Apl 2018

[B_Phlyy]

As much as I don't want to, I think I am going to have to redo some of my mini braids. I might start combining some to make them a little bigger. I'm pretty sure I'm taking them out completely the last few days of the month. Not sure what I'm going to do when it is all loose though.

 

[guyaneseyankee]

9/8/18 I’m almost there
It’s not even bone straight. I’m using the Ion steam pro, just to braid it. I figured I’d use this as an opportunity for progress pic

 

[faithVA]

9/8/18 I’m almost there
It’s not even bone straight. I’m using the Ion steamer just to braid it. I figured I’d use this as an opportunity for progress pic

Based in the picture You are there and not almost there. Congratulations. Your hair looks great.

 

[guyaneseyankee]

My sides aren’t apl (idk). My ends aren’t rough but I definitely have jaggedy ends. I’m gonna focus on keeping my ends moisturized until December’s trim

 

[sunflora]

My sides aren’t apl (idk). My ends aren’t rough but I definitely have jaggedy ends. I’m gonna focus on keeping my ends moisturized until December’s trim

I love this braided hairstyle. Is your hair blown out or straightened here?

 

[guyaneseyankee]

I love this braided hairstyle. Is your hair blown out or straightened here?

I just straightened a twist out I wore this last week using the Ion Steampro. No flatiron

 

[sunflora]

The more my hair grows, the more it seems to shrink.

 

[guyaneseyankee]

The more my hair grows, the more it seems to shrink.

View attachment 435209

Pretty hair.
I feel the same way

 

[sunflora]

Pretty hair.
I feel the same way

Thank you! I can literally just scrunch my hair up to my head and look like I just did a fresh BC. If I ever make WL I'll still have a TWA. Kinky/curly hair is so odd but still very amusing!

 

[guyaneseyankee]

@sunflora LOL. Me too

 

[faithVA]

@sunflora LOL. Me too

You hair will hang over time. You have a lot of shrinkage but as your hair gets longer it should start to drop to your shoulders. Some hair doesn't hang at all. You have at least a little bit of hang time.

 

[kupenda]

I can tell I’ve lost quite a bit of hair. I imagine due to breakage. My hair feels shorter. I’ve booked an appt for a blow dry and trim at the end of the month. I’ll see if the stylist will take a photo before my trim so I can at least see how bad it is and upload before/after you ladies

 

[faithVA]

I can tell I’ve lost quite a bit of hair. I imagine due to breakage. My hair feels shorter. I’ve booked an appt for a blow dry and trim at the end of the month. I’ll see if the stylist will take a photo before my trim so I can at least see how bad it is and upload before/after you ladies

Hopefully it isn't as bad as you think it is. Hopefully you will feel better after the trim.

 

[SunkissedLife]

I didn’t want to join this challenge because I felt really discouraged that I would reach my goal feels like I’ve been stuck at shoulder length FOREVER. Literally same length as last year but I had To trim and grow out some major breakage I had at the crown. Now I’m focusing on increase growth and health overall.

I’m more serious about my hair care now and the main thing is to be consistent. I think adding Shea butter, deep conditioning with heat and oil massages will make a huge difference. I’m going to put it out in the universe and claim I’m going to have exponential growth and reach APL by the end of the year! Although I’m tallish so I know it’s gon take a minute but idc ultimate goal is waist length / APL curly - I believe!

My last fresh press and trim (salon) was in July for my birthday - she added some flips and I was really feeling myself click the link to see this hair in action

 

[faithVA]

I didn’t want to join this challenge because I felt really discouraged that I would reach my goal feels like I’ve been stuck at shoulder length FOREVER. Literally same length as last year but I had To trim and grow out some major breakage I had at the crown. Now I’m focusing on increase growth and health overall.

I’m more serious about my hair care now and the main thing is to be consistent. I think adding Shea butter, deep conditioning with heat and oil massages will make a huge difference. I’m going to put it out in the universe and claim I’m going to have exponential growth and reach APL by the end of the year! Although I’m tallish so I know it’s gon take a minute but idc ultimate goal is waist length / APL curly - I believe!

My last fresh press and trim (salon) was in July for my birthday - she added some flips and I was really feeling myself click the link to see this hair in action

Beautiful hair. Go ahead and make it happen so we can see that beautiful head of hair at APL.

 

[kupenda]

Ok I’m at the salon. Got a repairing treatment (Redken something or other) and discussed my hair with the stylist. She’s sweet and I love her to pieces...so far. Next up is blow drying and a trim/cut. I’m scared but excited too. I hope I don’t have to lose too much. I plan to wear my hair straightish for two weeks, only moisturizing and oiling it in between. Otherwise I plan to let her handle it at least until the end of the year

 

[SunkissedLife]

@faithVA I realllllly hope so. My growth has been stalled for so long and now I’m finally seeing an improvement in the health I’m hoping that will start to translate to length as well.

Let’s break all the stereotypes!!

