Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2022

@Chicoro what do you think of these ponytail holders? I switched to these to reduce breakage vs the black elastic ones.

@caribeandiva People I know, love these. I don't really use hairbands in my hair but I sometimes use these to loosely hold my hair in the shower. I do mainly use these over my silk scarf to band my hair at night when I sleep. I do it this way to avoid long lasting dents in my wash n goes. So I can't attest to their real purpose, but they work for me and the way I use them. Please excuse my unhelpfulness lol, just wanted to share :lol:
 
@caribeandiva People I know, love these. I don't really use hairbands in my hair but I sometimes use these to loosely hold my hair in the shower. I do mainly use these over my silk scarf to band my hair at night when I sleep. I do it this way to avoid long lasting dents in my wash n goes. So I can't attest to their real purpose, but they work for me and the way I use them. Please excuse my unhelpfulness lol, just wanted to share :lol:
Very helpful anyway! :lol: thank you for sharing! I do notice very little to no hair in them when I take my hair down.
 
@Chicoro what do you think of these ponytail holders? I switched to these to reduce breakage vs the black elastic ones.

Honestly, I'm not a fan. I'm a ghetto-ride or die- Knee hi chick. Meaning, I use nylon knee hi-s to wrap my pony around the base. But, get a pack and give them a try and see how the work out for you!
 
@caribeandiva People I know, love these. I don't really use hairbands in my hair but I sometimes use these to loosely hold my hair in the shower. I do mainly use these over my silk scarf to band my hair at night when I sleep. I do it this way to avoid long lasting dents in my wash n goes. So I can't attest to their real purpose, but they work for me and the way I use them. Please excuse my unhelpfulness lol, just wanted to share :lol:
Very helpful anyway! :lol: thank you for sharing! I do notice very little to no hair in them when I take my hair down.

We got two testimonials, so I say ride with it! Always try to do what works for you! Let me know how it goes @caribeandiva >

And the lovely Ms @GGsKin , aint NOTHIN' unhelpful about your post. You just never know how the glint and sparkle of the gem of knowledge you share may help someone. It IS valuable and helpful. Thank you for putting it out there for us!
 
Okay, I am feeling adventurous and inspired. So, I unbraided my hair and made three braids at my nape. I SHOULD have taken a picture with my braids hanging before I did the bun, but I wasn't sure it was going to work and didn't take a before shot. In the photo with my glasses on, look where my glasses fit over my ear. The end of that ear piece thing of my glasses behind my ear is where I parted my hair horizontally across to make my three braids at the nape.

  • Firstly, you can't even see the three braids.
  • Secondly, I can do a low, tighter bun. I don't feel any hair pulling out/breaking at my nape.
  • Thirdly, I can see the hair at my nape is a different, more coarse texture than the rest of my hair. That means, on my head, it is more fragile. IF, this section grows past a length I can never get past, then I will know for sure I needed this nape trick/tip!

My ponytail is saturated with my spray bottle concoction. Hey, toasting to my girl @sunnieb , my fellow spray bottle user! Then, I globbed and slathered on a whole lot of vaseline. I got an off brand and not the real Vaseline.

If you are going to use Vaseline, the key is to get real Vaseline AND slather on a thick, greasy coat of it on your ends. I put it on my knee hi to form my ponytail, then I slather Vaseline on my entire ponytail, from the knee hi down to the ends.

I have found if you only tap on a little bit, the hair is left dry, hard and greasy. But, if you gloop it and coat up that hair, then it makes it soft. This doesn't work for everybody. Ideally, you want a style you are not going to be combing and manipulating and you want to keep the hair protected and covered.

Okay, I'm running out of gas and energy. That spurt of excitement has left me and the building. Time for me to log off on this side of the pond. After a few more posts...


Wet bun 1 October 20 2022.jpegWet bun 2 October 20 2022.jpegWet bun 3 October 20 2022.jpeg
 
@Chicoro what do you think of these ponytail holders? I switched to these to reduce breakage vs the black elastic ones.


I use these, but the invisiboble brand. I like these better than the wireless elastic bands because my hair doesn't get trapped onto them as easily. I use them for the kiddos as well and find the same...with the exception of baby girl's hair that is whispy. If I leave her's in for a week, I have to be extra gentle with how I remove them, but still WAY better than regular cloth elastics. Also, when they stretch out (which I prefer for my hair...less tension), you can pour hot water on them and they shrink back to original form or close to.
 
