Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2026

[ScorpioLove]

How short did you go? It may just take a little getting used to. I went through a phase of wearing my hair short, I like short hair on me, if I want a short style now I'd get a weave. I actually mainly avoid short hair because it's more work for me on a daily basis, I don't want to get up everyday and HAVE to style my hair, and that's what having short hair would mean for me.

It’s bottom of neck length bob. some of my strands are shorter but only cause i was dealing with a lot of breakage post partum/ removal of twists.

Definitely feels like more styling maintenance is needed. was also trying to search and destroy but couldn’t outside of my front strands. i will have to figure out a mirror set up. post salon visit style was cute but i am still trying to figure out damage free styling on my own. my hair isn’t quite long enough to ponytail but considering the damage those can cause it’s probably best not to rely on that.

i’m sort of reintroducing myself to hair as a hobby so super gentle detangling and styling to look nice with my own hair is the goal. in a pinch, i can throw on a wig if i need to.

 

[Angel of the North]

It’s bottom of neck length bob. some of my strands are shorter but only cause i was dealing with a lot of breakage post partum/ removal of twists.

Definitely feels like more styling maintenance is needed. was also trying to search and destroy but couldn’t outside of my front strands. i will have to figure out a mirror set up. post salon visit style was cute but i am still trying to figure out damage free styling on my own. my hair isn’t quite long enough to ponytail but considering the damage those can cause it’s probably best not to rely on that.

i’m sort of reintroducing myself to hair as a hobby so super gentle detangling and styling to look nice with my own hair is the goal. in a pinch, i can throw on a wig if i need to.

Have you thought about roller setting? That might work out for you, along with wrapping at night to make lighter work of styling.

 

[Lylddlebit]

Hey!

@Angel of the North

Another AHA!

The hard Shea butter mix elongates and stretches my hair.

So, I use the hard butter to stretch my hair instead of using HEAT (blow dryer) to stretch my hair.

I never made that connection before!


My hair coated with the Hard Shea Butter Mix with Cocoa Butter





Hard Shea Butter Mix Elongates and Stretches my Hair Section



Hair Braided and Coated with Hard Shea Butter Mix



Pulling Braid coated and saturated with the Hard Shea Butter Mix

That hair is sweeping the tops of your thighs while sitting down. Looking real good!

 

[Lylddlebit]

I'm here. Just taking a slight breather. For some reason I'm not feeling like being bothered with hair
I skipped the March update as you can see. No pictures. No straightening. No measuring.

How are you progressing? What are those ends looking like?
I'm not sure how they are looking. I didn't feel like being bothered with blow drying and trimming. I put my hair in mini-twist and clipped the ends. That's about all I'm going to do until probably June.

Have you had any epiphanies?
No really. Still thinking about which bond treatment I will switch to after the K18. Thinking I may be better off using something easier each wash day versus K18, once a month.

Have you set bolder goals?
No. Just sticking to reaching APL by the end of the year and keeping it as simple as possible.

Have you pulled back on some goals?
No

Have you had any realizations about your hair or your hair care practices?
No

How is your consistency?
I missed 1 week due to something I can't remember now. But for the most part on scheduling every 5 to 7 days.

Extending grace to you?
A whole lot of it right now.

Do you know which bond treatment you want to try? I really like the living proof triple bond treatment and Epes is on my wishlist.

 

[Lylddlebit]

For the first time in the history of my hair journey, my ends were so healthy, and NOT so riddled with splits/knots and lint, that I was able to selectively do the Search and Destroy method to clean up my Hair Ends.

I could literally COUNT the splits and knots and lint coated ends I had. Normally, every single hair end would usually be either split, knotted or have lint or have all a combination of these issues.

Not this time. Knot this time. Nope! ​

To be transparent, I still have some hairs with knots and a few splits. I did not get them all. But most of my hair ends are free from any issues and damage.

I read this and said. What a Feeling...in my Irene Cara impersonations lol!

 

[faithVA]

Do you know which bond treatment you want to try? I really like the living proof triple bond treatment and Epes is on my wishlist.

I think I'm going to try Hairgenics Pronexa. I used it before but along with the K18. You use it before shampooing. I think that will work better with the products I am using. And I'm hoping that using it every week will work as well for me as using K18 once a month. I don't think I want another leave-in type unless I confirm that no other type works for my hair.

 

[snoop]

Thank you for explaining that for me, I'm even more curious to hear about your results when you try the paste. I'm wondering if it makes a smoother paste than the other clays. I want to try the bentonite clay in the form of a paste.

I'm still making my way through the threads, but I'll answer this one.

I've used (white) kaolin, bentonite, rhassoul, red clay, and pink clays, though I've used the last four in the past. I've always used them as a paste.

From what I remember, red clay was sticky and hard to wash out. Bentonite and rhassoul are gritty/sandy and hard to wash out of my cottony 4c hair -- unless I follow up with conditioner. Pink clay was in between. Kaolin clay, however, has a consistency that's not like the others.

First, it requires a lot less water to turn it into a runny paste than the other clays do. Second, the clay itself is so finely milled, that I would compare it to talcum powder...very soft and smooth. Like flour. Finally, when you mix it, the consistency is, as @Chicoro said, soft and smooth, which makes it super easy to wash out. A lot of people with my hair texture tend to have some difficulty washing out other clays unless they can use a conditioner with slip to aid them. This washes straight out with water, unless I leave it on too long and it starts to dry or, as with the others, if I were to add oils which make the oils "sticky".

 

[snoop]

I needed to trim my hair. More than a micro trim. I hadn't used my "regular" trimming method of putting my hair in mini twists then cutting off the final inch, in some time. My ends were getting a bit raggidy.

But here's the thing. So roads...good intentions...

I washed my hair last week in jumbo twists with the idea of being able to keep my hair moisturized long enough to install a set of twists. This now takes me 3 to 4 days. Well, the washing process caused some major tangles and matting at my roots. The knots ended up causing breakage or I was forced to snip a lot of them out. I also took a day's break, which caused my hair to dry out more.

Normally, I just twist my hair with water then moisturize and seal when everything is done, but this time I used a glycerine heavy glycerine/water mix. I think that the glycerine added a bit of slip. My hair is now in mini twists and feeling so soft...and my ends are now feeling so much better!



I plan on keeping these in until mid- to end of next month. I want to break them down into micro twists after, but I've never done my hair that small, so I'm a bit apprehensive. We'll see.