 

[faithVA]

Ok I’m at the salon. Got a repairing treatment (Redken something or other) and discussed my hair with the stylist. She’s sweet and I love her to pieces...so far. Next up is blow drying and a trim/cut. I’m scared but excited too. I hope I don’t have to lose too much. I plan to wear my hair straightish for two weeks, only moisturizing and oiling it in between. Otherwise I plan to let her handle it at least until the end of the year

Cool. I like play by play threads. By now you are done. I hope you are happy with the results.

 

[kupenda]

Cool. I like play by play threads. By now you are done. I hope you are happy with the results.

Ok soooooo...lol. I’m happy with the treatments. I’m even happy with the trim. I won’t be making APL this year but that’s ok because my ends feel great. I’m not happy with the style. My twistout was still wet when I left so I had to style again when I got home. It’s ok though. I would go back but not for a natural style

 

[janaq2003]

I just straightened a twist out I wore this last week using the Ion Steampro. No flatiron

How does this work?

 

[guyaneseyankee]

How does this work?

Hi!!

Just like a flatiron but instead it uses steam to straighten
The plates aren’t as close as a typical flatiron and there’s bristles that go through the hair

 

[faithVA]

Ok soooooo...lol. I’m happy with the treatments. I’m even happy with the trim. I won’t be making APL this year but that’s ok because my ends feel great. I’m not happy with the style. My twistout was still wet when I left so I had to style again when I got home. It’s ok though. I would go back but not for a natural style

Good. I am glad you are happy overall. Do you have any pics after you restyled?

 

[Aggie]

Tonight I:

-Massaged my scalp with Bambu Invigorating Scalp drops - I have been using this for almost a month now and will be moving on to my Baba de Caracol Scalp drops as soon as this one in done. They all stimulate hair growth. They leave my scalp feeling quite invigorated.

 

[faithVA]

As I twisted my hair tonight, I noticed that the hair at my grown is growing nicely. However the hair in the nape area and above is really not growing very well. The hair at the crown is going to out pace it. This lack of growth will keep me from wearing a high bun because the hair at the nape won't reach even after several years. But with the front and crown growing I will probably be able to wear a bun in the back.

I'm not sure what to do with the hair in the back. I'm not sure why it isn't growing. It's not just a matter of retention, I really think it is growing at a extremely slow rate.

 

[faithVA]

I'm going to capture this weekends regimen here for future reference so hopefully I can repeat it.

To be consistent I have decided to use the Mane Choice Type 4 shampoo and deep conditioner until they are gone. I put the deep conditioner in Saturday at 11 am and rinsed it out Sunday at 12 pm. I then used a Kerastase Moisture Mask and left that in until this evening at 8 pm. I bought this Hair Magic spray. I don't remember the name of it. I towel dried my hair and applied it to each section. I had my hair in 7 sections.I coated my ends with Carol's Daughter Honey Mimosa Pomade. I then coated my hair with the Mane Choice Twist Gel. I put my hair in 2 strand twists.

I do have splits and knots on my ends but they aren't too bad. I clipped out a few while detangling earlier. I think I can do a search and destroy once a month and be OK. This is a huge improvement. I used to need to do a search and destroy every time I did my hair.

My twist are looking better. I need to stick to doing my twist weekly and just ride out the year.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

My gf installed my crochet braids for me last night. I'll have these in 6 weeks ( oct 28) . After that I'll take a 2 week break ( 2 henna treatments, 2 deep conditioner treatments, trim) and back at it. Next protective style I think will be kinky twists. It will be easier to access my scalp.

I'll be maintaining my scalp with Taura Amore Oil, My coffee/Ayurvedic oil blend, and Xcel Revitalizer.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Even though I said I would wait it out, I ended up taking out my mini braids this weekend. Took longer than I expected because I had some braids that were starting to mat at the root. Since my hair was mostly clean, I did take the flat iron through it to make it lay a bit flatter so I could do a mini bun. So far so good.

I think I'm going to dye it this coming weekend. The grey hair in the front seems to have multiplied 10x over the summer.

 

[SunkissedLife]

Took my tea spritz && Shea buttered braids out today for work. BUT instead of wearing out and down in a braid out, I pulled my hair into a loose bun at the back (I did have to Bobby pin the shorter front pieces) with a satin scrunchie. Going to be rocking the bun life for the rest of the week unless I do something fun. I am determined to retain length! *determined face*

[SN: while I do like the extra stretch braids give I definitely think it was frizzier and had a lot less movement than my twists/twistout. But hoping rotating between braiding and twisting will help prevent breakage]

Also. Pulling my hair straight here for length check. I feel like I can claim full collar bone with the back reaching for APL - think I need a solid 2 inches of growth to reach full APL
ETA: pics

 

[faithVA]

Took my tea spritz && Shea buttered braids out today for work. BUT instead of wearing out and down in a braid out, I pulled my hair into a loose bun at the back (I did have to Bobby pin the shorter front pieces) with a satin scrunchie.

Also. Pulling my hair straight here for length check. I feel like I can claim full collar bone with the back reaching for APL - think I need a solid 2 inches of growth to reach full APL

@SunkissedLife, Do you have a picture?

 

[SunkissedLife]

@SunkissedLife, Do you have a picture?

Attached a couple quick bathroom selfies to previous post - don’t judge lol