A Hard C & G challenge. Don't join if you can't hang.

Wow, please tell us your exact regimen.

It's really simple: I use human hair extensions because I love that you can do so much more with them, stylewise, than synthetic. I also like the lightness and softness. I wash my hair at least twice a week, and I'm not afraid to use shampoo, although I focus it more on my scalp than my hair, and then squeeze it through my hair during the rinse. But I also do CWs and only applying the conditioner to my hair only, never my scalp. I always end my wash with a dunk in an ACV solution during which time I massage my scalp till I can't stand the good feeling anymore! :grin: I don't use any other products after that. No braid sprays, leave-ins, moisturizers, oils...nada! (I get my "moisture" from frequent washes.) I do redo my braids as when they get loose, especially the edges. I never take all the braids out. I do one at a time over a few days, till all are done. Human hair does tend to slide when you wash so if you suffer from hand-in-hair disease, then this becomes a passion: I'm always feeling through my braids for any that need redoing. Since I do this while watching TV, I never really pay attention to how my hair is growing, which is why I was overjoyed when I saw this pic.

That's another trick to having fun with braids: Forget the goal and just think of styles you can create and have fun keeping them neat. It's a lot more exciting when growth creeps up on you. :yep:

Thanks again, Ladies, for sharing my joy and cheering me on. Happy hair growing y'all!

ETA: I baggy every night without fail. Sometimes I'll baggy all day if I wear a headdress. This helps with retaining moisture.

For those wondering why I don't use after wash products, it's because I can't stand to feel oil/grease/gels on my neck or face or ears, and if products get on my scalp I itch like crazy. Also I think my skin's gotten clearer since I stopped using product on my hair. The bonus is my hair stays clean and I am not tempted by PJism. :p (I wore my hair out after my BC and at that time I had to use a product in order to comb my hair. SCurl was my product of choice. So this no-product regimen only works when in braids.)
 
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Forgot to mention that I do dust my ends if I notice them looking as sad as the ones in the pic do--and yes, I took care of that. No real science to it: I just feel the hair till where it feels really thin--usually about 1/4 inch--and snip that off. No schedule to this. I just do it when it's needed.

I only see the ends while redoing my braids so the hair gets trimmed/dusted braid by braid, if needed, as I get to each braid. Crazy, I know...but I figure when I am ready to wear it out, I'll get it evened out by..(?)..(The verdict is still out on "whom" coz I don't know if I will ever trust anyone with my hair). But I reckon that because I snip just about the same tiny bit each time, the differences in length of my strands are negligible (Thank God for curls/coils :grin:).

If I didn't dust regularly, my hair would get really thin at the ends and break anyway. So dusting seems to help me with retention.
 
Nonie, great growth! Lookin' good:yep:

I'm still twisting and braiding. I haven't checked progress in a while, but I'm on this challenge until August, so I'll update with pics then.
 
Thank you so much, Ladies, for celebrating with me. :kiss:

That's what we do here!!! I'm still in my braids...cornrows, but thinking about doing box braids this weekend. My cornbraids seem to only last about 8-9 days with washing twice per week. Maybe box braids will last me at least a month or two?

Nonie, You are such an inspiration.!
 
August 9 will be one year since I've joined this challenged. I'm still going strong :grin:. I plan on continuing through December 2008.
 
August 9 will be one year since I've joined this challenged. I'm still going strong :grin:. I plan on continuing through December 2008.


Wow....congrats on your tenacity! I joined on May 4th....pushing two full months tomorrow, 4th of July!!:grin:
 
Just to say a big hello to all the challengers , I stopped in april after 6 months of challenge . I had more benefits of the streching , now I'm not in the challenge but I encourage all of you I'm 3 months post now , if I didn' t make this challenge I wouldn't be able to strech so long ...
 
Hi ladies, congrats on the growth!!!:grin: I would like to join this challenge. I put in box braids with my own hair on June 7th and plan on redoing them one at a time, and never having more than a section of my hair out at once. I would love to join this challenge for a year, if it's still open. Thx.
 
Hey guys! just wanted to update. My official C & G stopped back in April i think but i've still been on a modified C & G program. My hair stays in twists now cause i love the way it looks & i think i'm just gonna continue on the modified C & G. For pics go to my fotki album
 
Guess who took her braids out... :wave: ME! I could have gone longer than 16 months but it just dawned on me how much lazier I've become and that I hadn't changed the parting of my braids since I put them in. (Even when wearing my braids 24/7 for long, I do take time to undo a few braids after having them in for a few months so I can change the parting, and then put them back in and repeat that in another area. I do this because I worry that the partings might become permanent if I don't change them.) Well believe it or not, I haven't taken the time to do this for the 16 months I've worn my braids. :crazy: So I considered doing that, but my hair is almost the length of my shoulder-long extensions and it seems a lot of work to put in when I will need to replace the hair very soon. So I opted to take them out.

It was so much fun to have my hair out. I didn't even mind the shrinkage coz it meant my SCurled hair wasn't smearing all the stuff on my neck or ears. Oh and one thing I realized is if I apply enough S Curl to my hair after a wash, then I don't need to reapply at night as I used to. And as I expected, after a night of baggying my plaited hair, it feels very moisturized and soft as always. The only thing I'm kinda dreading is the extra 1/2 hour I'll have to dedicate to getting ready in the morning now that my hair will need styling. I'm seriously considering cornrowing it.... We'll see.
 
