APL 2012 Challenge

[KiWiStyle]

I did a HOT tonight and then clarified with Kenra, followed by a moisturizing shampoo, 2 minute reconstruct with Aphogee for 2 minutes then steam DC With BIOLAGE Conditioning balm, rinsed and applied Roux PC for about a minute and applied Paul Mitchell Super Skinny daily treatment for 1-2 minutes. Applied HE touchably smooth leave-in and CHI silk infusion then air dried. MY HAIR FEELS FABULOUS!! It's soft, flowing.

Downside: my hair is shedding like crazy :-(. I don't know what to do to stop it because I don't know the cause. It seemed to have started after I stopped taking biotin but I've been back on them for a week now. I'm going going to give it another week and see what happens. I calm my self down by remembering I should shed 50-100 hairs per day anyway. Could it be that lots of new hairs are suddenly growing all at once, thus shedding lots of old hairs?? Any suggestions??

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

Spending the night with QB CTDG all up in my grass. I need to do damage control on the protein overload. I mean.... it's not falling out alot but I need to infuse moisture in these parts QUICK.

It's my fault though. I heaped on DRC when I usually use it with a very light hand. Any suggestions? I've been doing Co-washes with glycerin and leave-ins for the last day or two.

 

[claud-uk]

Iluvsmuhgrass - If you're not working today you could put your hair into fairly small braids/twists, SOAK them in moisture and wrap saran round the lengths and ends to form a barrier and lock that moisture in. For the top of your head I'd take another length of saran and wrap it round your whole head a few times, then cover with a scarf and sit under some heat for a greenhouse effect. If you can keep this on all day it should alleviate most of your probs. Alternatively, you could add some salt to your con, as it breaks down protein. Don't leave the con/salt combo on too long tho otherwise you will get the reverse effect and the salt will dry your hair out.

 

[NikkiQ]

^^^Wow...never knew about the salt thing before. Learn something new everyday.

 

[pookaloo83]

Gonna do crochet braids next. Still holding on to these twists.

Sent from my iPhone 4s using LHCF

 

[lamaria211]

Gonna M&S my minis with QB BRBC and Kemi Oyl

 

[bajandoc86]

Imma take my official official length check pics today for the 6 month mark. Sigh. This means I should blow-dry. But I HATE how blow-dried hair feels.

 

[gforceroy]

I attached pictures for my length check.... and I am surprised that I am about an inch away from APL (my nape anyways). This is the longest my hair has been since I first got a relaxer in middle school! I believe I can reach APL by the end of september. I have been taking vitamins for over a month now and I think that is the reason I finally past CBL.
Edit: ignore the dirty mirror... Lol
View attachment 155995

 

[longhairdreaming]

So I did a quick rebraid of some of my loose cornrows today and I had flakes ! I'm not sure if it's product build-up 'cause my scalp didn't itch in the areas I had the flakes erplexed. Guess I'll see what's up when I clarify next weekend.

 

[xu93texas]

I did a HOT tonight and then clarified with Kenra, followed by a moisturizing shampoo, 2 minute reconstruct with Aphogee for 2 minutes then steam DC With BIOLAGE Conditioning balm, rinsed and applied Roux PC for about a minute and applied Paul Mitchell Super Skinny daily treatment for 1-2 minutes. Applied HE touchably smooth leave-in and CHI silk infusion then air dried. MY HAIR FEELS FABULOUS!! It's soft, flowing.

Downside: my hair is shedding like crazy :-(. I don't know what to do to stop it because I don't know the cause. It seemed to have started after I stopped taking biotin but I've been back on them for a week now. I'm going going to give it another week and see what happens. I calm my self down by remembering I should shed 50-100 hairs per day anyway. Could it be that lots of new hairs are suddenly growing all at once, thus shedding lots of old hairs?? Any suggestions??

I've noticed more shedding as well. erplexed I know we're getting deep into our stretch, but do you think it's the MN?? I'm going to reduce my applications to 3 times per week. I've increased my MSM, garlic, and biotin doses. I'll be adding black tea rinses as well on a weekly basis.
We'll see what happens.

 

[Phaer]

With training for a new job and being unable to see pictures on lhcf (android app) I have missed this thread. How is everyone? I have been wigging it, but with this heat I often feel like yanking it off during the day. I am going to try to do the crotchet braids, but I don't have a latch hook, I am going to see if I can use a hair pin instead. If I leave some of the front and side out, I hope I will be able to do pony tails (crosses fingers)

 

[ManiiSweetheart]

Was bored so i put my hair into mini twists... Spritzed my hair with whats in my spray bottle and sealed with DAX, imo its perfect for these twists cause i feel like they're going to stay longer than the usual .6 seconds with anything else Plus it only took 45 mins!

