To help remedy that, I did a baking soda deep treatment.

Basically, I cowashed my hair.

Then I applied a baking soda-conditioner mix. 1/3 baking soda to 2/3 conditioner.

I applied the mixture to my hair and cover with a plastic bag.

After 30-45 minutes, I rinse the mixture out and follow with a light AVC rinse.

I did twelve big braids and then flat braided those braids together to go around my head and meet in the back. I then made a ponytail, braided the end and tucked the ends.

I did the multipony tail again with the big braids.

So far, much less tangles and scalp more moisturized thanks to my rosemary spritz. Next time I do the baking soda deep treatment, I don’t think I’ll follow with the ACV rinse, my hair was so soft after the DT, but then the ACV rinse made it feel “squeaky”. I almost feel like I’m relearning my hair for this challenge, which is odd since it didn’t give me any trouble in terms of moisture and dryness the entire latter part of the year and I was wearing the multipony weekly and keeping my ends tucked away. Perhaps less is more and the braided multi-pony with rosemary spritz is all I need. The whole sealing my ends with oils hasn’t worked so far and left my hair worse than before, so I’ll be returning to sealing with conditioner after I cowash. Wish me luck.

Have you tried anything new in your hair that didn’t work out as planned?

I did a hot oil treatment last time, you can read about the results here. I was still rinsing oil out of my hair and waiting for my hair to “balance itself out”.

This week I did chunky two strand twists-about 20 total in my hair. I then wore my signature multiple pony, but with a twist.

Since the ends needed to be tucked in, I had to make adjustments.

I gathered the first section of my hair and made a ponytail.

I then gathered the second section of my hair along with the end of the first ponytail and made a second pony-tail.

I braided the loose end.

Then took a booby pin and anchored the end of the braid into the braid itself, by folding it under.

This style is easy and quick, notice a theme yet with my styles By the time it was looking rough, it would be time to wash it again Not a bad weekly style.

I am doing weekly styles since I struggle with dandruff and have to rinse my scalp at least twice a week. This does havoc on my styles such as two-strand twists, so I simply try to find weekly styles, or at the most, styles that last two weeks-like my two strand twists.

How often do you change your hair style?

African-Amish Tuck and Roll at A Curl’s Best Friend. I will try to adapt this to use with twists as well.

Do you have any styles that you recommend?

The first week was too much manipulation. I was still out of the country visiting family and was trying a new side challenge of using four or less bobby pins. My hair was in two strand twists, but I did a lot of different updos thanks to the multiple events we had going on from New Year’s Eve parties, to dancing in fancy hotel ballrooms and some perfect beach days.

I did develop a new style which I dubbed the Y-twist Updo

Basically, I took the hair and separated it into thirds. Two on either side of my head and one for the back.

Then, I took the back section and made a two-strand twist.

I pinned the twist to the top of my head, taking care to fold the ends under the twist.

I then took a side section and made a two strand twist.

I wrapped the twisted over and then under the back twist and pinned it down.

I did the same with the other side.

The style only used three bobby pins and was pretty cute and very fast and easy to do. It can be done on loose hair as well, or chunkier twists. I will be adding this style to my options of the PYE Challenge, but I might had a few more bobby pins, so I can wear it for several days before taking it down. With only three bobby pins, I had to redo the style each day. However, that might be good as it allows my hair a chance to “rest” without tension, besides I’ll have to take it down at least twice a week-once to do a rinse so my scalp can get moisturized and once for wash day.

Speaking of, for those who have to rinse your scalp often due to dandruff, do you have any tips on how to get by going a full week without rinsing the scalp, or is this just something that has to be done for the health of the scalp?

Mental

-Submit two papers to journals

Physical

-Gym 2-3 times a week for at least 30 minutes/ 1 1/2 hour each week

-Drink 64 fluid oz daily (unsweetened herbal tea and water)

-Lose 2 inches on belly (hence the gym goal above)

-Don’t cut hair, (trims are ok, but no taking the scissors to the hair for a nice new short bob) handle the ends of my hair more carefully in order to retain length

-Develop a skincare routine to target hyperpigmentation and occasional acne

Spiritual

-Consistently spend 15 min daily with God (buy a new Bible and use new journal for quiet time)

Emotional

-Invest in local friendships (calling/texting weekly those who have shown interest, maintaining at least monthly dates with those who I have chosen to invest in and they have indicated interest)

-Maintaining my distance relationships (calling/texting weekly for at least 15 min chats)

-PIT twice weekly

-Monthly date nights

-Monthly downtown trips

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What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I know, I know. Hot oil treatments are like the magic spell for hair. I slowly heated some coconut oil and added a bit of honey. I added the oil mixture to my hair, loosely made four big twists and walked around the house for about an hour with a plastic cap.

