This January 2026 hair diary was a whole ride. I started the month looking exactly how I felt, then pulled it together with a wash day using Adwoa’s exfoliating shampoo + CeraVe anti-dandruff, and I played in some of my current favorites like Pattern’s Palo Santo leave-in, mousse, and Strong Hold Gel. I’ll be real: I’ve been hyper-fixating on the “10%” that doesn’t look perfect, but overall my coils are still coily, still thick as all get out, and still very much Fred. The big theme this month was me getting serious about intention—clean scalp, consistent conditioning, and finally getting that overdue trim so my curls can bounce back. Mid-month, my wash and gos were not giving, so I started testing “random” combos and ended up shocked by how good the 808 Base Gel + The Doux Block Party worked when I used it the right way. Day three looked basically like day one, which never happens for me. I also talked about price vs. how long products actually last, because I feel like that matters more than people admit. Then came trim day with Kendall and… whew. My silk press held, my scalp flakes stayed minimal (Dermazen helped when I let it sit), and I lowkey understood why being a straight natural feels like a protective style sometimes. I did have a mini panic when I started reverting and thought my roots weren’t coming back, but after washing and conditioning, Fred snapped back. By the end of the month, my braid out was popping, my hair felt lush again, and I’m honestly excited for 2026—length retention, better deep conditioning, and smarter heat choices.