Inspired by Sylver2 -- The Long-Term Stretch Challenge

[beans4reezy]

This was my hair in Feb of last year

This was my hair today from the touch up:

As you can see, no real change. My major mistake was going too long w/o washing and conditioning. I was going 4-6 weeks with out washing or conditioning my hair thinking the less manipulation was better.

I am still going to stretch, but only to 4-5 months at a time...6 months max. I was thinking about giving up on the hair thing...but I will do no such thing. I will bounce back from this set back. I will.

 

[NJoy]

This was my hair in Feb of last year

This was my hair today from the touch up:

As you can see, no real change. My major mistake was going too long w/o washing and conditioning. I was going 4-6 weeks with out washing or conditioning my hair thinking the less manipulation was better.

I am still going to stretch, but only to 4-5 months at a time...6 months max. I was thinking about giving up on the hair thing...but I will do no such thing. I will bounce back from this set back. I will.

beans4reezy

Oh, not as bad as you had me thinking. First, you did get length. You can tell because the sides are on your back now. The V is gone so I assume length lost was lost in the cut. In anycase, it looks like you have a nice, full hemline that looks healthy and longer.

Now. I can't believe you were going 4-6 wks without at LEAST conditioning while stretching. But, at least you have some idea of what not to do next time. So be encouraged. You're hair is in beautiful condition to continue growing. And your plan to stay under 6 months is reasonable. I think after 6 months, you really have to stay on top of your game.

Keep growing, girl. I know you wanted to be longer after 72 wks but, consider it an adjustment instead of a setback. Your hemlime has been adjusted and it looks good.

 

[wheezy807]

wheezy807

Did you notice the breakage or are you just taking her word for it? And what's causing the breakage? I've learned that I can NOT detangle my hair in the shower. I have to wash in braids, moisturize and seal in braids and then after it airdries, I finger detangle and haven't had any problems since doing it like that.

I'm 38 wks post. My last stretch was ended at this time because I was losing tons of hair detangling in the shower and had 3 major detangling nightmares.

Also, is your stylist used to working with the 2 textures and making sure the line of demarc is well moisturized? Maybe the stylist is inadvertantly causing the breakage. How often do you go to have it done?

I'll update you tomorrow. Sideline--I'm so frustrated with this computer! I have tried now and a couple of days ago to reply only to write like 4 paragraphs and it tell me that i'm not logged in!

The devil is a lie! But i will take comparison pics tonight for tomorrow. I'll make sure to ask questions first. Ladies wish me luck.

 

[sylver2]

OK. Set back city. No bueno. I stretched too long and wasn't on top of my protein game like I thought. My hair is the same exact length as when I started stretching and my hair dreser showed me thin spots from where there was breakage.. I will post pics later. I'm so devastated right now. Just trying to stay on this hair journey and not give up

Later girls.

This was my hair in Feb of last year

This was my hair today from the touch up:

As you can see, no real change. My major mistake was going too long w/o washing and conditioning. I was going 4-6 weeks with out washing or conditioning my hair thinking the less manipulation was better.

I am still going to stretch, but only to 4-5 months at a time...6 months max. I was thinking about giving up on the hair thing...but I will do no such thing. I will bounce back from this set back. I will.

beans4reezy did she trim/cut u at all? im curious to see how much she actually trimmed off. u def got length..but looks like a lot was cut.
I see a huge difference between that 1st pic and now. the overall health of your hair looks great and healthy!
we are our own worst critics.

 

[sylver2]

also beans4reezy u said u went for 4-6 weeks w/o washing/conditioning during your stretch? yikes!!
it didn't dred up?
During my stretch especially in my 9, 10 11 12th month i had to wash/condition more frequently because my hair was dreding up and drying out. at least once a week then in the 12th month it was twice a week. it took me like 2-3 hours just to detangle that last month.

 

[sylver2]

I may go on another 1 year stretch. It will be a breeze this time because i've learned so much more since then.
i literally haven't done anything to my hair in ages. just was enjoying it and was not on my hair grind like usual i was soooooo over the hair thing cut it last April.
but im excited again about it anxious to apply all my new techniques to the next stretch. SAA, oils, vitamins & manuka honey mixed in my DC's, saran wrap steams, ponytail rollersets, argan oil, protein balance etc etc. becoming a mixologist..lovin it.

 

[sylver2]

beans4reezy

erplexed Wow. I don't even know what to say right now. I'm sorry for the disappointment and nervous about what to expect for myself at the same time. Maybe longterm stretching isn't the thing to do unless it's a transition. I don't know what to think right now.

