My Hair Growing Journey

In January 2011, I decided to chop off all my hair into a pixie cut. For the first two days, I have to admit that I was freaking out. The hair by my ears stuck out in a very unattractive, less than artful fashion and I bobby pinned it down for the first week I had it. After that, I learned how to style my hair and blow dry it in a way so that it didn't stick out at odd angles (Hint: blow dry the hair in the back down, and the top and sides forward. When you part it and brush it back, there will be volume and you will need to do minimal flat ironing) and I began to really love the new cut. It was freeing, having no hair all around my face. I was faced with the issue of becoming myself full on. I couldn't hide behind my bangs anymore because they only hid half of my forehead. I became braver with myself and with makeup and jewelry because I could. I wore lots of hats and scarves because the winters were COLD. But I began to miss my longer hair.

In September of last year, I had decided that I would grow it out again. My hair had developed a very strange sulfur scent (from too much heat and product), and I wanted to see if growing it out, and stopping the heat and product would help with the issue. I began taking Biotin supplements everyday and stopped using any product that wasn't the most basic of shampoos (VO5), and soon found out that that was probably the worse decision that I could have made. My hair became dry and lifeless and STILL smelled bad. By the holidays, I had returned to my original routine minus the gel and other styling products. My boyfriend's father (who does my hair) knew of the problem and was nice enough to give me THIS shampoo and it's matching conditioner for Christmas. The transformation was almost overnight! My hair stopped smelling and healed itself in just days. Using heat and product was still a no-no because it made the problem return, but I was able to find other ways to style my hair heat-less.

By April of this year, my hair had grown past the horrible awkward George Harrison/ Justin Bieber style and had moved on to greater lengths. Trims kept the shape looking good, but still allowed for healthy growth. I started experimenting with up-dos and began really enjoying the length. June brought the discovery of leave-in conditioner and knowledge that the more I hydrate myself and my hair, the more it will shine and like me. I began doing pin curls in my hair overnight and my hair began looking really healthy when I released them in the morning. 

Last month I began occasionally straightening my hair just to change things up a bit, and it doesn't smell anymore! I ran out of the magical Bed Head shampoo and began using this Biotin-infused shampoo and its conditioner instead alongside the leave-in stuff. I have seen no change thus far. When I run out of the NYM's stuff, I am going to try another brand and see what happens.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experience, please comment down below, I'd love to hear from you!