Inspired by Sylver2 -- The Long-Term Stretch Challenge

Made 8 months last Sunday! Think I'm gonna go for 6 more months - I want the shortest lengths of my hair to be cbl before I relax again and 3 more inches should do it :drunk:
 
taz007 said:
9 weeks post, with 1.5" of new growth and I am struggling. So I am reading this thread from the beginning.
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You can do it! I'm currently a little past 12 weeks ( I think) and I have always relaxed @ 10 weeks. Honestly, I don't really know exactly how many weeks I am into my post. I know I last relaxed Dec 4th. I don't really count anymore because I start getting antsy and perm. Now I just listen to my hair and relax that way. I'm aiming for 9-12 months also. I'm going to get braids the end of this month to help me along. Good luck with your stretch:yep:
 
51 weeks into my stretch and my cornrows are making this a breeze. I don't have to do anything to my hair but wash weekly and moisturize.
 
taz007 said:
Do you wear your cornrows out? Under a wig?

I am so impressed with your stretch. :yep:
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Thanks Taz! That means a lot.

I wear my cornrows for 4 weeks at a time before redoing. But when my cornrows are fresh, I wear them out and pretty them up with accessories like flower bobby pins. But with my braiding skills, I wear them out for 2 weeks, max, before they get fuzzy. The other two weeks, I hide them under a wig.
 
beans4reezy said:
Thanks Taz! That means a lot.

I wear my cornrows for 4 weeks at a time before redoing. But when my cornrows are fresh, I wear them out and pretty them up with accessories like flower bobby pins. But with my braiding skills, I wear them out for 2 weeks, max, before they get fuzzy. The other two weeks, I hide them under a wig.
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Beans, you always inspire me!! I love reading your posts because you are always so positive. (As well as Aggie and Taz007, such beautiful, positive ladies!!)

I'll be 10 weeks post tomorrow, trying for 26 weeks. I'm a little scared but so far, so good. I just wash and DC every 4 days and bun it up. I'm going to start co-washing going forward. I think I need to lay off the shampoo if I'm going to make it thru these next 16 weeks.

I'm trying to reach my goal of APL, so if I can get thru this stretch I think I'll be APL (or darn close) at the end. Wish me luck!!
 
PDub said:
Beans, you always inspire me!! I love reading your posts because you are always so positive. (As well as Aggie and Taz007, such beautiful, positive ladies!!)

I'll be 10 weeks post tomorrow, trying for 26 weeks. I'm a little scared but so far, so good. I just wash and DC every 4 days and bun it up. I'm going to start co-washing going forward
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Thank you so much for the kind words! But yes, adding cowashing to your regimen will definitely make the stretch easier; just remember to switch from moisture to protein, depending on your hair's needs.

You CAN make it to your goal of 26 weeks! :yep:
 
beans4reezy said:
51 weeks into my stretch and my cornrows are making this a breeze. I don't have to do anything to my hair but wash weekly and moisturize.
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Congrats Beans. You are doing so well with your stretch. How much longer are you intending to stretch?


PDub said:
Beans, you always inspire me!! I love reading your posts because you are always so positive. (As well as Aggie and Taz007, such beautiful, positive ladies!!)

Thanks a million PDub. Your kind words mean so much to me:kiss:.

I'll be 10 weeks post tomorrow, trying for 26 weeks. I'm a little scared but so far, so good. I just wash and DC every 4 days and bun it up. I'm going to start co-washing going forward. I think I need to lay off the shampoo if I'm going to make it thru these next 16 weeks.

I'm trying to reach my goal of APL, so if I can get thru this stretch I think I'll be APL (or darn close) at the end. Wish me luck!!
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Yes you can do it. We're right behind you, supporting your every endeavor to reach great lengths and healthier hair:yep:.
 
Oh, I forgot to include that I am now 61 weeks tomorrow into my relaxer stretch. I was going for 18 weeks (18 months), then I changed it to 88 weeks (20 months) and again now to 104 weeks (24 months). Wish me luck ladies. I'm doing well with my new growth.

The one thing I had to change about my regimen this deep into my stretch is less frequent washing, ie., using conditioner (a protein treatment followed by a deep moisturizing conditioner) to wash my braided-up hair every 3-4 weeks and using a mild shampoo mixed with oil or conditioner only once every 6-8 weeks. This new regimen leaves my hair less drying and with lots of moisture.

