Taking a break from my hair?

I always took for granted the amount of work I put in my hair regimen. Over the years, I have learnt that one spends more time and effort on hair when it is out vs when it is in a protective style.

I had never really taken this into consideration because I was always at home, so it did not matter whether I put my hair in twists for a week or left it in shrinkage. Nor did I make a fuss about the time it takes to get that perfect high puff.

Reality began to hit when I would take nearly fifteen minutes to style my hair in the morning. Trust me, fifteen minutes is a lot when you are already running out of time.

So at the beginning of the year, when the mighty question of whether or not I should cut my hair creeped in, I had a lot of thinking to do. This was going to be my fourth year since my big chop. So I did not want to put to waste all the work and effort I had put in in taking care of my hair. I had grown quite fond of my hair.

I had so much going on for me, and I had to wake up early in the morning every day. Styling my hair in the morning was becoming a nuisance and it became almost impossible for me to do my weekly hair regimen. It became difficult for me to make time for my hair.

I realized then, that in order for me to be able take proper care of my hair, I needed to manage my time efficiently.

I had considered doing the big chop because I thought it would be the easier alternative, but in fact it would actually be the harder alternative. This is because I would still have to put in as much time and effort on taking care of my hair as before, and as much I would be spending less time styling it, it would grow eventually. I would be faced with the same situation in a few months or years, as my hair would grow and require styling again. Unless I was considering maintaining the short hair and frequently re-cutting my hair, which I was not planning on doing. So that is when I decided to keep my hair in protective styles.

Now I spend less time styling my hair. I have less wash days and when I have my hair out, I actually enjoy taking care of it now and I appreciate my hair more than I have before!