Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2024

[faithVA]

I have had my fourth and final trim for 2024. My routine for most of the year has been shampoo, condition, leave-in, oil and spray with distilled water. I put it in two strand twists with braided roots which I redo every two weeks.

As previously stated, this is the first time in my entire life that I have stuck with a quarterly trim schedule and my hair is thriving as a result.

Edit: I forgot to include that I apply my whipped Shea butter mix to my hair and ends before twisting it. That is what I believe has caused my strands to thicken. Notice on the bottom left of the September picture, my hair is see-through, but in December it looks a lot thicker because it is.

Fabulous progress. You have had some great growth and retention in that short spell. The thickness is definitely noticeable.

 

[faithVA]

I see a lot of gains.

Firstly, the thing I notice in your ending photo @faithVA , in @newgrowth15 and in mine is how the hair hangs flatter, and heavier. This is a GOOD thing. I am not sure if that the hair has more internal moisture and thus it is hanging 'heavier' or what. But what I DO know, is that this flatter, heavier hanging hair seems to ALWAYS appear when the hair is in better health. It is NOT necessarily due to being blow dried in the first picture and flat ironed in the second picture, as was the case with me and maybe with both you an newgrowth15. This flatter, heavier hanging hair looks different and I have found it is a sign of deeper, better care and health of the hair. The hair just looks DIFFERENT and healthier.

Secondly, in the December 2023 sideview photo I noticed the hair at the front, top of your hairline is outside of the frame of the photo. I blew up the photo to get a better view but I could not see that hair clearly. If I could have seen the length of that hair in the picture, I could give a more definitive and sure answer. But, I think I can see enough to be sure about what I am going to say next. When I look at the side view from 2023 and compare it to 2024, at a glance I see about 1 inch of length gain. WRONG! Your hair started around your glasses and ended up 1-2 inches below your chin. THAT, my friend is an incredible 4-6 inch length GAIN in 12 months!!!!!!

Thirdly, if the assumption in the aforementioned paragraph above is correct, then we get a huge piece of information. We get a great peak into your hair's growing pattern. That is a key. Your hair grows from the inner crown area down to gain length. The majority of your growth in 2024 looked like it came from the crown down, to below your chin. So, not only is your hair growing, you are able to gain great lengths during a 12 month cycle.

Fourthly, there is something that your hair is needing to keep your length. It looks to me like you made some kind of change between December 2023 and December 2024 that may have been harder on your ends in 2024. I noticed your hair color is different. Did you change the color, the brand, the type of hair color you use at all during Dec 2023 to Dec 2024? Did you make any other changes? Did you change how you wear your hair? Did you change a hair care product?

Fifthly, when I look at the front facing photo of the December 2024 image, I can see the ends of your hair. Very few if any splits or knots. That tells me that the hair has been protected. So then I ask, are you or have you been wearing/braiding or using added hair or extensions in combination with your natural hair? Are you wearing wigs? Are you wearing hats or head coverings during the day?

How are you styling and wearing your hair on a daily basis? Are you doing flat twists? Are you putting anything on the ends to seal them or to keep them from tangling? When is your tangling and knotting happening - only during wash days or on other days, too?

@Chicoro, Thank you for all that you do. Your attentiveness and the time you invest to share your thoughts is greatly appreciated.


@Thirdly, As you stated my hair did grown down from the crown and it is evening out. It is almost as if all the lower layers of my hair wait until the top layers grow down. My hair has always been this way even when I was relaxed and wearing wraps. Hopefully, this year then allows me to do a blunt cut all the way around and get rid of all the layers. This alone should help my retention.

@Fourthly, The change that impacted my ends all happened in the last quarter of 2024. I didn't change hair color, hair products or hair styles. So now to this head.
What changed? I went back into the office 4 days a week and neither I nor my hair routine was ready for it. I hadn't been in the office more than 2 days a week since March 2020 My hair was just fine through September. I took pictures and I can see the loss and devastation that occurred after I went back into the office on 10/1.