 

[KiWiStyle]

I've noticed more shedding as well. erplexed I know we're getting deep into our stretch, but do you think it's the MN?? I'm going to reduce my applications to 3 times per week. I've increased my MSM, garlic, and biotin doses. I'll be adding black tea rinses as well on a weekly basis.
We'll see what happens.

@xutexas93,
Isn't it scary to see all those shed hairs? I get them pre-shampoo, in the drain and post-shampoo, it's discouraging. I didn't do a black tea rinse yesterday because I clarified and did a reconstructor but I will do it again next week. I'm going to visit Whole Foods today to see if I can find garlic oils/extract for my DC. I'm going to continue to use alter ego garlic mask as well. I might be having a Nioxin recharging complex withdrawal too, IDK. We have to get this shedding under control.

 

[xu93texas]

How long were you taking Nioxin?? I don't think it's that. My shedding has increased, but not to the point that I'm worried. I really think it's the MN. Other women in the thread mentioned an increase in shedding. I really hadn't noticed until a few days ago. I'm going to finish this batch in a week and I'll probably take a break from the challenge. I'll go back to using just my jbco/avocado/jojoba oil blend and Bee Mine growth serum for my scalp massages/growth aids for a while.

 

[Fyne]

KiWiStyle xu93texas

Being a heavy shedder, I was able to get my shedding under contol I cant say for sure exactly what did it but here's what I did different:

Biotin: I lowered my dose from 7,000mcg (5,000 biotin + HSN 2,000 tabs) to just the 2,000 daily

Oil Mix: I made a oil mix of my favorite oils added garlic + onion essential oils to the mix, I use this to pre-poo and seal

Odourless Garlic: I take around 2,000mcg daily

Im leaning towards the garlic/onion oil mix that helped, but im not sure....im scared to stop anything

 

[afrofaithful]

I need to find my girls a good swimmers poo too! I haven't been swimming once to busy to do anything besides study. I love the DR was on vacation there last year it was just beautiful I've decided the next time I take my cornrows down I'm going to try minis under my wig well see which one I like better

I would suggest the AO swimmer's line. It's pretty good. I bought some for the summer time when I swim and it works pretty well.

faithVA I was thinking about you saying you were recently getting discouraged and you cut your hair. I also remember that you said you can bun now. I think being able to bun really got me over my hurdles. I was able to wash, style, and leave it. I know you said once you were able to bun it wasn't that exciting to you but it really helped me and I think you should give it another whirl.

 

[faithVA]

afrofaithful[/USER];16251331]I would suggest the AO swimmer's line. It's pretty good. I bought some for the summer time when I swim and it works pretty well.

@faithVA I was thinking about you saying you were recently getting discouraged and you cut your hair. I also remember that you said you can bun now. I think being able to bun really got me over my hurdles. I was able to wash, style, and leave it. I know you said once you were able to bun it wasn't that exciting to you but it really helped me and I think you should give it another whirl.

Thanks for the encouragement. I was just getting to a length where I could bun when I had to cut it. Now it's not quite long enough to bun. Right now I am relying on flat twists. They are pretty ugly Maybe in another 2 to 3 months I can bun it again.

 

[xu93texas]

Fyne,
I'm glad your shedding is under control. I'm definitely going to look in purchasing garlic and onion tinctures to add to my oil blend.

I did increase my dosage of odorless garlic to 2000mg. My dosage of biotin has been about the same for the past year and I'm now taking 2000mg of MSM.

I started using MN last month and I've been applying 6-7 nights per week. So for me, I think that is the culprit. I'm decreasing the number of applications and will give it a break.

 

[afrofaithful]

Thanks for the encouragement. I was just getting to a length where I could bun when I had to cut it. Now it's not quite long enough to bun. Right now I am relying on flat twists. They are pretty ugly Maybe in another 2 to 3 months I can bun it again.

When I couldn't bun I also used to wear to french braids on the sides and pinned up the ends so it kind of looked like a halo. M&S at night and tied it up. This is still one of my go to styles, as it can be done wet and dry. If you don't like the flat twists essentially it's the same except I think it's a little cuter. You could twist it too. Why are you getting discouraged? Is it styles or lack of progress?

 

[NikkiQ]

*whew* 2nd day of unpacking is done! House doesn't look like a tornado hit it anymore. Finally got to check out if my hair product stash survived the trip...and it all did! Thank the Lord!

Sent by me from my Android phone.Boom

 

[Realhairdontcare]

I was going to post my June length check but I'm just going to wail til I get my touch up in a couple weeks so it can be more accurate. I have a lot of new growth and I did flat iron it just now but I didn't get to the roots so I'll try to have my length check up by the beginning of July.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[NikkiQ]

Ohhhhhhhh mini braids. You make life so much easier,but you are looking a bit rough right now. I need to redo the front but I'm super lazy and tired right now. I'll leave you be for now...

