An Update On My Nape Progress - December 2014

If you have followed my hair journey, you may know that one of the major problems that I wanted to focus on from the start was my nape.  You can read up on prior posts here and here.  For years, my nape has never been in the best shape, but since starting my journey I have definitely started to make progress.  Now I'm not saying that it's in the most optimal condition right now, but it's definitely better than it has been, thanks to better healthy hair practices.

My Nape Progress

A little passed shoulder length

Ear length (left) |  Neck length (right)

I don't think I've done anything too drastic in order to improve my nape. For my case, I think the key problem was my nape being over-processed from relaxing. I think that the stylist(s) I visited were not rinsing my nape thoroughly and were not wiping down the sink where my relaxed head had been resting.  I'm a short girl so my neck never quite rested in the bowl as it should.  Because of my nape continuing to be in such a poor state, I kept cutting my hair hoping to start over despite my length goals.  I would cut my hair only to end up with the same results - dry, broken, damaged nape.

I attribute my progress to:  

1. Stretching my relaxers
2. Moisturizing and Sealing frequently
3. Trying my best to "leave it alone"(very hard to do...lol)
4. Trying to keep my nape from rubbing against jackets, coats, and shirt collars. I cringe when I feel a strand of my hair stick to my shirt....

I am so proud to say that I have turned this around, despite the negative comments from my stylist at the time who constantly told me that my nape just wasn't going to grow.  I was determined to prove her wrong.  I sometimes felt discouraged, because it seemed to take forever to really see real results, but I had to be patient. And we all know that patience is extremely important in a hair journey. Progress doesn't happen over night.

Right now my nape is a little passed shoulder length.  I have been trimming it occasionally to get rid of dead ends.  I am so excited about my progress, but the journey with my nape is far from over.  The next stop for my nape journey..., APL! :)

Thanks for reading and happy hair nape growing!

My Nape - Making Progress Slowly But Surely

I finally got around to getting some updated pics for my nape progress comparison.   As I've said before, it's not where I'd hoped to be at this point in my journey, but progress is progress and I am happy.  It was very hard to get a good comparison as far as length but I think the progress is still visible. 

At the start of my journey I could barely grasp the hair, but now I can get small rollers in for my rollersets.  The main thing that I have been focusing on is keeping my nape moisturized and massaging my scalp with Castor oil and avoiding stress in that area.  Also, when relaxing I usually relax this area last, so the relaxer is only on this area for a couple of minutes really. Under-processing my nape allows for more strength in that area. Not only have I seen progress in the length and thickness, but also the texture.  It is so much softer, no longer stiff and course.  Thank you Darcy's Coconut Lemongrass Transition Crème, JBCO, and peppermint oil! 

I remember my old stylist used to tell my how the texture of my hair at my nape is just different than the rest of my hair and that it just wasn't going to grow.  Her solution was to just hide it or keep cutting my hair short.  I opted to take another route.  I've mentioned before that I feel the main cause for my damaged nape was definitely over-processing.  This is why it felt so course.  I've also realized that my nape grows so much slower than the rest of my hair, so this plus the fact that I used to get my hair relaxed bone straight every 6 weeks was a bad combination.  Check out my previous post here to read about some other causes of nape damage and tips on remedying this problem.

This area is still a work in progress.  I will continue to focus on baying my nape as I have been and hope to see more progress soon.  I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my progress.

 

Do you have any problem areas with your hair?

What have you done to remedy them and have you seen progress? 

Please share in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!

   Andrea