Nape Challenge for 2009?

[shaboom]

I'm dong the Aphogee treatment now. I wrapped, but didn't braid my hair last night knowing I'm going to be doing this--and my scalp was mildly sore from braiding it so much this week (not because I did it tightly, but because my hair is so thick). It looks like a bird's nest right now, but my scalp feels good. LOL.

So, here's what I'm going to do:
1. Wash twice with the deep conditioner shampoo.
2. Do the 2-step treatment. Sit under dryer until hard.
3. Rinse, apply keratin 2-min reconstructor for 5 minutes.
4. Rinse, apply balancing conditioner for 5 minutes. Lightly rinse.
5. Spray on leave-in conditioner (why doesn't leave-in come in a spray--I'll never know).
6. Leave in, and then put on essential oils.
7. Roller set with end papers. Sit under dryer on low heat until dry to touch.
8. Air dry the rest of the day, put in some more conditioner and oils if I think it looks dry.

I'm taking before, during and after pics. I'll post them to my album tonight or tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! I notice with all the albums I've been looking at that a lot of you have very shiny hair. I've been moisturizing for a whole week like crazy, and my hair still looks dry--but I've got my breakage down to almost nothing. I co-washed last night and combed through the tangles with a wide-toothed comb and was amazed. No hair broke off.

So, the protein and keratin reconstructor should help.

Oh, and I noticed with the satin wrap...this was an interesting observation. If I expose my ears, my entire nape isn't covered. Part of it is exposed. If I cover my ears, so is my entire nape. I've been exposing my ears because it's always seemed weird to sleep with ears covered, but I guess that's a no-no, too.

BTW, I found some cute half-wigs to wear for protective styles this week. I make sure my ends are covered and I'm saturated before putting the wig on. I have only ventured to wear my back out nappy natural once at work. I'm too paranoid to do that again.

Anyone else with any updates? Seems kinda quiet on here.

 

[Platinum]

I just burnt my nape with a damn relaxer so...I'm in.

I had two setbacks in my nape last year from relaxers. It looked like it had been shaved.

Keep us informed on your progress and post pics if you can!

 

[Platinum]

Thanks for the update, Shaboom. Let us know how that works for you. I'm still using Surge and WOC everyday and I noticed that my hair is getting stronger. I think I'm getting a little growth, too. I'm not losing any right now so I think this combination will work for me.

Keep up the good work ladies!

 

[shaboom]

Hey Platinum,

I'm glad the Surge is working. I looked all over for days for Surge 14, and I couldn't find it--so I saw that the apHogee is a good substitute. Although, I must say...the protein treatment smells very odd to me. Like mix of nasty and sweet. LOL.

I can tell my hair is getting stronger, too! When I run my fingers though I'm not getting any more thin, broken hairs. Also, I'm not hardly getting any breakage on my pillow in the morning.

Anyway, I've had a few delays today so I'm just now getting to the protein-treatment. I'm under the dryer right now. Oh--and here's a funny thing. You're supposed to saturate with the protein treatment, comb through and then sit under a dryer until it's hard--well, my hair sucked up that protein so quickly that it was too hard for me to comb through at all. LOL.

Anyone else with any updates?

 

[shaboom]

Quick update: after a 1.5 weeks of deep conditioning day and night and a protein rinse in between, I have *pinch* of hair on the right and in the middle (about 1/4", but less of a pinch on the left side--barely can pinch it. My starting point was just shaved. So there is growth.

I've been trying to sleep more on my right side and I notice I go to sleep and wake on on that side, so sleeping on the left isn't the problem.

How are you all doing? Any updates?

 

[Platinum]

I'm still using Surge 14 and WOC daily.I wish I tried this combination sooner. So far so good. My nape is growing in thick, stronger and softer (I guess from the WOC spray). I'm still in braids. I'll try to take some pics after I take them out. Anyone else with updates?

 

[Sundiva]

I've been having problems with my nape for a few years. I learned a lot of good tips after I joined LHCF and got some good growth in the nape. But, I got hard headed and had a few setbacks. I'm currently an uneven neck length and my nape is also uneven (1/2" in some areas, a little more in others)


Is there a Nape Challenge for 2009? If not, anybody want to join me?

Please post your regimen, tips, and pics if possible.

Participants:

Platinum
Shaboom
KeraKrazy
Br*nzeB*mbsh~ll
Raven Maven
MDsInfamousDiva

Ok so this is going to be a dumb question, please don't laugh at me Where is the nape and where would my hair fall to be nape length? More importantly, I think it is AMAZING that you have prince on your page, I LOVE HIM!!!!!!! Would you be my friend?

 

[Tyra]

Now that there is more education out there, I've discovered that while my hair back there is fine, it is no longer damaged--the two bald spots are called alopecia and I have a very mild case of it. (Look this up on the Internet if you want to see how severe this could be. I am counting my blessings.) .