I moisturize and seal my ends once every 2 days. Using less and less cone-filled products have also been very helpful to prevent my ends breaking off from build-up. I also use porosity control conditioner with every wash, which enhances my hair's moisture levels.

I hardly ever comb my hair nowadays. I only do so on actual shampoo days. I wear a wig over braided-up hair to help me keep up with this new regimen by the way. It was necessary for me to change up my regimen to take better care of my new growth and prevent excess breakage at the same time.

Lastly, I always, always, always finish off my hair with a cool water rinse to close the cuticles.
 
Aggie said:
Congrats Beans. You are doing so well with your stretch. How much longer are you intending to stretch?
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Hi Aggie and thanks! Right now, I am 53 weeks into my stretch. I will not get my next texturizer touch up until I am at least 68 weeks post. I want to have my baby first before messing around with chemicals again.

Like you, my starting goal was a 16 weeks stretch, how it got to be this long is beyond me. I just cannot wait to see the finished product, I am hoping to at least by BSB when I get my hair straightened. I have so many of you who have been so supportive of me, this thread is where I will post my first photo when I finally get my hair done!

I don't comb my hair at all either. Only when I wash and condition for my next set of braids, which will be coming next week (box braids to hold me down from 12- 16 weeks). This far into the stretch, less is definitely more.
 
Hi Ladies,

This is my first time posting in this thread. I'm currently 27 weeks post, making 28 weeks this coming Saturday. I started off as just stretching, then decided to transition and now I'm back to just aiming for a 1 year stretch. September 19th will make 1 year.

So far this stretch is going well. I keep my hair cornrowed back into a phony bun 2-3 weeks at a time then leave it out for 2 weeks before braiding up again. When it's not in braids, I either do a flexirod set or a regular rollerset with tight curls. Both styles keep my hair off my shoulders. I'm a little more than 1 inch past SL. I'm aiming for APL but APL is about 4 inches from my shoulders so I still have a long way to go.

Anyway, my question to you ladies who are more than 6 months posts is... what's stopping you from transitioning to natural? What's stopping me is, while I enjoy dealing with my NG, I can't imagine what I would do if I had a full head of natural hair. I think I would panic when I wake up every morning. I'm not the best at styling my own hair and I think you have to be a good styler to keep up with your natural hair.

But, at the same time, I'm worried that when I relax in September I will regret it. My hair isn't thin but it isn't really thick either and I hate the flat look that I have for the first week or two after a fresh relaxer. Plus, the breakage I had before with a relaxer is almost non-existent now even with 27 weeks of NG. I'm scared that the relaxer may start the breakage up again.

So ladies, please let me know why you're doing a stretch and not a transition. And, please share whether or not you have any fears about relaxing again. TIA!
 
Reminiscing said:
Anyway, my question to you ladies who are more than 6 months posts is... what's stopping you from transitioning to natural?
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You know, I was asking myself the same thing the other day. I took a photo of my hair fresh out of braids, detangled and it was so thick and beautiful (well, by my standards :grin:). I questioned why I would bother with chemicals again?

The maintenance scared me, but being on here I am educated and empowered to take care of my natural hair. That shouldn't be enough of a deterent for me.

What's my answer? I'm still on the fence? :ohwell::rolleyes:
 
^^^ I'm with you. I'm on the fence too but I'm going to let time decide for me. If I don't feel like relaxing when I hit the 1 yr mark, then I won't. I think if I can master styling and cornrowing my own hair by then I may officially decide to transition but for now I'm happy to call it a stretch.
 
I didnt officially join the challenge but...I'm 14 wks post my longest stretch ever and I will be relaxing by end of week. Thanks for the inspiration and happy hair growing
 
Reminiscing said:
.....
Anyway, my question to you ladies who are more than 6 months posts is... what's stopping you from transitioning to natural?
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I'm not 6+ months post, but this will be my second time stretching for 8+ months. I prefer to be relaxed, thats what kept me from going natural the first time, and that'll be what stops me from going natural this time. While I love my NG, I prefer to be chemically straightened at this point in my life.

