APL 2012 Challenge

[Aggie]

@Aggie thanx so much !! I will be sure to get one of those conditioners ASAP

You're quite welcomed growbaby. You an purchase the Aubrey Orgaics conditioners at www.vitacost.com or the vitamin shoppe.

 

[Evallusion]

Its been 5 weeks in these box braids. I shampooed my braids tonight. I'm hoping to get at least another 2 weeks out of these. 8 weeks is my goal though. After this im getting a weave. Already got my hair, and cant wait. I'm sick of individuals...need to change up the game. Transitioning via the crown and glory method is going very well for me and I wish I had done it years ago.

 

[NikkiQ]

Oops! Sorry ladies! Yesterday was a very long day. My reggie is not actually a reggie at all. I had one at first but my hair stopped responding so I'm back to searching. Right now, I PS with a bun covered in weave hair do it looks bigger. I use the LOC method water or aloe, grapeseed oil or apricot oil, and DB transitioning, DB Madagascar Vanilla, or ORS Olive Oil in a bottle. I cowash with humectress if my hair feels dry. But my biggest issue has been shedding. Tea rinses have not helped at all. I did my fourth one in three weeks last night. I still look like a molting werewolf.
Also, I am struggling with my DCer. I love it with a passion but I wasn't getting the same results with ORS replenishing pak anymore. It tangled my hair and I had breakage. So I went looking for something without protein. Last night I used One n Only Hydrating Mask, rinsed a little, then put Aphogee Balancing Moisturizer on top for about 30 seconds. Rinsed well under lukewarm water. I then airdried with a teeny tiny dab on my rougher areas of new growth and my fuzzy ends. I put the hair in two Bantu knots under a scarf and that brings me to where I am today. My hair is still in the two knots and damp inside. But the parts that are dry are soft and smooth. My hair hasn't felt good like this in a long time. Even my nape, which has no sense of gravity and instead floats upwards and out, is very soft. No coated feeling. I also used the "moisture drenched prepoo" method. Ehh. My hair didn't feel any different. I used a tiny bit of shampoo on my crown and perimeter (scalp mostly) to prevent the itchies and get rid of the flakes I saw trying to make their out

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Do you ever use a protein treatment of some sort every few weeks? Maybe I'm overlooking it (reading this on my phone) but I see lots of moisture rich products.

Sent by me from my Android phone.Boom

 

[TLC1020]

Hey ladies,

Checking in.....

I have been in full protective mode b/c I know how long and trying getting to apl can be.. I have been in a bun for a few weeks now and plan to keep wearing a bun for a while to get me over the sl to apl hump......

Good Luck to you ladies....

 

[Fyne]

TLC1020 how often do you take down and re do your bun?

 

[kupenda]

NikkiQ I was using too much protein at first I think. My hair felt dry unless I was under running water and I took advice from earlier upthread saying to reduce my protein use. That's what I've been doing.

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[gvin89]

NikkiQ I was using too much protein at first I think. My hair felt dry unless I was under running water and I took advice from earlier upthread saying to reduce my protein use. That's what I've been doing.

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kupenda, I think I had protein overload too. Thing is I wasn't using hard protein treatments...just some AOGPB. Nope, can't use that weekly. Now I use a moisturizing conditioner weekly and AOGPB once a month. We will see if this helps...

 

[lamaria211]

I Deep conditioned over night in the pantene deep conditioning mask and all i can say is Truly excellent stuff
today i made a mix of mega-tek and wild growth oil im gonna try and use it at least 4x a week. this is a pic taken yesterday ill update in 4 weeks to see if there is any significant growth
View attachment 137197

 

[sugahoney]

................

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

Finally able to post a starting pic.

You're already APL, lol. You need to be in the BSL 2012 Challenge.

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[NikkiQ]

Finally able to post a starting pic.

You must be in here to try and reach full APL or somethin b/c you're already there

Sent by me from my Android phone.Boom

 

[faithVA]

sugahoney[/USER];15252605]Finally able to post a starting pic.

I agree with everyone else that has posted. You are already APL. Congratulations. You should reach BSL definitely by the end of the year.

 

[kupenda]

sugahoney you wrong for that girl. *puts on butt kicking boots* you're past APL. You should be in the BSL challenge silly

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[livinthevida]

Okay so what happens when you arrive in late from a long and fun weekend?!!??? and have yet to set your hair ???!!!???

Use foam rollers of course! it is time for me to zzzzz and I really want to avoid sleeping in the pink snap on rollers overnight (remember those pics!) so I am trying something new and put in these foam rollers they feel soft and took a bit of practice to get on right. Unlike the snap on rollers these are much softer and really depend on the weight of your hands to wrap each set of hair. I LOVED that it took the same amount of time to set these foam rollers just like the snap ons - what do you think?

In the morning I'll return to post a pic with the rollers out!

 

[livinthevida]

Finally able to post a starting pic.

sugahoney it looks like your ends are just about on APL! Congratulations!!! Nice trimmed ends too!

Are you hoping to be a little past APL? here's a tee-shirt pic posted by Charla on page 1 of APL 2012 Challenge - hope this helps!

 

[TLC1020]

Fyne I take down my bun to moisturize every night before bed and shampoo every two weeks..

@TLC1020 how often do you take down and re do your bun?

 

[GIJane]

You're already APL, lol. You need to be in the BSL 2012 Challenge.

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

You must be in here to try and reach full APL or somethin b/c you're already there

Sent by me from my Android phone.Boom

I agree with everyone else that has posted. You are already APL. Congratulations. You should reach BSL definitely by the end of the year.

