Winter 4M Challenge/ Hiding your hair- UPDATE END OF CHALLENGE

@jazzwife i totally feel your pain! It seems like everybody raves about their twist outs and I feel left out lol. I was thisclose to doing a mini chop myself last night but i am enjoying the length i have now since this challenge started. I dont want to cut off all my progress (even though I'll have to eventually) I have thought about getting a set of individual braids just to change things up and to not have to 'do' my hair daily. But i had a not so good experience with my last braider and ended up taking them down only 3 weeks later. I'm trying to figure something out because I think I've hit a brick wall in the styling dept.

Jazzwife and Naturelle, have you tried braidouts or flat twists? As a fellow transitioner (12 months and counting), I found out earlier 2 strand twist was a no go, but flat twists was my deal for a few months and then, braidouts became my go to style. I am doing more updos and curlformer sets now, but braidouts and scarf braidouts were my regular styles for months, especially in the summer and fall. I also found out earlier on that extra conditioning and oil on the ends kept them looking good, even if I needed a trim or had split ends. I think rolling them at night or tucking them in when I pineapple is also helpful. Straw sets and flexirod sets are also great ways to blend the textures.

@naturallynola: braid outs and bantu knot outs are the only ones that seem to look fairly decent on me. I've tried flats twists but im not that great at them so they come out so-so. I think if were were better at them it could work. When i did them i used flexirods on the ends and they all came out looking different, so i just bunned it. I'd eventually like to try the curlformer sets, but thats just not in my budget right now. They're super expensive and I wasnt sure they'd even work for me. Which would be yet another huge let down and drain to my wallet. Also ive been wanting to try the scarf braid out. How exactly do you do yours??

Also I just had a detangling breakthrough!!! I am now using Tresemme Naturals condish (no silicones found in white bottle) I got from walmart. Ive tried just about all the other suggested (V05, Suave, HH, Ausie Moist, Giovanni, Garnier, etc, etc, etc.) and NO other condish has made detangling such a breeze. I lost about 2/3 less hair. It so slippy and just absolutely amazing! Just thought I'd share!

Ok first of all I am so sorry ladies for some reason I got unsubscribed to this thread and did not see any of the replies. I think it happened around the time when we were all experiencing difficulties on the forum.

@ curlsofglory CONGRATS your avi looks gorgeous and I knw I am late but still you look gorgeous and I am happy that you are happy. I told you that we'd be here for you when you BCd and here we r.

Ok as for the updates my hair is growing like weeds and I can't wait to do the final length check which is quickly approaching (feb 31)

As for my styles I have been experimenting with twists and the different styles that I can create wth the cornrows in the front. I found my love; aloe vera gel. And I managed to create gorgeous twists. And I can't believe that it took me so long to realise that in order to not have scalpy twists I had to make them smaller. I feel like a jack in the box.

Anyways I owe you divas pictures which will come soon when I get to a pc. I just wanted to say hi.

Omg I must have been high when I wrote February 31... I meant February 28th.

Anyways here are my twists;
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Finally no scalpiness

Gorgeous twists, I'm thinking about getting some in April. But like you said I don't want my scalp showing, can you offer any advice? And what products did you use? Better yet can you do a video tutorial? I'm asking for a lot right, I know I got my nerves...lol.love the twists!

Thnx curl_gurl. To answer your question to reduce scalpiness I do my twists smaller. The smaller I do my twists the more scalp it hides. To twist my hair I used aloe Vera gel. I love this as it gives me a soft touchable hold and crazy shine. As for the vid I've never made one and wouldn't know how to begin to however I will find this video for you on YouTube where this woman explains how she sister twists to get the twists to last longer. I do not use her exact method but hers is similar to mine and the method will give you twists that last longer as the hair is twisted in on itself so it minimises frizz and unravelling. So bear with me whilst I locate the vid. The twists are called sited twists btw.

as promised curl_gurl here's the vid

Thanks a bunch naturallychelsea very helpful video and I will have to try the aloe vera gel

Good luck!! How has your hair growth been thus far?

My hair growth has been great, .5inch or a tid bit more inch month as expected. What about you?

The challenge is officially over!! We made it!! I am so curious about everybody elses growth.
So as promised I am giving my update:

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Wow naturallychelsea! Looks great! I don't really have any pics to compare because I did my BC and then I tried a homemade DC 2 nights ago and my hair got all knotted up ! So I had to go through and cut out a lot of hair . It's still freezing cold here in the Netherlands so I put in some braids (I must say I am getting pretty good at it!). I can say that I have about 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 inches, wich is pretty good! I'll post pics soon.

I'm so sorry about your DC but I'm happy with your growth. Keep it up hun. Also I'm glad to hear that you are braiding your own hair. If only I had that much skill...

Happy hair growing

Chelsea