Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2023

What would you like to address and improve as it relates to having luscious, healthy ends?

  • Breakage

    Votes: 36 54.5%
  • Thinness

    Votes: 30 45.5%
  • Unevenness

    Votes: 18 27.3%
  • Split Ends

    Votes: 36 54.5%
  • Dryness

    Votes: 32 48.5%
  • Roughness

    Votes: 14 21.2%
  • Knots

    Votes: 31 47.0%
  • Dullness

    Votes: 9 13.6%

  • Total voters
    66
Update on my lopsided hair: I put my hair into 10 not-very-neat twists today, and *one* twist on the forever-shorter left side is actually as long as the twists on the right side. :woot: Granted, it is just the one twist, and the rest are still significantly shorter, but maybe, just maybe, non-lopsided hair may be in my future… someday. :lol:
Usually noticing one drastic difference is the preview to all the other parts you haven't noticed yet. You are moving in a good direction!
 
We are almost at the end of the month, heading into Fall and September. How's it look since January 2023? Are you ready for these last four months? Are those ends stuntin' :toocool:on folks or are they sadly just stunted :( ? Or somewhere in between?
My hair feels fuller. Last night I measured it and most root-to-tip sections(as opposed to crown to ends) are 22-23 inches. At the beginning of the year, my hair was mainly 18-22 inches in each section. I am hoping measuring it last night is indicative that my April trim evened me out pretty well. I also did a search and destroy after wearing my hair out this past week and feeling a few knots. When I went through my hair thoroughly, I had about a dozen single-strand knots and I typically don't get single-strand knots unless I let my natural hair shrink up.

I am pretty diligent in trimming single-strand knots out of my hair quickly so my hair never becomes riddled with them and they don't catch other hair. My saving grace is my knots always form on the tips of my ends, usually in the bottom inch. So that is hair I would have trimmed off by the end of the year anyway. I never really feel them more than 2 inches up which I appreciate. I do need to straighten or stretch my hair sometime in September so I can check on my ends more thoroughly but the way my hair has been feeling is a good marker.

I am tempted to keep my natural styles going since I have been enjoying them so much, but nah. It's growing whether it is straight or natural and as much as I enjoy natural styles, they can hide things if I don't alternate styles and check on them. I will check more thoroughly in September but I won't post my length since I need some type of reveal in December lol. My ends are split-free and feel really good after my search and destroy(only needed to remove the knots, no splits before or after), but I will be able to gauge the overall condition once I stretch or straighten my hair. I may wait until fall instead of Labor Day to stretch or straighten.
 
Last edited:
My hair feels fuller. Last night I measured it and most root-to-tip sections(as opposed to crown to ends) are 22-23 inches. At the beginning of the year, my hair was mainly 18-22 inches in each section. I am hoping measuring it last night is indicative that my April trim evened me out pretty well. I also did a search and destroy after wearing my hair out this past week and feeling a few knots. When I went through my hair thoroughly, I had about a dozen single-strand knots and I typically don't get single-strand knots unless I let my natural hair shrink up.

I am pretty diligent in trimming single strands out of my hair quickly so my hair never becomes riddled with them and they don't catch other hair. My saving grace is my knots always form on the tips of my ends, usually in the bottom inch. So that is hair I would have trimmed off by the end of the year anyway. I never really feel them more than 2 inches up which I appreciate. I do need to straighten or stretch my hair sometime in September so I can check on my ends more thoroughly but the way my hair has been feeling is a good marker.

I am tempted to keep my natural styles going since I have been enjoying them so much, but nah. It's growing whether it is straight or natural and as much as I enjoy natural styles, they can hide things if I don't alternate styles and check on them. I will check more thoroughly in September but I won't post my length since I need some type of reveal in December lol. My ends are split-free and feel really good after my search and destroy(only needed to remove the knots, no splits before or after), but I will be able to gauge the overall condition once I stretch or straighten my hair. I may wait until fall instead of Labor Day to stretch or straighten.
Me: Squeals with excitement at the detail of post and because of the anticipation of the upcoming December 2023 reveal by @Lylddlebit .

 
I love wearing my hair curly, it’s a low effort, low maintenance style, but I think it makes it’s very difficult to keep track of the health of my ends. I take care of my hair, but maybe I need to do more. But I’m not willing to straighten my hair more often to keep better tabs on them.
 
I love wearing my hair curly, it’s a low effort, low maintenance style, but I think it makes it’s very difficult to keep track of the health of my ends. I take care of my hair, but maybe I need to do more. But I’m not willing to straighten my hair more often to keep better tabs on them.
You can keep natural hair that is split and knot-free ends while cutting on unstraightened hair. The cut may not be super precise but it will be relatively even.

This is not the video I was looking for. There have been really good examples of cosmetology haircuts on natural hair that I can't find right now. However, if you find a hairdresser who can do 90-degree hair cuts (any haircut that would pass state boards not just 90-degrees) on natural hair, instead of those curl-by-curl cuts, then you can get good, uniform haircuts on natural hair just fine. You can also build up to cutting your hair evenly with a method similar to this



Those BGC curls for a shape that cut different lengths all over for a temporary appearance that can change with product use and daily style aren't very good. However, if you get your natural hair cut for uniformity while feeling your hair to locate damage and remove it, your hair will fair pretty well. Unstraightened haircuts may not have perfect precision, but they do give you relatively even ends that are split-end and single-strand knot-free. They are more practically priced with a level of quality and appearance you can rely on with confidence.
 
