I perjured myself and it stunted my progress.
I did not:
- Use all of the shampoos listed (only the Elasta and the Quantum; I had to heavily dilute the Elasta)
- Detangle with any of the products listed (instead, I detangled in the shower while rinsing shampoo from my hair)
- Co-wash (which caused me to stay too close to the protein side of the equation...leading to some breakage)
- Use any of the moisturizers listed (I didn’t see a need)
- Use the sealant mentioned (wheat germ oil makes my hair hard, so I made a new oil mixture using castor, camellia, rice bran, flax seed, apricot kernel and almond)
- DC on a weekly basis (I opted to up my DC’ing sessions to twice a week (¡Soy un idiota!)
- DC with heat (sitting under the dryer is so torturous – I can’t take the heat, so I avoided it in favor of extended DC’ing)
- Refrain from experimenting (I’m a PJ and an admitted sucker for thick, creamy DCs *unapologetic crack head stare*)
I did:
- DC regularly
- Apply castor oil to my hair line (I did it to lay down my edges for a smoother ponytail and received a bonus for my efforts)
- Significantly decrease the amount of time spent during each session by unearthing a better, more effective detangling method
Outcomes:
- My hair line thickened
- I did not retain much growth due to over-manipulation
- My hair received insufficient amounts of moisture
- I experienced unnecessary breakage
Lessons Learned:
- Leaving my hair alone produces optimal results (it doesn’t need to be fiddled with on a daily basis to flourish)
- DC’ing every 7 to 10 days is more than satisfactory
- I must DC with heat in order to garner the most benefit from my conditioners
- An extra moisturizer is unnecessary (using a creamy leave-in and a sealant are quite enough)
- A diluted shampoo is just as effective as its full strength counterpart
- Detangling in the shower IS possible (I can stop looking at people like they’re aliens when they say they do this)
- Regular use of ceramide-laden oils has reduced my need for protein treatments
- I need to give my hair more moisture (I continually exist too far on the protein side of the spectrum; it’s always one treatment shy of an overload)
- My hair may love oil, but not every oil
- My undying love for castor oil is fully warranted (I feel like handing out free bottles to passersby on the street)
Before (left, taken in August) and after (right, taken today)
I have a hair appointment scheduled for 12/30 so I'll be updating then. I *think* I got my 2 inches though so we shall see then 
I may wait a couple days and take more pics when my ends are straighter since their curled right now.
here's my progress for the year (the last two pics represent the 2in. in 4mo. challenge).......