This has nothing to do with the challenge but my 6 year old son is battling the same thing. We have been dealing with this thing on and off for about 3 years. I don't know what else to do. Mt/Oct seemed to have been working at one point but like clock work the hair started to grow in and is coming right back out. It seems like his hair will fall out in a couple of spots, grow back in, then fall out in another spot. His case is also very mild considering, but it's frustrating none the less. Especially since he is getting to that point to where he is beginning to be self consious. It's just such a shame because he is such a handsome little boy.(Not just saying that because I am his Mom;-) I just know that kids don't understand. I also count his blessings because I took him to the barbershop last week and one of the barbers said "Yeah, my daughter has that too" and when he showed me the little girl she had a $400 wig on. It looked hella good, don't get me wrong. But she is also very consious about it. If you have any solutions that work for you could you pm me? I really didn't realize until my son started having it that alopecia is very common and apparently a very sensitive subject for many. Thanks.

 

[RavenMaven]

My nape is getting longer and longer since I have stopped relaxing. I can actually stretch it out now, as before, it was just a patch of strands as short as eyebrow hairs. I can almost wrap my nape hair around my finger, which is a big accomplishment for me!

 

[RavenMaven]

Ok so this is going to be a dumb question, please don't laugh at me Where is the nape and where would my hair fall to be nape length? More importantly, I think it is AMAZING that you have prince on your page, I LOVE HIM!!!!!!! Would you be my friend?

No one's laughing at you, we're all here to get educated lol. What I understand the nape to be is the "kitchen" or the furthest back part of your hair, on your neck. I hope that helped.

 

[Platinum]

Ok so this is going to be a dumb question, please don't laugh at me Where is the nape and where would my hair fall to be nape length? More importantly, I think it is AMAZING that you have prince on your page, I LOVE HIM!!!!!!! Would you be my friend?

We're not going to laugh. Like RavenMaven says, we're all here to get educated. Adding you as a friend.

This has nothing to do with the challenge but my 6 year old son is battling the same thing. We have been dealing with this thing on and off for about 3 years. I don't know what else to do. Mt/Oct seemed to have been working at one point but like clock work the hair started to grow in and is coming right back out. It seems like his hair will fall out in a couple of spots, grow back in, then fall out in another spot. His case is also very mild considering, but it's frustrating none the less. Especially since he is getting to that point to where he is beginning to be self consious. It's just such a shame because he is such a handsome little boy.(Not just saying that because I am his Mom;-) I just know that kids don't understand. I also count his blessings because I took him to the barbershop last week and one of the barbers said "Yeah, my daughter has that too" and when he showed me the little girl she had a $400 wig on. It looked hella good, don't get me wrong. But she is also very consious about it. If you have any solutions that work for you could you pm me? I really didn't realize until my son started having it that alopecia is very common and apparently a very sensitive subject for many. Thanks.

I wish I could answer that. Have you taken your son to a dermatologist for this?

My nape is getting longer and longer since I have stopped relaxing. I can actually stretch it out now, as before, it was just a patch of strands as short as eyebrow hairs. I can almost wrap my nape hair around my finger, which is a big accomplishment for me!

Congratulations, RavenMaven! Keep up the good work!

 

[Tyra]

I wish I could answer that. Have you taken your son to a dermatologist for this?

Thanks for that. I know that you really means it. Next stop is definitely the dermatologist. I have been applying a prescribed topical cream(it's a shame I can't recall the name or type right now) but it seemed to work in the beginning but not anymore. His doc. asked me if he pulls his hair out.then tried to tell me that it was ring worm. I was like " Doc. I'm grown I would know if it were ringworm since that is pretty common and it looks totally different than alopecia. This is smooth skin with NO hair. Ringworm is bumpy with very fine hair bumps(for lack of better term).
This is ALOPECIA!" After more evaluation (and acceptance of my 50.00 check) she confirmed that it is alopecia. I haven't had much support on this from her. She just says "It's something that passes on it's own." Whatever. I know now that even the "experts" don't always know best. I just decided to follow my own intuition and switched his doctor on last week to someone who is excellent. I am confident that he will do more than give me some knock off cream. You don't know how encouraging it has been to know that some here on LHCF have been having the same struggle.I just want it to be over once and for all.

 

[Tyra]

BTW, Platinum...I too have been having a secret love affair with your Prince thing you got going on.He and I share the same B-day plus I always thought he was sexy.

 

[Platinum]

Girl, I have been in love with Prince since "Little Red Corvette". Wow, you have the same B-day?! I'm so jealous.

