~~~waist Length Dreams~~~ Challenge 2018

Froreal3

haulin hard in the paint
Haven't been here in forever, and I started this challenge almost two years ago. :lol: Within that almost two years, my hair does not want to grow/retain. Not sure why. I made BSL (12" on me) in 2013 which was the longest its been. It hasn't grown/retained anything since then, which is very frustrating, but at this point I've gone into not caring mode. My hair does look nice in styles and it seems to be healthy, so whatevs. It is slightly frustrating though to see people who had hair shorter than mine a couple years ago surpass me when I come here.

I have been pretty consistent with vitamins (including weekly high dose vitamin D3 since my levels were low last year) not so much with my protein shakes though...so *shrug* but I also feel like I shouldn't have to jump through fiery hoops like in the circus in order for my hair to grow past 12 inches. MBL on me is 14" and WL is 17" since I'm short, but I can't get to any of those lengths for the life of me.

So it's been under a weave or wig since December 10th and I'm going to keep it that way for the remainder of the year. It's been in cornrows that I do myself for between 4 and 6 weeks at a time. I take them down, shampoo, protein, dc, the whole nine and let my hair rest for a few days before putting the cornrows back in. Hopefully this helps with retention...so far I'm not sure how that's working out.
 

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
Pretty much in twists and bums. Normal weekly washing routine.

It's probably growing but not retaining for some reason.I had the same problem but my ends were (still are) damaged and were breaking off constantly. I was only able to retain when I made sure I reduced the breakage. I used to see small pieces everywhere all over the house, and on the floor in front of the mirror where I'd comb my hair, and of course on the comb itself. What I did was I omitted combing and resorted to finger detangling only (I've resumed combing since and I don't know how that is going to affect me) and I limited the detangling to twice or even once per week on wash days only, and I never detangled my hair dry, only wet with or immediately after conditioner. These 3 tips helped me greatly, and I managed to grow this in approximately one year:



But it's my belief that non-damaged ends can withstand much more manipulation and combing.

I still have damaged ends so I'll try to go back to limiting manipulation as much as I can and hopefully I'll grow back to BSL (I have cut a few inches since the last pic)
 

CheChe1881

Well-Known Member
Update:

Ran into a slight setback a couple of weeks ago while trying out a new twisting method. It caused my strands to tangle severely. Almost looked like half-locs :cry3::cry3:
Ended up having to rip tangles out :cry3:
A couple days after the ripped ends started to feel dry so I gave myself a trim all over. It was only about half an inch and I haven't trimmed in a long time so I dont feel too bad about it.
Also, trying out wash-and-go. Day 2 seems to be the furthest I can go before all my curls begin to tangle.
Detangling after a wash-and-go only takes about 5 minutes thanks to my new finger combing technique :toocool:

What's your new finger combing method? Video? Details explained?

Thank you
 

trclemons

Well-Known Member
It's probably growing but not retaining for some reason.I had the same problem but my ends were (still are) damaged and were breaking off constantly. I was only able to retain when I made sure I reduced the breakage. I used to see small pieces everywhere all over the house, and on the floor in front of the mirror where I'd comb my hair, and of course on the comb itself. What I did was I omitted combing and resorted to finger detangling only (I've resumed combing since and I don't know how that is going to affect me) and I limited the detangling to twice or even once per week on wash days only, and I never detangled my hair dry, only wet with or immediately after conditioner. These 3 tips helped me greatly, and I managed to grow this in approximately one year:



But it's my belief that non-damaged ends can withstand much more manipulation and combing.

I still have damaged ends so I'll try to go back to limiting manipulation as much as I can and hopefully I'll grow back to BSL (I have cut a few inches since the last pic)
I know you're talking hair, but my problem is weight, so I need to know what did you do to get so sleek?
 

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
I know you're talking hair, but my problem is weight, so I need to know what did you do to get so sleek?

@trclemons
Oh dear I'm afraid that what I have to say is pretty classical and boring but I was mainly depending on diet and a little bit of walking. I watched what I ate and how much I ate very closely. And because food that is low in calories like salad is unable to keep me sated all the time (though it helps tremendously) I made peace with the fact that to lose weight I have to experience hunger. So I knew how many calories I am allowed to eat and I complied (I counted). I totally avoided highly calorie-dense food. I knew the things that helped me feel sated most of the time and I made total use of them: salad (tomato and cucumber,) sugar-less coffee and teas, and diet coke/pepsi/whatsoever. Cheat days = disaster, so no cheat days or cheat meals for me (and you don't have to worry about your metabolism.) I knew that my brain would unavoidably try to overestimate how much I exercised and underestimate how much I ate, so to balance things out I always intentionally overestimated my intake and underestimated the output (you can't cheat me, brain!) I made sure to weigh myself on a weekly basis under the same conditions, and the weekly changes kept me motivated.

Unfortunately since moving to a new city and being through a lot of stress, I think that I have gained about two kilograms of weight. My new scales say that my weight is still the same (wish I bought them immediately upon landing) but when I look at myself in the mirror I feel that I have gained some weight (haven't gained the fat I lost around my dimple though, no :cry:) so I intend to embark on a new weight loss journey to lose these 2 kilograms. Wanna join me? I could definitely use some motivation.
