Getting A Well Needed Trim

My hair looks like a weird mushroom from this view lol

So, I'm not sure what has been up with my scalp lately but ever since my last crochet install, I had the itchies and a very sore scalp. (I've noticed in the last year that my scalp has become a bit more sensitive particularly in my crown area)  Coupled with the fact that I didn't particularly like the braid out I'd done with the hair and that for some reason I started to break out; I knew it was time to take the hair out - 1 day shy of 3 weeks.

I patiently snipped everything off and loosened the cornrows underneath, giving myself a massage and getting a feel of what my hair was telling me too. My ends felt like a dry sponge and even though I'd been spritzing faithfully, they were knotting up in places - I knew it was time for a GOOD trim.

The best way to trim natural hair is when it's straight so you can see properly what needs to go. I hadn't planned on stretching my hair yet but I knew if I let this go till the end of the year, I'd probably have to chop off more than I would have, if I had just trimmed earlier; plus I'd have damaged perfectly healthy strands as the split ends would have travelled down healthy hair shafts.

Blowouts, Big Hair and My Twisted Updo Using Braiding Hair!

I had planned on going the whole nine yards with straightening my hair (blow dryer and flat iron) so I could do a proper length check but by the time I'd done a blow out with the hand dryer, I was too tired to be bothered with a flat iron to straighten it further, so I just made do with the semi straightening the blow dryer gave.

In preparation for my my blow out, I pre poo'd over night with my Vatika coconut oil, and in the morning shampooed with the Design Essentials Curl Cleanser, Deep conditioned with the Keratin Deep Conditioning Mask from Shea Radiance ( my hair had been in my last style for 2 weeks so I felt the need for a strengthening deep condition).  Applied my leave in (Kinky Curly Knot Today) and let it air dry for about half an hour then applied  my heat protectant and straightening serum ( IC Fantasia Hair Polisher and Heat Protectant).

 I then blow dried on low speed medium heat with a paddle brush and the above picture is the result! As much as I'd hoped to carry the 'big hair' hair look for a while, the impossible humidity made it all shrivel up in a couple of hours!