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Discouraged 4a/4bs... this thread's for you!!!

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I've resumed flying so I've been busy, busy, busy! I've had a setback or two :nono: , but I'm still tryna stay on the bandwagon. I'm long overdue for a touchup. I'll let you know how it goes and post pics. I'm not supposed to do any trimming, but she didn't trim it properly the last time when I got my last relaxer sometime in December. I'm in the bootcamp challenge, so I'm not allowed to trim. We'll see. Fingers crossed.
 
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AJamericanDiva said:
I've resumed flying so I've been busy, busy, busy! I had a setback or two :nono: , but I'm still tryna stay on the bandwagon. I'm long overdue for a touchup. I'll let you know how it goes and post pics. I'm not supposed to do any trimming, but she didn't trim it properly the last time when I got my last relaxer sometime in December. I'm in the bootcamp challenge, so I'm not allowed to trim. We'll see. Fingers crossed.
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Hey you! This thread was really, really inspiring. Glad you are back!:clap:
 
Wow, how awesome is this thread??!!? I just read all 34 pages of it and I feel so inspired . I'm a LONG ways away from BSL (the longest part is at the nape of my neck now) and I didn't even have that as a goal because I just thought it wasn't a possibility for me. But now I'm thinking, why not, I'll just reach for the "impossible" and see what happens...

I'm a little concerned about how to style since I just don't really like how braids look or feel on me and it's too short to really do most protective styles I see on here... any ideas??

And JDiva, I was also known as "de pickey head gal" :lachen: so maybe there is hope for me too, i thought I was looking at my own baby pics for a second.
 
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Ha! ha! ha! haaaaaa! Hey Girl! I keep telling people that they don't have to do braids.... I think right now, the key is to keep the hair well moisturized and protected as much as possible. If you can't do a bun or some other style that keeps the ends protected and you fiddling with your hair to a minimum, then be sure that you aren't blowdrying, flatironing or using excessive heat. Do wash and sets until you are able to do buns or some form of protective styling. Keep cotton away from your head. Only allow silky fabrics to come in contact with your hair... either tie your head at night with a silky "tie head" as we yawdies call it, or use a silky pillow case. If you try to comb your hair and hear "crackle", stop and moisturize then proceed to comb. LOL!
 
AJamericanDiva said:
Ha! ha! ha! haaaaaa! Hey Girl! I keep telling people that they don't have to do braids.... I think right now, the key is to keep the hair well moisturized and protected as much as possible. If you can't do a bun or some other style that keeps the ends protected and you fiddling with your hair to a minimum, then be sure that you aren't blowdrying, flatironing or using excessive heat. Do wash and sets until you are able to do buns or some form of protective styling. Keep cotton away from your head. Only allow silky fabrics to come in contact with your hair... either tie your head at night with a silky "tie head" as we yawdies call it, or use a silky pillow case. If you try to comb your hair and hear "crackle", stop and moisturize then proceed to comb. LOL!
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Wha happen Yardie?!! You kno mi use mi tie head every night:lol: and mi have mi silk pillow too fi backup! Long time no see, a way u deh! Mi like you updates, very inspirational. I've been using your tips for braid success especially the diluted deep treatment (this works well) I use a rinse and my braids are soft soft soft! Take care:lol: !
 
dillard said:
Wow, how awesome is this thread??!!? I just read all 36 pages of it and I feel so inspired . I'm a LONG ways away from BSL (the longest part is at the nape of my neck now) and I didn't even have that as a goal because I just thought it wasn't a possibility for me. But now I'm thinking, why not, I'll just reach for the "impossible" and see what happens...

I'm a little concerned about how to style since I just don't really like how braids look or feel on me and it's too short to really do most protective styles I see on here... any ideas??

And JDiva, I was also known as "de pickey head gal" :lachen: so maybe there is hope for me too, i thought I was looking at my own baby pics for a second.
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dontspeakdefeat has a tutorial on how to make a bun with shorter hair such as yourself. Stop by and check it out. HTH
 
I remember when I first read this thread years ago. I almost passed out and I STILL love looking at the pictures to this day. Inspirational!!!!
 
