Hair growth challenge

[pebbles]

OK ladies, let's discuss growing our hair.
I cut off all my hair and started over in May 2008. I was wearing extensions while growing it out but neglected my own hair. I had to cut most of the new growth off again in May this year. My hair’s current length is shoulder length and I want to try to get it to bra strap by December 2011. I have no problem growing my hair, in fact it grows really fast but I'm hair lazy and I might do something stupid again that will result in me chopping it off.

So the goal of this thread is to learn how to keep our hair healthy so that it will retain maximum length. This will be a place where we can support each other, share tips and helpful links and info.

Please provide the info below to start.
What is your current length? Any plan to cut it?
What length do you want to be by December 2011?
How do you hope to achieve it?
What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you?
Is your hair relaxed or natural?
Got hair tips?
Post your starting pic.

*update*
I will assume by Oct 1st everyone will have their starting pic posted. So every third month from October 1st, we will post progress pics. You can post pics more frequently to show your progress or style or if u just feel like it.

[wakawaka]

Originally Posted by pebbles

OK ladies, let's discuss growing our hair.
I cut off all my hair and started over in May 2008. I was wearing extensions while growing it out but neglected my own hair. I had to cut most of the new growth off again in May this year. My hair’s current length is shoulder length and I want to try to get it to bra strap by December 2011. I have no problem growing my hair, in fact it grows really fast but I'm hair lazy and I might do something stupid again that will result in me chopping it off.

So the goal of this thread is to learn how to keep our hair healthy so that it will retain maximum length. This will be a place where we can support each other, share tips and helpful links and info.

Please provide the info below to start.
What is your current length? Any plan to cut it?
What length do you want to be by December 2011?
What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you?
Is your hair relaxed or natural?
Got hair tips?
Post your starting pic.

repost it in the main forum.

[pebbles]

What is your current length? Shoulder length.

Any plan to cut it? I will get a trim next year.

What length do you want to be by December 2011? Bra strap length. Hopefully I will make it to that length before that time.

How do you hope to achieve it? I will most wear cornrows and braid outs. I will let my hair out during the summer then go back to braid outs and cornrows.

What is your current hair regimen? Wash weekly with Ayurveda Shikakai powder and Amla, follow with Brahmi, Fenugreek, and Rose petal or Maka powders tea rinse. Then I deep condition and roller set. I use a clarifying shampoo once a month to get rid of product build ups.

Is it working for you? So far yes, my thin hair feels stronger lately. I might reduce this to bi-weekly in the future.

Is your hair relaxed or natural? Relaxed

Got hair tips? I find that moisture is the main thing for retaining length for me. My hair has been dry lately, which is leading to my ends breaking off. Moisturizing with ORS olive oil lotion and coconut oil before going to bed has helped. Now that I plan to wear cornrows, I will spray my hair with African royal braid spray. It has glycerin which is very moisturizing.

Post your starting pic.

[pebbles]

I prefer it here. It will get lost among all the other threads there within a week.

Originally Posted by wakawaka

repost it in the main forum.

[aderonkei]

I'm given up on growing my hair over the years, it just never seems to grow. Maybe cos i dont get it trimmed on the regular but i dont want them to be chopping off the lil hair i have now. I last got a perm in June then put in some tracks, took the tracks out after 2months and got my hair braided the next day (didnt touch up). Plan on taking these braids out on the 2nd then getting senegalese twists until december. Take the twists out, get a perm and have tracks sewn in to go to nigeria, then do braids when im coming back to the us.

Please provide the info below to start.
What is your current length? About half way down my neck Any plan to cut it? Nope
What length do you want to be by December 2011? Past shoulder length
How do you hope to achieve it? Paying more attention to my hair
What is your current hair regimen? No regimen Is it working for you? Not really
Is your hair relaxed or natural? Relaxed
Got hair tips?
Post your starting pic. i'll try and find a pic where i have my hair out

[aderonkei]

ok found couple pics on my cellphone...my hair never seems to grow past this length

[kunzle]

I decided to go natural seeing as my hair is always breaking. I have kinky twists right now and i love it. Plus it doesn't take long to do. I use a combo of wigs and braids during my transitioning.
What is your current length? Neck length while it was permed Any plan to cut it? Just the tips.
What length do you want to be by December 2011? Dunno yet. Shoulder maybe?
How do you hope to achieve it? Twists, wigs to give my hair a break, and braids. Trying to stay away from weaves
What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you? Deep conditioning a lot. My hair is naturally soft but conditioning just takes it the extra mile.
Is your hair relaxed or natural? Natural
Got hair tips? Condition! Don't be a product junkie. (MUREWA!)
Post your starting pic.
My natural hair in twists.

