Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2026

[Angel of the North]

@Angel of the North

I am sorry for the loss and passing of your friend's precious father.

The cocoa butter is a solid stick. See it to the left of the photo.








"Do you mean that once you've cooled off the blend of melted butters it sets to a hard texture? There are so many types of shea butters out there, shea was the butter that I ordered 4 out of the 6 types that the retailer stocked when I was testing out all butters, none of them were like the one I like, they were all pretty solid but 1 was slightly softer than the others."

No. I let my Shea mix with cocoa butter cool to a solid like ALL my other Shea butter mixes do. Then, I blend it with a hand mixer. After it sets, my Shea butter mix with cocoa butter is HARD. All my other butters without cocoa butter set soft.

Thank you for the condolences, and the further explanation. I understand fully now

Are you using all of the cocoa butter stick or just a little? It doesn't look like it takes much to get your shea mix to set.

That's a lot of very useful information you have shared, and will be useful for when I get started.

Do you use any preservatives in any of your DIY products? This is something that's holding me back from getting started as well. I don't think it's an easy field to navigate, nor do I think it's as easy to get hold of they best type of preservatives for specific products.

One of the YTs I followed gave me some great pointers for getting more info on the types of preservatives available to me where I am, she's based in the states.

 

[Chicoro]

I was thinking about the hair of women with those Brazilian Keratin treatments.

Their hair looks super thin and fine when wet. But when it’s dry, there hair looks extremely full, fluffy and thick.

I think it is because the strip off anything that is heavy or oily on the final blowdry.

I know this sounds like water is wet, but their technique is not intuitive or simple.

I’m going back to watch more of those videos in Brazilian Portugués with these women.

There is something there.

Thank you for the condolences, and the further explanation. I understand fully now

Are you using all of the cocoa butter stick or just a little? It doesn't look like it takes much to get your shea mix to set.

That's a lot of very useful information you have shared, and will be useful for when I get started.

Do you use any preservatives in any of your DIY products? This is something that's holding me back from getting started as well. I don't think it's an easy field to navigate, nor do I think it's as easy to get hold of they best type of preservatives for specific products.

One of the YTs I followed gave me some great pointers for getting more info on the types of preservatives available to me where I am, she's based in the states.

i use the entire stick of cocoa butter to make my mix.

I do not use preservatives in my Shea butter mixes because there is no water in them.

For my mixes with water, I keep them in the fridge. I also use them very quickly. I try to use up the water based DIY in days.

If one is going to be selling products, preservatives are recommended.

Optiphan is a commercial preservative that many people use in the US.

Vitamin E and Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) are natural preservatives. But, they may not be considered good enough to preserve a product by certain governing bodies in the US.

 

[Angel of the North]

Hey!

@Angel of the North

Another AHA!

The hard Shea butter mix elongates and stretches my hair.

So, I use the hard butter to stretch my hair instead of using HEAT (blow dryer) to stretch my hair.

I never made that connection before!


My hair coated with the Hard Shea Butter Mix with Cocoa Butter





Hard Shea Butter Mix Elongates and Stretches my Hair Section



Hair Braided and Coated with Hard Shea Butter Mix



Pulling Braid coated and saturated with the Hard Shea Butter Mix

I missed this post! I cannot believe how well it stretches your braids. There's so much I want to ask

What gave you the idea to use the cocoa butter to harden the shea butter? It's cool the way that the cocoa butter affects the shea butter like that.

How did you learn that this mix could elongate your braids?

What length would your braids be if you didn't use the hard shea mix?

 

[Chicoro]

I missed this post! I cannot believe how well it stretches your braids. There's so much I want to ask

What gave you the idea to use the cocoa butter to harden the shea butter? It's cool the way that the cocoa butter affects the shea butter like that.

How did you learn that this mix could elongate your braids?

What length would your braids be if you didn't use the hard shea mix?

I have always loved Cocoa butter and used it since I was a little girl. Shea butter came in my life later. I wanted to combine my childhood favorite, cocoa butter, with Shea butter.

I did not expect or plan for the texture. I combined the two and I got the wonderful, hard texture.

I originally made the butter for my body. I believe I ran out of my normal, soft butter that I use for my hair. So, I dipped into the hard one.

