Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2023

[Chicoro]

With afro-textured hair as it relates to gaining newer and longer lengths, the possibility exists that as the hair ends age, the reality may be that your old tried and true process may stop working.

It's not just about jumping on trends and bandwagons, it's about trying to find your way. It can be challenging and difficult. Keep going! We are here to support you on your path to find the answers to cultivate beautiful, healthy, luscious ends!

 

[Chicoro]

Cute and classy apparatus to keep those sinks hair clog and hair plug free!




Cozium Upgraded Sink Stopper on Amazon

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

I’m 20 months into my transition of growing out an amino acid treatment because my hair didn’t revert all the way and I just want to start over. My hair is about midback length. I’m trying to make it to 3 years of new growth before I big chop.

I did an oil rinse the other day. I hadn’t done one of those in probably a decade. I’ve been dealing with my hair webbing & dreading. I finger detangle 99% of the time. I hadn’t used a comb or brush in about 2-3 months. I started with Deva Curl Wash Day Wonder prepoo but it didn’t help much with my tangles. Then I cowashed with KeraCare Cleansing Cream. I have a bottle of a mixture of various oils that I add to my deep conditioner. I used this oil to oil rinse. I always deal with my hair in 5-8 sections. I added the oil to each section, let it sit for a few minutes, then started detangling with my FHI Unbrush detangling brush.

When I tell you that brush went through my hair like a hot knife through butter!! I was like what kind of sorcery is this??!! I was shocked at how fast it worked. Then I cowashed the oil out with Maui Moisture Sea Minerals conditioner and then I conditioned with The Mane Choice Heavenly Halo conditioner while I showered. My hair was so soft & fluffy afterwards.

I will be trimming my ends this weekend. I had planned to trim maybe 2-3 inches off to help with these tangles but now I might not need to trim so much. I was also debating about doing my big chop at 2 years instead of 3. But now I believe I can make it to the 3 years with oil rinsing.

There are so many good tips that I use to do on a regular that I just got away from for whatever reason. I’m glad we have been revisiting the old threads and starting to incorporate them again.

 

[Chicoro]

I’m 20 months into my transition of growing out an amino acid treatment because my hair didn’t revert all the way and I just want to start over. My hair is about midback length. I’m trying to make it to 3 years of new growth before I big chop.

I did an oil rinse the other day. I hadn’t done one of those in probably a decade. I’ve been dealing with my hair webbing & dreading. I finger detangle 99% of the time. I hadn’t used a comb or brush in about 2-3 months. I started with Deva Curl Wash Day Wonder prepoo but it didn’t help much with my tangles. Then I cowashed with KeraCare Cleansing Cream. I have a bottle of a mixture of various oils that I add to my deep conditioner. I used this oil to oil rinse. I always deal with my hair in 5-8 sections. I added the oil to each section, let it sit for a few minutes, then started detangling with my FHI Unbrush detangling brush.

When I tell you that brush went through my hair like a hot knife through butter!! I was like what kind of sorcery is this??!! I was shocked at how fast it worked. Then I cowashed the oil out with Maui Moisture Sea Minerals conditioner and then I conditioned with The Mane Choice Heavenly Halo conditioner while I showered. My hair was so soft & fluffy afterwards.

I will be trimming my ends this weekend. I had planned to trim maybe 2-3 inches off to help with these tangles but now I might not need to trim so much. I was also debating about doing my big chop at 2 years instead of 3. But now I believe I can make it to the 3 years with oil rinsing.

There are so many good tips that I use to do on a regular that I just got away from for whatever reason. I’m glad we have been revisiting the old threads and starting to incorporate them again.

Congratulations!

*Whispers in a low hoarse voice* Write it down.

 

[Chicoro]

*Has no social life, doesn't have cats either. Looks for something to do on LHCF and finds new 'table' making icon!* This is nice!

