Name: Cassandra

A little about my hair journey. I transitioned from October 2010 to June 2011, when I big chopped. The reason behind me wanting to go natural is my hair started thinning noticeably around my edges, even though I had long, thick hair. So, I first started to stretch relaxers and this seemed to help until my last perm in the beginning of October 2010. Let’s just say, my hair seemed to burn off around the edges and I had a severe chemical burn. After that, I said, “No more” and started to grow out my perm.

It was a challenge with the two textures, but I mostly wore buns and braids until I BC’d in June 2011. I was really surprised that my hair would curl. I knew I had wavy hair, but somehow I never figured my hair would curl!

Goals:

Hair
I would like to participate in the GOC challenge to continue regrowing my edges and to reach mid-back range. Presently, my hair is in long layers. But, my longest point is just past shoulder length, but not quite BSL. Attached are some pics of my hair journey to the current growth.

Health & Fitness
I was already on a fitness goal to get healthy and lose weight. So, I would love to set a goal to lose 20 lbs, which I think is obtainable during the GOC. My current weight is 257, so 237 will be a nice starting point to continue on a healthy living journey. I plan to change my diet and incorporate more time to exercise, which I hate, but must be done. If anyone has any other diet tips, I would love to hear from them. I will turn 32 this year, so it’s time for me to get my weight under control before I gain any health consequences from the extra pounds.

Regimen:

Hair

• Currently, I co-wash my hair once a week (however, this will probably change to 2-3 times a week as I add exercise to reach my weight loss goal).
• I only shampoo once a month (scalp only – sulfate/paraben free shampoo).
• I Henna once a month and follow Curly Nikki’s recipe.
• I use rhassoul/bentonite clay once a month, as needed (depends on if I have a lot of buildup, which might be the case going into summer as I will be wearing a lot of wash and gos).
• The main hair products that I use are Tresemmé Naturals Conditioner, MoroccanOil Conditioner, extra virgin olive oil, Jamaican black castor oil, KCCC and argan oil.
• As far as protective styles, I plan to either wear two strand twist/twist out 4 days of the week as I am challenged styling-wise and then wash and gos for the rest.
• Currently, I take one capsule of Biotin 5000 everyday.

Health & Fitness

• I plan to work out 2x a day at work in the morning and either during lunch or after work at home.
• On the weekend, I plan to either attend Zumba classes or purchase an at home DVD.
• I will drink more water, drink 2-3 cups of Green Tea to speed up my metabolism, avoid red meat and eat more lean protein/vegetables.

Reward: I don’t have a reward for my hair other than hopefully more healthy hair with my edges growing in more fully. However, if I reach my weight loss goal, I plan to purchase the Garmin FR70 fitness watch with heart monitor.

Follow me online: I plan to document my progress on my blog: brwnsugar31.blogspot.com.