Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2022

[Lylddlebit]

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

View attachment 483933:

I have a jar of world of curls underneath my cabinet about the same age lol. I am going to use every drop before it is all said and done too!

 

[sunnieb]

Here's another look at my ends after gooping them with Vaseline the night before. I cowashed, airdried, and treated my ends to extra helpings of ORS Carrot Oil and sealed with Vaseline.

I think @Chicoro is correct that you have to really goop the Vaseline on there. Don't hold back. Using a lot seems to be the key.

I slept in two bantu knots and this is how my hair looks when I took them out and fluffed a bit for the pic. I moisturized/sealed and tucked my ends away for the day.

 

[snoop]

Everyone is talking about Vaseline, so the DIYer in me started looking for un-petroleum jelly recipes. Will follow up with pictures later today, once my maiden voyage batch cools down.

 

[Chicoro]

Everyone is talking about Vaseline, so the DIYer in me started looking for un-petroleum jelly recipes. Will follow up with pictures later today, once my maiden voyage batch cools down.

Oooh! Let me know how it turns out!

 

[Chicoro]

Here's another look at my ends after gooping them with Vaseline the night before. I cowashed, airdried, and treated my ends to extra helpings of ORS Carrot Oil and sealed with Vaseline.

I think @Chicoro is correct that you have to really goop the Vaseline on there. Don't hold back. Using a lot seems to be the key.

I slept in two bantu knots and this is how my hair looks when I took them out and fluffed a bit for the pic. I moisturized/sealed and tucked my ends away for the day.

View attachment 483969

The originators or this, the two ladies said you got to gloop it on.

 

[Chicoro]

I'm on my path and focused.

 

[snoop]

Show and tell time!

So a friend mentioned this to me WAY back when I started my hair care journey. At the time, I wasn't as deep into DIY as I am now. I don't often buy ready made products for my hair. Another friend recently voluntold me to make some cuticle balm (which I've also never made before), so I thought that this would be a great way to figure out a decent salve recipe that I could easily turn into a balm.



I used some ayurvedic infused oil that I have sitting in a cupboard, along with castor oil, and beeswax.




After melting everything down, I poured it into a glass jar and let it cool.




It feels just a lighter than Vaseline. I think that Vaseline would be too heavy for my hair, so this should work well for me.




It looks like it is very soild, but it melts on contact. I don't find it overly greasy either. I'm not really good at identifying "dry" oils. The herbal infusion used sweet almond oil.





I just finished washing my hair. I moisturized, added some tallow to seal, then added this to the last 4 inches of my hair and wrapped my hair into a bun on top of my head. I'll have to see what my hair feels like tomorrow.

Next time I make this, I might add a bit of glycerine. I also will have to figure out how to add fragrance to it. I don't really like the herbally smell. Fragrance/EOs should only be added at a certain temperature ( less than 40C) but I think by that point the salve is starting to solidify. Not really a problem, but it means that I'll have to whip it which most likely will change the consistency (not necessarily a bad thing.)

 

[Chicoro]

Show and tell time!

So a friend mentioned this to me WAY back when I started my hair care journey. At the time, I wasn't as deep into DIY as I am now. I don't often buy ready made products for my hair. Another friend recently voluntold me to make some cuticle balm (which I've also never made before), so I thought that this would be a great way to figure out a decent salve recipe that I could easily turn into a balm.

View attachment 483977

I used some ayurvedic infused oil that I have sitting in a cupboard, along with castor oil, and beeswax.


View attachment 483979

After melting everything down, I poured it into a glass jar and let it cool.


View attachment 483981

It feels just a lighter than Vaseline. I think that Vaseline would be too heavy for my hair, so this should work well for me.


View attachment 483983

It looks like it is very soild, but it melts on contact. I don't find it overly greasy either. I'm not really good at identifying "dry" oils. The herbal infusion used sweet almond oil.


View attachment 483985


I just finished washing my hair. I moisturized, added some tallow to seal, then added this to the last 4 inches of my hair and wrapped my hair into a bun on top of my head. I'll have to see what my hair feels like tomorrow.

Next time I make this, I might add a bit of glycerine. I also will have to figure out how to add fragrance to it. I don't really like the herbally smell. Fragrance/EOs should only be added at a certain temperature ( less than 40C) but I think by that point the salve is starting to solidify. Not really a problem, but it means that I'll have to whip it which most likely will change the consistency (not necessarily a bad thing.)