I was initially disappointed about how it sat on top of my hair and forced my braid to elongate. Then, I started to embrace and love what the hard butter did to and for my hair.

 

[Chicoro]

From June 2024, but it's still the same hang length in 2026 without Shea butter and Cocoa butter


From March 2026, hard Shea mix makes hair hang its true length (for a few minutes before it draws up again.)

 

[Angel of the North]

From June 2024, but it's still the same hang length in 2026 without Shea butter and Cocoa butter


From March 2026, hard Shea mix makes hair hang its true length (for a few minutes before it draws up again.)

Thank you for posting. I cannot believe what a difference the hard shea mix makes to the length of your braids.

I was just thinking about some mango butter I have. When I was buying it, my usual stockist was out so I bought from elsewhere and let's just say it's not what I am used to. It's firmer in texture, but will melt in your hands or fingers with a little rubbing. I was planning to melt it down as part of a mix, I know it's not the same, but it's the closest thing that I have to hand that might be of a similar texture. I want to see what happens if I use a firmer butter. It probably won't work thr same because I believe the key to the consistency of your hard butter mix is the cocoa butter.

 

[Chicoro]

Thank you for posting. I cannot believe what a difference the hard shea mix makes to the length of your braids.

I was just thinking about some mango butter I have. When I was buying it, my usual stockist was out so I bought from elsewhere and let's just say it's not what I am used to. It's firmer in texture, but will melt in your hands or fingers with a little rubbing. I was planning to melt it down as part of a mix, I know it's not the same, but it's the closest thing that I have to hand that might be of a similar texture. I want to see what happens if I use a firmer butter. It probably won't work thr same because I believe the key to the consistency of your hard butter mix is the cocoa butter.

You won’t know until you try. Perhaps try to mix a small batch. Can you get a tube of cocoa butter from your local beauty supply store?

 

[Chicoro]

Update for the Month of March, 2026
Posted on April 1st, 2026

I been out here in this thread messing around with @Angel of the North and had a realization. I use my Hard Shea Mix to stretch my hair in place of using heat to stretch my hair. I did not realize this. I never made the connection.

My hard Shea butter mix is simply cocoa butter and olive oil in the mix. It creates a beautiful firm butter that elongates and stretches my hair. The stretch and the elongation last about five (5) minutes.

This is the first month where I have been doing my hair process and following my hair routine. My hair is responding nicely. I cover my head lots of nights. I use my spray concoction, my oils and my butter.

I started protecting the ends of my hair more with paper. It's working out great. I need to have a few months to say the it really works, though.

Overall, I am super happy with my progress. My hair has very few splits and knots, even though I have not trimmed in a year.


How are you progressing? What are those ends looking like?
My ends look GREAT! I am so satisfied and happy with how they are looking. The splits and the knots are at a minimum. It feels good to have some success after so much difficulty.

Have you had any epiphanies?
YES!!! I use my Hard Shea Butter Mix with Cocoa butter to stretch my hair before braiding it. I am so glad I was conversing in such detail with @Angel of the North.

I also like to use glycerin and add essentials oils to it in the palm of my hand. Then, I put it directly on my hair. It makes my hair smell so pretty!

Have you set bolder goals?
I am cautiously optimistic and hopeful that my hair continues to gain thickness and health and not break. I celebrate every month that I am out of my 12 Year Break Cycle. I wouldn't change it for the world because that cycle taught me so much.

Have you pulled back on some goals?
Nope. But, I DO NOT use new products without thought. Every product, no matter how innocuous it may seem, could potential set my hair care goals back. So, I'm sticking to my tried and true basics and ingredients.

Have you had any realizations about your hair or your hair care practices?
Just that I have to ENJOY my hair to be consistent. I love my practices now.

How is your consistency?
It's really good for the month of March. I just take it a day at a time.

Extending grace to you?
Every day, in every aspect of my life. It feels beautiful, too.

 

[Chicoro]

How is everyone progressing ?

It's just me and @Angel of the North and a li'l bit of @Lylddlebit and @faithVA up in here.

 

[Angel of the North]

How is everyone progressing ?

It's just me and @Angel of the North and a li'l bit of @Lylddlebit and @faithVA up in here.

