I haven't been so nice to my hair in years past. In fact, it started breaking off because I had not been careful about how I was taking care of it. Excessive heat, styling and coloring on my fine, dry hair caused my hair to become weak and break so much so that I chopped it off.

My hair is in a fragile state at the moment, but I'm being mindful of it and treating it kindly. I'm starting to see improvements to the texture and quality in just a short few months too. I thought I would share what I'm doing to keep it healthy and happy.

1. Weekly hair masques - I alternate between different ones, but I'm mainly focusing on putting moisture back into my hair and strengthening it. I really like these from Aveda (damage remedy, dry remedy and color conserve).

2. Washing it every three days - I've been doing this for a long time now, but I'm being extra mindful to do this for the health of my hair. I don't even brush my hair between washes. I simply apply dry shampoo to my roots to keep the oil at bay and work it into my scalp with my fingers. I usually shake my head upside-down to give it a fluff too.

3. I try only to blow drying my hair and styling it once a week - This has been really hard for me because I love the volume the dryer gives my roots, but for now reducing the amount of heat on my hair will help a lot. When I do blow dry my hair I use a lower heat setting as well, which take a bit longer, but I think it's worth it.

4. Once a week I'm letting it air dry natural curly - Since I'm only using styling tools once a week the other time I wash my hair I just let it air dry. I'm learning how to rock my natural texture. I just apply my curl cream and mousse and let it go. It's kind of liberating to my surprise.

5. I switched my styling tools to ceramic plates instead of metal - I learned that ceramic plates protect the hair more than metal because that heat more evenly. Metal plats can contain hot spots. There are some metal plates out there that are coated, but if the coating wears off it will damage your hair. This is what happened to me. I recently bought Chi Ceramic 1" straightener and I love it. I also purchased Hot Tools NanoCermaic Tapered Curl Wand and that give my hair a nice bend.

6. I'm going longer between color appointments - This has been hard since I started sprouting some gray hairs, but lightening your hair definitely can weaken and damage your strands. I'm going with deeper roots and touching up with dry shampoo that is for brown hair. I use Salon Grafix for brunettes.

7. I'm layering products into my hair to protect it from UV and heat (when I use it) - Styling products add a barrier of protection for your hair and many contain UV protectants too. This will help protect from your color fading, as well as damage.

8. Getting regular haircuts and maintaining short hair - I've always been the client to shop my hair off and then let it grow for six months. I would just get two cuts a year and call it good. That's the worst idea ever because once those split-ends start they will continue to creep up your strands and break your hair to the root. It's more money and time, but cutting my hair every 8 weeks is going to ensure that split ends stay away.

Photos by Rennai Hoefer; this post contains affiliate links

I've always wanted long, thick hair like a princess, but it has never been in the cards for me. I have very fine, curly hair that's on the thinner side. I've definitely learned to embrace what God has given me, and I adore the short cut my hairstylist and friend, Kim Cornwell gave me, but when I see these milkmaid braids and fishtail braids I start wishing I had Elsa's hair from Frozen.

I've always known hair extensions could be an option, but they've always seemed really expensive with a lot of upkeep. When IrresistableMe Hair Extensions asked if I was willing to give their extensions a whirl I thought, "What do I have to lose? Let's find out if these really do work."

I went on their website and chose the correct weight, length and color of my extensions. I had Kim help me decide since she knows my hair really well. The extensions are extremely good quality. It's all human hair sewn into clips so that you can easily put them on and take them off as you wish.

The next step was getting the extensions cut and getting some education on how to properly place them in my hair so that I don't look like I have a mullet. Jenny Strebe from The Confessions of a Hairstylist was kind enough to show me exactly what to do. If you are need of really great hair tutorials and you appreciate product reviews, go follow her on YouTube and on her blog.

So here are the steps according to Jenny:

#1 Divide your hair into sections starting with the bottom first.

#2 Back comb the section where you will attach the hair extension so that it gives something for the clips to grip.

#3 Repeat this process a couple more times as you get higher and higher in the hair line.

#4 Once the extensions have been placed. Style as you would like. However, if you have yet to have your extensions blended into your haircut follow the steps above and then have a professional hairstylist cut your extensions while you are wearing them. Jenny also recommends point cutting the ends so that they really blend in and don't have blunt edges.