Read part two of this blog series here.
At home, I’ve continued using Davines hair products because they are free of sulfates and parabens. These are chemicals often found in shampoos that can strip the hair of its essential moisture, make hair strands brittle and weak and can irritate the scalp—which are all counterproductive to growing out hair.
Once a week, I use Davines’ Solu Sea Salt Scrub that Brianna introduced me to, so I can clarify my hair of any residue left by my dry shampoo and home’s hard water. On other wash days, I use Davines’ OI Shampoo and Conditioner. Not only do I love Davines’ OI line for its lasting fresh, flowery scent, but I also appreciate how its roucou oil helps strengthen hair and keep it soft, shiny and healthy—which is just what I needed as I continued to grow my hair into a chin-length bob.
About a week after my stacked pixie haircut, I asked Brianna the almighty question: “When do you think my hair will be grown out?” She explained to me that hair grows about half-an-inch a month. So far, my hair has been right on track—it grew about three inches in the six months it went without seeing any shears or razors. Because my hair needed to grow about two more inches to reach my chin, Brianna said, it would be grown out to my desired length around May.
While my grew from January to May, I began taking joy in styling my hair again by blow-drying and straightening it. I use Davines’ Heart of Glass Sheer Glaze Rachel introduced to me, as I love how this product’s baobab extract gives elasticity to hair fibers, so my smooth and shiny blowout lasts longer.
I also use Davines’ Melu Hair Shield as a heat protectant before blow-drying or straightening my hair. I love how light-weight this anti-breakage hair product is—it does not make my hair strands feel heavy and sticky, like other heat protectants can.
By the end of May, my hair had finally reached my desired chin-length. I was under Rachel’s care again as she shaped the perimeter of my hair into a blunt bob. She also gave me a tutorial on how to curl my hair.
In the 17 years Rachel has been a hairstylist, she has found that it’s easier for beginners like me to curl my hair with a curling iron rather than a curling wand, she said. Rachel alternated curling my hair toward and away from my face to create the messy, wavy hairstyle from my initial chin-length bob inspiration photo on Pinterest. After my hair appointment, I was overjoyed and couldn’t stop admiring my hair in the mirror. I had finally reached my hair goals, 10 months in the making!
Since growing out my pixie cut into a bob, I have found so much joy with my hair again. I’ve picked up Dutch-braiding my hair again, and I’ve finally broken out my cherished crochet or velvet scrunchies again to pull my hair out of my face into a half up-do.
I need to practice curling my own hair as I’ve definitely burnt a finger or two with my curling iron, but I love that I now have the freedom to have fun with my hair again and try new styles. My healthy chin-length bob not only makes me feel more like myself, but it also makes me feel connected to my grandmother, who was a hairstylist and expressed her joyful, spirited personality with her short hair too.
Learn more about Rachel’s and Brianna’s education, experience, specialties and favorite products on our Meet the Team page.
Shop the Davines products mentioned in this post on our Shop page.
Nicole Thomas is the Digital Marketing Director for Tyler Mason Salon & Spa. She is also a passionate writer and digital marketer for several Indiana-based women’s magazines. When she isn’t at TM, she loves cozying up with a book and cup of coffee or crocheting a new cardigan for her wardrobe.