2021 Let's Talk! APL - BSL/MBL Challenge

What is your 2021 hair length goal??

  • Total voters
    91
  • Poll closed .
apple_natural said:
:thewave:May - Let's Talk AYURVEDA- HENNA CLAY TEA ETC :thewave:

1. Have you ever used henna, clays, teas, etc? Which?
2. What did you definitely not use again and/or what did you definitely keep
3. Any favorite mixtures or brands?
Feel free to add any other questions or comments, especially about conditioning!

May Mini Challenges
1. Henna!
2. Tea rinse!
3. Use a clay!
4. At least consider it one day lol
Click to expand...

1. I've tried both clays and tea rinses. I've not used Henna and honestly I'm a little scared to
2. I absolutely loved clay masks particularly Rhassoul masks. Made my wash and goes look absolutely amazing. Since I'm not doing wash and goes like that anymore I haven't really kept up with them like that, but I would like to go back to them especially as I near my goal of BSL. The Tea Rinses I did I don't think really did anything...probably won't revisit anytime soon.
3. Naturalicious 5-in-1 Morrocan Clay Wash, J. Monique Naturals Bentonite and Rhassoul Clay Detox Mask

For my mini challenge I might get a rhassoul mask for my last wash day of May.
 
apple_natural said:
:thewave:May - Let's Talk AYURVEDA- HENNA CLAY TEA ETC :thewave:

1. Have you ever used henna, clays, teas, etc? Which?
2. What did you definitely not use again and/or what did you definitely keep
3. Any favorite mixtures or brands?
Feel free to add any other questions or comments, especially about conditioning!

May Mini Challenges
1. Henna!
2. Tea rinse!
3. Use a clay!
4. At least consider it one day lol

ETA: I acknowledge that May is pretty much over lol. We still may have time to talk :D
Click to expand...
1. I've used henna and clays and teas! Henna was used before I DC'd and installed my current PS.
I havent used clays in a long time, I had bentonite and now that it is finished I'd like to try rhassoul one day!
I used black tea in the past to decrease shedding. I'd love to make a tea rinse my final step, but ACV is working just fine (you know what they say, if it aint broke...)

2. I dont like applying the henna, waiting one hour and the rinsing out and DC for another hour. I'll stick to adding it my dc.

3. I use a fenugreek infused oil daily, and i'm not sure if i'm seeing things, but i think my growth sped up a bit.
 
I remembered what my problem was with my henna treatments. I was trying to use a full henna mask without mixing it with conditioner. That didn't go well for me. I'm a henna gloss kind of person.

@Neomorph I have had a rhassoul clay for nearly a year and it's just been in my closet. I dont know what I want to do with it yet. I'll try to use it this year. What do you mix it with?

@long.hair.dont.care I like that you use your oil daily even if you do not feel sure that you are seeing benefits. I have an oil that I need to keep using. I'm going to make it my goal to at least finish it and determine whether there was progress from it afterwards.
 
1. Have you ever used henna, clays, teas, etc? Which?

I've used henna and bentonite clay

2. What did you definitely not use again and/or what did you definitely keep

The bentonite clay is useless imo. I prefer stretched hair rather than clumped hair. Henna on the other hand is a personal favorite. I use it to cover my grays but I've had to switch to root touch ups instead of henna application from root to tip. My fine strands tangle easily when I wash my hair outside of twist and my hair is hard to manipulate with the henna in it.

3. Any favorite mixtures or brands?

Karishma henna is by far a winner. The color deposit is excellent. I just mix it with super hot water, let it cool to the point where my hands can stand it and apply it. I let it sit for at least 4 hours and then continue with my normal wash routine. I'm way past due for a henna treatment but I just twisted my hair up so the henna will have to wait.
 
apple_natural said:
:thewave:May - Let's Talk AYURVEDA- HENNA CLAY TEA ETC :thewave:

1. Have you ever used henna, clays, teas, etc? Which?
2. What did you definitely not use again and/or what did you definitely keep
3. Any favorite mixtures or brands?
Feel free to add any other questions or comments, especially about conditioning!

May Mini Challenges
1. Henna!
2. Tea rinse!
3. Use a clay!
4. At least consider it one day lol

ETA: I acknowledge that May is pretty much over lol. We still may have time to talk :D
Click to expand...
1. I've used bentonite clay before for a mask.
2. I don't know if I would do it again though. My hair felt soft after I rinsed the mask out but it was almost too much curl clumping and my hair just felt so different afterward. If I use it again, I would mix another clay like kaolin clay with it.
3. Not really.
 
apple_natural said:
:thewave:May - Let's Talk AYURVEDA- HENNA CLAY TEA ETC :thewave:

1. Have you ever used henna, clays, teas, etc? Which?
2. What did you definitely not use again and/or what did you definitely keep
3. Any favorite mixtures or brands?
Feel free to add any other questions or comments, especially about conditioning!

