Hair vows 2023

[SmilingElephant]

What are you committing to for hair health and length retention in 2023?

I'm back and growing my hair out from a tapered curly cut . I have been growing my hair back out since I got it cut back in October due to boredom and a lot of heat damage.

I vow to baby my hair and opt for curl creams on moisturizers and not so much gel


What works the best for me to retain healthy hair is:

My hair LOVES water! So I have gone back to Cowashing almost daily if not every other day. My hair suffers if I only wash it every week.

So, I will be Cowashing frequently, deep conditioning on the weekends, and incorporating aloe more into my regimen, my hair loves that stuff too!

 

[Chicoro]

I'm checking back five (5) months later in May 2023. I'm not consistently adding Shea butter to my conditioner, nor am I using a heat cap or using Aphogee. I am definitely doing the baggie process of coating hair, braiding and putting on a baggie and that is paying dividends!

I'm on track. I am glad I looked at this thread. I want to go back to doctoring up my conditioner with Shea butter, honey and oil, deep conditioning with a heat cap. I just don't want to make the time for the Aphogee treatment.

I use clay instead of shampoo now. This along with the baggie process has transformed the ends of my hair. I do not have velcro hair ends anymore. I am so thankful to have found a solution.

Checking in at month 8! I’ve done one Aphogee 2 Step application. It’s too hot for a heating cap. I’m doing all except adding Shea to my conditioner. I went back to Queen Helene conditioner and my hair feels good. Did a trim in July. It’s difficult to do my hair every week but it is important that I stick to this schedule. My hair does better with a weekly wash schedule as opposed to a monthly schedule. Clay is my bae!

 

[snoop]

What are you committing to for hair health and length retention in 2023?

This year I want to focus on proper diet and nutrition for my hair. I feel like my abilities to retain have been good, but my growth has been stagnating for the last few years. I’m working with a doctor and naturopath to fix things internally, but they can only give me the plan…I need to follow through.

I also need to focus on giving my hair as much moisture as I can. I used to LCO daily when I first started out. Now, it’s weekly. My hair doesn’t feel dry by the end of the week, but maybe it just wants to be moisturized and oiled daily.

Continue to increase the thickness of my edges.


What works the best for me to retain healthy hair is:

Generally speaking, I’m good at just styling my hair and leaving it alone for the week, so this year I’m going to use this as my mantra: Moisture, moisture, moisture. (Inside and out.)


Hair vows for 2023:

• Eat lots of veggies and drink lots of water daily. Also, also eat three meals a day.
• Moisturize my hair daily

Hair goal from the archive:

My avatar.

My goal was to achieve hair as long as it was in my avatar. I think I've done so with my twists! Hopefully, I'll remember to try to recreate this look at the end of the year so I can do a side by side with a chunky twist out.

 

[Chicoro]

My goal was to achieve hair as long as it was in my avatar. I think I've done so with my twists! Hopefully, I'll remember to try to recreate this look at the end of the year so I can do a side by side with a chunky twist out.

View attachment 492259

Your twists are longer than your avatar. Congratulations!!!!

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I need to make some hair vows. Hopefully I can stick to them. We all know I'm about as flaky as a biscuit. I always have good intentions though lol. Life just gets on a bullet train sometimes.

What are you committing to for hair health and length retention in 2023?
Keeping the hair on my head, keeping braided or twisted, and keeping combs out of it. I'm noncommittal to trimming. I need to see where I am.

What works the best for me to retain healthy hair is: Braid it and leave it alone.

 

[Mapleoats]

What are you committing to for hair health and length retention in 2023?
This year I am committing to finding a regimen that works for my hair health but also allows me to enjoy my hair safely.

I am bringing back some old habits, such as prepooing with oil (and maybe some conditioner) the day before wash day. Chelating monthly to remove hard water build up, and keeping my ends stretched and tucked away.

I am also committing to finding cute styles that I can wear for the week that protect my hair and dont need to be retouched.

My hair grows at the standard 1/2 inch per month. I plan to trim 1/4 inch in march and another 1/4 inch in June, so by June 2023 I should have grown about 3 inches and retained 2.5. This is my current 2023 goal, and in June I will reassess my goal for the rest of the year.

