3Ehairupdate - 2015 hair update for me and my minis

I began my transitioning journey in February of 2014. Although, my last texlax was in October of 2013. 
I big chopped in October of 2014 and have officially been fully natural for 16-months! The time has FLOWN by and I have enjoyed the journey so far because it has been a really easy one for me.

When I first thought about going natural, my other 3 sisters were already natural. My youngest sister encouraged me to do it. Seeing how all of their hair was thriving encouraged me to do the same. We all share DNA afterall and I figured if it was working for them, it would work for me as well. 
They have been really supportive throughout my hair journey. 

Check us out. 4 natural sisters.  

While visiting NC for Christmas, I decided to do an impromptu length check. Boy, was I surprised when I saw the length!

Check out the 14-months difference below. 

While in NC, I primarily had my hair in a loose puff but for Church on Sunday, I decided to do a bun using my handy bun maker. I have to say I love the way it turned out. 

I haven't flat ironed my hair since making the decision to go natural and as a result, I haven't done a real length check. So on New Year's Eve, I decided to get my hair flat ironed. 
I have to admit that for me, it was more a curiosity thing and I wanted to have a week of straightened "easier to manage" hair. 
So first, I water washed my hair at home and applied my home oil mix to my scalp. Then I put a tee-shirt around my head and headed out.

I went to a Dominican Hair Salon. I have often heard people talk about the high temperature of the heat they use and I was a little scared since I didn't want to suffer heat damage. 
The experience was definitely different. Not different as in bad. Just different. 
And to be honest, they do use a lot of heat. Considering no heat protectant was used there, I was a little concerned about what would happen after I washed my hair. 

The lady who did my hair was very nice and also patient. And this was the final result. I liked the way it turned out and I was really surprised of how much my hair has grown!

Here is a side by side of my hair. The picture on the left is the last picture I took of my hair while it was texlaxed and still healthy. The one on the right is from NYE. I am AMAZED of how much my hair has grown in 26 months (since my last texlax in October 2013)! Can you believe that?

Anyways, I came to realize quickly why going natural was an awesome decision for me. I don't know how to maintain straightened hair and I ended up putting it in a bun and trying to figure out what to do with it. It took me more time to figure it out than it does regularly when my hair is in its natural state. Plus I now know why women with straight hair don't like moisture! Within a couple of days, I had puff closer to my scalp and straight ends. Not pretty.
This was one of the styles I decided to do. I wore it for 4 out of 5-days last week. I really liked the way it turned out. 

 

At the end of the day, I now know I really love being natural and I won't be straightening my hair anytime soon. Perhaps at the end of the year for another length check. 

 I was very concerned though that my hair wouldn't revert. But thankfully, all I had to do was lather my hair with conditioner, put on my conditioning cap for an hour and co-wash it. 

I then applied my staple leave in conditioner and some coconut oil.

And it was back! My curls were back! YAY!!!

My minis:
JOE's hair continues to grow and grow and grow. It is still a struggle to get her hair done. I am trying to come up with ways to get her to be more involved with doing her hair in hopes that it would encourage her to relax when I do her hair. So far, it isn't working but I will continue to try.

Every now and then, I ask her if she would like to cut her hair and she says "no momma, I like my hair, I am Sapunzel!" Sapunzel = Rapunzel :-).

JAE's hair is also growing fast! Now, it gets in her eyes so I often put it in pigtails or use a clip to hold it back after loosely braiding it. I avoid holding it too tight. So far, she is much better when it comes to doing her hair. It isn't as much of a struggle as it is with JOE. 

This year, I plan to continue doing what I've been doing with my hair. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! 

You can also find my hair updates on Instagram using the hashtag "#3EHairupdate".