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Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2025

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Which of these problems would you like to solve so you can have Luscious Healthy Ends in 2025?

  • Knots on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 16 50.0%

  • Splits on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 17 53.1%

  • Brittleness on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 9 28.1%

  • Tangles on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 5 15.6%

  • Velcro/Brillo texture on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 4 12.5%

  • Breakage on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 9 28.1%

  • Thinness on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 14 43.8%

  • Dull/Whitish/Grayish color on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Matted/Felted hair on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 2 6.3%

  • Sticky hair on Ends of Hair

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    32
MzSwift said:
As I was typing that response, I really thought back over my natural hair portion of my journey. I was so scared of heat damage that I didn't take risks with heat often. BUT when I did, I skipped the blow dryer altogether. I found that no matter how much I detangled, no matter how gentle I was, I hated seeing the small pieces of hair sprinkled all over with each blow dry. Instead I would dry my hair in a stretched style like Celie plaits or bantu knots and then just use a warm flat iron to give me "blowout" results. With practice, they got progressively better and better and I kept more hair on my head.
Click to expand...
This gives me hope that I may be on the right track. Last year I was doing some experimenting to find the best way to use heat on my hair. (Also found a lot of things my hair really didn't like.)

And so far drying my hair in bantu knots seemed like the best way because my hair felt the best afterwards and I had minimal breakage or damage caused afterwards.

If I can get my roller setting technique down I think that could be better than the bantu knots but so far that has consistently given me the best results.
 
Here's my update for this month:



How are you progressing?
I've finally taken out my mini twists and I'm currently sitting with a hair mask in my (loose) hair.

What are those ends looking like?
On a general glance, my ends seem to be blunt, but I have some single strand knots along my end (which is normal and I don't sweat them.)

Have you had any epiphanies?
The only epiphany that I came to was that batana oil, may not absorb into hair like tallow does. I had build up on my roots and ends which I think came from having mixed batana oil with tallow.

Have you set bolder goals?
I would like to figure out a way to switch to hair teas instead of hair masks so that I can experiment with only washing with distilled water. I'm not sure how that would work in terms of styling and detangling, but when I figure out that strategy, I'll make my switch. Perhaps in the fall when I go back to wearing mini twists. Distilled water may be better for my ends as well and help to reduce single strand knots over time.

Have you pulled back on some goals?
No.

Have you had any realizations about your hair or your hair care practices?
I am realizing that I haven't yet hit terminal length. I was starting to think that I had years ago, but not anymore. Also, that I don't have to constantly fuss with my hair for it to retain length. In some ways I'm doing the opposite of what I used to do and I'm still retaining length.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out what hair practices are necessary, nice to have, and which are purely aesthetics in terms of the things that I've learned over the years.

How is your consistency?
My consistency sucks, in general, but I still haven't come up with a particular end game strategy yet.

Are you extending grace to you?
Yes. I'm not getting frazzled about my hair. I just want it to be easy-breezy for a little bit.
 
pikkonoloidlee said:
This gives me hope that I may be on the right track. Last year I was doing some experimenting to find the best way to use heat on my hair. (Also found a lot of things my hair really didn't like.)

And so far drying my hair in bantu knots seemed like the best way because my hair felt the best afterwards and I had minimal breakage or damage caused afterwards.

If I can get my roller setting technique down I think that could be better than the bantu knots but so far that has consistently given me the best results.
Click to expand...
I'm another that finds Bantu Knots work well for drying my hair. As much as I like blow drying with my RevAir, I find my scalp prefers that I air dry and let my hair stay wet or damp as long as possible. When I blow dry my hair even on low, my scalp dries out faster. But when I air dry my scalp seems to stay happy.

I haven't tried flat ironing after Bantu Knots because it takes so long for my hair to dry in Bantu Knots. But this is something I may try in the future.
 
faithVA said:
I'm another that finds Bantu Knots work well for drying my hair. As much as I like blow drying with my RevAir, I find my scalp prefers that I air dry and let my hair stay wet or damp as long as possible. When I blow dry my hair even on low, my scalp dries out faster. But when I air dry my scalp seems to stay happy.

I haven't tried flat ironing after Bantu Knots because it takes so long for my hair to dry in Bantu Knots. But this is something I may try in the future.
Click to expand...
When I need my hair to dry faster I'll sit under the dryer with the bantu knots. I don't dry all the way but an hour under will cut the drying time massively enough for me and then my hair/scalp can cool down and absorb the moisture before I flat iron.
 
MzSwift said:
@GettingKinky

Phenomenal!! You've made so much progress in just 3 months! :clap:
Yours (and @Chicoro 's) results are proof of the tried and true old school LHCF rule about keeping the ends tucked away to increase retention. You both used different methods but it was the same process. And that's why I started lurking the threads that are ends-focused bc I have also found that to be true for me as well over the years.