When I washed it out, my hair felt yuck! It was strawlike and the hair strands felt rough.

While washing I remembered talk about porosity and how my hair has low porosity, so I did a quick internet search and discovered that other naturals with low porosity hair also have bad results with oil, which is true for me. I always thought I was doing something wrong! I also discovered that too much ACV can have the same effect, hence why after one wash with ACV and the hair is great, but after multiple rinses, not so much.

There was also good news about my baking soda and why my hair loved it. Since it opens the cuticle, it allows moisture into my hair, hence why my hair felt great after the baking soda deep treatments

Now at least I know why oil and my hair don’t really agree, but now I need to find a new method to seal my ends. Any suggestions?

I recently read a quote about it takes 21 days to form a habit, so I want to take three weeks and document my journey to notice the results. I tend not to see results unless I am documenting it via photos or length checks or some other form of evaluation.

The routine would be to increase water intake, decrease face touching and picking, consistently use AMBI facial cleansers and moisturizer as well as a prescribed medication that lightens the skin a bit. The funny thing about my PIH is that up close the spots look like they’re fading, yet when I back away from the mirror they are more prominent. Eh, perhaps it’s because I’m focusing on it so much.

Ok, my skin routine would be

1-no touching the face

2-exofoliate in the shower daily or every other day

3-use facial cleanser at night before bed

4-use moisturizer and medication after washing face in the morning

5-increase fluid intake to at least three tall thermos daily or unsweetened herbal tea or water.

• Challenge would run from January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012
• Hair must be styled in a way that keeps ends tucked away and protected at all times.  [This includes buns, tuck n' roll styles, updos, headwraps, wigs and sew-in weaves.] Each participant gets TWO one-day passes to wear a style where the ends are free/unhidden.
• Moisturize and seal ends before putting them away in any particular style.
• Keep ends well hydrated at all times, through whatever method works best for you.
• NO direct heat styling.
• Snip out any split ends or single strand knots whenever you encounter them (USING HAIR SHEARS, PLEASE!), to keep ends in good shape.
• All challengers must check in once a week, so we all stay accountable and so that the challenge doesn’t die!

Yikes, the weekly checkup will be hard since I barely get online that often. I also modified the rules for my hair to be that I can wear the hair out 1-2 days a week for my wash and rest routine. My hair and scalp get angry if they don’t get wet once or twice a week, which means no weaves for me and the constant rewetting means that my styles will probably not last beyond two weeks.

I just realized that I have been doing this challenge without knowing it during the school year since I put 14 large braids in my hair and pull that back into a ponytail and tuck the ends under. I have been wearing that style none stop since I need my hair out of the way for work, otherwise I wouldn’t have any hair. I will probably do the same thing this quarter.

The official challenge asked for a “starting post” of the following:

1. Starting point (i.e. hair length in inches or just the usual “shoulder length,” “chin length,” etc.), with photo(s), ideally. Starting stats (e.g., challenge goal(s), hair starting length, whether hair is layered, if you’re transitioning, etc.)

between arm-pit length and below shoulder-blade length hair…I think, I tend to underestimate my length

2. Retention/growth goal for March 31, 2012

Yikes, um, how about full below shoulder blade length to beginning bra strap length. Also, my trouble spots around my perimeter to thicken up and fill in. They’re not thin and see-through, but they grow slower than the other spots on my head and as a result tend not to make it into my buns and are fair game for over manipulation and thus breakage

3. Strategy and routine to get there, while in this challenge.  This can just be a rundown of your products, what your go-to protective style will be, etc. Plans of attack (whether you plan to wear updos, wigs, headwraps, weaves, what your hair care routine will be, etc.)

