5 Reasons You Should Keep a Hair Journal

     9 times out of 10 when you first went natural you had a plan.  You knew why you went natural and how you wanted your hair to look.  You read the popular natural hair blog posts, watched YouTube videos and hung on to their every word.  Then you went and purchased every product @Ihavethebiggestandbestnaturalhairever said to buy and commented "yassss and #hairgoals" on every single picture.  Oh...that was just me lol? 
     Personally, somewhere between the big chop and trying to get my hair to look like every hair crush imaginable, I have purchased countless products and tried countless techniques.  Sometimes these techniques worked terribly and other times they worked great.  Some blogger's "holy grail" leave-ins worked amazing for me and others not so much. My point is, when you start to try so many different products, techniques and regimens you are bound to start to forget what is actually working for you and what isn't.  This lead me to start keeping a hair journal. In my hair journal, I keep track of everything related to MY HAIR.  I list the products, techniques and styling methods I used.  I even keep track of when I moisturized my hair.  This my way of taking charge of my hair goals.  Here are 5 reasons you should keep one too.

1.  To Be Able to Know Which Product Did What
     Have you ever had a wash day that went perfectly? Your hair detangled with ease and it was super soft.  Styling was a breeze and the next day you felt very Tracy Ellis Ross-ish lol. Your twist out was super defined and you mixed about 3 different products.  Fast forward to next week's wash day and you look a hot mess. What changed? Which product actually gave the definition?  Was the combination necessary?  Being a product junkie sometimes leaves me unable to figure out exactly which product caused a change in my hair. Your hair journal will lend you a clue.

2. To Pinpoint When Your Hair Made Positive/Negative Changes
     The 2nd reason goes hand in hand with the first one.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the routine of doing my natural hair and what has worked for me in the past, that I am unable to recognize when a certain method or technique has simply stopped working for me.  Other times, I look back at my good hair days and I have no idea what I was using at the time to make my hair look so great.  Keeping a hair journal will allow you to see exactly when you made a change.

3. To Discontinue the Use of Unnecessary Products and Techniques 
      Jane Doe swears by using product X for her twists out, three strand twist outs, and double braid-flat-twist-curl-and-go (I made that one up lol). You have tried product X on 3 different occasions and your hair resembles a bird nest.  Document this in your journal and stop using it! 
    Maybe you're like me and you swore by the LOC method but now you've noticed your hair isn't as well moisturized as it used to be. You know how they say don't force love, relationships or ponytails? Yea...that applies to natural hair products too lol. Your hair journal will force you to stop forcing it and explore other options.

4.  Set Real #hairgoals and Stick to Them
Keeping a hair journal will help you figure out what works for you instead of what works out for your favorite hair crush. Think of it as a personalized hair blog that has been customized just for you! There's absolutely nothing wrong  with borrowing ideas and product suggestions from other naturals but at the end of the day what works for your hair crush, may not necessarily work for you. Once you have set your hair goal, your hair journal will help you stay consistent until you achieve your goal.

5.  To Stop Being a Product Junkie
Ok...maybe keeping a hair journal won't stop you from  being  a product junkie, but at least you will be a productive product junkie.  Once you have been keeping your hair journal for a while, I am willing to bet that you will begin to see commonalities in the products that work for your hair and the ones that don't.  Once you know what ingredients the products that don't work for you have in common, you can eliminate these when you go on product purchasing binges. If coconut oil doesn't work for you (God forbid!), it shouldn't matter how many people recommend a particular product to you.  If it contains coconut oil, don't buy it. 

Do you keep a hair journal?  What are some other things you would add to your hair journal?  Sound off in the comments section.

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