Grow It Long Challenge Keep Growing On...

Today was CoWash Saturday for me.

  • Pre-poo'd overnight with my AVJ spritz and Hairitage Butter on my ends.
  • This morning, I applied a mixture of Curly Kinks DC, HydroQuench Honey Pineapple Hibiscus DC & Brahmi Powder and went under my heat cap for an hour.
  • Cleansed my scalp with CC Natural's Scalp Scrub and CW'd my length with Honey Handmade's Knot Going Bananas, used Garnier Triple Nutrition as a reconstructor & rinsed out 80% of the V05 Strawberry & Cream.
  • LCOB'd with L = Aphogee Curlific, C = Treluxe Untie the Knot, O = Orofluido on length & Sunny Isle JBCO on edges & B = Hairitage Horsetail Butter on scalp & Siamese Twists Pracaxi Peach ButterCreme on ends.
My hair is so spoiled.
 
@trclemons This is my week to invert, too. I'm glad I'm in good company. I only took down one twist to measure. I'm guessing it would have been better if I took down more. I'll measure again at the end of the 7 days but I honestly think it'll be better if I measure again before my next session in February.
 
traceedeebee said:
@trclemons This is my week to invert, too. I'm glad I'm in good company. I only took down one twist to measure. I'm guessing it would have been better if I took down more. I'll measure again at the end of the 7 days but I honestly think it'll be better if I measure again before my next session in February.
Click to expand...

My hair grows about 1/2 inch a month, so I am going to measure again at the end of March and see if I get more than 1.5 inches.
 
Welp, I am soooo happy! I used my second trim for this challenge today and I was very pleased to find that my ends weren't actually in that bad of shape. (Like I probably could have forgone a trim altogether.) But I cut 1 - 1.5 inches to thicken up my hemline, which is my main goal now honestly.

The picture in the magenta shirt is from September when I last trimmed and blue is from today (please excuse my rolls).
Length check (post) - 9:20:15.jpg Length Check (post pulled) - 1:18:16.jpgLength Check (post) - 1:18:16.jpg
As you can see my ends were very sparse in the magenta shirt. I definitely think that I got 2 inches in the four months since then because the thickness has worked it's way to near hip length now. I am so excited.

The different belts are marking waist, hip and tailbone. And the blue shirt pictures are both post-trim, but in the second pic my hair had started to puff up a little.
 
Dee Raven said:
Welp, I am soooo happy! I used my second trim for this challenge today and I was very pleased to find that my ends weren't actually in that bad of shape. (Like I probably could have forgone a trim altogether.) But I cut 1 - 1.5 inches to thicken up my hemline, which is my main goal now honestly.

The picture in the magenta shirt is from September when I last trimmed and blue is from today (please excuse my rolls).
View attachment 348927 View attachment 348921View attachment 348923
As you can see my ends were very sparse in the magenta shirt. I definitely think that I got 2 inches in the four months since then because the thickness has worked it's way to near hip length now. I am so excited.

The different belts are marking waist, hip and tailbone. And the blue shirt pictures are both post-trim, but in the second pic my hair had started to puff up a little.
Click to expand...

Yeeesssss!!!! This is so encouraging. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous hair.
 
Dee Raven said:
Welp, I am soooo happy! I used my second trim for this challenge today and I was very pleased to find that my ends weren't actually in that bad of shape. (Like I probably could have forgone a trim altogether.) But I cut 1 - 1.5 inches to thicken up my hemline, which is my main goal now honestly.

The picture in the magenta shirt is from September when I last trimmed and blue is from today (please excuse my rolls).
View attachment 348927 View attachment 348921View attachment 348923
As you can see my ends were very sparse in the magenta shirt. I definitely think that I got 2 inches in the four months since then because the thickness has worked it's way to near hip length now. I am so excited.

The different belts are marking waist, hip and tailbone. And the blue shirt pictures are both post-trim, but in the second pic my hair had started to puff up a little.
Click to expand...

[USER=20067]@Dee Raven[/USER]
Wow you're not playing with this hair looks like your hair reached tailbone before the trim.
Congrats!!!
Keep on growing.

