2025/2026 - Journey to SL/APL/BSL Challenge

[faithVA]

I usually blow dry and flat iron for the end of the year check. I'm not going to do that this year. For end of year, I will blow dry and trim and leave it at that. If I need to color, I may do that.

I'm not going to flat iron until my layer closest to my nape reaches APL stretched. In the meantime, I will just stick with my weekly cleanse and twist regimen and try to enjoy any additional hair styles I can get.

I think flat ironing at APL will be more satisfying.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Info is from 9/25/25. Long post ahead.

I call myself looking back at the previous pics prior to updating but still ended up taking the photo from the wrong side. That's also why the pic looks slightly darker. It does look like I have on the same tank top so I could kind of line up my shoulders but I'm not sure I did the best job.

Anyway, I took my mini braids out on 9/20 and did a quick cowash and conditioner. I was able to get most of my hair into a ponytail, even with shrinkage. Some of the ends though were much longer and more tangled so this is how I ended up cutting my hair. Once my hair in the ponytail was completely dry, I pulled it down and cut the excess hair off in a U-shape. Because it was so spur of the moment, I didn't think to take pictures. In total, I probably took off about an inch.

For the length check, I colored my hair with CHI Ionic Color. I did 2 ounces of 2N Black with a 6V Red Violet. I'm slowly but surely trying to get my hair a black cherry red color. This covered all of my greys and most of my head. Let it process for 35 minutes, then shampooed it out with Biolage Color care shampoo. Followed that with Hally Gloss treatment for 20 minutes under a plastic cap. Final conditioner was The Mane Choice KoolAide (no longer in production). Leave- in was African Royale Daily Doctor. Heat protection was with Kerastase Ultimate Oil.

Blow dried with my Dyson and then attempted to flat iron at 390F. I say attempted because halfway through, DH had an anxiety attack on the way to work and I had to go out to calm him down. So I know some of the hair ended up reverting in the humidity. Not enough to cause major shrinkage but enough to where I know it's not as smooth as it would be if I had stayed inside.

It's hard to tell from the pics but IRL, my hair is about 1/2 inch longer and the sides are even and in a wide U shape. This is good considering my unmeasured haircut. I'm also happy I maintained my root density/thickness. All things considered, I grew and maintained 1.5 inches of hair for the last 3 months. My diet and exercise regimen get the most props but I know I'm pretty close to the sweet spot on my washing and moisturizing routine.

 

[faithVA]

Info is from 9/25/25. Long post ahead.

I call myself looking back at the previous pics prior to updating but still ended up taking the photo from the wrong side. That's also why the pic looks slightly darker. It does look like I have on the same tank top so I could kind of line up my shoulders but I'm not sure I did the best job.

Anyway, I took my mini braids out on 9/20 and did a quick cowash and conditioner. I was able to get most of my hair into a ponytail, even with shrinkage. Some of the ends though were much longer and more tangled so this is how I ended up cutting my hair. Once my hair in the ponytail was completely dry, I pulled it down and cut the excess hair off in a U-shape. Because it was so spur of the moment, I didn't think to take pictures. In total, I probably took off about an inch.

For the length check, I colored my hair with CHI Ionic Color. I did 2 ounces of 2N Black with a 6V Red Violet. I'm slowly but surely trying to get my hair a black cherry red color. This covered all of my greys and most of my head. Let it process for 35 minutes, then shampooed it out with Biolage Color care shampoo. Followed that with Hally Gloss treatment for 20 minutes under a plastic cap. Final conditioner was The Mane Choice KoolAide (no longer in production). Leave- in was African Royale Daily Doctor. Heat protection was with Kerastase Ultimate Oil.

Blow dried with my Dyson and then attempted to flat iron at 390F. I say attempted because halfway through, DH had an anxiety attack on the way to work and I had to go out to calm him down. So I know some of the hair ended up reverting in the humidity. Not enough to cause major shrinkage but enough to where I know it's not as smooth as it would be if I had stayed inside.

It's hard to tell from the pics but IRL, my hair is about 1/2 inch longer and the sides are even and in a wide U shape. This is good considering my unmeasured haircut. I'm also happy I maintained my root density/thickness. All things considered, I grew and maintained 1.5 inches of hair for the last 3 months. My diet and exercise regimen get the most props but I know I'm pretty close to the sweet spot on my washing and moisturizing routine.
View attachment 506442

Sounds like good news all the way around.

I'm glad your husband has you for support and glad he made it through that episode.

Congratulations on killing it on your fitness and weight goals.

And lastly I do see your hair progress. I think your raised arm tricks the eye but I can see the growth and the shape.

December is going to bring some wonderfully shocking results

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

@faithVA she used a very small amount of each product. I’m taking my hair down tomorrow so I will try to use less product.

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA she used a very small amount of each product. I’m taking my hair down tomorrow so I will try to use less product.

Yeah i found that using less really did work better and my hair actually stayed moisturized longer.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience.

 

[faithVA]

I took down my flat twists to prepare for tomorrow's wash day. I used my Ayurvedic oil on my scalp and my hair. I actually massaged for 4 minutes :shock: The trick is I need to put on a song I like to distract me.