Stuck At:	Time Frame:	Break Point/ Issue:	Resolution:
Shoulder length	High School	Pressing hair daily with pressing comb before school.	Stopped pressing hair every day. Got first relaxer senior year in high school. Used Stay-Sof-Fro when hair was not straight.
Arm pit length	University	Got hair relaxed root to tip every 2 months. Tugged on ends of hair absent-mindedly in class, the last two (2) to four (4) inches came out in the palm of my hand. So embarrassed, kept the hair in my palm until the end of class and waited to throw it in trash outside.	Started to wear hair in thick braids using Stay-Soft-Fro , and balled up the ends with coated rubber bands. Did not use Vaseline, did not seal hair.
Waist Length	Working	Hair was natural. Had cut out relaxer. Had discovered protective styling. Wore hair in one braid, pinned up to the back of my head. Relaxed my hair again for second time. Ends turned grey from being so damaged and weathered.	Put hair back in protective styling in one braid. Used Stay-Sof-Fro.
Shoulder length	Mexico/USA	Hair was all natural. Wore in a ponytail. Had cut out relaxer.	Grew out relaxer. Discovered LHCF, baggie method with Vaseline.
Waist length	Working	Hair was all natural but stuck at bra-strap. Ends were crunchy, split and dry.	Discovered creamy S-Curl, continued with baggie method and Vaseline.
Tailbone Length	France	Over-trimmed hair, no protective styling.	Started to use Shea butter for first time. Helped me gain my length back.
Past Tailbone (in progress)	France	Ends are breaking, velcro, sticky and crunchy and split.	Went back to baggying ends, discovered that anionic surfactant system in shampoos is culprit. Changed over to using clays using Snoop's Clay recipe, added back oil rinses, continue with Shea butter. (in progress)

 

[Chicoro]

Alright ladies, we are heading into week number three (3) of January 2023.

Get yourselves organized Sunday so you can ease into the week right! Some of ya'll be starting Monday in worse condition than the Grinch.
The least you can do is wrap up and protect those hair ends! Don't let the Grinch stunt on your hair game. Look at that tree plant on top of his head.
Don't let that be you come December 2023.


​

 

[Miadoll]

Did she say that she hasn't washed her hair in 4 months? I'm not saying that to dog her, because I think that her hair is gorg, I'm just thinking about the technique that she's using and how it seems to be working.

I wanted to start a thread yesterday asking people to recommend hair care books that they've read, particularly old school ones, better yet, ones by people who have had salons or ran hair care companies. I was thinking about the Aubrey Hampton book that I pick through from time to time (thanks for that suggestion oh so long ago @Chicoro ) as well as one that I read through on the weekend by long hair stylist Dr. George Michael. In Michael's book he actually recommends a hair washing method similar to the one that Indigenous Strands was using...except he said you can ask a friend to hold your hair for you so that you can shampoo your scalp only. (From what I gather, Michael's forte was growing hair to long lengths -- WL and longer. He wasn't a fan of cutting hair.) (I'll start the thread tomorrow.)

So, I'm going to be waiting with baited breath as you try this method! The stars are aligning.

The Science of Black Hair is great!

 

[ckisland]

I mentioned that I lose a lot of hair (in my opinion), so I took some pictures. I actually lost all the hair during wash and detangling process, and didn't lose any while styling!! This is after having my hair clipped up for 4-5 days.

View attachment 486161View attachment 486163

I washed my hair today because I have things to do tomorrow and I want my hair to be fresh .
The 1st pic is from last week. The 2nd pic is from today. I'm shocked at how much less hair I lost today!



My wash day:
Wet my hair thoroughly
Shampooed in 2 halves with Lady's First
Conditioned in same 2 sections with Super Sonic
Detangled with Tangle Teaser Brush in 4 sections
Smoothed on Big Poppa and smoothed Mousse Def on top

What I did differently:
1. I did my whole wash day in the shower. I had stopped doing my hair primarily in the shower, and have been doing all of my detangling in front of the mirror.
2. I shampooed in 2 sections instead of doing my hair all at once
3. I twisted the 2 sections up after shampooing
4. I applied conditioner to the 2 sections and kept each twisted while I worked on the other side

I'm going to be washing my hair in the shower and using my tangle teaser brush from here on out

 

[Lylddlebit]

TLDR: Tried the wash and go. I plan to incorporate it into my style rotation.

