Castor Oil + Cayenne Pepper = Growth!

I made my little mixture of Castor oil and Cayenne pepper on Thursday night. I usually make the mix and start applying it to my scalp at 7 weeks post. But I got lazy and started using it at 8 weeks post, so I'm 1 week late. I relax my hair at 12 weeks post, and I love to apply this mix to my scalp at 7-8 weeks because it gives me a crazy amount of new growth in a short amount of time. If I applied it sooner than 7 weeks, I don't know how I would make it to 12 weeks post with all the tangles I would have. But anyways, I always apply it when I wear my half wig. My hair is braided in cornrows underneath my wig, which makes it easy for me to apply the mix. The wig also adds to my growth retention because it's a great protective style. I apply the mix to my scalp every other day until I relax at 12 weeks post. If you're interested in seeing how I made the mix and applied it to my scalp, you can watch my video on Youtube by clicking here! By the way, Cayenne pepper is a natural hair growth stimulant. I will inform my readers on this pepper soon :)

Keep those trims in CHECK!

(Click pic to view larger size)

After taking the "June 2009" picture, I realized how important trimming was. I know my hair reached APL in the pic, but i couldn't stand the idea of having thin see through hair. I was shocked! I used to get a trim once a year prior to the "June 2009" picture being taken, because somebody on Fotki told me trims are really not necessary.... Trims really ARE necessary for healthy hair by the way. But I read too many horror stories about trims gone wrong and didn't want anyone to carelessly trim away months and months of progress. So i stayed away from them. My ends were mad at me, and they showed their anger by being thin, lifeless and see through. From then on, I cut down my stretching periods from 6 months [24 weeks] to 3 months [12 weeks]. And I also got a trim with every relaxer, starting from the June 2009 pic. To maintain my trim, I stayed away from direct heat, air dried, moisturized and sealed my hair every morning and night, balanced my protein and moisture, and bunned it up. For months, my hair stayed at the same length because I was constantly trimming away the thinness with every relaxer. I'm willing to sacrifice length for health ANY day. I am now proud to say that I'm ready to move on to greater lengths, now that the thin ends are gone. Ladies, please stop holding on to those thin, lifeless ends. When you get rid of them, they'll thank you for it. The truth is in the pic above! Good luck and Happy Hair Growing!

How I know when "I" need a trim (Can be applied to anybody) :
- When I run my fingers through my hair, my fingers dont glide through effortlessly. They stop at knots and tangles.
- My ends look jagged and not all in one length.
- When i can see my shirt through my hair [that means the ends are thin].
- My ends dont respond to product well or hold curls very long.