After that I sprayed my hair with Camille Rose conditioning spray and put in 4 twists on each side. I can now pull all the twists on one side back into a barrette My goal is to do various numbers of twist and then pull them back into a bun. This is a first step. Maybe by March I will get there.


I was tempted to pull my lower layers to see where it is but I'm going to resist doing that until my length check in December. I will just celebrate the small wins in being able to style my hair in different ways or styling it more easily. Let me resist the temptation so I am may be pleasantly surprised

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

Took my hair down this weekend. Did a henna gloss. Should have added more henna to the mix because the bar didn’t add any color upkeep even with steaming. Forgot to do this because it happened before but I forgot.


Used the Olaplex Fine hair mask this time. Will see how my hair feels about it when take this style down. The rinse out was okay. Didn’t feel anything amazing but I will say about the rich nourishing mask my hair felt oober supple after taking my braids down.


No length checks. My hair volume increased but I have to focus on the middle of my head. The hair there is shorter than any other place.


I used the Taliah Waajid as a leave in and then used the revair. Slightly better feeling after drying but I used Ayurvedic henna and herbs so my hair felt strong.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Since the weather is still pretty warm and I'm still doing training outside, I have resumed daily washing. Most of my summer stash products should finish this month so I'll switch to heavier items in November. I'll also probably start stretching the washes to every 2-3 days.

 

[faithVA]

Kept wash day simple;
Cleansed once
Conditioned with leftover conditioner
Baggied for 10 minutes
Put my hair in 4 sections
Added leave-in
Added Mielle twist cream to each section
Put in 12 Bantu Knots

After I let my hair dry for a couple of hours, I then put it in two flat twist with an offset part.
I put Rosemary on the very ends of each twist.

I usually twist with gel and not twist cream but will see how this goes.

There are 9 to 10 washes until the end of the year. I'm going to try to keep it simple.

I plan to color next weekend and then return to this regimen for the rest of the year.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

@faithVA im thinking about buying the revair products to use and see how it goes

 

[keranikki]

Hey everybody!
I’m chugging along. My breakage has stopped, but my shedding has increased. I don’t think the culprit is any of the products I’m using, so I’m just working on my health regimen.
Has anyone had success with Hair vitamins?

I’m back at SL and creeping up to CBL. I definitely won’t make it to APL this year, so I’m looking forward to the 2026 thread.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

I’ve been taking geritol for almost a year and a half. I’ve recently incorporated Nature Made Hair Growth with Lustriva. @keranikki

I also take collagen and msm faithfully with omega 3 , b12 , vitamin d and bamboo silica.

 

[keranikki]

I’ve been taking geritol for almost a year and a half. I’ve recently incorporated Nature Made Hair Growth with Lustriva. @keranikki

I also take collagen and msm faithfully with omega 3 , b12 , vitamin d and bamboo silica.

Thank you! I will look into Geritol and Nature Made.
I’m currently taking collagen, vitamin D, and B12. I will research the others.

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA im thinking about buying the revair products to use and see how it goes

Did you buy them? I am interested in hearing how it goes. I watched Naptural85's video on using the RevAir yesterday so I'm going to watch it again and get some tips.

 

[faithVA]

Hey everybody!
I’m chugging along. My breakage has stopped, but my shedding has increased. I don’t think the culprit is any of the products I’m using, so I’m just working on my health regimen.
Has anyone had success with Hair vitamins?

I’m back at SL and creeping up to CBL. I definitely won’t make it to APL this year, so I’m looking forward to the 2026 thread.

Just to let you know this is also the 2026 thread so many of us will be hanging out together for another year.

 

[faithVA]

I’ve been taking geritol for almost a year and a half. I’ve recently incorporated Nature Made Hair Growth with Lustriva. @keranikki

I also take collagen and msm faithfully with omega 3 , b12 , vitamin d and bamboo silica.

I remember you mentioning geritol before. I need to remember to pick up a bottle. I have vitamin d so I need to pull that out for the winner.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

I’m taking the pills. I couldnt stomach the liquid at all @faithVA

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

No. I was debating which item to get. I only wanted the leave in spray but then someone mentioned As I Am Classic leave in conditioner. I picked that up from CVS a few days ago. I’m going to try it out next take down and see how it goes. @faithVA

 

[faithVA]

Did my weekly cleanse: shampooed 2x, conditioned for 3 minutes; leave-in, gel and put in 6 flat twists on each side.

Last week instead of gel I tried the twist cream and put rosemary oil on my ends. I put my hair in two flat twists. They seemed to hold up well but when I took them down I didn't like the way my hair felt. So this week I went back to my gel.

I've never had any type of success with hair creams, so I am not completely surprised. But while twisting my hair, I also realized that instead of doing my flat twist in my regular rope style, I was just doing regular flat twists. That also could be an issue.