I was tempted to stretch this press until week five since my hair was holding up like it looked more like week 2, but I wanted to try the wash and go on my baby so I did it with her.

Process

• Parted my hair in 7 bantu knots.
• Washed: Rusk Sensories Clarify and Quillaja Detoxifying Shampoo. Second was with Rusk Moisturizing shampoo (Both of these are discontinued...I just have a stash of this clarifier)
• Deep Condition: Hairveda Methi Sativa Tea Step 1 & 2 set (this is my last Hairveda conditioner set. THE ONLY reason I still have this is because it got separated from the conditioning milk it went with within my hair cabinet, then I found them both last year cleaning out my cabinet and started washing with it on natural wash days. It is almost gone.
• Base Gel: Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic
• Topper Gel: Ouidad Advanced Climate Control stronger Hold Gel
• LCL hooded dryer.

Adding this style will fill a void in my regimen (so I hope it works out). In the past I was never successful with this style because I wasn’t willing to try firm hold products throughout my hair without them being extremely diluted to a softer hold. Once I realized the the function of the cast and that it softened for a supple set for the majority of the set, I was ready to give it a “go”.

I used the A combination of the Anthony Dickey method and the tips that @gettingkiny @Nightingale recommended. So my combo was:

• Clarified hair(which I always do after a press)
• Hair treatment(I always do this after a press...the Sativa system was just a protein treatment 15 minutes then deep moisturizing conditioner 10 minutes without needing heat)
• Detangle just before rinse out( used Revair wide tooth comb. Right out of a press my hair wasn't tangled enough to need the Felicia Leatherwood )
• Saturate with water(recommended across methods and tips)
• Slather base gel on drenched hair
  • So I didn't do the leave in like Anthony dickey suggest since the curly magic is a leave in to me
  • I did emulsify first like I read on the @Iamblackgirlcurls
  • I was as heavy handed with styling product as I would be with conditioner
  • I did rake through from roots to ends.
• When I saturated all my hair with the curly magic I did take my baby's rinse jug and pour water over my hair before applying one more layer curly magic to make sure my hair was squishy lol.
• I put a shower cap on to get dressed and apply my topper without getting water all over the place (basically the hair that didn't have the topper on it yet was in the shower cap. The hair with the topper or getting topper applied was pulled out of the shower cap from nap to crown)
• I just went from the nap up raking and smoothing the Ouidad topper gel through my hair
• ***I forgot to shake for final clumping*** (didn't realize this until I was already under the dryer but will try that next time)
• I applied a hair net
• Sat under my LCL
  • I disturbed it to make sure it was dry all over within 1 hour which is a no-no but I will work on that next time. Doing that caused some frizz in the top that isn't in the back.

A million thanks to @GettingKinky, @Nightingale and @GGsKin for explaining your process. I should have tried this a long time ago but didn't want to apply firm hold products to my hair until I understood its use and that it wouldn't stay firm. Hopefully this holds up all week. I look forward to seeing how it goes once the cast breaks a bit more..next time I will also shake before drying for better definition.

Disclaimer:All those photos are dry hair pictures. My hair did, indeed, shrink to my neck while drying under the dryer. I just flipped the crown to the right and to the left while drying to get it all dry which made it more frizzy than it was before I started being hard headed.

ETA: this post won't let me post the front so I will make sure I post it once I land at the end of the week. Every time I attach it, the picture of the front disappears once I press save, but the front is more frizzy in the front because I disturbed it.

 

[Chicoro]

I washed my hair today because I have things to do tomorrow and I want my hair to be fresh .
The 1st pic is from last week. The 2nd pic is from today. I'm shocked at how much less hair I lost today!

