Hip–Tailbone Length (HL–TBL) 2014 Challenge!

Realistically, how manageable is HL hair for black women? Lol I cry washing my hair at WL. :( i dont even detangle knots out my hair anymore. I just grab scissors. Way too much energy detangling shed hairs from each other. i can see the damage i have done by the drastic short pieces. Smh lets not even talk about my nape! I really screwed that area up. Bol!
 
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Hair was a little dry after using Roux Mendex yesterday, I guess it's a stronger treatment than I thought. I will be following up with a moisturizing conditioner from now on after each use. Used the Aunt Jackie's In Control Moisturizing & Softening Conditioner and as soon as I applied it, my hair softened up. Right now my hair is lightly wrapped under my net, feeling for straight hair these days.
 
pre_medicalrulz said:
Realistically, how manageable is HL hair for black women? Lol I cry washing my hair at WL. :( i dont even detangle knots out my hair anymore. I just grab scissors. Way too much energy detangling shed hairs from each other. i can see the damage i have done by the drastic short pieces. Smh lets not even talk about my nape! I really screwed that area up. Bol!
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OH NO!! What happened?! Was this recent?

I think that HL can be manageable for black women, but it's on a case by case basis. There are some ladies who's hair tangles and mats up if you look at it wrong. On the other hand, I wore shrunken wash n'gos for a month without detangling, and I only had a couple of tiny matted up curls :look:. My hair would be ruined if I wet it daily, and others have to wet their hair daily. No one's hair is the same and everyone has a cap at how much time and effort their willing to give. That's why you have ladies that only wear wash n'gos, only wear twists, only wear braids, only wear it straight, can wear braidouts but not twistouts, have to prepoo everytime they shampoo, etc.

I think very long hair is a handful for most women, regardless of race, which is why it tends to stay braided or bunned up :lol:. If you want very very long hair, you have to decide what your manageability cap is and how to make the process as painless as possible. You have to find that sweet spot between what you're willing to put in and the results you get out :yep:.

I know that I'm truly ready to reach long lengths because I finally want my hair to be long more than I want see it out. I'm willing to be diligent with moisturizing, doing oil treatments, and putting down the scissors. My next step is learning to be gentle with my hair and to detangle slowly :ohwell:.
 
pre_medicalrulz said:
Realistically, how manageable is HL hair for black women? Lol I cry washing my hair at WL. :( i dont even detangle knots out my hair anymore. I just grab scissors. Way too much energy detangling shed hairs from each other. i can see the damage i have done by the drastic short pieces. Smh lets not even talk about my nape! I really screwed that area up. Bol!
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How long are you stretching your relaxers? Do you have some EVCO for finger detangling? Hide the scissors! You should only be using them when you're dusting/trimming.
 
pre_medicalrulz said:
Realistically, how manageable is HL hair for black women? Lol I cry washing my hair at WL. :( i dont even detangle knots out my hair anymore. I just grab scissors. Way too much energy detangling shed hairs from each other. i can see the damage i have done by the drastic short pieces. Smh lets not even talk about my nape! I really screwed that area up. Bol!
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pre_medicalrulz


I think you have to find the right technique and frequency for detangling your hair, like ckisland said longer length are manageable. I had a length around BSL where everything went haywire with my hair, knots, tangles, SSKs matting you name it, it happened, it was a nightmare, I spent hours detangling my hair, until I experimented with organizing my hair at night, using a leave in, different oils, different products, ditching the shampoo (it cased major splits, dryness, tangles, and matting for me).

Mostly what helped was figuring how often I had to detangle detangling while in the shower, while wet/damp, or oiled, full of conditioner and how much moisture my hair needed then it was easy. I think you're just going through a rough patch, you can get through this, just get your angle right on it and it will be easy.

I can detangle my hair in 10 minutes now and it's longer than it was when I spent hours detangling it.
Maybe you have to detangle more often, or maybe while stretching (I can't speak much to this cause I'm not relaxed) you should use some products techniques naturals use. HTH
 
Lol you ladies are actually all correct that everyone has to do something that keeps their hair detangled & its not the same for everyone.

Buns mat up my hair in the middle. Braidouts that last a week mats up my nape area. Smh. Unremoved shed hair gives me really tight knots that can only be removed with scissors. Lol

Thats why I stick to my mini celie plaits under my wig. My hair behaves well :)

Im stretching to 20 weeks. Im 18 weeks today. This is my last stretch ever.
 
^^Why don't you try stretching to 12 weeks? You'll have 1 1/2" of growth to prevent overlapping, but not so much NG. When your wearing braidouts M&S your nape every night and put it in a lil' braid before you put your hair up for the night. I don't remember who or what thread, but somebody leaves their nape in in a small cornrow across the bottom and their hair covers it. They only remove it when they think their man may be feeling around back there:blush: Your hair is long enough to cover a small braid/cornrow.
 
EnExitStageLeft said:
pre_medicalrulz

This is the reason I detangle daily. I get the "Less manipulation is better" thing, but my tangles like a mug and AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT:lol:!
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I'm with you. I was over finger combing and that good stuff when I would go through the wash days from hell. My hair tangled bad too. My NG overlaps, so once they set in, its hard to get them unraveled.

Combing was never my issue; it was the lack of PSing that was causing constant drama.

Please excuse my iPhone; it's trying to get it together
 
When I was w'hip length and at my current length I only detangle my hair about 1-2x per week, Any more and I get major breakage from over manipulating and any less I lose a giant wad of hair. You just have to find that sweet spot that works for your hair.

