Grow It Long 2026 Challenge!

[VarieYvette]

Two weeks with these cornrows and my scalp is not happy. I'm taking them down and washing my hair today

 

[Angel of the North]

Yesterday, I washed it using yucca root and a mix of herbs that I'd previously made for an oil infusion. I added fresh AVG in hopes to thicken it and give it some slip. That did not happen, but I think that the AVG was a good addition.

What is AGV?

It's been VERY cold and dry here and in the house. I can't figure out how to increase the humidity on my humidifier, but checking it yesterday, it looks like water is getting into it. For context, they were expecting temps to drop to -30C (-22F) with wind last night. I feel dry and crispy. Anyway, I brought out my clothes steamer to try to steam my LCO products into my hair. I've never done this before. The product lineup was my DIY hair lotion + beef tallow whipped with glycerine. I opened each of the twists individually and took my time distributing my products through out my hair. This is something that I need to work on this year, because I usually just slap it on and call it a day.

I posted yesterday that I think the heating could be having an affect on my hair. I have a dehumidifier in my basement, but I may invest in a humidifier for the ground and first floors (I think this would be 1st and 2nd floors in US).

I had great results last week by making the effort to distribute the products evenly and smoothing the hair between my palms. This is something I want to continue to build on, as I believe that it has made a positive difference to my frizz.

• For February, wear my hair in loose twists since I plan to do the Capillary Schedule 3 days a week for a month. That's a lot of washing, so I want to be able to access my hair better.
• I want to experiment with prepooing my hair during this time and frequency, to see if my hair can stay detangled. I guess in a way it's going to be a bit like an oil washing routine.
• I'll use the month to see how my hair likes loose twists. I might even experiment with wearing my hair in one braid without twisting to see how that works out.
• I'll stop doing any or all of these if I see that it's not benefitting my hair.

How did last month go, did you notice any difference to frizz after the Capillary schedule?

I'm getting back into oils and HOTs, and I'm loving it, I enjoy blending, infusing and the actual process of using them.

 

[CoiledOrchids]

will start washing my hair weekly. I also enjoy doing hot oil treatments with evoo.

I will also start the process of cutting my heat damage after Easter, during my next salon visit. I've been getting flat twists done & I'm on a no heat journey as well

 

[i4ani]

Checking in for month 3 and Q1!

This month, I walked back two changes I made in February--that is, using detangling tools, and styling in flat twists. I've been finger detangling (and really taking my time) and styling in 12-14 plaits. When I go through my hairballs, I have very little breakage, and almost all of it comes from when I need to cut out ssks.

I'm feeling confident in my routine. I use Pantene's Daily Moisture Renewal shampoo & conditioner, Seht's all purpose conditioner as a leave-in, and The Doux's Bonita Afro Balm as a styler. My hair stays moisturized enough for me to dry detangle on wash day and that's all I really need.

Life has gotten significantly busier for me, and I've fallen off of my daily gym routine as a result. I only made it to the gym 12/29 days. I miss it. One of my goals for this year is to work up a sweat every day. So I bought an at-home treadmill with a desk, and my new goal is to walk 12 miles everyday, 2-2.5mph, 1 hour at a time, while I'm working on my computer. If I don't get sweaty enough, I'll throw in a short HIIT workout, or a short session on my stepper after I finish up for the day.

Wrt to wash frequency, I've been playing it by ear. One week I washed 2x, one week I washed 3x, two weeks I washed 4x. The only hard and fast rules I have are that 1) I don't go longer than 3 days, because I don't remoisturize in between wash days and 2) that if the sweat starts to make my scalp itch, I have to wash either that day or the next.

I've retained 8.3cm/3.26in this quarter and 2.3cm/0.8in this month. And I'm officially CBL! I still have my fingers crossed that I see that 3.5cm/month happen again! Here's to hoping that I'll see 1inch+ next month, when I'll be on top of my exercise regimen and not breaking my hair off with mechanical damage.

All in all, I'm very happy with my progress thus far. It's looking like I'll be APL or at least grazing it by the end of next month!

 

[Angel of the North]

Checking in for month 3 and Q1!

This month, I walked back two changes I made in February--that is, using detangling tools, and styling in flat twists. I've been finger detangling (and really taking my time) and styling in 12-14 plaits. When I go through my hairballs, I have very little breakage, and almost all of it comes from when I need to cut out ssks.

I'm feeling confident in my routine. I use Pantene's Daily Moisture Renewal shampoo & conditioner, Seht's all purpose conditioner as a leave-in, and The Doux's Bonita Afro Balm as a styler. My hair stays moisturized enough for me to dry detangle on wash day and that's all I really need.

Life has gotten significantly busier for me, and I've fallen off of my daily gym routine as a result. I only made it to the gym 12/29 days. I miss it. One of my goals for this year is to work up a sweat every day. So I bought an at-home treadmill with a desk, and my new goal is to walk 12 miles everyday, 2-2.5mph, 1 hour at a time, while I'm working on my computer. If I don't get sweaty enough, I'll throw in a short HIIT workout, or a short session on my stepper after I finish up for the day.

