APL/BSL 2014 Challenge

[HairPleezeGrow]

I am such a hair-loser. I hung out with the APL folks two years ago, and last year I was on the inclusion bus for the MBL length folks. I'm still shoulder length. I THINK I made some recent progress. I want to say I was always at 3 on my shirt before, but now I'm a solid 4 across the board. Six is APL for me. I WAS going to get regular trims to see if that makes a difference. But I'm changing my mind now that it's time for the next trim. I THINK I have made some progress in the last 3 months. I read about the LOC method and employed it. I use Shescentit Coco Butter Leave in (L) Then Morrocan Argan oil (O) Then Cream (One of the Shescentit butters) Lately my hair/ends haven't been as dry! I would wash my hair frequently just because it was dry, but lately I don't have to wash my hair as much. My hair was even actually "dirty" over Christmas... this NEVER happens generally! I FEEL as if my hair has made progress. now with the LOC method. You know that fuzzy/halo effect at the ends of your hair? I guess it's that thinness of ends when you could probably use a trim. Well I don't have that this time. So I'm going to skip the trim until April. I hope it's not a mistake! Please, please please! I want progress on this front. My camera is acting up, so I'll post a pic later. My straightening is really not great, but it's ballpark!

Don't be so hard on yourself. You've incorporated the LOC into your regi and give it some more time to make a difference in you hair so you are able to retain. You will eventually find what works!

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[MrsMelodyV]

I'm with you LadyRaider. I'm not trimming for a while. I'll keep my though ends then adjust later. As long add we keep consistent, we can do this.

 

[londonfog]

I've been wearing my flat ironed hair in barrel curls these past couple of days. But, I have no idea what styles to wear afterwards. I went almost 3 months with no heat on the majority of my hair and I ended up with raggedy ends! My ends were not raggedy before that either. I mostly did twistouts and then a sew in for a month. I consistently m&s with the twistout but it was a lot of manipulation. I probably didn't m&s enough under the sew in though. I can't pinpoint either so, I'll take a rest from both of those! Maybe I'll get a new dryer and play around with roller setting.

I think the same thing happened to me!!!! I did crochets for 3 months & I don't think I was hitting the ends of my hair when M/S. My ends felt raggedy too after taking them down. I took a rest for a while & started sealing with my Shea butter mixture & they feel soooo much better now!!! I DC'd a few times & while that helped they still weren't the same until I started the heavier sealing.

 

[Adiatasha]

Hi!!!

Long time lurker first time poster. I just need to get to APL/BSL THIS YEAR.

I'm a natural 4c. I will be in sew ins back to back. I wash my sew in (and the hair underneath it) once per week with whatever is in my shower. Suave clarifying shampoo and coconut conditioner for now.

I think I'm SL. Please let me know if I'm not. I don't want to claims lengths I have no business claiming.

In the attached pic I got a dominican blowout (DBO).

I just want to be held accountable.

Oh an my counter is super messy but I do not know how to delet pics.

 

[HairPleezeGrow]

Hi!!!

Long time lurker first time poster. I just need to get to APL/BSL THIS YEAR.

I'm a natural 4c. I will be in sew ins back to back. I wash my sew in (and the hair underneath it) once per week with whatever is in my shower. Suave clarifying shampoo and coconut conditioner for now.

I think I'm SL. Please let me know if I'm not. I don't want to claims lengths I have no business claiming.

In the attached pic I got a dominican blowout (DBO).

I just want to be held accountable.

Oh an my counter is super messy but I do not know how to delet pics.

Welcome to the board and to our challenge! I hope you find all your questions answered and rcv all the good advice you need to move forward towards your goal of APL/BSL. Good luck!

ETA- yes you are SL

 

[PlainJane]

After thinking about the condition of my hair pre-hair journey, I think it's a good idea to make some changes. Before lhcf, I was relaxing every 4-6 weeks with serious overlapping, flat ironing every other day on the highest setting without heat protectant, never DCd, never moisturized, never slept with a scarf, basically never did anything right, never protective styled, but somehow my hair was STILL considered "healthy" and retaining and wasn't falling out, thinning, breaking, etc.
I think after starting this hair journey I've done more harm than good by experimenting with new techniques, products, and treatments.
Every time I've had a setback it's been from some type of extreme like long term stretching or a hard protein treatment or overnight DCing or a sew in or new stylist and extremes are the hardest to recover from.
Looking at how my hair has behaved in the past, it thrives on just keeping it simple and slowly incorporating what my hair needs.

