Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge - Fall 2011

[faithVA]

This challenge is for everyone who wants to focus on healthier ends. We know our hair is always growing and that healthy ends are key to retention.

If you
1. had healthy ends but damaged them in some way
2. have ends that are dry, brittle, bushy
3. have ends that are thin, breaking or brittle
4. have breakage you just want to get rid of
5. or fill in the blank

this challenge is for you.

To join, post
1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc
2. Current Hair Length
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends
4. What you have tried to improve your ends
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends

Retention is an ongoing thing so if you join please be committed to updating us either WEEKLY or BIWEEKLY so we can share what is working, not working and any ideas.

Let's get healthy ends to start 2012 fresh

Challengers:
faithVA
silenttullip
SimJam
LivingDol1
Imani
OsnapCnapp
mstokes2008
EbonyCPrincess
Prettylonghair
Napp
AryaStarr258
MissTripleChoc
LaidBak
SerenavanderWoodsen
truequeen06
coyacoy
ylinspired
newnyer
Meemee6223
Honey Bee
sharifeh
producjunki
BreeNique
GIJane
allmundjoi
Loves_Harmony
Aggie

 

[faithVA]

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc : natural

2. Current Hair Length: CBL

3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends:
My ends are bushy and extremely curly. With the ACV, roux suggestions, they stay tame for a minute but they bush right back up. Sometimes they feel great and sometimes they feel like they have been through a shredder. No matter how nice I treat them they typically feel like they need a trim. They usually feel dry, brittle and rough and they don't seem to hold moisture.

4. What you have tried to improve your ends
ACV rinses, Roux porosity control, rinsing with cold water, trimming, dusting, AVG, henna

5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends
I am trying two things. I am going to try

1. apply AVG to my ends nightly and sealing with a heavy oil or butter.
2. Raking the conditioner and other products through my hair to my ends to help the product infuse better into my strands


My hair is growing and I am retaining ok but I want to master this before I start wearing out styles or rollersetting my hair.

 

[silenttullip]

I'll join... I'm not in too many challenges so I can be committed to this.

1. I'm natural
2. CBL sides, APL back, chin length bangs
3. Dry, and hard ssks
4. What you have tried to improve your ends
Not much which is why I'm joining this challenge
I do moisturize & seal 1x a week
I did oil rinsing but stopped I need to get back on that
besides that I've been neglecting my ends
5. What you are going to do try to get those healthy ends
Using more protein and balancing with moisture
Moisturize & Seal 1x a day or more
Oil Rinse
Deep condition focusing on my ends like I should anyway
not get much shampoo on them.

 

[faithVA]

silenttullip[/USER];14344867]I'll join... I'm not in too many challenges so I can be committed to this.

1. I'm natural
2. CBL sides, APL back, chin length bangs
3. Dry, and hard ssks
4. What you have tried to improve your ends
Not much which is why I'm joining this challenge
I do moisturize & seal 1x a week
I did oil rinsing but stopped I need to get back on that
besides that I've been neglecting my ends
5. What you are going to do try to get those healthy ends
Using more protein and balancing with moisture
Moisturize & Seal 1x a day or more
Oil Rinse
Deep condition focusing on my ends like I should anyway
not get much shampoo on them.

Welcome silenttullip. Looking forward to learning and sharing with you.

I may add the oil rinsing back into the mix. I didn't do it often or long enough to give it an adequate test.

 

[NappyNelle]

I just posted about focusing on my ends in my fotki. LOL I'm going to lurk in this thread for ideas and progress reports.

 

[faithVA]

I just posted about focusing on my ends in my fotki. LOL I'm going to lurk in this thread for ideas and progress reports.

Well please share what you learn as you learn new things. Because if I knew what I was doing then I wouldn't be starting a challenge

 

[SimJam]

If you
1. had healthy ends but damaged them in some way - bleached then coloured, kept using heat (blowdrying before twisting) and didnt get on top of my protein
2. have ends that are dry, brittle, bushy - CHECK
3. have ends that are thin, breaking or brittle
4. have breakage you just want to get rid of - CHECK

SimJams starting stats

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc
2. Current Hair Length - CBL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends - bushy, fragile, break-y, single strnd knotty ends
4. What you have tried to improve your ends -

• gradually cut off the colour but was still getting SSKs and breakage,

5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends

been heat free for 3+ weeks, will try to go heatless for 2012,
just last week did a 2 minute aphogee and ACV rinse - this helped a whole lot,
today hennad, can feel my ends getting stronger
also today I tried putting castor oil on my ends while still wet
will continue alternating protein/henna until my ends get back in shape


Keeper products/processes

• cold pressed castor oil - to put on wet ends before twisting
• Aphoee 2 minute or some other mid range protein
• henna
• ACV - for rinses

Good Luck everyone !!!!
Im sure with all of us sharing our finds, we all will have awesome ends !!!!

