Mercies Anew : Patterns.

Patterns are useful. They aren't always a great thing, though. Keeping in mind Psychology and human behavior is most always on my mind, I think patterns reveal a lot of things. Patterns can reveal who a person has become based on their past.. Most times when I observe a behavior that is considered not positive, I always mentally note to watch for patterns. Patterns of behavior, patterns of speech, patterns of what isn't being said or patterns of what is ALWAYS being said. This blog post has absolutely nothing to do with psychology or human behavior. However, I wanted to give you a little nugget of insight about me (giggles). Actually I wanted to set the scene: patterns are useful.
This blog post is actually about my hair. I've been on what I would consider my "hair journey" since 2007. Throughout this journey I've learned how to properly care for my African American hair so not only is it healthy, but so that I see some growth. IT IS A MYTH THAT BLACK WOMEN'S HAIR CAN NOT BE LONG. Yes, I was shouting that, hence all the caps. Over the last 6 years of hair care, I've grown my hair to lengths that have people asking " is that your real hair?!" (in which my answer is always, YES--said nicely, of course). But for the last 3+ years I've not cared so much for the length, but have tried focusing more on the health of my hair.

A little hair history: My hair is fine. It is not thin. Thin and fine are NOT the same things. My hair is fine. That means I use a mild relaxer for my hair and it still comes out straight. My hair is fine enough that all I really have to do to get it straight is blow dry it with a dryer that has a comb attachment. Anyone that knows anything about hair knows that the ends of your hair is the oldest. As my hair gets longer, the ends get thinner. That means starting off with fine hair, as it ages the ends don't look so pretty, after a while. That's why I am guilty of being scissor happy. The last few times I've cut my hair it's been 3 inches at a time. That's because of thin ends that don't make me happy, and....AND because of this other little problem. The middle of my hair grows slower than the sides. As a result, from the back of my hair it always looks like I have a "thin" spot towards the ends of my hair. After watching a YouTube video, I had a light bulb moment. It isn't that I need to keep cutting my hair so it's even; I just need to accept that the middle of my hair grows slower. Being who I am, I needed to research if this was indeed true. (see how I just threw my psychology love in there?!Researcher, eh!) I pulled up my hair pictures from 2007 and from the beginning I've always had the same exact ‘trouble spot’. This really isn’t a trouble spot at all, but just a place on my head where my hair grows slower. In having a hair journey this is why taking update pictures is so important. I was able to pull out my pictures and based on the patterns come to a pretty solid conclusion that now helps me in how I will go about dealing with my hair. After this new light bulb moment, I've resolved not to cut my hair anymore. Well, not exactly. I will continue trimming my hair, but I will not be cutting 3 inches off at a time trying to even out my hair when that's just not how my hair grows.

In this instance and usually in most all instances, I am very happy for patterns. Take note. There is always a pattern you can identify that proves or disproves what you want.

The proof is in the pictures! Over 6 years of cutting, my hair is still growing the same.