.

How was your 2015 hair journey?

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2015 Hair goals: Where am I?

One thing that this hair journey has helped me with, is the discipline of planning ahead and reviewing my goals before the end date that I have set to complete them.

I have really learnt so much over the past few months, and my goals would probably have been different if I knew what I know now. But anyway, I still need to evaluate myself:

I have decided to set goals that may be abit of a stretch but I know that I can do it! So here are my 2015 commitments to my hair:

Hair Goal #1. I will put health before length this year. I aim to have thick, healthy texlaxed hair with healthy ends.

Progress: Achieved. Definitely, my hair has become thicker than where it was at the beginning of the year. I still have about 3 inches of thin ends which I plan to get rid of gradually, 1 inch at a time.

Hair goal #2. Ultimately my 2015 hair goal is to reach full bra strap length. I am currently 2 inches above armpit length. Therefore I need to grow and retain 6 inches of hair. I am fully on line 2 on my length check t-shirt, so I need to reach line 7.

Progress: Not achieved. You may be as confused as I am after reading this. But the bottom line is, I am fully on line number 3 now, and grazing armpit length. Realistically speaking, I will not get to bra-strap length this year but I am hoping for full APL and a few inches.

   

Hair Goal #3. I will deep condition my hair every week, unless I am in a long-term protective style, in which case I will deep condition every second week.

Progress: Achieved!

Hair Goal #4. I will try to stretch my relaxers for as long as I can (not more than 20 weeks) I will have a maximum of 4 relaxers this year.

Progress: Achieved. I have one relaxer to go for the year, making it 3 relaxers this year.

Hair Goal #5. I will use the inversion method once a month with castor oil.

Progress: I only missed August so far, so I will say Achieved... See journey to waist length's youtube video on what this is all about.

Hair Goal #6. I will do scalp massages three times a week, alternating between Doo Gro oil and Wild growth oil each month.

Progress: Achieved, but mostly with Jamaican Black Castor Oil. I hated the scent of Wild Growth Oil so I am looking to give it to someone, and the Doo Gro Oil was too light in consistency for my liking.

Hair Goal #7. I will participate in at least 1 healthy hair challenge each month.

Progress: Achieved. I have been on the 2015 Change your hair challenge by Ms Kibibi, Hairlista Castor Oil Challenge & more recently the 30-day protective style challenge by Jen&Jay


source: Hairlista.com, justgrowalready.com

Hair Goal #8. I will drink at least 1 litre water a day.
Progress: Not consistent. When I drink water, I drink about 1.5 litres a day, but when I forget to drink water, I don't drink much at all. 

Hair Goal #9. I will take my Groganics hair vitamins consistently every month.

Progress: Partly achieved. I ran out of supplies in March. Started taking Mane Choice Vitamins which was a disaster for my face. I am back on Groganics since August.

Hair Goal #10. I will update my blog by adding at least 1 post each week.
Progress: Partly achieved, I missed a few weeks in August (holiday time) and May (exam time).

Soo I have achieved 5 out of 10 goals to date.. I have 4 more months to get some progress on the other 5.... It's time to work extra hard now!

What are your 2015 hair goals?? How do you track your progress?

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My 10 hair goals for 2015

I have decided to set goals that may be abit of a stretch but I know that I can do it! So here are my 2015 commitments to my hair:

1. I will put health before length this year. I aim to have thick, healthy texlaxed hair with healthy ends.

2. Ultimately my 2015 hair goal is to reach full bra strap length. I am currently 2 inches above armpit length. Therefore I need to grow and retain 6 inches of hair. I am fully on line 2 on my length check t-shirt, so I need to reach line 7.

              

3. I will deep condition my hair every week, unless I am in a long-term protective style, in which case I will deep condition every second week.

4. I will try to stretch my relaxers for as long as I can (not more than 20 weeks) I will have a maximum of 4 relaxers this year.

5. I will use the inversion method once a month with castor oil.

6. I will do scalp massages three times a week, alternating between Doo Gro oil and Wild growth oil each month.

7. I will participate in at least 1 healthy hair challenge each month.

8. I will drink at least 1 litre water a day.

9. I will take my groganics hair vitamins consistently every month.

10. I will update my blog by adding at least 1 post each week

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