Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2013/2014

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I drove past a new Dominican salon Saturday and they were offering rollersets for $15. How I would love to get my hair done weekly :lol: But yeah, I won't be fooling with any stylists with my ends :nono:

I may get box braids with my hair in the future. Even then I will do a curlformer set before I go so no detangling will be necessary.
 

krissyc39

Well-Known Member
I'm in.

1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc: natural
2. Current Hair Length: most areas BSB, center of hair SL
3. Any issue(s) you are having with your ends: I have about 2 inches of dry ends that will split and knot very easily
4. What you have tried to improve your ends: deep conditioning and light protein
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends: protein & conditioning twice a week, baggying most nights, waiting until hair is 100% set before unraveling braidouts

Because my hair is uneven, I'm not trying for anything dramatic in terms of overall length retention. It's more important for me to have an even cut all around than long hair of all different kind of lengths. Hopefully this challenge will help me hold on to my short ends so I can do an even cut in December :)

Starting Pics:
 

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faithVA

Well-Known Member
Welcome krissyc39. Maybe reading through some of the older posts may give you some additional ideas. Hopefully you will know soon if your new plan is working for you.
 

Jace032000

Well-Known Member
I dusted my ends today. I hadn't planned to but I had been noticing a few splits so I decided to nip them in the bud.
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
I drove past a new Dominican salon Saturday and they were offering rollersets for $15. How I would love to get my hair done weekly :lol: But yeah, I won't be fooling with any stylists with my ends :nono:

I may get box braids with my hair in the future. Even then I will do a curlformer set before I go so no detangling will be necessary.

$15 rollerset? I have always paid $40 and up in Texas. No fair lol
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
I sprayed some Aphogee Keratin all over and then I sprayed my aloe juice/glycerin combo. Gotta keep it balanced. Now my hair feels so soft. Im baggying my whole head while I clean the house
 

spellinto

Well-Known Member
My ends looked beautiful all last week! I think it has a lot to do with the smoothing conditioner I used. I will try to replicate the results again this week. Also, I learned that my ends don't like when I tuck them into my bun. They get dry and/or bent. Since I've been leaving my ends outside of my buns, I've noticed smoother ends and almost no L shaped splits.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
My ends looked beautiful all last week! I think it has a lot to do with the smoothing conditioner I used. I will try to replicate the results again this week. Also, I learned that my ends don't like when I tuck them into my bun. They get dry and/or bent. Since I've been leaving my ends outside of my buns, I've noticed smoother ends and almost no L shaped splits.

That's interesting that they dry out faster when they are tucked. Let us know how your retrial goes.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I've been keeping my hair in flat twist with me ends tucked under. Things are better but I'm not out of the woods yet. I will dust again with my splitender mid May and follow up with another protein treatment. I will repeat through June and hopefully my ends will have recovered.
 

krissyc39

Well-Known Member
Used a extra thick mix of shea butter and beeswax to better protect my ends. It felt great at first but now it feels kind of greasy :/
 

spellinto

Well-Known Member
Last night's retrial at achieving smooth, moisturized ends went really well! I'm getting much better at preserving my ends while they dry. My three rules for drying them are:

Do not leave them exposed to air when they're wet/damp (I have porous strands so they'll get really dry and bushy otherwise). I usually apply my leave in, pin them down, and place a satin scarf over them so they dry smooth.

Do not even ATTEMPT to comb or style through them when wet/damp, they will look a hot mess. I typically have to wait until my hair is 90% dry to style anyway.

When M&S, go back and M&S them again. Also helps to pin them under a satin scarf right after so the moisture penetrates.

As for products, I'm betting that the smoothing conditioner has something to do with it also...it's the only new product I've incorporated besides my detangler... but I haven't used it on its own (without DC beforehand), so I can't truly confirm.
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
My ends were feeling drier than normal so I put some leave in on just my ends. I had already moisturized and sealed so I guess this was the "C" in the Loc method. Ends feel much better

Oan I am thinking about trying amla oil. Ive been hearing great things about it. Amazon has it for sure, but I want to check out a local Indian store first
 

krissyc39

Well-Known Member
My ends were feeling drier than normal so I put some leave in on just my ends. I had already moisturized and sealed so I guess this was the "C" in the Loc method. Ends feel much better

Oan I am thinking about trying amla oil. Ive been hearing great things about it. Amazon has it for sure, but I want to check out a local Indian store first

I've been wondering about amla oil as well. Does it smell really? I love my JBCO but I dont think I can handle another stank oil...
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
Lmbo. It's Indian so Iono... Most people say it has a strong perfumey smell. I can't handle another stank oil either so if it smells I will use the powder instead
 

krissyc39

Well-Known Member
Lmbo. It's Indian so Iono... Most people say it has a strong perfumey smell. I can't handle another stank oil either so if it smells I will use the powder instead