That looks really nice! All natural, too and homemade. Keep us posted please, about how it worked on your hair,

 

[Chicoro]

Mme. Chicoro, for how long do you baggy? Do the baggied ends start to smell if you keep them wrapped for too long?

Gosh, I didn't see this until just now!

The baggied ends ONLY smell when I use something OTHER than Vaseline. I used to buy and use un-petroleum jelly. I stopped because it made my hair smell. This is why I encourage people to only use Vaseline or if necessary, a knock off product close to Vaseline. I have found that even natural products similar in consistency to Vaseline do NOT work and begin to smell.

I baggy my ends for about 1 week. Then I prepoo with medicinal and cleansing essential oils like Eucalyptus, peppermint or tea trea oil mixed in. That cleanse the scalp and the hair. When I use Vaseline, my hair remains fresher smelling.

 

[Chicoro]

Get ready...



Set...




My new greasy, 'old school' routine has made its entrance and is back in the house!


I think I'm going to reach some newer, longer lengths at the end of ten (10) months. I think November and December 2022 just might be delivering some better looking, luscious ends for me!​

 

[Napp]

Gosh, I didn't see this until just now!

The baggied ends ONLY smell when I use something OTHER than Vaseline. I used to buy and use un-petroleum jelly. I stopped because it made my hair smell. This is why I encourage people to only use Vaseline or if necessary, a knock off product close to Vaseline. I have found that even natural products similar in consistency to Vaseline do NOT work and begin to smell.

I baggy my ends for about 1 week. Then I prepoo with medicinal and cleansing essential oils like Eucalyptus, peppermint or tea trea oil mixed in. That cleanse the scalp and the hair. When I use Vaseline, my hair remains fresher smelling.

I might try baggying with Vaseline once I finish up my blue magic. My hair started stankin with the baggy all week too lol

 

[Chicoro]

I might try baggying with Vaseline once I finish up my blue magic. My hair started stankin with the baggy all week too lol

Let me add, at night I remove the nylon used to form my pony. I loosen the tension. I remove the baggy and put it back on the pony and only add the nylon knee hi to loosely hold the baggy in place for the night. Thus, I do take off the baggy briefly during the week when I do this readjustment.

 

[caribeandiva]

Get ready...

View attachment 484057

Set...


View attachment 484059

My new greasy, 'old school' routine has made its entrance and is back in the house!
View attachment 484061

I think I'm going to reach some newer, longer lengths at the end of ten (10) months. I think November and December 2022 just might be delivering some better looking, luscious ends for me!​

I love your enthusiasm. You got me looking at baggying my ends too.

 

[Prettymetty]

Hello ladies. Tomorrow I get my 3rd blowout since my trim. She colored it 3 weeks ago with a Demi. I’m hoping for happy, healthy, silky hair with smooth, blunt ends.

 

[Chicoro]

Hello ladies. Tomorrow I get my 3rd blowout since my trim. She colored it 3 weeks ago with a Demi. I’m hoping for happy, healthy, silky hair with smooth, blunt ends.

Keep us posted about your results, please!

 

[Chicoro]

Alright, so I see that my NEW BREAKPOINT, or the place where my hair breaks now is around tailbone length.
Since 2018, my hair has been breaking and growing around tailbone length. From 2019 to end of 2022,
about four (4) years, I have been at the SAME length. My hair in BULK, has NEVER grown past this
length.​

So this tells me that whatever I'm doing when my hair is at this length is not working for my hair. For the sake
of this argument, let's assume I am not at my hair's terminal length and that the possibility exists that it can
continue to gain more length.

Nape Area:
I never focused on my nape and know that I have consistently broken this hair off in this area without
care. Now, I care because I realize it is messing with my length retention and progress.

Ends of Hair:
Shea Butter has done her job and gotten me back to this length in the 2011 and 2018 pictures. Wearing
the braids has left more of my ends exposed. I was okay when I was greasing the ends of my braids with
castor oil nightly and bagging the ends. But, I slacked off my Ends Routine. That slacking coupled with
leaving my braids loose and rubbing on my shoulders AND having to break apart velcro-like hair ends
have added to breakage and poor length retention and poor health of my ends. Thus, my ends are nowhere
near being long or luscious. It's the reality of the situation.

