For those wanting long hair...

[Shadiyah]

IMO, keeping the heat to a minimum helps quite a bit. I have heat used on my hair once per month. I also still wear protective styles (PSs) because I like to keep my ends in good shape (haven't needed a trim since June 12, 2010, just had a few dustings in 2011), and I happen to like PSs. I also think leaving the hair alone does great at retaining length. When I do my hair in a protective style, I can keep it like that (neatly) for five to seven days. It looks like you're on the right road. Oh yeah, I think deep conditionings help (when I do mine, I don't use heat, just a plastic cap while in the shower).

I'm not claiming to be a hair expert, but I was able to grow my hair to waist length when I was relaxed (and it was in good shape). Now I'm natural (and loving it), and my hair is approaching tail bone length. I just want to offer help and information to others (which is why we're all here).

Allandra I am so happy for you and I am loving that you were willing to help us. I am natural and I love wearing my hair in a wash n go it works best for my ends that I don't try to plait my hair and it does not stay twisted. I don't want to lose my curl in the front of my hair which I started to do once I started with all the oils and plaiting. So if I wash my hair and let it air dry with my mixed chicks and then pull it into a pony tail or pin up it works out best for me and my ends and curls then pulling my hair straight while wet. I am BSB right now and really hope that when I do my length check in June to be at BSL or below. I started from 1/4" back in 1-2009.

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra I am so happy for you and I am loving that you were willing to help us. I am natural and I love wearing my hair in a wash n go it works best for my ends that I don't try to plait my hair and it does not stay twisted. I don't want to lose my curl in the front of my hair which I started to do once I started with all the oils and plaiting. So if I wash my hair and let it air dry with my mixed chicks and then pull it into a pony tail or pin up it works out best for me and my ends and curls then pulling my hair straight while wet. I am BSB right now and really hope that when I do my length check in June to be at BSL or below. I started from 1/4" back in 1-2009.

@Shadiyah

Please tell me what length is bsb. So, when you do your wash n go, do you always wear your hair loose? I saw a picture of a wash n go by @Pokahontas and was in awe of it (thinking I may try one soon and sit under my Pibbs to dry). Sounds like your regimen will keep your hair growing at a good rate.

@Pokahontas can you come on in and tell us about your hair (pretty please)? It's so nice and pretty. What length are you now?

 

[Shadiyah]

@Shadiyah

Please tell me what length is bsb. So, when you do your wash n go, do you always wear your hair loose? I saw a picture of a wash n go by @Pokahontas and was in awe of it (thinking I may try one soon and sit under my Pibbs to dry). Sounds like your regimen will keep your hair growing at a good rate.

@Pokahontas can you come on in and tell us about your hair (pretty please)? It's so nice and pretty. What length are you now?

Allandra BSB is Bottom of Shoulder Blade you know at those bones lol. but not quite brastrap yet. I have to cover my hair every time that I go out so if like today I have doctors appointments I will take my curly hair an wear it in a low ponytail until I get home and then take it out and if I messed up my curls I will spray with water and rake and shake to bring my curls back to life. If I am home for the whole day I will wear it out in curls. I love my curls and love looking at them myself. I pineapple to sleep in my cap at night.

Like yesterday since I knew I would be out of the house monday and tuesday, I dc and then put Hairveda whipped ends on as my leave in and then vatika on the length and jojoba on the length oh and I have jbco & jojoba & argan which makes up the 2oz of base oil and then 4 drops of rosemary & ylang ylang & C sage & lavender and use this mix to massage my scalp. I think the last thing I did was seal my ends with my shea butter mix. I take the hard rocks of shea butter when my hubby buys them for me which is like 4 - 8 bowels and I put them in the microwave for some seconds to soften and then I add olive oil and aloe vera juice and jojoba oil and jbco and argan and squeeze it all in my hands until it is mixed well and put them back into their bowels and put one in the bathroom and one in my room and I might give one or two to my family and the rest goes in my cabinet if you have not seen my cabinet look in my siggy. I have a lot more things in it then just the mixed chicks in the picture lol.
Oh and I put mixed chicks on after all that and let it air dry and put it in the pineapple for the night. and I am trying to hurry because I have to leave out for my appt. So i don't do this a lot because I don't like greasy looking curls but I can not stand frizz either so I use alterna bamboo smooth something on top of my mixed chicks when it is a regular day. lol
So I am going now and I will read at the doctor office at your reply or questions lol.