Thanks @Lylddlebit I’ve already made the switch from curly cuts to blown out cuts. I always felt like the curly cuts were removing too much hair. But I only get the blown out cuts every 14-16 weeks. For all the time in between I have a hard time judging how my ends are doing. I can really only judge by how easy or difficult it is to detangle on wash day. But that is also affected by the number of days between washing, how firm of a set a had, if I cover my hair at night when I sleep, etc.
 
Soooooooo…. I have a bit of a dilemma. I’m back in the gym, which means I need to rinse my scalp after my workout. The issue is that my hair texture is too soft to maintain twists after I rinse twice. I’m currently rocking two two-strand flat twists into a puff, held by a puff-cuff; but my ends are unprotected. After I rinse my hair, I lather it in Hawaiian Silky and Shea butter before I style it. I don’t know if the Shea butter is enough protection for my ends. Le sigh. It’s still too warm to wear a wig, getting braids is too expensive, and I haven’t braided my own hair in years. My sister said it’s like riding a bike, but I don’t know man. Maybe I will attempt to braid my hair this weekend….if I still have the ability….
Hair update photo:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0799.jpeg
    IMG_0799.jpeg
    27.2 KB · Views: 48
Soooooooo…. I have a bit of a dilemma. I’m back in the gym, which means I need to rinse my scalp after my workout. The issue is that my hair texture is too soft to maintain twists after I rinse twice. I’m currently rocking two two-strand flat twists into a puff, held by a puff-cuff; but my ends are unprotected. After I rinse my hair, I lather it in Hawaiian Silky and Shea butter before I style it. I don’t know if the Shea butter is enough protection for my ends. Le sigh. It’s still too warm to wear a wig, getting braids is too expensive, and I haven’t braided my own hair in years. My sister said it’s like riding a bike, but I don’t know man. Maybe I will attempt to braid my hair this weekend….if I still have the ability….
Hair update photo:
Your hair looks cottony soft. The ends are full and make your hair look beautiful. Try to do the braids. Let us know how they turn out!
 
Soooooooo…. I have a bit of a dilemma. I’m back in the gym, which means I need to rinse my scalp after my workout. The issue is that my hair texture is too soft to maintain twists after I rinse twice. I’m currently rocking two two-strand flat twists into a puff, held by a puff-cuff; but my ends are unprotected. After I rinse my hair, I lather it in Hawaiian Silky and Shea butter before I style it. I don’t know if the Shea butter is enough protection for my ends. Le sigh. It’s still too warm to wear a wig, getting braids is too expensive, and I haven’t braided my own hair in years. My sister said it’s like riding a bike, but I don’t know man. Maybe I will attempt to braid my hair this weekend….if I still have the ability….
Hair update photo:
Okay, hear me out:
Have you thought about doing your hair kinky twist style? Start with a braid and end with a twist.
 
Soooooooo…. I have a bit of a dilemma. I’m back in the gym, which means I need to rinse my scalp after my workout. The issue is that my hair texture is too soft to maintain twists after I rinse twice. I’m currently rocking two two-strand flat twists into a puff, held by a puff-cuff; but my ends are unprotected. After I rinse my hair, I lather it in Hawaiian Silky and Shea butter before I style it. I don’t know if the Shea butter is enough protection for my ends. Le sigh. It’s still too warm to wear a wig, getting braids is too expensive, and I haven’t braided my own hair in years. My sister said it’s like riding a bike, but I don’t know man. Maybe I will attempt to braid my hair this weekend….if I still have the ability….
Hair update photo:
I would recommend getting braids with no hair added. It’s much cheaper to get done and you want rinse them daily and pin them into an updo style. Then when they get old you can just redo do them and keep the parts
 
Last week I trimmed my hair and installed some boho style braids with synthetic hair. I layered each section with CR Coconut Water leave-in, and smoothed raw Shea butter from mid-length to ends, before plaiting. I didn't have the time or will to whip up a batch like old times. I haven't worn braids in about 3 years. It's a good change, not having to 'work' my hair in the morning, vs the braid-outs. I tend to keep my braids in for months, redoing them one by one as they grow/slip, so I have no idea how long I will keep this set. I know that I will focus more on moisture since my hair felt quite dry before the install.
 
Last week I trimmed my hair and installed some boho style braids with synthetic hair. I layered each section with CR Coconut Water leave-in, and smoothed raw Shea butter from mid-length to ends, before plaiting. I didn't have the time or will to whip up a batch like old times. I haven't worn braids in about 3 years. It's a good change, not having to 'work' my hair in the morning, vs the braid-outs. I tend to keep my braids in for months, redoing them one by one as they grow/slip, so I have no idea how long I will keep this set. I know that I will focus more on moisture since my hair felt quite dry before the install.
Can we see a lil' sample of one of them pretty braids, please?
 
@Chicoro
You making me blush and it's her compliment :curtain::love::lol:

@GGsKin
But seriously you are finer than frog's hair split in half. I don't know why I thought I read somewhere that you were someone's grandma. If you're not, I apologize. If you are, may I partake in some of your genetics? :rofl:
You both are hilarious @ItsMeLilLucky and @Chicoro.
@ItsMeLilLucky Thank you! The way you have me laughing right now:lachen:. While I am older than I look...no, I'm nobody's grandma:lachen:No apology necessary :love3:.
 
Transparency:
I never installed the braids you guys. I didn't even complete any of the backup plans. Why? Lackadaisicalness got the best of me. What did i do instead? I put in two, two-strand flat twists and connected them in the back. I then used a hair tie to tuck my ends. It's not the cutest style, but it's functional. My sister is coming in 10 days to braid my hair for me. I'm thankful in advance.
 
Back
Top