Hip Tbl & Beyond Challenge 2018

[ElevatedEnergy]

@YvetteWithJoy

I THINK it's this one. Not 100% sure though.

http://www.target.com/p/vitagoods-scalp-massaging-shampoo-brush-purple/-/A-50859093


And now I want this one too! I may or may not check my Target tomorrow to see if they have it.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Health:
Oh, so delicious salmon salad with kale, mandarin orange slices, bacon bits, and Olive Garden salad dressing.
Divine!

Hair:
Would you believe I cleansed and DC'd and let it dry in my satin bonnet without moisturizing, sealing, and styling? I know, I know.

On a positive note:
I just poo'd with the 22nd Century Natural Woman poo bar, DC'd with SM hipo masque under Jakeala's Marshmallow Root Cowash/Conditioner Bar, and rinsed with very cold water. I didn't mean to rinse with water quite that cold. Anyhoo, my hair is so soft and manageable right now.

Now if I could only drum up the discipline to detangle and then install 16 twists.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I did it!!!

I did my first African threading! (Additional photos attached below.)



Friday/Saturday (cleansing and conditioning):

• Cleanse: 22nd Century Natural Woman shampoo bar
• DC under RO under thermal conditioning cap: SM Hipo Masque under Jakeala's Marshmallow Root Conditioner bar

Hair was SO hydrated!

Saturday (styling):
I gave my styling products (SM CES, CRN Curl Maker, and DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel) away to my sister-in-law for my niecy while here on vacation in Atlanta. Eek!

Soooooo . . . for moisturizing, sealing, and styling, I applied Soultanicals Hair Glide and Soultanicals Knot Dressing Oil rinse and attempted my first DIY African threading. I used tan colored weave thread since this was my first time. I like the two-thread-per-twist method. I like that while I sleep all twists stayed straight and didn't curl/bend like some of my two-strand twists sometimes do. I like that the African threading twists seem comparatively tighter at the root.

They did take a very long time for me to install as a newbie. Supposedly it gets faster as you get better. For one thing, I should be able to wash and reuse the weave thread, so I won't have to measure or cut any the next time. I'll see how the thread-out fares and evaluate whether to try to incorporate this into my regimen. I think for long hair this would be great: I could use black thread, pin up or bun or ponytail the twists, and wear them for days. Then I could wear the thread-out for days.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

@YvetteWithJoy So how did the thread-out go? Did you get elongation?

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Mini-challenge update:

1. Food intake been on fleek this week! I had the 1 required salad, plus my daily green smoothie, baked tilapia and veggies for dinner and I made a huge pot of chicken, cauliflower and veggie soup to have for lunch each day. No cheat meals this week and that says alot being that I was sick. When I'm sick, I usually use that as an excuse to eat whatever I want but no ma'am pam! I did however get sick of fish every night so I'm glad it's all gone!

2. Cardio got done. I actually got 3 days of cardio in.

3. Ends have not seen the light of day.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

@YvetteWithJoy So how did the thread-out go? Did you get elongation?

Thanks for asking!

I will take out the threads in about an hour: I figured no use in removing them only to sleep on my hair so soon. I'll update the pic of the thread-out once I'm done.

Meanwhile:

• I can say that my twists SHRANK as they dried. I don't know why I was surprised at that.
• My hair is 4a coily and my shrinkage has GOT to be at LEAST 70%. Right now my "bangs" (hair at front; not really bangs) are dry in the twist and does not reach the tip of my nose. When I pull on it to stretch it, it reaches my lips. When I just plain air dry, it's slightly longer than a TWA. For me, that's great elongation.
• I do think the thread-out will be a little longer than my twist-outs normally are, but that has more to do with the fact that my NORMAL two-strand twists usually bend/curve as I sleep on them. These didn't. Also, I am able to do a much neater job with these. My two-strand twisting skills are a B-.

Aside: If you don't leave any gaps as you thread your hair (takes a VERY long time to do this), then the result after removing the threads is similar to a blow out. I wasn't going for that: I want something that looks similar to a two-strand twist-out.

