It’s such a weird thing for me to say. Before I got my new second job I was considering coloring my hair purple. Now I’m not allowed to color my hair non-natural colors and it has me think maybe it’s time to take a break from color all together. I’ve been coloring my hair since I went natural. In fact I colored my hair the day I big chopped. My main reason for coloring my hair was because I really didn’t want people to compare me to my sister. 

Back in the day I went natural before her and then I chickened out. I was in high school and I wore brandy braids a lot of the times. So naturally my perm grew out. One day I wore my hair out when my sister was home from college and she liked it. So she went natural , and I got a perm. My sister stayed natural, and it took me a little while to make my way back. 

When I finally decided to go natural I transitioned for a year and a half. Almost two really. I wore braids the entire time. Whenever I told people I was going natural they automatically assumed I was doing it to be like my sister. There was a lot of things I did first that my sister would pick up and people would assume I did it cause of her. 

I hated the thought that people didn’t think I had my own mind. So coloring my hair seemed like the best thing to set me apart. it worked for a long time. However, now I feel like my hair has hit this plateau. As long as I’ve been natural my hair never passes bra strap length. It gets to that length and then breaks off. Usually in the winter when it’s cold & dry. 

   Over the years I’ve done a lot to try and retain length from using different oils like coconut and Jamaican black castor oil. Clipping my ends more regularly, and frequently protective styling. My Hair seems to be tired, so the only thing I can think of is it must be the color.  I color my hair myself so maybe I’ve been overdoing it and giving myself color damage.

   So I’ve decided I’m taking a year long break from color. My plan is just to transition the color out with protective styles like crochet braiding and other styles. I’m still doing research but I am worried about breakage between the dyed hair and the new growth. I was told by my old stylist that first dyed my hair that if I didn’t keep up my color it would cause my hair to break off. I can’t really find information to back that up but it’s a possibility. I will keep you all posted on my progress.