Overall I would say from October 1 to December 15, I didn't retain and actually lost some hair due to the following:
1. Trying to rush and get my hair done and ready for work in a 2 hour window versus the day I was using before.
2. I didn't make any adjustment for the dryness of the winter weather, which impacts my scalp and thus impacts my hair.
3. I was flat twisting my hair wet and letting it dry versus letting it dry and then flat twisting it. And I was doing this due to a time shortage.
4. As my hair gets longer, my shed hairs get longer and I'm having a devil of a time figuring out how to remove them without ripping through my hair.

@Fifthly: I trimmed off 3/4" before I posted the picture so my ends look better than they were. Oddly enough, although my hair is super curly, my ends do not tangle. All of my issues lie at the root of my hair. Next time I shampoo I will take a picture of my shed hair and I think it will make sense. But imagine an 8" piece of hair curled into 1/10 circle and then taking 100 of them and just placing them at the root of my hair. Now I need to get all of these pieces out of my hair. And what ends up happening is that as I pull them from the root they wrap around my ends and just snap them off. And it also is a lot of manipulation of my strands to get them out because I haven't found any one tool or method that does so.

Despite how crazy they look this December, my ends and my hair in general are better than they were last December. So progress has been made.


What needs to happen for 2025
1. I need to figure out how to remove shed hair from my roots without killing my ends and without having to go through my hair 4 times.
2. I need to use some type of heat after conditioning to stretch my hair before styling. Going to start with a dryer and may use the blow dryer to finish it off.
3. Going to stick to flat twist and 2 strand twists.
4. May need to do my hair 2x a week but need to figure out how to do it 1x a week first
5. Trim my ends quarterly regardless. Better to do small trims than larger trims.


I'm ready for the 2025 challenge.

 

[newgrowth15]

Fabulous progress. You have had some great growth and retention in that short spell. The thickness is definitely noticeable.

Thank you @faithVA. Between the feugreek/clove/rosemary oil and the whipped Shea butter that I use, my hair has never felt better. My strands are soft, but strong at the same time.

 

[Chicoro]

@faithVA
Thank you for letting me be nosy and allowing me to be bossy and in your business. I appreciate the detailed clarification that you provided to me.

So, to check my understanding, the process that you are trying to solve is how to remove the shed hairs at the root, which concentrate around the root area and literally get tangled at the root area.

Do you wash your hair loosened or in some type of braids, twists and or sections? Do you keep your hair stretched when you wash it?

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA
Thank you for letting me be nosy and allowing me to be bossy and in your business. I appreciate the detailed clarification that you provided to me.

So, to check my understanding, the process that you are trying to solve is how to remove the shed hairs at the root, which concentrate around the root area and literally get tangled at the root area.

Do you wash your hair loosened or in some type of braids, twists and or sections? Do you keep your hair stretched when you wash it?

Please be nosy. Those who have made suggestions have helped me save my hair.

Yes, I think my main issue is the shed hair at the roots.

I've done both; loose and in braids. When I was doing curly sets I would put it in sections but it didn't seem to do anything so I stopped.
But for the most part I do loose because I hate having to do the back of my hair in so many sections because it is so short.

It is worth a shot. I can use barrettes to section it off. It is still too short to twist or braid.

 

[Chicoro]

Please be nosy. Those who have made suggestions have helped me save my hair.

Yes, I think my main issue is the shed hair at the roots.

I've done both; loose and in braids. When I was doing curly sets I would put it in sections but it didn't seem to do anything so I stopped.
But for the most part I do loose because I hate having to do the back of my hair in so many sections because it is so short.

It is worth a shot. I can use barrettes to section it off. It is still too short to twist or braid.

The act of braiding can also tangle the hair. So it seems to me that you may need to find a way to anchor your hair, keep it stretched while you are washing and cleansing it, that works with available your energy, interest, time constraints and desired outcome.

I would suggest changing only 1 thing at a time. For example, washing hair requires a cleanser, pre-process, state of hair during washing, way that you wash and way that you rinse and way you handle hair after you rinse out shampoo and next step.

Maybe pick one thing and ONLY change that. May be you decide to anchor hair with some clips (for me that would be cumbersome). If you must, then only change two things. And observe what differences you see. I would suggest to make the 'change' on a day when you have time and no commitments before or after and document what happens.

 

[Chicoro]

Thread 'Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2025'

Dec 31, 2024

Welcome to the Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2025!