We have a few more, I'm looking forward to the updates, especially if the pics are coming too

 

[faithVA]

I'm here. Just taking a slight breather. For some reason I'm not feeling like being bothered with hair
I skipped the March update as you can see. No pictures. No straightening. No measuring.

How are you progressing? What are those ends looking like?
I'm not sure how they are looking. I didn't feel like being bothered with blow drying and trimming. I put my hair in mini-twist and clipped the ends. That's about all I'm going to do until probably June.

Have you had any epiphanies?
No really. Still thinking about which bond treatment I will switch to after the K18. Thinking I may be better off using something easier each wash day versus K18, once a month.

Have you set bolder goals?
No. Just sticking to reaching APL by the end of the year and keeping it as simple as possible.

Have you pulled back on some goals?
No

Have you had any realizations about your hair or your hair care practices?
No

How is your consistency?
I missed 1 week due to something I can't remember now. But for the most part on scheduling every 5 to 7 days.

Extending grace to you?
A whole lot of it right now.

 

[faithVA]

I'm here. Just in and out. You can see the blow drying didn't last. I just didn't feel like doing it after doing a full cleanse.

For the next few months, I'm switching over to the 4C Only products which I purchased during Black Friday. I hate sitting under the dryer but it calls for that with the deep conditioner. I've used it for the 2 previous cleanses and in the middle of this weeks process.

So far I really like it. I like the way my hair feels after the cleanser and for the first time I think ever, my hair actually feels heavy with water. I'm still getting used to trying to get my hair soaking wet before putting product on. And I think I'm using too much of both the leave-in and the styler. I will try to bring the amount down today when I apply them. Since the hair has to be soaking wet I can do all steps in the shower.

I've been putting my hair into 2 strands when I finish. I don't love how they look but they look better than they did last year this time. I can make them a bit bigger. They still are a bit stiff. I'm hoping using less product fixes that. It may not happen though until I have more length.

Instead of blow drying and trimming, I just put it in twist and cut the scraggly ends off. I will just do this through June and evaluate how it is going.

I have retained some, which I can tell by where my hands are when I get to the end of the twists. I'm going to try to keep from doing any real measuring though until I get a twist that reaches APL. We shall see.

This summer is going to be about keeping it simple as much as possible.

 

[Chicoro]

I'm here. Just taking a slight breather. For some reason I'm not feeling like being bothered with hair
I skipped the March update as you can see. No pictures. No straightening. No measuring.

How are you progressing? What are those ends looking like?
I'm not sure how they are looking. I didn't feel like being bothered with blow drying and trimming. I put my hair in mini-twist and clipped the ends. That's about all I'm going to do until probably June.

Have you had any epiphanies?
No really. Still thinking about which bond treatment I will switch to after the K18. Thinking I may be better off using something easier each wash day versus K18, once a month.

Have you set bolder goals?
No. Just sticking to reaching APL by the end of the year and keeping it as simple as possible.

Have you pulled back on some goals?
No

Have you had any realizations about your hair or your hair care practices?
No

How is your consistency?
I missed 1 week due to something I can't remember now. But for the most part on scheduling every 5 to 7 days.

Extending grace to you?
A whole lot of it right now.

It’s good that you are doing what you feel. No apologies. No explaining. It is what it is. Good for you. We’ll be here, me and this thread! So, you know where to find us!

 

[Chicoro]

I'm here. Just in and out. You can see the blow drying didn't last. I just didn't feel like doing it after doing a full cleanse.

For the next few months, I'm switching over to the 4C Only products which I purchased during Black Friday. I hate sitting under the dryer but it calls for that with the deep conditioner. I've used it for the 2 previous cleanses and in the middle of this weeks process.

So far I really like it. I like the way my hair feels after the cleanser and for the first time I think ever, my hair actually feels heavy with water. I'm still getting used to trying to get my hair soaking wet before putting product on. And I think I'm using too much of both the leave-in and the styler. I will try to bring the amount down today when I apply them. Since the hair has to be soaking wet I can do all steps in the shower.

I've been putting my hair into 2 strands when I finish. I don't love how they look but they look better than they did last year this time. I can make them a bit bigger. They still are a bit stiff. I'm hoping using less product fixes that. It may not happen though until I have more length.

