I’m currently going through that stage with
my hair that naturalistas call ‘That Awkward Stage'.
It's when your hair isn't long and isn't short; it's just in-between. It’s almost like there’s
nothing I can do with it apart from look at it everyday and wonder when it’s
going to grow.
My hair is in its 5th month of growth and
throughout the holidays I’ve been looking at it and wondering why it isn’t
growing as much. However, I resumed work and every one kept saying it had
grown so much over the holidays *le sigh*.
Anyway, this post is as much to encourage you as it is to
encourage me, lol. So I’m going to go through the 4 basic things I’ve learnt
while going through this stage. I still have a way to go before it becomes a
puff so there’s still a lot to learn. But in my 5 months, here are my tips:
- Wash Regularly: from pouring water on my head everyday when I had a low cut, I’ve moved to not pouring on it so much cos in reality, water dries out the hair and this dryness causes my scalp to itch a lot. However, with this change, there is sometimes the temptation to just move on to the long hair routine of once a month or even once every 6 weeks. Wrong. You still need to wash the hair. It’s shorter so the handling is more frequent cos there’s no style to keep (the good LORD knows I’m always riffling through my hair with my hands). This means the hair comes in contact with more dirt. Once a week wash is ideal, although you can wash it every 3 days if you feel your hair accumulates more dirt.
- Moisturise Hair Daily: while water alone doesn’t give moisture it is one of the key elements of moisture for natural hair. Instead of spritzing the hair with just water, put a couple drops of your favourite essential oil and conditioner into the water before spritzing on your hair. Personally, once I’m out of the bath, I use a water based hair cream all over my damp hair (I don’t use a shower cap so there’s always water on the perimeter of my hair), follow it with an oil and then an essential oil mix I had which includes castor oil, peppermint oil and tea tree oil. After this, my hair is super soft and combs easily. I do this every single day in between my wash days. This way, my hair is always shiny and well moisturized.
- Experiment With Styles: I know this sounds funny really but it’s the truth. I’ve experimented with quite a number of styles this period – side part, sponge twists, finger coils, slicked back with gel; basically styles that can’t be done with long natural hair. These styles don’t always turn out great I assure you (the day I tried out the slicked back with gel style, my hair was streaked in flakes all day) but the adventure of it all is the attraction.
- Enjoy The Phase: No matter what happens, just enjoy the phase. This is especially true with short hair because sooner than later it’s going to grow out and you’ll long to try out some things with it.
If you seek inspiration, go on YouTube, there are tons of
tutorials. Don’t worry if it has to do with cutting or trimming your hair. It
will definitely grow out. Just enjoy the stage your hair is at right now and don’t stress too much over
it.
Do you have any more tips for me? I sure could use all the encouragement I can get not to go back to my cropped cut.
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