2024 - SL/APL Challenge/Support Thread

Took my two strands out Saturday and just wore my hair loose for 2 days because I didn't feel like doing my hair. She held up well but I no better than to push a good thing. Tonight, I shampooed, conditioned, applied leave-in and styling foam. I will wear flat twist for the next two weeks. I'm still deciding if I'm going to do two weeks in each style.
 
I took my mini braids out after four weeks. My hair did very well in them, but the take down was a lot. My hair is currently blow dried straight and in a ponytail. For length retention, I know I won’t be able to maintain this ponytail. I’m undecided if I want to install mini braids again.
 
I wanted to shampoo and restyle this morning but I was in a big hurry. So with my flat twists still in, I rinsed my hair in the shower. Then I took down each one, detangled, put in some foam and retwisted. Since it got water this week, I will be holding onto these until next weekend. I never thought to do this before but I may add this to my regime so I can wear flat twist for 2 weeks.

I'm also trying to use up some products. In the past I've participated in the Use Up Your Stash challenge. I don't have a lot to use up, so I will just post about it in here. I'm working on using up this foam. I need to declutter some this month and I will just throw some things away.

I think for now I will do 4 weeks of flat twists followed by 2 weeks of two strands until my 2 strands are longer and I can pull them up/back. Also doing flat twists for 4 weeks will help me see some visual growth when I do put in 2 strands and it will be more rewarding :yep:
 
Finally got around to cleansing my hair. Nothing special, just back up in flat twist. Will rotate to two strands near the end of the month..

I did some pull test on wet hair and I can see some progress. I need it long enough by the end of Spring to put it in a puff. Looks like I am making progress toward it.
 
I didn't realize it had been this long since I last did my hair. And I didn't feel like doing it today. With my flat twist in, I put my hair under the shower head. Then I took out one twist at a time, removed the shed hair and then retwisted it. This is going to be a 2024 staple. It gives my hair and scalp water, is fast, easy and I can do it more often.

I may do this every 3 to 4 days and then cleanse, condition and style every 2 to 3 weeks.
 
I didn't wait as long this time. I tried out a new shampoo and conditioner. Both are OK and better than others I have tried. I will probably use the shampoo as a body wash and use the conditioner. I keep forgetting I want a fragrance-free shampoo so I need to hunt for that. I really didn't feel like doing my hair so I used foam and put the back in a banana clip bun and flat twisted the front. I'm trying to use up this foam. I think I will use it one more time and then toss the rest.

The banana clip bun with the flat twist in the front is fast but I'm always concerned about sleeping in it. But it does give me another style option. I think by the end of the summer, I won't need to do the flat twist in the front and I may be able to put all of my hair into a bun.
 
I washed and blew out my hair. I finished putting in some mini twists this morning, missed church and the whole nine. :drunk:. They came out amazing though. I'm getting good at this DIY thing! I'm hoping to keep them in for at least a month. The bald spot at my nape is still giving me trouble. I'm going to baby it for the next 6 months. If it doesn't improve by September, I will go see a dermatologist or something.
 
I don't know where the time goes. I would swear I just shampooed my hair a week ago. Maybe I rinsed and reset mid week? :perplexed:

Anyway, I did the whole routine tonight because I'm going into the office tomorrow. I decided to style in 2 stages this time. After air drying a bit, I used the K18 as a leave-in, waited 4 minutes and then used the TGIN leave-in. I was too lazy to add water. Maybe next time. Then I took each of the 4 sections and put in 3 to 4 twist per section. Tomorrow morning I will take out the twist and put in flat twist. My hair and my ends should be smoother this way.

I decided next month for check-in, I will blow dry and straighten my hair for my length check. I think I just want to wear my hair straight a few times a year, so every 4 months is a good schedule.
 
I guess I'm on a 10 day run. Maybe it will be better when its warmer.

Kept it simple: shampoo, condition, leave in, foam and 2 flat twist.

Next time I plan to hang around the house for a weekend I plan to try a one product wash and go.
 
washed my hair yesterday. I used my SM jbco shampoo and some aussie moist conditioner.
the process was quick and easy. I am still using my castor oil & sulfur 8 braid spray at night.
 
I finally got to my hair today. I started with a bond repair and left that in a while. Then I shampooed. I didnt condition because I used the K18. I was going to deep condition afterwards but I got busy. My hair is in 4 bantu knots.

Tomorrow I will wet my hair and apply the deep conditioner and put it in a puff. I'm busy tomorrow to so I will rinse on Monday and style.

Getting my hair into 4 bantus is a nice accomplishment. I'm appreciating this progress.
 
faithVA said:
I finally got to my hair today. I started with a bond repair and left that in a while. Then I shampooed. I didnt condition because I used the K18. I was going to deep condition afterwards but I got busy. My hair is in 4 bantu knots.

Tomorrow I will wet my hair and apply the deep conditioner and put it in a puff. I'm busy tomorrow to so I will rinse on Monday and style.

Getting my hair into 4 bantus is a nice accomplishment. I'm appreciating this progress.
Click to expand...

I remember back in the day, ladies used to have good results DCing on dry hair.
 
