Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2023

[Napp]

I really like your routine. The only thing that may create an issue is using the liquid keratin every day. I see you have it in your regimen 2x per day. I am not sure which liquid keratin product you are using. Do you have the name and/or a picture of it to share? My suggestion is to try using the liquid keratin in the hair only 1x a day. Keratin can be very drying to the hair. It can also leave the hair strands coated and rough, but not always.

Because you are incorporating keratin in your process regularly, I would like to suggest that you check your hair every 3 days the FIRST Week. That way, if the keratin is having an adverse affect/impact on your hair, you can catch it early and nip it in the bud. If you leave your hair for two weeks with this new routine, or even longer, there are too many other factors that may arise and adversely or positively impact your hair, and it may be far more complicated for you to try to discern the source of the positive or negative impact.

After the first week of your new routine, perhaps during this week, week #2, you leave the bun for the week. Then, after the week is up, you take it down and examine the hair to ensure things are going as you would like.

Then, at the third week you for two weeks as you planned. That will take you up to four weeks, or one month.

Then after this fourth week, if all goes well with your new routine, then you go for one month. At the end, that will have you at eight (8) weeks into your new, modified routine. At these shorter intervals you can confirm definitively what is working and continue with it, and you can identify immediately what is not working and eradicate it or remove it from your routine before there are too many negative, impacts on the health and condition of your hair.

Sorry to confuse you on how I worded it. I only do the process nightly so it’s only one keratin spray a day. I’m currently using roux repair and shine leave in.




It makes my hair feel soft and silky. I love it. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and it works really well. Although I wanted to try chi keratin mist to compare because I can buy the chi in more economical bottles.

I will try to add in the new regimen as you advised so I can prevent any setbacks.

 

[Chicoro]

Sorry to confuse you on how I worded it. I only do the process nightly so it’s only one keratin spray a day. I’m currently using roux repair and shine leave in.


View attachment 492781

It makes my hair feel soft and silky. I love it. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and it works really well. Although I wanted to try chi keratin mist to compare because I can buy the chi in more economical bottles.

I will try to add in the new regimen as you advised so I can prevent any setbacks.

Thank you for posting the product photo above for me. I appreciate it.


Cliff Notes:

You always have the prettiest products and hair accessories. I have never seen this product before, but I'm in France and at home in the US there are different choices not available in other countries. But I must admit, I don't think I saw this when I was home in the US and I scouted about three (3) beauty supplies while there. It has great packaging.


Based on the ingredients and formulation, it looks like the Roux Keratin is a milder protein leave in when compared to the other three (3). I say that because the Hydrolyzed keratin is listed as the 9th ingredient in the Roux formulation. It looks like you made a GREAT choice to use it as a daily keratin spray as it is the mildest of the four listed and seems like it was made for everyday use. In comparison, it looks like the Aphogee Green Tea Keratin Leave-In is the most potent of the four (4) that is because it has keratin listed as the 2nd ingredient in the formulation.
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Detailed Notes:


The Roux Keratin ingredients are pretty similar to other leave in Keratin and Hydrolyzed Wheat products: (Keratin 9th ingredient)
Aqua (Water) (Eau), Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, Hydrolyzed Silk, Panthenol, Polyquaternium-6, Benzophenone-4, Aminomethyl Propanol, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Keratin, Dimethiconol, Glycol Stearate, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Lactic ...Does the Roux Keratin product have a golden yellow, golden brown liquid color?

Chi Keratin Mist ingredients: (Keratin 6th ingredient)
Aqua/Eau, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Quaternium-80, Polysorbate 20, Cetrimonium Chloride, Hydrolyzed Keratin Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Hydrolyzed Silk Citric Acid, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract ...

Byphasse Keratin Leave in ingredients: (Keratin 6th ingredient)
Aqua (Water), Alcohol Denat., PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Polyquaternium-6, Parfum (Fragrance), Hydrolyzed Keratin, Polyquaternium-11, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Amyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Hydroxycitronellal, CI 15985 (FD&C Yellow No. 6).

Aphogee Green Tea Keratin Leave in ingredients: (Keratin 2nd ingredient)
Water, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Silk, Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis)Extract, Glycine Alanine, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Cetrimonium Chloride,PVP, Citric Acid, Fragrance, FD&C Red #40, D&C Green #5, FD&C Yellow#6.

Lastly,
Regarding your process, I really like that you are spraying the Keratin in your hair first. It is a water based product and ALL four (4) products contain citric acid (3 of the 4), or lactic/salicyclic acid (1 of 4). The actions of these products are to:

1. Place moisture directly in and on the hair strand. (Water is the moisturizer and the alcohol helps it to absorb into the hair. The water and alcohol do this).
2. Seal the strand and trap the moisture inside the hair strand (Citric Acid, Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid do this.)
3. Soften hair (Panthenol and cetrimonium chloride can do this.)
4. Smooth the hair strand. (Silicones in the form of dimethcone/cyclomethicone and the cationic surfactants.)
5. Deposit the keratin. (Quartenary salts and keratin do this.)