 

[faithVA]

If you
1. had healthy ends but damaged them in some way - bleached then coloured, kept using heat (blowdrying before twisting) and didnt get on top of my protein
2. have ends that are dry, brittle, bushy - CHECK
3. have ends that are thin, breaking or brittle
4. have breakage you just want to get rid of - CHECK

SimJams starting stats

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc
2. Current Hair Length - CBL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends - bushy, fragile, break-y, single strnd knotty ends

4. What you have tried to improve your ends -

• gradually cut off the colour but was still getting SSKs and breakage,

5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends

been heat free for 3+ weeks, will try to go heatless for 2012,
just last week did a 2 minute aphogee and ACV rinse - this helped a whole lot,
today hennad, can feel my ends getting stronger
also today I tried putting castor oil on my ends while still wet
will continue alternating protein/henna until my ends get back in shape



Keeper products/processes

• cold pressed castor oil - to put on wet ends before twisting
• Aphoee 2 minute or some other mid range protein
• henna
• ACV - for rinses

Good Luck everyone !!!!
Im sure with all of us sharing our finds, we all will have awesome ends !!!!

Hey SimJam, Glad to see you here. I can definitely use your help

I did try the ACV and it felt ok while i detangled but the next day when I tried to style it oooo lawd I couldn't do anything with the ends. I've started putting shea butter on the ends immediately after I do my last rinse to try to keep my ends from tangling. That has helped some until I figure this out.

 

[amwcah]

I will be lurking, but I just started putting vaseline on my ends.

 

[LivingDol1]

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc: Transitioning to natural... haven't had a relaxer since march '10.
2. Current Hair Length: APL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends: i'm sure they are splitting... they are dry, I imagine.
4. What you have tried to improve your ends: i'm not sure what works. I had a trim 8 weeks ago. I don't think I know how to moisturize or keep up protein properly. all this hair science goes over my head?
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends: I'm going to rollerset my hair from now on. if I get lazy about it, I will go to a salon and have them roller set and wrap it. no blow drying! and I will avoid using the flat iron. I will keep my hair up as often as possible. I will sleep on silk pillow cases and wrap my hair with a silk scarf at night.

 

[faithVA]

Welcome LivingDol1... I have added you to the challengers list

 

[faithVA]

I was going to wear my twist down today but decided to tuck them in. Cornrowed the front and tucked and pinned the ends. Banana Clip bunned the back and turned the ends under. Need a few more inches and maybe this will be a little easier.

 

[Imani]

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc
-Natural

2. Current Hair Length
-Full SL

3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends
-Weak and constantly splitting. They actually are not that dry any more.

4. What you have tried to improve your ends
-Occasional protein and lots of moisture

5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends
-Step my protein game WAY up and trim more often. I've always been afraid of doing too much protein for fear of it drying out my hair. But since I've been doing moisturizing steam DC's religiously for like 2 years now, I think my moisture level is pretty decent and I need to crank up the protein. Even if I just concentrate the protein conditioner on my ends. I'm just going to use the Aubreys' Algae Mask and GPB protein conditioners every other shampoo.

I also plan to never go more than 4 mos without getting a professional trim. I recently just went 7 mos without a professional trim, I dusted two months after the trim, but scissors didn't touch my head after that for another 5 months. That was way too much of a gap I think with my fine strands.

 

[faithVA]

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc
-Natural

2. Current Hair Length
-Full SL

3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends
-Weak and constantly splitting. They actually are not that dry any more.

4. What you have tried to improve your ends
-Occasional protein and lots of moisture

5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends
-Step my protein game WAY up and trim more often. I've always been afraid of doing too much protein for fear of it drying out my hair. But since I've been doing moisturizing steam DC's religiously for like 2 years now, I think my moisture level is pretty decent and I need to crank up the protein. Even if I just concentrate the protein conditioner on my ends. I'm just going to use the Aubreys' Algae Mask and GPB protein conditioners every other shampoo.

I also plan to never go more than 4 mos without getting a professional trim. I recently just went 7 mos without a professional trim, I dusted two months after the trim, but scissors didn't touch my head after that for another 5 months. That was way too much of a gap I think with my fine strands.

Welcome Imani,

Look forward to your sharing our knowledge with us. Glad to hear that your ends aren't dry. And I do think that you will see a big difference if you dust your ends more often. As dry and tangly as my ends are I dust them every 2 months and when I straighten my ends look good. So I definitely believe the frequent dusting helps.

 

[faithVA]

I'm getting ready to put some AVG on my hair, especially my ends and seal with a shea butter mix.

 

[Imani]

Welcome Imani,

Look forward to your sharing our knowledge with us. Glad to hear that your ends aren't dry. And I do think that you will see a big difference if you dust your ends more often. As dry and tangly as my ends are I dust them every 2 months and when I straighten my ends look good. So I definitely believe the frequent dusting helps.

Thanks! You are really doing it up with all these challenges!

Thats the thing, it wasn't necessarily that I was trying to avoid trimming/dusting. I was doing heat stretches and as kinky as my hair is, I just can't see cutting my hair without straightening. As soon as it gets straightened I would cut, just not in between.

 

[OsnapCnapp!]