 

[shaboom]

Hey Tyra,

If you're headed to the dermatologist, this may go without saying, but you might do better if you find someone who specializes in people with your son's skin type. I think that part of the reason the doctor's I went to were so oblivious to what was going on with my nape was that they hadn't actually been exposed too much to people with my darker complexion and hair type--so they just didn't know. If I ever went back to a doctor, I'd probably seek out someone who specialized in ethic skin and hair conditions.

The good news is that there is more knowledge about alopecia out there than was even apparent just a few months ago.

shaboom

 

[shaboom]

Any status update, ladies?
Have we all identified what our problems are with nape growth?
What are we trying new this week?
What seems to be working?

This evening, I conditioned and then combed my nape and noticed about 12-14 tight coils of breakage after wiping the comb on some tissue. This is the most breakage I've had since I started--so I think I'm going to do an isolated protein treatment back there tomorrow. After the protein treatment 3 weeks ago, I had no breakage for almost a week. It was unprecedented.

I actually braided my hair into individuals with extensions last weekend, but I kept up my conditioning routine (instead of co-wash, I saturate with spray-on leave in conditioner, and I do the jojoba/aloe on the nape 2X a day). I have never actually paid this much attention to conditioning while wearing braids--I'm anxious to see results.

My nape is looking thicker and fuller on the left side. It's not much longer than it was last week, but it's thicker. The left side is actually starting to look better than the right side. On the right side, the naps are so tight--I think I need to start babying that side a bit more.

I've been lurking around--and spent some time yesterday on the hair twins post looking for my hair twin. So far no twin, but then I was at Blockbuster tonight looking for a video for my three-year old son, and strangely enough, there is where I found her.

There she was...
in the children's section...
hair just like mine...

 

[Platinum]

Hey there, Shaboom! Love your hair twin. I haven't taken out my braids yet but I'm still doing the Surge14 and WOC everyday. I believe my problem is that my nape is tightly coiled yet more fragile than the rest of my hair. I think it really craves protein; which is probably the reason why it's responding so well with Surge. I use WOC for the moisturizer because back when I wore jheri curls giggle, I got good growth with it.

Not much of a growth update yet. I can tell that my nape is filling in and thickening up though. This combination is a keeper for me. Anyone else with an update?

 

[shaboom]

Hey Ladies...if you posted pics of your napes on here, you might want to be sure you don't mind those pics showing up on Google images. I just did a search for "nappy nape" on there and some of your pics showed at the top of the search results. I'm surprised mine didn't...I just set my album to private so only contacts and moderators can see it. I'd be livid if it showed on Google. Just goes to show--be careful what you put on the Web.

 

[Platinum]

Thanks for the heads up, Shaboom!

 

[shaboom]

Hey Ladies--a quick update.

I just bought some Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and some Carol's Daughter Mimosa Honey stuff. I got it from Sephora.

What was funny is that the Asian and Caucasian salesgirl both said they used it, too, and swore by it. Hmmmm...I don't know. I know it's for anyone, but you don't see me loading up on the Vidal Sassoon, V05 or the Aquanet--cuz those were clearly not meant for hair like mine. (Trust me, I tried.) LOL.

I saturated my nape last night in the butter and then put a coat of the honey stuff on top of it. Then I slept in a plastic cap with my satin wrap on top. It was overkill, I'm sure but my nape was very soft and manageable all day. It wasn't dry and brittle.weq

I just saturate with the butter again tonight and skipped the honey stuff. I'll probably just wrap with satin tonight.

any updates?

 

[missnicole]

Hey Ladies!

I am going to join this challenge. I've been struggling with my nape since I could remember. I have had some improvement over the past year by simply just paying it more attention.

My Regimen for the Challenge:
Focus more on the nape when deep conditioning
Aphogee 2min Reconstructor (weekly until it has shown improvement)
Moisture daily with Cantu Break Cure and seal with Organic Coconut Oil (morning & night)
I will purchase a satin pillow case this week for extra protection (my scarf comes off EVERY night)

Nape photo album in my fotki (pw in profile)

 

[shaboom]

Ladies--

Well, I did the butter yesterday without the honey stuff. The results were not as fabulous as the other day. My nape is very itchy today and I kept messing with it cuz it felt like something was crawling back there!

I think I am a little allergic to the butter--I suspected I might be when I started coughing when I opened it in the store. But now I know for sure. (Probably the patchouli, or whatever that ingredient is. I read on another board that someone was allergic to that and that it was really strong in the Healthy Hair Butter.)

Although, I'm happy to report not a lot of breakage. I've seen about 4-5 hairs in the past day and a half--and I even comb it out nightly (after moisturizing, of course) to prevent the coils from tangling.

I'm going to try just doing the mimosa honey and see if that works. I like the way that smells and the texture of it much better. My method is to keep it wet and slick and pasted on my scalp as much as possible to prevent breakage. I need something that's more waxy and less creamy. When I put on the butter, it gave me flashbacks of putting on a perm.