 

[Daina]

Mini-challenge update:

1. Food intake been on fleek this week! I had the 1 required salad, plus my daily green smoothie, baked tilapia and veggies for dinner and I made a huge pot of chicken, cauliflower and veggie soup to have for lunch each day. No cheat meals this week and that says alot being that I was sick. When I'm sick, I usually use that as an excuse to eat whatever I want but no ma'am pam! I did however get sick of fish every night so I'm glad it's all gone!

2. Cardio got done. I actually got 3 days of cardio in.

3. Ends have not seen the light of day.

@lulu97, great job at staying disciplined while sick it is definitely not easy to do! Are you feeling better?

 

[Daina]

Mini-challenge update: Haven't given an update since the challenge started. Being back to work makes 1 and 2 easier for me to achieve!

1. Made a big batch of spinach, kale, mango and blueberry smoothie for the week. Had a cup each morning and evening. Had a spinach/kale salad topped with grilled chicken 2 days and a caesar salad with grilled chicken a third day.

2. Only walked twice this week at work, too busy and too cold most of the week.

3. Hair was in a bun all week! Going to rollerset today or at least attempt to as this will be my first time. If it is not an epic fail I will wear loose with a headband at church tomorrow. Monday morning will be a chopstick bun for the week. Will M&S every other day and use Xcel 21 cream and spray. Final day of inverting is Sunday.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

@lulu97, great job at staying disciplined while sick it is definitely not easy to do! Are you feeling better?

@Daina Yes Sis I'm feeling so much better. I've been doing Eucalyptus hot steam showers the last 2 days and that seemed to knock whatever sickness that was hanging on to my body right on out. If anyone gets sick this winter or just wants a spa like shower experience try these:



Do it at night before bed. You will go right to sleep.


I've been doing the inversion method too and my last day is Monday. I woulda never thought I'd be inverting, doing scalp massages or using growth aids in a million years! But hey...I'm trying to get to lengths I've never had before. So if you want something different, ya can't keep doing the same things huh?

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I'm about to see Hidden Figures! Yay! I heard it's so inspirational.

Health/fitness:
Had salad for breakfast. Protein in it was 2 boiled eggs. Was filling.

Hair:
I only have time to attach photos. The African thread-out is fine. I'm struggling a little bit with styling, as you might see from the second photo. I feel I need next time to install less than 20 twists. Hubby prefers my regular twist-out. I definitely will be trying it again.

 

[Damaris.Elle]

Mini challenge update:

1. Green smoothie 4 days this week
2. Ends hidden all week except today...I'm wearing a braid out
3. I worked out 4 days this week so far...I might to go the gym later today or tomorrow to make it 5x this week.

 

[Daina]

@Daina Yes Sis I'm feeling so much better. I've been doing Eucalyptus hot steam showers the last 2 days and that seemed to knock whatever sickness that was hanging on to my body right on out. If anyone gets sick this winter or just wants a spa like shower experience try these:

View attachment 384959

Do it at night before bed. You will go right to sleep.


I've been doing the inversion method too and my last day is Monday. I woulda never thought I'd be inverting, doing scalp massages or using growth aids in a million years! But hey...I'm trying to get to lengths I've never had before. So if you want something different, ya can't keep doing the same things huh?

@lulu97, glad you're feeling better! Love the eucalyptus tabs, how do you use them? Do you just drop in the shower? Off to see if they have these on Amazon!

 

[Daina]

Well I finished my first set and it came out pretty good! Still lots to learn as it took me way too long to finish. For now I will try to set once a month as I have a 2 year old and until I get better and faster I can't imagine doing it more often.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Well I finished my first set and it came out pretty good! Still lots to learn as it took me way too long to finish. For now I will try to set once a month as I have a 2 year old and until I get better and faster I can't imagine doing it more often.

GORGEOUS!!! Woot! You did it! Congratulations on your first set! Accomplishing a hair skill once is probably 62.7% of the battle, don't you think?

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

We're on the road to return home. Thank you for your prayers before. If you don't mind, I'll ask for your prayers for traveling grace again.

What I didn't have time to share about the thread-out before:

I'm not sure, but it might work next time to unravel the thread but NOT separate the twists and simply create a style by pinning my hair up in a cute style.

Here are two photos, one showing my hair with an unseparated twist, and one showing separated twists on the other side of my head.