What works the best for me to retain healthy hair is:
Being consistent with my regimen. Washing and deep conditioning weekly, trimming regularly and protective styling (ends tucked away) and stretched styles.

Hair vows for 2023:

• Trim every 12 weeks
• prepoo with oil before washing
• Olaplex no 1 and 2 monthly
• chelate monthly with olaplex chelating treatment
• low manipulation styling
• blow outs 2x per month

Hair goal from the archive:
not from the archive but hoping to retain 3-4 inches this year, which for me would be full MBL and grazing/beginning WL.

View attachment 485747

I committed to all of my hair vows except for the first 2 lol .
It's not too late though! I have a solid plan for the end of the year and I've started to reincorporate Shea butter in my regimen so I think that takes care of the oil prepoo.

I desperately need a trim though. I will trim on my next blow out.

I think I'm doing well with my hair though? Honestly I haven't done my standard length check or trimmed recently so I'm kinda just flying blind. I hope my ends aren't too chewed up.

here's a length check comparison from Dec - April

 

[snoop]

@Mapleoats Your hair looks so thick! And it seems to grow really quickly! I feel like you had my average year's progress in your quarter year.

 

[Mapleoats]

@Mapleoats Your hair looks so thick! And it seems to grow really quickly! I feel like you had my average year's progress in your quarter year.

Thank you! I feel like the side by side above is a bit exaggerated because my blowout from December wasn't as sleek as the one from April.
that's why i added the pull test picture as well

 

[Chicoro]

What are you committing to for hair health and length retention in 2023?

1. Pre-pooing with warm oil on dirty dry hair to remove shedded hair to gently begin the detangling and braid take down process.
2. Deeply moisturizing hair with flax seed gel combination or an aloe vera combination.
3. Washing hair with baby shampoo and oiling/oil rinse immediately after wash to avoid velcro ends.
4. Adding Shea butter (1 tablespoon before melting it) to my deep conditioner along with honey and oil.
5. Deep conditioning with heat or a heating cap of some kind.
6. Giving my complete attention to my hair and allotting the time, with a positive mindset, to do my hair with enjoyment and respect.

What works the best for me to retain healthy hair is:

1. Emulsify pure Shea butter on hands and place on freshly washed and conditioned hair section.
2. Heavily coat hair with Vaseline or a petroleum jelly equivalent.
3. Braid up hair in a 'five-braid' bun.
4. Roll up the ends of each braid and place a coated rubber band on balled up ends to protect ends.
5. Spritz daily with my water bottle concoction of oil, glycerin, essential oils, conditioner and protein.
6. Baggie hair until the next wash day.
7. Do Aphogee 2 Step Treatment, with Amino Acids added, every 6 to 8 weeks.

Hair vows for 2023:
I promise to consistently make time for my hair on a weekly basis, in and with a Spirit of gratitude, deference and love for myself and for my hair.
When I get tired of my bun, I remind myself that this process has consistently helped me to maximize the beauty, health and length of my hair when I care for my hair attentively, conscientiously and consistently. Lastly, I remind myself that my practices work for me. When a self-proclaimed hair expert communicates or tries to shame me by stating or inferring that what I am doing to my hair is bad for the hair, I turn a deaf ear and a blind eye. I over trimmed and cut off 10 to 12 inches of my hair because someone said the ends of my hair were unattractive. I will NEVER let someone else's opinion about my hair impact my progress. That cut turned into an eight (8) year set-back as in it took me that long to get my length back. BUT, had it not been for this set-back, I would not have learned what I know today. That 'cut' was a Double Tap blessing in disguise: I got all 'fresh' new hair and I got a fresh knowledge about afro-textured hair.



Hair goal from the archive:
Shea butter has helped me reach and surpass the length of the hair pictured below. But, I chose this picture because when I first saw my hair length and thickness in this photo, it dazzled me and made me say, "Wow"! I would like to have a hair health, length and thickness I have not reached before that makes me say wow and stuns me like this photo did the first time I saw it. I want hair that makes me say, "Wow!" again.

View attachment 485259

Photo originally taken February 2nd, 2008.

I am closing this out for me. I know what I need to do for my hair and I see bits and pieces of what has finally made me successful with my hair. Thank you so much for this thread.