SAY WHAT?!!!

Entering the world of healthy black hair care can be an enlightening and fulfilling experience. There’s a plethora of pictures, stories, product reviews, and videos that can take you to the next level of hair growth. But as you begin your healthy hair journey you’ll realize the existence of a whole new language—a healthy hair language- that you were not privy to before your journey began.  

You might come across a comment like this, “After my BC I became a PJ. I thought I had a good regimen because I went from EL then NL and finally SL in only a year. I would DC regularly and CW twice a week. Then I reached a plateau.  I didn’t think I’d ever reach APL.”

Confused?! Not for long! After reading this post you’ll be able to translate comments like these as if you just finished Rosetta Stone.

Here’s a list of common hair growth jargon to help you keep up with veteran SOLH Sistas!

APL – Arm Pit Length
BC – Big Chop

BSL – Bra Strap Length

BSS – Beauty Supply Store

CW- Conditioner Wash

DC – Deep Condition

DIY – Do It Yourself

EL – Ear Length
EVCO – Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
LOTD - Look Of The Day

MBL – Mid back Length

NG – New Growth

NL – Neck Length
PJ – Product Junkie

SL - Shoulder Length
WSL – Waist Length Hair

Braid-Out/Twist-Out –braiding (3-strand) or twisting (2-strand) your hair in sections using a moisturizer, then unbraiding/untwisting it after at least an hour and wearing it as a style
Breakage – when the hair breaks along the hair shaft (no white bulb)

Cowashing - washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo
Deep conditioning – leaving conditioner on your hair for at least 20 minutes

Dusting – a trimming method that takes a small amount of hair off the ends
Low Manipulation -  styles that don’t require persistent combing or brushing
Over-lapping – applying relaxer to new growth and previously relaxed hair
Moisturizer/Leave-in – applying a water based product to your hair without washing it out
Prepoo – preparing your hair prior to applying shampoo
Protective Styling – styling your hair in a way that protects your ends
Regimen- your hair care plan that includes products you use, when you use them and how you use them

Seal– using an oil to lock the moisture in your hair
Shedding – when the entire hairstrand (with white bulb) detaches from the follicle and comes out

Stretching – extending the time between relaxers
Texlax – using a relaxer to loosen up the curl pattern in the hair without making it straight

My Hair Story

The eighties were good to me! During my early childhood, my hair was always at least arm pit length (APL). 

When I was 10, I talked my mom into getting me a jheri curl. I finally had the walk-and-swing hair I envied in my classmates! Unfortunately that ended with my brother and a lighter—nuf said. We decided on a safer alternative—creamy crack a.k.a. a relaxer. It shed and broke off like crazy! But I figured it was normal.  And at shoulder length (SL) it was still longer than most people I knew. 

By the time I went to college I was ready to reclaim my natural self. I noticed there were a lot of young black ladies on campus with beautiful long hair. So I began asking questions. I found that a lot of them were natural (no chemical processes) and those that weren’t went to the salon regularly to get their hair shampooed and styled.  Since weekly visits to the salon were out of my budget, I decided to go natural.

I grew my hair out four about 8 weeks then did the big chop (BC). I loved it! I felt so free. I hadn’t realized how much time I was spending worried about my hair. It was truly liberating! I decided I was going to get to know my hair. It was about an inch long and curly (3C/4A). 

Since it was the late 90s and I wasn’t aware of any black hair blogs or websites back then, I just listened to my hair. If it was crying out for moisture-- I oiled it. If it felt dirty-- I washed it.  It became a habit to wash my hair at least once a week.  I noticed it would dry out easily so I was always applying oil or pomade.  In hindsight, the frequency of my shampoo - pomade - dirty - shampoo cycle was due to the mineral oil or petrolatum in the pomade. But it worked! My hair was healthy, strong, and growing like a weed. As it grew, I kept it in two-strand twists for a few days then I would wear it untwisted until wash day.

A year later my hair was back to shoulder length. It was amazing! What took me years to achieve with relaxed hair I achieved in one year with natural hair. So logically I stayed the course.  By the following year my hair was arm pit length (APL).  A couple years later I was mid-back length (MBL).  

But I was tired. I was spending at least three hours washing and twisting my hair—with help twice a week. I was not happy. I felt like I had become a slave to my hair again. Now that I knew my hair and what it needed I felt I could maintain it better than before. So I decided to go back to the creamy crack.

FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST!

I was MBL and silky straight. Back to an hour a week-wash and go. I stuck to my moisture routine. (Though I didn’t need as much) I was maintaining my length. 

Then came the fateful day at the hairdresser. I said ¼ inch all she heard was 4 and inch. Yep back to shoulder length.  And thanks to too frequent trims and relaxers (oh I see why they call it creamy crack—an unhealthy addiction to the flat edges and an aversion to new growth). My hair went back to thin and struggling. I knew I could grow long beautiful healthy hair and I didn’t want to do a BC again.

I had my first HAIR INTERVENTION when a friend (THANKS RYNA!!) introduced me to the black hair world on the internet. Long Hair Care Forum, Hairlicious Inc.,  and Keep It Simple Sista became my road maps for my new hair journey.  She showed me where to buy all my products and how to look for ingredients instead of names and descriptions. She opened up a whole new world to me when we ventured outside the ethnic hair aisle to find products. I was hooked. I made a hair care regimen and stuck to it faithfully. I stretched my relaxers 17 to 20 weeks. I moisturized and sealed day and night. I deep conditioned twice a week and wore protective styles constantly.  It was working!!

My hair is now arm pit length (APL). It’s strong and healthy. I have to yell it from the rooftops!

That’s why I started SO Lovely Hair (SOLH)!

SO Lovely Hair

SO Lovely Hair (SOLH) provides black hair maintenance information for anyone interested in growing lovely long healthy hair. Through a face to face forum (SOLH hair party/consultation) women can share their experience and get educated.  

The SOLH After Party is a simple way to continue the conversation. It’s here to encourage personal growth through knowledge. The After Party is for women to reconnect after a SOLH hair consultation or hair party. It’s a positive forum where women can chat about what they have learned or would like to learn in the future.

Enjoy!