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra BSB is Bottom of Shoulder Blade you know at those bones lol. but not quite brastrap yet. I have to cover my hair every time that I go out so if like today I have doctors appointments I will take my curly hair an wear it in a low ponytail until I get home and then take it out and if I messed up my curls I will spray with water and rake and shake to bring my curls back to life. If I am home for the whole day I will wear it out in curls. I love my curls and love looking at them myself. I pineapple to sleep in my cap at night.

Like yesterday since I knew I would be out of the house monday and tuesday, I dc and then put Hairveda whipped ends on as my leave in and then vatika on the length and jojoba on the length oh and I have jbco & jojoba & argan which makes up the 2oz of base oil and then 4 drops of rosemary & ylang ylang & C sage & lavender and use this mix to massage my scalp. I think the last thing I did was seal my ends with my shea butter mix. I take the hard rocks of shea butter when my hubby buys them for me which is like 4 - 8 bowels and I put them in the microwave for some seconds to soften and then I add olive oil and aloe vera juice and jojoba oil and jbco and argan and squeeze it all in my hands until it is mixed well and put them back into their bowels and put one in the bathroom and one in my room and I might give one or two to my family and the rest goes in my cabinet if you have not seen my cabinet look in my siggy. I have a lot more things in it then just the mixed chicks in the picture lol.
Oh and I put mixed chicks on after all that and let it air dry and put it in the pineapple for the night. and I am trying to hurry because I have to leave out for my appt. So i don't do this a lot because I don't like greasy looking curls but I can not stand frizz either so I use alterna bamboo smooth something on top of my mixed chicks when it is a regular day. lol
So I am going now and I will read at the doctor office at your reply or questions lol.

Shadiyah

Your hair sounds so pretty. Care to share some pics?

 

[Nelli04]

my current plan is low manipulation little heat...

I haven't straightened or used heat on my hair since Oct 22, 2011. I plan to straighten my hair again in late March for a trim/dusting, again in Sept for my birthday, and lastly in November around thanksgiving. So I'm averaging applying heat 3x/year.

in between those times i plan to keep my hair braided, and i'll rebraid my hair every 3-4 weeks. Deep conditioning every 2 weeks as well and ensuring my ends are always moisturized. I've been doing this for quite a few months now and i think by the time i straighten my hair in March I will be BSL

 

[SoopremeBeing]

@SoopremeBeing What is your current length? What is your length goal? I bet you're right about the conditioner penetrating the hair better.

I am grazing shoulder length right now, I BC'd in the summer of 2010 and had a Rihanna style haircut, and by summer of 2011 it hadn't grown much. Then I started visiting this site on the regular and it started growing. My current goal is BSL, but if my hair keeps growing at this rate, I may try MBL.

 

[Allandra]

my current plan is low manipulation little heat...

I haven't straightened or used heat on my hair since Oct 22, 2011. I plan to straighten my hair again in late March for a trim/dusting, again in Sept for my birthday, and lastly in November around thanksgiving. So I'm averaging applying heat 3x/year.

in between those times i plan to keep my hair braided, and i'll rebraid my hair every 3-4 weeks. Deep conditioning every 2 weeks as well and ensuring my ends are always moisturized. I've been doing this for quite a few months now and i think by the time i straighten my hair in March I will be BSL

It sounds like low manipulation and little heat are working well for you. Do you add extensions for braiding your hair? What type of styles do you do?

 

[chevere62]

@chevere62 You're not asking a lot of questions, besides, we're all here to help answer questions. Do you think it's the ceramides that could be causing breakage? I keep my regimen as simple as possible, and I stick to the same ole products.

Perhaps it is. I remember reading a lot about ceramides and how they are supposed to be great for damaged hair and even better for healthy hair. Perhaps I should take that out of my regimen.

 

[Allandra]

Perhaps it is. I remember reading a lot about ceramides and how they are supposed to be great for damaged hair and even better for healthy hair. Perhaps I should take that out of my regimen.

