12 Inches In 12 Months - 2017

[NaturalShe94]

See... WL was my ultimate goal length but now, y'all got me aspiring for HL and such. Bad influences I tell ya...

This was me when I first joined the actual site, HL was actually my goal... Now I'm out here with TBL goals... Ah man.

 

[Chicoro]

I did my weekly wash yesterday. The knots continue to decrease. I have fewer split ends as well. I may not get 12 inches, but I may be able to retain a great amount of the length I do grow if I can continue to evade the knots and splits.

 

[Chicoro]

May is here. That means 8 months left to try to rack up those inches.

 

[NaturalShe94]

So far so good on the protective styling and low manipulation. Only let my hair out if I'm going out, which isn't often, but, I did a WNG Friday and wore it throughout the weekend, until Sunday night wash night. I ended up going out all three days, which is extremely rare for me lol. However, my ends are in good shape, but, I do think I need to dust, at least a little bit pretty soon. Still scalp massaging with DooGro once a week as well. Just bought a new co-wash by AsIAm because for some reason my usual Suave didn't penetrate my strands on co-wash day last week, it washed right off my hair . I just get the feeling, it may be time to get an actual co-wash conditioner. So I did.

 

[Sharpened]

Started doing my hair in 5 sections, twisting each one up as I finish finger-detangling.

Playing around with gel to reduce knots for my usual wash and go.

Zero urge to chop off, will stick with microtrims as needed.

Sheds are still enemy #1. I cannot do the "praying hands" method because it increases the number of sheds knotting with the still-attached hairs. Trying different herbal teas to reduce shedding.

My regimen is still mainly oil rinsing and a treatment of some sort. Added pumpkin seed oil to my Castor/Hemp Mix. AVG is a gentle exfoliator and smooths down my cuticle layer. FRW helps with elasticity and softness; I soak in it monthly. I am overdue for an oat wash, which strengthen my hair, and will add SAA to give it a boost in effectiveness.

I may try the invertion method without massage because I am trying to eliminate HIH disease.

I want to be beyond BSL by the end of the year.

 

[mayoo]

April 2017 update!

Hey everyone! I've been away for a really long time. I'm sorry
my year abroad in Japan has been occupying me a lot

Health:
I've really been taking care of my health over the past few months. I've been going to the gym regularly and eating healthily. I'm also down 12lbs.

Hair:

I haven't been very good with hair practises to be honest. I haven't stayed on my regimen consistently at all and I'm ready to get back on the straight and narrow. I've been thinking back to my old hair journey and how committed I was back then and feeling annoyed with myself to be honest. I really need to get back on track with deep conditioning because I haven't done so since like January :/
Finally, my favourite deep conditioner has come back onto the market (Aubrey Organics white camellia conditioner) so I've ordered it.

Plans for May 2017

Hair products haven't changed much and will remain as the following:
22nd Century Woman shampoo bar
Raw shea butter
Grapeseed OR olive oil
Aubrey Organics White Camellia Conditioner (used as dc)

I will be washing 1x weekly and setting in a braid-out. re-braiding every night
I will probably be wearing my hair out 1-2x a week.
I'll also come back 1x weekly to update on how I'm doing.

 

[NaturalShe94]

Started doing my hair in 5 sections, twisting each one up as I finish finger-detangling.

Playing around with gel to reduce knots for my usual wash and go.

Zero urge to chop off, will stick with microtrims as needed.

Sheds are still enemy #1. I cannot do the "praying hands" method because it increases the number of sheds knotting with the still-attached hairs. Trying different herbal teas to reduce shedding.

My regimen is still mainly oil rinsing and a treatment of some sort. Added pumpkin seed oil to my Castor/Hemp Mix. AVG is a gentle exfoliator and smooths down my cuticle layer. FRW helps with elasticity and softness; I soak in it monthly. I am overdue for an oat wash, which strengthen my hair, and will add SAA to give it a boost in effectiveness.

I may try the invertion method without massage because I am trying to eliminate HIH disease.

I want to be beyond BSL by the end of the year.

I never knew there were Herbal Tea's out there to reduce shedding. Hmmm. I'm interested! Which ones are you trying?

 

[Chicoro]

I'm tweaking or shifting my process, ever so much, again. I usually wash 1x week. That's a lot of wear and tear even if the hair is kept braided. So, I am going to wash every 2 weeks. BUT, I must re-do my braids weekly and that's the shift in my process. I'll see how that works out.

 

[Sharpened]

I never knew there were Herbal Tea's out there to reduce shedding. Hmmm. I'm interested! Which ones are you trying?

I use rosemary, guava leaves, rooibos, along with coffee, black and green teas. I have not tested any others yet to see if they reduce shedding. Right now coffee and guava leaves are the best, not only because they reduce shedding, but they condition the hair as well. A warning: any topical treatment containing caffeine should be used every seven days at minimum, too much can actual stunt growth.