 

[caribeandiva]

Ladies, I got this email today:

It’s right on time because I just finished my last Shea butter pail a couple weeks ago! I ordered another one!

3CayG Bulk Natural Oils, Raw Shea Butter, and African Black Soap

Wholesale cosmetic supplier of bulk natural oils, bulk shea butter, wholesale African black soap, bulk mango butter, almond oil and more. Exotic oils including kombo butter, mafura butter, kpangnan butter, murumuru butter, and other bulk oils. Distributor for soapmakers, hair care, skincare and...

www.3cayg.com

 

[Chicoro]

Ladies, I got this email today:
View attachment 492815
It’s right on time because I just finished my last Shea butter pail a couple weeks ago! I ordered another one!

3CayG Bulk Natural Oils, Raw Shea Butter, and African Black Soap

Wholesale cosmetic supplier of bulk natural oils, bulk shea butter, wholesale African black soap, bulk mango butter, almond oil and more. Exotic oils including kombo butter, mafura butter, kpangnan butter, murumuru butter, and other bulk oils. Distributor for soapmakers, hair care, skincare and...

www.3cayg.com

Nice!!!

 

[Chicoro]

Well, we've reached the last month of the year. There are thirty (30) days left in the year of 2023 and in this challenge. It's time to finish it out.

​

 

[Lylddlebit]

@Chicoro

I kid you not, I watched the Lion King with my little girl the other night and thought the same thing (Thinking "it is time" in my mental Rafiki voice is what made me pop it on lol)!

 

[Lylddlebit]

The Lion King is my all time favorite Disney movie(the original) and I can't think of a better fit to this thread.

Let's see it!

 

[yamilee21]

Well, we've reached the last month of the year. There are thirty (30) days left in the year of 2023 and in this challenge. It's time to finish it out.

Welp, I may as well be finished now, because this last month isn’t changing anything. I’m ending the year as diagonally ended as I started it. At least the splits and knots have remained minimal, but luscious my ends are NOT. However, I do have the excuse that menopause changes everything, and now that I am firmly on the other side, maybe next year will be my hair’s year.

 

[Chicoro]

Welp, I may as well be finished now, because this last month isn’t changing anything. I’m ending the year as diagonally ended as I started it. At least the splits and knots have remained minimal, but luscious my ends are NOT. However, I do have the excuse that menopause changes everything, and now that I am firmly on the other side, maybe next year will be my hair’s year.

Splits



Knots



Minimized!





​

 

[Mapleoats]

I've been using my wide tooth comb as a first step in detangling for a few weeks now and it really blows my mind how good it is. I get so much less friction when I use a brush after. I used to be firmly in the camp that wide tooth combs were a waste of time but now I can't believe I was going straight in on my hair with a brush first! @Lylddlebit said a while back she realized she was taking her time pulling her hair out and now I feel like that's exactly what Ive been doing lol

 

[GettingKinky]

I've been using my wide tooth comb as a first step in detangling for a few weeks now and it really blows my mind how good it is. I get so much less friction when I use a brush after. I used to be firmly in the camp that wide tooth combs were a waste of time but now I can't believe I was going straight in on my hair with a brush first! @Lylddlebit said a while back she realized she was taking her time pulling her hair out and now I feel like that's exactly what Ive been doing lol

I switched to this technique too. I can’t tell if I’m losing less hair or not though.

 

[Chicoro]

I switched to this technique too. I can’t tell if I’m losing less hair or not though.

One way might be to take a quick photo of the hair ball in the palm of your hand then take a photo of hair ball you get for the next session and compare.

 

[GettingKinky]

One way might be to take a quick photo of the hair ball in the palm of your hand then take a photo of hair ball you get for the next session and compare.

I’ve been taking pictures of my hair balls, but I don’t have pictures from when I only used the brush. Maybe I’ll have to do brush only one week just for comparison.

 

[Chicoro]

I’ve been taking pictures of my hair balls, but I don’t have pictures from when I only used the brush. Maybe I’ll have to do brush only one week just for comparison.

It's a possibility!

 

[mzteaze]

Menopausal hair is a BEAST!!! I feel ya @Chicoro. One minute your hair is luscious next minute it's the Sierra desert.

 

[Lylddlebit]

I did preliminary ends check yesterday. I reneged on my plan to wear my hair stretched for the rest of the year and have been enjoying natural twists and semi-stretched updos. For me, shrunken hair allows SSKs to form, but I usually keep it minimal if I am vigilant. I washed detangled and revved my hair, so I could examine my ends throughly. I also held my ends up to a backlit surface and natural light to critically find any splits or SSKs. There were barely any knots and no splits. I snipped trouble right off lol. It looks like my natural v is trying to jut out. I will check and shape on my Christmas press. I am keeping these stretched/revved twists until then.

