Setting to Success 2014 Challenge

toaster FYI, in the meantime, I have seen people use cut up new sponges instead of plastic ear protectors -- tried it and it's actually more comfortable.

Re using a bit of regular cond. instead of leave-in -- how your did hair come out? Haven't done this in a while but remember (a) that Dom. salons do this all the time and (b) there was a thread about a lot of WL and beyond ladies having this (as well as no manipulation, direct heat, etc.) in common.

Steaming right now. Today was my monthly protein prepoo session so "hair day" is a little longer than usual. Will rinse and then set with It's a 10 Conditioner (the regular conditioner, not the leave in) and Camille Rose Curl Maker Gel.

My ear protectors didn't come because USPS messed up my mail service for the past two weeks, so I'll try my usual 90 minutes and see if I need more time.

I spent some money at Ulta and got a free 2 oz It's a 10 Leave in! I have an unopened 4 oz container, and 1/4 of a 4 oz container already. That's enough for the whole year I believe!

I hope setting with conditioner works, but I think in the summer when it's really hot I'll set with the leave-in, and switch back to the conditioner in the Fall.
 
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ForeverinBloom What kind of oil/leave-in cream did you put on before setting lotion/foam? Sometimes that has the effect of keeping hair, and roots in particular, straighter. Didn't notice/see what kind of rollers you were using -- magnetic rollers without teeth and ventilation and non-straight hair (i.e., from relaxer or being naturally straight) is not a good combination in my opinion. Finally, did you use enough tension? Sometimes its not the products but the technique. Don't give up!
toaster

No, this was matting only at the roots
This was beyond sticking :nono:
I used the foam on the roots and the length of my hair
 
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Blairx0 My hair loves protein too. Other than hard and semi-hard proteins like Aphogee, Emergencee, Vitale Revitalizer, I use no fat yogurt (mixed with a bit of Coconut Oil) and/or Bamboo Mix (Dominican brand) every time I wash. Salerm is another protein cond. that "it" likes but only every once and a while. Your hair might like egg yolks too (the whites are too drying).
faithVA

I used the Ynobe Nettle and Alma Conditioner. I wrote a review of it here:

http://herampersandhim.com/2014/04/08/ynobe-amla-nettle-moisturizing-deep-conditioner-review/

My hair is fine and I need protein to keep my hair in shape, and despite what looks like good ingredients my hair did not get enough protein to accept moisturize and was just a mess hence my set was a mess.

Also what is this I read about flat twist for a month? How are you gonna set with flat twist?
 
See what had happened was......

I'm at 9 months pregnant now and probably the clumsiest I've been through out this entire pregnancy. Yesterday I slipped and semi-fell in the bathroom, but grabbed the sink before I made it to the floor. Baby lulu is fine (Thank God) but I sprained my wrist so setting myself is not gonna happen any time soon.

I'm good for the next 2 weeks since I just did a fresh set, but I made an appt at the salon for a nice style next Friday that should last me at least 2 additional weeks as well. I'll include the pic of the style I want. Hopefully by then I will have delivered (fingers crossed)!!!!

Over the years, my stylist has become a good friend of mine so she offered to come over to my house after the baby to do my hair as well. I took her up on her offer, well at least until school lets out for the summer and my sister (a teacher) gets in town to help with the baby and can throw in some senegalese twists for me. I'll wear those for 8-10 weeks.

I'll be back to my normal setting schedule in the fall but for now I have to focus on staying off my feet until the baby arrives and enjoying his sweetness when he does. So for the next 4 months, I'll be in full protective style mode. I don't want to worry about my hair but still want it to look good. Of course I'll still be checking in on everybody's lovely sets but wont have any to show. lol
 
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lulu97 Please don't fall! Do whatever you have to do for yourself and baby Lulu. See you in the Twist/Braids/Buns thread. :yep:

rawsilk Thanks for the sponge idea! I might try that. Setting with conditioner as opposed to a leave-in worked out pretty well. I just had to figure out how much conditioner I needed to leave in my hair. I'll have to see how it does throughout the week. I moisturize and seal my hair every night, so I'm hoping leaving conditioner in doesn't cause build up. I don't think it will, but we'll see.

Working out and keeping my set "straight" has been less of a problem than I imagined, but it does take some work. I wear my hair in a bun with a thick headband on it while I work out. I don't remove the headband until after I've showered so the sweat has a chance to dry (that sounds disgusting). Ad the days go by my roots do get puffy, but if I need/want to wear my hair out I can do bantu knots/twists/braids the night before to "re-set" my hair. None of that is really necessary if I'm going to bun every day, as a simple head band works fine.
 