View attachment 486275 View attachment 486277

My wash day:
Wet my hair thoroughly
Shampooed in 2 halves with Lady's First
Conditioned in same 2 sections with Super Sonic
Detangled with Tangle Teaser Brush in 4 sections
Smoothed on Big Poppa and smoothed Mousse Def on top

What I did differently:
1. I did my whole wash day in the shower. I had stopped doing my hair primarily in the shower, and have been doing all of my detangling in front of the mirror.
2. I shampooed in 2 sections instead of doing my hair all at once
3. I twisted the 2 sections up after shampooing
4. I applied conditioner to the 2 sections and kept each twisted while I worked on the other side

I'm going to be washing my hair in the shower and using my tangle teaser brush from here on out

It's amazing what a little observation, analysis and a few tweaks and changes can do. Like I always say, growing afro-textured hair is a thinking game, not a guessing game!

​

​

HAIR game is ON for 2023!​

​

*Croaks in a hoarse, desperate, tired voice* Write.It.Down!

 

[Chicoro]

TLDR: Tried the wash and go. I plan to incorporate it into my style rotation

I was tempted to stretch this press unit week five it looked more like week 2, but I wanted to try the wash and go on my baby so I did it with her.

Process

• Parted my hair in 7 bantu knots.
• Washed: Rusk Sensories Clarify and Quillaja Detoxifying Shampoo. Second was with Rusk Moisturizing conditioner. (Both of these are discontinued...I just have a stash of this clarifier)
• Deep Condition: Hairveda Methi Sativa Tea Step 1 & 2 set (this is my last Hairveda conditioner set. THE ONLY reason I still have this is because it got separated from the conditioning milk it went with within my hair cabinet then I found them both last year cleaning out my cabinet and started washing with it on natural day. It is almost gone.
• Base Gel: Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic
• Topper Gel: Ouidad Advanced Climate Control stronger Hold Gel
• LCL hooded dryer.

Adding this style will fill a void in my regimen (natural so I hope it works out. In the past I was never successful with this style because I wasn’t willing to try firm hold products throughout my hair without them being extremely diluted to a softer hold. Once I realized the the function of the cast and that it softened for a supple set for the majority of the set, I was ready to give it a “go”.*

I used the A combination of the Anthony Dickey method and the tips that @gettingkiny @Nightingale recommended. So my combo was:

• Clarified hair(which I always do after a press)
• Hair treatment(I always do this after a press...the Sativa system was just a protein treatment 15 minutes then deep moisturizing conditioner 10 minutes without needing heat)
• Detangle just before rinse out( used Revair wide tooth comb. Right out of a press my hair wasn't tangled enough to need the Felicia Leatherwood )
• Saturate with water(recommended across methods and tips)
• Slather base gel on drenched hair
  • So I didn't do the leave in like Anthony dickey suggest since the curly magic is a leave in to me
  • I did emulsify first like I read on the @Iamblackgirl curls
  • I was as heavy handed with styling product as I would be with conditioner
  • I did rake through from roots to ends.
• When I saturated all my hair with the curly magic I did take my baby's rinse jug and pour water over my hair before applying one more layer curly magic to make sure my hair was squishy lol.
• I put a shower cap on to get dressed and apply my toper without getting water all over the place (basically the hair that didnt have th topper on it yet was in the shower cap the hair with the topper or getting topper applied was poulled out of the shower cap from nap to crown)
• I just went from the nap up raking and smoothing the Ouidad topper gel through my hair
• ***I forgot to shake for final clumping*** (didn't realize this until I was already under the dryer but will try that next time)
• I applied a hair net
• Sat under my LCL
  • I disturbed it to make sure it was dry all over within 1 hour which is a no-no but I will work on that next time.

