How do you know if your hair is genuinely healthy?

So this past summer I just got fed up with my hair holding me back! For example, I love swimming, yet since I started getting my hair relaxed I would avoid the pool at all costs. I would also avoid humidity, raining, snow, and even people breathing on me (jk!) because I was terrified of frizz. When my hair was straightened I always would get complements. I didn't start getting relaxers until high school. I mainly began getting relaxers to smooth my edges. My natural hair is pretty versatile, curly, and wavy.

Anyway, so I stopped getting the relaxers and just started dumping mouse and gel and then more mouse and more gel on it until I reached my desired look. All I can say is...CRUNCH! My hair was so hard, but I simply thought that I would have to deal with it. That was until I found naturallycurly.com! So I immediately tried the CG routine. At first it worked and then my hair became super dry. I went back on naturallycurly.com and read Curly Nikki's blog. I noticed her routine and tried it! What a difference! My hair is soft and managable! I haven't used henna yet, for fear that I may mess it up! I'm still researching it. I also haven't received my unrefined shea butter yet, but I have used shea butter and green tea mixture which has softened my hair. Then I use Fantasia aloe gel. My hair is soft and shiny.

But is it healthy? I have about 2 and 1/2 inches of new growth since July! It's growing in nicely. I think I'm worried about my ends where I still have relaxer. Am I thinking too much about this? Also, I'm having trouble finding a salon that does natural hair in NJ. Does anyone know of one? I tried a twist out...it simply didn't dry. I would like it professionally done so that I can see where I went wrong.

Thanks a bunch!

chuckles

Shampoo-Giovanni 50/50
Conditioners- Giovanni Tea Tree, Herbal Essence Herbal Hydration, and Deva Curl One Conditioner
Moisturizer- Shea butter
Styler- Fantasia Aloe Gel

hello,

congratulations on going natural! i believe that as long as you use the right products for your hair type(which usually means mostly natural products), moisturize and seal and generally listening to your hair, then your natural hair will be healthy.

Thanks for your response! I think that my issue is that...I'm not use to my hair being healthy. It's soft and it's managable with minimal effort. It was never like this growing up! I just want to make sure I'm doing everthing the right way. Most of my products are all natural...I know that Giovanni products are organic, HH products are pretty good, I use she butter, and my aloe gel has a -cone but it's one of the last ingredients.

I appreciate the support that these forums give us!

Chuckles

Two things to consider would be the porosity and elasticity of your hair.

Both porosity and elasticity seem pretty good. I took your suggestion and went on youtube to look up elasticity tests for hair. Thanks so much you've been so helpful! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]