Baggy Method + Vaseline:
So the question begs, "How do I get past THIS tailbone breakpoint?" Well, my hair thrives with protective styling.
I had the most success with baggying and Vaseline. Hence, I've returned to just that: the Baggy Method with Vaseline.
I stopped because my hair actually knotted on itself because it was so slick. I had to cut three (3) inches off to remove
the large knot. That was MY fault for not maintaining my hair.

Lack of Consistency:
Another issue of mine is lack of consistency. If I don't keep processes up, that's like sleeping on your math book before
a test. It just doesn't work.

Not Real Cute/Boring Style:
The last issue for me is that sometimes I want to look cute and the baggie style is not always cute all the time. Thus, I drop off in consistency. But
that is just an excuse. Either you want something or you don't and you need to do what it takes to get there.

 

[Chicoro]

So... I realized after telling @caribeandiva about nape care, that I needed to employ the process for myself. I'm starting with three braids. Since this is new, it may or may not work for my own goals. I may need to adjust the amount in my braids because I literally have the ENTIRE back of my head braided up and not necessarily just my nape. BUT, my nape hair quantity felt too thin to braid so I added this amount.







I decided AGAINST taking EACH of the three (3) little braids, and rolling the ends of each one separately into a little fist and putting
a coated rubber band around to secure it. Instead, I decided to sweep all three (3) braids up into my bun. I braid the swept up hair into
one (1) braid, roll its end up, put a rubber band around it and place THAT one (1) braid in a baggie.



Three braids are inside the ponytail!



This is what I plan to do from now until August 2023. I'm going to give myself about ten (10) months. In April 2023, I can do a checkpoint to see how it's working. My checkpoint is simply examining the hair with a visual check to see its length, thickness and health.

Lastly, my afro-textured hair does not thrive on auto-pilot. I can't just set it and go. Not maintaining the hair properly IS a form of 'autopilot'. I'm going back to:
-Wash 1x per week (without fail)
-Prepoo with oil, glycerine, aloe vera, essential oils of sage, rosemary and basil
-Wash with a baby shampoo or a shampoo I have 'softened' by putting oil in it
-Add one solid tablespoon of Shea butter to conditioner (melt that solid spoonful before putting in conditioner)+ honey+olive oil
-Condition hair under a plastic cap or with heat under dryer
-Use my sulfur mix on hair at night (1 teaspoon flowers of sulfur mixed with 2 ounces of Castor oil and 2 ounces of Olive oil, scented with peppermint, rosemary and sage oil) [Njoy's original formula is 1 teaspoon to 8 ounces of oil]
-Coat ends with concoction in spray bottle: conditioner, Scurl, oil, aloe vera, glycerine, protein/keratin, water
-Coat pony lightly with Shea mix
-Coat pony heavily with Vaseline
-Dab on my oil/aloe vera/guar gum gel on my edges to lay down hair( recipe: 1/4 cup of oil, 1/8 cup of aloe vera gel, 1 teaspoon of guar gum/blend)
-Baggie The three (3) little braids are not working. I took it way back and used my signature five (5) braid bun instead.
-Every 6 to 8 weeks 2 Step Aphogee Treatment

Back to the drawing board!


@sunnieb
@GGsKin
@snoop
@caribeandiva
@faithVA

 

[GettingKinky]

@Chicoro I enjoy your analytical approach to your hair.

 

[Chicoro]

@Chicoro I enjoy your analytical approach to your hair.

Thank you! I put it here as a record and to help someone else. What I do for my hair may not work exactly or perfectly for someone else. But, it could trigger something else and help another person find a solution for their situation.

 

[Napp]

Alright, so I see that my NEW BREAKPOINT, or the place where my hair breaks now is around tailbone length.
Since 2018, my hair has been breaking and growing around tailbone length. From 2019 to end of 2022,
about four (4) years, I have been at the SAME length. My hair in BULK, has NEVER grown past this
length.​

So this tells me that whatever I'm doing when my hair is at this length is not working for my hair. For the sake
of this argument, let's assume I am not at my hair's terminal length and that the possibility exists that it can
continue to gain more length.

Nape Area:
I never focused on my nape and know that I have consistently broken this hair off in this area without
care. Now, I care because I realize it is messing with my length retention and progress.

