Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2023

[Chicoro]

When you know, you know.

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[Chicoro]

Shine on, ladies!

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[Chicoro]

Don't stop feeling yourself!

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[Chicoro]

*Snaps fingers in air off camera, walks off without lighting anything on fire, knows I'm fabulous. Struts out thread, hair banging, until next time.*

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[caribeandiva]

Setbacks are Setups for a Come-up and a Come-back!​

Iterations deepen and widen your knowledge. Don't think because you've had a setback that all is lost. Yes, you may lose some length in your hair and even some health of your hair. But, what you gain is experience and knowledge.

If you gather up that knowledge and concentrate it down and INVEST it in your NOW, you become rich. As a result, your hair becomes rich, radiant and beautiful. This is exactly what @GettingKinky, @ckisland, @snoop, @caribeandiva , @GGsKin, @VinDieselsWifey , @Lylddlebit , @yamilee21 , @Napp and others have so generously SHOWN and demonstrated here in this thread. They have HEALTHY hair. They have LONG hair. They have BEAUTIFUL hair.
(If I didn't mention your name, correct me - for real, let me know. The oversight was not intentional!)

Facts!

 

[GettingKinky]

Thank you for responding with such detail. I appreciate the time and thought you have put in to explain and communicate your process!

I think a key element in your process is that you have been maintaining your hair at a certain length. In your case, you have been eliminating damage from using baking soda on your hair. As a result of the cutting, even if it has been slowly over time, your hair strands are not super old.

When I see webbing in natural, afro textured hair, the hair is usually un-straightened natural and the hair tends to be braided or in twists. Thirdly, I've noticed this webbing in hair that is very long. Hair that is very long tends to be older hair. Your hair is a lot younger and fresher because of the regular trimming over the last 4 year period.

I am starting to think that it is the older hair that suffers more from the cumulative assault of shampoos. Meaning, it is with older, afro-textured hair that the results of the damaging effects of shampooing can be more readily seen. Again, not all hair is the same or will have the same vulnerabilities. Thus, some hair types may thrive with shampoo for as long as the hair strand is attached to the head.

I'm still observing and assessing. Unfortunately, I think the webbing and shampooing are related for some heads of hair.

It's like with teeth. There are hundreds of teeth whitening products on the market and EVEN dentists provide this service. But teeth whitening degrades and destroys the teeth. It's a question of trade off. For teeth it's bright white smiles at a risk of weakening teeth. For hair the trade off is clean hair with a risk of hair damage.

I agree. I think shampoo has its benefits while also being mildly damaging, and over time the damage accumulates. Just like the longer you have a t-shirt the more the wear and tear from the washing machine becomes apparent.
This is why I have switched to using less shampoo and milder shampoo on my older hair. I won’t know if this approach pays off for years, but it seems to me to be a good compromise.

 

[Chicoro]

I agree. I think shampoo has its benefits while also being mildly damaging, and over time the damage accumulates. Just like the longer you have a t-shirt the more the wear and tear from the washing machine becomes apparent.
This is why I have switched to using less shampoo and milder shampoo on my older hair. I won’t know if this approach pays off for years, but it seems to me to be a good compromise.

You, My Sweet, are way ahead of the game. I can tell you from where I sit that your approach will pay off. That is so smart to strategically use and choose specific shampoos, in controlled amounts, placed on designated areas of the hair. That is BRILLIANT!


It will pay dividends in the form of luscious ends at every length goal as you continue to grow you hair.

 

[GettingKinky]

You, My Sweet, are way ahead of the game. I can tell you from where I sit that your approach will pay off. That is so smart to strategically use and choose specific shampoos, in controlled amounts, placed on designated areas of the hair. That is BRILLIANT!


It will pay dividends in the form of luscious ends at every length goal as you continue to grow you hair.

I cannot take full credit for my shampoo choices/schedule. I learned a lot about shampoo from Black Girl Curls @iamblackThey teach about a shampoo spectrum and it was eye opening. I think I was slowly getting there on my own, but their lesson really solidified everything.

They never talk about using less/milder shampoo on your older hair, but to me that’s a natural extension of their teaching.

Let me see if I can find their notes on shampoo and post them here.

 

[snoop]

I think that the conditioner that you use also makes a difference. I use Up North Naturals shampoo on the children. I asked by the ingredients that it is supposed to be gentle but it webs their hair on contact. But then I apply their conditioner and their hair "relaxes" again. I don't recall this happening to the same degree with Kinky Curly which is supposed to be a stronger shampoo.

 

[Chicoro]

Oh my goodness! Where have I been?

Teflon tape for your flat-iron! I hate that burned smell whenever I do my hair. Eliminating that odor alone is a great idea to buy it! Wow!


Magic Tape : For the DIYS it's called TEFLON Tape

I have NEVER heard about this! Talk about protecting the ends when flat ironing!