What was your regi while stretching? And had you ever stretched this long before? And why is your hair the same length? Did she cut? Or are you saying that you had all over breakage? I don't mean to swarm you with questions. Just whenever you feel like it. This is only a temporary setback.

for most i think it's very beneficial...but it is soooo hard. Patience and time are so important!!. if u don't have that..forget about stretching
my hair became my life. it had to.
maan it's so difficult dealing with two completely textures. half of my hair would be dry & dreding up, or matted, the other half stick straight. hours and hours, got expensive going thru conditioners, shampoos.. but it was worth it for me. my hair was the healthiest, longest it was in my entire life.
that right balance of protein & conditioner is so important. keeping the NG moisturized, oiled soft at all times.

 

[wheezy807]

I may go on another 1 year stretch. It will be a breeze this time because i've learned so much more since then.
i literally haven't done anything to my hair in ages. just was enjoying it and was not on my hair grind like usual i was soooooo over the hair thing cut it last April.
but im excited again about it anxious to apply all my new techniques to the next stretch. SAA, oils, vitamins & manuka honey mixed in my DC's, saran wrap steams, ponytail rollersets, argan oil, protein balance etc etc. becoming a mixologist..lovin it.

Please let us know when/if you decide to do the stretch. I might join you. Techique does play an important role in stretching long term but mind over matter is somewhere along side, too.

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[sylver2]

Finally relaxing my hair this coming saturday, I'll be 32wks post. I got my hair flatironed last friday and my stylist informed me that I need a cut instead of a trim. She just lightly dusted it that day and informed me of some breakage on the right side. This would be the second stretch in a row where all my progress would be cut off.

My ends are really bad, there's no lie about that. I will have to talk to her further indepth before hand.

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man if i listened to most of my stylist id be ear length right now.
you've been doing protein and DC's?

wheezy807

Did you notice the breakage or are you just taking her word for it? And what's causing the breakage? I've learned that I can NOT detangle my hair in the shower. I have to wash in braids, moisturize and seal in braids and then after it airdries, I finger detangle and haven't had any problems since doing it like that.

I'm 38 wks post. My last stretch was ended at this time because I was losing tons of hair detangling in the shower and had 3 major detangling nightmares.

Also, is your stylist used to working with the 2 textures and making sure the line of demarc is well moisturized? Maybe the stylist is inadvertantly causing the breakage. How often do you go to have it done?

see and this is where everyone is different. there is no way i could let my hair hit air before detangling it it had to be detangled soaking wet in the shower with TONS of conditioner in it. piece by piece. then again after i put in the leave in con.

listen listen to your hair, don't force but try another way.
in my 12th month it woudnt even detangle anymore. i could not get my shower comb thru it. i started applying the leave in con & oils then got back in shower to let water run over it. it helped. but u see how i had to get creative and try some crazy stuff. lol like who washes their hair, deep condition, rinse & get out, put leave ins only to get back in again to rewet & rinse the leave ins just so u can get a comb thru it.

 

[sharifeh]

OK. Set back city. No bueno. I stretched too long and wasn't on top of my protein game like I thought. My hair is the same exact length as when I started stretching and my hair dreser showed me thin spots from where there was breakage.. I will post pics later. I'm so devastated right now. Just trying to stay on this hair journey and not give up

Later girls.

I'm so sorry! This has happened to me more than once and stylists always cut too much off so you can't see your progress. Don't worry, you'll still reach your goals

 

[sharifeh]

man if i listened to most of my stylist id be ear length right now.

seriously! They always want to cut.

sylver2 how do you maintain your ends? Do you trim yourself? I know you also had a nightmare with a haircut when they cut you to bsl right?

Do you just always refuse a trim even if your ends are doing badly? I've had stylists cut my progress off at least 3 times and I haven't learned my lesson but by the end of my stretch my ends are usually not in the best shape

 

[hairedity]

My last relaxer/texlax was done at the end of November. I will stretch until May or June.

Starting pice (beginning of Dec 2011)

 

[sylver2]

seriously! They always want to cut.

sylver2 how do you maintain your ends? Do you trim yourself? I know you also had a nightmare with a haircut when they cut you to bsl right?

Do you just always refuse a trim even if your ends are doing badly? I've had stylists cut my progress off at least 3 times and I haven't learned my lesson but by the end of my stretch my ends are usually not in the best shape

there is one stylist i trust. i tell her what i want and watch carefully while she is snipping. ive learned my lesson the hard way. i will not allow others to trim my hair. and its ok to say no trim this time. so u can go home after hair is done to check for yourself exactly what u need. sometimes we don't even need it. while we are stretching our ends look crazy...until our touchup. i don't get trims when i touchup. i wait a few weeks after to see if i need one. or i do my own dustings after touchup.

 

[sylver2]

its funny because i definitely use to be one of those ladies who sit in the salon chair and was scared to speak up...or still tip after they messed up
i didn't want to offend them. but shooot, i know whats best for my hair, they cant tell me nothing anymore.
if i was new id rather take a pic of my hair & regimen and let the ladies of lhcf suggest what i need.

