Journey of My Hair Back from Violence - My Part Two

Since having my hair ripped from my scalp by a violent family member, I have been doing everything I can to heal my scalp as best I can.  Only a miracle will restore the damage, but I go by faith and not by sight.  One side of my head has been restored but the remainder still needs loving care.

I made a decision last year to shave my hair on the sides again so that I may better touch my scalp to apply the natural herbs and oils.  This has worked on my left side very well and that hair is now chin length.  I actually had to shave the left side twice.  My scalp actually was still tender so as it grew back my scalp would be so sore just by the weight of the hair.  Today the scalp has healed and I don't see any visible signs of scarring.  The hair from the follicle with the worst pulling out has now thickened.  Sadly my right side has more work to do, but I will continue to do what I did to my right side as I did on my left.

5 Steps to Follow

Let me recap a few tips I have learned when you have your hair ripped out.  Step one cut all the hair around it very short immediately and apply an antibiotic to help heal the wounds as well as an antifungal especially if someone ripped your hair out (their fingernails may contain a serious fungus and will contain bacteria).  Step two, begin using only natural products to take care of the scalp like aloe vera gel and flaxseed gel.  Step three, wash your hair often.  Actually, wash your hair more often than you usually do.  For instance, if you wash your hair once a month, now wash your hair every three days and do reapply the antibiotics, antifungal, and natural hair products daily.  The act of cutting the hair makes this process easier.  Step four avoid touching the area too much.  Step five once your outward wound has healed then begin doing scalp massages.  Shaving your hair in that area will help as well because it still may be tender once the hair has grown back in because there is still damage to the dermis unseen.  Massaging your scalp with proper technique and oil will stimulate the deeper healing needed.

Incidentally, what I learned about healing my scalp after violence has transformed my skin on my face too.  Over time I will share more things I have learned too, but for now, those five steps are the most important.  I also give credit to quite a few ladies I have followed on YouTube and Blogs and in due time I will mention those ladies.  I do NOT wish this journey on anyone, but if I can help women and children who are victims of violence then I think this journey is not for naught.



Peace Ladies!

A Short on Dealing with Breakage

My natural journey spans a fifteen year process with the later half of thirteen years being fully natural.  I have done just about everything you can imagine to my hair and for the most part it has withstood the tests.  And yes, in this more than a decade of returning to natural hair I have experienced breakage.

One thing my hair just could not take was a "temporary" blow dry straightener (that is a later discussion) bleach, color, and heat in combination.  Over time my low porosity, dense, and thick hair simply broke under the weight of it.  I had good habits with the exception of blow drying my hair every wash, but still my hair broke off.  So my journey to health natural hair began in 2011.  I am now four years into my natural hair journey and I am enjoying it.  

I had to take an inventory along these four years of what habits caused the ripe conditions for my long hair to break off.  First, I cut all of the obvious breakage off, simple!  My hair was bra strap length at the time, so I cut off about four inches.  Next, I dealt with the rest of the damage.  I nursed my hair with deep conditioners and protective styles.  I also went through some weird phases like completely shaving a four inch section on the right front side of my hair two years ago.  The rest of the time was rather uneventful.  Three years later (2014), I decided to go on a journey to long hair.

Once again in my four year mark I am dealing with damage again.  My damage this time came from choosing to use the wrong kind of synthetic hair for my twists.  However, this time is different.  I went through the trauma of damaging perfectly long hair after several years of being natural!  Now I know to pace myself and their is no need for me to chop off large sections of my hair.  The short of it is that I just need patience and this too shall pass.  I still will reach my length goals!

Peace ladies!

No More Scalp Burns!: Scratch That Itch

Let me tell ya, I hated getting perms!  Yes, I did like my hair after the process and before the rolling, but I never liked the process, especially the endless scalp burns.  Getting scalp burns once a month because I could not keep my little hands out of my scalp was one of my primary motivations for going natural.  Granted at the time I did not really tap into the already starting second natural hair movement (circa 1994) I longed to stop that horrible process.

I became natural after the alleged .COM bust.  That is right, I am a Millennial.  Lauryn Hill broke it in something new for us dark skin sistas and Indie Arie was rocking it with Neo-Soul.  We were definitely our mother's daughters or grandma's grandbabies (most of us in the latter category).  Many of the products and the blogs/chat rooms have grown since then.  It was our foundation and I respect it and pay homage to it.

My how we forget the things that led us to "Knowing Thyself".  I now don't have to worry about not scratching my head or employing that method my auntie used to do, "smack, smack, smack" her head to get relief from the oh so natural thing of the tickling on the scalp.  Yes it is a movement and now a lifestyle--Natural Life.

Peace ladies!