trim de la crème.

Welp...we've been talking about everything else in here, so we might as well talk hair! My last perm application was in January 2008, and the remnants were officially removed by yours truly in May 2009. Throughout my life, I have had a plethora of hair experiments gone wrong. One comical one I can remember was when I tried to remove my hair bubble without my mom's assistance with a pair of scissors. My mom went to comb my hair the next morning, only to have an entire clump of hair fall out in her hands. She literally cried, and saved it for about 6 years. Quite ridiculous. Then I tried to give myself drop-curls with a roller brush. I obviously started and stopped at one curl since it got stuck. I ended up with a lopsided bang, which wasn't nearly as bad as having to repeat the "why" story to my peers. In any event, the one thing I've always known from the very beginning is that hair grows back. Yes ladies - it grows back. Do not be afraid to trim it because trimming means healthy hair and growing hair! I made the mistake of coloring my natural hair in August 2014, and boy did I pay for it. Coloring your hair, specifically when you have to lighten it, dries your hair out endlessly. The reality is no matter how good your color looks at first, it almost never ends that way. By the time I went for my trim in March of this year (after just getting a trim in December), my split ends had hiked so far up my hair shaft that the only thing left was to cut all of the color off. I told my hair dresser to go for it! She is always surprised when I say this because she knows that when dealing with women of color, they generally don't like cutting their hair. The belief has been that cutting it means it won't grow. Quite the opposite! When you push back your trims, your hair becomes that much more difficult to deal with. As you comb through your hair, the dry and knotted ends cause the good hair to break. When I go through to massage my scalp and finger-detangle nightly, I always check each strand I collect to confirm that the root is in tact,, meaning that it is shed hair versus breakage. My ends were causing me to ruin the good hair that was left, so I knew my trim was dire. The photo above is my hair twisted up for bed. Yes it's short and a little awkward, but to have it grow back in thick and healthy is more important to me. If you are like me and still want to dabble in the hair experimentation department, I would suggest trying a wig or buying a temporary spray or gel color that you can wash out immediately. Spray colors are super messy, so beware of the clean up and make sure you wash it out properly. I am trying to grow my hair out to a big, aggressive, layered, and curly fro. I will keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck!

Peace, Kings & Queens

xoxo

Shanelle Julia Rosita Campbell