@Chicoro i moisturized my nape like you explained and showed me in the posts earlier today. I sectioned the back of my hair horizontally instead of down the middle like I usually do. Lightbulb moment! No wonder I couldn’t catch which section of my hair was thinner and shorter. It’s right in the middle of my head! Moisturizing by separating the back horizontally did the trick! I circled the shorter sections in the pic below.
A3F8A8BA-42FA-4FD0-A46E-60CDEE2F9A04.jpeg
 
@caribeandiva,

For the first time EVER, I too am going to implement the nape process. I'm doing three braids in the nape area. My hair breaks all the time back there in the nape area and I've never cared before because I had 'hair to spare'. But now, the breakage has become cumulative all over my head. So it's time to make another change and add this to my regimen.

I will start Saturday, along with re-implementing the baggie and Vaseline and wet bunning. My Ends Routine will consist of slathering my ends with Vaseline, rolling the ends up, putting a coated rubber band loosely on the balled up ends and baggie-ing the entire pony. I wear a plastic cap at night, too.

I will know around April if things are turning around. I need about 4 months to see if something is working.

Queen Shea will be present. She goes on after a water based product, but before the vaseline. I might have a coated dull mess on my head, but we gone see.


*I will be putting a dab of melted Shea into my deep conditioner EVERY time I wash and condition: 1x per week.
We’ll be nape sisters! :lol: Your tweaked regimen sounds awesome! I too started adding a little whipped shea butter to my DC per my sister’s suggestion. Great results! :yep:
 
I use these, but the invisiboble brand. I like these better than the wireless elastic bands because my hair doesn't get trapped onto them as easily. I use them for the kiddos as well and find the same...with the exception of baby girl's hair that is whispy. If I leave her's in for a week, I have to be extra gentle with how I remove them, but still WAY better than regular cloth elastics. Also, when they stretch out (which I prefer for my hair...less tension), you can pour hot water on them and they shrink back to original form or close to.
Oohhh..good to know they’ve been working for you too! Thanks for that tip about the hot water.
 
Last month, I dreamed that I had hair down to/ past my buttocks. I woke up feeling such joy. I felt disappointed when I realized it was just a dream and not my real situation.

Then, I started to become more aware of my hair breakage issues, which I’ve shared with you. Because of this breakage I’ve rethought about and revamped my processes. Those of which I’ve communicated to you recently, as well.

But then, as I was typing this post, I was like wait one minute!

I have never tried to intentionally grow my hair, specifically so that it was past butt/buttocks/behind.

I’ve designated and intentionally tried to get to healthy bra-strap. Done. Same for waist length. Done. I’ve gotten to tailbone length as well.

But, I have never considered intentionally growing to buttock length. My definition of this is when the hair grows to the middle of, or cuts across the middle of the buttocks.

The gauntlet has been thrown. I think I’ll take up another challenge yet again, this challenge: to the booty!
 
@Chicoro I'm mad. I went to CVS today to get real Vaseline and they didn't have any! Oh they had plenty of the store brand stuff, but not one container of genuine Vaseline! I'll find some this weekend.
I don’t know who I’m fooling regarding Vaseline over here in France. I haven’t seen a huge tub of the Vaseline name brand either. Perhaps I just don’t know where to look over here. Thus, I too may have to face a lack of product. Hence, I might have to buy and use an off brand of petroleum jelly, too. The search has begun!
 
@Chicoro i moisturized my nape like you explained and showed me in the posts earlier today. I sectioned the back of my hair horizontally instead of down the middle like I usually do. Lightbulb moment! No wonder I couldn’t catch which section of my hair was thinner and shorter. It’s right in the middle of my head! Moisturizing by separating the back horizontally did the trick! I circled the shorter sections in the pic below.
View attachment 483903
Fabulous! I am so glad you’ve analyzed the situation and you have a plan. Go Lil’ Bamboo!
 
We’ll be nape sisters! :lol: Your tweaked regimen sounds awesome! I too started adding a little whipped shea butter to my DC per my sister’s suggestion. Great results! :yep:
Yes, I can see from the length you’ve attained, again, that you have been dipping in the Shea, somewhere in your hair regimen. Yes, Shea is great, great great for hair when placed in a deep conditioner!
 
I never officially joined this challenge, but I'm posting anyway!

I didn't plan to wear my hair down today but decided to. I cowashed last night, airdried, and slathered my ends with moisturizer and Vaseline (store brand). Rolled it up in a haphazard twist and went to bed.

