APL by Dec 2010!!!

[Aggie]

i am so very sad to hear of these difficulties my dear friend Aggie!

i really admire the strength and determination it took for you to try this new way and the courage and humility you demonstrate in being willing to change and return to the perms.

i know this must not have been an easy decision to make.

you know your hair better than anyone in the world, so if you feel that your hair grows faster and is less tangled when permed/texlaxed, then so be it.

you have so many beautiful results of your styling capacities when your hair is texlaxed, that yes, your fotki is proof that you know what works for you and how to get it!

i'm sad this natural did not work out, but have the utmost faith that you will be happy with your hair and its condition very soon!

Thank you so much grow. I have to admit, you are one of the most encouraging people I know, virtually that is. Always so positive, building up those around you. I find you to be a magnet for positivity and I am happy to be drawn to that kind of magnetism. Stay sweet and thanks again.

Aggie, sorry to hear about your difficulties. The great thing is that you now know for sure that natural is not for you. Had you not had the courage to big chop, you would still be wondering. And who knows? Maybe later in your life, natural may be for you.

Keep us posted and please do post pictures of your texlaxed hair! Good luck!

Thanks Salsarisma. You are absolutely right (bolded). I am glad I tried it the natural way so I can know beyond the shadow of a doubt, if I can handle it or not. Now that I know what truly works for me, there will no more experimenting. I will no longer attempt to fix what is not broken with my hair.

Thanks for your encouraging support ladies.

 

[Aggie]

Can't wait to see your progress pic Salsa.

Mini update: I relaxed yesterday. I am not going to stretch anymore. It's not for me. My hair is ultra thick and starts breaking after the ten week mark. I have no idea if I made progress or not right now bc I had my hair styled curly.

I plan to totally cramp Barbie's style and get a Halley's curl install in two weeks...so sometime between now and then I will straighten and post an update picture.

 

[LushLox]

Okay ladies, I just had a setback and is considering relaxing my hair because of it, texlaxing it rather. I lost a lot of hair detangling my hair yesterday after my henna treatment. I gave it a fair chance and I know for sure natural is not for me. I cannot afford to keep looking at these little broken pieces of hair all over the place from my detangling sessions.

I handled my relaxed hair really well and so I am going back to that lovely cream that makes my life so much easier. I cannot afford the time lost in detanfling and I definitely can't afford the hair I'm losing either. So I will choose the lesser of 2 evils for me and that is to relax.

I have a strange feeling that my hair is so broken and damaged from sheer detangling that I may have to get a major cut to even it all up and start all over again. It also felt like my hair was not growing as fast as when I was relaxed. That is another motivation for me to relax.

I sure hope there will be an APL challenge for 2011 because the one that MsLizzia has is closed to new recruits.

Sorry to hear about your troubles Aggie, I was going to suggest that you rethink relaxing as you seemed to have done so well thus far, but it sounds as if your mind is made up; we're here to support you whatever choice you make. As Salsa said, at least you gave it a try, I'm too much of a chicken. You'll bounce back though, and at least if you texlax your hair will all be the same texture.

Mini update: I relaxed yesterday. I am not going to stretch anymore. It's not for me. My hair is ultra thick and starts breaking after the ten week mark. I have no idea if I made progress or not right now bc I had my hair styled curly.

I plan to totally cramp Barbie's style and get a Halley's curl install in two weeks...so sometime between now and then I will straighten and post an update picture.

That's a shame Sal. How long did you stretch for and will you now relax at ten weeks post?

 

[Aggie]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Aggie, I was going to suggest that you rethink relaxing as you seemed to have done so well thus far, but it sounds as if your mind is made up; we're here to support you whatever choice you make. As Salsa said, at least you gave it a try, I'm too much of a chicken. You'll bounce back though, and at least if you texlax your hair will all be the same texture.

Thanks Cream Tee. I am having my hair relaxed right now as I type this post. My niece is doing it for me. She does hair really well and I trust her to do the virgin relaxer for me. I'm getting excited.

