APL/BSL 2014 Challenge

heeeey. havent been in here in a while. still not at apl, but getting closer...slowly lol.

recently, ive been finding that acv has been really helping my hair retain moisture. ive revisited coconut oil (well, i revisited it not too long ago, but i'm re-revisiting it again) and ive been finding that these past couple of times, my hair has liked it...whereas years ago, my hair could not stand coconut oil. dont remember how i was using it back then, but it always made my hair hard.

i've been wearing my hair "out" more recently and back to doing more conditioner washes....went back to using tresemme naturals for this and i've missed this conditioner so much. dont know why i stopped buying it. trying to enjoy my hair more, but at the same time trying to take care and be gentle. keeping it in twists when i'm home and not doing anything.

tried a couple of new conditioning treatments...tried palmer's coconut oil protein pack for the first time yesterday because i'd remembered hearing really good reviews on it on the forum a while back....when i rinsed, at first I was unsure...for some reason, even though i knew it was a protein pack, i was thinking the results would be softer...i thought i had remembered reading people say it left their hair soft...but i was able to easily get the "hardness" out of my hair by using loreal oleo therapy deep recovery mask for about 5 minutes in the shower w/ steam. i was expecting it to be muuuuch harder to get the softness back into my hair...thought i was gonna have to straight up use a long moisturizing deep conditioner. lol. I think I will do the treatment again.

in august it'll be the 1 year anniversary of my most recent chop...so i'm hoping i can get back to APL by then. in november, i will celebrate 9 years being natural. holy wowzas. time flies! ...by then, i hope to be where i was before my most recent cut...which was past APL (but not quite BSL, still had about an inch and a half or so to go).

anyway. this is so dang long. hope everyone is having a fun hair time. ;)
 
Real late entry but I'll join

Current hair length: layered hair ranging from APL to almost BSL
Relaxed/Natura/Texlaxed/Transitioning: natural
Goal Month: by December I want to get a blunt cut that is at least 2 in below APL
Current Reggie and styling choices: I'm currently in the summer bun challenge and putting a huge focus on deep conditioning and babying my ends

Generally though:
- aphogee 2 min reconstructor 1-2x weekly
- deep condition 2x weekly
- setting hair in braids/keeping hair stretched
- exercising and fruit smoothies (hoping to make this consistent!)

What do you plan on changing (if anything) to make it to APL/BSL? I'm 2 months post cut so I think this is a really good time to really learn what works for my hair and what can keep my ends feeling great. I'm looking to switch out my pattern of frequent S&D sessions with more deep conditioning/strengthening/protecting.

Post a beginning picture: This was 2 months ago on partially reverted roots. My hair has grown around an inch since then but I'm not planning to straighten again for a while.
 

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I just did a braidout with sponge rollers on the ends. I did 4 big cornrows (2 in front, 2 in back). I am going to take it down later tonight and post pics. Unless it's super ugly :blush:

Eta pics. It turned out ok, but those sponge rollers suck and the curls already dropped so im wearing a braidout bun
 

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Taking my sew in down... It's been 3 months.

Took an hour to take the weave off.

Now my braids are soaking in olive oil and I'm going under the dryer for 15 min.
 
Adiatasha said:
Taking my sew in down... It's been 3 months. Took an hour to take the weave off. Now my braids are soaking in olive oil and I'm going under the dryer for 15 min.
Click to expand...

I just shampooed with tea tree shampoo. I shampooed about 3 times it's a kind if clarifying shampoo. My hair was in need.

Then I deep conditioned with Queen Helens cholesterol. I've tried so many deep conditioners but I never get the "my hair is so soft and I can feel the difference" feeling. So this time I decided to use more product. Maybe that's the issue?

I'm under the dryer for 20 min. I will then rinse out.
 
