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

[25InchesStarting'25]

Using my own hair, I really don’t love the look unless they are pinned up due to my lower density. I can fluff my styles up for volume, but twists will tell all my secrets.

But you’ve given me food for thought: I’ve done some simple kinky twists with extension hair, minimizing the amount of hair used. I might consider it, but then honestly…when I start doing my swimming, I just want full access to my hair to get the chlorine out. Ah well, now I’m rambling lol

I understand the concern regarding swimming. I hope you find a solution

 

[Beautified16]

What length are you now?
Shoulder Length

What is your length goal for 2025 ?
To be APL or possibly BSL

What's your plan/regimen to reach your goal?
I plan on doing low manipulation. I want to wash my hair once every two weeks instead of the weekly washing that I have been doing.
I have incorporated the inversion method and daily massages with my electric scalp massager.
As well as I have started to take liquid vitamins. I have already began to notice a difference in my energy so hopefully, I will see it in my hair soon.

How will you celebrate/reward yourself when you reach your goal?
I plan on rewarding myself by buying myself new hourglass rollers that I really want.

How can we support you in reaching your goal?
By just be there whenever you can to discuss hair.

Starting Pic:

 

[faithVA]

What length are you now?
Shoulder Length

What is your length goal for 2025 ?
To be APL or possibly BSL

What's your plan/regimen to reach your goal?
I plan on doing low manipulation. I want to wash my hair once every two weeks instead of the weekly washing that I have been doing.
I have incorporated the inversion method and daily massages with my electric scalp massager.
As well as I have started to take liquid vitamins. I have already began to notice a difference in my energy so hopefully, I will see it in my hair soon.

How will you celebrate/reward yourself when you reach your goal?
I plan on rewarding myself by buying myself new hourglass rollers that I really want.

How can we support you in reaching your goal?
By just be there whenever you can to discuss hair.

Starting Pic:

I will come back to add this in by tonight or tomorrow.

Welcome and glad to have you join us.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Had my annual physical exam and lab work. Cholesterol, thyroid, and anemia are all good but Vitamin D was low. Doc sent over a weekly supplement I have to take until end of July. He said my OTC regimen can stay the same.

 

[faithVA]

Had my annual physical exam and lab work. Cholesterol, thyroid, and anemia are all good but Vitamin D was low. Doc sent over a weekly supplement I have to take until end of July. He said my OTC regimen can stay the same.

Glad everything is in great shape. I think it is common for vitamin D to be low especially after the winter months. Maybe you will see some positive changes from taking a supplement.

 

[faithVA]

I reset my hair today. I skipped the shampoo and did the rest. It takes as much time as to do a full cleanse, so I need to set aside enough time to do it mid-week. On the mid-week rinse I am using up products I don't want. This is the best time because if my hair looks crazy, I will be doing it again on Saturday or Sunday. I will use my regular products on my weekend cleanse.

Threw in some flat twist towards my crown and put it in a "mini-bun". This will do for a few days.

 

[faithVA]

Yesterday, I tried a wash and go since I don't think I wore one since 2023. I just wanted to see where it was based on my length and whether I had the hydration to where one if I wanted to do so any given day. I don't usually wear them often because my hair takes a long time to dry and I really dislike sitting under the dryer. So I would have to do style it first thing in the morning to give it dry time.

I didn't take any pics. It was just an experiment. I won't be wearing one any time soon until my hair is longer. That means probably not until next Spring. I would love to wear a wash and go to work but it takes me at least an hour to do a wash and go and that means I would have to get up extra early. That isn't going to happen right now

It went fairly well. I have been using the Prose shampoo and conditioner and I found for my hair a lighter conditioner works better on my hair. My hair seems to get weighed down with the heavier conditioners so my curls struggle to form. The Prose conditioner is good. The bottle is way too small so I will need to find a replacement at Sephora or Ulta. I used a lot less gel to get my curls to form and to feel heavy. I was rushing though and spent no time smoothing.

I let my hair dry for about 10 minutes and then shook it. I need to skip that step next time and just do very easy side to side motions. Shake it causes my curls to shrink up. It gives me good definition but a lot of shrinkage.

I sat outside for a while to let it air dry then I blow dried it to get the surface dry so it wouldn't be wet for bed.

What I learned for next time
1. A shampoo and conditioner like Prose improves my results
2. Don't shake but just tilt my head easily to help the curls separate a bit.
3. If I blow dry, pull sections to help them elongate
4. Tuck the front section behind my ear to help it stay down. I need to apply product differently to the front but haven't figure it out.

I'm going to spray my hair with water and put her up in flat twist after I finish running errands.

 

[SmilingElephant]

 

[Napp]

I think my genetics are meant for shorter hair. I can grow my hair so easy to SL but have not reached longer lengths without a relaxers

 

[faithVA]

I think my genetics are meant for shorter hair. I can grow my hair so easy to SL but have not reached longer lengths without a relaxers

If you can reach longer lengths with a relaxer, it sounds more like you are achieving the growth but not the retention.

