Grow it Long 2022 Challenge!

[Chicoro]

Checking in!

After two extreme de-matting sessions of severely matted hair, I've lost a little length to breakage. I did an Aphogee 2 Step Treatment which helped my hair. I don't 't think I've done Aphogee 2 Step in about 2 years. I am happy and thankful I was able to detangle my hair, find the Aphogee product and successfully do the treatment.

 

[Chicoro]

View attachment 481503
Here is my length check I did last month. I have the same length as I started because I cut my hair again. Unless the hair growth gods shine down on me I will not reach APL this year. I'm doing no direct heat for 6 months so the next length check will be when I straighten for Christmas time.

Beautiful, thick full ends. Look at that gorgeous sheen and shine on your jet-black hair. Sooooo pretty!

 

[Chicoro]

Early check in.

The front of my hair is starting to gain some traction. It's now grazing just below my jebs, which is a new length for me!

View attachment 481289


As for the back, I'm still continuing to grow out the various lengths as is. I still can't get a accurate length check outside of the shower, but one side in the back is now grazing WL and the other is grazing HL!
I'm not sure what it is specifically that's working, possibly adding WAY more water to my hair on wash day or my weekly dose of protein. Whatever it is, I'm here for it!

(I'll try to get some pictures of the back.)

Time to do this fabulous image justice. Look at the length and thickness of this gorgeous hair! I love the ginger brown/black color of your hair. How many people have that color of hair? Very few folks that I know. Lovely results!

 

[faithVA]

I have retained some but I'm not flat ironing my hair for a true comparison and my camera is busted so my pictures will be super crappy but I will post something this week. My blow dried hair is about as long as my flat ironed haircso that's good sign. Unfortunately my bald spot at my crown seems to be getting bigger

 

[Napp]

I don’t have a thing lol. I probably won’t have a length check until late fall. That’s when I’ll start stretching my hair before I sister loc my hair in September.

@Bette Davis Eyes did you try the KCTexture? What made you decide to get sisterlocks?

 

[HealthyHair2020]

Checking in as well! Just took out some braids that I had in for a month. Damn I needed that. And my hair looks so full! Will attach a pic later on. One month stretches are definitely doable for me, especially when I do them myself.

Gonna take a 2-3 week break before putting in another style for a month. Don't know what style I'm doing for the break or for the next protective style yet.

 

[Mapleoats]

@Napp ends are looking so full!! Gorgeous!

i have been rocking twist outs latently, but I plan to blow out my hair in a few weeks for a protective style, I’ll post some pics then. Maybe I’ll do a stretch test in the mean time

 

[faithVA]

Excuse my pics. My camera lens is broken.

Current hair... blow dry only


Starting pic ... flat ironed

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

@Bette Davis Eyes did you try the KCTexture? What made you decide to get sisterlocks?

Hey @Napp I tried it. I’ll put my review in the keratin thread. Basically it felt and looked like I did a protein treatment.

I’ve wanting sisterlocs since 2005.

 

[snoop]

Excuse my pics. My camera lens is broken.

Current hair... blow dry only
View attachment 481543View attachment 481541

Starting pic ... flat ironed
View attachment 481545View attachment 481547

Your hair looks like it thickened up quite a bit in the back.

 

[faithVA]

Your hair looks like it thickened up quite a bit in the back.

It has. The crown is growing down so I don't have as many layers. By the end of the year all of my layers should be nape length giving me an even shape.

It has thickened up on the sides as well even though it is hard to tell from the pictures. In my starting pics, my sides just reach the bottom of my glasses. In my current pictures, my sides reach the bottom of my ears.

I doubt if I reach SL this year but by the end of the year I should have a good solid start to reach it next year. And I should be out of this awkward stage where it is hard to do anything with my hair.

 

[faithVA]

View attachment 481503
Here is my length check I did last month. I have the same length as I started because I cut my hair again. Unless the hair growth gods shine down on me I will not reach APL this year. I'm doing no direct heat for 6 months so the next length check will be when I straighten for Christmas time.

Your hair looks beautiful and healthy.

 

[Chicoro]

Hello! Still hanging in here.

 

[long.hair.dont.care]

I'm in the middle of a 3 month protective style challenge. That's the best way for me to retain.

I'll be able to take photos for comparison in about 6 weeks from now. I'm taking out my cornrows early Sept, will post pics around that time.

 

[Napp]

I cut my hair but I think with extreme protective styling via buns I can get back to my starting length at the very least. This time with healthier ends!

 

[HealthyHair2020]

Blow dried my hair today for some braids tomorrow and damn my hair is long! I'm super proud of it but I'm also very bored with it so I'm glad I'm putting in braids lol. And my ends looked good even 7 months after my trim trim in December. I clipped a few ends here and there after prepooing so they looked a little better.

 

[snoop]

Please do not copy.