It's not long enough to even *think* about cornrowing.

Any other updates?

 

[Platinum]

Hey Ladies!

I am going to join this challenge. I've been struggling with my nape since I could remember. I have had some improvement over the past year by simply just paying it more attention.

My Regimen for the Challenge:
Focus more on the nape when deep conditioning
Aphogee 2min Reconstructor (weekly until it has shown improvement)
Moisture daily with Cantu Break Cure and seal with Organic Coconut Oil (morning & night)
I will purchase a satin pillow case this week for extra protection (my scarf comes off EVERY night)

Nape photo album in my fotki (pw in profile)

:welcome3: to the challenge, Miss Nicole. Good luck and happy hair growing.

Ladies--

Well, I did the butter yesterday without the honey stuff. The results were not as fabulous as the other day. My nape is very itchy today and I kept messing with it cuz it felt like something was crawling back there!

I think I am a little allergic to the butter--I suspected I might be when I started coughing when I opened it in the store. But now I know for sure. (Probably the patchouli, or whatever that ingredient is. I read on another board that someone was allergic to that and that it was really strong in the Healthy Hair Butter.)

Although, I'm happy to report not a lot of breakage. I've seen about 4-5 hairs in the past day and a half--and I even comb it out nightly (after moisturizing, of course) to prevent the coils from tangling.

I'm going to try just doing the mimosa honey and see if that works. I like the way that smells and the texture of it much better. My method is to keep it wet and slick and pasted on my scalp as much as possible to prevent breakage. I need something that's more waxy and less creamy. When I put on the butter, it gave me flashbacks of putting on a perm.

It's not long enough to even *think* about cornrowing.

Any other updates?

Thanks for the update Shaboom. I still haven't taken out my braids but I'm still using WOC and Surge everyday. My nape is very soft with no breakage now. I'm going to continue this combination. Anyone else with updates?

 

[song_of_serenity]

Le BUMP.
How's it going?
~*Janelle~*

 

[lawyer2be371]

Is it to late to join

 

[Platinum]

Is it to late to join

Hi there. You're welcome to join us. I didn't put a deadline on this challenge because I wanted this to be more like a support group than a contest. Feel free to ask questions, post progress pics, regimen, etc. We're all here to help each other.

So far I've learned that my hair loves protein. Usually I would have breakage at the nape by now but Surge and Worlds of Curls is a great combination. It's the right balance of moisture and protein for my nape. Anyone else with updates?

 

[prettyFine]

I need to do the nape thing. Mine in the middle is short as i have that dreaded W shape growth pattern as you all call it.

 

[lawyer2be371]

When I get my hair done I will post pics of my nape...Its grwing but it needs work!!!

 

[Platinum]

I need to do the nape thing. Mine in the middle is short as i have that dreaded W shape growth pattern as you all call it.

You're welcome to join us, Prettyfine! Keep us posted on your progress, Lawyer2b!

Any updates? I still haven't taken out my braids yet because freight has picked up. Hopefully, I'll have the time to do it soon. When I do, I'll post pics of my nape.

 

[shaboom]

Okay, ladies--this challenge has been going on for over a month now. Any updates on progress?

I just took some pics and compared them to the original pictures I posted here. Nothing earth-shaking going on there, but there IS growth. I can pinch/pull about 1/4" at the very edge, very back of my nape--and it was totally bald a month ago. It's still to short to braid. I want to get to a point where I can cornrow my nape.

I'll post the before and after photos tomorrow. Maybe they'll motivate.

Also, I made a startling discovery. Remember I mentioned I had 2 bald spot on either side just about a couple of inches above the ear? Well, this has been perplexing me for the longest, because the surrounding hair grows normally. I thought I had alopecia, but then wondered why it would be so symmetrical.

Finally, one day while driving in traffic, I was sitting at a stoplight and I felt soreness on my scalp near my left bald spot. I reached up to rub it and guess what I pulled out? A bobby pin! Instead of readjusting the bobby pin, which is probably what I usually do subconsciously, I carefully pulled it out, and then proceeded to reach on the other side of my head and pull out the other bobby pin. I haven't used bobby pins since, but instead opt to braid my hair up and tuck it in. Something about the metal and the pulling caused those bald spots! Can you believe it!?!

Anyway, that's my update. Oh, and I've had braids for the past 3 weeks, and I've been using the honey minosa on my nape--with mixed results. No breakage, but it does make my scalp itch. I haven't had any significant breakage since the beginning of the challenge thanks to one protein treatment (aPhoghee) and one 2 min reconstructor. Also, I alternate between African Pride braid spray and aPhogee leave-in.

Any other updates? You ladies are quiet.