I watched a youtube video where the person talked about water and its impact on permanent and temporary bonds in the hair. It made me think that I shouldn't keep my hair wet any longer than necessary. But it also helped me understand that when I try to do a wash and go it is why it is important to dry my hair as quickly as possible to set the temporary bonds to hold the style.

I will be thinking about this more.

 

[faithVA]

I've been doing primarily flat twist for a while. I don't remember the last time I did two strands but it was probably before the summer. I plan to do two strands next week. I hope to see some noticeable length.

 

[CoiledOrchids]

cornrows all winter. No more over manipulating my hair. I'm going back to what works: hot oil treatments, braids, deep conditioning and scheduled trims.

no more over complicated hair care

 

[25InchesStarting'25]

No. I was debating which item to get. I only wanted the leave in spray but then someone mentioned As I Am Classic leave in conditioner. I picked that up from CVS a few days ago. I’m going to try it out next take down and see how it goes. @faithVA

I love As I Am Leave in!
Hope you like it

 

[25InchesStarting'25]

Info is from 9/25/25. Long post ahead.

I call myself looking back at the previous pics prior to updating but still ended up taking the photo from the wrong side. That's also why the pic looks slightly darker. It does look like I have on the same tank top so I could kind of line up my shoulders but I'm not sure I did the best job.

Anyway, I took my mini braids out on 9/20 and did a quick cowash and conditioner. I was able to get most of my hair into a ponytail, even with shrinkage. Some of the ends though were much longer and more tangled so this is how I ended up cutting my hair. Once my hair in the ponytail was completely dry, I pulled it down and cut the excess hair off in a U-shape. Because it was so spur of the moment, I didn't think to take pictures. In total, I probably took off about an inch.

For the length check, I colored my hair with CHI Ionic Color. I did 2 ounces of 2N Black with a 6V Red Violet. I'm slowly but surely trying to get my hair a black cherry red color. This covered all of my greys and most of my head. Let it process for 35 minutes, then shampooed it out with Biolage Color care shampoo. Followed that with Hally Gloss treatment for 20 minutes under a plastic cap. Final conditioner was The Mane Choice KoolAide (no longer in production). Leave- in was African Royale Daily Doctor. Heat protection was with Kerastase Ultimate Oil.

Blow dried with my Dyson and then attempted to flat iron at 390F. I say attempted because halfway through, DH had an anxiety attack on the way to work and I had to go out to calm him down. So I know some of the hair ended up reverting in the humidity. Not enough to cause major shrinkage but enough to where I know it's not as smooth as it would be if I had stayed inside.

It's hard to tell from the pics but IRL, my hair is about 1/2 inch longer and the sides are even and in a wide U shape. This is good considering my unmeasured haircut. I'm also happy I maintained my root density/thickness. All things considered, I grew and maintained 1.5 inches of hair for the last 3 months. My diet and exercise regimen get the most props but I know I'm pretty close to the sweet spot on my washing and moisturizing routine.
View attachment 506442

Congrats on your progress and maintaining thickness!

 

[keranikki]

Have you taken labs at your annual to check thyroid panel, Free T3, Vit D3, and Ferritin levels?

Ask your MD for Free T3 (surprisingly this is not always ordered on thyroid panel) and Fasting Insulin to be checked. These will help you know what to do to improve health

Eating eggs and beef liver can help with biotin and iron. When I eat eggs my nails grow long and strong. I belibe me hair grows in shinier. Beef liver raises Ferritin levels if it's low

Let me know how it goes

I did this summer. I was deficient in iron, calcium, B12, and Vitamin D. Thyroid, A1C, and cholesterol were great! I'm working on consistently taking my vitamins.

 

[keranikki]

Apologies I've been MIA, been busy!

Glad everyone's hair is thriving

I'm thinking about permentally straightening my hair to not have to not put heat on my ends and do daily co washes after workouts. It will also make tracking growth easier

Since I have RevAir, plan is to do retouches every 6 months ×2, 8 months x2, 9 months x1, 10 months x1, then yearly

Have you thought about a keratin treatment instead? I got a keratin treatment this past September and I love it! The only caveat is that you can't use products that contain salt and/or sulfate.

 

[Aggie]

My hair's length right now. A few strands crossed the finish line to waist length. It was a long time coming. I am excited that for the first time in my life, I'm seeing my hair at waist length.

 

[Nunu!]

My hair's length right now. A few strands crossed the finish line to waist length. It was a long time coming. I am excited that for the first time in my life, I'm seeing my hair at waist length.


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Congratulations!! Enjoy it.

 

[Aggie]

Congratulations!! Enjoy it.

Thanks bunches @Nunu!

 

[25InchesStarting'25]

Took KBs down and washed hair with Peppermint Caslte Soap and used Sprouts Aloe Conditioner. Hair and ends felt amazing!, made me second guess relaxing. My schedule for the next couple years won't allow me to do the KB schedule I wanted to do. I'm excited for this new journey

 

[faithVA]

My hair's length right now. A few strands crossed the finish line to waist length. It was a long time coming. I am excited that for the first time in my life, I'm seeing my hair at waist length.


View attachment 506718

Thank you for sharing your beautiful hair and your progress.