 

[Alma Petra]

I use rosemary, guava leaves, rooibos, along with coffee, black and green teas. I have not tested any others yet to see if they reduce shedding. Right now coffee and guava leaves are the best, not only because they reduce shedding, but they condition the hair as well. A warning: any topical treatment containing caffeine should be used every seven days at minimum, too much can actual stunt growth.

At the bolded: why would you say so? V. interesting!

 

[Sharpened]

At the bolded: why would you say so? V. interesting!

I had it happen to me this winter.

So how much caffeine is too much daily for good hair health?

High concentrations may cause an over-stimulation of hair follicle metabolism resulting in extensive consumption of energy reserves, exhaustion of the proliferation capability and finally lack of hair shaft elongation.

 

[CheChe1881]

I want to join this challenge....
I know I'm late lol.

Strategy:
Netwurks (surge)
Protective Styling: Wigs, Crochet, Stretching hair (curlformers and flexirods)
Low Manipulation Styling: Bunning
Drink more water. Take biotin. (will update later)

Here is my starting pic
(The shirt I'm using is lined but the lines are sliiiiiiightly over 1 inch)

*copy and pasted this*

UPDATE:

Today marks one month since my first journey pic.

And ummmmm.... I've gained 2 inches between April 8th and May 8th.

I'm still in shock. If I didn't have the pics I wouldn't have believed it.

Routine:
The only thing I do is put surge in my hair once or twice a day (missed around total 6 days).
I wear wigs and wet my hair a lot.

Hair:
In first pic (April 8th) was in a flexi rod set.
In the update (May 8th) I just flexi rod the back section to measure.
I wanted to keep it all consistent so I can have reliable results.

Anyways, here are the pics. Lemme know if I'm crazy or not lol

 

[Chicoro]

@CheChe1881, Excellent progress! At your current rate, I believe you will be past waist length by December 2017 or you just may even reach tailbone this year!

I wear my hair in 8 bantu knots, with four (4) on each side. The four in the front, that touch my hairline, always have far more tangles and hair loss than the four in the back. I do the same exact thing to my bantus except for one thing: gel. The culprit is gel which I only put on the hairline, at the front on those 4 braids. It's contributing to the breakage and impacting my hair's thickness and length retention. Now that I have identified the core of the problem, I've got to figure out how to minimize it because I like the results of using gel.

 

[jerseygirl1977]

Ok i'm super late with my March update. I need to get better with taking better comparison pics and updates. I haven't been doing my hair as much as I need to and this challenge reminded me that I need to step it up. Right now i'm in the process of washing/deep conditioning. I need to figure of what I want to do for the summer. I'm leaning more toward protective styles because I'm busy looking for a job and studying for exams so I'm pressed for time.

 

[Chicoro]

Discovered that the braids, twisted into bantus, is tangling up my hair. The hair twists within the braids.
So, no more putting each braid into its own bantu knot. I lost another big ball of hair. My overall process is working. Thus, I will continue with what I'm doing and just be open to tweaking things as I go. But the bantus must go.

 

[Alma Petra]

Discovered that the braids, twisted into bantus, is tangling up my hair. The hair twists within the braids.
So, no more putting each braid into its own bantu knot. I lost another big ball of hair. My overall process is working. Thus, I will continue with what I'm doing and just be open to tweaking things as I go. But the bantus must go.

But why do you think it's the bantus? Couldn't it just be the sheds?

 

[Chicoro]

But why do you think it's the bantus? Couldn't it just be the sheds?

I don't think it's the sheds.

In the picture below, if you look closely, you can see the braid 'begins' about down by ear, about where my earring is. But, I always braid my hair close to the root at the beginning of the week. As the week goes on, the braided part gets pushed down due to the twisting from the bantu knots. This tightens down the hair and creates tangles that are very hard to get out. Thus, I think it is the twisting from the bantu knot creating my current, tangling issues.

 

[Alma Petra]

I don't think it's the sheds.

In the picture below, if you look closely, you can see the braid 'begins' about down by ear, about where my earring is. But, I always braid my hair close to the root at the beginning of the week. As the week goes on, the braided part gets pushed down due to the twisting from the bantu knots. This tightens down the hair and creates tangles that are very hard to get out. Thus, I think it is the twisting from the bantu knot creating my current, tangling issues.

View attachment 398573

Very interesting observation! Are you going to leave the braids loose from now on? Or maybe put them in one big bun?

 

[Chicoro]

Very interesting observation! Are you going to leave the braids loose from now on? Or maybe put them in one big bun?

I'm not sure.