In the pink shirt you had half lead hairs and half just passed WL they're not damaged or look split just uneven, if you had cut then you would have delayed your progress. In the blue shirt you see the lead hairs have grown down to TL and the rest of your hair thickened up passed HL. I would have just done an s and d and waited to trim 1-2 inches passed TL but that's me. Your hair still looks nice thick and lush.
 
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Tonight, I put Avon's Advance Techniques on my braids, sat under the heat cap for 30 minutes, CW'd, and rinsed it out and rinsed out 80% of Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner.

I LCOB'd with L = Aphogee Curlific, C = Hawaiian Silky, O = Orofluido on length & Sunny Isle JBCO on edges, B = Hairitage Horsetail on scalp & Siamese Twists Pracaxi Peach ButterCreme on ends.

Day 3 of inversion complete!
 
This morning I prepooed with Mizani Moisturefuse mixed with aloe juice and castor oil for 30 minutes.

Then I put Kurleebelle almond shea butter shampoo right on top of the prepoo, detangled and rinsed it out.

Next I DC'ed with matrix conditioning balm mixed with Mizani Moisturefuse conditioner under hooded dryer for approximately 30 minutes.

I'm about to hot oil rinse with a castor and sunflower oil mix and rinse it out and will be adding Redken anti-snap leave in sealed with sunflower oil. Put my hair back in three big celies, wig it and done for the day.
 
Today was Shampoo Saturday:

  • Pre-poo'd overnight with my AVJ spritz & Spectrum Coconut Oil.
  • This morning, I applied Embrace the Natural You DC and went under my heat cap for an hour.
  • Shampoo'd my scalp with Embrace the Natural You Frothing Cleanser, CW'd my length with Alikay's Cowash Me, reconstructed with Joico K-pak, did an ACV rinse & rinsed out 80% of the Elucence Moisture Balance Conditioner.
  • LCOB'd with L = Alikay's Lemongrass, C = Fekkai Glossing & Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter, O = Keravada Super Gro on scalp & Kreyol Essence Chocolate HBCO on edges & B = Marie Dean Coconut Cream Butter on length & KJ Naturals Milk & Honey on ends.

After plaiting my hair, I baggy'd and did my Day 7 inversion for the month.
 
Ok I finally got around to washing my hair I haven't washed for 2 weeks I refreshed :look:
Lots of shed hair lots
So I co washed and clarified with vinegar and water DC CRN coconut water DC 45m under heat cap then rinse and instant conditioner CRN Jansysns for 5 minutes
leave in and protein spray seal with oil braid up wrapped in microfiber turban and done. My hairs super moisturized and juicy To bad I'm not wearing a wash n go cause my curls are poppin. :D
I didn't continue my daily co washing schedule bc it got too cold but I will try again this week. Hopefully this will get me over the curly shoulder length hump.
 
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I moisturized with Mizani D'Tangle leave in, then moisturized and sealed with my shealoe oil infused butter today. Replait my celies and preparing for bed now.
 
Oh, of course. Though I will say that I have gone through several regimens since I started and if you've seen that thread about what LHCF got wrong, I've had my share of revelations.

The regimen I use currently, and that I would recommend is the KISS method, especially if you're trying to grow your hair to HL/TBL and beyond. You have to have a method that you can do even if your tired, bored, sick, just don't feel like it, because those are the moments when you're most likely to do something drastic or cause the most damage.

Weekly (or bi-weekly if needed) this is what that looks like for me:
Trick #1: Apply oil to hair 20 - 30 minutes before wash to help with detangling.
1. Wash (I'm in love with CDs Marula line as I'm sure some of you already know)
2. Finger detangle under water
3. Apply conditioner (Marula line) and continue to detangle, let sit 5 minutes then rinse out
4. Style (95% wng) apply leave in (right now I'm using PM the Conditioner), Marula oil to the ends, and ecostyler gel.

If my hair is feeling a little limp (every few months), I use Ouidad Curl Recovery mask instead of conditioner. Leave it in for 5 minutes. Then style as usual. Works like a charm.

Things I've stopped doing: DC'ing. I know this came up recently because of that youtube video where the girl said she didn't DC. But I don't either and my hair has been none the wiser. I stopped at least six months ago because I honestly just go too lazy to do it. And actually, now my hair breaks less. (The exception to this is before I straighten my hair, which is 2- 3 time a year. I'll DC with Morrocan oil deep conditioner (amazing) overnight). And on that note, I no longer slather on half a bottle of hair mask either. I know that has been in vogue with naturals, but my hair actually absorbs products better when it is sopping wet and I only use a little. With the exception of ecostyler gel, there's not a product on this post that is not expensive. And I feel A-okay about it because less product, more water, and less time is working better for my hair.