So here are a couple of pics that I took earlier this month. I'm slowly giving up on the idea of doing length checks, since they're not that accurate for me anymore. I don't use heat on my hair so I rely on the pull test, but recently, my coils have been getting tighter (I don't mind).



This is how long my hair is when I just pull at it. I try not to pull too hard, because my hair doesn't like it and would probably break. It's not brittle...it just doesn't want to stretch.



My hair stretches more when it's wet.. So this is truer to my actual length.

The problem now is that I am not sure why I'm not retaining length in the back or why my hair in the back doesn't seem to be a lot longer. For about a year I was experiencing some breakage where I would lose full curls of hair.



That larger ringlet has about 12 hairs. I'd get a few of these clumps with every wash. Thankfully, this kind of breakage has stopped and I'm removing WAY less shed hair, overall, with my new detangling routine.

But this is what my hair looked like two years ago, after I was being hard on myself for having had a setback.



It's quite possible that I'm not measuring the same section of hair, since my hair after all of the breakage varies section by section.

I do think that my hair is getting fuller. Last year in the fall, my ends were quite whispy when I applied my masks or even after I washed it out.





The top photos are from Oct/Nov 2021 and the bottom photos are from this morning.


So long story short: It seems as though I'm retaining length on my hair overall, but I don't seem to be getting the same thing happening along the back and nape. Maybe in time?

 

[Napp]

@snoop did you cut your hair since your set back? I think your hair looks great but it might be confusing as to why you haven’t retained length in the back. What have you changed in your detangling routine? You will probably surpass your old length by the end of the year imo

 

[snoop]

@snoop did you cut your hair since your set back? I think your hair looks great but it might be confusing as to why you haven’t retained length in the back. What have you changed in your detangling routine? You will probably surpass your old length by the end of the year imo

No. I've not had a proper hair cut since my big chop (when I started with half an inch of hair) and only one professional trim when I had my hair blown out. I have no idea why that back area isn't getting longer. Or rather, lengthens then breaks, then lengthens again. I dust my ends every 3 months.

As for detangling, I finger detangle only. I used to do it out of the shower with conditioner, then wash/cleanse my hair, then style it. I would keep my hair in two strand twists for two weeks then start again. This is basically what I did until I had my first setback. I carried on through with this, but I was also dealing with stress and health issues which may have contributed to the overall health... that and neglect because I didn't know what was affecting my hair to cause the breakage in the first place.

For almost a year now, I've started using ayurvedic masks and protein weekly. I finger detangle under water, no product, after cleansing my hair, section and twist to avoid shrinkage. When I get out of the shower I will re-twist in the same sections. As time has gone on, my hair has been retaining moisture so I am now down to once a week, which now that I'm writing it, could be an issue? I'm not sure. My hair doesn't feel dry, but maybe it wants more? Or more in those sections?

I've been wearing my hair covered around the house as well for some months -- with a slap cap or a silk or satin scarf. I would have thought that covering my hair would help...

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

@snoop might sound weird and I'm just spit balling but maybe your hair is tired of being covered? Or wants to be done in different sections. At least that section? You've got a great routine, so I don't have any other ideas.

 

[snoop]

@snoop might sound weird and I'm just spit balling but maybe your hair is tired of being covered? Or wants to be done in different sections. At least that section? You've got a great routine, so I don't have any other ideas.

This is quite possible. I will try a rotating schedule for my twists like I used to do to see if that helps -- small -- medium -- large -- and then bunning the twists (which I also used to do.)

 

[DVAntDany]

I didn't do an update in April. So here is the difference between January and August. These are both first day flat hair worn as wash and goes.

I wound up keeping my routine the same for the most part. 95% or more of the time I wore a wash and go. I occasionally transitioned into a puff, but mainly my hair was worn down.

I’m not sure if I’ll reach my goal of apl when straight but I am making progress.

 

[snoop]

A thought occurred to me as I was washing my hair, today: Is it possible that I'm having trouble retaining length in the back because of switching how I sleep? I'm predominantly a side sleeper, but used to be exclusively a side sleeper. Over the past 2 to 3 years, I've been sleeping on my back more because I've been trying to mew and now, fix my overall posture.

I've BC'ed a couple of times, but I remember asking a barber once about why one side of my hair appeared longer than the other. This would have been after my hair was cut low and starting to grow back. I went to get a trim (and subsequently learned that barbers cut off just as much hair as stylists when they "trim".) Anyway, he said it was because I was sleeping on my side. I likened it to how babies tend to get thin or bald spots depending on how they sleep. I'm wondering if something similar is happening to me now? But on the ends of my hair?

I'm going to try pinning my hair up/pinappling for the next while to see if it helps, but I'm curious: Has anyone found that their rentention is or has been affected by their sleeping position?

(I do sleep with my hair covered, either silk or satin coupled with a silk pillow case.)

