Shea Growth And Retention Regimen 2018

[Chicoro]

Thank you! Get your iron levels checked often. Mine was an 8 out of 14 with 14 being healthy, normal levels. My doctor said if my levels were any lower I would need a blood transfusion. My advice is to take your iron pills faithfully and on time. Take them with orange juice if possible because vitamin C helps iron absorb faster. When you take your iron pills DO NOT drink any caffeine, dairy or eat wheat bread for an hour afterwards. Those things block iron absorption. If you do consume one of those food that are iron blockers, then wait at least 2 hours before taking your iron pills. Eat a lot of greens: spinach, collard greens, kale. Also beef has a lot of iron. So a burger once in a while is good for you.

@caribeandiva said:
"When you take your iron pills DO NOT drink any caffeine, dairy or eat wheat bread for an hour afterwards. Those things block iron absorption. If you do consume one of those food that are iron blockers, then wait at least 2 hours before taking your iron pills."


Hmmm....could those things impede hair growth as well...Because you know I'm all about getting great quality blood to those insatiable, blood sucking hair follicles.

Caffeine messes up my sleep rhythms, milk makes me bloated and gluten creates darkness under my eyes. Nothing comes between me and my hair. Now, I really have a reason to dump these things, especially the milk and the wheat/gluten, in 2019!

 

[Chicoro]

The other ladies have already given spot on advice. I will just add precaution when washing and styling your hair. Use the gentlest styling technique that you have. Avoid hair styles that place tension on the scalp. Avoid heat styling, including blowdrying, and chemical treatments (relaxer, permanent dye, etc) as much as you can. These can be irritating to a healthy scalp and while your scalp is healing it can not withstand these treatments like it use to.

It takes roughly 120 days a newly made red blood cell (RBC) to die. You were previously making poor quality RBCs because of your anemia. Your body makes new blood cells every day so it will take 4 months for your body to only contain the RBCs that have an iron supplement boost. So every day the nutrient quality of your blood will improve as long as you are taking your supplements and in 4 months you'll receive its full effect. However, it may take a bit longer for your hair and nails to respond to being flooded with high quality RBCs. Hang in there and continue taking your iron supplements as prescribed by your doctor.

Consider setting an alarm on your phone for when you will take you iron pills and set aside a few pills in your purse or key chain for when you find yourself away from home.

@Sarabellam said:
"Your body makes new blood cells every day so it will take 4 months for your body to only contain the RBCs that have an iron supplement boost. So every day the nutrient quality of your blood will improve as long as you are taking your supplements and in 4 months you'll receive its full effect. However, it may take a bit longer for your hair and nails to respond to being flooded with high quality RBCs."

So, as it relates to vitamins, I'm going to extrapolate this, and say that I need to take my vitamins for a minimum of 4 months to get the full effects, too.

 

[Chicoro]

End of year pics.

How long have you been using Shea butter? What's your regimen?

 

[Chicoro]

My Hair Is BACK!!!!!!!​

I'm finally back to the length I had in 2011! In 2012 I did a butcher trim/cut I did to my hair, myself by accident. I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I had so stupidly and unconsciously, cut off my hair.


My hair was cut back to around bra-strap length. Bra-strap is a great length. That is not my point. My point is I had worked so hard to get to hip length and cut it off. I was trying to 'learn how to self-trim'. Trimming is NOT one of my skills and I have resigned myself to the fact that it is NOT WORTH experimenting on my own hair.

Time it takes to find a stylist I trust to trim my hair:

• 1 to 6 months in time.
• 80 dollars in price.

Time it takes to fix my hair because I didn't trust a stylist and wanted to save money:

• 6 years!!!!!!!!!!
• Over $2,000 dollars EASY

BUT...​

Don't cry for me Argentina!

BECAUSE: I would have NEVER tried Shea butter again had this never happened!!!!!

The incredible blessing in all of this is: It was because of cutting my hair BACK to my bra-strap, by accident, and a host of other set-backs, that I turned in desperation
to the kiss of life, that we call, the Queen herself, " Shea butter".


My braided, un-straightened hair is now LONGER than my hair in 2011 in a loose, pressed state.

In the 2011 photo I have on my little gray shorts and it is covering my behind. In the 2018 photo, my hand is covering my behind because the area that splits is exposed. My point is to communicate that my braided hair is longer than the loosened hair.

The waist band of those gray shorts is raised higher than the waistband of my thermal underwear. Thus, my hair hangs longer in a BRAID than it did when pressed out. Now, if I want to be a petty nitpicker, which I'm trying to leave behind in 2019, I can see that my head is falling forward more in the 2011 photo and falling more back in the 2018 photo. BUT STILL!

My longest EVER hair was in 2012, but the ends today looking nothing like the ends in this 2012 photo:

Interestingly, you'll notice the waist band of my shorts, in the 2012 photo, is pulled all the way up around my waist like that of an old man.