I bought my daughter two bundles of Mercy ' s hair kinky curly in 3bc 14 & 16 inches. It came yesterday and was extremely dark for her hair color. When she was younger her hair used to be a #6-8 (color in weave) but as she got older it has darken a tad and is a number 4. Anyway hair came out really nice. I used 4 box dyes (2 med brown and 2 ash brown) mixed them together. I used my own 30 volume developer (poured the box ones out) and let the hair sit for about an hour. The one that came out a bit darker actually sat longer than the other bundle so I'm not sure how that happened. Also i hate the smell when you use color bc it lingers and I dk how to get rid of it.

Before and after



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Sorry I've been MIA, but between work, turning 30 and familial issues I haven't been on social media too much. Now that I've gone through the 2 months worth of posts I missed I see you ladies are killing this challenge!

So...early last month I colored my hair blue. I still have green at the ends of my bangs. I was flat ironing, doing twist outs and flexi rod sets to keep my hair stretched. Now that it's crazy humid out here (yay summer!!!), I've preparing to do a self-install this weekend. I'll be sure to come back and post a LC, but attached are pics of the color. I don't have any (good ones :lol:) with my natural texture.
 

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MsKikiStar said:
Sorry I've been MIA, but between work, turning 30 and familial issues I haven't been on social media too much. Now that I've gone through the 2 months worth of posts I missed I see you ladies are killing this challenge!

So...early last month I colored my hair blue. I still have green at the ends of my bangs. I was flat ironing, doing twist outs and flexi rod sets to keep my hair stretched. Now that it's crazy humid out here (yay summer!!!), I've preparing to do a self-install this weekend. I'll be sure to come back and post a LC, but attached are pics of the color. I don't have any (good ones :lol:) with my natural texture.
Click to expand...

Oooh so pretty.
 
MsKikiStar said:
Sorry I've been MIA, but between work, turning 30 and familial issues I haven't been on social media too much. Now that I've gone through the 2 months worth of posts I missed I see you ladies are killing this challenge! So...early last month I colored my hair blue. I still have green at the ends of my bangs. I was flat ironing, doing twist outs and flexi rod sets to keep my hair stretched. Now that it's crazy humid out here (yay summer!!!), I've preparing to do a self-install this weekend. I'll be sure to come back and post a LC, but attached are pics of the color. I don't have any (good ones :lol:) with my natural texture.
Click to expand...


Love that color. I would have the balls but you are rocking it well!
 
quirkydimples said:
HairPleezeGrow

Hair is cute, but I need the details on that makeup...lol...all the details.
Click to expand...

Haha thanks, nothing special Quirk...I actually use foundation and concealer from Clinique in my local mall. I've learned to use a brush to apply instead of sponges and it has changed my world! My foundation and concealer I got match to at Clinique. I went in one day and asked them to help me find my tone and they did.
 
Okay I'm back :look:

March 1st my hair measured between 5 inches (bangs and sides) to 7 inches (nape and crown).
Yesterday my hair measured between 6.25 inches (bangs and sides) to 8 inches (nape is 7.5, crown is a little over 8).

I am somewhere around 21-22 months post, so I have not retained all my growth. But counting trims and all the trial and error breakage, I'm still happy. Especially since I haven't done a protective style at all since last year when I was still wigging. I'm thinking all the high puffs messed with my nape retention and excessive manipulation during the week trying to have fun with my hair messed with the rest. I did my first P.S. last night though! I washed my hair, twisted it with APB pudding and hairveda almond glaze, pulled it back into a ponytail and wrapped some kanekelon hair around it so it actually looked like somethin lol. I'll leave it like this until next weekend.
 

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Sneak pic, getting closer but yet the elusive apl seems so far! And I need a trim.
Apologies in advance if the picture comes out sideways, attached from my phone.


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Took out sew in after 3 months.... Whew. That was some serious work.

I'm at APL! Who hoo.

I'll be back in a sew in this weekend.
I'm installing back to back sew ins until December 31.