Instead of blow drying and trimming, I just put it in twist and cut the scraggly ends off. I will just do this through June and evaluate how it is going.

I have retained some, which I can tell by where my hands are when I get to the end of the twists. I'm going to try to keep from doing any real measuring though until I get a twist that reaches APL. We shall see.

This summer is going to be about keeping it simple as much as possible.

Oooo, wee! Three significant things are happening here:

1. The hair is hanging heavy with water, a wonderful ‘first time ‘ for you.

2. Your hair looks better now than it did this time last year, which is progressive improvement.

3. And, your hair is getting longer because as you twist it, your hands are lower on your body when you come to the ends of your hair.

Keep on doing what your doing. Because it is working!

If that means we don’t see you up in here until the next two months, so be it.

Congratulations on these three great changes and/shifts in your hair!

 

[Chicoro]

I’m wrapping/protecting my ends better.

I’ve retained, as in not trimmed, these one-year old ends. But, they are improving.

How?

1. I’ve got less hairs with lint stuck on the ends.

2. I have less knots in my hair, on my ends.

3. I have less split ends.

For the first time in the history of my hair I could do a search and destroy and remove most of my problematic ends ( split, knotted, lint covered).

In the past, most of my ends were problematic, it would have been a waste of time doing a search and destroy process.

It would have been easier to do a full fledged trim with my ends in the past.

The bulk of my hair ends used to be a mess.

Now, the majority of my hair strands ends are split -free, lint-free and knot-free.

In the past, I was hard pressed to find a hair end that was not damaged or flawed.

For now, this is not the case. The majority of my hair strand ends are healthy, and damage-free.

This is great. If my old ends are responding beautifully like this, my hope and expectation is that my freshly trimmed ends will really benefit.

Again, small shifts can have huge implications on the outcome.

 

[ScorpioLove]

currently stuck with my baby on my lap sleeping. i was trying to shower/ wash the sweat off my scalp from my workout but he does not approve of how long my grooming takes. sitting here with conditioner in my hair and hungry cause i haven’t had a chance to eat.

on another note, i notice ive been rushing my hair, detangling too rough in exchange for speed. some days, dh works 16 hours and im just on my own. and when he is home, i’m working. it seems impossible to fit it all in.

 

[Chicoro]

currently stuck with my baby on my lap sleeping. i was trying to shower/ wash the sweat off my scalp from my workout but he does not approve of how long my grooming takes. sitting here with conditioner in my hair and hungry cause i haven’t had a chance to eat.

on another note, i notice ive been rushing my hair, detangling too rough in exchange for speed. some days, dh works 16 hours and im just on my own. and when he is home, i’m working. it seems impossible to fit it all in.

It probably is impossible to fit it all in. But, you are making smart choices by breaking it down and doing what you can when you can.

 

[Napp]

I was thinking about the hair of women with those Brazilian Keratin treatments.

Their hair looks super thin and fine when wet. But when it’s dry, there hair looks extremely full, fluffy and thick.

I think it is because they strip off anything that is heavy or oily on the final blowdry.

I know this sounds like water is wet, but their technique is not intuitive or simple.

I’m going back to watch more of those videos in Brazilian Portugués with these women.

There is something there.

There is something there! I have been reading about Brazilian hair for decades. Now a days it’s much easier to get products in the USA. I love Brazilian hair products

 

[Angel of the North]

I’m wrapping/protecting my ends better.

I’ve retained, as in not trimmed, these one-year old ends. But, they are improving.

How?

1. I’ve got less hairs with lint stuck on the ends.

2. I have less knots in my hair, on my ends.

3. I have less split ends.

For the first time in the history of my hair I could do a search and destroy and remove most of my problematic ends ( split, knotted, lint covered).

In the past, most of my ends were problematic, it would have been a waste of time doing a search and destroy process.

It would have been easier to do a full fledged trim with my ends in the past.

The bulk of my hair ends used to be a mess.

Now, the majority of my hair strands ends are split -free, lint-free and knot-free.

In the past, I was hard pressed to find a hair end that was not damaged or flawed.

For now, this is not the case. The majority of my hair strand ends are healthy, and damage-free.