Current length: grazing APL
Dec 2014 Goal: grazing BSL
Ultimate Goal: MBL
Regimen: Prepoo when I have time. Wash and DC once a week alternating with AO conditioners. LCO daily. Bun daily with hair pins only. Self-relax every 12 weeks. Dust ends. Jbco scalp.
The only time I have a setback is when I venture away from my regimen so I won't do that in 2014!

 

[tapioca_pudding]

^^THat's a perfect regimen.

 

[Prettymetty]

Im getting impatient. I want bsl now...but realistically I wont get there until early Summer. I am about 3 inches away

 

[Funmiloves]

Finally ordered my biotin pills today. Will be installing my weave this weekend, was lazy over the Christmas holidays.

I got my biotin from iHerb. My Referral Code for discount on first orders: KET146
*Note - the code can only be used if you are a new customer on their site and it can only be used once. Think it's 10% discount they give if a referral code is used.

 

[Anticipatience08]

Officially joining today!

1. Current hair length: APL-ish
   
2. Relaxed/Natura/Texlaxed/Transitioning: Natural
   
3. Goal Month: BSL by June/July 2014
   
4. Current Reggie and styling choices: Will return to wearing weaves by February 2014 (probably earlier). Keep my hair moisturized. Wash/DC weekly. May incorporate NJoy's oil again (made my weave really oily).
   
5. What do you plan on changing (if anything) to make it to APL/BSL? I was grazing BSL but I had several inches chopped off today, so I'm kinda starting over.
   
6. Post a beginning picture

Comparison before and after cut:

 

[Morrighan]

Anticipatience08 why did you cut so much off?

 

[Lilmama1011]

Officially joining today! [*]Current hair length: APL-ish [*]Relaxed/Natura/Texlaxed/Transitioning: Natural [*]Goal Month: BSL by June/July 2014 [*]Current Reggie and styling choices: Will return to wearing weaves by February 2014 (probably earlier). Keep my hair moisturized. Wash/DC weekly. May incorporate NJoy's oil again (made my weave really oily). [*]What do you plan on changing (if anything) to make it to APL/BSL? I was grazing BSL but I had several inches chopped off today, so I'm kinda starting over. [*]Post a beginning picture Comparison before and after cut:

It was a lot cut off but Your ends look AMAZING!

 

[Lilmama1011]

Officially joining today! [*]Current hair length: APL-ish [*]Relaxed/Natura/Texlaxed/Transitioning: Natural [*]Goal Month: BSL by June/July 2014 [*]Current Reggie and styling choices: Will return to wearing weaves by February 2014 (probably earlier). Keep my hair moisturized. Wash/DC weekly. May incorporate NJoy's oil again (made my weave really oily). [*]What do you plan on changing (if anything) to make it to APL/BSL? I was grazing BSL but I had several inches chopped off today, so I'm kinda starting over. [*]Post a beginning picture Comparison before and after cut:

Was your ends that bad?

 

[Sweetie123]

Officially signing up today!

Current hair length - SL

Relaxed/Natura/Texlaxed/Transitioning - Relaxed

Goal Month - December

Current Reggie and styling choices - Full wigs, moisturise and seal, finger detangle before combing and washing hair.

What do you plan on changing (if anything) to make it to APL/BSL? - LOC method, pay close attention to moisture and protein balance, curb the shedding and breakage and try to figure out why the front of my scalp is so tender and thinning!

Post a beginning picture - January 2014

 

[HairPleezeGrow]

Officially signing up today! Current hair length - SL Relaxed/Natura/Texlaxed/Transitioning - Relaxed Goal Month - December Current Reggie and styling choices - Full wigs, moisturise and seal, finger detangle before combing and washing hair. What do you plan on changing (if anything) to make it to APL/BSL? - LOC method, pay close attention to moisture and protein balance, curb the shedding and breakage and try to figure out why the front of my scalp is so tender and thinning! Post a beginning picture - January 2014

Welcome!

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[Anticipatience08]

It was a lot cut off but Your ends look AMAZING!

Thank you! Yeah, I'm trying not to be upset about the amount that was cut

My ends were thin and uneven, so I told my stylist to get rid of the amount she thought was necessary.