 

[CherryCherryBoomBoom]

APL by Dec 2008: Failed
APL by Dec 2009: Epic fail
APL by Dec 2010: Not sure I'm gonna count on it tbh, this is getting ridiculous

 

[Aggie]

APL by Dec 2008: Failed
APL by Dec 2009: Epic fail
APL by Dec 2010: Not sure I'm gonna count on it tbh, this is getting ridiculous

Whoa, I am sorry to hear that you have not reached your APL goal in all this time. Please don't get discouraged though. Just look at your regimen and see if there is anything in it that you are doing to stunt your progress and go from there. Let us know and maybe we can help out a little.

 

[dollface0023]

I've been low key following this thread, but I decided not to post anything because I just knew I wouldn't meet my hair goal of getting to APL before this year.

I've been wearing sew in's for 2 or 3 months at a time, and that protective style seems to be extremely helpful with retaining most of my length. After not looking at my hair for almost 4 months, I decided to flat iron my whole head (The first time in almost a year!) and here are my results:

April 27,10

Sept 12,10

I'm finally hopeful that I'll meet full APL by december!

 

[Bettina]

Welp, right now I'm in my protective style cornrows, and I am keeping up with moisturizing my hair with my braid spray. I did suffer a slight set back in my crown area because I did not moisturize my hair in sections, my porosity was waaaaaay off and for some reason I was combing my hair when it was dry! ugh! I am really going to baby my ends and crown till december and see how that helps. Can anyone tell me why I stopped co-washing in the first place? (because I got lazy) lol. I just want my hair to even itself out already.

 

[Aggie]

I've been low key following this thread, but I decided not to post anything because I just knew I wouldn't meet my hair goal of getting to APL before this year.

I've been wearing sew in's for 2 or 3 months at a time, and that protective style seems to be extremely helpful with retaining most of my length. After not looking at my hair for almost 4 months, I decided to flat iron my whole head (The first time in almost a year!) and here are my results:

April 27,10

Sept 12,10

I'm finally hopeful that I'll meet full APL by december!

You are there dollface but I do understand about wanting to reach FULL apl by December 2010. You should have no problems getting there if you keep up what has been working for you. Good luck hun.

 

[Aggie]

Ladies I did my relaxer and believe it or not, my hair seems to be at collar bone length or just below it to me so I have a very loooooong way to go. Setbacks are a real bummer.

 

[Newtogrow]

APL by Dec 2008: Failed
APL by Dec 2009: Epic fail
APL by Dec 2010: Not sure I'm gonna count on it tbh, this is getting ridiculous

I feel the same way, but I just keep trotting along. Be encouraged, each year we get closer and learn new things about our hair.

 

[newbeginnings2010]

APL by Dec 2008: Failed
APL by Dec 2009: Epic fail
APL by Dec 2010: Not sure I'm gonna count on it tbh, this is getting ridiculous

Umm...second that? Here's what mine looks like:

Pass APL by Dec 2007: FAIL
Pass APL by Dec 2008: FAIL
Pass APL by Dec 2009: FAIL
Pass APL by Dec 2010: ....WHO KNOWS?

We just have to keep trying and get more consistent with our hair care routines and practices. We'll reach our goals some day!

 

[afrochique]

@Newtogrow, Newbeginnings, Salsa, Lady Aggie, CherryBoomBoom: Hugs to all.
Let us all hang in there and do our best til December. Even if we do not make it this year, we will have ended the year with more education on our hair and even more motivation for next year. Good luck ladies.
Congrats to Dollface. You are there!

 

[grow]

Mini update: I relaxed yesterday. I am not going to stretch anymore. It's not for me. My hair is ultra thick and starts breaking after the ten week mark. I have no idea if I made progress or not right now bc I had my hair styled curly.

I plan to totally cramp Barbie's style and get a Halley's curl install in two weeks...so sometime between now and then I will straighten and post an update picture.

@Salsarissma, i wish they had an ITU (i totally understand) button on here, so the closest i could get was to say i like your post, but what i mean is I EMPATHIZE WITCHA HONEY!

we were stretching buddies earlier this year and that breakage i was getting was exactly why i had to throw in the towel after 17 weeks (i had been aiming for 20), so ITA.

stretching is not for everyone. i've even read where ladies say, it's easier to stretch once the hair is BSL or longer.

maybe we can try it again in the future as we continue to grow, but you did good to save your hair now!

i know it's tough to throw in the towel, i didn't want to either, but as we learn more about stretching and our hair's needs, we can always try again in the future!

i'm glad you've already found a new style that you like and look forward to seeing your new pictures!