Youtube- New Tutorials Flatironing and Bun

Hi Ladies! Have have put a couple of new tutorials up on Youtube. I did one on making a bun for shorter hair and one on flatironing transitioning hair. :grin: How to make a bun for shorter hair: Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4c3JNjTMwU Part two...

longhaircareforum.com

(post #11)

YouTube Video: from 2013



YouTube Video from 2023

 

[Chicoro]

Technique to Preserve and Better Protect those Luscious Healthy Ends! Teflon Tape on your Flat Iron

LHCF post on using Teflon tape on the flat iron from around 2010, 13 years ago. What else have I missed, eh? See post #11.

Youtube- New Tutorials Flatironing and Bun

Hi Ladies! Have have put a couple of new tutorials up on Youtube. I did one on making a bun for shorter hair and one on flatironing transitioning hair. :grin: How to make a bun for shorter hair: Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4c3JNjTMwU Part two...

longhaircareforum.com

 

[snoop]

I don't feel like my ends are luscious right now. They looks so ragged right now, but this is what happens to my hair after wearing, washing, and styling my
twists.




What ends up happening is that through bunning and braiding, hairs get teased out of the bottom. Also, shed hairs like to make their way down my twists.

People often cut this away thinking that their ends are damaged when in fact it's just teased hair. Allowing my hair to not be anchor reporter perfect has saved me length over the years. That being said it's the end of the month, so ready or not they're coming out.

 

[Chicoro]

I don't feel like my ends are luscious right now. They looks so ragged right now, but this is what happens to my hair after wearing, washing, and styling my
twists.


View attachment 486591

What ends up happening is that through bunning and braiding, hairs get teased out of the bottom. Also, shed hairs like to make their way down my twists.

People often cut this away thinking that their ends are damaged when in fact it's just teased hair. Allowing my hair to not be anchor reporter perfect has saved me length over the years. That being said it's the end of the month, so ready or not they're coming out.

They don't look raggedy to me. They do look like hair has unraveled from the braid. Look at the braid on the far right. There is about a 3 inch piece of hair that is coming out the braid. That happens when the hair is soft and moist. That is not a failing nor is it raggedy.

 

[snoop]

They don't look raggedy to me. They do look like hair has unraveled from the braid. Look at the braid on the far right. There is about a 3 inch piece of hair that is coming out the braid. That happens when the hair is soft and moist. That is not a failing nor is it raggedy.

I took a better picture...the first one posted was too close up/bad angle.



I guess, looking at them up close they look alright. I know that I don't need a trim because I had one last month.

Those long strangling strands are the phenomenon that I was trying to describe. I had to cut away a few knots that formed where a strand of hair from one twist made its way down and knotted with a strand of hair from another twist. You can see the second twist from the right and the one on the right trying to shake hands. These twists are about 3 weeks old and have been through about three washes and I've been mostly wearing my hair in a bun or under a scarf or beenie.

I'm not looking forward to taking them down because of webbing. My hair webs because I inadvertently borrow when I twist. I need to be very deliberate when I twist and twist near the part that's being twisted to avoid this. Usually I just rush through and figure it out at take down.



(I didn't stretch my hair last night after rinsing so my twists have shrunk.)

So question to everyone: what would you suggest as a safe way to preserve my ends when I'm trying to stretch my hair after washing. I've been bunning without elastics, but I kind of have to pull tight to secure it so I'm not sure if it's too much tension? I normally use spiral elastics to put my hair in ponytails but I'm not sure if that's worse or harmful...? I don't use bobby pins but I do have spin pins. I was trying to find the spin bun cuff to try but I think Goody stopped selling them.

Should I braid? Thread? Continue doing what I"m doing? Are there any points of weakness in the strands that I should pay attention to when I'm binding my hair when wet?

 

[GGsKin]

@snoop Have you tried banding your ponytailed twists with the spiral elastics? You can get decent tension for a good stretch, without the harshness of normal elastics. I use them in a similar way to band my hair at night. I wrap my head in a silk scarf before pulling my hair up or back into one. Using the silk layer to smooth and grip and contain my hair, I create a ponytail over the scarf (and my ends) with the spiral elastics and continue to band the ends of my hair in the scarf.

 

[yamilee21]

… I think shampoo has its benefits while also being mildly damaging, and over time the damage accumulates. …
This is why I have switched to using less shampoo and milder shampoo on my older hair. I won’t know if this approach pays off for years, but it seems to me to be a good compromise.

I think it was here, when I first joined 12ish ( ) years ago, that I learned about using shampoo only on the scalp, and just letting it run down the length, but not actually rubbing shampoo into the length. So that is what I’ve been doing ever since (except those rare times when I straighten, because I do want to wash the Sabino Moisture Block residue off).

 

[caribeandiva]

Oh my goodness! Where have I been?

Teflon tape for your flat-iron! I hate that burned smell whenever I do my hair. Eliminating that odor alone is a great idea to buy it! Wow!


Magic Tape : For the DIYS it's called TEFLON Tape

I have NEVER heard about this! Talk about protecting the ends when flat ironing!

Youtube- New Tutorials Flatironing and Bun

Hi Ladies! Have have put a couple of new tutorials up on Youtube. I did one on making a bun for shorter hair and one on flatironing transitioning hair. :grin: How to make a bun for shorter hair: Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4c3JNjTMwU Part two...

longhaircareforum.com

(post #11)

YouTube Video: from 2013



YouTube Video from 2023

Shut. Up! Are you serious?!