Exhibit: A

I don't think my hair in the 2012 photo was much longer than the hair in the 2011 photo. I think it was in the 'thickening' stage, at the same length. That is why I don't think I have ever considered myself to have been at tail bone length until now.

My unbraided, pulled hair of today, is longer than my straightened hair of 2011 and probably of 2012.

The great thing is that all the old hair was cut to around bra-strap. So, the
hair ends I have now have are younger and a have a chance to be super GREAT!

 

[Chicoro]

Queen Shea has been good to me. I will do the

Shea Growth And Retention Regimen 2019


@caribeandiva, will you continue to participate and award our Shea Made Hair Unicorns?
Honestly ya'll, at least 3,989 of the posts in this thread are mine. Here's the link:

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/shea-growth-and-retention-regimen-2019.841147/

 

[Chicoro]

Yeah, @Chicoro , we're all waiting on you. We can't have a shea challenge without you!!

*peer pressure*

@sunflora ,
I hope you participate in the 2019 go 'round.

 

[frizzy]

Y

Agreed. Find out what’s causing it. Mine is caused by fibroids.

Yes, the fibroids caused heavy menstrual cycles.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

Queen Shea has been good to me. I will do the

Shea Growth And Retention Regimen 2019


@caribeandiva, will you continue to participate and award our Shea Made Hair Unicorns?
Honestly ya'll, at least 3,989 of the posts in this thread are mine. Here's the link:

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/shea-growth-and-retention-regimen-2019.841147/

Yay!!! I was hoping you’d host the 2019 Thread! Otherwise, I was just gonna camp out here

 

[Chicoro]

Yay!!! I was hoping you’d host the 2019 Thread! Otherwise, I was just gonna camp out here

Gone over and hold your spot, then!

 

[Chicoro]

Who is joining us for 2019?


https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/shea-growth-and-retention-regimen-2019.841147/

 

[Chicoro]

Don't go nowhere, though. It ain't over until the last hoof taps on the floor at the Shea Made Hair Unicorn Extravanganza on December 31st, 2018!!!!​

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I should’ve started off by saying my ends were left loose from the cornrows because I planned on connecting them to each other. Then I applied the dc and Shea.

It’s been a few hours and my hair was wrapped all night. Ends feel really nice, and I had some curl poppage while working the DC and Shea. I still feel the curls, but they’re probably too frizzy now from me constantly touching them lol. I kinda want to take a braid down in the crown where it’s the kinkiest, wash it and stuff, let it air dry, then apply the DC and Shea and see what happens

Annnd, I want to disconnect the braids in the back and slather them too

I did end up disconnecting the braids and slathering them up

 

[caribeandiva]

Hmmm....could those things impede hair growth as well...Because you know I'm all about getting great quality blood to those insatiable, blood sucking hair follicles.

I don’t know. I know caffeine dehydrates you even if you drink tons of water. I doesn’t hurt to abstain to see if you’re being adversely affected. Maybe someone’s done a study on that.

 

[Chicoro]

I don’t know. I know caffeine dehydrates you even if you drink tons of water. I doesn’t hurt to abstain to see if you’re being adversely affected. Maybe someone’s done a study on that.

@caribeandiva
You coming to the 2019 Shea Regime thread?

 

[caribeandiva]

@caribeandiva
You coming to the 2019 Shea Regime thread?

I didn’t know there was one. Headed there now

 

[caribeandiva]

I don’t know. I know caffeine dehydrates you even if you drink tons of water. I doesn’t hurt to abstain to see if you’re being adversely affected. Maybe someone’s done a study on that.

Forgot to add: Eggs are also iron blockers. Yet they’re great for hair growth. That’s why I can’t tell which affects hair growth negatively overall. @metro_qt @Chicoro

 

[fluffyforever]

I took down my twists this morning for my textured bun and the definition was popping. My twistout looked so good and juicy. Hair swanging with the slightest tilt of my head.

My hair was begging to be separated further, but I stayed strong. 2019 will be all about length retention now that I know how to properly moisturize. Queen Shea will get me there.

I'm in love with that golden creamy goodness. I think I'm obsessed. I'll be a 2019 shea made unicorn. You better believe it.

 

[sunflora]

Y

Yes, the fibroids caused heavy menstrual cycles.

How is one diagnosed with this? I was convinced I had them because my mom did, and when I say my periods are heavy and painful it's no joke. But no doctor has found anything, they said they needed to do a laproscopy and I didn't trust that. My current gyn just says 'you just have bad periods' and I'm like.... ok, you gonna write that on my sick leave note once a month? -_-

Not that it isn't possible, but yeesh, I rarely see that as a factual diagnosis for all the issues I have.

