Grow It Long 2025 Challenge!

[snoop]

Let's grow and retain all 2025!

This challenge is all about growing and retaining long healthy hair this year! Whatever your length/health goals are, this challenge is for you! Let’s hold each other accountable and share our knowledge as we breakthrough length and retention milestones this year. Through out the year I will be posting discussion questions, videos, tips, ideas etc to help keep this thread active and informational, and I encourage you all to do the same. Challenge open to anyone!


Give me the DETAILS:
Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed:
Current Length:
Goal Length:
Plan to reach goal length:
Regimen:
Protective Styles:
Staple Products:
Starting Pic: REQUIRED

Check ins every 3 months

• 1st check in: April 1st
• 2nd check in: July 1st
• 3rd check in: October 1st
• Final pic: December 31st

I want to keep this challenge fun, interesting and inspiring to one another so pics are required on or around check in dates! I love looking at pics as much as I love posting them.

Tips:

• Moisturize and seal.
• Trim only when absolutely necessary (ex. frayed; thinning ends, stagnant hair length, excessive shedding).
• Protective styles (styles with ends tucked) help retain length.
• Deep conditioning is your hairs bestfriend.
• Heat without heat protectant is a no-no.
• Length retention is more important than growth.
• Tight ponytails and buns cause tension on hair strands resulting breakage.
• Detangle gently. If you're making a face while detangling then you're handling your strands too rough.
• If it doesn't have SLIP, throw it away.
• Stay hydrated and take your vitamins!!
• Treat your hair with love and care; it will AMAZE you.

Happy Growing and Retaining in 2025!

 

[GettingKinky]

Happy New Year. I’m in!!

Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed: Natural
Current Length: ~APL when blown out
Goal Length: waist length blown out
Plan to reach goal length: frequent bunning, gentle detangling, quarterly trims, find a super moisturizing conditioner
Regimen: Wash 1-2x per week, style with leave in conditioner and a botanical gel
Protective Styles: spin pin buns (no ponytail holders)
Staple Products:
Shampoo - Bekura fatty coconut (discontinued) , Cecred Moisturizing shampoo (I haven’t tried it yet, but I have it) Briogeo Aloe & Oat, Kinky Curly Come Clean
Conditioner - Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair ( I haven’t tried it yet but I have it), Cecred hydrating conditioner
Deep conditioner Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Mask, Cecred Moisturizng Deep Conditioner ( I haven’t tried it yet but I have it)
Leave in - Kinky Curly Knot Today, Cecred Mositure Lotion
Styler - Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic

Starting Pic: REQUIRED I will come back with a picture after my next trim early this month.

 

[snoop]

Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed: Natural
Current Length: WL
Goal Length: HL
Plan to reach goal length: Lots of moisture, oils, and tucking away my ends
Regimen: Weekly ayurvedic treatments, daily moisturizing and sealing, monthly micro trims
Protective Styles: Twists of all sizes and then hide away my ends
Staple Products: DIY lotion, ayurvedic oil, tallow, water, but will try to incorporate herbal hair sprays
Starting Pic: REQUIRED (Will be back with my starting picture this weekend)

 

[HealthyHair2020]

Joining! Coming back with more details.

 

[faithVA]

THE DETAILS:
Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed: Natural
Current Length: NL
Goal Length: Full SL

Plan to reach goal length:
Continue to improve my regimen until I find a maintainable way to retain my ends.
I will also try some growth aids to see if I can stimulate growth.
For the most part I just plan to be patient.

Regimen:
1. Shampoo, Condition 1x or 2x a week and apply a leave-in before styling.
2. I will style in either flat twist or two strands until my hair is longer for other styles

For Flat Twist:
... will dry before styling: dry in twists or bantu knots; either air dry or under a dryer
... will apply a hair milk to my hair before twist it up.
... will tuck my ends under

For 2 Strands:
... will apply gel to wet hair
... will put in mini 2 strand twists
... will retwist weekly or rinse in twist

Deep condition and K18/Bond Treatment 1x a month.