I loved the bantus because they anchored my plastic cap at night, but they are eating up any length gains I get. Right now, I have all the braids at the top of my head in one greasy, shea butter covered bun. This will have to due for now.

 

[NaturalShe94]

So I did my whole wash/deep condition/moisturize and seal very early today because I took my mom to dinner tonight and I wanted to get my hair out the way early... I decided to just do a WNG and not use any extra products out of my normal wash day regimen since I dont want build up... This pic is after dinner tonight... I don't know if you guys can tell in the pic, but I realized my hair dried with some frizz... Nonetheless, it is still very soft... I used the SM Low Porosity line... However, Im thinking that the shampoo didnt completely cleanse my hair. I shampoo'd 4 times because I felt as though my hair probably didnt cleanse all the way, it lathers up very well, but, I used some heavy products on Thursday so I know I had build up. The Low Porosity line is really lightweight so I'm thinking I probably should have clarified with a different poo. After Shampooing twice, my hair still felt Moisturized as if I didnt even need a conditioner... Going in with the shampoo a third time, my hair finally felt somewhat stripped. Now I feel as though, my crown did not get cleansed properly which may have caused the leave in to sit on top of my hair causing some frizz when I went outside. Either that, or I may not have applied enough Jojoba Oil to my crown when sealing so the outside moisture caused frizz.

 

[Chicoro]

Beautiful hair @NaturalShe94 !

It's about month 6. I don't even know if I even have gotten 2 inches in this time. I keep my hair in 8 braids. This is the first time in my life that I have purposely foregone the comb and brush entirely. I've not used the comb or brush on my hair for 6 months. I keep the same 8 braids and do them 1 braid at a time. I did a small trim of the ends of all 8 braids. I trimmed off very little. I lose more hair during my weekly washes.

 

[NaturalShe94]

Beautiful hair @NaturalShe94 !

It's about month 6. I don't even know if I even have gotten 2 inches in this time. I keep my hair in 8 braids. This is the first time in my life that I have purposely foregone the comb and brush entirely. I've not used the comb or brush on my hair for 6 months. I keep the same 8 braids and do them 1 braid at a time. I did a small trim of the ends of all 8 braids. I trimmed off very little. I lose more hair during my weekly washes.

Not even 2 inches in 6 months??? Why do you think you're losing so much hair during weekly washes???

 

[Chicoro]

Not even 2 inches in 6 months??? Why do you think you're losing so much hair during weekly washes???

@NaturalShe94,

I'm not sure. The texture and behavior of my hair likes to change every 5 to 7 years. It's changing again right now. I have to relearn it all over each time! I won't be able to tell how much length I've gained for the year until I straighten my hair. That won't be until December 2017.

My hair grows erratically and slowly at times. Although I may get six inches by the end of the year, I could possibly get those last 4 between now and December-or not at all. It doesn't do the predictable grow 1/2 inch per month! Also, I have funny hair. It draws up and rests between my ears and just above my shoulders. But, if I pull it, it hangs past my waist, but close to my hip area. My ends are very fragile and have always been my most vulnerable area for my hair. I have to baby them to retain and gain length. I'm having some challenges with my ends, too!

I lose a lot of hair during my weekly washes because I get monster tangles. It's the amount I always lose, actually. I get lucky some weeks and don't lose a big ball of fur. I also only finger detangle my hair when I wash and condition. I don't do any detangling during the week. I'm extremely tender-headed and my hair loves to tangle.

Lastly, I am going for tail bone length hair and have completely revamped my prior hair processes and made some tweaks to my regimen. I changed my hair process from shoulder length to bra-strap, from bra-strap to mid back, and from mid back to waist. My hair seems to have different needs and preferences at different lengths. What I did to get to waist length, will not get me to tail bone length in a healthy state.

It takes a while for activities and actions that are working to rise to the top and for those things that are not working to fall out and make themselves known.

It's a risk and an adventure!

 

[Chicoro]