Sorry I've been missing in action. I had planned to have done my April update by now. We moved in April, so between packing, moving and working I got busy. I was going to color my hair but I don't know where I put the box of color. And at the new house none of my hair catchers fit the new showers so I am having to improvise to keep from sending large junks of hair down the drain.

Then we had company and then I got sick. With all of that I've done very little with my hair. I finally did something today but just enough to keep it from becoming a tangled mess. I conditioned, detangled, shampooed once, conditioned and then put in a leave in and put my hair in 3 flat twist on each side. I'm sitting under the dryer to dry my hair because I'm still not feeling great and don't want to walk around with a wet head and feel worse.

My goal is to color, blow dry, straighten and trim the last week of May. I definitely need to dust my ends.

Even with the lack of care I am retaining. I'm going to see if I can do more pampering from here on out.

I am going to purchase some disposal hair catchers until I find one that works for my shower.
 
I finally have gotten around to my April update :lol:
Yesterday, I did a bond treatment, clarified, followed by moisturizing shampoo. Then I did K18 and then conditioned. I put in twist and let it air dry. I was in a rush this morning so I just flat ironed on low with one pass. I just needed it to be straight enough to trim my ends. But unfortunately, my SplitEnder died :sad: I had to trim the old fashion, long way.

December June after trim
20231225_233106_resized (1).jpg 20240601_201924.jpg


June after trim
20240601_201951.jpg20240601_202017.jpg
 
Last edited:
I finally got around to coloring my hair. Since moving into the new house, I've been concerned with coloring my hair in the shower because of the grout between the tiles. I bought grout sealer and tried it in the main shower, but after half of one wall, I was like there ain't no way :nono: It was way too much work. :lol:

So, I applied the color in the guest shower because it is smaller. And I am glad I did. As the color dropped to the tiled floor, it came off the tile OK but it wasn't as easy to get off the grout between the tiles. In the future, I will lay down a tarp to protect the floor. I decided to rinse my hair in the laundry room sink and that was a good move.

Now, I've worked out the logistics, it shouldn't be so hard next time.

I realize I hadn't colored since December. Considering it has been almost 6 months my grays didn't look so bad. I went with a lighter color which is more of a sandy brown. It is too early to tell whether I like it or how it will look. I need to give it a few weeks and washes to see how it will wear.

I already bought the next color, so it is ready when I am. I think I will always buy two at a time in the future.
 
I've been really slacking on hair care. My regimen has consisted on shampooing and conditioning randomly and then every few days rinsing my hair and twisting it under water. Today I finally shampooed, conditioned, applied leave-in and gel and then twisted it up.

I'm going to get back to the gel so I can keep moisture in my hair for a bit longer.

I thought about doing a wash and go but I'm going to let the back of my hair grow out fully. I'm going to listen to my inner self and not try to rush it. It is going to take until the end of the year for my back to grow out.

I'm not at full SL yet but I think some portions of my hair will be by the end of the year. And I think I have about 4" until my hair is grazing APL.

I'm going to protect the progress that I made by sticking to a weekly regimen. And I'm going to try to do 2 strands at least once a month to give me and my hair a break. I think the two strands will be better for my ends until I start doing my flat twist on stretched hair.

Between the flat twist and the two strand twist this will also allow me to use up some products. My stash is the smallest it has ever been but I want to get rid of the stragglers. I have lots of samples I think I will use on my flat twist.
 
I didn't wait for every to wash this time but was still longer than I wanted. I wanted to shampoo and put in two strands this weekend but I just need to accept that I'm bound to flat twist right now :lol:

I shampooed, conditioned, added leave-in and some gel and put it in flat twist for the week. I have about two uses left of an Aunt Jackie's gel. Maybe I will use it up and then try to do 2 strands the following weekend. And I need to do them on Friday and stop kidding myself that I will do them any other day of the weekend.

I plan to straighten and trim the end of next month. I want to buy a new SplitEnder. I'm debating on whether to buy the one that has adaptable cutting lengths or just buy the one that is set for 1/4". I've never trimmed less than 1/2" since I only do it every 4 months. But maybe as my hair grows longer I need fewer trims :look:

I also plan to buy another Hercules Sageman comb. I'm pretty sure the ones that I have are 15 years old :yep:
 
I had to wash my hair this morning since it was so itchy and flaky. I used my old fav, Head and shoulders dry scalp care. I let it sit for a few minutes then did a protein treatment before bow drying.

I'm getting my braids done after work on wednesday so I don't want to put any oils in my hair

I will trim next month, when i get my braided mohawk done for vacay
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

faithVA
2023 - SL/APL Challenge
6 7 8
Replies
213
Views
16K
MzSwift
MzSwift
faithVA
2022 - SL/APL Challenge
4 5 6
Replies
176
Views
18K
B_Phlyy
B_Phlyy
faithVA
2021 Shoulder Length Challenge
15 16 17
Replies
504
Views
52K
faithVA
faithVA
faithVA
Sl 2016 Challenge
39 40 41
Replies
1K
Views
97K
Evolving78
E
Kells
Sl 2018 Challenge
Replies
26
Views
4K
Kells
Kells
Back
Top