Wrt to wash frequency, I've been playing it by ear. One week I washed 2x, one week I washed 3x, two weeks I washed 4x. The only hard and fast rules I have are that 1) I don't go longer than 3 days, because I don't remoisturize in between wash days and 2) that if the sweat starts to make my scalp itch, I have to wash either that day or the next.

I've retained 8.3cm/3.26in this quarter and 2.3cm/0.8in this month. And I'm officially CBL! I still have my fingers crossed that I see that 3.5cm/month happen again! Here's to hoping that I'll see 1inch+ next month, when I'll be on top of my exercise regimen and not breaking my hair off with mechanical damage.

All in all, I'm very happy with my progress thus far. It's looking like I'll be APL or at least grazing it by the end of next month!

View attachment 508174

Congratulations on your growth, it's unfortunate that you've had to cut back on your workouts, especially as its something you seem to enjoy. The treadmill maybe a good compromise, and I hope it works out for you. Would you be able to send me a DM please @i4ani ?

 

[snoop]

What is AGV?


I posted yesterday that I think the heating could be having an affect on my hair. I have a dehumidifier in my basement, but I may invest in a humidifier for the ground and first floors (I think this would be 1st and 2nd floors in US).

I had great results last week by making the effort to distribute the products evenly and smoothing the hair between my palms. This is something I want to continue to build on, as I believe that it has made a positive difference to my frizz.


How did last month go, did you notice any difference to frizz after the Capillary schedule?

I'm getting back into oils and HOTs, and I'm loving it, I enjoy blending, infusing and the actual process of using them.

AVG - Aloe vera gel

I'm not sure where you're located, or if it's possible for you to do, but a house humidifier which attaches to your furnace might be a long term investment. This will help with hair, skin, breathing, etc.

I will be honest, it's really hard for me to determine if my hair is "frizzy" or not. I wear my hair in twists about 99% of the time. Also, because I don't actually "comb" my hair, the level at which I'm able to tame my hair isn't that high.

So, by the time the month was over, my staying power with the schedule multiple times during the week just wasn't there. My hair wants to be wet that often, but I don't have a way to successfully remove shed hair unless I manipulate it and take it out. My hair gets more defined the more I manipulate it in the water, but in some ways I think that this could lead to breakage. However, if I was consistent with it, I don't think that it would lead to as much breakage as I would think...but I'd also be using a lot of water. So many trade offs just to go back to wearing my hair in twists.

 

[snoop]

(Copied from the Luscious Healthy Ends thread)

I needed to trim my hair. More than a micro trim. I hadn't used my "regular" trimming method of putting my hair in mini twists then cutting off the final inch, in some time. My ends were getting a bit raggidy.

But here's the thing. So roads...good intentions...

I washed my hair last week in jumbo twists with the idea of being able to keep my hair moisturized long enough to install a set of twists. This now takes me 3 to 4 days. Well, the washing process caused some major tangles and matting at my roots. The knots ended up causing breakage or I was forced to snip a lot of them out. I also took a day's break, which caused my hair to dry out more.

Normally, I just twist my hair with water then moisturize and seal when everything is done, but this time I used a glycerine heavy glycerine/water mix. I think that the glycerine added a bit of slip. My hair is now in mini twists and feeling so soft...and my ends are now feeling so much better!

I plan on keeping these in until mid- to end of next month. I want to break them down into micro twists after, but I've never done my hair that small, so I'm a bit apprehensive. We'll see.

(Added a new pic for this thread)

So this isn't a length check photo, but I thought that I'd put a picture of my hair as it looks now. Actually, this is just before I trimmed my hair on Monday. I was too tired to take the after photo, but just know that the trimmed ends from the photo above, are what I cut off.

 

[Angel of the North]

AVG - Aloe vera gel

Oh yes, of course lol.

I'm not sure where you're located, or if it's possible for you to do, but a house humidifier which attaches to your furnace might be a long term investment. This will help with hair, skin, breathing, etc.

I would have to get a mobile unit, I have a dehumidifier, I'd like a 2 in 1 air purifier and humidifier. I mentioned in another thread that I thought the heating was having a negative impact on my hair and frizz.

 

[snoop]

Oh yes, of course lol.

I would have to get a mobile unit, I have a dehumidifier, I'd like a 2 in 1 air purifier and humidifier. I mentioned in another thread that I thought the heating was having a negative impact on my hair and frizz.

Got it! The heating, especially when I jacked it up in winter made/makes my house too dry. This past winter the humidifier stopped working. I really hated how my skin felt. I'm sure that my hair also suffered a little.

 

[Angel of the North]

Got it! The heating, especially when I jacked it up in winter made/makes my house too dry. This past winter the humidifier stopped working. I really hated how my skin felt. I'm sure that my hair also suffered a little.

It's definitely worth having, I will start shopping around. I've always suspected that the heating is affecting my hair, this will make a difference. I also want to install a mains water filter, I think that will be a game changer as I live in a hard water area. I have a lot to figure out before I get it, I need to work out the best place to put it and I'm short on options. I the meantime, I might purchase a filtered shower head just to see if I notice a difference.