 

[Chicoro]

I did preliminary ends check yesterday. I reneged on my plan to wear my hair stretched for the rest of the year and have been enjoying natural twists and semi-stretched updos. For me, shrunken hair allows SSKs to form, but I usually keep it minimal if I am vigilant. I washed detangled and revved my hair, so I could examine my ends throughly. I also held my ends up to a backlit surface and natural light to critically find any splits or SSKs. There were barely any knots and no splits. I snipped trouble right off lol. It looks like my natural v is trying to jut out. I will check and shape on my Christmas press. I am keeping these stretched/revved twists until then.

The twists are so pretty. The shiny bits look like little diamonds strewn throughout and within your lovely hair. So pretty.

 

[Chicoro]

Speaking of reneging, that bun drop may become an ephemeral thing of my dreams and may not come to fruition.

I'm down again with another bout of chest cold. In the last four weeks I’ve been able to do my weekly wash only once. I do not want to get pneumonia so the hair stays dry until this deep, wet cough goes away.

 

[MzSwift]

Speaking of reneging, that bun drop may become an ephemeral thing of my dreams and may not come to fruition.

I'm down again with another bout of chest cold. In the last four weeks I’ve been able to do my weekly wash only once. I do not want to get pneumonia so the hair stays dry until this deep, wet cough goes away.

Oh no! I hope you feel better soon!

 

[GettingKinky]

Feel better soon @Chicoro

 

[Lylddlebit]

The twists are so pretty. The shiny bits look like little diamonds strewn throughout and within your lovely hair. So pretty.

Thank you very much. I detangled with "It's a 10" regular leave-in then applied the QB Castor and Moringa serum before to twisting. Those products give it some sheen and keep my twists form unraveling without heavier leave-ins.

 

[Lylddlebit]

Speaking of reneging, that bun drop may become an ephemeral thing of my dreams and may not come to fruition.

I'm down again with another bout of chest cold. In the last four weeks I’ve been able to do my weekly wash only once. I do not want to get pneumonia so the hair stays dry until this deep, wet cough goes away.

Definitely put your heath first. No need to pressure yourself on the bun drop.

 

[Chicoro]

I used red a LONNNNNNGGG time ago and bought green and yellow to try, but haven't yet. For the past two years, I've promised myself to try them, but I want to film it as well and haven't had the time. I'm willing to do a mini test of the three for you if you'll like.

View attachment 485715


This is today's mix. It consisted of 4 tbsp kaolin clay, 2 tbsp goat's milk powder, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp activated charcoal powder. For the first 3 ingredients I used soup spoons and made them heaping, with the honey extra heaping since my honey is semi-solid. For the activated charcoal I used a measuring spoon and made sure that it was level. I eyeball the amount of water that I use, but the consistency when pouring was kind of thick, but as you can see the mixture itself isn't really thick. If I thinned the kaolin it would be like pouring milk on my hair which is too messy. This batch made a little bit more than 8oz which is what my applicator bottle holds and it squeezed through the nozzle easily.

Clay mixes can be applied directly to dirty hair or you can rinse it. I've been applying my mixes to dry hair, but this morning I did an unsuccessful water rinse, so since my hair was still damp that's how I applied it.

View attachment 485717

Last tip, if you let the clay dry on your hair, it might be harder to wash out. If you cover your hair with a plastic cap, it's just like doing the GHE and it stays moist for the duration of when you have it on your hair.

As I mentioned before, following up with conditioner is the easiest way to get the clay out. So the clay + conditioner combo might help you to over-come your frizzy ends. Maybe you can even do a couple of weeks clay then a week shampoo if you think that your hair can handle it.

(I can't remember, don't they say that clear shampoos tend to be harsher than opaque shampoos? Is it possible to find a baby shampoo that is opaque?)

Well, @snoop has rocked my world, more specifically my hair world. She told me at around post #3 of this 1,000plus post thread that she would

1.) be here to support me in any way she could, as it pertained to clay and herb usage on my hair.

2.)She shared her clay mix with me: "This is today's mix. It consisted of 4 tbsp kaolin clay, 2 tbsp goat's milk powder, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp activated charcoal powder."

3.) She stated that clay and conditioner might help me over-come my frizzy [velcro] ends.

She delivered on ALL three (3)! She stayed present and/or checked in and answered my questions and clarified my confusion from January onward. She generously gave me a mix that was infused with her deep knowledge and experience which would have taken me much more time to develop, assuming I did discover an effective clay mix and process. Lastly, she helped me RESOLVE the pressing issue, the current bane of my hair existence, my fuzzy/velcro ends situation.

My VELCRO ends ARE gone FOREVER. Banished by my New Bae, Clay!