[pebbles]

Not trimming your hair is not necessarily the cause of your hair breakage. Your hair might be dry and not getting moisturized so whenever you take your braids out, lose a lot more hair than you should. Also the braids might be too tight. Try spraying your hair with something more moisturizing like the African royal braid spray I mentioned. Also you might be braiding it too much and too often, buy a wig and give your hair a break for two weeks to a month before braiding again. Also do protein treatments.

Just because your hair is in braids doesn't mean you shouldn't wash or deep condition it. Neglecting it will only cause more breakage.

Originally Posted by aderonkei

I'm given up on growing my hair over the years, it just never seems to grow. Maybe cos i dont get it trimmed on the regular but i dont want them to be chopping off the lil hair i have now. I last got a perm in June then put in some tracks, took the tracks out after 2months and got my hair braided the next day (didnt touch up). Plan on taking these braids out on the 2nd then getting senegalese twists until december. Take the twists out, get a perm and have tracks sewn in to go to nigeria, then do braids when im coming back to the us.

Please provide the info below to start.
What is your current length? About half way down my neck Any plan to cut it? Nope
What length do you want to be by December 2011? Past shoulder length
How do you hope to achieve it? Paying more attention to my hair
What is your current hair regimen? No regimen Is it working for you? Not really
Is your hair relaxed or natural? Relaxed
Got hair tips?
Post your starting pic. i'll try and find a pic where i have my hair out

[Ms Tolace]

What is your current length? Any plan to cut it?
Length .. I might need a ruler brb to answer this one later
What length do you want to be by December 2011?
Long Enough to do something funky with it
How do you hope to achieve it?
Braiding and doing other styles that stretch my hair
What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you?
I condition atleast once a week with Bioinfusion olive oil shampoo and deep condition with their olive deep conditioner and i finish with the bioinfusion hydrating creme. I braid my hair @ night every 3 nights and take it out in the morning to style. I apply about a little less than a dime size of mane and tail herbal grow for some shine.
Is your hair relaxed or natural?
Natural
Got hair tips?
Condition as much as you can. And here needs moisture..stay away from a lot of hair grease,
Post your starting pic
my hair has a mind of its own depending on the day u catch u will determine the length it will be that day..

this was was 3wks ago


same week i think

this was 2 days ago

[~Zeta~]

started taking good care of my hair feb 2009, mainly grew it to APL from SL using buns and weaves. .....anyway i had been contemplating going natural for 2years now . i was 6 months post up until my wedding and then i relaxed it !!!! even then i only relaxed the edges cause the stylist said i had to...now i wish i didn't but oh well my hair came out okay for the wedding.
exactly 3 weeks after my wedding i chopped it ALL off...at this time i was 2 inches to bra strap . no transition nothing i figured the more i waited the more tempted i was to relax.

What is your current length? Any plan to cut it? done!! its neck length stretched
What length do you want to be by December 2011? full shoulder length..borderline arm pit
How do you hope to achieve it? i plan on wigging it till my 1 year natural anniversary. may 2011
What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you? right now i'm just doing the c and g method in my kinky twists, before the twists i would co wash every other day and deep con every week...so far so good....it's growing really fast though .
Is your hair relaxed or natural? nappy baby!! 4b to be exact
Got hair tips? too many so i wont even start...
Post your starting pic: will do once them kinkys are out

last pic with hair straightened....december 09...notice the see thru ends .
[IMG]


chopped may 2010

[IMG]

[Harvardite]

Originally Posted by pebbles

What is your current length? Shoulder length.

What is your current hair regimen? Wash weekly with Ayurveda Shikakai powder and Amla, follow with Brahmi, Fenugreek, and Rose petal or Maka powders tea rinse. Then I deep condition and roller set. I use a clarifying shampoo once a month to get rid of product build ups.


[

Pebbles...i heard and then bought the ayurveda product- although i dont think its shikaki.....i also got brahmi....got them from an indian grocer...and used it but 1) i dont like the scent of it and 2) i think its awfully liqudy/greasy and it doesnt seem as if my hair is retaining any mositure from it,,,

where do you get your products from? how long have you been using?

my hair is natural but kept under weaves a majority of the time although the front part is permed and that is a tiny section....

have you seen moptop maven's blog? she is slowly inspiring me to just chuck weaves altogether.......but i havnt taken that leap of faith yet

[pebbles]

In what form did the product come in (oil or powder)? I have Amla, Brahmi, and Parachute coconut oil (I won't buy this again, I will use the coconut oil that I have in half a gallon). I mix the Amla and Brahmi oil with my homemade herb oil and apply it to my hair for some hours before I wash my hair. I don't care for Ayurveda oil smell but since I don't leave them in my hair for too long I manage them.