May Mini Challenges
1. Henna!
2. Tea rinse!
3. Use a clay!
4. At least consider it one day lol

ETA: I acknowledge that May is pretty much over lol. We still may have time to talk :D
Click to expand...


1. I do Henna gloss (neutral henna, no color effect).
2. I mix my henna with water, olive oil and eggs (I even added amla powder last time).
3. No favourite brands. I usually buy it in an indian store, sometimes from aroma zone.

Last time was in march. I made the gloss, left it on the 2 hours (house clean, work out...).
After rinsing it out I dc 20 min under dryer with herbal essence, hello hydration.
Camille rose leave in+ echo styler = LOTS of curls, volume and moisturized. But i think I put too much product, so I ended up with white residue. Heavy handed...
 
1. Have you ever used henna, clays, teas, etc? Which?
I've used all of the above. And loved them all (some teas more than others, e.g. green tea made my hair feel hard). Hibiscus tea and fenugreek tea are my faves to use on my hair. I'll drink the rest.

2. What did you definitely not use again and/or what did you definitely keep
I would use all again although I haven't used henna in a couple of years. I ran into problems with henna because even with careful application not to disturb my curl pattern, my ends still got stretched out over time. Loved the colour though. With clay, I think my problem was I using it too frequently and over a long period of time. Frequency has dialled all the way down to occasional at best, where it was once every wash.

3. Any favorite mixtures or brands?
I always DIY my clays. The last mix I did, I posted in here. I think it was a mix of water, kaolin, rhassoul, ayurvedic powders, silk amino acids and steeped hibiscus tea. Give or take a few ingredients.
 
Finally took out my protective style but I really loved it. I'm definitely gonna do it more often, but not so often, to give my hair a break.
Also, wow we shed so much hair in just one month. Gonna shampoo in the morning and style my hair. Want to do something other than twists though.
 
1. What length is your hair at?
Full shoulder
2. Is your hair relaxed, texlaxed or natural?
Transitioning. I was natural and did a BKT that didn't revert in Dec 20. I have about 4 inches of new growth and my curls are slowly getting more pattern
3. Would you consider your hair healthy?
On the way to healthy, I still have some damaged ends I need to cut off
4. What has been some of the hurdles you have had in your hair growth journey?
I struggle with horrible hand in hair disease and I'm constantly playing in my hair. I also struggle with consistency, I like to try new things but I've buckled down and have been consistent for the last 2 months.
5. What are you going to do differently this year?
Taking the time to listen and be gentle with my hair and not try to turn it into something that it isn't. I'm using a lot less heat as I've been wet bunning weekly
6. What are you going to do with or for your hair when you reach APL or BSL/MBL?
Stare in the mirror and try not to get hairanorexia because APL is long hair that a lot of people would be grateful for. I'm also practicing mindfulness.
* Mapleoats asks; "What is your focus besides length this year?"
Focusing on shiny, thick, healthy hair
 
Last edited:
Here’s a quick length check. I’m like half an inch from the top of my bra. I’ll claim MBL once I can cover my bra with my hair. My index finger is 3 about inches long so I think I have roughly 3 inches to go! Hoping I can get there by December. I still don’t have much time for my hair right now so I’m going back in a protective style in a couple weeks

the journey from APL to BSL and MBL seems very long on my body. Fortunately MBL to WL is like a hop skip. Looking forward to that part lol
 

Attachments

  • AEC5F3E0-9A73-468F-ACB7-B97402B43885.jpeg
    AEC5F3E0-9A73-468F-ACB7-B97402B43885.jpeg
    53.6 KB · Views: 34
Last edited:
June - Let's Talk Prepoo & Detangle!
Feel free to add questions or other comments. This is just a starter...

1. Is a prepoo a part of your routine? If so, what is your favorite thing(s) to use?
2. Are you seeing benefits from your prepoo?
3. When in your process do you usually detangle? How do you do it?
4. What benefits do you see with your detangle process? (ex: seeing less breakage doing things one way vs a previous way?)

