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yaya24 said:
Happy Wednesday ladies ♡

So I took down my cornrows last night on a whim. Detangled and swwitched them to 8 large flat twists ( from 16 crnrows) & did an unofficial length.

Majority of my hair is 5 inches around. No substantial increase since I joined this challenge on 2-25-25 (about .5 / 1 inch growth)

My June salon appointment is specifically for a professional trim.

I'm now wondering if it's too soon and if I should just wait until later in the year (November) for my 1st official trim.

Overall health is good.

What do yall think?
Skip the trim or get it done?
Click to expand...
If your ends are in good shape I recommend deferring the trim for a while.

If you got it done now when would you get your next one?
 
Burdock root--

I'm thinking about buying some for my next batch of scalp oil.. or possibly adding it to my liquid hair/scalp tonic.

I'm slowly getting comfortable again with DIYs. I'm still not going back to the powders though. Thankfully I still have my hair journals from back in the day as a reminder of what I will not go back to.. and why.
 
Happy Mother’s Day!
Today we celebrate all the beautiful expressions of motherhood ♡

To the mothers raising children with love and care,
To the women who long to be mothers and hold that dream in their hearts,
To the bonus moms, aunties, godmothers, and caregivers who step in with strength and tenderness,
And to everyone who nurtures, protects, and pours into others in a motherly way

You are seen, loved, and deeply appreciated.

Wishing you a day filled with love, peace, and honor. You deserve it.

1746987492447.png
 
Good morning. I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day.

I took out my braids on Friday, and then did a quick wash, DC and airdried in African threading as per usual. Had a ton of shedding, but it may be due to skipping a washday last week. My ends still look good and are very blunt. I do have a hairline issue from when my baby nephew snatched my wig and pulled out hair. Anyway, Time to baby the hair, and also enquire, will V-part wigs hurt the hairline?
 
I've decided to get some knotless braids..I might add some body wave boho pieces..I have to decide ASAP.

Last appointment she has is on Friday, until mid June.. so I went head and booked it.

I haven't had individual braids (with extensions) since 2020.

Excited to see how they turnout.

I'll do my full wash day and Blowout early Friday morning. My appointment is a late afternoon one.
 
Had a slight misstep with a product. My hair had been feeling dry for the past week or so and my styling products weren't working as well either. My regimen has been the same so I knew it was a product.

The previous leave- in I had been using ran out so I switched to one I had used a few times before but never consistently. The product is labeled as a detangling leave- in but after my review of the ingredients and instructions, it's actually a "moisturizing" heat protectant. So it was added a tiny bit of moisture but not enough to combat Midwest spring humidity.

I will be able to finish the item, I just added in another moisturizer to keep my hair hydrated. So far so good.
 
I have update photos today from my last update in March.

Right now I am sitting with protein conditioner in and chunky twists while it does it's thing. I'll let it sit for a few hours before rinsing, shampooing and moisture DC/steam.

Pictures tell a story that I definitely did not notice. I have some areas (in the back) that have made it to almost 6 inches. Yay•°

20250516_101331.jpg20250516_101441.jpg
 
i think I need to tweak my routine a little. Ever since I got my moisture DC at the beginning of the year, I’ve been using my protein DC less frequently -I used to mix a little of the protein DC with my regular conditioner every week. Lately I’ve been noticing a small broken piece of hair here and there when I take down my spin pin buns at night.

Either my spin pins have started breaking my hair or my hair just needs more protein. I’m going to go back to adding in my protein DC with my regular conditioner and see if that makes things better.

It’s not a strong protein so I’m going back to what was working before.
 
Braids took 8 hours yesterday..

I do not know how I made it home bc I left that salon suite at almost 1230am..TIRED.

They (the 2 ladies on my head) did a great job, but took breaks. I'm not mad at them for that.

My appointment was supposed to start at 4:30pm.. Braider number 1 began at 5:15pm.. :/

The shop had 6 braiders ..and the evening appointment = myself and 2 other clients in the salon suite. All the braiders spoke French..and only interacted with customers when spoken to.. otherwise they were loudly talking amongst themselves lol.

I'm vocal about expectations (everywhere lol) so I spoke up the times when I felt one of the braiders was being rough/ heavy handed.

I Left my edges out.

My hair was fully detangled and stretched before I went to my appointment so parting etc was a breeze.

They used a braiding gel that has zero alcohol. I called the owner in advance to confirm the braiding gel brand they use to make sure it was on my list of hair friendly braiding gels. It was.
They use- PureO Natural Neatbraid Conditioning Shining Hair Gel


I had to tell one of the ladies how to properly use a comb (vs snatching through my head).. and she took my concern seriously and switched to combing tip to root.

I ended up using close to 2 packs of 20 inch Burmese double drawn loose body wave hair which I ordered from ygwigs for the loose "boho" pieces.

zero tension/ zero pain

Here is how I'm wearing them while at home. They fall to my waist.
20250517_122817.jpg
20250517_122620.jpg
 
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getting my island twists done on Friday!
I'm glad to get my braids done before June. It'll only take 3 hours. I'm using my leftover mousse and braid spray that I already have.