If it were me and my hair wasn't doing that before the ceramides, I would take it out. Please keep us posted.

 

[Vshanell]

@Shadiyah

Please tell me what length is bsb. So, when you do your wash n go, do you always wear your hair loose? I saw a picture of a wash n go by @Pokahontas and was in awe of it (thinking I may try one soon and sit under my Pibbs to dry). Sounds like your regimen will keep your hair growing at a good rate.

@Pokahontas can you come on in and tell us about your hair (pretty please)? It's so nice and pretty. What length are you now?

Thanks so much @ Allandra. I get scissor happy when my hair gets past waist length because the ends get thin so I'm working on growing it back from that last big trim and I don't plan on doing that kind if trim again. I'm trying to see if I can go past hip-length since that's the longest my hair has been. I'm not sure my length now because i never fully straighten but I think I'm back to hip length. Hip-length is after waist-length right? I should know this but I recently saw a length chart that got me all confused.

Your hair is looking gorgeous girlie!

 

[Allandra]

I don't have a lot of products, and I stick with what works. I was a pj YEARS AGO when I first got on hair boards (back in 1999 - gosh, it's been a while ). I know these products work for me, so I just keep on using them, and I feel it's best for my hair not to use a whole bunch of different stuff.

Shampoos (all sulfate free):
She Scent It Eucalyptus Mint (pulled from my product grave yard)
She Scent It Jojoba Hemp (pulled from my product grave yard)
Trader Joe's Nourish Spa

Conditioners:
Aubrey Organics GPB Balancing (been using this since 2000)
Giovanni Smooth as Silk (this gallon is lasting FOREVER lol)
Tresemme' Naturals Moisture (new, was on sale)
Tresemme' Naturals Vibrantly Smooth (new, was on sale)
Trader Joe Nourish Spa

Leave in Conditioners:
Giovanni Direct
Kinky Curly Knot Today
Komaza Care Coconut Curl Hair Milk

Moisturizers:
Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream
Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream

Oils:
Camden-Grey (Pure) Argan Oil

Pomade:
Qhemet Biologics Amla Oil Nourishing Pomade

Serum:
Sabino Moisture Block (haven't used since I got my argan oil in November 2010)

Gel:
Eco Styler Moroccan Argan Oil Styling Gel
Kinky Curly Curling Custard

Also, I consider myself to have a pretty simple regimen (and it works for my hair). I believe in less is more.

Regimen

Once a month I go to my stylist to get my hair flat ironed. I will wear my hair straight for one to two weeks (heck, I've even gone as long as three ). During that one to three weeks, I will wear my hair down a few times, but I never wear it down each day. When my stylist does my hair, the regimen is: shampoo, deep condition, heat protectant, blow dry OR roller set, flat iron. I haven't flat ironed my own hair since October 2010. Now when I do my own hair, the regimen is: deep condition shampoo, condition, moisturize, style, air dry. So my daily style will either be: a bun (which I have ALWAYS loved, two flat twists (pinning them up instead of letting them hang), a single braid, a single twist or a French twist. So, when I do my own hair, I always let it air dry, and sometimes I can wear my style for several days without redoing it each day (gosh I absolutely love that because I get up very early in the morning Monday through Friday). Keeping it simple is wonderful, and I truly do believe less is more because I really do believe that's what keeps my hair growing nicely.

 

[yodie]

Allandra. Thanks for sharing. One of my main problems is that I use/try way too many products. I need staples, but I let curiosity get the best of me and I start trying stuff. Right now I'm on a challenge to minimize excess in my life, so hopefully I'll narro down products as well.

 

[Shadiyah]

Shadiyah

Your hair sounds so pretty. Care to share some pics?

Allandra I really wish I could but because I am muslim I can not.

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra. Thanks for sharing. One of my main problems is that I use/try way too many products. I need staples, but I let curiosity get the best of me and I start trying stuff. Right now I'm on a challenge to minimize excess in my life, so hopefully I'll narro down products as well.

yodie

I bet it will be worth your while. Girl, once you find your staples, you won't even be phased by a new / different product. I bet you'll even feel good once you minimize excess in your life. I say go for it!

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra I really wish I could but because I am muslim I can not.