Now, it is just a matter of paying attention when you reach SL what your hair wants and needs for retention. Its time to ask the hard questions to see if you can find the culprit.

 

[faithVA]

Sprayed my hair heavily with water, added some gel, smoothed out and detangled my hair in sections and put it into 5 Bantu Knots.

The majority of it I put into small flat twists towards the crown. I left a front piece out and put in two strand twists.

I need to come up with 5 different styles to rotate.

 

[keranikki]

I took out my twist extensions this past weekend, due to slippage, and washed my hair. Removing the twists and combining those parts into bigger braids aided the detangling and washing process. During the removal process, I realized that the hair along the perimeter behind my ears was very dry and had a lot of shed hair, compared to the rest of my hair which was moisturized. It seems that my hair/braid spray is not reaching that area. My goal is to pay extra attention during this next install.

I found a protein conditioner, Skala, that worked well, in that my hair wasn’t overly strong and stiff. I have to make note that I did layer it with APB Cholesterol.

I will start the next install of twist extensions tonight. I will keep them in for the whole summer (4 week rotation, 1 week break).

 

[keranikki]

I just finished installing twist extensions in my nape (1st section). While parting each section and prepping hair, I realized that I had the tiniest of single strand knots within each part I created. I’m trying to determine what caused it. I have three theories: 1) I didn’t trim enough during my last microtrim; 2) mechanical damage from twist install and maintenance; or 3) I caused my ends to knot by point cutting my ends because it was trending in my Instagram feed. I’m leaning toward #3. For know, I will just S&D within each part. So far, I have not had to trim a lot, maybe 1/8” at most and that’s being generous. All of the knots I have encountered have been at the very ends of the hair. They are so tiny, but I don’t like the feel of them.

 

[Rocky91]

@Beautified16 your hair is so gorgeous! I love those blunt, thick ends. Honestly, you look past SL to me and well on your way to APL.

 

[Rocky91]

There's a meme going around on fitness IG with people showing wonderful before/after fat loss images + the caption of "Unfortunately, I have to admit that a calorie deficit and 10k steps a day does work." It tickles me so much because it is in my nature to do this very thing: resist taking the most obvious, straightforward path to a goal.

Well, unfortunately, I think I have to admit that mostly wearing buns and keeping my hands out of my hair does work. I blowdried last night and omg, my ends look great and I feel like my hair is longer than it was during my April length check already. I didn't take any pics to confirm because watched pots don't boil. But hopefully I will see a nice surprise during my June silk press/trim.

 

[Beautified16]

@Beautified16 your hair is so gorgeous! I love those blunt, thick ends. Honestly, you look past SL to me and well on your way to APL.

Thanks so much Once I get past APL I can't keep my ends thick. That is another goal of mine. I love high buns but I have given them up for now

 

[Rocky91]

I've been doing the same thing as @MzSwift and poring through the archives of this board and the online hair world overall because there is such a wealth of information. Here are a few links I've enjoyed about using bunning as a tool for retention at this particular length.

- Former member zzirvingj grew out her natural hair using mostly buns, going from SL to BSL in 14 months. Here's a thread with comparison pics from TWA to around MBL. Here's a description of her regimen, and here's a picture of her bun.
- Val (Hairlicious) on YouTube has been an inspiration for many years. Here's a blogpost describing how she went from SL to APL in 7 months using buns as her primary style.

Also, here's my bun today, a simple ends tucked under bun with no filler. I'm particularly pleased with it--it looks nice, if I do say so myself. This is on hair that was shampooed, DC'ed and stretched on Sunday. My easy stretching method is to put in big twists with some foam, sit under my dryer, then brush it out when dry--it ends up looking almost like a blowout and results in buns that look more full. I know it looks tight, but that's just the gel and a scarf.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I've been doing the same thing as @MzSwift and poring through the archives of this board and the online hair world overall because there is such a wealth of information. Here are a few links I've enjoyed about using bunning as a tool for retention at this particular length.

- Former member zzirvingj grew out her natural hair using mostly buns, going from SL to BSL in 14 months. Here's a thread with comparison pics from TWA to around MBL. Here's a description of her regimen, and here's a picture of her bun.
- Val (Hairlicious) on YouTube has been an inspiration for many years. Here's a blogpost describing how she went from SL to APL in 7 months using buns as her primary style.

Also, here's my bun today, a simple ends tucked under bun with no filler. I'm particularly pleased with it--it looks nice, if I do say so myself. This is on hair that was shampooed, DC'ed and stretched on Sunday. My easy stretching method is to put in big twists with some foam, sit under my dryer, then brush it out when dry--it ends up looking almost like a blowout and results in buns that look more full. I know it looks tight, but that's just the gel and a scarf.

I love digging around in the archives. Thanks for posting this.