Reminiscing said:
My hair isn't thin but it isn't really thick either and I hate the flat look that I have for the first week or two after a fresh relaxer. Plus, the breakage I had before with a relaxer is almost non-existent now even with 27 weeks of NG. I'm scared that the relaxer may start the breakage up again
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You should notice a change in thickness when you relax in September, I had a big increase in thickness after my 34 week stretch. As long as you continue to take care of you hair after you relax in Sept, the breakage should not start back up. Do know what caused the initial breakage?
 
Almost 11 months post, I've been wearing my hair in twistouts that I convert into a puff/bun after two days out. So far things are still easy peasy :yep:
 
I love playing in my new growth, that's one draw back for me when it comes to stretching, I can't keep my hands out of my hair.

Anyway, I was playing in my NG, and I remembered that I had pics from 19 weeks post (around this time last year) so I decided I'd take some pics yesterday to compare. I have so much more NG this time around, and I haven't even hit the 19 week mark yet, I'm just hitting the 17 week mark.

I found out my hair doesn't like S Curl and/or Silicon Mix. I'm not sure which it is, I think it's the S Curl. I'd decided to try both of these products and initially it seemed that my hair loved them, but when it came time to cowash and detangle my hair was not happy. It was a tangly mess. I decided to try the S Curl alone after this, and I didn't like the results. But with the smell of the Silicon Mix I don't know when/if I'll use it again either.

I'll continue to try out different deep conditioners, but as for the rest of my products, I'll continue using my staples.

Just thought I'd share, how my stretch is going so far this time around.....

How are you ladies?



I'm not having any issues or problems just wanted to come in and report how things are progressing for me in this stretch.
 
56 weeks into my stretch this week...headed to 60 weeks soon. My hair is nice and protected in box braids and I just moisturize with my BRX spray or water mixed with Infusium 23. Hopefully, these braids will see me to week 64-68.
 
heading into week 33.
i've decided to give up individual braids. i like them to be quite small and as my hair gets longer they are far too much work.

so i'll be wearing cornrows under my wig for the next 6 weeks.
i'm going to wear them for a week, dc twice a week and shampoo weekly.
i'll moisturize then ends with mango butter nightly and seal with jojoba oil.

ps.
beans, i love your easter style :grin:
 
Hi ladies. I'm 16 weeks post heading to 26 weeks. My new growth is getting poofy, so I'm thinking about either getting a full sew in or cornrowing and rocking a wig over them.

Doesn't a high quality wig and a full sew-in look the same anyway?

I don't know. Right now once a week I roller set and go. No direct heat! My roots are not going to make it much longer so a wig or sew in will help me avoid direct heat.
 
Aggie said:
Oh, I forgot to include that I am now 61 weeks tomorrow into my relaxer stretch. I was going for 18 weeks (18 months), then I changed it to 88 weeks (20 months) and again now to 104 weeks (24 months). Wish me luck ladies. I'm doing well with my new growth.

The one thing I had to change about my regimen this deep into my stretch is less frequent washing, ie., using conditioner (a protein treatment followed by a deep moisturizing conditioner) to wash my braided-up hair every 3-4 weeks and using a mild shampoo mixed with oil or conditioner only once every 6-8 weeks. This new regimen leaves my hair less drying and with lots of moisture.

I moisturize and seal my ends once every 2 days. Using less and less cone-filled products have also been very helpful to prevent my ends breaking off from build-up. I also use porosity control conditioner with every wash, which enhances my hair's moisture levels.

I hardly ever comb my hair nowadays. I only do so on actual shampoo days. I wear a wig over braided-up hair to help me keep up with this new regimen by the way. It was necessary for me to change up my regimen to take better care of my new growth and prevent excess breakage at the same time.

Lastly, I always, always, always finish off my hair with a cool water rinse to close the cuticles.
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I'm sooooooooo taking notes! :notworthy
Thanks for the great tips!!
This is sure to help me in my almost year long transition!!
 
Checking in at 11 weeks post, my last stretch was 22 weeks. Im aiming for a full year stretch and plan on texturixing 1/30/2011. Im hoping for BSB or APL. I have no clue what length i am -almost SL I supose. I wear wigs daily over cornrows and have not used heat since feb.
 
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