 

[grow]

APL by Dec 2008: Failed
APL by Dec 2009: Epic fail
APL by Dec 2010: Not sure I'm gonna count on it tbh, this is getting ridiculous

I feel the same way, but I just keep trotting along. Be encouraged, each year we get closer and learn new things about our hair.

Umm...second that? Here's what mine looks like:

Pass APL by Dec 2007: FAIL
Pass APL by Dec 2008: FAIL
Pass APL by Dec 2009: FAIL
Pass APL by Dec 2010: ....WHO KNOWS?

We just have to keep trying and get more consistent with our hair care routines and practices. We'll reach our goals some day!

Newtogrow, you are right.
ladies we all get setbacks (which is said to prepare for a comeback!) and hair blues, i sure know i've had my share.
but we have to keep the faith and keep working at it.
even when something seems to hinder our progress, that's when we can be grateful we learned something of great value: what not to do.
the more we learn about the things our hair does not flourish with, the more the things that really help our hair become clearly visible.

then, there are all of the "bootcamp" threads which even show us how to adopt even the most disciplined of reggies with companionship and fellowship along the way.

we're all here to support and encourge each other, so know that you are not alone, let us help you.

we want you to succeed, so please don't be afraid to post your practices to ask for helpful tips and pm the ladies whose hair you admire.

above all else, do not give up, and you will surely reach your goals!

 

[newbeginnings2010]

Newtogrow, you are right.
ladies we all get setbacks (which is said to prepare for a comeback!) and hair blues, i sure know i've had my share.
but we have to keep the faith and keep working at it.
even when something seems to hinder our progress, that's when we can be grateful we learned something of great value: what not to do.
the more we learn about the things our hair does not flourish with, the more the things that really help our hair become clearly visible.

then, there are all of the "bootcamp" threads which even show us how to adopt even the most disciplined of reggies with companionship and fellowship along the way.

we're all here to support and encourge each other, so know that you are not alone, let us help you.

we want you to succeed, so please don't be afraid to post your practices to ask for helpful tips and pm the ladies whose hair you admire.

above all else, do not give up, and you will surely reach your goals!

Thanks for the encouragement grow! You're absolutely right. That's why I'm still in the game. My first year I was learning, the second year I was scissor happy, and the third year I was flat iron happy. Since march, this is the first year that i have consistently practiced the same hair care routine and I have had no set backs this time. I can't wait for my relaxer in three weeks to see my progress!

 

[chasturner84]

Ok just wanted to say that I'm going to take "chasturner's" advice on getting a really good trim! I haven't had a real trim since I beginned my hair journey and from examining my ends it's time to take the plunge and trim atleast an inch. I'm scared, but I really hate raggedy ends so I'm going to get it over with. This jbco I'm using has my hair looking like a forest and I'm only 5 weeks post so I plan to do an avocado treatment and blow dry & flat iron only for the purpose of this trim.

I'm long overdue for one myself. I will take off an about 1.5-2 inches in Dec. I love how freshly trimmed ends move and it really decreases the amount of overall breakage because the bad ends aren't fighting with the decent ones.

 

[newbeginnings2010]

*chants to self* "I WILL be APL in October, I WILL be APL in October, I WILL be APL in October..."
:crossfingers:

 

[NikkiQ]

You guys can do it!!! I know you can

 

[Ijanei]

I haven't checked my length since the last update so hopefully on the 30th I will see something positive. The last time I used heat wassssss........sometime during the last week of august so I'm excited to wear my hair straight finally (for length check)

Hope you ladies are staying encouraged...xoxo

 

[Salsarisma]

@Salsarissma, i wish they had an ITU (i totally understand) button on here, so the closest i could get was to say i like your post, but what i mean is I EMPATHIZE WITCHA HONEY!

we were stretching buddies earlier this year and that breakage i was getting was exactly why i had to throw in the towel after 17 weeks (i had been aiming for 20), so ITA.

stretching is not for everyone. i've even read where ladies say, it's easier to stretch once the hair is BSL or longer.

maybe we can try it again in the future as we continue to grow, but you did good to save your hair now!

i know it's tough to throw in the towel, i didn't want to either, but as we learn more about stretching and our hair's needs, we can always try again in the future!

i'm glad you've already found a new style that you like and look forward to seeing your new pictures!