Ends are considered the points or the bottom tips of the hair strand. The ends are the oldest and most fragile part of the hair. The ends are KEY to retaining length and it is the ends of the hair that make us sigh and exhale and say, "Wow, that's some beautiful hair!" Hair that is thick and full from root to tip often has Luscious Healthy Ends.

Interested? Well, come on over, sit down right here, and join this challenge for 2025...

• Chicoro
• Replies: 1,221
• Forum: Hair Care Tips & Product Reviews

• 
• 

I am officially closing out this thread and challenge. If you are interested in participating in the 2025 challenge, I have linked it above and below for you. See you in the other thread for 2025.

Congratulations to you and thank you to all who participated, lurked, liked, lamented and loved these posts. Every conversation led us to answers to many unsolved mysteries.

Happy New Year to You! See you on the other side of 2025!

Thread 'Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2025'

Dec 31, 2024

Welcome to the Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2025!

Ends are considered the points or the bottom tips of the hair strand. The ends are the oldest and most fragile part of the hair. The ends are KEY to retaining length and it is the ends of the hair that make us sigh and exhale and say, "Wow, that's some beautiful hair!" Hair that is thick and full from root to tip often has Luscious Healthy Ends.

Interested? Well, come on over, sit down right here, and join this challenge for 2025...

• Chicoro
• Replies: 1,221
• Forum: Hair Care Tips & Product Reviews

• 
• 

 

[MzSwift]

I FINALLY did my EOTY photo! It's not great bc I debated with myself so hard about whether or not to do one this year. The issue is that I spend all year being so gentle and good to my hair that it feels like abuse to comb/brush it, use my blow dry brush and then flat iron it just for some pictures. I did that this past September with my texlax and it felt wrong to do it again only 3 months later. So I compromised. I started my mini twists as usual and then just left the back part out for my EOTY photos. I know it's anticlimactic but I hope this is decent enough.

Report: My ends are still doing well and I'm retaining. I don't have a ton of splits and my ends are not brittle, bushy/poofy or sticking to each other. Next year, I will be more intentional about adding extra product to the last 1/3 of my hair when M&Sing and conditioning. I will also be more regular about bun bagging at least 3x a week. Overall, I want to DC at least every 2-3 weeks. I just couldn't get that to stick this year and I think I could have better results next year if I stick with that. Also, I'm going to go back to EVOO or an EVOO mix as my main hair oil. There is a difference using my ceramide mix with EVOO, Safflower and Grapeseed oils and I want to go back to it. Lastly, I still need to find a good protein DC. I might just go back to Joico Kpak.

OK, on to the pix!

EOTY 2023, last year:

I was about Line 5-6


EOTY 2024:

Washed-


Blow dried-



Flat ironed in 4 big sections-



I'm about Line 9-10-

 

[GettingKinky]

Beautiful progress @MzSwift
It’s amazing how much more length you can see with a flat iron v just a blow dry.

 

[Chicoro]

@MzSwift ....

Anti-climactic?

Where you get THAT from?

I am HERE for some pictures. All of them! It is always a privilege to be shown someone's photos. PERIOD.


Pictures!

Me: Oooo, Girl, where?

I FINALLY did my EOTY photo! It's not great bc I debated with myself so hard about whether or not to do one this year. The issue is that I spend all year being so gentle and good to my hair that it feels like abuse to comb/brush it, use my blow dry brush and then flat iron it just for some pictures. I did that this past September with my texlax and it felt wrong to do it again only 3 months later. So I compromised. I started my mini twists as usual and then just left the back part out for my EOTY photos. I know it's anticlimactic but I hope this is decent enough.

Report: My ends are still doing well and I'm retaining. I don't have a ton of splits and my ends are not brittle, bushy/poofy or sticking to each other. Next year, I will be more intentional about adding extra product to the last 1/3 of my hair when M&Sing and conditioning. I will also be more regular about bun bagging at least 3x a week. Overall, I want to DC at least every 2-3 weeks. I just couldn't get that to stick this year and I think I could have better results next year if I stick with that. Also, I'm going to go back to EVOO or an EVOO mix as my main hair oil. There is a difference using my ceramide mix with EVOO, Safflower and Grapeseed oils and I want to go back to it. Lastly, I still need to find a good protein DC. I might just go back to Joico Kpak.