This is great. If my old ends are responding beautifully like this, my hope and expectation is that my freshly trimmed ends will really benefit.

Again, small shifts can have huge implications on the outcome.

This is amazing, I'm so happy for you (and your ends)!

How did it feel to do your first search and destroy? Is this something that you like, do you prefer this method to a regular trim/dusting?

I'm happy for everyone who is seeing good results with their ends.

 

[Angel of the North]

My April update:

How are you progressing? What are those ends looking like?
My ends are looking good this this week, I believe they will continue to look good going forward.

Have you had any epiphanies?
I've had a few.
1. I need to oil my bands to prevent hair getting caught around them.
2. I need to smooth my products in properly to ensure coverage of hair and optimal moisturisation.
3. I need to put butter on my ends to ensure my braid and ends stay moisturised through the week.
4. Adding oils to my ends over the DC makes a difference to their smoothness.
5. Moisturise on wet hair
6. I am using so much less products. Sectioning my hair and braiding for wash routine, means I need less. I still give very good coverage, it just doesn't need as much. Today I had to put back 2 thirds of the conditioner I poured out to mix the oil with, I used to have to be so heavy handed to get the coverage I needed on loose hair.

Have you set bolder goals?
Not exactly, I need around 2.5 - 3 inches to hit my goal length, I have the potential to surpass my goal so, I'm excited to see what happens.

Have you pulled back on some goals?
No, they are still the same.

Have you had any realizations about your hair or your hair care practices?
Plenty! Many of the small things I used to do but stopped doing were actually very important in meeting the needs of my hair. What I'm loving right now is that these things still work for me, and I'm enjoying reincorporating these steps into my regimen. I'm enjoying my regimen, I took about 3 - 4 weeks to create and finalise it, but its working great so far.

How is your consistency?
At the moment, I'm on point! I have stuck to my regimen, I've made sure that wash day happens weekly. This has been easy for me to maintain, I'm happy with how things are going for sure.

Extending grace to you?
Absolutely! Everyday, all the time.

No pics, I will take one when I next straighten my hair.

 

[Angel of the North]

Today was wash day. I prepooed overnight with my infused oil, did a 10 minute HOT with steam, washed with Sukin hydrating shampoo, DC'd with Osmos mixed with a little sunflower oil under steamer. Moisturised with S Curl, Cantu and sunflower oil, applied extra oil and avocado butter to my ends.

The experiment of putting butter on my ends over the oil last week worked as I thought it would, which was very well. When I took my bands out, the whole of my braid was moisturised and my ends were smooth compared to the last 3 weeks.

This week my ends not only looked smoother after a week of just sitting in a braid, they looked smooth before I washed out oils, and also looked smooth once I'd rinsed out the DC.


The week when my hair was very frizzy, I used the same DC then as I did today, although I mixed a little oil in there today, I think the other wash day, my hair was still in a state of shock from having been left for so long. My hair is in much better condition since then.

The first pic is from early March when I got back to taking care of my hair. The second picture is



I forgot to add oil to my ends for the DC, if anything the oil in the DC seemed to have helped so, it wasn't too bad.

Keeping hair moisturised properly means that detangling is very easy and quick. I don't need to add anything to my hair to detangle, this is how it was before I fell off the HHJ, so I've got that back under control.

I moisturised with S Curl and Cantu, then I sealed it in with sunflower oil and avocado butter. This week, I will be oiling my ends daily, mainly to smooth and conditition them.

I'm planning on trimming my hair soonish, I don't know when exactly, I'm just enjoying plodding along to the beat of my regimen, which is working great. It's basically a streamlined version of my older one. It's easy to stick to as well. I was exhausted last night, but I found the energy to detangle, section, braid and prepoo with my infused oils, it didn't feel like too much effort.

I'm in no rush to trim, my ends are improving every week, and I think the oils are really helping the condition and smoothness of my ends.

 

[ScorpioLove]

success after i don’t know how many hours. new epiphany, i need to never try that again ( being with baby alone and trying to wash my hair). it’s been a while since my wash day was a literal day.

to force myself to detangle more gently, one technique i remembered to do was hold my detangling brush with two fingers ( thumb and index) and break up my sections within my sections.
i’m also playing with no heat blow drys to stretch my hair. i think with a high air flow blow dryer, very wet hair, gentle tension and some blow dry mist, i could potentially get my fine strands pretty straight.

my hair is the shortest it’s ever been with this cut and i think im a little uncomfortable at this length so working on eliminating any thing damaging to retain.