Ok. I understand.

 

[yodie]

Allandra, you're so right. I just have too much, but I'm not allowing myself to buy anything else. Do you use AO GPB as a protein condish or a moisture/protein balancing condish? It always seems like a protein condish instead of a balancing condish.

 

[GIJane]

I pre-poo using AVJ, castor oil and brahmi oil. I wash my hair in Celie like box braids using a poo bar. DC w/ ayurveda (sp?) powders mixed with conditioner. Rinse out. Then use aussie moist and avj as a leave in. This is done once a week.

Moisturize w/ water & AVJ. Then seal with castor oil. Everday.
Baggy ever other night. Or if my hair is feeling really dry I just baggy under a wig.

Once the braids start looking old and wear a wig over them.

I usually get the braids in for 2-3 weeks. Then redo them.

I believe I've responded to everyone's initial post in this thread. If I left anyone out, it was not intentional, just let me know so I can respond.

Allandra Can you critique my regimen, please? I certainly can use a lot of advice. If you need more info just let me know. Thanks.

 

[Poohbear]

IMO, keeping the heat to a minimum helps quite a bit. I have heat used on my hair once per month. I also still wear protective styles (PSs) because I like to keep my ends in good shape (haven't needed a trim since June 12, 2010, just had a few dustings in 2011), and I happen to like PSs. I also think leaving the hair alone does great at retaining length. When I do my hair in a protective style, I can keep it like that (neatly) for five to seven days. It looks like you're on the right road. Oh yeah, I think deep conditionings help (when I do mine, I don't use heat, just a plastic cap while in the shower).

I'm not claiming to be a hair expert, but I was able to grow my hair to waist length when I was relaxed (and it was in good shape). Now I'm natural (and loving it), and my hair is approaching tail bone length. I just want to offer help and information to others (which is why we're all here).

Allandra - how is using heat once a month keeping heat at a minimum? How are you able to grow your hair to waist length so quickly? You went natural after me. Do you have type 2 or 3 hair? Or is there something you're eating or consuming to help you retain length? I am so lost and feel discouraged.

I see so many women that use heat and have really long hair. I used heat once a month to once every two months, sometimes less, and suffered split ends and sometimes breakage and my hair stayed the same length. I'm starting to think its because my hair is really nappy (extremely tightly coiled) and shrinks too much.

I just got a trim hoping to grow my hair out. My plan is to avoid heat and products with silicone and sulfate ingredients. I really want to get longer than APL. I love twistouts and wish I could grow my hair with twistouts, but I'm starting to think I'll have to leave my hair in two strand twists indefinitely if I want it to retain length. I wish I could keep my hair in twists but I get bored and the twists start looking all fuzzy and uneven lengths. And I can't get the back of my hair to look nice in twists...

I just don't know anymore.

Sent from my PG06100 using LHCF

 

[Lita]

Lita Way cool. I think this is gonna be my final goal. What length are you now?

Allandra Hi,my current length is Tail-bone with some layers,so it's not full like I want it to be..My hair grows in a natural v pattern...



Happy Hair Growing!

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra, you're so right. I just have too much, but I'm not allowing myself to buy anything else. Do you use AO GPB as a protein condish or a moisture/protein balancing condish? It always seems like a protein condish instead of a balancing condish.

yodie

I use AO GPB as a protein conditioner. It's mild, so I use it often.

 

[Allandra]

I pre-poo using AVJ, castor oil and brahmi oil. I wash my hair in Celie like box braids using a poo bar. DC w/ ayurveda (sp?) powders mixed with conditioner. Rinse out. Then use aussie moist and avj as a leave in. This is done once a week.

Moisturize w/ water & AVJ. Then seal with castor oil. Everday.
Baggy ever other night. Or if my hair is feeling really dry I just baggy under a wig.

Once the braids start looking old and wear a wig over them.

I usually get the braids in for 2-3 weeks. Then redo them.

@GIJane

Thanks for bumping up your post for me, and my apologies for missing it earlier.

I've never used aloe vera juice, castor oil or brahmi oil, but over the years, I've read lots of good things about each. How has it been working for your pre-poo blend? I assume it's quite moisturizing (which would be a very good thing). How's the avj working out as a leave in, and is the mixture with water keeping your hair moisturized well? What's your hair length now? What's your hair length goal? It looks like you have your products down pat.