I got a good trim 2 weeks ago when I got my silk press

I also will be using JBCO to oil my scalp and I'll wash my hair biweekly
 
I started 2 new batches of infused oil on Saturday afternoon. This time, I made 2 batches so I can share with my Mom. Each jar should yield 6-7oz of oil.

I ended up giving My Mom 2oz of my current hair oil and she loved it.

The plan is to let them sit for 6 weeks (shaking daily) before straining and moving them to 2 oz nozzle bottles (and also adding castor oil, black seed oil and various EOs which I love).

After being influenced in this thread :) , I decided to add some coffee to each jar- *not much since I've never experimented with coffee in a hair mix.

I also went ahead and purchased the burdock root and included it to the oil.

Ingredients in each jar-

□ Carrier oil- MCT oil
□ 1/4 cup fenugreek seeds
□ 1/4 cup Burdock root
□ 1 teaspoon pure vitamin e oil
□ 20 drops lavendar EO
□ Half a spoon arabica coffee (trying this is May 2025 mix)

20250519_083515.jpg
 
Rocky91 said:
@yaya24 wonderful growth! The braids look pretty. Every time you post a pic, I admire your brows! They have such a lovely shape.
Click to expand...

Thank you :heart3:

I got my eyebrows microbladed Fall of 2023. Best decision ever. I wake up with them "done"

There is a thread on the forum where I shared my journey. My lady did a great job.
I was willing to fly to someone in Houston, but a lady in DFW reached out to me on social media said she would love to do my brows (for FREE) so I could basically be a walking billboard for her. I liked her work from her IG and agreed. *I still tipped her because I just couldn't imagine working without pay.

She was smart :yep:- I have sent her so many women through social media and in real life.

Here are some highlights from the Microblading thread (I tracked my journey in there)-

Day 0/1 (9/9/2023)

Day 19 post touchup (11/16/2023) compared to the before microblading -
 
@yaya24 You have spoilt us with pics today! You know I'm here for it though :biggrin:

Your hair growth in such a short time is awesome, keep at it, you're definitely doing something right!

Your braids look so pretty, they look versatile, you'll be able to do a lot of cute styles with them

Ah, the oils :) You've just reminded me to go give mine a little shake. The ingredients you've used sound like a great combination, I really hope that the coffee works out for you. I would have probably only added it to one of them just in case, but I'm very cautious, I don't want any setbacks.

My oils will have been infusing for about 4 weeks now. I'm planning on leaving them for 6 weeks in total, I'm also considering diluting some with more oils, probably sunflower and grapeseed as I've used mostly avocado oil. The papaya seed oil is too expensive to use as a prepoo, but they are my favourite oils for my hair.

I only plan on prepooing with them not to use them in my scalp/hair outside of wash day. I think the oils will be potent lol. I have rosemary, cloves, avocado oil, grapeseed oil and sunflower oils with vitamin e oil in one, the other is the same except I've added mint to it as well. I'm going to send a little bottle to my friend, that wants to try it out for her edges though. One jar is about 10.5 oz and the other maybe about 13oz.

Now for those beautiful brows..... I love them! I wanted to try micro blading at some point when it was quite new, then I completely forgot about it. You've inspired me to look into it again. How often to do get it done?
 
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Thank you ♡
I'm glad you enjoy the pics. I have so many in my phone bc I am tracking this journey for real! Shaving my head was so surreal & I'm on this journey back to inches while in my 40s.

ETA
* I cannot believe I joined LHCF when I was 24 (why I have 24 in my username) and I'll be 41 in the Fall. My Mom has thinning in her crown that started in her 50s & I'm trying to ward that off.

My oil is only for my scalp. I just use a small amount of plain castor oil to seal (I do love avocado oil now that you mentioned it).

I've luckily been able to skip any pre-oiling before shampooing with the current shampoo I'm using. I'm trying soooo hard not to relapse as a product junkie lol. Its been over 10 yrs since I gave away/ tossed a bunch of things and during my 3 years of having microlocs (before I shaved my head), I truly realized that less is more.

My protein kind of doubles up as a treatment and pre-shampoo. I'm grateful for the suggestion of Komaza Protein- in the pretein thread. It's a wonderful product.

Thankfully I haven't had to touch up my brows.

During the initial microblade process I had 1 touchup at the 6 week mark (which is part of the process) and that was it.

It'll be 2 years in September. Both of my younger sisters had theirs done before me and for them 2 years it was time to retouch. I'm hopeful I can go to 3 years. I do fill them in when I wear makeup just for some extra razzle dazzle.

You should totally get them done if you are on the fence. Find someone really good and come with pictures of your desired look/ how you like to normally have your brows :) .. and be vocal during the mapping/ mark-up process. Thats the part that takes the longest.

Angel of the North said:
@yaya24 You have spoilt us with pics today! You know I'm here for it though :biggrin:

Your hair growth in such a short time is awesome, keep at it, you're definitely doing something right!