Would you use it as a prepoo? I've heard that straightens your hair but my roots are generally semi straight anyway *shrugs*
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
Would you use it as a prepoo? I've heard that straightens your hair but my roots are generally semi straight anyway *shrugs*

I plan to use it as a prepoo. My hair is 4b so I need all the straightening I can get. If it can help me detangle I would be so happy
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
My hair is doing so much better. I can't wait to dust this month to see if my ends really are doing better.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Friday I dusted with my Splitender. I probably took off 3/8 to 1/2 inch. I am really close to recovery. I still have some splits but I have reduced them by at least 75%. I will still need to S&D on each wash day. I think I will have one more major dusting in June and then I can just S&D and extend my dustings out 8 to 12 weeks.

After dusting I did a protein treatment with Komaza's Protein treatment and did an overnight DC. My hair turned out nicely. And my hair is starting to retain moisture better.

My back experienced a lot more breakage than the front and it is still quite rough. It will be months before it fully recovers but hopefully by September the worse will be over.

After my dusting in June I am hoping to be able to finger detangle.

This has been a long journey but I have learned a lot about split ends, better ways to moisturize my hair and found better product combinations for me. Unfortunately I lost about 9 months of progress :sad:

I won't be doing anything to lead to any more setbacks. I hope :look:
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
^^Now that I have used it a few times I can't imagine being without it. Maybe I will buy myself a new blade section for Christmas every year.
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
See that's why I threw it out. I got mine years ago when they first came out. I couldn't find replacement blades so I tossed it after about a year. Where do u buy the blades?
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
^^I'm not sure. They use to have replacement blades on their site but now they have a new splitender so they have removed them :ohwell: Maybe they will put the replacement blades back up later this year.
 

spellinto

Well-Known Member
I'm grateful to have discovered so many healthier ways to handle my hair, but I'm still working on achieving full, thick, split-free ends. I think my hair has gotten healthier overall but my ends still need some work. I got a touch up last Tuesday and I retained length but I definetly needed a trim because the ends were see through and tangled. I just self trimmed and it feels much better. I've learned how to protective style without causing splits, and I plan on using more low mani styles so maybe that will help with my next stretch...but even with all the positive changes, it looks like I need more help preserving the ends. I still haven't developed a schedule as to how often to trim during my stretches, so maybe I did focus on that as well. Ulovemegz trims monthly, maybe I should do the same?
 

spellinto

Well-Known Member
To join, post
1. Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural, transitioning, etc
I'm natural
2. Current Hair Length
Almost MBL
3. Any issue(s) you are having with your ends
No issues
4. What you have tried to improve your ends
For frequent trimming/dusting and sealing my ends have helped greatly
5. What you are going to try to get those healthy ends
Just maintain my current regimen as it has been working.

NowIAmNappy how often do you dust and trim? How much do you cut off each time?
 

NowIAmNappy

Well-Known Member
@NowIAmNappy how often do you dust and trim? How much do you cut off each time?

spellinto I put it religiously on my calender to do a minor search and destroy every 2-3 months and I trim about 1/4-1/2 inch off. Generally I know when because my ssks start to get a little crazy. Sometimes I may go longer if I've been mostly protective styling, but I go through period where I only wear my fro out so I need to be more attentive to my ends. A set schedule works best for me because when I was winging it I would loose so much more hair while detangling because I would see tons of broken little strands.
 

Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse
Im going to moisturize and seal today with hello hydration and evoo/castor oil. I may do an overnight bagggy too. Gotta get these ends happy and hydrated
 

Babygrowth

Well-Known Member
Trimmed my hair on the 1st for length. Had some thin ends but overall they are ok. Hopefully I see some good growth when I take this sew in out in September. I want to say I trimmed 1/8 -3/4in all over.
 

Poohbear

Fearfully Wonderfully Made
I told myself I wasn't going to cut my hair again, but my ends were feeling rough from splits and my hair was staying the same length, so I got a 2-3 inch trim/cut on May 20. My ends feel 100 times better.

This year, I had to use the flat iron twice as a bridesmaid for two weddings. I truly think the flat iron is what causes splits on my hair strands. This time around after the trim/cut, I'm going to seriously avoid the flat iron and hopefully grow my hair out healthy.

Lately I've been doing flexirod sets.

Sent from my SPH-L300 using LHCF
 

spellinto

Well-Known Member
A little frustrated. I trimmed my ends a few days ago and this morning they look dry with some brand new splits. Last night I m&s'd and loosely.bunned my hair for bed with a satin scarf (no elastic, just a hair clip). I wonder if my products are an issue? Today I will think of any tweaks I can make in my regimen that might alleviate things, any suggestions are appreciated
 
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