Guess who took her braids out... :wave: ME! I could have gone longer than 16 months but it just dawned on me how much lazier I've become and that I hadn't changed the parting of my braids since I put them in. (Even when wearing my braids 24/7 for long, I do take time to undo a few braids after having them in for a few months so I can change the parting, and then put them back in and repeat that in another area. I do this because I worry that the partings might become permanent if I don't change them.) Well believe it or not, I haven't taken the time to do this for the 16 months I've worn my braids. :crazy: So I considered doing that, but my hair is almost the length of my shoulder-long extensions and it seems a lot of work to put in when I will need to replace the hair very soon. So I opted to take them out.

It was so much fun to have my hair out. I didn't even mind the shrinkage coz it meant my SCurled hair wasn't smearing all the stuff on my neck or ears. Oh and one thing I realized is if I apply enough S Curl to my hair after a wash, then I don't need to reapply at night as I used to. And as I expected, after a night of baggying my plaited hair, it feels very moisturized and soft as always. The only thing I'm kinda dreading is the extra 1/2 hour I'll have to dedicate to getting ready in the morning now that my hair will need styling. I'm seriously considering cornrowing it.... We'll see.


ummmmmmmmmm...where are the pics???:grin:
 
Wow...this week will be 4months for me since joining the challenge on May 4th. I didn't think I could do it....but I'm so glad I did. I have documented every month so far, and have seen lot of growth. I am actually NOT looking forward to taking these out in December, because it will mean I'll have to start looking for stlyes for my hair. Its so easy just keeping the braids in. I may consider going a full year instead of just 6months....this way I can put off styling decisions for a bit longer.

I'm so glad I joined this challenge!! My hair is loving this!!:yep:
 
ummmmmmmmmm...where are the pics???:grin:

Picture please Nonie.:grin:

Er...:look: I took a couple or so of my puff all shrunken up so the pics are nothing to write home about. Still in my cam. I'll get to them. I am now in twists. Early morning hairstyling isn't my cup of tea, so I'll probably only wear my hair out on weekends when I don't have to be anywhere early in the AM.

roPuffSept12008Justoutofbraids-vi.jpg
 
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I want to join the year challenge because I noticed my hair does better in some sort of protective styling rather than just loose and hopefully it'll help me improve my ends. My hair is currently in twists. I will end my challenge September 2, 2009. Pics of my current style are posted in my Fotki.
 
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Er...:look: I took a couple or so of my puff all shrunken up so the pics are nothing to write home about. Still in my cam. I'll get to them. I am now in twists. Early morning hairstyling isn't my cup of tea, so I'll probably only wear my hair out on weekends when I don't have to be anywhere early in the AM.

roPuffSept12008Justoutofbraids-vi.jpg

Your hair looks gorgeous!!! It looks soft, and your twists are even (in thickness) and very neat. I like the style, too:grin:. The pics were definitely worth posting!
 
Er...:look: I took a couple or so of my puff all shrunken up so the pics are nothing to write home about. Still in my cam. I'll get to them. I am now in twists. Early morning hairstyling isn't my cup of tea, so I'll probably only wear my hair out on weekends when I don't have to be anywhere early in the AM.

roPuffSept12008Justoutofbraids-vi.jpg


Awww...nonie...ur hair is too cute!!!!!
 
Er...:look: I took a couple or so of my puff all shrunken up so the pics are nothing to write home about. Still in my cam. I'll get to them. I am now in twists. Early morning hairstyling isn't my cup of tea, so I'll probably only wear my hair out on weekends when I don't have to be anywhere early in the AM.

roPuffSept12008Justoutofbraids-vi.jpg


I really really love your hair. Its the same color and texture as mine. But mine is definitely not as pretty. How do you keep your ends so even, so that your whole head is the same shape/size??:perplexed I've got a whole heap of different sized strands all over. I couldn't even BEGIN to imagine such a beautiful, even afro puff!:ohwell:
 
OK, y'all are so sweet. Y'all got a girl all misty-eyed and ish! Thank you kindly!
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I really really love your hair. Its the same color and texture as mine. But mine is definitely not as pretty. How do you keep your ends so even, so that your whole head is the same shape/size??:perplexed I've got a whole heap of different sized strands all over. I couldn't even BEGIN to imagine such a beautiful, even afro puff!:ohwell:

Believe it or not, I think S Curl is the secret. Honestly you should give it a try. I tried it on my mom and it had the effect of turning her pointy 'fro into a nice round one. :yep:

This is how my mom's hair looked before I insisted on trying my voodoo on her:
HeatDamagedHair-vi.jpg


So I insisted she shampoo her hair with Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo and condition with Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner (I think a DC would have been ideal but we didn't have a dryer handy and were kinda short of time anyway). After towel drying, I had her apply S Curl the spray and comb. From then on her regimen until wash day became baggy at night after plaiting, comb in the AM. No need to apply anymore S Curl if the hair feels moist and soft and usually it does.

Here's how her afro looked after we made her regimen that simple and straightforward:
MomsSCurledHair-vi.jpg


I think S Curl just makes even those pointy ends curl so there are none sticking out. If you're not too worried about shrinkage, then you really should try it.

ETA: I should mention though, that before you baggy, you should put your hair in plaits as it'll be easier to comb in the AM. Also I usually appreciate my hair better after a night of baggying; not so much on wash day since S Curl on damp hair can leave your hair feeling a bit dry after the water dries off--if you don't apply enough of the S Curl. So a second application might be necessary the night of wash day before plaiting and baggying.
 
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