I should be BSL by then. I hope I'm BSL By then
 
a little spiel on the palmer's coconut oil deep conditioning protein pack that i mentioned before...i like it much better when done on DRY hair with heat. did it yesterday and the results were much better than the first time when i used it on wet, freshly condition washed hair (no heat used). no rough feeling after rinsing this time around.
 
Still wearing my high faux bun. I might start to cowash once in the middle of the week to keep the flyaways at bay. Def going to stop taking the bun down every night. That means I'll have to take my time and make sure its comfortable...that means minimal Bobby pins.

Im gonna try taking out the pins and using one these hair tie elastics around the outside base to keep it in place.



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Hopefully then I can sleep in it with a scarf and just smooth the edges in the mornings. I want this to be a real PS where I don't need to do too much manipulating my ends. Maybe then I can see some retention.

I LOVE this HHJ!!
 
I have worn my hair out for almost 3 weeks. Im over it. Im gonna look online for a new lace wig. My next blowout and trim is in August :)
 
Adiatasha said:
View attachment 266931


Took out sew in after 3 months.... Whew. That was some serious work.

I'm at APL! Who hoo.

I'll be back in a sew in this weekend.
I'm installing back to back sew ins until December 31.

I should be BSL by then. I hope I'm BSL By then
Click to expand...
Wow at least your weave take down was a success, mine was a pure disaster. I had so much product build up from moisturizing every day while in a weave that my hair looked like it had glue all over. I've lost so much hair cos I had to rip out some parts. I'm still trying to remove those things and am not even thinking about washing my hair at this point. And I measured my hair, it is still at 11 inches at the crown. I'll see where it will be after I eventually relax. I'll try to post a pic of the build up.
 
mshoneyfly said:
Still wearing my high faux bun. I might start to cowash once in the middle of the week to keep the flyaways at bay. Def going to stop taking the bun down every night. That means I'll have to take my time and make sure its comfortable...that means minimal Bobby pins.

Im gonna try taking out the pins and using one these hair tie elastics around the outside base to keep it in place.



View attachment 267039

Hopefully then I can sleep in it with a scarf and just smooth the edges in the mornings. I want this to be a real PS where I don't need to do too much manipulating my ends. Maybe then I can see some retention.

I LOVE this HHJ!!
Click to expand...

mshoneyfly Have you tried the Spin Pins? That's what I use for my half wigs and faux buns. You only need about 2-3 for a faux bun and they are very secure. Just screw them in and screw them out!:lol:
 
HappyAtLast
No I haven't tried the spin pins yet. My hair is fine and somewhat low density so I might not have enough bulk to hold the pins. At least thats what I was thinking :shrug: i will have to pick some up. I see they have the smaller ones and bigger ones.

I just took off my two scarves :look: and the bun survived! Edges still smooth and bun still feels secure w/o the bobby pins. I used two of those elastics. I untied them, then retied one toward the front and one toward the back for good measure.

Im gonna do this every night and maybe cocleanse or wash on Thursday night. We'll see

I LOVE this HHJ!!
 
Sometimes I forget I have damaged ends... Until I try to go more than half a week without deep conditioning. Le sigh
 
Fotchygirl said:
Wow at least your weave take down was a success, mine was a pure disaster. I had so much product build up from moisturizing every day while in a weave that my hair looked like it had glue all over. I've lost so much hair cos I had to rip out some parts. I'm still trying to remove those things and am not even thinking about washing my hair at this point. And I measured my hair, it is still at 11 inches at the crown. I'll see where it will be after I eventually relax. I'll try to post a pic of the build up.
Click to expand...

Sorry this happened to you. I had gunk and stuff in mine...Here are some things I learned from taking down weaves. How long did you have your weave in? Moisturizing daily might have been a little overkill :(

Tips for weave takedown:
1. Set aside a day for it. Like all day. Like 8 am to 5 pm.
2. Take your time. When you get frustrated, take a break.
3. Detangle, then detangle again and then again with oil. Do not put any moisturizer, water or anything water like. Only use oil. Try to only finger detangle the first time your detangling.
 
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