Almost nine months post relaxer

So I am about eight months and three weeks out. I took a picture yesterday and I think that I have made a ton of progress! Here is a picture which was taken at the beginning of May -- just a little over a month after my last relaxer. You can see my hair is about ear length:


The bangs in the front are a glued-in (I know, I know) track, so my actual hair was quite a bit shorter in the front. Not long after that, I got a sew-in weave, and wore those through the summer and early fall. Now, here is a picture after I took the sew-in out and got my hair pressed. This pic was taken right around when I started this blog in October:


I am at neck length. Now, two months later, my hair looks to be just at shoulder length! I think I have had about two inches of growth:

I have to say that I owe it all to protective styles. I had no idea what that even meant before I started my healthy hair journey. But that phony pony has really allowed my hair to thrive. I can't wait to see what the next couple of months will bring!