2021 Shoulder Length Challenge

Omw2TbL

Member
New member so I'm kinda late. Hopefully I can still join

What length are you now?
Neck length or TWA but the relaxed version.

What's your plan/regime to reach SL?
  1. Sulfate free shampoo: Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea
  2. Aphogee 2 min reconstructor
  3. Redken anti-snap only on washday
  4. Aphogee Pro-Vitamin Leave-in every AM or PM
  5. Garnier Loving blends Avocado and Shea Butter Leave-in on my box braids mostly to make my braids smell good
  6. John Frieda Frizz Ease to seal in the moisture and keep hair and the base of the box braids supple
  7. Silk pillowcase + scarf
  8. Relax every time I have a full inch of new growth. I prefer not to count the weeks
  9. Aphogee 2 step protein treatment one week before every relaxer
Extra:
  • Daily head massage of 5-10 minutes (and 3 minute inversion if I feel like it)
  • Light daily scalp oil infused with ayurvedic herbs and peppermint oil (basically curly proverbz' recipe)
  • Visualise long silky hair and put Wanakee on my vision board :drool:
As protective hairstyle I will wear jumbo knotless box braids. They take me 2 hours for 30 braids so I plan to redo them every 7 days so I don't sacrifice my wash-day routine. I noticed I get a lot of short pieces at the base when I wear braids for too long. Too long for me is 3-4 weeks.
My hair is to short to do anything with it so heat is not necessary.

I will mostly use wide toothed combs and my Denman brush. And when applying products really section my hair and apply the product to every single strand. I noticed over the years my crown is always the driest and most coarse, probably because I never take the time to nurture it.

How will you celebrate/reward yourself when you reach SL?
Go for cocktails maybe idk
The day I reach tailbone length is when I will throw a massive party dedicated to my hair. I might be joking, I might not. :look:

Post your starting pic:
Hair in braids right now, will post on the next wash day in 7 days.
 
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faithVA

Well-Known Member
New member so I'm kinda late. Hopefully I can still join

What length are you now?
Neck length or TWA but the relaxed version.

What's your plan/regime to reach SL?
  1. Sulfate free shampoo: Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea
  2. Aphogee 2 min reconstructor
  3. Redken anti-snap only on washday
  4. Aphogee Pro-Vitamin Leave-in every AM or PM
  5. Garnier Loving blends Avocado and Shea Butter Leave-in on my box braids mostly to make my braids smell good
  6. John Frieda Frizz Ease to seal in the moisture and keep hair and the base of the box braids supple
  7. Silk pillowcase + scarf
  8. Relax every time I have a full inch of new growth. I prefer not to count the weeks
  9. Aphogee 2 step protein treatment one week before every relaxer
Extra:
  • Daily head massage of 5-10 minutes (and 3 minute inversion if I feel like it)
  • Light daily scalp oil infused with ayurvedic herbs and peppermint oil (basically curly proverbz' recipe)
  • Visualise long silky hair and put Wanakee on my vision board :drool:
As protective hairstyle I will wear jumbo knotless box braids. They take me 2 hours for 30 braids so I plan to redo them every 7 days so I don't sacrifice my wash-day routine. I noticed I get a lot of short pieces at the base when I wear braids for too long. Too long for me is 3-4 weeks.
My hair is to short to do anything with it so heat is not necessary.

I will mostly use wide toothed combs and my Denman brush. And when applying products really section my hair and apply the product to every single strand. I noticed over the years my crown is always the driest and most course, probably because I never take the time to nurture it.

How will you celebrate/reward yourself when you reach SL?
Go for cocktails maybe idk
The day I reach tailbone length is when I will throw a massive party dedicated to my hair. I might be joking, I might not. :look:

Post your starting pic:
Hair in braids right now, will post on the next wash day in 7 days.
Welcome @Omw2TbL . It is definitely not too late to join. We still have a lot of year left. Glad to have you.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
My hair is in much better shape than it was last year. When I did my twist last night, I didn't have any shed hairs while I was twisting and I didn't have any breakage in my hands. In the past I have always ended up with hair somewhere when I twist.

I did notice while twisting especially the back that I had single strand knots. I think next time I twist I will give myself a little more time and keep my scissors close by to snip them when I reach them. And eventually I will twist and dust my ends like I used to do. But I will wait until I get a little more length in the back.

I sure hope these last a week. It would be nice to just do my hair once a week and then coast for the rest of the week.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
@faithVA I’m so happy to hear that your hair is in a better place this year. I know you are going to be SL in no time
Thank You. I do feel more confident and optimistic about it. And I am so grateful for a simpler regimen than before. In previous years I was doing so many things. Now just CCS and I'm done. Thanks for reaching out to me. You changed the came for me. :yep:
 

Alta Angel

Well-Known Member
I am SL when stretched. I am stopping with the braidouts now for the next two months. I feel myself getting caught up in wanting to wear my hair stretched, so I am going to hold off on braidouts until my 1 year loc anniversary in July.
 