 

[apple_natural]

I think I'm going to hang with you guys for again if I can.
I butchered my hair with no goal earlier this year since that's how I deal with emotions. I was also thinking that it may grow past where it was before if I cut more than I thought necessary. However, it start breaking shortly after I cut it, so I'm thinking the ends are just as they would have been had I never cut it.

I'm natural
Hair length: 4-8 inches
Goal: Grow it out until April 1, 2023
If I'm not happy with how it looks by April, I'm going to get it cut into an even or angled bob (depending on the length of the front). I'll really enjoy that. I could grow it out from there with lots of rollersets. I would enjoy the length when its even although it would be short
If I am happy with how it looks by April, then I'll just have the ends clipped and keep it growing. I would cut it even when its bsl.
Plan to reach goal: Shea butter or grease on my hair to protect ends
ETA: Regimen
Coconut oil prepoo - Tuesday
DC w/heat (possibly henna glossing with lots of dc), wash, oil scalp, shea butter or grease, bantu knot - Wednesday
Oil scalp, Leave in spray and shea butter on hair - Saturday and any other day it feels necessary
Protective styles: Buns of some sort and maybe some wigs
Photo: I took a photo of the one section I'll use to monitor my length (in media). IIt is above my left ear. It's 8 inches

 

[apple_natural]

Late wash day done. as long as its dry by tonight, its alright.

 

[Mapleoats]

I've been really dreading coming in here and making an update. I feel so at odds with my hair care lately.
This summer ive been wearing my hair out a lot since things are open now and I feel like it has impacted my retention which is really frustrating to me. Why do I have to choose between enjoying my hair and growing my hair

i think I need to experiment with protective styles that make me feel cute but still give my hair a chance to grow. Maybe I'll try a U part wig or something.

this photo was taken at the end of July and I just don't see the progress I was hoping to see

 

[Kiaray8]

Sorry for such a late entry! I honestly haven’t done much to my hair these last couple of months so no crazy new length retention to report which is quite disappointing. 1st pic is a blow out before my braids & second is knotless braids I have atm.

I decided to get braids for my birthday as I needed a break & to re evaluate my hair length goals. They are knotless braids so I’m not sure how long they will last but I’m hoping for a month.

This check in is the same as the last one, as I’ve been very focused on weight loss that my hair has become more of a secondary thought so really need to get it together for the winter months coming up.

On the bright side, I’ve lost 35 pounds so far this year so not too terrible aha! I’m trying to do a slow and consistent loss. I noticed melanin hair care line has finally hit the UK so I managed to get the leave in too so I think a more dedicated routine + some new products once these braids are out will help.

 

[Mapleoats]

View attachment 482647View attachment 482645
Sorry for such a late entry! I honestly haven’t done much to my hair these last couple of months so no crazy new length retention to report which is quite disappointing. 1st pic is a blow out before my braids & second is knotless braids I have atm.

I decided to get braids for my birthday as I needed a break & to re evaluate my hair length goals. They are knotless braids so I’m not sure how long they will last but I’m hoping for a month.

This check in is the same as the last one, as I’ve been very focused on weight loss that my hair has become more of a secondary thought so really need to get it together for the winter months coming up.

On the bright side, I’ve lost 35 pounds so far this year so not too terrible aha! I’m trying to do a slow and consistent loss. I noticed melanin hair care line has finally hit the UK so I managed to get the leave in too so I think a more dedicated routine + some new products once these braids are out will help.

Congratualations on the weight loss! I can see it!!!

 

[apple_natural]

me again. when I took my braids out last week sometime, i twisted my hair up in the same sections. i just took those out with coconut oil friday night. its just pinned up which is my favorite style

 

[classychic1908]

A thought occurred to me as I was washing my hair, today: Is it possible that I'm having trouble retaining length in the back because of switching how I sleep? I'm predominantly a side sleeper, but used to be exclusively a side sleeper. Over the past 2 to 3 years, I've been sleeping on my back more because I've been trying to mew and now, fix my overall posture.

I've BC'ed a couple of times, but I remember asking a barber once about why one side of my hair appeared longer than the other. This would have been after my hair was cut low and starting to grow back. I went to get a trim (and subsequently learned that barbers cut off just as much hair as stylists when they "trim".) Anyway, he said it was because I was sleeping on my side. I likened it to how babies tend to get thin or bald spots depending on how they sleep. I'm wondering if something similar is happening to me now? But on the ends of my hair?

I'm going to try pinning my hair up/pinappling for the next while to see if it helps, but I'm curious: Has anyone found that their rentention is or has been affected by their sleeping position?

(I do sleep with my hair covered, either silk or satin coupled with a silk pillow case.)

I recently had a setback from major tangling in the back of my head. I think sleeping on my back may have exacerbated the problem. I was sleeping with a satin scarf and pillowcase, but I wasn't keeping up my moisture level or doing anything to strengthen my hair.