In fact the game changer for me has been finding the right products for my hair; specifically, the Carol's Daughter Marula line. Since I switched to the Marula line, my breakage became non-existent. And I've literally been checking. I pull apart different strands and check for the bulb. They all have them, so I'm literally only getting shed hair. Initially I had dry ends, but once I started using the oil before and after wash, that disappeared as well.

The other thing I don't do, which is huge, is go to the salon. All major damage that my hair has sustained has been at the hands of a stylist.
 
Dee Raven said:
Things I've stopped doing: DC'ing. I know this came up recently because of that youtube video where the girl said she didn't DC. But I don't either and my hair has been none the wiser. I stopped at least six months ago because I honestly just go too lazy to do it. And actually, now my hair breaks less. (The exception to this is before I straighten my hair, which is 2- 3 time a year. I'll DC with Morrocan oil deep conditioner (amazing) overnight). And on that note, I no longer slather on half a bottle of hair mask either. I know that has been in vogue with naturals, but my hair actually absorbs products better when it is sopping wet and I only use a little. With the exception of ecostyler gel, there's not a product on this post that is not expensive. And I feel A-okay about it because less product, more water, and less time is working better for my hair.
Click to expand...


@Dee Raven

@bolded
giiiiirrrrlllllll
You just set it off, in this thread in a good way :lol:
I don't always have time to DC either especially if I'm tired I kind of drop off like previous post I dropped off for 2 weeks.
I tried that DC every week stuff and slowly dropped off to 1 a month but I don't worry about it so much anymore.
I think you have a great point the easier the regimen the easier it is to keep up. Consistency and right products for your hair are more important than DC one day and leaving hair dry as the desert next week.
I got to WL by simplifying my regimen before my wash day used to be a half day convoluted ordeal.
 
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@Dee Raven you are so right about KISS! The simpler I keep my routine and array of products the healthier my hair is. I've gone from overcomplicated pre-pooing for hours, oil and tea steeping and rinsing, overnight DC'ing, scheduled dustings, and multiple product uses that had me overwhelmed to a very simple routine that's manageable and doesn't give me a headache thinking about what needs to be done. Not only is my hair thriving but it's more manageable and fun to style.
 
caliscurls said:
@Dee Raven you are so right about KISS! The simpler I keep my routine and array of products the healthier my hair is. I've gone from overcomplicated pre-pooing for hours, oil and tea steeping and rinsing, overnight DC'ing, scheduled dustings, and multiple product uses that had me overwhelmed to a very simple routine that's manageable and doesn't give me a headache thinking about what needs to be done. Not only is my hair thriving but it's more manageable and fun to style.
Click to expand...

Oh goodness yes, the tea rinses, who can forget the tea rinses. And the henna. Wash day used to be my whole Sunday. And truthfully, it was because I was taught (prior to LHCF) that Black hair was unmanageable, unruly, wild, difficult, ugly. How do you tame and fix such a terrible thing? Well, it must take at least a day, hours of time, the most expensive miracle products to make it good enough. So I would do all of those things. But it turns out that our kinky hair, or at least my kinky hair, is none of those things and doesn't require all that extensive extra-ness to be good enough.

Which reminds me that texture acceptance is really huge (at least for naturals)? I had heat damage for several years as a natural and couldn't wear my hair out. It wasn't until I cut it all out that I could start to love my texture and really pinpoint what my hair actually needed.
 
MileHighDiva said:
@Dee Raven
Will you post a pic of your WNG? What are you doing to preserve your ends while wearing WNG? Just the Marula oil? TIA
Click to expand...
I'll post a pic this weekend when I wash my hair again. But yes, I only put the Marula oil on the ends every couple of days. Or what I'm starting to do more is rewet my hair mid-week (shampoo scalp only, condition and style). That actually works better than just putting oil on the ends because it re-moisturizes the hair and it re-stretches the hair. My hair coils so there's a point where putting oil on just leads to more ssks.
 
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