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra - how is using heat once a month keeping heat at a minimum? How are you able to grow your hair to waist length so quickly? You went natural after me. Do you have type 2 or 3 hair? Or is there something you're eating or consuming to help you retain length? I am so lost and feel discouraged.

I see so many women that use heat and have really long hair. I used heat once a month to once every two months, sometimes less, and suffered split ends and sometimes breakage and my hair stayed the same length. I'm starting to think its because my hair is really nappy (extremely tightly coiled) and shrinks too much.

I just got a trim hoping to grow my hair out. My plan is to avoid heat and products with silicone and sulfate ingredients. I really want to get longer than APL. I love twistouts and wish I could grow my hair with twistouts, but I'm starting to think I'll have to leave my hair in two strand twists indefinitely if I want it to retain length. I wish I could keep my hair in twists but I get bored and the twists start looking all fuzzy and uneven lengths. And I can't get the back of my hair to look nice in twists...

I just don't know anymore.

Sent from my PG06100 using LHCF

Poohbear

Using heat once a month for me is keeping it at a minimum because when I transitioned, I used heat weekly / bi-weekly.

When I was relaxed, I grew my hair to waist length in about three years (starting from ear length or chin length (one or the other). Even in my relaxed days, I kept my hair regimen pretty simple, but back then when I started getting on hair boards (back in 1999), I was using a lot of different products because everything sounded good. Well, I got tired of having a bunch of stuff and always wondering what in the heck I was pick out of my collection to shampoo and condition my hair with (now that I only have a few products, this makes wash day SO MUCH more easier and convenient). By keeping my hair regimen pretty simple, it's made it easy for me to retain length. I'm a very plain / simple / no frills kind of girl, so having a simple regimen was the only thing that would ever work for someone like me (on top of that, I'm anal as heck). My hair type is mainly 3c, but I do have some 4a in the back. I used to low carb a lot, but I did a thread about stopping low carb and just doing low fat (because I just wasn't feeling low carb any more). This next thing I'd said over and over, and people here are probably sick of hearing me say it, but my main beverage is water. It's very rare that I drink anything else. I drink water throughout the day, everyday. But girl, I went out with some former colleagues on Sunday evening, and I had THE NERVE to order a damn Coke soda (without ice because I don't drink cold stuff, unless I'm splurging on a milk shake). When that Coke hit my taste buds, it was some kind of tasty. Even though I had it, and it was tasty, I hated that I had poured that crap (and two glasses at that) into my body (all that damn sugar ). Well, I had the jittery shakes the rest of the evening (because I normally don't consume caffeine). I only wear a few different protective styles, but I've never gotten bored with any of them, but this could be because I'm plain / simple / no frills kind of girl.

How has your hair done when moisturizing it well and leaving it alone (for up to 5 to 7 days at a time)? Here's what I did to my hair on Sunday:

1. put Aubrey Organics GPB on my dry hair and put on a plastic cap (for 15 minutes or so) My hair was already in two sections from my previous style (yep, two flat twists), and I did these steps to my hair in two sections (like always).

2. rinse out AO GPB (about 5 minutes of rinsing)

3. shampoo hair in the shower with Giovanni Smooth as Silk Shampoo (I dilute my shampoo in a color applicator bottle and apply it to my scalp, as the suds will go down the length of the hair)

4. rinse my hair (about 5 minutes of rinsing)

5. condition my hair with Giovanni Smooth as Silk Conditioner and pin up (then take my shower)

6. rinse my hair (only a couple of minutes)

7. apply Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner

8. apply Qhemet BRBC

9. do two flat twists and pin up (yes, in the shower, because when I step out, I want to be done with my hair)

I tie it up at night (with one of those satin like scarfs). In the morning, I take my scarf off and mist my hair with plain water from a spray bottle. I put my scarf back on until I'm done getting dressed.

Sorry for rambling on so much. If you have any other questions, just let me know.

 

[GIJane]

@GIJane

Thanks for bumping up your post for me, and my apologies for missing it earlier.