I mean honestly my hair is more of a pain in my butt now at its current length than it ever was when I was at tlb. Tlb was easy peasy lemon squeezey compared to sl lol
 
MileHighDiva said:
^^Why don't you try stretching to 12 weeks? You'll have 1 1/2" of growth to prevent overlapping, but not so much NG. When your wearing braidouts M&S your nape every night and put it in a lil' braid before you put your hair up for the night. I don't remember who or what thread, but somebody leaves their nape in in a small cornrow across the bottom and their hair covers it. They only remove it when they think their man may be feeling around back there:blush: Your hair is long enough to cover a small braid/cornrow.
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I only stretched 20 weeks this time because I'm waiting to get a fresh relaxer a week before my commencement but yea, 12 weeks is as far as Im going from now on.
 
Well I'm still a weaved up and loving it. I think this is my protective style of choice. I'm looking for some good weave right now I plan to buy some over the weekend. Anyone mind sharing a good vendor with me. I've had in my tracks for 4 weeks now and I love it. I also decided I'm going back to my weave stylist. She's great. EVERYONE thinks this is my hair. They don't ask I don't tell.
 
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I washed my hair!!! It was so nice seeing it all out and free finally :grin:. I did a thorough detangling and it was so easy to get through. I lost like a week's worth of hair and it was mostly shed. I did a length check, and I think I'm grazing MBL. Next month I should be able to claim it :yep:. I also found out that the top layer (not the crown) of my hair is a little longer than the nape which is so weird :spinning:.
 
Wooah check in it's been a while. Ive been M&Sing and keeping up with my MN massages usually on alternating days. I've been going through the motions and paying to little attention to my hair i thought this was breakage and i was going to cry -->
tumblr_mqxsaeuKhb1rbw5ieo6_500.jpg


BUT baa thats my nape/baby hairs .... Whhhhaaat I can't believe it. Anyways i want to be HL/TBL asap so i can use whole bottles of conditioners (cheap ones 'cause aint nobody got time for that) and things like that.
 
Aireen

I hope it's not too late to join, since this goes on until the end of 2014. I'm about 10 inches away from HL, so I think I can do this with the right diet and vitamins.


Current length + hair type:
I'm between armpit length and bra strap length when my hair is flat ironed. I have 3B type hair with well-defined, springy, curls. Low/medium porosity, low density on my thinning areas and medium density overall, and medium/course hair.

Regimen
Shampoo With Groganics DHT Blocker: Deep Freeze 2x week
Condition with Groganics DHT Blocker: Deep Freeze 2x week
Deep condition with Groganics DHT Blocker Treatment 1x week
[Will include 1 protein egg mask deep conditioning 1x week]
Oil scalp 3-5x week w/Groganics Hair-an-Gro cream
Rinse daily and put in loose bun
Vitamins include- Biotin (10,000 mcg), Iron (65 mg), Fish oil (1290 mg), and Zinc (50 mg). I'm thinking of incorporating Bamboo extract and flax seed tablets into this mix, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm also considering trying Youtheory Collagen Advanced Formula tablets as well.

Plans to get to HL
Will continue with this regimen until December of 2014. I will take weekly pictures of my hair growth (length) as well as thickness on my crown (I have thinning in some areas) which I will post on my blog.

HL goal date
December 2014

Plans once HL is achieved
Maintain healthy, long hair. Continue to deep condition and take vitamins. Wear long braids... wear Kim Kardashian-style (minus the extensions).
 
i dont think stretching was ever beneficial for me, i get so much breakage
for the rest of the year im not going to stretch but i will protect my previously relaxed hair diligently and we'll see what happens in terms of progress
 
Yeah, I'm definitely joining this challenge. I just might make it to HL next year. It's not a goal, but I can try. I wouldn't hate to try it for once in my life.

Please excuse my iPhone; it's trying to get it together
 
Okay ladies by the end 2013 or probably the beginning of 2014, I will be mentioning all the ladies that are on the list for the challenge. This will be the time for a major update or if you're thinking of backing out of the challenge. Crack down time, y'all lol. :look:

Btw, I was wondering if you would want the next challenge (that I will be making as a continuation to this one) to be a general long hair challenge or if you'd want it to be strictly HL-TBL again? Just asking because I know some people just want to grow as long as they can while others want very long hair but will cut it back to a certain length if any manageability issues arise. A general long hair challenge would be more inclusive and less pressure so I'm kind of leaning towards that idea more. Anyway, let me know! :grin:
 
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Aireen said:
Okay ladies by the end 2013 or probably the beginning of 2014, I will be mentioning all the ladies that are on the list for the challenge. This will be the time for a major update or if you're thinking of backing out of the challenge. Crack down time, y'all lol. :look:

Btw, I was wondering if you would want the next challenge (that I will be making as a continuation to this one) to be a general long hair challenge or if you'd want it to be strictly HL-TBL again? Just asking because I know some people just want to grow as long as they can while others want very long hair but will cut it back to a certain length if any manageability issues arise. A general long hair challenge would be more inclusive and less pressure so I'm kind of leaning towards that idea more. Anyway, let me know! :grin:
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You can do either or. I personally prefer challenges with an end goal. Besides, you know somebody will create a tbl 2015 thread if you create the long hair care challenge thread instead so either way its cool. I will be in both. :)
 
Saludable84 said:
Yeah, I'm definitely joining this challenge. I just might make it to HL next year. It's not a goal, but I can try. I wouldn't hate to try it for once in my life.

Please excuse my iPhone; it's trying to get it together
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Im sure you can make it. I've seen that ponytail retention! ;)
 
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