Please don't be so hard on yourself about your blowout results. ((HUG))
We don't heat style hair as often as stylists do so our results won't be as good as the stylists we watch. I'm very biased in this regard but I feel like you shouldn't give up on self-blowouts. Like anything we do, it takes practice to get find out what works for you and you get better at it each time you do it.

Two major tips that I learned from Domin/LHDC2011 (RIP) and Sistawithrealhair long ago were to

1- don't put a lot of leave in products on the hair (beside a little heat protectant, many don't use any leave ins)
2- using protein makes for straighter heat results.

When I first started blowing my natural 4b/a hair out, my results were so poofy and my ends looked really frazzled. It gave the appearance of having bad ends or needing a trim when I really didn't need one. Years later, I watched a few stylist vids and something Sistawithrealhair said jumped out at me. She had mentioned that ppl pile up on moisture when they're getting ready to use heat but it leads to poofy results. She said what we really needed to do was use protein and that produces straighter results. Ever since I incorporated that, my blow outs have been much straighter.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that tidbit about using protein in hair BEFORE blow drying to get a straighter result. Interesting! I used to do Apogee 2 Step before my heat styles to protect it, not to get it straight. That's when I was spinning them hot pressing combs up in my hair. So glad to learn this. Both ladies mentioned have gorgeous hair.
 
MzSwift said:
As I was typing that response, I really thought back over my natural hair portion of my journey. I was so scared of heat damage that I didn't take risks with heat often. BUT when I did, I skipped the blow dryer altogether. I found that no matter how much I detangled, no matter how gentle I was, I hated seeing the small pieces of hair sprinkled all over with each blow dry. Instead I would dry my hair in a stretched style like Celie plaits or bantu knots and then just use a warm flat iron to give me "blowout" results. With practice, they got progressively better and better and I kept more hair on my head.

I started one October.
View attachment 503582

Then December the following year.
View attachment 503584

And then April:
View attachment 503586

And then October again, 2 years after my original start:

View attachment 503588



It was gentler on my ends and my hair in general and still gave me the results of stretched, blown out hair that I wanted.

Since I've grown my own hair long, I have never been a fan of bone straight, sleek hair ON ME. Before the HHJ, I rocked a yaki straight weave with no problems. But with my own hair, I prefer it with texture.

Wow! This convo was such a reminder for me. I totally forgot that I never used to blow dry my hair! When I was growing up, I used to air dry my (short) hair under a scarf and then just use the curling iron to straighten and curl my hair. As an adult, I never owned a blow dryer or a flat iron until I joined the hair boards. The first time I blow dried during my HHJ and saw all of that hair in the sink and on the countertop, I knew it was counterproductive to all of the work I was putting in to grow long, healthy hair. Even the blow dry brush (similar to the Revlon brush blow dryer) I use leaves little hairs. It's why I put off straightening my hair for my check ins. I know plenty of women can blow dry with no issues but my little fine strands have told me otherwise. :nono2:
Click to expand...

All that beautiful hair!

giphy.gif
 
GettingKinky said:
This is very concerning. I assumed I just had to make it to menopause and they would go away from lack of estrogen. It’s also scary to learn that that can go from asymptomatic to very painful in a short period of time. I think my periods have gotten heavier over the years and I assume that’s from my fibroids, but other than that they don’t bother me.

I’m glad your surgery took care of the pain. I’ll ask my gyno about an MRI when I see her.
Click to expand...
See, I told ya'll.

Whatever comes up in this thread was meant to come up and is meant to come up.

There is something purposeful and important about all the posts here.
 
pikkonoloidlee said:
I might put in mini twists a little further into the summer, but currently I'm putting my hair into braids and then braiding those braids and pinning up the ends.

I'm taking them down weekly atm, but I'm considering that I could do wash days with them in. There's not that many so for now I don't mind taking them down each week.
Click to expand...
Will you be slathering or greasing the ends up with some type of butter or oil or other type of protectant lubricant? Those braids sound cute.
 
pikkonoloidlee said:
When I need my hair to dry faster I'll sit under the dryer with the bantu knots. I don't dry all the way but an hour under will cut the drying time massively enough for me and then my hair/scalp can cool down and absorb the moisture before I flat iron.
Click to expand...
Thank you. My scalp does not love a dryer. Using a dryer or even blow drying causes my scalp to dry it resulting in my needing to rinse or cleanse my scalp in 3 or 4 days. :sad:

The longer I air dry the happier my scalp seems to be. Maybe I will try doing my hair first thing in the morning and then see if it is dry in 24 hours. I'm sure I can be OK with chilling in the house for a day.
 
