Operation Restoration - Maintenance

Hey, guys!  So I wanted to give you all a quick update on how my hair has been doing these past few weeks as I become more entrenched in "Operation Restoration" (my all-out/all-in plan to regain the health and length of my hair).  It has been quite the struggle, I must say, but I've been steady in my implementation of said plan - focusing first and foremost on regaining its density via a stringent diet of trims and cutbacks until its thickness has been restored.

I haven't changed too much, including the products I use and the schedule in which I use them.  I still wash my hair once a week and use the same shampoos/conditioners I've always used along with the Olaplex I recently added to my regimen to guard against breakage.

Next, I trim, trim and trim some more.  As you can tell, my hair has a ways to go as far as it getting thicker; you can clearly see the white of my tank through the back of my hair still.  And so I cut it, maintaining the same length every time I snip so that the shorter hairs can eventually catch up to the longer ones, allowing my hair to become more dense.

Consequently, I have no new gains - as far as length - to report.  My hair, in fact, appears to be the same length as when I initially chopped it off.  But it lays pretty nicely after I curl it with my flatiron, keeps a nice sheen and feels good, too...

BUT... I've been having some major breakage recently.  Now, for the record, I did stop using the Olaplex for two washings because I thought it was making my scalp slightly sensitive.  It wasn't burning or anything drastic like that.  I just... hmm... I guess I thought it was feeling a little tender after weekly use and I wanted to be careful.  AND while I did have an occasional smattering of small broken ends here and there while using Olaplex (too modest to even cause concern), it does not even compare to what I had experienced without it.  In fact, during all my adult days of taking care of my hair, I've NEVER had breakage like what you see above.  For me, this is not normal.  Nor acceptable.  And so back to Olaplex I go until my hair gets back to normal.

Welp, that's my update, guys.  Not much gained as far as length, but slow and steady will win this contest.  It's not really a "contest", I know.  But you get my point.  Once I tackle the thickness issue (or lack thereof), then I will address length.  And I feel encouraged.  I know I'll be back to form soon enough.  Just gotta be patient.  Paaaaaaatient....

Operation Restoration moving right along!