 

[Angel of the North]

success after i don’t know how many hours. new epiphany, i need to never try that again ( being with baby alone and trying to wash my hair). it’s been a while since my wash day was a literal day.

to force myself to detangle more gently, one technique i remembered to do was hold my detangling brush with two fingers ( thumb and index) and break up my sections within my sections.
i’m also playing with no heat blow drys to stretch my hair. i think with a high air flow blow dryer, very wet hair, gentle tension and some blow dry mist, i could potentially get my fine strands pretty straight.

my hair is the shortest it’s ever been with this cut and i think im a little uncomfortable at this length so working on eliminating any thing damaging to retain.

How short did you go? It may just take a little getting used to. I went through a phase of wearing my hair short, I like short hair on me, if I want a short style now I'd get a weave. I actually mainly avoid short hair because it's more work for me on a daily basis, I don't want to get up everyday and HAVE to style my hair, and that's what having short hair would mean for me.

 

[Chicoro]

This is amazing, I'm so happy for you (and your ends)!

How did it feel to do your first search and destroy? Is this something that you like, do you prefer this method to a regular trim/dusting?

I'm happy for everyone who is seeing good results with their ends.

Thank you!

It felt good seeing the condition of my ends. Search and Destroy never worked for me because MOST of my ends were a mess. This is the first time I COULD employ the search and destroy method. I literally was able to clean up each braid with the search and destroy method. I prefer trimming on heat straightened hair.

It was a milestone for me. In fact, let me acknowledge this as a milestone for myself in a separate post for myself.

 

[Chicoro]

For the first time in the history of my hair journey, my ends were so healthy, and NOT so riddled with splits/knots and lint, that I was able to selectively do the Search and Destroy method to clean up my Hair Ends.

I could literally COUNT the splits and knots and lint coated ends I had. Normally, every single hair end would usually be either split, knotted or have lint or have all a combination of these issues.

Not this time. Knot this time. Nope! ​

To be transparent, I still have some hairs with knots and a few splits. I did not get them all. But most of my hair ends are free from any issues and damage.

 

[Chicoro]

I tell you all to acknowledge your wins. Well, let me practice what I preach!

 

[Angel of the North]

I tell you all to acknowledge your wins. Well, let me practice what I preach!

It's been an eventful quarter There's been a lot of wins we are in a better place with our ends.

 

[Chicoro]

It's been an eventful quarter There's been a lot of wins we are in a better place with our ends.

It's fabulous, isn't it!

 

[Angel of the North]

It's fabulous, isn't it!

Absolutely! I've joined this challenge so many times over the years, this is one of my favourite times to be in it. Everyone seems to be doing good with their ends, this should equate to better length retention, thus hitting those length goals.

 

[Chicoro]

Absolutely! I've joined this challenge so many times over the years, this is one of my favourite times to be in it. Everyone seems to be doing good with their ends, this should equate to better length retention, thus hitting those length goals.​

It's strange, but a consistent pattern that happens.

When a thread has lots of responses and discussion about a specific topic/idea/technique, it's usually that we've hit upon a 'sweet spot'. Then, there is a shift. Then, the person has a result that hasn't been seen or experienced before. And then, a plateau and a breakthrough happens!


But, this time, the person is conscious of what brought about the change, records it and now can repeat the process as part as their hair routine - forever!

In addition to this, it's contagious. Once it happens for one person in the thread, it somehow jumps to others participating in the thread. Then, before you know it, the thread is on fire. Most importantly, people have authentic, genuine, proof-is-in-the-photos success!

I believe that it is because one shares his or her realizations, epiphanies or successes. Then, it triggers something in other people's journey. Then, they examine and analyze their situation. The analysis is more targeted and focused because it's not, "it might work". It's let me look hard because I KNOW it works.

And when you seek, you find.

Less cute, I say, "When you get a trigger, you become a digger."
(When something triggers to to try something different, you start to dig until you make it work or find a solution.)