Going to change my regimen slightly for May and give this a try. I thought I was going to do 2 strands for May but I'm feeling unmotivated to twist my hair.

I think when I was wearing wash and gos when I would switch to flat twist, I would rinse out the conditioner, apply the gel as if I was going to do a wash and go and then just put in flat twist. This I would do every 3 to 4 days.

I plan to revisit this. Why? Wetting my scalp more frequently has many benefits.
1. My hair feels more moisturized
2. My hair feels softer
3. My thin areas start to fill in
4. I can remove shed hairs more frequently
5. My hair looks better

I'm debating on whether to use a leave-in and gel or just use the gel. I will try both. I think I will try to do the complete cleanse and style in the shower.

1. Will rinse out conditioner
2. Apply leave-in (test this out)
3. Apply water and comb through
4. Apply gel
5. Squeeze in more water
6. Twist up

My plan is to reset on the weekend and then once midweek. I will leave any intricate styling to the weekend and then do basic 2 twists midweek to keep styling short.
 
faithVA said:
Thank you. My scalp does not love a dryer. Using a dryer or even blow drying causes my scalp to dry it resulting in my needing to rinse or cleanse my scalp in 3 or 4 days. :sad:

The longer I air dry the happier my scalp seems to be. Maybe I will try doing my hair first thing in the morning and then see if it is dry in 24 hours. I'm sure I can be OK with chilling in the house for a day.
Click to expand...
I completely agree. I really prefer to air dry whenever possible because that seems to be what my scalp and hair loves best. Sitting under the dryer is okay but it's definitely more drying so I don't use it regularly even though my hair dries faster when I do.

Chicoro said:
Will you be slathering or greasing the ends up with some type of butter or oil or other type of protectant lubricant? Those braids sound cute.
Click to expand...

I use grease on my ends on the day I put them in and every other day throughout the week. The rest of my hair stays moisturized the whole week without me doing anything but my ends seem to need the extra care. :)
 
@MzSwift your progression with your flat ironing skills is encouraging to see. Did you get that much better in just 4 attempts in 2 years or were you flat ironing more often?

I am also a bit afraid of heat which is why I only do blowouts 4x a year. And if I split them between me and my stylist I will only practice twice a year.

And that’s a great tip about the protein. I did a moisture DC before this blowout, and my ends came out super crinkly. I’ll do a protein DC next time and see if that makes a difference
 
Last edited:
GettingKinky said:
@MzSwift your progression with your flat ironing skills is encouraging to see. Did you get that much better in just 4 attempts in 2 years or were you flat ironing more often?

I am also a bit afraid of heat which is why I only do blowouts 4x a year. And if I split them between me and my stylist I will only practice twice a year.

And that’s a great tip about the protein. I did a moisture DC before this blowout, and my ends came out super crinkly. I’ll do a protein DC next time and see if that makes a difference
Click to expand...

Nope, no extra heat in between. I was too afraid of losing all of my progress to heat damage.
My hair stayed in braided styles (cornrows or mini braids) and I usually rinsed them daily in the morning shower before work. So there was even the natural tendency for my hair to shrink up in between.

My heat check-ins were usually April, October and December (for EOTY challenges). So 3x a year heat usage. I got better by making notes about my process and comparing against advice that heat using long-haired naturals gave. If enough of those ladies said the same thing, then I knew it was something that I needed to pay attention to. I think it started getting better also because my hair was getting longer and more willing to lay down than when it was short.
 
GettingKinky said:
I’m in awe of this woman’s blow dry skills. And she did this entire blowout in less than 20 minutes. And this client has a ton of hair. If my hair were that dense I wouldn’t care if it never got longer than BSL

Click to expand...

She does gorgeous hair. I am mad she lives in Ocoee. Certain cities I will never stop foot in....Ocoee is one of them. Things are better but I don't fool with lineages of hatred that strong.

 
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pikkonoloidlee said:
Had a chance to take a pic. Not all that cute but they get the job done.
Click to expand...
Speak for yourself, Missy. They look cute to me.

You didn't ask me, but when has that ever stopped me....
The way you have your braids wrapped looks like art. They are quite beautiful. A butterfly pin, a pop of color from a
pin or a flower or a ribbon would definitely highlight the beauty of your braided style.
 
MzSwift said:
@pikkonoloidlee

Actually, I think they're VERY cute! :love4:

I used to braid up my minis similar to that to help extend the style during week 4 or 5 sometimes.
Click to expand...

@MzSwift
I'm eye to eye, with you on this one! I think the braids of @pikkonoloidlee are super cute, too.


giphy.gif



Cute braids score: 2 to 1

giphy.gif


(MzSwift & Chicoro vs Pikkonoloidlee)
giphy.gif
 
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