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TWA to MBL in 3 years, *pics*

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LadyPaniolo

LadyPaniolo

New Member
I did the BC in late August of 2006. My relaxed hair was between shoulder and APL at that time, and I cut it down to a TWA. Here is a pic from a few months after that, around Christmas.

The other pic is my flat ironed hair on Christmas this year. I'm not sure if it's MBL or if it's WL... My waist is hard to see as clearly in the pic, as I'm going on 6 months preggo. Either way, it's pretty long :lol:

My goal length is classic length. I don't know if I'll make it or not... but I'll get as close as I can.

And yes, I know, I'm fat. No need to tell me about it. I'm working on it. :ohwell:

I hadn't shown my real hair to my family in years. It was fun hearing the comments. My fave: "Hey, you have hair! And it's actually REALLLLLY LONG!"
 

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Wow, that's awesome! Did you do anything to assist the growth? And, what did you do to retain length?

Oh and what's your hair type?
 
Beautiful hair! Thanks for sharing and helping to inspire others to stay on the straight and narrow.
 
Awww.... :bighug: Thank you ladies so much for your comments!

I guess I should have included my reggie, huh :spinning: lol

Year 1: Well, for about the first year I just wore an afro/afro puff. I co-washed a lot but didn't do a lot of DCing. I tried a bunch of different products, most of which didn't work well for me. My hair was either greasy or dry much of the time. :sad: I started doing Crown & Glory braids after about 8 months.

Year 2: This is when I began to jock Chiccoro (sp) hard!!! :lol: I used the Crown and Glory braid regimen for about this whole year. As I was braiding my hair, I would wet it with a mix of water and Infusium. I would then apply a good deep conditioner to my hair and seal it with Dabur Vatika oil. I didn't apply the conditioner or the oil to the scalp or about 2 inches from the scalp in order to avoid buildup. I sprayed my hair with a mix of water, braid spray and Infusium. Later on in this year I began to wear some wigs and I had a few disasterous but addictive weave experiments. (Oops, forgot to mention I texlaxed once this year. Haven't done it again though.) I also started taking biotin and B-complex.

Year 3: I wore a weave briefly this year... it ripped my hairline out. Again. Now it's growing back nicely though. I also wore braids briefly. I knew it would be the last time I wore braids because to braid all that length takes a dog's age and I just don't have the time or energy. Mostly I have stuck to wearing wigs this year. I still follow my procedure of opening the hair cuticle with water, massaging in the conditioner (usually Kenra MC or Suave Humectant :love: ) and then sealing with a variety of greases, or shea butter. I use the cheap mineral oil grease to seal in that good conditioner and my hair stays crazy moisturized.

The Future for my hair :lol: : This year I'll be wearing wigs like crazy. I finally got a heating cap for Christmas :yay: So I'll be doing lots more DCing than I have in the past. To fit this hair under a wig takes some doing, lol. I cornrow it in an around-the-world- pattern and tuck the tail in among the spaces. It works for me.

ETA: Thanks on the compliments of my baby! She is adorable, lol. And my height is either 5'5" or 5'6" I'm not sure.
 
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My goodness, I forgot to mention that I started taking Biotin with a B-complex vitamin during the second year. I don't know how much of a difference that made. I tried to really protect my hair 24/7... but after I texlaxed I had increased problems with splits that made me do multiple trims. Plus I hacked off a couple of inches on my first nappiversary.

I don't think my hair grows faster than anyone elses... I think I've just been :armyhat: about protective styling. My own family hadn't seen my hair out in YEARS.
 
So, you put deep conditioner on while you braided and just left it in? What kind did you use because I've been afraid to do that.

That's it, I'm jumping back on G&G.
 
Very inspiring! Forgive me if you have already answered this, but over the past 3 years, what parts of your regimen were you consistent with and do you think that helped you retain length?
 
BEAUTIFUL girl! Wheres your fotki so i can jock YOU lol! that baby is so cute!!!! okay anyway, thanks for sharing you are an inspiration to twa's all over lhcf
 
sunshinelady said:
So, you put deep conditioner on while you braided and just left it in? What kind did you use because I've been afraid to do that.

That's it, I'm jumping back on G&G.
Click to expand...