Diva,

You've come a long way like those slim @$$ cigarettes from Virginia!
Thanks for inspiring me & giving me the kick in the pants I needed to stay focused and committed to my goals.
 
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AJamericanDiva said:
Ha! ha! ha! haaaaaa! Hey Girl! I keep telling people that they don't have to do braids.... I think right now, the key is to keep the hair well moisturized and protected as much as possible. If you can't do a bun or some other style that keeps the ends protected and you fiddling with your hair to a minimum, then be sure that you aren't blowdrying, flatironing or using excessive heat. Do wash and sets until you are able to do buns or some form of protective styling. Keep cotton away from your head. Only allow silky fabrics to come in contact with your hair... either tie your head at night with a silky "tie head" as we yawdies call it, or use a silky pillow case. If you try to comb your hair and hear "crackle", stop and moisturize then proceed to comb. LOL!
Click to expand...

awright...mi have mi tie head an mi moisturizing sinting dem... mi a go just do di wash an set ting fi now. dat mek it man, tanks!! likkle more. :grin:

wheezy807 i'll check out the link, thanks!!!
 
Well said A jamaraican diva! A consistent healthy hair care regimen is what's going to do the trick. I personally, chose the Protective Styling route to grow my hair waistlength and to keep it healthy. But there's more to growing our hair than just keeping it hidden in buns, and head scarves. For example, if you use protective styles but don't moisturize, you're defeating yourself. If you sleep in satin head wraps but proceed to rake hair combs and brushes through your head, you're defeating yourself. And if you are inconsistent with a healthy regimen, meaning you're good to your hair one week, but then treat it "however" the next week, you're defeating yourself. I teach my Shima Hair Girls from start to finish how to take care of their hair and send them encouraging messages every week to keep them inspired. And for this reason I wrote my hair book, The Beauty of Textured Hair. Because our hair IS beautiful, but it suffers due to so much misinformation we receive out there. I encourage you LHCF ladies not to give up on your goals, either. I didn't give up on mine and my hair is almost BUTT-LENGTH today. Peace!
 
Well said A jamaraican diva! A consistent healthy hair care regimen is what's going to do the trick. I personally, chose the Protective Styling route to grow my hair waist length and to keep it healthy. But there's more to growing our hair than just keeping it hidden in buns, and head scarves. For example, if you use protective styles but don't moisturize, you're defeating yourself. If you sleep in satin head wraps but proceed to rake hair combs and brushes through your head, you're defeating yourself. And if you are inconsistent with a healthy regimen, meaning you're good to your hair one week, but then treat it "however" the next week, you're defeating yourself. I teach my Shima Hair Girls from start to finish how to take care of their hair and send them encouraging messages every week to keep them inspired. And for this reason I wrote my hair book, The Beauty of Textured Hair. Because our hair IS beautiful, but it suffers due to so much misinformation we receive out there. I encourage you LHCF ladies not to give up on your goals, too. I didn't give up on mine and my hair is almost BUTT-LENGTH today. Peace! ;)
 
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AJamericanDiva ...Is she still here??? She was the 2nd person to gave me hope and made me want to join this board. Before her, I did not know it was possible for a 4a/b to grow their hair long. Then I saw ISIS and SYVLER2. Eww man. But everytime they ask who is your fav, hair divas she is mos def still one of my top 5. My other two faves are DSylla and Dontspeakdefeat. If you ask me my top 6, then SouthernGirlz would be on the list.
 
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hottopic said:
AJamericanDiva ...Is she still here??? She was the 2nd person to gave me hope and made me want to join this board. Before her, I did not know it was possible for a 4a/b to grow their hair long. Then I saw ISIS and SYVLER2. Eww man. But everytime they ask who is your fav, hair divas she is mos def still one of my top 5. My other two faves are DSylla and Dontspeakdefeat. If you ask me my top 6, then SouthernGirlz would be on the list.
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Awwwww..... :kiss: I've kinda been in lurk mode as I'm back to being a flight attendant now!
 