The unstyled result of my three Bantu knots overnight. I just smoothed it into a bun for my workout/ the rest of my day, but I think I could have made it work for wearing my hair down if I wanted.

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This week I tried only using a wide tooth comb to detangle before I rolled, and it worked great! I did a henna treatment last weekend so I believe that played a big part in how easy it was to get my hair super smooth before rolling. Henna loosens my hair, and I super soaked my hair before rolling. I tried something new and put my hair in a few twists before rolling them with carusos. It resulted in fluffy curls.



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I took this pic of my hair, and asked my SO if my hair really looked this thick from the back in person. He said yeah...I was so surprised. I thought the camera was lying to me all this time!

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See what had happened was......

I'm at 9 months pregnant now and probably the clumsiest I've been through out this entire pregnancy. Yesterday I slipped and semi-fell in the bathroom, but grabbed the sink before I made it to the floor. Baby lulu is fine (Thank God) but I sprained my wrist so setting myself is not gonna happen any time soon.

I'm good for the next 2 weeks since I just did a fresh set, but I made an appt at the salon for a nice style next Friday that should last me at least 2 additional weeks as well. I'll include the pic of the style I want. Hopefully by then I will have delivered (fingers crossed)!!!!

Over the years, my stylist has become a good friend of mine so she offered to come over to my house after the baby to do my hair as well. I took her up on her offer, well at least until school lets out for the summer and my sister (a teacher) gets in town to help with the baby and can throw in some senegalese twists for me. I'll wear those for 8-10 weeks.

I'll be back to my normal setting schedule in the fall but for now I have to focus on staying off my feet until the baby arrives and enjoying his sweetness when he does. So for the next 4 months, I'll be in full protective style mode. I don't want to worry about my hair but still want it to look good. Of course I'll still be checking in on everybody's lovely sets but wont have any to show. lol

I'm glad you are okay Lu. Please be careful! Look forward to seeing your style.
 
lulu97 Please be careful. I'm so happy you didn't fall and that baby lulu is okay. All the best for a safe delivery, and can't wait to see your beautiful sets again in the fall! :)

See what had happened was......

I'm at 9 months pregnant now and probably the clumsiest I've been through out this entire pregnancy. Yesterday I slipped and semi-fell in the bathroom, but grabbed the sink before I made it to the floor. Baby lulu is fine (Thank God) but I sprained my wrist so setting myself is not gonna happen any time soon.

I'm good for the next 2 weeks since I just did a fresh set, but I made an appt at the salon for a nice style next Friday that should last me at least 2 additional weeks as well. I'll include the pic of the style I want. Hopefully by then I will have delivered (fingers crossed)!!!!

Over the years, my stylist has become a good friend of mine so she offered to come over to my house after the baby to do my hair as well. I took her up on her offer, well at least until school lets out for the summer and my sister (a teacher) gets in town to help with the baby and can throw in some senegalese twists for me. I'll wear those for 8-10 weeks.

I'll be back to my normal setting schedule in the fall but for now I have to focus on staying off my feet until the baby arrives and enjoying his sweetness when he does. So for the next 4 months, I'll be in full protective style mode. I don't want to worry about my hair but still want it to look good. Of course I'll still be checking in on everybody's lovely sets but wont have any to show. lol
 
Just curious -- what's in your henna mix? your process? I used to henna a lot but then got a bad batch and have been leery ever since.
This week I tried only using a wide tooth comb to detangle before I rolled, and it worked great! I did a henna treatment last weekend so I believe that played a big part in how easy it was to get my hair super smooth before rolling. Henna loosens my hair, and I super soaked my hair before rolling. I tried something new and put my hair in a few twists before rolling them with carusos. It resulted in fluffy curls.



View attachment 254737



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I took this pic of my hair, and asked my SO if my hair really looked this thick from the back in person. He said yeah...I was so surprised. I thought the camera was lying to me all this time!

View attachment 254743
 
lulu97 Old wive's tale: the "klutzier" you are when preggers, the prettier the baby -- :) So glad you didn't fall.
See what had happened was......

I'm at 9 months pregnant now and probably the clumsiest I've been through out this entire pregnancy. Yesterday I slipped and semi-fell in the bathroom, but grabbed the sink before I made it to the floor. Baby lulu is fine (Thank God) but I sprained my wrist so setting myself is not gonna happen any time soon.