Hey Grow! Guurrrlll, I'm so over the stretching!!! I can't wait to get this install on the 25th. I received my little postal card that my hair is ready to be picked up. I'm sooo nervous too, bc I've never paid so much $$$ for hair and I've never had a curly sew-in. I just hope it looks ok on me!

 

[Vonnieluvs08]

Hey Ladies!!

I just wanted to check in and encourage you all to keep fighting it out for APL. There are still 3 full months left. All the tips and encouragement as well as the positive vibe to keep moving forward will get us to our goals.

Goals are just motivation to makes us try our best. I know when I don't make my goal it gets me hyped even more to make it the next time.

We doing great ladies!!

 

[Forever in Bloom]

I forgot to say...

that I made APL

I only flat ironed this back section as you can see. I don't plan on flat ironing my hair too much because my hair is just now starting to behave since I now know what my hair loves.

I posted this picture in the castor oil challenge thread - which hasn't even started yet - but kinda forgot about this challenge. Silly, I know. This is the longest my hair has ever been. I have been shoulder length my entire life because of improper hair care methods, so this is definitely a good thing. I will be three years natural on December 6th

 

[BrownEyez22]

Hey ladies, I haven't checked in lately.. I have my hair in braids pinned down under a wig right now. I moisturized and sealed last night and I will probably wash and dc this weekend.

Thank You for posting your updates and congrats to all the ladies that have made APL already.

 

[Salsarisma]

Congrats Forever In Bloom!

 

[3jsmom]

Congrats forever in bloom!!!

 

[GreenD]

Hey ladies,

I'm glad to see so many APL'er in here. Congrats on making your goal!! As for me I'm really hoping and praying. I took a braid out last week (in the back) to check my progress since my new growth looks crazy. I've been measuring the new growth and I have about 1 inch of new growth which makes sense, since I've had these in since the end of July beginning Aug. It still looks like I have 2 freakin inches to go!! WTF!! I'm anxious to see if I'll make APL this year as of right now, I can't call it. December can't come quick enough....

 

[MissHoney26]

I'm done with stretching from this point on! Stretching helped my hair in the beginning when my hair was nape length and damaged. The longest I've ever stretched was around 13 weeks and went a year without relaxing my nape area to grow it back. My hair is coarse and super thick/spongy in the roots so around 8 to 9 weeks my hair is screaming for the crack! I don't want to lose/thin my hair out for no reason so yea I'm done with stretching too!

 

[esi.adokowa]

I'm a little sad that everyone is giving up on stretching, but I understand that you have to do what's best for your hair.

I'm still trucking along after my setback (and subsequent disappearance) in May. I'm about 5 months into my stretch. I put crochet braids in on September 1st because I was tired of the work that is involved in braiding my hair.
I love them so far, very easy install and maintenance.

Reading this thread gave me a boost of confidence, so i think I'll start trying to keep up with it.

Good luck to everyone, and congratulations to those who reached apl. :]]

 

[chasturner84]

I'm a little sad that everyone is giving up on stretching, but I understand that you have to do what's best for your hair.

I'm still trucking along after my setback (and subsequent disappearance) in May. I'm about 5 months into my stretch. I put crochet braids in on September 1st because I was tired of the work that is involved in braiding my hair.
I love them so far, very easy install and maintenance.

Reading this thread gave me a boost of confidence, so i think I'll start trying to keep up with it.

Good luck to everyone, and congratulations to those who reached apl. :]]

I totally agree. Stretching has been vital in the change in the health of my hair. It looks like a completely different head of hair since I started stretching April 2009. At least you guys are finding out what works and what doesn't for you. Good luck everyone!