OK, on to the pix!

EOTY 2023, last year:

I was about Line 5-6
View attachment 500302 View attachment 500304

EOTY 2024:

Washed-
View attachment 500306

Blow dried-

View attachment 500308

Flat ironed in 4 big sections-

View attachment 500310

I'm about Line 9-10-

View attachment 500314

 

[Chicoro]

@MzSwift

In your pictures, you went from line 6 to line 11!

a gain of five (5) inches!


Gimme some of that length retention you got going on.

I think it is SMART to do 1/2 of your hair while twisting it. For your hair, that's where your length is. Even when you have leading hair that is longer, the bulk of your hair still looks thick and full.

Please explain what you do to your ends to protect them? The secret to your length retention has to be related to how you treat the ends of your hair. I know the overall hair routine is important, too.

Could you explain how you protect and care for your ends in detail, please?

 

[MzSwift]

@Chicoro

Thank you so much for being so uplifting!

I am mimicking ladies I've seen since the start of my journey who had significant retention by wearing wigs and weaves or by otherwise hiding their hair. I don't really rock wigs as much as I used to but I do keep my hair covered 90% of the time. I've been on a personal HYH challenge since 2022. But I really started it back in 2017 when I had my baby and he was a hair puller - even cornrows! So I started hiding my hair and after 2 years my hair was the prettiest and healthiest I had seen it! And each time I wore it out, I loved surprising myself with how much it had grown. So now, I'm trying it again after chopping locs.

I'm usually under a satin mens wave/skull cap and either a bandana or satin scarf over that. So my ends are very protected. It's also why I don't trim often, my ends just aren't exposed like that. And even when they are, my hair isn't loose - it's usually in mini twists or braids. I'm not planning to rock my hair loose until I hit WL or WHIP length. But I do try to dust my ends at least once a calendar year.

When I started incorporating whole head baggying (Greenhouse Effect or GHE) and bun baggying, I saw an increase in retention over and above when I just hide my hair. When I'm consistent, I also see faster growth. My normal growth rate is just below average. For instance, I texlaxed at the end of Sept and by the EOTY, I only have about 1 inch of new growth after 3 months. I have been slipping with my GHEing. When I'm consistent, I can get closer to average (1/2 inch per month) growth.

I'm trying to get like you and keep my ends baggied for longer periods of time. Retaining my ends is how I will achieve my goals. Boosting my growth will help me get there faster, but I'm also happy going at my own pace.

 

[Chicoro]

@Chicoro

Thank you so much for being so uplifting!

I am mimicking ladies I've seen since the start of my journey who had significant retention by wearing wigs and weaves or by otherwise hiding their hair. I don't really rock wigs as much as I used to but I do keep my hair covered 90% of the time. I've been on a personal HYH challenge since 2022. But I really started it back in 2017 when I had my baby and he was a hair puller - even cornrows! So I started hiding my hair and after 2 years my hair was the prettiest and healthiest I had seen it! And each time I wore it out, I loved surprising myself with how much it had grown. So now, I'm trying it again after chopping locs.

I'm usually under a satin mens wave/skull cap and either a bandana or satin scarf over that. So my ends are very protected. It's also why I don't trim often, my ends just aren't exposed like that. And even when they are, my hair isn't loose - it's usually in mini twists or braids. I'm not planning to rock my hair loose until I hit WL or WHIP length. But I do try to dust my ends at least once a calendar year.

When I started incorporating whole head baggying (Greenhouse Effect or GHE) and bun baggying, I saw an increase in retention over and above when I just hide my hair. When I'm consistent, I also see faster growth. My normal growth rate is just below average. For instance, I texlaxed at the end of Sept and by the EOTY, I only have about 1 inch of new growth after 3 months. I have been slipping with my GHEing. When I'm consistent, I can get closer to average (1/2 inch per month) growth.

I'm trying to get like you and keep my ends baggied for longer periods of time. Retaining my ends is how I will achieve my goals. Boosting my growth will help me get there faster, but I'm also happy going at my own pace.

I wanted to circle back to this text because I think it is very important.