Protective Styles: Flat twist or 2 strand twists
Staple Products:
Madison Reed Shampoo
TGIN Leave-in
TGIN Deep Conditioner
K18
Kinky Curly Curling Custard


Starting Pic: REQUIRED

 

[spacetygrss]

Just watching from the sidelines (I don’t show my hair in public). Let’s go!

 

[VarieYvette]

Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed: Transitioning to Natural
Current Length: NL
Goal Length: APL
Plan to reach goal length: Stick to my regimen
Regimen:
Shampoo and DC with heat once a week
Apply leave in, seal with a butter
Airdry in African threading
Low manipulation style for the week
Trim 3x this year (April, August, December)
Protective Styles: faux pony, faux puff, halo braid, African threading (Ben and Betty styles), mini braids, wigs
Staple Products: JBCO, can't find products regularly so I make do with what I find
Starting Pic: REQUIRED (will upload Monday after my weekend wash day)

 

[Chicoro]

Saving my place!

 

[faithVA]

I'm going to try to reset my hair every Friday or Saturday night and be consistent.

Since I straightened and colored before xmas, I needed to use this cleanse session to get my hair back to normal.

1. Used Kitsch hair oil as a pretreatment
2. Used bondbar bondbar booster for 10 minutes
3. Rinsed and used bondbar recovery for 5 minutes
4. Shampooed with Elucence Clarifying shampoo
5. Second shampoo with Madison Reed Moisturizing shampoo
6. Conditioned with BioSilk
7. Used Mielle Leave-in Conditioner and then added a bit of water to work it in
8. Sectioned hair in 5 sections and applied a large amount of KCCC to each section
7. Installed a set of mini twists for the week.

One of the items I will use to track my progress is the number of bantu knots I can put my hair in while its drying. Right now I can do 4; 2 front and back. When I can do 2, 1 front and back, then I will know I've really retained some length.

Going to try to stick with the 2 strands for a while and take care of my ends.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Saving my spot

 

[Theresamonet]

I’ll be joining y’all as soon as I work up the energy to base my scalp, coat my ends, relax my hair, blow it out, trim it, and take a progress picture…

 

[GettingKinky]

Along with getting my hair to WL, I also have a goal of growing out my nape and the front of my hair so that it makes it into my bun.

I don’t know what to call the hair at my very front edge. It’s like the opposite of my nape, and I don’t know why it’s so much shorter than the hair just behind it, but this year I will focus on it.

 

[snoop]

Here are my starting pictures for this year:

I had my hair in granny plaits since just before Christmas and I took them down tonight.





(My waist folds make not having a belt or drawing a line in the picture, unnecessary. )

But the hurr! Oooh! When I think back to all of those years ago when I first started my hair journey and then when I found this board...I've reached my goal and then a whole lot more!!!



This braid out wasn't for anything other than to wash it, which I'll probably do on Monday.

 

[MzSwift]

@snoop

Be still my heart!
I'm up with an unsettled little one and your hair is bringing me joy! Love it!

 

[snoop]

You are too funny, but thank you ma'am.

 

[pikkonoloidlee]

Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed: natural
Current Length: between sl and apl
Goal Length: bsl
Plan to reach goal length: be consistent, monitor and maintain the health of my ends
Regimen: wash and deep condition every 2-3 weeks, moisturize and seal ends as needed between washes
Protective Styles: mini twists
Staple Products: still working on this
Starting Pic: REQUIRED

 

[spacetygrss]

Here are my starting pictures for this year:

I had my hair in granny plaits since just before Christmas and I took them down tonight.

View attachment 500420

View attachment 500422

(My waist folds make not having a belt or drawing a line in the picture, unnecessary. )

But the hurr! Oooh! When I think back to all of those years ago when I first started my hair journey and then when I found this board...I've reached my goal and then a whole lot more!!!

View attachment 500428

This braid out wasn't for anything other than to wash it, which I'll probably do on Monday.

Ooooooohweeeeee! Look at this hair! Gorgeous!

 

[snoop]

@spacetygrss Thank you!

 

[CoiledOrchids]

i'll be joining yall on January 17th. I'll be getting a silk press and trim to reset my hair.
I'll post my hair deets then