A million thanks to @GettingKinky, @Nightingale and @GGsKin for explaining your process. I should have been did this this way but didn't want to apply firm hold until I understood its use and that it wouldn't stay firm. Hopefully this holds up all week. I look forward to seeing how it grows once the cast breaks a bit more..next time I will also shake before drying for better definition. I see that definition in the back I can get that all over with shaking and

Disclaimer:all those photos are dry hair pictures. My hair did, indeed, shrink to my neck while drying under the dryer. I just flipped the crown to the right and to the left while drying to get it all dry which made it more frizzy than it was before I started being hard headed.

ETA: this post won't let me post the front so I will make sure I post it once I land at the end of the week. Every time I attach it, the picture of the front disappears once I press save, but the front is more frizzy in the front because I disturbed it.

*I see what you did there!



Those curls came MAGNIFICENTLY!

 

[Chicoro]

Hair with Shampoo taken December 18th, 2022.





Hair with 3 Weekly Clay washes taken January 16th, 2023

 

[keranikki]

@keranikki

I wonder if clarifying every week is doing more harm than good. I also love the way my hair absorbs water after I clarify, but I limit myself to every 4-6 weeks because clarifying shampoos are very tough on your cuticles.

Maybe you could find a shampoo that’s stronger than your moisture shampoo, but gentler than your clarifying shampoo for your weekly wash. BGC calls these all purpose shampoos.

This year I’m experimenting with only using my all purpose shampoo on my younger hair and then following up on all my hair with my moisture shampoo. It takes a long time to see the effects of overusing shampoo, so I don’t know how long this experiment of mine will last.

You were right! I was clarifying too much. I thought clarifying weekly, then following up with a moisturizing shampoo, would help me stay ahead of mineral buildup. This past wash day, I skipped the clarifying shampoo, and washed my hair twice using my moisturizing shampoo. My ends felt so much better! Now, I just have to figure out my clarifying vs moisturizing ratio. I know some ladies clarify monthly or quarterly, but I would like to know how many weeks I can go without clarifying.

My nourishing hairspray is great, but it has clogged my spray bottle. I think it's from the mucilage that marshmallow root creates. I'm still using it and I'm still going to make it.

Baggying my ends is helping the moisture retention of my ends. I still have some ends breaking off, but it's not bad. I'm going to continue to access.

Baggying my whole head is a solid nope. It irritates my scalp over time. I tried to baggy my crown. While it wasn't a complete fail, my crown was somewhat moisturized, but my scalp was slightly itchy by day three of baggying my crown. I will just have to M&S without baggying that area.

I decided to forgo my protein treatment this week. I typically do a weekly protein treatment, which is a habit that I acquired when I was a colored natural. Now that my hair is no longer colored, my frequency of using protein may be overkill. So the following will be my regimen for the rest of January:

Prepoo: Olaplex 0/3, nourishing hairspray, Giovanni Avocado Conditioner
Shampoo: Design Essentials Lavender
Conditioner: Design Essentials Lavender
Leave-ins: Design Essentials Lavender Blowdry spray, Shea butter concoction
Style: 6 cornrows, nourishing hairspray, ends baggied

 

[yamilee21]

Hair with Shampoo taken December 18th, 2022.

View attachment 486293



Hair with 3 Weekly Clay washes taken January 16th, 2023

View attachment 486295

That’s a dramatic difference. It seems the clay straightens out your hair or weighs it down more. Is the entire length like this?

 

[Chicoro]

That’s a dramatic difference. It seems the clay straightens out your hair or weighs it down more. Is the entire length like this?

Hey @yamilee21 ,

Yes, clays and Indian powders straighten my hair. They remove my hair volume and texture. These volume and texture removal changes were two of the reasons I stopped experimenting with powders years ago.

I know that people say and have shown in clay comparisons, that rhassoul clay tends to stretch the hair. Although I used French clay, I can still extrapolate the idea and apply it to my situation.

Yes, I would say the entire length is a bit straighter. My hair still shrinks up to my neck and jawbone. But, when I did an informal length check and pulled down my hair to see how long it reached on my body, it seemed to stretch farther than usual.