June Mini-Challenge Options (Choose at least one, please :D )
1. Prepoo with oil (with or without heat) if you don't already!
2. Finger Detangle this month!
3. Detangle with the plastic brush that looks like fingers (you know what i'm talking about lol)

1. apple_natural
2. toaster
3. Mapleoats
4. Newhottie
5. londonfog
6. Theresamonet
7. mmeadows1
8. Rastafarai
9. Rocky91
10. HealthyHair2020
11. Bette Davis Eyes
12. naturalagain2
13. GGsKin
14. metro_qt
15. Neomorph
16. long.hair.dont.care
17. Kells
18. keranikki
19. TamaraShaniece
20. alex114
21. icsonia22
22. coolsista-paris
23. lindseyerinc
 
Last edited:
I only prepoo on my olaplex wash days. I use steps 0 and 3 and then shampoo. I really love the olaplex products, but if I didn’t use them I don’t think I’d prepoo.

I always shampoo twice and then liberally apply my conditioner. I add a little more water to my hair and then detangle in small sections with a brush. I think this works pretty well for me.

Since I mostly wash and go, I also run my fingers through my hair as I apply my gel. Since my hair is already detangled I lose very little hair during this step, so I guess my detangling process is working okay.
 
@Mapleoats exciting!!! I hope you are nothing but over joyed at your next length check

@lindseyerinc Welcome!

@HealthyHair2020 That is a really pretty hairstyle and good job on the trim! Do you usually cut a lot during a trim? I'm an overtrimmer because I like to see the fresh ends

I put my hair in single strand twists... I think last Monday although it feels like I've been wearing these forever. maybe I finished them by Monday and started a few days before. I put leave in, shea butter, and gel on the ends. Also, for the past few days I've been somewhat consistent with my msm although I haven't been most of the year so far. too bad for me, but I hope i do it more often

June response:
1. Is a prepoo a part of your routine? If so, what is your favorite thing(s) to use?
I prepoo with coconut oil. I don't heat it anymore because my dog chewed my hooded dryer cord and so I need a new one. I may keep the coconut oil on for a while before washing it, but not always

2. Are you seeing benefits from your prepoo?
YES! I do not feel like my hair is too spongy and then drying out too much. I think prepooing helps it to stay balanced as it is supposedly protecting the hair's inner cortex which is hydrophobic according to one study I read a couple of years ago. I believe it

3. When in your process do you usually detangle? How do you do it?
I detangle after I put on my coconut oil for the prepoo and wet it, but before I apply whatever I'm going to cleanse with. My hair is so easily detangled when I do it at this point. I usually have sections of hair, so I start from the ends separating a few times and make my way towards the scalp, then I am able to get out most hair that is shedding or something by doing this. Basically, I finger detangle most times. Sometimes, I will use a finger brush thing, but I prefer to finger detangle

4. What benefits do you see with your detangle process? (ex: seeing less breakage doing things one way vs a previous way?)
I get less damage to my ends when I finger detangle after my prepoo and after I wet it. I try to avoid going through my hair at any other point or in any other way (for instance a tangle teazer) because those methods are fast, but I think it does cause a bit more damage. I do like to see how easily the detangling tools work, though
 
apple_natural said:
June - Let's Talk Prepoo & Detangle!
Feel free to add questions or other comments. This is just a starter...

1. Is a prepoo a part of your routine? If so, what is your favorite thing(s) to use?
2. Are you seeing benefits from your prepoo?
3. When in your process do you usually detangle? How do you do it?
4. What benefits do you see with your detangle process? (ex: seeing less breakage doing things one way vs a previous way?)

June Mini-Challenge Options (Choose at least one, please :D )
1. Prepoo with oil (with or without heat) if you don't already!
2. Finger Detangle this month!
3. Detangle with the plastic brush that looks like fingers (you know what i'm talking about lol)
Click to expand...
1. Prepooing is one of my favorite parts of wash day tbh. I do it before every wash day. I like to use conditioners the most because I leave it in my hair overnight most of the time, although I'm trying to cut down on that. My fav product is Melanin Haircare Leave-In.
2. Muuuuuuch easier detangling wash day. Hair doesn't get super tangled when shampooing and it makes deep conditioning much easier. I stand in front of a mirror when prepooing so I can carefully detangle and hence, get less knots and shed hair in the shower.
3. I usually detangle. I normally use my fingers and then my wide tooth comb. If necessary, I follow up with the Felisha Leatherwood brush since I don't use it when I'm detangling with my deep conditioner.
4. Less breakage, less knots, hair more elongated before wash day.