I've never used aloe vera juice, castor oil or brahmi oil, but over the years, I've read lots of good things about each. How has it been working for your pre-poo blend? I assume it's quite moisturizing (which would be a very good thing). How's the avj working out as a leave in, and is the mixture with water keeping your hair moisturized well? What's your hair length now? What's your hair length goal? It looks like you have your products down pat.

Allandra Its ok. I think we were posting at the same time so that how you might have missed it. I do appreciate your response and taking the time out to do this. I really like my pre-poo blend. Sometimes I steam with it, sit under a heat cap, or overnight with it. One time I wore it under a wig. Even though the brahmi oil stinks. But I am in Afghanistan and where I am at it always stink so noone can really tell. I find my hair quite manageable with it. As far as, the water, avj as a leave in. I like that as well. But I don't think I can use it when I am wearing my hair straight. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it. My hair I believe is SL or APL. I am not for sure since I don't wear it out and I am not doing a length check until the end of March. But last time I checked in December I was SL about an inch from APL. I would like to be MBL or dare I say WL. But getting to BSL would be a first for me. Right now I am going thru a lot of shedding so I have went back taking the garlic pills and vitamins. I ranned out and for some unknown reason shipment had gotten delayed. When I first joined LHCF I was doing too much. The ladies here told me to K.I.S.S. Of course I didn't know what that acronymn meant at the time. But I am really loving my the softness of my hair. I am also really lazy sometime when I deep condition I leave it in for a few nights. I actually braid my hair with aussie moist. I use castor oil like Franks hot sauce, I put that *ish on everything. I believe that I have low-porosity hair. I put my hair in a glass of water and it stayed floating for several days. So I do a lot of baggying. When my hair feels dry. I just put on a baggy and then a wig and keep it moving.

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra Hi,my current length is Tail-bone with some layers,so it's not full like I want it to be..My hair grows in a natural v pattern...

Happy Hair Growing!

Lita

I didn't have my hair flat ironed this month, but I'm going to get it flat ironed next month. I'm approaching tbl, but I'll know exactly once it's flat ironed. Do you straighten your hair from time to time? It's so pretty.

 

[Allandra]

@Allandra Its ok. I think we were posting at the same time so that how you might have missed it. I do appreciate your response and taking the time out to do this. I really like my pre-poo blend. Sometimes I steam with it, sit under a heat cap, or overnight with it. One time I wore it under a wig. Even though the brahmi oil stinks. But I am in Afghanistan and where I am at it always stink so noone can really tell. I find my hair quite manageable with it. As far as, the water, avj as a leave in. I like that as well. But I don't think I can use it when I am wearing my hair straight. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it. My hair I believe is SL or APL. I am not for sure since I don't wear it out and I am not doing a length check until the end of March. But last time I checked in December I was SL about an inch from APL. I would like to be MBL or dare I say WL. But getting to BSL would be a first for me. Right now I am going thru a lot of shedding so I have went back taking the garlic pills and vitamins. I ranned out and for some unknown reason shipment had gotten delayed. When I first joined LHCF I was doing too much. The ladies here told me to K.I.S.S. Of course I didn't know what that acronymn meant at the time. But I am really loving my the softness of my hair. I am also really lazy sometime when I deep condition I leave it in for a few nights. I actually braid my hair with aussie moist. I use castor oil like Franks hot sauce, I put that *ish on everything. I believe that I have low-porosity hair. I put my hair in a glass of water and it stayed floating for several days. So I do a lot of baggying. When my hair feels dry. I just put on a baggy and then a wig and keep it moving.

GIJane

Girl, you had me literally LOL about the comment in bold.

I'm sure you won't be able to use the water / avj when your hair is straight (unless you want it to revert).

And yes, you can say wl. It's possible, so go for it. I really do believe in keeping it simple. Now you got me lol about the lady that does those Franks commercials (too funny).

Do you clarify your hair once in a while? The castor oil probably seals it pretty good, so I would guess that once in a while you need to remove all that stuff so conditioner and moisturizing stuff can keep really sinking in real good.

 

[gn1g]

Thank you for this thread it feels like when you are in school and the teacher goes around the class making sure everyone got the lesson. THANK YOU. I wish someone with fine WSL hair would do this although the fine WSL answers are on the board somewhere anyway.