I usually do braids or twists and pull them into a bun, but I might experiment with banana clips instead of ponytail holders and then use bobby pins to tuck the ends. My go to style will probably be the “multi-pony” as I call it, when I gather the pieces of hair at the crown and nape and tuck the ends. Will seal ends with shea butter, my homemade rosemary  spray or my new curl smoothie product and wear scarves around the edges to protect the perimeter and/or try the  braid method for the nape and perimeter.

So my “plan of attack”

Wash Routine

Cowash once a week

*Seal ends once a week by squeezing excess water from ends, then adding oil/butter (this is a new method for me)

Spray nightly, or every other night with “rosemary tea”

Styles

Wear medium sized twists for two weeks at a time. Keep the twists bunned up, or roll and tuck styles with satin/silk scarves and accessories to spice it up.

Wear chunky braids (8-12 in my entire head) in a “multi-pony” with the ends bunned for the week.

New Things to Try

consistently keeping the ends stretched with rollers before bunning to prevent SSKs.

Wearing silk/satin scarves instead of my new stretchy bands to keep the edges tucked away as well as the ends.

New sealing ends method described above

Increasing liquid intake-I honestly need to drink more.

It goes without saying that I want healthy hair first and healthy hair grows and has length. I’m not ashamed or fearful to cut my hair, in fact I think I may prefer much shorter hair, but I am trying this growth thing to see how long my hair can grow if I take care of it properly.

From Hair de la Creme

That said, my hair is currently arm pit length, I think my first goal would be bra strap length, which I am about 2″ away from meeting that goal.

My second goal would be mid-back length…maybe…

From Kibibihair

I’m not sure if I would be a fan of hair that long since when I wear wigs that long, they annoy me

I do have a few problem areas that I want to work on. I have stopped getting the back of my head “edged up”, so that’s shorter than the rest of my hair and I’m trying to make sure I don’t damage it by over manipulation. Also, the front edges are shorter as well and I’m not sure if this is due to breakage or if this is my “baby hair” since it’s the perimeter. Either way, the goal is to get the perimeter of my hair longer and healthier. Also, I notice that I am prone to single strand knots in one particular area of my head, I noticed that the hair is kinkier and wiry in that area as well, so I am monitoring to see if the knots are due to manipulation or texture so I know how to combat them.

So the loose hair length goal for 2012 is mid-back length and some improvement in the problem areas I mentioned. Wish me luck!

Timespan

-A year is great for a longer goal, but I need to work with monthly or quarterly goals and do check-ups after each time to keep progress moving. Otherwise I lose motivation.

Trimming

-I didn’t trim my hair at all, which wasn’t that great. I have a lot of split ends and single strand knots. This was from lots of things, mostly (I think) wearing my hair loose and trying to detangle to the last inch of life. For a while it looked like my hair had stopped growing. I will be getting a professional straightening and trim to start my next growth challenge with healthy hair and ends. I will try not to leave with an actual cut…it will be hard.

Drinking Water

-I have to work to drink liquids of any kind, so drinking water is hard for me since I visit the restroom more often as a result. Hubby has to drink more water due to his physical fitness routine, so I will try to drink more water as well.

Protective Styling and Water

-Protective styling, aka twists, were great, but rinsing them wasn’t so great. They got so tangled that I felt that I lost more hair in the detangling process than I gained in the growth process.

-Going forward I am trying large braids pulled into buns during the week, then wearing my hair loose on the weekends and finally washing/detangling and rebraiding it on Sunday. I’m hoping that this will (1) cause less single strand knots as I stretch my ends with rollers, (2) still function as protective styling since it’s bunned most of the week and (3) still allow me to wash and detangle (which should be easier since the hair was in large braids for most of the week instead of loose curly which causes more single strand knots).

Growth Challenge 2012

So this year, I will  have quarterly goals and routines that I will reevaluate monthly for progress. I don’t have a clear length in inches in mind, but I do want my hair to touch my shoulders while curly.

image from happykinksforever

Based on that and of course, healthy hair, I have set up a few quarterly routines

-Continue big braids & buns for stretched curls during the week and twist outs on weekends.

-Wash days include washing with baking soda and conditioner to cleanse my hair and open the cuticles, deep condition with coconut oil and conditioner, follow up with ACV-rosemary rinse. Monthly do protein treatment with egg and conditioner.

-Reevaluate the health of the hair after one quarter. However, reevaluate the moisture and “feel” of the hair after each wash and make adjustments as needed

-I haven’t decided if I will actually measure my hair in inches each quarter