 

[wheezy807]

@wheezy807

Did you notice the breakage or are you just taking her word for it? And what's causing the breakage? I've learned that I can NOT detangle my hair in the shower. I have to wash in braids, moisturize and seal in braids and then after it airdries, I finger detangle and haven't had any problems since doing it like that.

I'm 38 wks post. My last stretch was ended at this time because I was losing tons of hair detangling in the shower and had 3 major detangling nightmares.

Also, is your stylist used to working with the 2 textures and making sure the line of demarc is well moisturized? Maybe the stylist is inadvertantly causing the breakage. How often do you go to have it done?

She did show my some breakage in the front, i know i do have some breakage also mainly around my crown area. That's the thing, i'm always asking her for feedback. I really enjoy feedback. Two or three relaxers ago i had asked her about my suspected breakage (when i copied someones not so great wash regimen) and she said it wasn't that bad.

That's why this time it kinda caught me off guard. I really don't know what is causing the split ends. I can only really guess maybe it's from that same time when i was using those rubber band like hair things to tie on the ends of my hair when i shampooed in sections. I don't use direct heat, so i really at a loss.

My stylist is very knowledgeable about the two textures and the line of demarcation. But i can tell you one thing, i really don't like how she always has to blow out my/everyone's hair. The entire salon does this. For this reason alone i feel that i could never make frequent visits. Maybe this is causing inadvertant breakage, but i tell myself no because i only visit her no more than 6 mo. (used to be 4) at a time.



UPDATE
My touch up went really well. I believe she only took off an inch to 11/2. I'm really glad we were on the same page. She told me that if i came to her every 6wks (at a discount) that she could get my ends in better shape quicker. She says that if i don't get my ends under control sooner than later i will be facing a cut. i leveled with her and asked if she had to cut my hair to get my ends better, how much would she cut off? She pointed to two inches. We both agreed that it would be better to do it gradually. It's alot to think about. I'm thinking about going for it... I'll have my cousin take more pics tonight to compare.

 

[wheezy807]

man if i listened to most of my stylist id be ear length right now.
you've been doing protein and DC's?


.

I've been mostly doing dc's consisting of moisture. This weekend I would like to do a heavy protein treatment, an aphogee two step treatment.



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[beans4reezy]

@beans4reezy did she trim/cut u at all? im curious to see how much she actually trimmed off. u def got length..but looks like a lot was cut.
I see a huge difference between that 1st pic and now. the overall health of your hair looks great and healthy!
we are our own worst critics.

She did trim ...but honestly, I really wasn't paying attention. I was so discouraged that I just let her trim...I didn't care at that point.

Thanks Sylver2, but honestly, I thought this was it. I thought I would be doing the BSL cabbage patch dance right about now, but I still have a-ways to go.

also @beans4reezy u said u went for 4-6 weeks w/o washing/conditioning during your stretch? yikes!!
it didn't dred up?
During my stretch especially in my 9, 10 11 12th month i had to wash/condition more frequently because my hair was dreding up and drying out. at least once a week then in the 12th month it was twice a week. it took me like 2-3 hours just to detangle that last month.

Yep, this was so STUPID of me. I'm thinking, not manipulating my hair will benefit me more than conditioning and putting water in my hair. EPIC FAIL.


I wont give up though. I'm licking my wounds changing my game plan...

 

[NJoy]

*Sigh* Had my braids tangle up on me last night and had to cut 'em loose. It was my fault for trying to wash my hair without separating my braids and using Crisco to seal my ends.

I'm not tripping tho. Still continuing to hold out for the 1 yr mark. But, I plan to cut 2-3 inches next week.

 

[NJoy]

I chickened out and only cut about an inch. I'm having no more tangling issues, as long as I remember to use Crisco.

I'm DC'g tonight and will be 41 wks post on Tuesday. spinning I plan to trim a bit more on 2/6. I have a feeling that this stretch is actually transitioning. I'm not even thinking about relaxing...even tho I have 2 boxes of relaxer in my closet. I'm having no issues right now so... well, I'll just keep checking in. We'll see.

 

[NJoy]

Ok, detangling today. I can't say relaxing hasn't crossed my mind. But I'm also really thinking about a cut again. Whenever I'm doing a thorough detangling, I can't help but think about all the hairs popping at the line of demarcation. I'm also feeling that if I didn't have to worry about that, detangling wouldn't be such an ordeal. *sigh*

Anybody else still hanging around? What's up, ladies?

 

[napbella]

NJoy
A couple of ??s--What products are you detangling with and what is your leave in moisturizer? I'm only 9wks post and the only thing that helps me is scurl. I can only wish to go as long as you have. Good luck with it.