Also, I need to do a better job with my ends. I completely threaded and smoothed some of them, but I left others with a little puff of hair at the end. That mattered.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

@lulu97, glad you're feeling better! Love the eucalyptus tabs, how do you use them? Do you just drop in the shower? Off to see if they have these on Amazon!

@Daina I turn the shower on to the highest heat setting for about 1 minute to let it make steam. Place the tablet in the corner of the shower. The directions on the package says to place it directly under the water stream but I find that it dissolves the tablet too fast and the scent wont linger that way.

Next I turn the temperature back to the normal setting so I can shower. Since the steam is already locked in, it creates an environment for the tablet to dissolve slowly yet still release the fragrance oil.

You don't have to order online. You should be able to find it in grocery stores near the vitamins/supplements. I've also seen it in Target near the essential oils area & Whole Foods.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Well I finished my first set and it came out pretty good! Still lots to learn as it took me way too long to finish. For now I will try to set once a month as I have a 2 year old and until I get better and faster I can't imagine doing it more often.

@Daina Your set came out really nice...especially for your first time. You will get faster as you improve your technique and get in your setting groove. Even at my length, I can set in about 20 mins (Loose hair) and about 10 mins in my mini braids. It's the drying time that's annoying. But it is definitely worth it!

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

We're on the road to return home. Thank you for your prayers before. If you don't mind, I'll ask for your prayers for traveling grace again.

What I didn't have time to share about the thread-out before:

I'm not sure, but it might work next time to unravel the thread but NOT separate the twists and simply create a style by pinning my hair up in a cute style.

Here are two photos, one showing my hair with an unseparated twist, and one showing separated twists on the other side of my head.

Also, I need to do a better job with my ends. I completely threaded and smoothed some of them, but I left others with a little puff of hair at the end. That mattered.

That's the beauty of documenting...you get to see what works and what didn't. So make sure you continue to track it all.

Prayers sent up for your travel mercy.

 

[Dee Raven]

I'm in. Got my bill of health. Have to take some iron supplements because my iron is low (though I'm not anemic), otherwise I'm good to go.

Current length:
Layered between apl and hip length

Regimen: Weekly wng, Shampoo, condition or deep condition, style, diffuse or air dry (though currently prefer diffusing)


Exact goal length: I would like to maintain hip length but grow out the layers. Also, my crown has always broken off, so I would to focus on growing it out to at least waist length.

Plans to help you achieve your goal:

Close attention to crown area, mini trims as needed, deep conditioning with heat, stick with products that I know to work / no more experimenting (I just tried out the DevaCurl products and the results were not worth the money), self-trims as needed

List any vitamins/supplements you are taking:
Iron, MV

Your ends care regimen to keep them healthy:
Pineapple, get a satin pillow case, Marula oil

Trimming/Dusting/S&D'ing schedule/routine:

Just got my hair cut in December so I will probably be good for a while. But I will be paying close attention to knotting, and dryness and do mini-trims as needed. Overall trims twice yearly seems good.

Top 7 products:
Marula Line Carol's Daughter (shampoo, hair mask, oil)
Eco styler gel
Shea Moisture
Ouidad Curl Recovery Mask
Ouidad Superfruit Renewal Clarifying Cream Shampoo

 

[trclemons]

Pre-poo'd overnight with AVJ spritz & Mission Condition Infused Coconut.
DC'd for an hour under the heat cap with KJ Naturals Strawberry Curls.
Shampoo'd with Paul Mitchell.
Reconstructed with Kenya Moore Growth Repair & Hair Yum Protein.
Rinsed Out Blue Roze Strawberry Vinegar, Koils By Nature ACV Hair Growth & SSI Avocado.
LCOB'd with Ion Damage Solution, Keravada Crème Brulee, Over the Top Growth Elixir on scalp, Cream & Coco Green Apple on length & Mission Condition Whipped Shea on ends.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

I'm in. Got my bill of health. Have to take some iron supplements because my iron is low (though I'm not anemic), otherwise I'm good to go.

Current length:
Layered between apl and hip length

Regimen: Weekly wng, Shampoo, condition or deep condition, style, diffuse or air dry (though currently prefer diffusing)


Exact goal length: I would like to maintain hip length but grow out the layers. Also, my crown has always broken off, so I would to focus on growing it out to at least waist length.