 

[Chicoro]

How is one diagnosed with this? I was convinced I had them because my mom did, and when I say my periods are heavy and painful it's no joke. But no doctor has found anything, they said they needed to do a laproscopy and I didn't trust that. My current gyn just says 'you just have bad periods' and I'm like.... ok, you gonna write that on my sick leave note once a month? -_-

Not that it isn't possible, but yeesh, I rarely see that as a factual diagnosis for all the issues I have.

Ultrasound can show fibroids.

 

[Chicoro]

I took down my twists this morning for my textured bun and the definition was popping. My twistout looked so good and juicy. Hair swanging with the slightest tilt of my head.

My hair was begging to be separated further, but I stayed strong. 2019 will be all about length retention now that I know how to properly moisturize. Queen Shea will get me there.

I'm in love with that golden creamy goodness. I think I'm obsessed. I'll be a 2019 shea made unicorn. You better believe it.

Document with pictures. That's how you get that golden pail!

 

[fluffyforever]

Document with pictures. That's how you get that golden pail!

I will right after I give myself a trim/cut in Monday!

 

[caribeandiva]

The other ladies have already given spot on advice. I will just add precaution when washing and styling your hair. Use the gentlest styling technique that you have. Avoid hair styles that place tension on the scalp. Avoid heat styling, including blowdrying, and chemical treatments (relaxer, permanent dye, etc) as much as you can. These can be irritating to a healthy scalp and while your scalp is healing it can not withstand these treatments like it use to.

It takes roughly 120 days a newly made red blood cell (RBC) to die. You were previously making poor quality RBCs because of your anemia. Your body makes new blood cells every day so it will take 4 months for your body to only contain the RBCs that have an iron supplement boost. So every day the nutrient quality of your blood will improve as long as you are taking your supplements and in 4 months you'll receive its full effect. However, it may take a bit longer for your hair and nails to respond to being flooded with high quality RBCs. Hang in there and continue taking your iron supplements as prescribed by your doctor.

Consider setting an alarm on your phone for when you will take you iron pills and set aside a few pills in your purse or key chain for when you find yourself away from home.

Great advice!! I didn’t know any of this.

 

[caribeandiva]

I remember trying shea when I first went natural over a decade ago and it was a bad drying experience. Then Shea Moisture came to my attention and I liked the restorative conditioner but it was too sticky and dull looking and I was looking to dump things with glycerin. Then I tried Cantu shea products but they didn't feel good in my hair. I went back to the SM restorative conditioner but it was just too darn sticky and my hair would attract all kinds of dirt. I gave up shea butter for years.

Eventually I found this thread and decided to try and buy whipped shea because of the rave reviews. I fell in love with whipped shea, but I wasn't about that mixtress life.

But now I've made my own and it is wonderful. It's been a long journey to get here and I can finally say I know how to moisture and seal my hair.

I can relate with the last paragraph. A long journey but so worthwhile! And once you become a mixtress you can never go back!

 

[caribeandiva]

I'm finally back to the length I had in 2011.

Congratulations!!!

 

[caribeandiva]

Queen Shea has been good to me. I will do the

Shea Growth And Retention Regimen 2019


@caribeandiva, will you continue to participate and award our Shea Made Hair Unicorns?
Honestly ya'll, at least 3,989 of the posts in this thread are mine. Here's the link:

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/shea-growth-and-retention-regimen-2019.841147/

Yes ma’am!!

 

[caribeandiva]

I'm in love with that golden creamy goodness. I think I'm obsessed. I'll be a 2019 shea made unicorn. You better believe it.

I believe you. I’ve got your golden pail ready to be engraved!

 

[caribeandiva]

How is one diagnosed with this? I was convinced I had them because my mom did, and when I say my periods are heavy and painful it's no joke. But no doctor has found anything, they said they needed to do a laproscopy and I didn't trust that. My current gyn just says 'you just have bad periods' and I'm like.... ok, you gonna write that on my sick leave note once a month? -_-

Not that it isn't possible, but yeesh, I rarely see that as a factual diagnosis for all the issues I have.

Your gynecologist does the diagnosis. If the one you have doesn’t think you have them then you might wanna get a second opinion and then go from there.

 

[sunflora]

Your gynecologist does the diagnosis. If the one you have doesn’t think you have them then you might wanna get a second opinion and then go from there.

Yeah, I've been to a few, done the ultrasounds and all sorts of other nonsense. Maybe he's right and I do just have bad periods. FML.

 

[caribeandiva]

Yeah, I've been to a few, done the ultrasounds and all sorts of other nonsense. Maybe he's right and I do just have bad periods. FML.

How much water do you drink per day? When I started drinking a gallon of water a day, my periods got a lot easier! Way less cramps, clots, and lighter in general. I told that to my doctor next time I saw him. He didn’t look surprised at all. He said that he wishes there was a study done on it. I guess he couldn’t tell me before because of that.

 

[Chicoro]

Yes ma’am!!

Thank you so much!