 

[Chicoro]

After hitting waist length, due the age of my hair, I clearly see that my breakpoint is the use of shampoos. Hence, I've changed over to clays. Thank goodness for @snoop and her clay recipe she gave me.

1. In theory, I have surmised that in order for me to gain length beyond the tailbone length stage with healthy hair ends, shampoos on a weekly basis are too harsh.
2. I love Indigenous Strandz process of rolling her ends, putting baggies on them, then washing with shampoo. I will be doing that when I clarify.

I have not been or felt this hopeful about hair since my discovery of the baggie method with vaseline from this site and how to employ Shea butter effectively.

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

My hair after trimming about 2-3 inches off. I’m trying to grow out this “W” shape I’ve got going on. To get rid of it I’d have to trim up to APL and I don’t want to do that. I’ll just slowly trim as my hair thickens up & gets longer.

 

[Lylddlebit]

My hair after trimming about 2-3 inches off. I’m trying to grow out this “W” shape I’ve got going on. To get rid of it I’d have to trim up to APL and I don’t want to do that. I’ll just slowly trim as my hair thickens up & gets longer.
View attachment 486331View attachment 486333

Your plan to cut it off gradually can work. That is what I have been doing. Your area to overcome looks A LOT better than mine did when I made my plan to gradually cut it off.

 

[Chicoro]

My hair after trimming about 2-3 inches off. I’m trying to grow out this “W” shape I’ve got going on. To get rid of it I’d have to trim up to APL and I don’t want to do that. I’ll just slowly trim as my hair thickens up & gets longer.
View attachment 486331View attachment 486333

The hemline of your hair is filling in and getting thicker. And look at the texture of your skin! It's so pretty.

 

[Chicoro]

When somebody says it's just hair and your Einstein-level of knowledge 'bout to be unleashed.



What's going through the mind of people in this thread, in the haircare aisle when selecting a hair product.
​

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

The hemline of your hair is filling in and getting thicker. And look at the texture of your skin! It's so pretty.

Thanks

 

[ckisland]

When somebody says it's just hair and your Einstein-level of knowledge 'bout to be unleashed.



What's going through the mind of people in this thread, in the haircare aisle when selecting a hair product.
​

Big facts

 

[caribeandiva]

Snoop's Clay Mix Recipe:

I use what I have which is activated charcoal powder, goat milk, green French clay, red French clay and yellow French clay. The 1 tablespoon of honey is not pictured.

It's just so pretty!

View attachment 486173
@snoop

It looks like ice cream

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

Snoop's Clay Mix Recipe:

I use what I have which is activated charcoal powder, goat milk, green French clay, red French clay and yellow French clay. The 1 tablespoon of honey is not pictured.

It's just so pretty!

View attachment 486173
@snoop

I must be hungry or something because I thought this was seasoning for 2.5 seconds.

 

[LushLox]

Air dried in a pony, excuse my pouffy ends, the weather got the better of it. Will be trimming end of Jan/early Feb.

Aww well I tried to attach a pic and it failed, will give it another try.

 

[Mapleoats]

I think I'm going to stop wearing my hair in small twists because my ends become really susceptible to frizzing and tangling when I do. I think compacting more hair together (by making larger twists) will keep them better protected. Strength in numbers, right? Plus small twists take so long to do. Next time I twist my hair I'm going to try this method from Whitney, and do 6 flat twists.



Pic of my ends today, put these twists in on Sunday

 

[yamilee21]

I washed on Monday, and my hair was still damp 24 hours later, so I did the unthinkable and blow-dried. I figured it would be easier to check for splits and knots that way too. The disparity in length on the left and right sides is just so crazy… an inch or two above waist on the left, just as I left it at the beginning of last year’s challenge, while the right side has grown all the way back down past tailbone… a good 6-8 inch difference in length. But I’m too fed up to cut to even things out again - that would make the 4th or 5th time cutting in as many years, each time with the same results.