Wanted to show how my hair looks this morning. My ends look nourished not crispy. My hair moves freely and isn't weighed down.or stiff.

I've only been doing Vaseline on my ends for less than a week. I can't wait to see what they look like after a month!

20221021_051348_resized.jpg
 
I never officially joined this challenge, but I'm posting anyway!

I didn't plan to wear my hair down today but decided to. I cowashed last night, airdried, and slathered my ends with moisturizer and Vaseline (store brand). Rolled it up in a haphazard twist and went to bed.

Wanted to show how my hair looks this morning. My ends look nourished not crispy. My hair moves freely and isn't weighed down.or stiff.

I've only been doing Vaseline on my ends for less than a week. I can't wait to see what they look like after a month!

View attachment 483905

Welcome to the challenge! Thank you for joining and posting your photo. Your hair looks thick, full and luscious!
 
I feel like I'm on/in Little House on the Prairie. In that show they would take the wagon and go into town monthly or on special occasions.

I live in a town where there is not ONE SINGLE afro-textured hair product. There is NOT ONE single beauty supply. So, I have to get on the train and head into Lyon, France, which is a 25 minute ride, one way. So, I've not been to town for about 2 months. I'm excited to go buy my stuff for my hair tomorrow, on Saturday!
 
I feel like I'm on/in Little House on the Prairie. In that show they would take the wagon and go into town monthly or on special occasions.

I live in a town where there is not ONE SINGLE afro-textured hair product. There is NOT ONE single beauty supply. So, I have to get on the train and head into Lyon, France, which is a 25 minute ride, one way. So, I've not been to town for about 2 months. I'm excited to go buy my stuff for my hair tomorrow, on Saturday!
Slightly off topic but one of my favorite things to do is go on hay rides! The wagon drags you all over the fields and prairies! So fun!
24C13020-B9C9-4C02-AB05-CD43EC7884ED.jpeg
 
I have found if you only tap on a little bit, the hair is left dry, hard and greasy. But, if you gloop it and coat up that hair, then it makes it soft. This doesn't work for everybody. Ideally, you want a style you are not going to be combing and manipulating and you want to keep the hair protected and covered.

Okay, I'm running out of gas and energy. That spurt of excitement has left me and the building. Time for me to log off on this side of the pond. After a few more posts...

YES at the bolded. I’ve been doing the max moisture method and I recently switched from light butters to blue magic and that made a world of differences in how my hair feels. It’s like the deep conditioner and the grease balance each other out and I’m left with soft moisturized non greasy hair. I’m lovin it!
 
I feel like I'm on/in Little House on the Prairie. In that show they would take the wagon and go into town monthly or on special occasions.

I live in a town where there is not ONE SINGLE afro-textured hair product. There is NOT ONE single beauty supply. So, I have to get on the train and head into Lyon, France, which is a 25 minute ride, one way. So, I've not been to town for about 2 months. I'm excited to go buy my stuff for my hair tomorrow, on Saturday!

Well, the horses are back in the barn and my town visit is over. I was worn out walking from my house to the train station. The journey hadn't even started
yet. Dang that's sad. Here's my stash I bought today:

The Worlds's of Curls Activator is REALLY OLD, figuratively and literally. I bet this jar has been in the shop since 2012. I'm glad to have it. They only had tiny jars of Vaseline. I bought one to see if the name brand one and the off brand work the same. In the past, I found that they did not. But I'm going to have to make that purple topped jar work whether it wants to or not because I am not buying several little, super expensive jars of Vaseline. The big purple topped one was 5.99 the small Vaseline was 2.99.

Products:

  • The Worlds's of Curls Activator was 5.99
  • The Scurl was 11.99
  • Castor oil was about 6.99 per bottle
  • Aloe Vera Whole Leaf Gel was 15.00
  • The Gel was 8.99
  • Shea Butter (from Ghana- Xtase Brand) was 6.99
  • Bag of small rubber bands (I roll the ends of my hair up and loosely place these to hold in place) 2.99


Products Old School 1 Octo 22 2022.jpeg:
 
Ladies,

Things are not always as they seem. This is how my hair may look in photos:
(The baggie is ugly, but I don't care about that.) But the hair itself is shiny and tamed.

Wet bun 3 October 20 2022.jpeg






But this it what happened to get it there:




Here's to using knowledge and experience to help one pivot off a hair journey path that just isn't working! Cheers to Ol' School!




Come on luscious ends, I'm calling you in, to be present and make an appearance, December 31st, 2022!
 
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