I can't see any of AJAMericanDiva's pics. :ohwell: I wanna see! I need some motivation. My hair isn't behaving right now. :nono:
 
Re: Discouraged 4a/4bs... this thread\'s for you!!!

AJamericanDiva said:
It seems like every other day a type 4a/4b is posting about how discouraged they are and want to know whether or not they can reach their goals. Seeing is believing.
shocked.gif
Take it from me. I am a fellow 4a/4b. As some of you may know, I've been experiencing some major postpartum shedding (tons of tears shed over that) and decided to do a braid-a-thon for one year with no relaxing in between. I started taking out my braids this week, even at week 5 as I had a lot of growth. Tonight as I took down my braids, I stretched my hair and low and behold... I'm inching closer to my goal of brastrap hair. At 5am, everyone is sleeping in my house, but when my daughter awakes, I'll have her take a backshot pic. The pic that I was able to take was a frontal shot. Later on today, I'll get rid of this grammamma maternity nursing bra and put on my red one that you usually see in my backshot photos. My goal is brastrap length. I even joined in the "Brastrap by 2005" challenge. At the rate I'm going, I may get there sooner. Here's my photo of when I started my haircare journey back in March of 2003 My starting point in March 2003 and this is a photo I took as I was taking down my braids. Me tonight, or should I say morning as I was removing my braids. Right now I am 4 months post relaxer. I don't intend to do another relaxer until next year this time and I am done with my braid-a-thon. I'm quite sure I should be well past brastrap by then, even with a good trim. Girls, be encouraged! I did not have long hair as a baby, nor even as a kid growing up. I was the "dry head pickney"! Look in my album. All the proof is there... baby pics and all. We can do it. Although it won't happen overnight, which is why I think a lot are feeling discouraged, with proper care and all the knowledge you're learning here at LHCF, I think you will succeed. At the very least, I think we are all capable of reaching brastrap length. God said something about a woman's hair being her crown or something to that effect... I pray and call God out on it, asking Him that my crown be a joy to me. I know some are thinking,
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she done lost it now, but I don't think there is anything too small to ask God for. I give Him the glory for allowing me to experience the length that I have and even further discovering these hair boards where I've learned so much and have gotten nothing but love and support!
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Happy growing as I know I'm rambling on now. Better go to bed now!!!

P.S. Will try and take a backshot of my hair stretched in the back and see how far I am from my goal... can't be too far!
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Amen lady, I don't believe there is anything too small in our lives that He would not care for if sought...somewhere in the Bible it says He knows the number of hairs on our heads!! So why whouldn't He add abundance to our number and length if only asked. Thank you for your post, this gives me hope and direction on how to pray about this !! Thanks for being / bringing a blessing today.
 
Can anyone else see Ajamericandiva's pictures on her website in the links? I receive the error message that the account is locked for migration.
 
I;ve always loved you and your daughters album. Those were the first albums I saw that made me a true believer. Thanks AJD AND Kayla:yep:

AJamericanDiva said:
Hey all! Yahoo closed their photo sharing so I had to move my photos. Currently they're at Flickr.com. I don't like the set up and will probably move them again. For now, here are the photos...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31341080@N00/sets/72157601833837804/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31341080@N00/sets/72157601833839854/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31341080@N00/sets/72157601839965663/

I kinda got back on the bandwagon. I gotta upload the last relaxer pics that I took the end of August.
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AJamericanDiva said:
Hey all! Yahoo closed their photo sharing so I had to move my photos. Currently they're at Flickr.com. I don't like the set up and will probably move them again. For now, here are the photos...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31341080@N00/sets/72157601833837804/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31341080@N00/sets/72157601833839854/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31341080@N00/sets/72157601839965663/

I kinda got back on the bandwagon. I gotta upload the last relaxer pics that I took the end of August.
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:hiya:AJD!! I just want you to know that this thread has been a tremendous motivation for alot of people. :thankyou: I always looked forward to your posts when you were more involved with the board. How are your children? What's going on with your daughter's hair?
 
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