 

[VarieYvette]

I've been doing the same thing as @MzSwift and poring through the archives of this board and the online hair world overall because there is such a wealth of information. Here are a few links I've enjoyed about using bunning as a tool for retention at this particular length.

- Former member zzirvingj grew out her natural hair using mostly buns, going from SL to BSL in 14 months. Here's a thread with comparison pics from TWA to around MBL. Here's a description of her regimen, and here's a picture of her bun.
- Val (Hairlicious) on YouTube has been an inspiration for many years. Here's a blogpost describing how she went from SL to APL in 7 months using buns as her primary style.

Also, here's my bun today, a simple ends tucked under bun with no filler. I'm particularly pleased with it--it looks nice, if I do say so myself. This is on hair that was shampooed, DC'ed and stretched on Sunday. My easy stretching method is to put in big twists with some foam, sit under my dryer, then brush it out when dry--it ends up looking almost like a blowout and results in buns that look more full. I know it looks tight, but that's just the gel and a scarf.

My routine is similar to both, so fingers crossed I will get to APL by my goal date. I need to get back into bunning though, but my edges are looking at me like "girl, wtf"

 

[B_Phlyy]

My follow up derm appointment is on June 6. I'm not going to completely straighten but I may do a roller set. I'm whoso getting my hair trimmed as well.

 

[Rocky91]

I love digging around in the archives. Thanks for posting this.

Me too! I wish more of the picture links weren't broken in the old threads, but there's still sooooo much great info. Please tag me if you dig up anything good.

 

[Rocky91]

My routine is similar to both, so fingers crossed I will get to APL by my goal date. I need to get back into bunning though, but my edges are looking at me like "girl, wtf"

Awesome! And I can understand being concerned about the edges. I rely heavily on a lot of gel and a scarf to keep my edges smooth so I'm not using tension to get my desired sleek look.

Or you could also do other bun/updo styles that don't require any tension. Here are a few that I'll probably be trying over the next few weeks.

2 flat twists or 2 braids

updo on a twistout

this seems to also be a twistout updo with a braid in the front and a "Southern Tease" style bun (throwback! anyone remember that?) in the back

2 flat twists into a bun (i love the hair jewelry, i'm going to copy this!)

I'll definitely come back and post pics as I try these styles. I was going to actually do a flexirod set for the weekend just for fun, but it's 90 degrees today sooo..... i might very well stay in a bun or updo.

 

[B_Phlyy]

My follow up derm appointment is on June 6. I'm not going to completely straighten but I may do a roller set. I'm getting my hair trimmed as well.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

Me too! I wish more of the picture links weren't broken in the old threads, but there's still sooooo much great info. Please tag me if you dig up anything good.

Girl, I would be tagging you from here to eternity if I did that

 

[faithVA]

Reset yesterday and just using up some product.

Trying to get away from parting down the middle so much. Doing multiple twist towards the crown. Will see if this helps with the thinning at the crown.

 

[Rocky91]

Reset yesterday and just using up some product.

Trying to get away from parting down the middle so much. Doing multiple twist towards the crown. Will see if this helps with the thinning at the crown.

View attachment 504100

You are the flat twisting queen! This looks lovely. I can’t imagine getting my hands to coordinate this well on myself.

I tried to flat twist my son’s hair the other day. Between my lack of skills and him doing toddler things, I had to give it up and let him rock his little fro

 

[faithVA]

Reset yesterday and just using up some product.

Trying to get away from parting down the middle so much. Doing multiple twist towards the crown. Will see if this helps with the thinning at the crown.

View attachment 504100

I will gratefully accept that title. I am grateful to have enough hair and enough length to flat twist. And at the same time looking forward to APL where I can do some updos.

Let him rock his fro as long as he can. His is the age of freedom.

 

[Rocky91]

I love my bun today. I did an excessively tight bun yesterday for the Bey concert, which was kinda silly since I just plopped my cowboy hat on top anyways

So today I’m letting my edges have a break—I am only willing to let Beyoncé snatch my edges, no one else Two loose flat twists into a southern tease style bun held up by a hair comb. There’s pretty much no tension at all.

 

[faithVA]

I love my bun today. I did an excessively tight bun yesterday for the Bey concert, which was kinda silly since I just plopped my cowboy hat on top anyways

So today I’m letting my edges have a break—I am only willing to let Beyoncé snatch my edges, no one else Two loose flat twists into a southern tease style bun held up by a hair comb. There’s pretty much no tension at all.
View attachment 504232
View attachment 504230

That's a beautiful bun

 

[faithVA]

Sally's has buy 3 get 1 free for certain items. They actually had Kinky Curly gel. I've had a hard time finding it close to me online so I bought 4 of them. This should last me for a couple of years.

Once it comes I will throw out the gels I threw together to use up. Not going to waste my time.

Now I need a deal on TGIN leave-in because I'm almost out. I may have to buy one full price and wait for the deal.