Plans to help you achieve your goal:

Close attention to crown area, mini trims as needed, deep conditioning with heat, stick with products that I know to work / no more experimenting (I just tried out the DevaCurl products and the results were not worth the money), self-trims as needed

List any vitamins/supplements you are taking:
Iron, MV

Your ends care regimen to keep them healthy:
Pineapple, get a satin pillow case, Marula oil

Trimming/Dusting/S&D'ing schedule/routine:

Just got my hair cut in December so I will probably be good for a while. But I will be paying close attention to knotting, and dryness and do mini-trims as needed. Overall trims twice yearly seems good.

Top 7 products:
Marula Line Carol's Daughter (shampoo, hair mask, oil)
Eco styler gel
Shea Moisture
Ouidad Curl Recovery Mask
Ouidad Superfruit Renewal Clarifying Cream Shampoo

@Dee Raven Welcome to the Challenge Sis! So glad you are joining us. I feel the same way as you do on the bolded. I have no desire to experiment and try new hair products. I like that I know what every outcome of my wash days and moisturizing days will be like. I no longer have to worry about setbacks, bad wash days or if a product will agree with my hair. Sometimes it's good to just KNOW. I have a lot of hair...so too much to lose should something go wrong.

I only allow myself to "revisit" sulfate free shampoo/conditioners that I have used in the past that worked but just got knocked down by my current staples. If it wasn't for the fact that my favorite wash day line had sulfates, I'd use it every wash. But I have jet black hair color that I'm trying to preserve/protect...I need to have a sulfate free option as well.

 

[beauti]

Prepoo'd last night, dc'd with naturellegrow marshmallow root, slippery elm dc. Used naturellegrow pure hydration styling cream. My hair is drying in plats.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Did some box braids yesterday (no extensions). Will probably keep them in for a couple of weeks. I'm wearing them in a bun.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

We arrived safely. Thank you so much for the prayers for traveling grace.

Health:

• I pre-made my daily ACV detox drink (pic below) with all ingredients required except the collagen. I'll add that in the morning.
• I pre-made my breakfast smoothie (pic below) without mixing it. I'll mix it in the morning.

Stress:

• I am faithfully finishing up the evening routine I designed so that things run relatively stress-free in the morning. High-leverage move!
• I listened to several Joel Osteen sermons during our road trip back home. (Sirius channel 128).
• I listened to a Sirius comedy station for a good while during our road trip back. SERIOUS guffaws!
• At one of the gas stations we stopped at, I saw the book pictured below, and I read a few pages, and I got it. I like it. Its format lets you get in and out, and it contains prayers that relaxed my heart/spirit/soul and that sound like what I would actually be saying during prayers. Deep exhale. Yeah.
  
  Photo enlarges upon click.
  
  
  
• When I encountered irresponsible relative AP -- and the irresponsible moves just kept coming one incredulous thing after the other -- I was able to let it slide out of my mind/mentality/spirit/emotions like water off a duck's back. HUGE.

Hair:

• I was so excited about making Chime's Water-glycerin-AVJ-and-oil leave-in spritz once I arrived back home. (Details are here). I mixed everything and then realized that I never actually PURCHASED any glycerin: I only looked at it, picked it up, priced it, and so forth. Oh, my word. Oh, well: I'll get the glycerin soon enough.
• Thread-out still looks fine. Tomorrow I will try a wash-and-go because I haven't done one in a while and I saw a wash-and-go demo video that made me realize that since I never shingled in my gel (I just praying-hands-methodly applied it in small sections), I might not know just how well my hair can do with a wash-and-go: Maybe my hair would thrive with a well-gelled, shingled wash-and-go. We'll see. One of the main reasons I want to revisit this is because lately my styling has been a MAJOR time sink. My excuse for not doing the shingle method for my wash-and-go's was ain't-nobody-got-time-for-dat! But I'm spending TONS of time doing other stuff, so I might as well try! I can't to see what happens.

 

[Prettymetty]

I have already done 3 workouts this week and I'm going to the gym in the morning.

I've struggled with cravings the last few days so I'm afraid to get on the scale.

My ends are still hidden, I'm still spraying daily and I'm on day 2 of inversions.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Doing good on the mini challenge!