I thank you, @snoop

I stuck with clay from January 7th, 2023 until today, December 2023. Caveat: haven't washed my hair in the month of December yet due to my wet cough. The clay has transformed my hair and especially my ends.

I no longer tear my ends apart to un-do my braids. I no longer have monster tangles or massive knots that require me to pull out length from my hair.

 

[Chicoro]

The three (3) biggest and most impactful lessons I have learned because of this thread are:

1. My aged hair, cannot support shampoo. (Changed to clay and completely eliminated my velcro ends.)
2. Small details can create huge shifts in hair health. (Stopped brushing top of hair during week while it was in a braid and breakage decreased.)
3. The importance of wearing a scarf to keep hair smoothed and protected which minimizes manipulation needed to fix it up in the morning.

 

[Chicoro]

Does anyone have any thoughts or reflections on what they found helpful or learned about your hair, or clarified for yourself about your hair practices because of this thread?

It doesn't matter how small it may been.

The small details can often help create the biggest shifts!

 

[Lylddlebit]

Chicoro said:
Does anyone have any thoughts or reflections on what they found helpful or learned about your hair, or clarified for yourself about your hair practices because of this thread?

It doesn't matter how small it may been.

The small details can often help create the biggest shifts!

Wash and go's and clay rinses have a place in my regimen. They won't ever be my main practices but a wash and go is a great special occasion style on my hair, given that I wash it out quickly enough to prevent tangles, knots and my hair drying out. Clay washes are a great shampoo substitute when I am wearing back to back natural styles and don't need a deep cleanse, but want to wash my hair. It was good for me to revisit those two things and get them right. It wasn't that they didn't work on my hair. I just needed determine their best application to my hair.

Wash and gos work fine if I keep my hair elongated, hydrated, and am mindful of both gentle handling and product more suited for hair health than style, as it sets. Clay washes work fine if I keep a watery consistency and don't have heavy product build up on my hair or scalp(which I rarely do, but for example, I wouldn't use it right before or after a press).

 

[MzSwift]

Does anyone have any thoughts or reflections on what they found helpful or learned about your hair, or clarified for yourself about your hair practices because of this thread?

It doesn't matter how small it may been.

The small details can often help create the biggest shifts!

This thread prompted and reminded me to pay extra attention to my ends. To apply extra product to them. To apply extra sealing to them. To keep always keep them tucked away, either by the style, my head scarf or with a small plastic baggie. I knew to do those things but I wasn't always consistent with it. This thread helped me to build that piece into my consistent regi.

I'm not a frequent trimmer but I usually dust my ends once a year or every two years bc I wear full head PSs most of the time. Because of this thread I will be dusting with each relaxer (I only texlax twice a year).

Thank you ladies for sharing your knowledge and your experiences!! <3

 

[Chicoro]

This thread prompted and reminded me to pay extra attention to my ends. To apply extra product to them. To apply extra sealing to them. To keep always keep them tucked away, either by the style, my head scarf or with a small plastic baggie. I knew to do those things but I wasn't always consistent with it. This thread helped me to build that piece into my consistent regi.

I'm not a frequent trimmer but I usually dust my ends once a year or every two years bc I wear full head PSs most of the time. Because of this thread I will be dusting with each relaxer (I only texlax twice a year).

Thank you ladies for sharing your knowledge and your experiences!! <3

Thank you for responding. Congratulations on firmly establishing a clear, impactful habit into your regime!

 

[Chicoro]

Wash and go's and clay rinses have a place in my regimen. They won't ever be my main practices but a wash and go is a great special occasion style on my hair, given that I wash it out quickly enough to prevent tangles, knots and my hair drying out. Clay washes are a great shampoo substitute when I am wearing back to back natural styles and don't need a deep cleanse, but want to wash my hair. It was good for me to revisit those two things and get them right. It wasn't that they didn't work on my hair. I just needed determine their best application to my hair.

Wash and gos work fine if I keep my hair elongated, hydrated, and am mindful of both gentle handling and product more suited for hair health than style, as it sets. Clay washes work fine if I keep a watery consistency and don't have heavy product build up on my hair or scalp(which I rarely do, but for example, I wouldn't use it right before or after a press).

Thank you for responding! Very clear.

I think a pattern is starting to emerge.

The pattern seems to be that because of this thread, many of us are looking deeper into our hair processes and products and making refinements to what we already do and what we already know.

 

[GettingKinky]

I’ve made the following changes to my hair care this year

• Switched from curly cuts to blow out cuts I’m hoping this will be more thorough and also remove less hair each time
• Switched from alligator clips to duck bill clips to section my hair while washing. The alligator clips always snagged my hair
• Started detangling with a wide tooth comb before using my detangling brush
• Use a protein conditioner on my ends every week
• Switched from olaplex to epres as my bond repair treatment