There are two things that stand out and I highlighted them from your post. The first is the fact that you hid your hair under something. And, in addition to that you used something that was OCCLUSIVE (plastic???) to the process.

I think keeping the hair protected in a style + using something to RETAIN moisture is necessary as well!

This is an ideal situation and this is what I am doing right now, too!

 

[MzSwift]

I wanted to circle back to this text because I think it is very important.

There are two things that stand out and I highlighted them from your post. The first is the fact that you hid your hair under something. And, in addition to that you used something that was OCCLUSIVE (plastic???) to the process.

I think keeping the hair protected in a style + using something to RETAIN moisture is necessary as well!

This is an ideal situation and this is what I am doing right now, too!

Yes! I decided to incorporate GHEing in lieu of daily rinses bc my braids last longer with less manipulation. I'm finding that the extra growth I get from GHEing seems similar to the extra growth I experience from daily rinsing. I'll know for sure when I check in June.

Ooooh, I can't wait to see your progress!

 

[GGsKin]

Yes! I decided to incorporate GHEing in lieu of daily rinses bc my braids last longer with less manipulation. I'm finding that the extra growth I get from GHEing seems similar to the extra growth I experience from daily rinsing. I'll know for sure when I check in June.

Ooooh, I can't wait to see your progress!

I think your test will prove positive @MzSwift. I had a very similar growth/ retention experience in my early days on the board, when I was washing/ rinsing my hair almost daily, and also incorporating whole-head GHE under wigs and wraps. I believe that green house environment, and consistent ‘watering’ of my scalp aided in a faster than usual (for me) growth. I retained everything I grew because my hair was braided and hidden away.

 

[Chicoro]

Yes! I decided to incorporate GHEing in lieu of daily rinses bc my braids last longer with less manipulation. I'm finding that the extra growth I get from GHEing seems similar to the extra growth I experience from daily rinsing. I'll know for sure when I check in June.

Ooooh, I can't wait to see your progress!

Are you going to stay braided up, protected, hidden and covered until June?

This is super super interesting. I would not have connected the two - daily rinsing to baggy-ing with plastic. That makes SO MUCH sense becaus both keep the hair hydrated and moist!!

Saturday, I wrapped my head with a plastic, cheap shower cap anchored with a knee hi around it. Then, I put on a cheap do-rag on top of that. I had treated my hair by wetting it, putting on my oils and leaving them in bantu-knots. I had also put vaseline on the last 6 to 8 inches of my section hair. I had globbed that stuff on! On Sunday, I left everything on the whole day.

I peeked at my hair by taking off the rag and the shower cap before hopping in the tub. The vaseline had literally melted into my hair. I couldn't see it but it was greasy, but not slimy. My hair was wet and I put the coverings back on. This morning, on Monday, my hair was moist to wet and really soft.

I didn't wear any covering to work. My hair is not dry and less soft. So, I am going to spritz it with water and then cover it to sleep tonight. I remember Wanakee Pugh wrote, "Hair that goes up [for the night dry] comes down dry [the next day]." I had forgotten about that for a long time until 2024.

I HAVE to cover my head. It keeps my hair moist. AND, I want to get rid of all these broken hairs in the bulk of my hair. I know that partly came from sleeping with no covering on the head causing friction and ultimately breakage. So, I am trying to nip that in the bud mores in 2025 by keeping my head covered every time I go to bed.

I'm going to do my next round of blow drying and trimming in four months, at the end of April 2025.

 

[Chicoro]

I think your test will prove positive @MzSwift. I had a very similar growth/ retention experience in my early days on the board, when I was washing/ rinsing my hair almost daily, and also incorporating whole-head GHE under wigs and wraps. I believe that green house environment, and consistent ‘watering’ of my scalp aided in a faster than usual (for me) growth. I retained everything I grew because my hair was braided and hidden away.

Now we've got two people with similar experiences! I am going to bring this discussion over to the 2025 thread.

 

[GettingKinky]

I have a question about daily wetting and baggying- do you ever experience issues because your hair never dries?

When I damp bun, I sometimes have odor issues later in the day- especially if I workout. I’ve started taking down my bun at night so my scalp can air out/dry and this seems to take care of the problem.