Sent by me from my Android phone.Boom

 

[polished07]

KiWiStyle xu93texas

Being a heavy shedder, I was able to get my shedding under contol I cant say for sure exactly what did it but here's what I did different:

Biotin: I lowered my dose from 7,000mcg (5,000 biotin + HSN 2,000 tabs) to just the 2,000 daily

Oil Mix: I made a oil mix of my favorite oils added garlic + onion essential oils to the mix, I use this to pre-poo and seal

Odourless Garlic: I take around 2,000mcg daily

Im leaning towards the garlic/onion oil mix that helped, but im not sure....im scared to stop anything

When I had postnatal shedding I did this and it put my shedding to a halt! Garlic oil and my oils as a prepoo and taking garlic tabs. I need to get my oldest daughter on this since she's got her cycle her hair has started shedding so I need to do more than just a long dc and protein treatment she's 13 1/2 and relaxed with goals of being BSL/MBL by next sept currently APL so I need to try that

 

[polished07]

@xutexas93,
Isn't it scary to see all those shed hairs? I get them pre-shampoo, in the drain and post-shampoo, it's discouraging. I didn't do a black tea rinse yesterday because I clarified and did a reconstructor but I will do it again next week. I'm going to visit Whole Foods today to see if I can find garlic oils/extract for my DC. I'm going to continue to use alter ego garlic mask as well. I might be having a Nioxin recharging complex withdrawal too, IDK. We have to get this shedding under control.

So black tea rinses are good for shedding?

 

[LilMissSunshine5]

@LilMissSunshine5 I usually cover my hair pretty well with oil before taking down any braids that I've had in for an extended period of time. That helps finger detangling go easier as you take each braid down and then use a wide tooth comb to get any other shed hair that may not have come out during the finger detangling session.

NikkiQ- Thanks for the advice!!!!! I probably only had 25-33% of the lost hair I usually have I should have always been detangling this way

@LilMissSunshine5 ~ Great question, I separate the hair at the end first with my fingers to decrease tangles further up. I take the oil of my choice and slather some on whatever section I am working with, then I loosen the hair at the root to undo matting/shed hair from that part. I slide my thumb down the section and remove any additional shed hair. I twist that section back up and move to the next. Check out Cipriana from urbanbushbabes.com she gives a great example of detangling; got this from her. HTH girl

NaturalfienD- Thank you so much for the detailed technique! It took me 4h, but I did it this way with great results...the only issue is I slathered so much oil on my hair & fell asleep while detangling! When I woke up in the morning, my laptop keyboard was covered in oil

 

[Evolving78]

my hair is back in a bun. i used a lot of heat this weekend, but i dusted my ends too. i was really swangin and bangin my hair when i went out! i was on the dance for whipping my hair around! i can't wait til it gets longer! i am going to be a mess!

my girl made me feel good about my hair yesterday. she said maybe she should start washing 2x a week! she is the one friend i can talk about hair stuff with.

my dd tried to come at me yesterday with a comb! i'm sorry, but i don't let folks play in my hair! she needs to find Barbie and make it happen!

i hope i get some really good growth for Sept. i'm working on losing weight. since i last checked, i lost 5 lbs. i didn't eat bad this weekend either. i played double dutch too with my sister, nieces, and my kids. i think we might go back over there today to play again!

i am going to really lay off of the heat! my hair is doing well, but i don't want to mess up a good thing. i might just bun and get some more cute flowers and accessories for the rest of this summer unless i go somewhere really special.

 

[Evolving78]

Thanks for the encouragement. I was just getting to a length where I could bun when I had to cut it. Now it's not quite long enough to bun. Right now I am relying on flat twists. They are pretty ugly Maybe in another 2 to 3 months I can bun it again.

last summer, my hair stayed in ugly twists! you have a cute face shape and head, i would rock the mommy wig or some other cute short wig and keep it movin!

 

[NikkiQ]

Well that's great to hear LilMissSunshine5! Well except for the oil on the laptop part

 

[NikkiQ]

shortdub78 how are you bunning your hair? I love hearing everyone's different ways of bunning. Gives me some ideas for when my hair FINALLY gets long enough to bun

 

[Evolving78]

shortdub78 how are you bunning your hair? I love hearing everyone's different ways of bunning. Gives me some ideas for when my hair FINALLY gets long enough to bun

i found a video on how i use my Spin Pins


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qngf8eXsrzQ

nothing too fancy for me right now until i gain my end of the year goal length. i don't comb all of my hair going back. i have a part down the middle (front crown area), so my hair is combed in s swoop motion on the sides. this helps with not putting tension on my edges. i don't use gel, but i use pomades to slick away or down baby hairs. like now i use Murray's! that stuff helps and doesn't cause reversion until i can get my hands on some more Aveda.