The others (Brahmi, Shikakai, Amla, Rose Petal, Fengreek, Maka, and Henna) are in powder form, I usually make a paste or tea rinse with them.

Originally Posted by Harvardite

Pebbles...i heard and then bought the ayurveda product- although i dont think its shikaki.....i also got brahmi....got them from an indian grocer...and used it but 1) i dont like the scent of it and 2) i think its awfully liqudy/greasy and it doesnt seem as if my hair is retaining any mositure from it,,,

where do you get your products from? how long have you been using?

my hair is natural but kept under weaves a majority of the time although the front part is permed and that is a tiny section....

have you seen moptop maven's blog? she is slowly inspiring me to just chuck weaves altogether.......but i havnt taken that leap of faith yet

[Isi eri]

I cut my hair about 3 weeks ago down to the nape of my neck. I want to get it back to my shoulder hopefully by December/January. My hair grows fast if I take care of it. Personally, I am more anal about the health, look and feel of my hair. I love when my hair is full and bouncy. I try not to use too much oils or hair spray. I love the natural sheen of my hair. I think being natural (relaxer free) has helped my hair remain healthy through all the abuse I have put it through (dying, cutting, general lack of care)

This should be fun.

Please provide the info below to start.

What is your current length? Any plan to cut it? - Chin Lenght. No plans to cut it again (unless I have a random moment- it has grown to this lenght since my last cut.

What length do you want to be by December 2011? At the bare minimum, maintained at shoulder lenght.

How do you hope to achieve it? Alternate between weaves and wearing my hair out.

What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you? I just started biotin 2 nights ago. I am back on my Castor Oil regimen. Bi-weekly washing/deep conditioning.

Is your hair relaxed or natural? Natural. I have not relaxed my hair in over 10 years. LOVE it!

Got hair tips?

1.Take care of your scalp. If your scalp is unhealthy, your hair will not grow (If you have excessive dandruff, go see a dermatologist).

2. I try to stay away from sprays and things that contain alcohol.

3. I wrap my hair every night. (or at least I try to)

4. Keep it simple.

Post your starting pic.will post when I get home later tonight.

[Icegold]

Originally Posted by pebbles

Please provide the info below to start.
What is your current length? Any plan to cut it?
Current hair length is about shoulder length I think, will have to take a picture. I have no plans to cut it.
What length do you want to be by December 2011?
I just want it to be longer than my sisters ppl think her's is weave-on
How do you hope to achieve it?
Continue what I'm currently doing..maybe add to my conditioning routine
What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you?
I relax once every 3 months, Steam the week after I relax, I wash my hair every week, I deep condition every 2 weeks. I blow dry my hair on low heat when I wash and style my hair for the rest of the week using non-heat styling methods. Twist curls etc. I leave my hair out for a month, do braids or ghana weaving for a month and fix a weave-on for a month. It works, recently tho my tips have been feeling a lil dry.
Is your hair relaxed or natural?
Relaxed
Got hair tips?
Nothing revolutionary - I don't comb my hair out with the conditioner in, I comb while rinsing the conditioner out. It reduces tangling and breakage
Post your starting pic.

I'll take one tomorrow (I'm owing the fitness challenge thread one too)

[Omodudu]

Originally Posted by pebbles

What is your current length?
My current hair length is shown in the pic below, I haven't measured it but it's pretty short because my big chop was a few months ago.

Any plan to cut it?
No plans to cut, I plan on trimming it sometime soon though. I wear an afro regularly and I need the ends to be evened out.

What length do you want to be by December 2011?
I don't have a target length
I just want healthy hair that I can rock funky styles with.

How do you hope to achieve it?
Will keep doing what I do, and will experiment with different hair products until I find one that really works for me. Haven't found my perfect hair product yet.

What is your current hair regimen? Is it working for you?

I wash my hair every week either with shampoo or with conditioner. I will try to deep condition my hair more often, I haven't done so in over 2 months.
After washing, I rub some cantu leave-in conditioning cream, followed with some unrefined shea butter and coconut oil.

Is your hair relaxed or natural?
My hair is natural

Got hair tips?

No product junkyism; your hair products also don't have to cost a fortune. Higher cost =/ better product!

Post your starting pic.

My most recent twist-out