I am most definitely game!!!!

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc- I am natural
2. Current Hair Length-Stuck in CBL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends-Split ends and consistent dryness despite moisturizing and sealing
4. What you have tried to improve your ends-Dusting monthly, sealing with castor oil and shea butter, acv, etc
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends-Everything I've been doing but cranked up and Im not going to use heat at all on the ends ever.

 

[sunnieb]

I'm not joining, but I just wanted to pop in and say that I the thread title. You inspired me to go cowash!

 

[faithVA]

Thanks! You are really doing it up with all these challenges!

Thats the thing, it wasn't necessarily that I was trying to avoid trimming/dusting. I was doing heat stretches and as kinky as my hair is, I just can't see cutting my hair without straightening. As soon as it gets straightened I would cut, just not in between.

I do challenges for whats bugging me But if you notice most of them are short. I don't know what I will do next year.

I understand about trimming when its straight.

 

[faithVA]

I am most definitely game!!!!

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc- I am natural
2. Current Hair Length-Stuck in CBL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends-Split ends and consistent dryness despite moisturizing and sealing
4. What you have tried to improve your ends-Dusting monthly, sealing with castor oil and shea butter, acv, etc
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends-Everything I've been doing but cranked up and Im not going to use heat at all on the ends ever.

Welcome @OsnapCnapp. We sound like we might be at the same spot. So hopefully we can get in moving from CBL to APL.

 

[faithVA]

I'm not joining, but I just wanted to pop in and say that I the thread title. You inspired me to go cowash!

Funny!

 

[SimJam]

Hey @SimJam, Glad to see you here. I can definitely use your help

I did try the ACV and it felt ok while i detangled but the next day when I tried to style it oooo lawd I couldn't do anything with the ends. I've started putting shea butter on the ends immediately after I do my last rinse to try to keep my ends from tangling. That has helped some until I figure this out.

yep I think this will definitely be a process of trial and error until we get whats right for our hair

and I see that a few of us are "stuck at CBL/full SL" we gonna move on outta that rut once we get our ends in check, I just KNOW it!!!!

 

[mstokes2008]

]I'll join too!! This will be my first LHCF challenge!!



1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc Natural
2. Current Hair Length about 1 1/2" from APL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends dryness, SSKs leading to breakage
4. What you have tried to improve your ends PS-mostly twists & box braids, moisturizing and sealing more often, switching products
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends switching to Terressentials Mud Wash to up moisture, decrease random product use, and establish a solid regimen. Use more natural products to moisturize & seal, and bunning as a PS.

ETA- to add pics. the first one shows my hair in early Sept. APL would be 8in for me and BSB is between 10-11in. Right now I'm right around 7in at my nape

2nd pic is 2wks later. Much better flat iron job lol

 

[faithVA]

Welcome mstokes2008 and welcome to your first challenge. You look like you have reached APL. Are you talking about your sides are 1 1/2" from APL because your back has passed it.

 

[mstokes2008]

Welcome mstokes2008 and welcome to your first challenge. You look like you have reached APL. Are you talking about your sides are 1 1/2" from APL because your back has passed it.

thanks. I may actually be about 1in from APL. I attached some pics where I used a tape measure. I don't usually measure the sides and front, but the sides reach about 1.5 in past my collarbone and the front is at my chin.

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

This challenge is right on time! I'm SO in!

If you
1. had healthy ends but damaged them in some way
2. have ends that are dry, brittle, bushy - check
3. have ends that are thin, breaking or brittle - check
4. have breakage you just want to get rid of
5. or have some layers that are giving the illusion of thin ends, want to get rid of them.

this challenge is for you.

To join, post
1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning - Relaxed 4b
2. Current Hair Length = Scraggly BSL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends - they are thin and they WERE rough to the touch when I ran my hands down my hair, but the roughness has gone away.
4. What you have tried to improve your ends - recently trimmed an inch, incorporating ceramides by way of hemp oil into my regimen, greenhouse effect method regularly, protective styling. Drinking protein shakes daily and increased my water intake. I can already see improvement in my ends!!! *happy dance*
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends - same as #4 except I am also going to trim twice more before the end of the year, so I don't expect to gain any length, just health. Hopefully by 2012 instead of saying scraggly BSL, I will just be saying BSL.

 

[faithVA]

EbonyCPrincess[/USER];14356443]This challenge is right on time! I'm SO in!

Welcome to the challenge EbonyCPrincess. Look forward to seeing your luscious ends at BSL.

 

[Luxlii]

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning - Relaxed 4z
2. Current Hair Length - MBL
3. The issue(s) you are having with your ends - Thin
4. What you have tried to improve your ends - Stretching, high protien diet, braids, baggie
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends - Steaming, no heat, trim,

 

[silenttullip]

Just popping in... Been moist/seal nightly with rosewater and evoo its amazing what a little tlc can do. I'm in about 6 plaits nothing fancy so happy about treating my ends better.

How's it going with you ladies?

 

[faithVA]

Welcome to the challenge Prettylonghair