Ends of Hair:
Shea Butter has done her job and gotten me back to this length in the 2011 and 2018 pictures. Wearing
the braids has left more of my ends exposed. I was okay when I was greasing the ends of my braids with
castor oil nightly and bagging the ends. But, I slacked off my Ends Routine. That slacking coupled with
leaving my braids loose and rubbing on my shoulders AND having to break apart velcro-like hair ends
have added to breakage and poor length retention and poor health of my ends. Thus, my ends are nowhere
near being long or luscious. It's the reality of the situation.

Baggy Method + Vaseline:
So the question begs, "How do I get past THIS tailbone breakpoint?" Well, my hair thrives with protective styling.
I had the most success with baggying and Vaseline. Hence, I've returned to just that: the Baggy Method with Vaseline.
I stopped because my hair actually knotted on itself because it was so slick. I had to cut three (3) inches off to remove
the large knot. That was MY fault for not maintaining my hair.

Lack of Consistency:
Another issue of mine is lack of consistency. If I don't keep processes up, that's like sleeping on your math book before
a test. It just doesn't work.

Not Real Cute/Boring Style:
The last issue for me is that sometimes I want to look cute and the baggie style is not always cute all the time. Thus, I drop off in consistency. But
that is just an excuse. Either you want something or you don't and you need to do what it takes to get there.


View attachment 484099

@Chicoro have you considered using a phony pony while you baggy? That helped bring my baggy from frumpy to fabulous!

 

[Chicoro]

@Chicoro have you considered using a phony pony while you baggy? That helped bring my baggy from frumpy to fabulous!

Yes, but the heaviness gives me a headache. I can't wear them unfortunately. Thank you for the suggestion, though. I appreciate it!

 

[caribeandiva]

@Chicoro I enjoy your analytical approach to your hair.

Me too! It’s benefited all of us on this site (and elsewhere) for years! Thank you @Chicoro

 

[IDareT'sHair]

@Chicoro
Me Three!

 

[Napp]

Me four @Chicoro I like detailed regimens. My hair doesn’t do auto pilot like some people can do. I need to work for my length

 

[snoop]

@Chicoro Thank you for the breakdown of your hair plan. I love the way that you think about everything thoroughly and it's inspiration to do the same. My goal is to have my plan worked out by this time next week.

I'm going to wash my hair either today or tomorrow and will have some updates on the un-petroleum jelly.

 

[snoop]

I washed my hair yesterday. When I took down my hair it felt really nice, but it was hard to tell how well the petroleum worked.

After washing, my hair was really soft, but it could have been what I washed with. I did LCOJ with rose water, lotion, tallow, then some of the of the jelly along the length and then after twisting I added a lot more jelly to the last 4 inches of my twist.

I'm going to try to be as dilligent as I can about keeping my ends up and tucked away.

 

[Chicoro]

My ends are looking and feeling better. The Vaseline has eliminated the Velcro ends of locking and sticking, for right now.

 

[Chicoro]

The Vaseline and Shea butter are not clashing, by leaving a dull coating, on my hair ends. So far so good.

 

[Chicoro]

I washed my hair yesterday. When I took down my hair it felt really nice, but it was hard to tell how well the petroleum worked.

After washing, my hair was really soft, but it could have been what I washed with. I did LCOJ with rose water, lotion, tallow, then some of the of the jelly along the length and then after twisting I added a lot more jelly to the last 4 inches of my twist.

I'm going to try to be as dilligent as I can about keeping my ends up and tucked away.

I saw a post on Instagram today. Your hair has a deep, beautiful sheen. When you move your twists, you can see a gorgeous shine. It looks like it has darkened. The cuticles on your strands look like they’ve been well preserved. I can’t see your hair cuticles, but the natural shine on your hair is due to intact cuticles. Great results!

 

[snoop]

I saw a post on Instagram today. Your hair has a deep, beautiful sheen. When you move your twists, you can see a gorgeous shine. It looks like it has darkened. The cuticles on your strands look like they’ve been well preserved. I can’t see your hair cuticles, but the natural shine on your hair is due to intact cuticles. Great results!

Thank you.

I've found that in the last year or two, my hair has become more sheeny. I'm not sure if it's the products (oils) that are creating the illusion or if the products have improved the health of my hair (ayurvedic herbs and oils), or if I'm getting better at smoothing down my strands (I haven't used a comb in over two years), or a combination of the three.

This is what my "just about to be washed hair looks like".



This was my hair after



I wanted to wear mini twists for the rest of the year so that I can wear one set of twists for at least 2 weeks, but they take so much time. I might go back to them on the weekend, though.