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B_Phlyy

Pineapple Eating Unicorn
Ironically, I was just watching a video about Crochet braids over the weekend, because I didn't know what they were. How long did they take to install? Is two weeks the general timeframe?

It depends. Mine are pretty short and the hair was already braided so it only took about 2 hours (I watched Without Remorse while installing). My personal philosophy is that every hour of styling should be 1 week of the not having to do my hair. So 2 hours = 2 weeks.

Usually longer, loose hair will require a longer install and therefore can last longer. The longest I've ever kept crochet hair in was about 5 weeks.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I did my first ponypuff yesterday!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: I wasn't sure if my hair was long enough to pull all of it up, but it was so easy to get my hair into a ponytail! I could even do a bun if I wanted to! I'm so happy with my progress :blush:
:congrats: That is a big deal and definitely something to celebrate. I am glad you are seeing such good progress.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Either my hair is shrinking as fast as it grows or I have a breakage issue. I haven’t noticed any broken strands - I’ll have to measure my hair before my next wash day.
View attachment 471857
Definitely measure it. Your hair is fuller and has more volume in your May picture versus your January picture. You also may want to try wearing the same short to get the same perspective. I can see from the right picture that your hair is closer to your chin. But with the color on the picture on the left it throws the eye off. The hair on the left is closer to your lip. There really isn't anything fixed in either picture to compare the hair to. If you at least leave your neck out you can use the distance from your shoulder. Just my thoughts.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
My twist are holding up well for me. This is only day 4 but usually by day 4 my hair is starting to lack moisture and hair starts escaping the twist seeking water. My day 4 hair feels like how my hair would feel on day 2 before. This is so promising. I'm not sure if I am going to redo them after 7 days, 10 days or 14 days.
 

TLC1020

Well-Known Member
I'm going to get braids on Friday as a protective style, I'm going to keep them in as long as I can before they start to look old. I'm going to take pictures before getting braids, so I can at least have some type of measurements..
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I was inspired by you @faithVA , and ended up putting in some chunky twists while I was bored during training :laugh: . Cheers to not washing my hair til Sunday :cheers:
:cheers:

I have never worn chunky twist but I am looking forward to that day. I think I will take my twist out Thursdays and wear my hair out Thursday and reset on Friday. Will see how that goes.

But loving the break from the 2x a week wash and goes. :yep:
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Thanks ladies for all the concern over my finger. It was more aggravating than serious. I knew I wouldn't be able to shampoo, condition and then twist. That would have been too much. And a bandage would not last through all of that. But my recovery looks good and my twist are holding up so much better than they ever have. Going to wear a twist out Saturday and I think I should be straight for a reset on Sunday.

I didn't really realize how good this break would be. I feel like I had a mini vacation. I haven't had to mist or try to remoisturize or trying to keep my twist from sticking in all kinds of strange directions :yahoo: I will take it.
 

ckisland

Well-Known Member
What did you use to twist with? Sounds like either not enough moisture or not enough hold.

But definitely wear the style you love.
My twistouts always come out mediocre to me compared to my wash n'go :giggle: . Twistouts are never as soft, defined, nor do they fall the way my beloved wash n'go does :bdance:. Now braid n'curls!! That was the only style that could rival my boo thang!
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
My twistouts always come out mediocre to me compared to my wash n'go :giggle: . Twistouts are never as soft, defined, nor do they fall the way my beloved wash n'go does :bdance:. Now braid n'curls!! That was the only style that could rival my boo thang!
That is very interesting. My hair doesn't define when I braid it. I tried braid outs and my hair is just straight. I think it is too much tension on my hair with braids. No wave no nothing. Now my twist outs are super defined and definitely softer. I can't compare it to a wash and go because I haven't done a twist out since I started wash and goes. But I also do my twist smaller. I wouldn't do puffy twist for a twist out unless my hair was really long. There have to be a certain number of twist points for the twist out to turn out well.

I need to find a new product to do my twist outs with. My cupboard is bare.
 

ckisland

Well-Known Member
That is very interesting. My hair doesn't define when I braid it. I tried braid outs and my hair is just straight. I think it is too much tension on my hair with braids. No wave no nothing. Now my twist outs are super defined and definitely softer. I can't compare it to a wash and go because I haven't done a twist out since I started wash and goes. But I also do my twist smaller. I wouldn't do puffy twist for a twist out unless my hair was really long. There have to be a certain number of twist points for the twist out to turn out well.

I need to find a new product to do my twist outs with. My cupboard is bare.
I had similar experiences with regular braidouts. My hair would come out super scraggily. I think a part of that came from doing too many braids. With the braid n'curl, I only did 16-20 braids total (4-5 braids per quadrant), and braided less than half way down before adding the perm rod.
 
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