2012--the year of reckoning... (Lots of pics!)

I can't believe how fast this year went by! The older I get, the faster the years just pass me by! It's just unbelievable  This year was definitely a year of reckoning as far as my hair goes. I had the first major setback of my HHJ and it was absolutely devastating. When other people experience setbacks, it is so easy to say "Oh, it's just hair! It will grow back longer and stronger!" and you fully believe it when saying it to others. But when it happens to you, those words don't seem to dull the pain/anger/irritation that you experience when you look at your damaged strands. Yeah. That was me this year.

So for newer readers (welcome!) as well as for my own documentation purposes, I want to do a review of this year of my HHJ.

January

This is where my hair was at the beginning of 2012

Some of my sets from January 2012

The year started off strong! I was participating in Longing4Length.com's roller-setting challenge and was setting my hair on a weekly basis. I enjoyed trying new things (curlformer sets, hot roller sets, flexi-rod sets, etc) and discovered my love for mesh rollers!

February

My hair-style progression from one week in February

In February, I realized my love of ACV rinses! My hair had never been better, it was growing, it was healthy, it was shiny! I was L O V I N G my hair at this point.

March

Breaking away from roller-setting and doing a BKO

In March, my roller setting slowed down quite a bit (as the weather began to change and as I got more new growth). It was during this month that I finally accepted the fact that I didn't have a regimen (which may have been foreshadowing for my setback that I suffered over the summer). In April, I also achieved full armpit length.

April/May

Much of my energy for these months was spent focusing on my weight loss journey. An unfortunate reality for me is that when I start working out my hair can't be cute! I sweat entirely too much in my head. Therefore, these months were strictly for bunning with the exception of my college graduation!

Graduation hair!!

June/July/August

Although my focus had shifted (unfortunately) from my WLJ, the summer is where I believe my setback occurred. With the exception of a few occasions, I primarily wore my hair in buns, buns, and more buns. I was neglecting my hair like never before! I don't even want to think about it! Here are a couple of the styles I gravitated towards when I chose to style my hair: It was also in this period that I started to recognize the first signs of my setback.

September/October/November

When straightening my hair to prepare for an installation of box braids, I was able to fully assess the extent of the breakage in the back of my head. I was horrified at the amount of breakage. From here out I entered heavy PSing mode, utilizing box braids and my Exotic Hair Los Angeles wig to hide my hair.

December

After stretching since my graduation, I finally relaxed in December and was able to fully assess my setback. Although it was devastating to have to cut so much length (and to know that there is more to be cut!) I was able to end out the year only slightly shorter than where I started, at APL.

A shorter, thinner APL but it could
be worse!

There were definitely lessons to be learned in 2012 that I will take with me on this life-long journey with my hair! However, I feel blessed to be able to say that I made it 3 years into my HHJ without having to do a major cut.

This post will be the last time you see me refer to what happened this year as a setback! It will no be nothing short of an epic come-back, I'm putting that out into the atmosphere!

What hair (or otherwise!) lessons will you be taking with you into 2013?

Until next time,

Questions? Additional comments? Email me at shika@hairiamworld.com