@sugahoney you wrong for that girl. *puts on butt kicking boots* you're past APL. You should be in the BSL challenge silly

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

sugahoney What all the above said. You are APL. Your ends look nice and healthy too. Great job.

 

[Evolving78]

i am really tripping about all of that hair that was breaking off while my SIL was braiding my hair. my hair wasn't breaking like that when i combed it or blow dried it. she is a rough little monster. i know i am going to need a nice little trim after i take these braids down.

 

[Missdelicious1]

I'm pretty sure I've reached APL, but it's bitter sweet because it's only APL on the right side . Don't know if I can REALLY claim APL .

My hair was APL last March (pic1) and I cut it to NL (pic 2) because it was uneven due to damage and breakage. Although, it's much healthier now it seems the left side takes forever to catch up with the right. I keep having to clip more hair on the right side to even it up.

In pic 3 you can see the right side, which is full and is at the APL mark. In pic 4 when I let all of my hair down, my hair looks V shaped because the left side is shorter. My hair normally does not grow in a V shape.

 

[GIJane]

Missdelicious1 do you sleep on left side. Or when moisturizing/conditioning do you start on the right side? As far as claiming APL that is up to you. My hair is longer on the right side. I have to keep trimming that side. Maybe someone else can share some insight on this matter.

 

[Missdelicious1]

GIJane I think I do sleep on my left side a little more than my right. That may be part of the problem, but I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure the way I used to wrap my hair had A LOT to do with it. Every night faithfully I would wrap it going towards the right and would sometimes feel tension on the left side. When I started my HHJ last March, the left side was severely damaged. It looked completely different from the right side...like it was from a different person's head. Once I realized that was the problem I stopped wrapping my hair. On the rare occasion that I do, I wrap it the opposite way. I also began babying the left side more (with moisture/oils).

My hair improved so much. I regained a lot more thickness on the left side, but it still isn't retaining length as well as the right side (or maybe it's growing slower...idk). My hair would be longer if I didn't have to keep trimming to even them up (which I've done a few times so far). It's getting better, but still needs improving.

 

[GIJane]

Hmmm Missdelicious1 very interesting. I think we might have to baby our left side and try sleeping on a different side for the next few months then evaluate. Also, if you are relaxed which side do you tend to relax first. It could be a number of reasons why our hair is acting up.

I do believe that it could be tension and over manipulation that's the culprit. But, I do notice that my right side is thicker than my left. I am going to have to search the forum. I am quite sure we are not the first ones to have this issue. I let you know what I come up with.

 

[GIJane]

@Missdelicious1 I did a quick search. Below are some threads that discussed this issue. You might want to read these threads. They seem to share some light on the issue. But it could be several reasons for the culprit, such as damage, poor circulation, manipulation, texture, growth rate, and etc. Take a look.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=572433
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=572559
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=562701
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=542991

 

[Missdelicious1]

GIJane thanks a lot for the help. I will definitely check out those threads. I think you're right about the way I relaxed too. My hair dresser used to always relax the left side first. I also think she used diluted neutralizing shampoo in my hair. I did not realize, pay attention to or understand any of this back then. Since I started my HHJ, I've been doing my own relaxers so that has also helped in my progress.

I'm not sure what could be causing the difference in thickness/length with your hair....maybe some of the same issues? Are you relaxed or natural?

 

[GIJane]

@GIJane thanks a lot for the help. I will definitely check out those threads. I think you're right about the way I relaxed too. My hair dresser used to always relax the left side first. I also think she used diluted neutralizing shampoo in my hair. I did not realize, pay attention to or understand any of this back then. Since I started my HHJ, I've been doing my own relaxers so that has also helped in my progress.

I'm not sure what could be causing the difference in thickness/length with your hair....maybe some of the same issues? Are you relaxed or natural?

Missdelicious1 I am approximately 28 weeks texlax. I also have 3 different textures in my hair. Might I suggest relaxing the shorter side last. Or doing the half and half method. They have a thread about that here as well http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=572125.
I hope this helps.

 

[livinthevida]

Good Morning Ladies! Here are morning pics after the foam rollers are out - these results are amazing! I am thinking the foam rollers plus my new satin pillowcase create a really soft feel and look of my hair. It looks and feels healthier compared to when I set my hair using the pink snap on rollers. What a difference! and when sleeping it didn't feel like I had rollers in my hair at all. I am definitely doing foam roller sets for the rest of this month

Can you tell the difference? WOW!

 

[GIJane]

livinthevida looks real nice. Are you relaxed, texlax or natural?

 

[sugahoney]

Guys I was looking at that pic for the longest time before I posted it and it just did not look APL. At my last relaxer in November my hair was barely CBL so I did not think that it would be APL in just 13 weeks. I dont even have any pics of my hair in November to compare.

Thanks everyone. I will just make my way over to the BSL challenge.

 

[GIJane]

Guys I was looking at that pic for the longest time before I posted it and it just did not look APL. At my last relaxer in November my hair was barely CBL so I did not think that it would be APL in just 13 weeks. I dont even have any pics of my hair in November to compare.

Thanks everyone. I will just make my way over to the BSL challenge.

You're welcome @sugahoney. It's all about what you are comfortable with claiming. You are more than welcome to stay in the APL challenge and give me some advice and tips. I need all the help I can get.

 

[SkySurfer]

Still trying to reach full APL..will take down my braids in about 7 weeks and we'll see where I am