 

[GGsKin]

I have a question about daily wetting and baggying- do you ever experience issues because your hair never dries?

When I damp bun, I sometimes have odor issues later in the day- especially if I workout. I’ve started taking down my bun at night so my scalp can air out/dry and this seems to take care of the problem.

@GettingKinky I think it’s a good idea to let the hair air-out, or get dry to the touch at some point. You don’t have to start with (soaking) wet hair, for the heat and moisture to build up within the baggy. Smell wasn’t an issue for me at the time due to frequent washing, and my hair being contained in a bag, whenever I wasn’t in the shower.

Once I started wearing my hair out, I was doing a combination of things which- I feel- affected the integrity of my hair much more, i.e using baking soda frequently, using ACV frequently, and using clay too frequently. The intense GHE I was doing definitely helped me grow in a bald spot, which is why I was committed to it.

 

[GettingKinky]

@GettingKinky I think it’s a good idea to let the hair air-out, or get dry to the touch at some point. You don’t have to start with (soaking) wet hair, for the heat and moisture to build up within the baggy. Smell wasn’t an issue for me at the time due to frequent washing, and my hair being contained in a bag, whenever I wasn’t in the shower.

Once I started wearing my hair out, I was doing a combination of things which- I feel- affected the integrity of my hair much more, i.e using baking soda frequently, using ACV frequently, and using clay too frequently. The intense GHE I was doing definitely helped me grow in a bald spot, which is why I was committed to it.

I think my issue is my daily morning workout. My head sweats a lot so if my hair is already wet/damp from damp bunning it causes a problem. My fix has been to make sure my hair is dry before I wake up in the morning, and letting it dry after my workout before I put it in a bun again.

I was definitely a victim of baking soda/ACV. My cuticles were completely blasted and I didn’t even realize it. I stopped using them back in 2019 and I’ve grown out all that hair since then. The only good thing about that experience is that now I know what blasted cuticles feel like.

 

[MzSwift]

I have a question about daily wetting and baggying- do you ever experience issues because your hair never dries?

When I damp bun, I sometimes have odor issues later in the day- especially if I workout. I’ve started taking down my bun at night so my scalp can air out/dry and this seems to take care of the problem.

When I did both, I would water rinse in the morning shower for work and it would be dry by lunchtime. And then at night, I would M&S and then baggy/GHE overnight. Sometimes, I would just M&S and pop it on as soon as I got home that evening and sleep in it. Then rinse in the morning in the shower. So there was time for my hair to dry in between. I didn't have any hygral fatigue or mildew issues bc I give my hair time to dry in between.

I think for prolonged GHEing (more than 12 hours), I'd leave out water and just oil and heavy seal my hair before the plastic cap. My hair comes out soft and not really moist whenever I finally take the plastic cap off.

 

[MzSwift]

Are you going to stay braided up, protected, hidden and covered until June?

This is super super interesting. I would not have connected the two - daily rinsing to baggy-ing with plastic. That makes SO MUCH sense becaus both keep the hair hydrated and moist!!

Yes ma'am, that's the plan! ** fingers crossed **
I don't want to see my hair much until June. I've already installed my mini twists and I'm just going to refresh them individually for 6 months. I only texlax once a year so the less I manipulate my hair, the better.

 

[Chicoro]

Yes ma'am, that's the plan! ** fingers crossed **
I don't want to see my hair much until June. I've already installed my mini twists and I'm just going to refresh them individually for 6 months. I only texlax once a year so the less I manipulate my hair, the better.

How often would you say each braid, or your whole heads gets braid refreshed during that six month stretch? About 6 times? Thus, each braid is redone 1x per month?

 

[MzSwift]

How often would you say each braid, or your whole heads gets braid refreshed during that six month stretch? About 6 times? Thus, each braid is redone 1x per month?