 

[NJoy]

@NJoy
A couple of ??s--What products are you detangling with and what is your leave in moisturizer? I'm only 9wks post and the only thing that helps me is scurl. I can only wish to go as long as you have. Good luck with it.

napbella

First, I'm in uncharted territory. I've never stretched this long before. My last stretch ended at 38 wks post due to lots of detangling drama and stress. This time around, I seem to be managing ok so, we'll see.

Generally, at this point, I mainly finger detangle. And for me, I have to do so after my hair has airdried. I cowash, add my leave ins, add jbco and crisco to the ends and let it airdry. At that point, I can easily finger detangle. If I need to more thoroughly detangle, after I've finger detangled, I use a creamy leave in (Giovanni direct or NTM) and crisco to thoroughly moisturize and comb thru.

Today, however, my Celie braids were matting at the roots because I've been a little hair lazy, working out and oiling my scalp without cowashing the next day. So... I decided to detangle after I'd already started washing and DC my hair. It really was an afterthought but, after my DC and before I rinsed it out, I started detangling and added some Cowboy Magic to help out.

After detangling each section, I had to immediately band it and then get into the shower to rinse the conditioner out of my hair and follow up with a rinse out conditioner.

It was a lot of work and there's one small section of my hair that's not completely detangled but, I give up. It's all I can do for now. I banded that section too and have added my leave ins and crisco on the ends. Once it airdries, I'll try to finger detangle that last section.

I've been keeping my hair in Celie braids to keep my ng stretched but, I'm going to have to move to banding to make sure that the roots are stretched.

'k, I rambled. I hope that mades sense and isn't too confusing.

 

[Aggie]

So far I have been consistently stretching for 4 months exactly without issues and that seem to be my threshold before the major breakage starts. So needless to say, I'm sticking with that.

I am now 8.5 weeks post so 7.5 more to go before my next texlaxer. I just cut off all the straigher relaxed damaged ends and starting all over again with very mildly texlaxed hair.

 

[Aggie]

NJoy and napbella, night I recommend Chicoro's moisture drenched prepoo. It really does work amazingly at melting away tangles. I know after having tried it, I will never be without it. Speaking of which, I need to order some more aloe vera gel/juice and evco right about now

 

[NJoy]

@NJoy and @napbella, night I recommend Chicoro's moisture drenched prepoo. It really does work amazingly at melting away tangles. I know after having tried it, I will never be without it. Speaking of which, I need to order some more aloe vera gel/juice and evco right about now

Aggie
I usually do before poo days. I'm out of aloe juice and wasn't really planning to poo until I was in the shower. Thanks for saying that tho. I'll head over to Walmart tomorrow.

 

[Aggie]

@Aggie
I usually do before poo days. I'm out of aloe juice and wasn't really planning to poo until I was in the shower. Thanks for saying that tho. I'll head over to Walmart tomorrow.

You're quite welcomed.

Just filled my cart with stuff but will purchase tomorrow because I have to be sure and order all my vitamins I need at the same time.

 

[napbella]

NJoy,
LOL--lots of info but very useful, thanks much!

Aggie,
I'm not familiar with Chicoro's pre-poo. I have about 2ins ng, last perm was in Nov, so I'm trying to do styles that last a few days. But I tell ya--my roots are holding up the black power sign right now and it aint no joke. I really need something to get thru February, I dont want to perm but I'm thinking March is gonna be my limit.

 

[Aggie]

@napbella, here's the link and hope it helps you out - http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=509482

I'm almost 9 weeks post my last texlaxer and it is helping stretch really well. I may be able to stretch even longer than my usual 16 weeks, but knowing me, I may add maybe two weeks max.

 

[napbella]

Aggie,
Thanks so much for the link, I will be trying this in a few days and let you know how it works out for me. I just applied scurl and BRBC to my roots and twisted my hair for tonite. I also added a little ecostyler gel for hold and rolled it up on those grey soft twist rollers, I hope I get nice twists with waves so I can be cute in my new outfit.

 

[napbella]

@Aggie,
Thanks so much for the link, I will be trying this in a few days and let you know how it works out for me. I just applied scurl and BRBC to my roots and twisted my hair for tonite. I also added a little ecostyler gel for hold and rolled it up on those grey soft twist rollers, I hope I get nice twists with waves so I can be cute in my new outfit.

Welll--the hair did not turn out like I hoped. Initially I thought it was cute but my daughter was like,"I can't let you walk out the house looking like that!" Embarrassing to say the least. Anyway she pinned it up for me and now I will be using Chicoro's prepoo method since I have gel in my hair and I'm not gonna get several days wear from the style as I had hoped, so it has to be washed now. I'm gonna have to get senegalese twists to keep my mind off my hair.