June Mini-Challenge
I'll choose 2 and 3 since I normally do both in my routine.
 
apple_natural said:
@HealthyHair2020 That is a really pretty hairstyle and good job on the trim! Do you usually cut a lot during a trim? I'm an overtrimmer because I like to see the fresh ends
Click to expand...
Sorry I'm just seeing this. Yeah I usually do because I like my ends to be as even as possible. I might cut a littttttle bit more since I'm in mini twists this week again. And some of the ends are too stringy for my taste.

Unrelated but I think I'm gonna try wash and goes for all of July because doing twists all the time sorta gets boring and I like being versatile with my hair.
 
I prepoo before every wash as my detangling step. Makes being in the shower a literal breeze. I skipped a prepoo a couple washes ago and had major regrets because my hair literally matted and locd up in some places, took sooo long to comb out. Never experienced that before and don’t want to experience it again, so I’ll be a prepoo for lifer lols.

im back in a protective style. Faux locs this time! I’ll keep them in for about 8 weeks max (any longer I find to be detrimental to my hair) and I think that’ll be it for me for protective styles this year. I’ve been soooo busy protective styles have been the only way I could survive this time in my life. (Had surgery, house hunting, bought first place, moving into new place in a couple weeks, also currently changing jobs). Hopefully the hectic period will come to a close in the next few weeks and I can go back to giving my hair some proper tlc!
 
apple_natural said:
June - Let's Talk Prepoo & Detangle!
Feel free to add questions or other comments. This is just a starter...

1. Is a prepoo a part of your routine? If so, what is your favorite thing(s) to use?
2. Are you seeing benefits from your prepoo?
3. When in your process do you usually detangle? How do you do it?
4. What benefits do you see with your detangle process? (ex: seeing less breakage doing things one way vs a previous way?)

June Mini-Challenge Options (Choose at least one, please :D )
1. Prepoo with oil (with or without heat) if you don't already!
2. Finger Detangle this month!
3. Detangle with the plastic brush that looks like fingers (you know what i'm talking about lol)
Click to expand...
1. It is most of the time, although sometimes when I'm in a rush I don't do it. Conditioner is what I use for prepoo
2. The main benefit for me is my hair not feeling so stripped since I have to use harsh shampoos for my scalp condition
3. I always detangle after shampoo and conditioning with my leave in (kinky curly knot today). If it's a prepoo day then I'll also detangle when prepooing. Because I have seborrheic dermatitis I have to use a scalp brush to get rid of the flakes and the circular motion needed to lift the flakes can cause tangles. I typically start with a light finger detangle to smooth my conditioner through and then go in with either a Wet Brush or my Pattern Beauty Wide Tooth Comb
4. For me detangling during my prepoo greatly reduces overall tangles post wash and decreases the amount of hair loss/breakage I have

For June: well I already finger detangle but I'll be doing more thorough detangling sessions. And I'll add some argan oil to my prepoo sessions for my next two wash days in June
 
my hair is very dry. i put on some conditioner and a baggy, but I may need to do this a few days in a row. I did notice the same kind of splits that we cut out earlier this year. ugh. hopefully most of the issue is around the front. i am due for a trim this coming month. I'll likely do it this weekend after a few days of conditioning
 
I would braid my hair, but my edges dont like that. I could twist it, but the ends dont like that. I could put it in two side buns, but the middle of my hair doesn't like that... well, it does like oil! I'm going to put it back in twists and just do better moisturizing and oiling the ends. I could baggy more often.
 
:beach:July - Let's Talk Cleansing Shampooing Cowashing!
Feel free to add questions or other comments. This is just a starter...

1. What do you cleanse your hair with? How do you use it?
2. How often?
3. What products/methods will you definitely not want to do again?

July Mini-Challenge Options (Choose at least one, please :D )
1. Cowash!
2. Clay wash!
3. Clarify!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Missi
No APL Challenge? -> HYH Challenge "Your Best Length for '09"
Replies
11
Views
2K
greenwings23
greenwings23
KurleeK5
BSL/MBL Same Length?!
Replies
24
Views
5K
davisbr88
davisbr88
TGrigley
APL & BSL Naturals
Replies
11
Views
4K
lilsparkle825
lilsparkle825
faithVA
  • Poll Poll
Apl - Bsb 2020 Length Challenge
6 7 8
Replies
212
Views
39K
felic1
F
Meritamen
BSL 2023 Challenge
2 3
Replies
68
Views
7K
ItsMeLilLucky
ItsMeLilLucky
Back
Top