 

snoop

Well-Known Member
I'm not claiming yet, but I think I'm finally grazing WL (at my longest layer). I'm hoping that by the end of summer I can claim. It'll be years before I can claim that length all over because my hair grows in a U or V (I haven't really straightened it so I'm not sure which of those two).
 

Froreal3

haulin hard in the paint
So like I said, my hair has been in cornrows under a wig since December. I had cut/trimmed it to about 11" so now it's grazing 13" 5 months later. My hair grows so slowly. :rolleyes:

Hopefully the wigs help me retain another 1 to 2" by December. Another full inch will make me MBL finally and I'm going to be happy with that. No more waist length dreaming if I get that one full inch! :lol:
 

Caramel74

Well-Known Member
Hiya All My Gorgeous Hair Sisters!

Haven't checked in in awhile. I've started taking Biotin again yesterday. I think I did notice a huge decline in my hair when I wasn't. It seems thinner without the Biotin. Just continuing to deal with this uneven mess of a head of hair without losing patience. I think I'm definitely evening out that triangle by the end of the summer. See what growth I get this whole summer, plus I need the long parts for my protective styles. When it's straight it actually looks decent. I had my sweet Sarah do it a couple of weeks ago with her new flat iron which has a "healthy" setting on it.

That also helps me to hang in there because my hair looks amazingly different when flatironed so I now know if I am losing patient and ready to chop, to run to Sarah at Mastercuts. She is also encouraging and showed me the back and said "It's only that small section and you can blend it, you're almost there." Along with all of you that were the voice of reason. Thank you! It's so hard having really kinky curly hair that is also so fine there is no weight to it. I hope this Biotin helps again, we'll see in two weeks. Happy Growing Everyone, have a great week
:rose::heart:
 

Caramel74

Well-Known Member
What length are you now? Do you have pics? I did a YouTube trim in March. It was the ponytail method. Super easy and my ends look a lot better
Good thing you caught me before I slept on it and went back to curly. It's a little past APL now. I couldn't take the extreme length differences no longer. It just wasn't looking good down ever! My tension blow drys were ugly, everything it had to go. Plus that whole scientific thing that says it grows better when it's even... I did a ponytail method too but it's in front and gives you a u-shaped hemline, which I need especially because my sides always grow faster.
 

Caramel74

Well-Known Member
@Prettymetty

Here it is, it's rough right now because I'm half asleep omw to bed. But I wanted to give this to you before I sleep on it. I did it for the length check after my 2 inch chop and now I'd like to see what it will look like nice and full with my tension blow dry tomorrow. It's a heck of a lot thicker now. I couldn't take it anymore the way it was before this.
 

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NCHairDiva

WAIST LENGTH 2019
So like I said, my hair has been in cornrows under a wig since December. I had cut/trimmed it to about 11" so now it's grazing 13" 5 months later. My hair grows so slowly. :rolleyes:

Hopefully the wigs help me retain another 1 to 2" by December. Another full inch will make me MBL finally and I'm going to be happy with that. No more waist length dreaming if I get that one full inch! :lol:


Im doing the same thing. I corn roll my hair into a beehive and just leave it alone under my wig. I take the wig off on the weekends and that time to put oils on my scalp and a plastic cap while I shower! Working it as a hot oil treatment and steam treatment. I want to keep this up for 6 to 8 weeks at a time before I take down my braid and start over again. I plan to do this until the end of the year and hope it gets me closer to my goals.
I feel good about this regamin and I hope.I can keep it going!
 

JJamiah

Well-Known Member
I started going to the Dominican salons every two weeks and getting a treatment, and wash and doobie. It has been keeping me with more hair on my head. :)

I am happier now. I will continue to do this until I am ready to take over.
I graduated and will start school again in September :)

YAY!


@JJamiah can we get some pics before you make that decision?! Lawd, WL is a lot of work...maybe its lead hairs or something girl.
 

Froreal3

haulin hard in the paint
I'm taking a break from my wigs for a couple months. I want to begin using sulfur oil again. I'll be using NJoy's pomade this time. Last time I saw any real growth was after using NJoy's oil. I'll use it till the end of the year. Hopefully I can grow/retain two to three more inches so I can get to MBL.
 

trclemons

Well-Known Member
I started going to the Dominican salons every two weeks and getting a treatment, and wash and doobie. It has been keeping me with more hair on my head. :)

I am happier now. I will continue to do this until I am ready to take over.
I graduated and will start school again in September :)

YAY!
Congratulations on your graduation and your next educational endeavor!
 

sgold04

Well-Known Member
I've been letting my hair roam free when it gets dry instead of re-twisting it, so I have a ton of ssks. I'm dyeing my hair blonde and getting a trim in 3 weeks, I'll see how much length I have then. I doubt I'll make it to waist length this year though. I haven't been trying like I have in previous years.
 
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