Your braids look so pretty, they look versatile, you'll be able to do a lot of cute styles with them

Ah, the oils :) You've just reminded me to go give mine a little shake. The ingredients you've used sound like a great combination, I really hope that the coffee works out for you. I would have probably only added it to one of them just in case, but I'm very cautious, I don't want any setbacks.

My oils will have been infusing for about 4 weeks now. I'm planning on leaving them for 6 weeks in total, I'm also considering diluting some with more oils, probably sunflower and grapeseed as I've used mostly avocado oil. The papaya seed oil is too expensive to use as a prepoo, but they are my favourite oils for my hair.

I only plan on prepooing with them not to use them in my scalp/hair outside of wash day. I think the oils will be potent lol. I have rosemary, cloves, avocado oil, grapeseed oil and sunflower oils with vitamin e oil in one, the other is the same except I've added mint to it as well. I'm going to send a little bottle to my friend, that wants to try it out for her edges though. One jar is about 10.5 oz and the other maybe about 13oz.

Now for those beautiful brows..... I love them! I wanted to try micro blading at some point when it was quite new, then I completely forgot about it. You've inspired me to look into it again. How often to do get it done?
Click to expand...
 
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yaya24 said:
Thank you ♡
I'm glad you enjoy the pics. I have so many in my phone bc I am tracking this journey for real! Shaving my head was so surreal & I'm on this journey back to inches lol.

My oil is only for my scalp. I just use a small amount of plain castor oil to seal (I do love avocado oil now that you mentioned it).

I've luckily been able to skip any pre-oiling before shampooing with the current shampoo I'm using. I'm trying soooo hard not to relapse as a product junkie lol. Its been over 10 yrs since I gave away/ tossed a bunch of things and during my 3 years of having microlocs (before I shaved my head), I truly realized that less is more.

My protein kind of doubles up as a treatment and pre-shampoo. I'm grateful for the suggestion of Komaza Protein- in the pretein thread. It's a wonderful product.

Thankfully I haven't had to touch up my brows.

During the initial microblade process I had 1 touchup at the 6 week mark (which is part of the process) and that was it.

It'll be 2 years in September. Both of my younger sisters had theirs done before me and for them 2 years it was time to retouch. I'm hopeful I can go to 3 years. I do fill them in when I wear makeup just for some extra razzle dazzle.

You should totally get them done if you are on the fence. Find someone really good and come with pictures of your desired look/ how you like to normally have your brows :) .. and be vocal during the mapping/ mark-up process. Thats the part that takes the longest.
Click to expand...
I totally agree that less is more when it comes to haircare. I'm basically trying to create a new regimen that incorporates all of the processes my hair likes. In honesty most of it is not necessary, before my last trim, my hair was around WL, I didn't even realise as I literally washed and DC anything between once a week to once every 3 weeks, depending on how I felt.

I only intend to add steps that I know will be beneficial, I don't intend to do all of them every week An example, I really like how my hair is after a HOT, I only intend to do that once a month. I don't have much need for regular protein, so a balancing DC or a protein cowash is enough and probably not necessary more than once a month.

My weekly regimen will be built on a 4 or 5 week rotation, that way I can add all the things I like, that I enjoy and that will add to my hair's health and condition, also enhancing my journey this time around.

The oils may be helping with your growth, unfortunately, my scalp doesn't like anything on it like that, I can just about get away with my braid spray touching it, that's mainly distilled water and aloe vera juice with a little grapeseed oil.

Avocado oil is amazing! I love it, but I also love the grapeseed oil, the papaya seed oil and the sunflower oil. I spent a lot of time and money using many oils and butters to figure out what ones worked the best for me and those 4 are the ones. If I had to pick 2, it would be grapeseed and avocado.

I will definitely look into the micro blading, 2-3 years is a long time and definitely makes it worth it. I get my brows threaded, I've ruined them from the few occasions I waxed them. My left brow is not as full as the right but they have both grown hairs at the bottom, where hair never grew before. That's annoying! I need to find someone good, I'm not looking for scare brows :laugh:
 
I'm changing my schedule again because of busier schedule and growth!

Hair at the top is growing faster and I want to redo it now, but I'm going to stick to stretching it out for length retention
Loving "Top Buns" It hides new growth, and can use different scarves to make the style anew

I'm going to have to miss a lot of Challenge Check Ins:cry4:but this is the best for my busy schedule to keep hair healthy while growing it out :)
KB16WKSchd2025.png
 
This batch of clove/fenugreek water has lasted 7 weeks.
I have a few days left in my 4oz spray bottle.

I'll start a new batch now for this weekend...adding burdock root to this batch.
I'll let it sit and soak for 24-48 hrs


yaya24 said:
I made a new batch of clove water.
This time I also added fenugreek seeds and let them all sit and soak for 24 hours before draining and adding to a spray bottle, then mixing in EOs and some MSM powder.

Lets see how this goes.
Click to expand...
 
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