Got my cardio in.

Eating was on point this week. I had a salad, 4 smoothies, veggie soup and only ate lean meat (chicken and salmon). Restocked yesterday for the upcoming week. I purchased a pound of kale, 9 ounces of spinach, a small container of blueberries and 6 ounces of chia seeds. My love runs deep for all things leafy greens!

View attachment 382385

Hair:
I took my mini braids down in the front to color it. Used a new to me brand...it tuned it out good.

View attachment 382391

After washing out the color, I roller set to stretch.

View attachment 382393

Re-braided it with a deep side part and put my hair back in a big braid to wear for the next 2 weeks.

View attachment 382387

I don't mind that there is a difference between the jet black color and my regular dark brown color at the crown and back. I only plan on wearing my hair up for the next year in mini braids so it's not a big deal. Once it's in a big braid it's not noticeable at all.

View attachment 382389

I'll get one more wash in before the end of the year and do a mini braid length check. They are grazing waist. My goal for next year is to get them to my hips. Woo-hoo! Let's go Ladies!

Quoting this post from Dec 17th when I took down, colored and re-braided only the front of my hair. I haven't re-braided that area since then. Well here it is this morning 3 weeks later with 2 inches of new growth.



Excuse the flakes...I'm almost 2 weeks post wash. They will be gone Friday!

I've been consistent with my vitamins and increased my green smoothies from 3 times a week to daily. Today was also my last day of inversion and scalp massages for the month of Jan. (This was my first time ever using inversion)

I have not used NW21 on that area. I only use that from my ears down because the area from my ears up is where I'm very tender-headed and I don't like putting anything on my scalp there. So it's not from growth aids...simply a better diet, and increased blood circulation.


Edited to add: Just realizing the pic is a little blurry. But you can still see where the braid goes from thick to thin. The thick part is the new growth versus where it thins out from being compressed into a braid.

At this rate, I should reach my goal by years end! Hopefully!

 

[MzSwift]

Awesome progress @lulu97 !!

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Today I'm going to try two regimen tweaks: I will tweak the products I use and I will tweak my styling.

Products I'll try:

1. Prepoo: Soultanicals Power to the Prepoo
2. Detangle: Soultanicals Hair Glide
3. Cleanse: 22nd Century Natural Woman shampoo bar
4. DC: None . . . had one recently and I'm not using a poo that strips . . . AND I will have prepoo'd
5. LLG . . . Ends . . . Edges & Scalp:
   • Liquid: This mixture described here, a version of which Chime (YouTuber with very healthy long hair) recommends.
   • Leave-in: Soultanicals Cotton Candy Hair-fluff Leave-in Softerizer (bought this for the boys but trying it on my hair, too)
   • Gel: Uncle Funky's Daughter's Curly Magic (I gave my HGs -- Camille Rose Naturals Curl Maker and DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel -- away to my niecy while visiting them on our vacation)
     
   • Ends: Mixture of NetWurks Custard and jojoba oil
   • Edges and scalp (scalp via color application bottle): NetWurks spray

Styling I'll try:
Heavily-gelled wash-and-go via SHINGLING. (I do know: Wngo's aren't great for hipo, fine, dense hair. I have a rationale/reason, though, for giving it at least one try). What if shingling keeps my tiny sections separate, thus keeping my ends from tangling, and thus allowing my hair to thrive with wash-and-go's like some ladies' manes do? And what if were able to shingle my hair faster then threading it, twisting it, etc.? THAT would be an improvement in quality of life, as silly as that may seem: The more freed up time I have, and the less manipulation of my hair that I do, the better! I'm excited about this experiment. Whether I get more hydration/moisture from the change in products, less time-consuming styling, or both, I would be EXTREMELY grateful/happy.

 

[long.hair.dont.care]

@lulu97 2 inches in 3 weeks? Amazing! Im over here tryna figure out how to get more than half an inch. Taking notes!

Did you end up adding fish oil to your vitamin roster?

 

[long.hair.dont.care]

Mini challenge update (last week):
1. I've had two freshly juiced vegetables and fruits drinks
2. I'm still working on working out. And so I skipped rope once for 5 minutes... Aiming for twice this week.
3. Ends hidden, moisturized and sealed 24/7