I suspect the problem may be due to plaque psoriasis; one of my plaque spots is the back of my head, on the left side. It seems to cause extra tangling, and probably some breakage. When I detangled before washing, I separated my hair in 4 sections. I lost a large ball of hair, but almost all of it was from the left back section… very little from the other three sections. I’m debating straightening my hair more often, since that will make it easier to comb out the plaque buildup.

 

[Chicoro]

I washed on Monday, and my hair was still damp 24 hours later, so I did the unthinkable and blow-dried. I figured it would be easier to check for splits and knots that way too. The disparity in length on the left and right sides is just so crazy… an inch or two above waist on the left, just as I left it at the beginning of last year’s challenge, while the right side has grown all the way back down past tailbone… a good 6-8 inch difference in length. But I’m too fed up to cut to even things out again - that would make the 4th or 5th time cutting in as many years, each time with the same results.

I suspect the problem may be due to plaque psoriasis; one of my plaque spots is the back of my head, on the left side. It seems to cause extra tangling, and probably some breakage. When I detangled before washing, I separated my hair in 4 sections. I lost a large ball of hair, but almost all of it was from the left back section… very little from the other three sections. I’m debating straightening my hair more often, since that will make it easier to comb out the plaque buildup.

Would it be possible to ‘hold’ the hair at tailbone length? Meaning, don’t let the hair get any longer and keep the longest section trimmed at tailbone. Perhaps continue your process to baby and pamper those precious ends. Then, perhaps keeping a closer eye on the side that is taking time to reach the length of the other side. Congratulations on getting areas to tailbone! There are some of us who have yet to reach that length.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I washed on Monday, and my hair was still damp 24 hours later, so I did the unthinkable and blow-dried. I figured it would be easier to check for splits and knots that way too. The disparity in length on the left and right sides is just so crazy… an inch or two above waist on the left, just as I left it at the beginning of last year’s challenge, while the right side has grown all the way back down past tailbone… a good 6-8 inch difference in length. But I’m too fed up to cut to even things out again - that would make the 4th or 5th time cutting in as many years, each time with the same results.

I suspect the problem may be due to plaque psoriasis; one of my plaque spots is the back of my head, on the left side. It seems to cause extra tangling, and probably some breakage. When I detangled before washing, I separated my hair in 4 sections. I lost a large ball of hair, but almost all of it was from the left back section… very little from the other three sections. I’m debating straightening my hair more often, since that will make it easier to comb out the plaque buildup.

Okayyyy, hear me out: would it be feasible for you to straighten just the part with the plaque psoriasis since it's in the back? It doesn't have to be too straight, just straight enough so you can do what you need to do. And since it's in the back you can kinda hide it more.

 

[Lylddlebit]

I washed on Monday, and my hair was still damp 24 hours later, so I did the unthinkable and blow-dried. I figured it would be easier to check for splits and knots that way too. The disparity in length on the left and right sides is just so crazy… an inch or two above waist on the left, just as I left it at the beginning of last year’s challenge, while the right side has grown all the way back down past tailbone… a good 6-8 inch difference in length. But I’m too fed up to cut to even things out again - that would make the 4th or 5th time cutting in as many years, each time with the same results.

I suspect the problem may be due to plaque psoriasis; one of my plaque spots is the back of my head, on the left side. It seems to cause extra tangling, and probably some breakage. When I detangled before washing, I separated my hair in 4 sections. I lost a large ball of hair, but almost all of it was from the left back section… very little from the other three sections. I’m debating straightening my hair more often, since that will make it easier to comb out the plaque buildup.

Would you consider the Revair? Stretched hair can help with tangles and reduce knots quite a bit as you even things out and the Revair is gentler than traditional blow drying/straightening. Also, do you have a treatment plan from a dermatologist? I know plaque psoriasis, post covid shedding, and any other illness(I know you have mentioned an older illness long before recent times in the past) you may be dealing with can impact the hair. Stretched hair with your medical treatment plans may help.