Long Hair Don't Care: LOVING mwedzi's HAIR!!!!!

What length is your hair? My hair is currently an inch below my bra band. BSL, stretched of course.

How long have you been on your hair growth journey? I'm not totally sure how to answer this question because I'm not sure what counts as my journey or the start of it. I guess it should be when I started a hair care group through Meetup.com, even though my real reason for starting the group wasn't so much to do with my hair, but an excuse to meet with more black women. Shortly after that I found there was already a natural hair group in Chicago, so I abandoned mine, right around the time also of finding nappturality.com. That was the summer of 2007.

What length was your hair when you started your journey? I'm not sure because I didn't straighten my hair and I didn't stretch my hair to see how long it would be if it were straight. If I had to guess, I'd say a couple inches below shoulder length, I guess.

Prior to your hair journey, what was the longest your hair had been? Again, not sure. I didn't straighten my hair and I didn't stretch out a piece or measure it or anything. If I had to guess, somewhere between armpit length and bra strap length.

Do you trim at all? Yes, I trim the ends of my twists. Anywhere from 1-4 times a year.

How do you cleanse your hair and how often? what products do you use? I wash weekly and I almost always use shampoo. Since discovering the hair boards, I might skip a week of using shampoo and just use water, then condition my hair. My favorite shampoo is Trader Joe's Nourish Spa, but every now and then I'll use a shampoo with sulfates.

How do you condition your hair and how often? with what products? My favorite deep conditioner is Aveda Damage Remedy Intensive Treatment. My favorite cheap DC is V05 + mayonnaise + coconut oil. My favorite rinse-out conditioner is V05. I don't have a set regimen so I don't do it the same way each time, but a common way for me to condition is to coat my hair in the conditioner and detangle with it on. It may be before or after washing my hair.

In terms of caring for your hair, what do you do? do you straighten? If so, how often? Is your hair chemically treated? What do you do to your hair on a day to day basis? Do you protective style? I don't straighten my hair, really. I'll try maybe once a year or so. I've gone years without straightening, though. My hair has no chemicals. No relaxer since '94 or '95 and never been dyed. Some styles I wear are protective styles, though I don't prefer them. I recently finished a 2-month protective style challenge and it did help with my tangling issues, though not as much as one might hope. My favorite style is a twist out, either worn loose or in an updo or bun.

Who are some of your hair inspirations and why? My length inspiration is Sera252 on fotki because her hair looks so much like mine but much longer. And she does great styles with it that don't require too many skills I don't have (like cornrowing, can't really cornrow).

Nonie and JustKiya on LongHairCareForum are my maintenance inspirations because they seem so at ease with their hair where I struggle with mine a lot.

What is your goal length? I'm not sure, as long as it will grow without it becoming too difficult. I'd love to have waist length hair.

What are your top 5 hair care tips?

1. Comb gently. Or not at all, if you can help it. Use your fingers if you can.

2. Comb infrequently. Do what you have to do to minimize tangling so that you can avoid having to comb often.

3. Keep the hair stretched. Don't let it shrink up too much. This causes tanglig

4. Don't wash and go with my type of hair. It's a tangling nightmare.

5. Don't buy 7 million products. Most products are similar to each other and don't produce noticeably different results.

What is the best advice you can give to someone who is just starting their hair growth journey? Accept your hair for what it is. You can admire others', but yours will never be theirs.

Is there anywhere online that i can follow your hair growth journey? http://fotki.com/mwedzi

Anything else you'd like to share? Have fun and don't stress too much. In the end, it's just hair and once you realize that, everything will be easier for you.