Archive for the ‘Healthy Hair – Growth Challenge’ Category

Well I haven’t posted in a while. I didn’t post an update to my self challenge. I didn’t quite keep up with every rule, but I did grow 3 inches of hair in 6 months time. That is 1/2 inch a month! I think that is darn good.

I couldn’t maintain protective styles everyday, however, I have learned to keep them in for 2 weeks and then give myself a break for 2 weeks. This works since I love love love my hair and can’t keep it up for more than 2 weeks at a time 🙂 I have been drinking more water (not 8 glasses but more than before) and I keep my hair moisturized by wetting it daily and using my new shea butter concoction (more on that later). I have not trimmed my hair, but I am careful with my ends…especially when detangling. I am noticing less single knot strands now which I think helped with my growth. I haven’t been doing many deep treatments, but I do perform weekly shampoos and I haven’t used much heat (aside from the occasional blow dry).

Right now, I am sporting twists. Not the really tiny ones because I hate detangling those and although I love the look, I think I loose a lot of hair that way. I have medium size ones, that I think gives the best twist out ever. Below is a pic of my twist along with two of my favorite twist outs from previous twists done the same size.

So I decided to go with the messy bun this week. It didn’t work out so well. Although I felt quite fine today, I constantly received questions about whether or not I was sick or comments saying I looked tired. Being that the only thing that changed was my hairstyle, I am choking this up as a loss. Being that I am practicing full hair disclosure, I am still posting the pics. I am still thinking about what will happen tomorrow. Maybe I can do something to jazz this up some.

So towards the end of the week I did begin to have that overwhelming urge to wear my hair out. I was really missing my curls which have been housed up in this bun for days now. I am truly dedicated to this challenge so I decided to find a compromise. The answer I found was BANGS!!! My hair is too long for real bangs and I refuse to cut, so I decided to part the very front of my hair, wet and moisturize with oil, and braid it into two small braids. I took this out in the morning for a nice wavy curl and set them to the side for side bangs. This partially satisfied me. However, the curls came out so nice I continue to wonder what would happen if I did my entire head. There will be time for that after this challenge 🙂

A straight phony pony is what I decided to use for my first week of protective styling. This is a Milky Way drawstring ponytail that I purchased from the beauty supply store for $9.99. It can be used on long or medium length hair. As long as you can pull your hair into a ponytail, this will work. I washed and conditioned my hair and used Eco Styler Gel to create a high ponytail with my hair. I tied my hair down with a silk wrap in order to get the hair to lay as flat as possible. In the morning, I placed the ponytail over my own ponytail and pulled the drawstring. I continue to add a small amount of gel and wrap with a silk wrap each evening before bed.

Today is my day to wet my hair and place the ponytail again. I am trying to moisturize every 2-3 days. Avocado oil is on deck as my sealer this week. Aussie Conditioner will be used as my co-wash. No shampoo needed since I am only shampooing once a week.

I haven’t been drinking as much water, so I will try harder to get that in the remainder of this week. So far, I miss my hair, but I haven’t experienced any overwhelming urge to wear it out.

So there is 113 days until the 1st day of Summer. I don’t know about others, but Summer brings extra stress to my hair. I swim so the chlorine and the lack of time to spend on my hair (due to being out and about) causes problems. Being that I just finished with the blond fiasco, I am not looking forward to dealing with unhealthy hair again. Also, having 2 inches cut set me back in my hair growth challenge.

Having said all of that, I am going on a 113 day challenge. This will be extremely difficult for me as I am in loooove with my hair. I like different styles and I like for it to be wild and loose! To tackle the different styles, I will be trying all different types of buns, phony ponies, and any other protective styles I find through research and my own creativity. For wild and loose, I will allow myself one weekend a month with loose hair. I know I wouldn’t survive cold turkey 🙂

My action plan is as follows:

• Protected styles worn throughout the 113 days. Ends will be hidden in all protective styles. My hair will only be worn out on special occasions which will be limited to 1 weekend out of a month.
• Weekly shampoo with a sulfate-free shampoo (most shampoos can be drying).
• Weekly deep treatments with olive oil, honey, and conditioner.
• No direct heat applied to hair except for the 8 week salon visit for a trim.
• I will measure hair every 4 weeks to track progress. This will be done on stretched hair from a braid or twist out.
• Moisture applied to hair every 3 days. Moisture will be sealed with Avocado, Olive, or Coconut oil.
• Follow a healthy diet and exercise program (P90x/Turbo Fire Challenge)
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily.

Starting Length – front/middle 9.5 inches, back/nape 6 inches

Who’s with me?? Let’s get this started. We can do it!