Allandra your hair is beautiful and it looks thick and heavy, you've done a great job time and time again. Kudos.

I have BSL fine hair that is straggly. I am always cutting it to get an even look. It splits at the drop of a dime and is very challenging to retain length. On top of all of that I have gray hairline that must be colored. I use henna from time to time but I really need a hi-light here an there to give me the look I like. So maybe you could help a fine hair sista's out, I wear buns all the time however I comb my hair daily so my take away from you is to wear a protective style that does not require daily touching, so for me that will be a single braid. My desired length is BSL full ends.

Do you consider roller set a protective style?

 

[GIJane]

Allandra I tell you nothing but the truth. I do not have a clarifying shampoo but I did accidently washed my hair with hand soap. It was 2 clock in the morning. I fell asleep with my pre-poo and my ayurvedic conditioner mixture on top of the pre-poo. See I hadn't had a good night sleep for a few days. I had hurt my back and neck. On top of that I had a wisdom tooth coming in. Yeah 40 yrs old and getting a wisdom tooth. I was prescribed some pain killers. I steamed with the pre-poo and decided since my hair was slopping wet why don't I just go ahead and dc with my conditioner mixture. I learned here that if you have low porosity you need to use heat. So I put my heating cap on. Meds kicked in and I woke up 5 hours later. Its 2:00 am and I have pt at 4:30 a.m. Now of course you know that bhrigrahj sp?, brahmi and kalpi tone mixed together gives of an awful smell. So knowing I was about to get my sweat on this mess has to get washed out. So I go to the shower closest to my room and there isn't any hot water. Now I have to walked all the way to the other shower. I take that long walk to shame. Get in the shower and guess what. I left my dang poo bar. So I grabbed the handsoap. So of course I am all paranoid later on that day. I get on LHCF crying about what my dumb butt did.
So that's my clarifying session. Here is the list of ingredients to the hand soap water, coconut acid, oleic acid, sodium sulfate, ethanolamine, cocamide DEA, sodium laureth sulfate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, butylene glycol, propylene glycol, soyamide DA, soyamidopropyl betaine, terasodium EDTA, tocopheryl acetate, hydroxypropyl methylcellose, DMDM hydantoin, iodopropynl butylcarbamate triclosan.

This is the closest to clarifying that I came too. What do you think? I know I'm a little off.

 

[chevere62]

If it were me and my hair wasn't doing that before the ceramides, I would take it out. Please keep us posted.

In order to check my hair situation, I straightened the nape of my hair. The picture is in my siggy. I compared it to my last length check slightly less than two months ago and it appears that I have retained some length. I checked my ends and they were split free with just a few SSK's. During the process my hair continued to break. This week I am going to clarify my hair (alma and shikakai), do an intense protein treatment (henna, yogurt, egg, avocado, aloe), then follow up with an intense moisturizing DC (lustrasilk cholesterol, lekair cholesterol, honey, evoo). Hopefully the breakage stops after all of this.

Btw, anything else I can add to my moisturizing DC that would make it more moisturizing?

 

[yodie]

Allandra and Poohbear, I enjoyed the post between you two. Poohbear asked the question that I wanted to know, Allandra, how are/were you able to grow your hair so quickly? I could definitely be wrong, but I feel like 3c hair grows easier. I have 4a/b and it always seems like I'm suffering or trying to recover from a setback. My latest one was mid shaft splits. UGH!! There is nothing in the world that can save mid shaft splits, other than a pair of scissors. I keep telling myself that I need some 'glue' to hold my strand together. Maybe I need to use a light protein and ceramides more often.

I'm getting rid of all these extra products that I have around here. I'm keeping it simple and I'll sick with AO conditioners because they have ceramides in them already.

I'm not using heat at all right now, so would an AO GPB treatment twice a month be too much?

 

[Poohbear]

Poohbear

Using heat once a month for me is keeping it at a minimum because when I transitioned, I used heat weekly / bi-weekly.

