Straightened hair for first time in 5 months!

oh, no that wasn't why i cut it as short as i did. I cut it to neck because that's how long my crown section is and i wanted to get rid of my layers. i did get heat damage, though. probably about an inch of heat damage in places. I didn't deep condition or protein prior to. :( lol i used to back in the day when i regularly used heat but i haven't really done any of that since reverting back to natural styles. 

thank you! it's like a dark brown color naturally that usually looks black except in light. this is the first time anyone's ever said they like my natural hair color lol 

i forgot to answer your question at the end lol

what would i do differently? 

hmmm...first, i would hold off on using heat until i reached my length goal. so for me that's probably looking like about at least two years if not three. second, i would not straighten my hair unless i planned on creating a regimen that catered to the fact that i would regularly use heat on my hair. next time i do straighten, i  plan on implementing it into my overall hair care. and third, i'll opt for non direct heat straightening techniques, like sitting under a dryer or wrap setting curlformed hair or something of that sort, rather than flat iron use. :)