 

[GettingKinky]

@snoop I don’t have any experience with twists but I want to get some for when I go on vacation this spring. When I was looking for information I found this person on IG and she has gotten a lot of growth while wearing twists. She specifically mentions not borrowing hair (I’m still not sure what that is)

 

[Chicoro]

@snoop, girl get that guide on mini-twists and unlock them secrets for us all!

 

[GGsKin]

@GettingKinky Not borrowing hair when you twist or plait ensuring that the two or three pieces/ sections of hair you start with (to make the twist) are relatively equal in length and size, so that the same two or three pieces you start with are the very same peices you end with. That way you are not taking hair from another piece to finish the length of the twist/ plait.

 

[snoop]

@snoop Have you tried banding your ponytailed twists with the spiral elastics? You can get decent tension for a good stretch, without the harshness of normal elastics. I use them in a similar way to band my hair at night. I wrap my head in a silk scarf before pulling my hair up or back into one. Using the silk layer to smooth and grip and contain my hair, I create a ponytail over the scarf (and my ends) with the spiral elastics and continue to band the ends of my hair in the scarf.

Thanks for this tip! If I understand correctly, the scarf is going to act as a buffer between the elastic and the hair? I'll try this out tonight.

 

[snoop]

@snoop I don’t have any experience with twists but I want to get some for when I go on vacation this spring. When I was looking for information I found this person on IG and she has gotten a lot of growth while wearing twists. She specifically mentions not borrowing hair (I’m still not sure what that is)

Yes, you're supposed to avoid borrowing when braiding and twisting. I think this in of itself wouldn't be sooo bad for me...but I end up inadvertently grabbing individual strands when I twist. This is a definite no-no because it's much easier for the strands to break when I take down my hair. This causes meshing and webbing as well.

It's funny that you posted curlcodeblack... earlier this week I thought about getting her to do my hair, but it woudl be a whole upheaval to my current routine. Maybe, one day. Her hair is lovely.

 

[Lylddlebit]

Technique to Preserve and Better Protect those Luscious Healthy Ends! Teflon Tape on your Flat Iron

LHCF post on using Teflon tape on the flat iron from around 2010, 13 years ago. What else have I missed, eh? See post #11.

Youtube- New Tutorials Flatironing and Bun

Hi Ladies! Have have put a couple of new tutorials up on Youtube. I did one on making a bun for shorter hair and one on flatironing transitioning hair. :grin: How to make a bun for shorter hair: Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4c3JNjTMwU Part two...

longhaircareforum.com

View attachment 486593

I am going to try this on my titanium irons. Of all my hair tools I use those the least.

 

[Chicoro]

I am going to try this on my titanium irons. Of all my hair tools I use those the least.

Let us know how it goes, please! I don't plan to use heat until August or September. But I'm going to buy some Teflon tape, though. I want to be READY! Don't buy that price, gouging stuff for 'hair' on Amazon. Just go to the regular hardware store or order online and get the large width Teflon tape for cheap. I told my Kindred Spirit @GGsKin that I like to have my stuff ready so when I decide to use it, it is THERE!

 

[Chicoro]

@snoop Have you tried banding your ponytailed twists with the spiral elastics? You can get decent tension for a good stretch, without the harshness of normal elastics. I use them in a similar way to band my hair at night. I wrap my head in a silk scarf before pulling my hair up or back into one. Using the silk layer to smooth and grip and contain my hair, I create a ponytail over the scarf (and my ends) with the spiral elastics and continue to band the ends of my hair in the scarf.

Could we get a visual of this, possibly, pretty please?

 

[GettingKinky]

@snoop codecurlblack does hair? If I lived near her I would have her do my twists for my vacation.

 

[Mapleoats]

@snoop @GettingKinky curlcodeblack said in another post it takes her a whole week to do her own mini twists. I wonder how long the set lasts her before she needs to wash her hair or Atleast her scalp? I work out 6 days a week sometimes multiple workouts per day, so i really can't go longer than 7-10 days max before I need to wash my scalp again. ACV rinsing my scalp after a while just isn't enough

her hair is lovely though I wish I could rock that as a style long term

 

[GGsKin]

Could we get a visual of this, possibly, pretty please?

Here's a quick visual. I alternate the placement of my hair and ponytail higher or lower depending on how I want my hair to fall (eg. hair going back away from my face, and pulled higher for more volume).

 

[GettingKinky]

I did my weekly wash routine this morning

• olaplex 3 treatment on my older hair
• All purpose shampoo on my younger hair
• Moisture shampoo on all my hair
• Regular conditioner on all my hair + protein conditioner on my older hair
• Detangle
• Style with gel

I’m taking a cue from @ckisland and trying to do more smoothing and less raking.
Week 5 since my cut and my ends still feel good.

 

[Chicoro]

Here's a quick visual. I alternate the placement of my hair and ponytail higher or lower depending on how I want my hair to fall (eg. hair going back away from my face, and pulled higher for more volume).

Ohhh, you so smart! Thank you for the visual. Let's call in our resident genius @snoop so she can see the visual, too!