When I was relaxed, I grew my hair to waist length in about three years (starting from ear length or chin length (one or the other). Even in my relaxed days, I kept my hair regimen pretty simple, but back then when I started getting on hair boards (back in 1999), I was using a lot of different products because everything sounded good. Well, I got tired of having a bunch of stuff and always wondering what in the heck I was pick out of my collection to shampoo and condition my hair with (now that I only have a few products, this makes wash day SO MUCH more easier and convenient). By keeping my hair regimen pretty simple, it's made it easy for me to retain length. I'm a very plain / simple / no frills kind of girl, so having a simple regimen was the only thing that would ever work for someone like me (on top of that, I'm anal as heck). My hair type is mainly 3c, but I do have some 4a in the back. I used to low carb a lot, but I did a thread about stopping low carb and just doing low fat (because I just wasn't feeling low carb any more). This next thing I'd said over and over, and people here are probably sick of hearing me say it, but my main beverage is water. It's very rare that I drink anything else. I drink water throughout the day, everyday. But girl, I went out with some former colleagues on Sunday evening, and I had THE NERVE to order a damn Coke soda (without ice because I don't drink cold stuff, unless I'm splurging on a milk shake). When that Coke hit my taste buds, it was some kind of tasty. Even though I had it, and it was tasty, I hated that I had poured that crap (and two glasses at that) into my body (all that damn sugar ). Well, I had the jittery shakes the rest of the evening (because I normally don't consume caffeine). I only wear a few different protective styles, but I've never gotten bored with any of them, but this could be because I'm plain / simple / no frills kind of girl.

How has your hair done when moisturizing it well and leaving it alone (for up to 5 to 7 days at a time)? Here's what I did to my hair on Sunday:

1. put Aubrey Organics GPB on my dry hair and put on a plastic cap (for 15 minutes or so) My hair was already in two sections from my previous style (yep, two flat twists), and I did these steps to my hair in two sections (like always).

2. rinse out AO GPB (about 5 minutes of rinsing)

3. shampoo hair in the shower with Giovanni Smooth as Silk Shampoo (I dilute my shampoo in a color applicator bottle and apply it to my scalp, as the suds will go down the length of the hair)

4. rinse my hair (about 5 minutes of rinsing)

5. condition my hair with Giovanni Smooth as Silk Conditioner and pin up (then take my shower)

6. rinse my hair (only a couple of minutes)

7. apply Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner

8. apply Qhemet BRBC

9. do two flat twists and pin up (yes, in the shower, because when I step out, I want to be done with my hair)

I tie it up at night (with one of those satin like scarfs). In the morning, I take my scarf off and mist my hair with plain water from a spray bottle. I put my scarf back on until I'm done getting dressed.

Sorry for rambling on so much. If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Allandra

I did not think you rambled. I also remember the days when you had waist length relaxed hair and I even remember asking you then about your relaxed hair routine when I had relaxed hair!

But anyway, after reading your reply, I am thinking I need to up my water intake. I used to drink alot of water when I was in college and water used to be my main beverage. Now, I sometimes drink Mountain Dew and other sugary drinks which is probably dehydrating my body and my hair.

I'm also a product minimalist but after joining LHCF, I did start to try new products but never became a product junkie. The problem I have is manipulating my hair alot and styling it differently all the time. That may be taking a toll on my tightly coiled hair.

When it comes to moisturizing my hair, I do not moisturize very often because of shrinkage. Also, just plain water dries out my hair. African Royale BRX Spray has been good at moisturizing my hair as well as S-Curl. Right now, I am using Shea Moisture products. The only time I ever moisturized my hair well and left it alone was when I was doing a bun challenge. I've never kept my hair in a bun consistently because I do not think it was the best style for my hair since I have fine strands. It would cause too much stress on my hair strands.

I think two strand twists may be the best route for me to go if I really want to retain length. This morning, I was looking back at my old picture albums and noticed my hair would retain length best when in twists. Even last year when I got a trim in March and kept my hair in twists for 3 months straight, I retained length. But after the 3 months, I used that daggone heat! I should've stayed with the twists for the rest of the year, but I was also a bridesmaid for my cousin's wedding in August 2011, and she wanted all of us to have straightened hair. We went to a salon in Detroit to get it straightened, and I think that one session with that stylist is what really killed my hair last year.

Right now, I'm wearing a twistout and will probably put my hair in twists tonight after work.

Again, thanks for you post!