Yes, as I sectioned off each area to be braided, I sprayed it with my bottle of infusium/water mix, sometimes with braid spray in there as well. Then I would slather the section of hair with a good deep conditioner. I swear by Suave Humectant. I have not had lots of money available to my hair journey, so I live and die by cheapies. I did buy myself a gallon of Kenra MC for Christmas last year and I often use that.

So I apply it to the hair, and massage it in. I don't stop until my hair has totally absorbed the conditioner. This might take 60 seconds, which doesn't seem like a long time until you consider the sheer number of braids on your head.

Immediately after, I slather on either cheapo grease (works great for this) or shea butter, or Vatika oil. The Vatika oil makes my hair SO SOFT. When I take my braids down they feel like silk. It is kinda a pain in the winter though, because you have to melt it in hot water before you can use it, and it may resolidify during the process.

Miss AJ said:
Very inspiring! Forgive me if you have already answered this, but over the past 3 years, what parts of your regimen were you consistent with and do you think that helped you retain length?
Click to expand...

:scratchch What was consistent... hmmm. I think once I hit my stride and found what worked for me, the main thing that has been consistent is the application of deep conditioner to wet hair followed by sealing, and serious protective styling. I also ALWAYS sleep with a satin bonnet AND on a satin pillowcase in case it falls off. Some people have clowned me on here for that... *shrugs* I'm still waiting on THIER MBL pics :grin:

ETA: My hair type is either 4a or 4b. Not exactly sure. It's tiny tight spirals in some places, pencil sized coils in others, and really loose curls in other places.

I have no fotki. I'm not big on sharing pics on here. But when I saw how much my hair had grown, I thought about when I was a newbie... it meant a lot to me to see inspiring hair stories with pictures. So even though I'm a bit out of my comfort zone, lol, I hope I may inspire someone.
 
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LadyPaniolo said:
Awww.... :bighug: Thank you ladies so much for your comments!

I guess I should have included my reggie, huh :spinning: lol

Year 1: Well, for about the first year I just wore an afro/afro puff. I co-washed a lot but didn't do a lot of DCing. I tried a bunch of different products, most of which didn't work well for me. My hair was either greasy or dry much of the time. :sad: I started doing Crown & Glory braids after about 8 months.

Year 2: This is when I began to jock Chiccoro (sp) hard!!! :lol: I used the Crown and Glory braid regimen for about this whole year. As I was braiding my hair, I would wet it with a mix of water and Infusium. I would then apply a good deep conditioner to my hair and seal it with Dabur Vatika oil. I didn't apply the conditioner or the oil to the scalp or about 2 inches from the scalp in order to avoid buildup. I sprayed my hair with a mix of water, braid spray and Infusium. Later on in this year I began to wear some wigs and I had a few disasterous but addictive weave experiments. (Oops, forgot to mention I texlaxed once this year. Haven't done it again though.) I also started taking biotin and B-complex.

Year 3: I wore a weave briefly this year... it ripped my hairline out. Again. Now it's growing back nicely though. I also wore braids briefly. I knew it would be the last time I wore braids because to braid all that length takes a dog's age and I just don't have the time or energy. Mostly I have stuck to wearing wigs this year. I still follow my procedure of opening the hair cuticle with water, massaging in the conditioner (usually Kenra MC or Suave Humectant :love: ) and then sealing with a variety of greases, or shea butter. I use the cheap mineral oil grease to seal in that good conditioner and my hair stays crazy moisturized.

The Future for my hair :lol: : This year I'll be wearing wigs like crazy. I finally got a heating cap for Christmas :yay: So I'll be doing lots more DCing than I have in the past. To fit this hair under a wig takes some doing, lol. I cornrow it in an around-the-world- pattern and tuck the tail in among the spaces. It works for me.

ETA: Thanks on the compliments of my baby! She is adorable, lol. And my height is either 5'5" or 5'6" I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the growth!!! I will be trying to work on hair retention in 2010 myself!!!
 
I have stayed far far away from any stylists during this whole HHJ. I never let anyone touch my hair. Back when I did go to others, they always jacked my stuff up. Well, never again.

For retention I think the key things are making sure your hair is totally utterly saturated with quality moisture, sealing, and then hardcore protective styling. For ladies who like to wear thier hair out... I think that may hinder progress.

My goal for Christmas next year is to be hip length... and I think I may get there :crossfingers:
 
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