Plans for the New Year including Incorporating the Crown and Glory Technique.

It's that time of the year again when (I hope) we reflect on the year just gone past, pat ourselves on the back for the progress we made, identify and understand the mistakes we made and the reasons why we made those mistakes, and take deliberate steps to improving ourselves. I'm not referring to just hair here, but everything that concerns our person - professionally, spiritually, financially, personally etc.

This year was a very bitter sweet one for me - I lost a lot but gained ground in other areas and have had to learn that sometimes, some of the most beautiful things will grow out of the ashes that remain from our fiery trials: KL's Naturals/KL's Natural Beauty Bar is my beautiful thing and I am most grateful to God.

 I have also learnt that regardless of how bad a situation seems, it is your perspective of that situation that determines whether you are drowned by it, or strengthened by it. The last 2 lines of the poem 'Invictus' have stuck with me:

'I am the Master of my Fate,
I am the Captain of my Soul'

I have made this my mantra and no matter how hard I fall, I will get up, dust myself and with an even greater determination, strive to achieve my dreams.

Hair wise, I realize that in my attempt to be a walking advertisement for the Salon, I have been over- manipulating my hair - particularly in the last 3 months. Furthermore, getting so busy with setting up the store and salon and trying to make sure everything runs smoothly has left me with less time to pamper my hair the way I am used to. I live by and love structure so not being able to be consistent with my regimen (Sunday Wash, Wednesday Ayurvedic deep conditioning and co wash) has often left me frazzled and my hair, none too happy with me.


Having said that this picture gives me hope that even though I started to over manipulate and wasn't as consistent as I like to be, I still made good progress this year. I love taking pictures of my hair because sometimes you think your hair is not making  progress till you look at pictures side by side - and as they say, the proof is in the pudding :)

Picture on the right was taken March 2013 Picture on the left was taken December 2013

My goal for 2014 is major length retention and I shall therefore be incorporating more protective styles (read braids lol) into my hair regimen starting this week. I have found that with braids I am less tempted to stick my fingers in my hair, pulling, arranging and obsessing over whether or not it's growing! lolll.

There's a popular hair growth technique called the 'Crown and Glory' which I shall be working with. It basically utilizes braiding as a means of growing and retaining length. Essentially, you braid your hair ( no thinner than the width of a pencil) and leave in your braids for at least 2 months, ensuring that your scalp is clean and hair is moisturized all through the time you have it in braids.

 Once you take the braids out, you need to leave your hair out for 2 - 3 weeks for it to rest (just like you should with weaves) washing and deep conditioning weekly before installing new braids. People tend to deep condition their hair in the braids when utilizing this method but I don't think I want to risk product build up in the braids and messes I have no desire to deal with!

Added to this, will be my regular scalp massages with warm oil ( something I started doing recently and really enjoy) which stimulates follicles and encourages growth. With these two techniques and less manipulation of my hair, I am looking forward to an extra 6 inches of hair in the new year!

Let me say now as 2013 draws to a close that I am grateful for life, for the beautiful people who have become even more beautiful customers and clients of KL's and for you wonderful people who read this blog, and continue to encourage me. In just 4 months, we've grown so much and I'm confident of a bigger and better 2014 all round!

Here's wishing everyone a happy, prosperous, elevating and purposeful 2014 in advance -remember, it is the small daily disciplines we incorporate that lead to successes in our lives so make 2014 count!!