I'm good for the next 2 weeks since I just did a fresh set, but I made an appt at the salon for a nice style next Friday that should last me at least 2 additional weeks as well. I'll include the pic of the style I want. Hopefully by then I will have delivered (fingers crossed)!!!!

Over the years, my stylist has become a good friend of mine so she offered to come over to my house after the baby to do my hair as well. I took her up on her offer, well at least until school lets out for the summer and my sister (a teacher) gets in town to help with the baby and can throw in some senegalese twists for me. I'll wear those for 8-10 weeks.

I'll be back to my normal setting schedule in the fall but for now I have to focus on staying off my feet until the baby arrives and enjoying his sweetness when he does. So for the next 4 months, I'll be in full protective style mode. I don't want to worry about my hair but still want it to look good. Of course I'll still be checking in on everybody's lovely sets but wont have any to show. lol
 
Got caught in the snow...yes snow today and this was my Rollerset after two days in a bun and an afternoon in the snow



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A hot mess.

I plan to bun the rest of the week, but I still threw some flexi rods in to see if I can at least get it in one direction



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Results to come
 
Hey girls. All rolled up and under the dryer~
I set late tonight with perm rods, so I'm drying with heat for half an hour before I go to bed to be sure it's dry before work

Today's washing & setting time:
Shampoo: 10 minutes
Applying conditioner mix and steaming with Q-redew: 23 minutes
DC time: 30 minutes (usually I let the DC sit for an hour in my hair, but it was already late)
Washing out DC: 6 minutes
Rollersetting and detangling: 1 hour 40 minutes
Dryer time: 30 minutes

So- total hair time today was 3 hours 19 minutes. It's pretty good timing, considering all the steps I went through- and comparable to the wait, prep and styling time in a salon (but with considerably more attention paid to my hair's health). I'm trying to be more mindful of how much time I spend doing my hair and scheduling.

DCing for just half an hour versus an hour tonight didn't make a difference; my hair was just as easy to detangle. Maybe in the future I can DC for just half an hour to save time.

After sitting for half an hour under the dryer, I'm going to bed and airdrying while I sleep for 7 hours :sleep:

How much time does your wash day usually take?
 
coilyhaircutie
How much time does your wash day usually take?

A long time...it's a 2 day process! lol I justify the time by telling myself that since I wash every 2 weeks now, my hair needs all the extra's to remain supple....especially the conditioning. Plus the results are totally worth it.

Pre-shampoo treatment: 4-5 hours
Wash (in 4 sections) 5-10 mins
Deep condition overnight: 8 hours
Next morning steam: 20 mins
Rinse out deep conditioner: 3-5 mins
Apply leave in, detangle and roller set: Maybe 1 hour
Dry under hooded dryer: 1 hour
Misc: Take a zillion pictures, Remove rollers, finger comb, stretch roots with bantu knots, etc 15 mins.
 
My hair was super matted. I have no idea what happened. I guess roller setting and pinning my hair up, followed by leaving it alone all week, is no bueno. Lesson learned! Thank goodness I did not put anything wet in my hair to detangle. I dry detangled with my fingers and lots of coconut oil :yep:

I thoroughly detangled with 2 different sized combs and my fingers prior to roller setting. I've never had my hair act like this. Weird. :ohwell:

that happened to me the last time I did a curl formers that's no bueno. how are you going to combat this next time?
 
that happened to me the last time I did a curl formers that's no bueno. how are you going to combat this next time?

girlonfire
I don't know. I put multiple braids in my hair yesterday. The end goal is stretching my hair. I rarely get single strand knots anymore because I do stretch, and roller setting is the ultimate stretcher for me that is the least damaging :yep:
I'm not done with roller setting, but I am reevaluating my technique and won't stop until I get it right.
I am going back to finger detangling, and spent about an hour doing so with loads of Jessicurl conditioner (non-Carol's Daughter - that's expensive!). You know when your natural hair is super detangled when your sections of hair look thinner and blacker because they are so loaded down with conditioner :grin:
I deep conditioned with my beloved Joico Moisture Recovery Treatment Balm for about 40 minutes and rinsed with cold water. Then...Oyin to the rescue! Hair Dew, Whipped Pudding, and then castor oil to seal
I need to hop under the dryer before heading to work because it's cold outside!
 
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