I refresh individually, while watching TV or something. Usually starting in the front, since it's the most visible. Using only my fingers, I'll take down a braid/twist, finger de-shed and detangle and then braid/twist it right back up. And then I'll move on to the next one. I don't add any oil or anything. And I don't do it on dry hair. My hair has usually been M&Sed that day and has dried from that but isn't dry. I hope that make sense. lol

I never do it all in one day (unless I'm just taking them down). I usually only do a couple of rows at a time so as to not overwhelm myself. So my refreshes can take a week to complete by just doing a couple of rows each night. Sometimes, I only refresh the front and then wait a couple of weeks to refresh the back. The nape and around the ears are where I have the most product buildup (bc I wash, condish, DC, M&S and oil in these braids/twists) so I try to make sure to refresh those braids/twist every 3-4 weeks, even if I don't refresh anywhere else on my head. That's the only way I can keep them in for months at a time.

I typically start refreshing between 4-6 weeks. I try to do it once a month. Sometimes, I just don't have enough growth to do it at 4 weeks so I wait a couple more weeks. The more I wash/rinse, the more frequently I have to refresh.

It's hard bc I prefer the way they look and feel when it's grown out so I've been trying to push back the refresh as long as I can. But I'm afraid of matting or loccing so I don't want to push past 6 weeks.

I typically prefer to make mine really small so that they are more like loose hair and it's easier to tuck my ends away. To prevent the new growth from marrying/sticking together, which smaller ones tend to do, I'll go through while lounging and gently pull them apart each week. For reference, this is what I mean by small (lots of pix, sorry):



Sometimes micro, my favorite but I can't do it often:




And these are "big" for me. These I could usually refresh individually in just two days by splitting them up into two sections: front and back.



What they look like grown out (how I prefer them to look):

 

[GettingKinky]

@MzSwift never apologize for pictures. We love pictures

I love the way twists look on other people but whenever I try them, I don’t like the way they come out. I don’t know if it’s because my parting is bad, or my hair is too low density, but they never look right. :-(

 

[Chicoro]

I refresh individually, while watching TV or something. Usually starting in the front, since it's the most visible. Using only my fingers, I'll take down a braid/twist, finger de-shed and detangle and then braid/twist it right back up. And then I'll move on to the next one. I don't add any oil or anything. And I don't do it on dry hair. My hair has usually been M&Sed that day and has dried from that but isn't dry. I hope that make sense. lol

I never do it all in one day (unless I'm just taking them down). I usually only do a couple of rows at a time so as to not overwhelm myself. So my refreshes can take a week to complete by just doing a couple of rows each night. Sometimes, I only refresh the front and then wait a couple of weeks to refresh the back. The nape and around the ears are where I have the most product buildup (bc I wash, condish, DC, M&S and oil in these braids/twists) so I try to make sure to refresh those braids/twist every 3-4 weeks, even if I don't refresh anywhere else on my head. That's the only way I can keep them in for months at a time.

I typically start refreshing between 4-6 weeks. I try to do it once a month. Sometimes, I just don't have enough growth to do it at 4 weeks so I wait a couple more weeks. The more I wash/rinse, the more frequently I have to refresh.

It's hard bc I prefer the way they look and feel when it's grown out so I've been trying to push back the refresh as long as I can. But I'm afraid of matting or loccing so I don't want to push past 6 weeks.

I typically prefer to make mine really small so that they are more like loose hair and it's easier to tuck my ends away. To prevent the new growth from marrying/sticking together, which smaller ones tend to do, I'll go through while lounging and gently pull them apart each week. For reference, this is what I mean by small (lots of pix, sorry):

View attachment 500510 View attachment 500512 View attachment 500518

Sometimes micro, my favorite but I can't do it often:

View attachment 500524


And these are "big" for me. These I could usually refresh individually in just two days by splitting them up into two sections: front and back.

View attachment 500514 View attachment 500520

What they look like grown out (how I prefer them to look):

View attachment 500516

Third pic with the white t-shirt... That's YOUR hair right? Wow! Those twist are long. They hang almost to your bra-strap!!!! Look at ALL the analysis and thought that goes into your process.

That's right, growing afro-textured hair long and healthy is a thinking game, NOT a guessing game.

 

[MzSwift]

@MzSwift never apologize for pictures. We love pictures

I love the way twists look on other people but whenever I try them, I don’t like the way they come out. I don’t know if it’s because my parting is bad, or my hair is too low density, but they never look right. :-(

Yes! This is how I felt when I first started rocking them too. Mine look really scalpy, especially in the front, bc of my density. That's why I prefer them with a lot of new growth. Until I get some new growth, I do a lot of pinning them in the front. I either pin one side up or both sides back. Then it looks better to me.
See how scalpy they look when freshly done vs after a few washes:

Third pic with the white t-shirt... That's YOUR hair right? Wow! Those twist are long. They hang almost to your bra-strap!!!! Look at ALL the analysis and thought that goes into your process.