 

[Lilmama1011]

Thank you! Yeah, I'm trying not to be upset about the amount that was cut

My ends were thin and uneven, so I told my stylist to get rid of the amount she thought was necessary.

well i love the way your ends look now, it looks delicious lol

 

[SugarRush]

Welcome to all the new challengers, looks like we have a pretty good crowd

I've not done much with my hair the past few days, just m&s'ing some old twistouts and pineapple at night. I've not washed in over a week , my hair is behaving so nicely plus I'm being very lazy. Hopefully my laziness doesn't come back and bite me. I'll wash/protein/DC on Sunday

SN:My knockoff curlformers from Amazon were delivered today, I'm super-excited to try them. But not excited enough to make me go wash my hair lol

 

[mshoneyfly]

Hey Ladies!

Even though I haven't posted much lately, Im still keeping up with the challenge. to all the new people signing up lately!

I took down my yarn braids over the course of 3 days and in between going to work and stuff. I wore a funky hat yesterday and prob tomorrow too. Im prepooing now with my garlic oil/hair trigger concoction with Tresemme split remedy condish on top. Don't feel like it but will shampoo tonight with my neem-tulsi bar and Shea Moisture moisture retention poo. Will do a quick rinse out with Shea Moisture ABS balancing condish, then Bantu Knots and jump in bed. I will try adding a butter to my ends before styling to see if that helps retain moisture since its so cold out lately.

Then tomorrow night its henna time! I have my mix in the freezer now. Looks like I got nice dye release, once again Cant wait to cover them grays!

I will cowash it out with VO5 as usual but this time, I plan to DC after with AOHSR. I will do a basil tea rinse before applying the DC. If not too lazy, I will roller set and sit under the dryer on Sunday.

One thing I plan to add to my regimen is a smoothing conditioner as a rinse out to use after shampooing. My hair is hardly ever fully detangled after I DC most times.

Hope everyone is doing well these days.

I LOVE this HHJ!!

 

[gvin89]

Today will be spent twisting my hair! I use qb brbc and twisting butter. Will update with a pic after I'm done.

 

[snoop]

Hoping to co-wash later today

 

[MrsMelodyV]

I flat twisted an old t/o last night. I have a birthday party for my kid's friend today then our monthly brunch with my husband's family tomorrow. Then I can be free! I'll prepoo, wash, deep condition while I cook a turkey.

 

[tapioca_pudding]

Shampood with my new Kiehls conditioner (like it so far), DCing now with Garnier Fructis 3 Minute Undo conditioner under the heat cap for 20-30 minutes. Then will rollerset and flat iron. Tempted to do a length check but Im going to wait until February to do an official length check.

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[MsKikiStar]

Hey ladies, Happy New Year!!

I have nothing to update so far. Curled my hair with a flatiron for New Years and it hasn't reverted (yet). I've been pin curling before bed, so hopefully it stays for another week. Since the temperature has become so frigid I'm going to starting washing bi-weekly instead of weekly.

 

[Morrighan]

I've realised today that I'm probably being a little too lazy with my hair. I'm sitting here with deep conditioner in my hair and will probably sleep with it in to get more moisture. I moisturise and seal in the mornings but probably not doing a proper job of it and rarely do it at night because I'm too tired and lazy. (I wash and condition every 3 days tho). Where can I find the motivation to get up and properly take care of my hair?

 

[snoop]

I co-washed. I hope that I'll finally get to try straightening later this week. If I do, I'll use that pic as my starting picture for 2014.

 

[Brwnbeauti]

Here's my starting picture I'm in a wedding in May an would be delighted to be close to BSL. I'm protective styling I thought I wanted to transition so that explains the lopsided length. I don't plan to even it out any time soon

 

[jayjaycurlz]

I'm in! I'm in! I'm still aiming for full BSL this year and grazing MBL by December. I'll post my starting pic next weekend (I'm in twists right now).

 

[veesweets]

I didn't realize there was a small snag in my nail and ended up breaking three hairs. Definitely not helping with length retention

 

[LovelyRo]

I think the same thing happened to me!!!! I did crochets for 3 months & I don't think I was hitting the ends of my hair when M/S. My ends felt raggedy too after taking them down. I took a rest for a while & started sealing with my Shea butter mixture & they feel soooo much better now!!! I DC'd a few times & while that helped they still weren't the same until I started the heavier sealing.

This makes sense! I usually heavy seal (with mango Shea butter) my ends when I braid my hair for wigs/weaves! I didn't do that this last time... On top of slacking on m&s.

I'm about to wash and DC now! I'll probably heavy seal and air dry in 4 plaits.