AHA's !​

1. Extreme Low Manipulation (trying to only handle and unbraid hair 1x per week- Nope!)
   • I cannot wear braids for a week and then wash hair in those braids as is.
   • I HAVE to pre-treat the hair, unbraid, then re-braid loosely to wash. Otherwise the hair becomes matted. That means I have to un-braid and then re-braid after conditioning. That's unbraiding 2x's and re-braiding 2x's on the same wash day. BUT, I am losing far less hair this way.
   • I used to do this every wash day in 2003/2004
2. Hair Texture Change Comes In two 7 years by 7 years cycles= Complete Cycle Over 14 Years
   • My hair changes texture/behavior every seven (7) years. I came to this site in 2003 and my hair was its coarsest [7 Year Cycle #1/2: coarse to fine ]. So from 2003 to 2010 my hair went from very coarse to a softer, finer texture.
   • [7 Year Cycle # 2/2: fine to coarse] Then, from 2010 to 2017 my hair has gone from its softest texture back to the coarse texture again. I thought it was changing from coarse to fine and back again within a 7 year cycle but that is incorrect. It's a 14 year cycle to complete the full process.
3. 2003 Hair Routine Worked on 2017 Hair (14 year cycle)
   • I used aloe vera and oil to pre-treat old braids. Wet braid with aloe vera, un-braid, put section into bantu and saturate with coconut oil. (Evolved to become my Deep Moisture Method I created). Today my hair felt so very, very soft. All the hardness of my hair in the back of my head melted into soft, moistened hair. My coarsest hair + XCEL Revitalizer makes for dry, rough, dull hair.
   • My hair loves glycerin packed S-Curl and I will re-add that back into my hair routine. Maybe!
4. Twists Do Not Work for my Hair
   • I divided my 8 braids into two additional sections and had 16 twists. My hair texture unravels and re-wraps around the twist. Twists are gorgeous on other people, but they destroy the health of my hair along with braid outs, twist outs and wash and go's.
   • I lost a whole curl and I only had those twists in for three (3) days.
5. Aloe Vera Leaf Is Extremely Economical (If available)
   • The regular grocery store (as in not health food store) is starting to carry large aloe vera leafs (leaves) imported from Spain. They are about 2.99 Euros each.
   • I found an excellent video that teaches how to cut it up and use it which I will link below. You slice the bottom part of the leaf and put it at a 45 degree angle to let this yellow liquid exude from the leaf. This part can irritate the bowels and give you diarrhea if you eat it or irritate the skin if you use it topically. I've never heard anyone talk about this. He also states that if you cut along the striations of the leaf, it will be easier to remove the skin. I did that and let the yellow stuff come out and the process worked beautifully!
   • I cut up my leaf as instructed by the man on the tutorial and got about 4 cups after blending with NO water added!
   • That created enough aloe vera gel to almost fill up 3/4 of a bottle of Lily of the Dessert (at 946 ml or 32 ounces).
   • A 32 ounce bottle of Lily of the Dessert Whole Leaf Aloe Vera costs me about 22 Euros. The aloe vera leaf cost me 3 Euros. I had 7x (7x3=21~22) the savings. Just amazing. Hmmm...lots of 7's in this post. AND the quality from the whole leaf is vastly greater. The cut and blended fresh aloe vera from the leaf provided so much slip and moisture to may hair. The gel was super slimy.

Best aloe vera tutorial which demonstrates how to remove the yellow liquid that can irritate you and how to easily remove the largest quantity of aloe from the leaf.

(How to make aloe vera gel?)
Posted by Sarit D.


Psssst....@AbsyBlvd

 

[Sharpened]

@Chicoro I had heard the yellow sap could be irritating, which is why I avoided using any whole leaf gel. I really need to find fresh aloe. Thanks for the video.

 

[Chicoro]

@Chicoro I had heard the yellow sap could be irritating, which is why I avoided using any whole leaf gel. I really need to find fresh aloe. Thanks for the video.

Let me know if you find some!

 

[Sharpened]

Since the aging process is kicking my tail, I need all the help I can get. Changed up my supplement/food plan:

80 oz of water daily at minimum

Salmon several times a month, especially prior to period. Need to get some flaxseed and evening primrose oils.

Eggs, with 3 oz of fresh or canned pineapple on the side to aid digestion, with my supplements.

Manetabolism Plus vitamins
Thompson B Complex plus Rice Bran
MSM powder, 1-2 tsp in concord grape juice
Swanson Bamboo Extract
Biosil
Fo-ti 3x weekly
Jarrow Yaeyama Chlorella capsules
Carlson Vitamin D drops, 4000 i.u., 4 drops
Puritan's Pride Calcium Magnesium Zinc
Choline, 250 mg (will be combined with its partner, inositol, soon)

Continue to lose weight so that more nutrients go to my hair and nails (my own theory to keep me inspired).

On the scalp:
Castor Mix
Coffee Rooibos soaks
Aloe
Trying catnip as a leave-in

I want to be at least BSL by the end of the year.

 

[NaturalShe94]

So decided to throw a progress pic in here real quick! Definitely retaining pretty well so far. I should have had my bra a little more visible in the pic I took in April, but my hair was just touching the top of my bra strap when I joined the challenge early April so Im excited about the progress two months later!
So have I graduated from BSL to MBL now??? Yay or nay??? Regardless Im happy seeing growth!

 

[Chicoro]

@NaturalShe94 ,
Congratulations on your progress! Claim that mid-back range. You've definitely graduated!

 

[Sharpened]

Go on, @NaturalShe94 and claim it. I hope you hit waist length by the end of the year.