That's right, growing afro-textured hair long and healthy is a thinking game, NOT a guessing game.

Yes ma'am, that was before I locced and then chopped my hair off. I'm working my way back!

 

[Lylddlebit]

I FINALLY did my EOTY photo! It's not great bc I debated with myself so hard about whether or not to do one this year. The issue is that I spend all year being so gentle and good to my hair that it feels like abuse to comb/brush it, use my blow dry brush and then flat iron it just for some pictures. I did that this past September with my texlax and it felt wrong to do it again only 3 months later. So I compromised. I started my mini twists as usual and then just left the back part out for my EOTY photos. I know it's anticlimactic but I hope this is decent enough.

Report: My ends are still doing well and I'm retaining. I don't have a ton of splits and my ends are not brittle, bushy/poofy or sticking to each other. Next year, I will be more intentional about adding extra product to the last 1/3 of my hair when M&Sing and conditioning. I will also be more regular about bun bagging at least 3x a week. Overall, I want to DC at least every 2-3 weeks. I just couldn't get that to stick this year and I think I could have better results next year if I stick with that. Also, I'm going to go back to EVOO or an EVOO mix as my main hair oil. There is a difference using my ceramide mix with EVOO, Safflower and Grapeseed oils and I want to go back to it. Lastly, I still need to find a good protein DC. I might just go back to Joico Kpak.

OK, on to the pix!

EOTY 2023, last year:

I was about Line 5-6
View attachment 500302 View attachment 500304

EOTY 2024:

Washed-
View attachment 500306

Blow dried-

View attachment 500308

Flat ironed in 4 big sections-

View attachment 500310

I'm about Line 9-10-

View attachment 500314

Lovely Results!

 

[Lylddlebit]

I refresh individually, while watching TV or something. Usually starting in the front, since it's the most visible. Using only my fingers, I'll take down a braid/twist, finger de-shed and detangle and then braid/twist it right back up. And then I'll move on to the next one. I don't add any oil or anything. And I don't do it on dry hair. My hair has usually been M&Sed that day and has dried from that but isn't dry. I hope that make sense. lol

I never do it all in one day (unless I'm just taking them down). I usually only do a couple of rows at a time so as to not overwhelm myself. So my refreshes can take a week to complete by just doing a couple of rows each night. Sometimes, I only refresh the front and then wait a couple of weeks to refresh the back. The nape and around the ears are where I have the most product buildup (bc I wash, condish, DC, M&S and oil in these braids/twists) so I try to make sure to refresh those braids/twist every 3-4 weeks, even if I don't refresh anywhere else on my head. That's the only way I can keep them in for months at a time.

I typically start refreshing between 4-6 weeks. I try to do it once a month. Sometimes, I just don't have enough growth to do it at 4 weeks so I wait a couple more weeks. The more I wash/rinse, the more frequently I have to refresh.

It's hard bc I prefer the way they look and feel when it's grown out so I've been trying to push back the refresh as long as I can. But I'm afraid of matting or loccing so I don't want to push past 6 weeks.

I typically prefer to make mine really small so that they are more like loose hair and it's easier to tuck my ends away. To prevent the new growth from marrying/sticking together, which smaller ones tend to do, I'll go through while lounging and gently pull them apart each week. For reference, this is what I mean by small (lots of pix, sorry):

View attachment 500510 View attachment 500512 View attachment 500518

Sometimes micro, my favorite but I can't do it often:

View attachment 500524


And these are "big" for me. These I could usually refresh individually in just two days by splitting them up into two sections: front and back.

View attachment 500514 View attachment 500520

What they look like grown out (how I prefer them to look):

View attachment 500516

Your braids look so good!

 

[GettingKinky]

Here is my year end photo. My ends are doing well. I think bunning is helping so I’m going to keep it up. My beginning photo isn’t great. My stylist didn’t do a very straight blowout.