TWA Growth Challenge

Morning ladies,
just a hair update. Well I have been battling TWA dryness since my BC, so I have been experimenting with my regime. I have reduced the amount of oils I use and I am almost convinced my hair hates oils, anyway, I will continue to explore.
Presently I co-wash 2-3 times a week with my usual products, Dc one a week and refresh daily with a condish mix but I only use about a drop of oil to every cup of distilled water, much less than previously.
AND, I bought a half wig LOL, imagine, first ever in my life. I want to use it as a protective style because I have noticed that the less I cowash, more moisturized my hair feels. Last week I cowash once, as an experiment, and my hair felt really moisturized.
Anyway, soon to tell, so am just observing..

Hello Chica Rosa,

I had similar problems with dryness since BC'd. I used to co wash 2 times a day for about a month, but within the past two weeks I have shortened my co washing to 1 to 2 times a week. In the beginning the co washing daily was okay, it made my hair feel soft and moisturized, but then it began to feel dry again. I don't have a shower water filter, so I figured that the hard water was making my hair dry again.

I have been using a moisturizing spritz every other day instead of co wash. I boiled water then mixed aloe vera juice & vegetable glycerin and a couple of drops of rosemary oil. May want to try that instead of co washing every day. I also read in this book called 'grow it' by Chicoro to mix a everyday conditioner with water and put it in a water bottle as a spritz. That may help too.

Good luck!

Hey CR, no I did not use a heat cap. I did a deep condition with this oil I bought from the beauty supply. It has sweet almond, jojoba, wheat germ, lemon, grape seed and rosemary. it was only .99, I am going back and stock up.

Hey CN10, I keep my spritz with conditioner and oil in my purse LOL, I cannot leave home with out it.

ive yet to try my spritz w/condish. its always been oils n eo's w/some water. even for my aloe gro i prefer it without water.

the dryness is apart of early days of bcin. i had the same problem. it takes awhile to recondition ur scalp n tresses. i loved bein able to shower my head every day but as it grows out more its hard to keep it moisturized so in my twa days i went from cowashin every 2-3 days to now once a week. those spritz's come in handy!!

@CN10, thanks girl for the encouragement. Am trying to be patient until
it grows out. I will certainly try spritzing throughout the day. Presently I use it only on mornings to refresh my wash N go with condish and a little oil.

Hey rosebud thats an awesome deal. WOW wish I could get those offers home. I bet if they are to bring that exact size to sell here, the price sould triple X triple. I never thought about keeping a little bottle of spritz in my purse, that's a great idea..umm...

Wow I need to look for that oil when i go back to the bss. Not that I need anything else to add to my stash over here lol.

But checking in. My hair is doing good. Seeing some growth and my curls are staying moisturized. I been mainly wearing fingercoils and coil outs. Gonna have to try something else out one of these here days

@Rosebud, what's the name of that oil? It sounds good.

@chicarosa, hang in there. Most of use have been there so just know that it does end. For me it took 2 months before my hair would stay moisturized all day. Keeping a spray bottle on hand all day is a great idea. I had to do it one day myself.

@chicarosa: like everyone else said. It does end. I PROMISE. I have been natural for six months and for the past month or two is when i noticed it being moisturized and not feeling dry. I guess after having relaxers for so long our hair goes into shock. LOL. So it has to re learn how to behave and how to function. I will get better just hang in there!

Spray bottles dont really work for me. Every time I would spray my hair it would just dry up. I think I am going to try it again though. This time with less water and more conditioner and oils.

Thanks Miss Moriah for the words of encouragement! I see that my hair has sheen, so I know it is moisturized, but it doesn't feel as soft. It feels nice and soft when wet, but it gets dry again.

Rosebud - thanks for the idea, maybe I will carry the spritz around me too. I just use it in the morning and at night.

Hey curlynattie! no problem. Is your hair long enough to wear u can two strand twist it? I notice that when i twist it and retains ALOT more moisture even if I use the same products on non twisted hair. Its something about the twists. I dont know what but if I twist my hair it will stay soft and moisturized for days. I think that you should try twisting if you can.

@Latoya, the oil is by mega care. It i a vitamin E oil, but its has those ingrediants in there. when I get home, i will take a pic and post it.

Hello Ladies,
Not sure if the challenge applies to me, because I keep a TWA, meaning I cut my hair down every two weeks. When I first did my BC, which was only April 1, 2010, but feels like I have had it for much longer. I fell in love with it so much, I decided to keep it that way, so I have no intentions in growing it out or past the 2 inch mark, however I am more than happy to post encouragements, prods that I currently use, etc. What I like most about the TWA is that it is less maintenance, fabulous. I believe a TWA also enhances the beautiful features that we all have. It shows the uniqueness that God has created in all of us.

Dryness is most def an issue, especially with having a color in your hair which is what I have, so I OD on adding moisture however; I deep condition once a week with one of the following: Giovanni Smooth as Silk or Karens Body Beautiful Luscious Pear Deep Conditioning adding Honey. I co-wash twice a week, daily I also keep a mini spray bottle mix of purified water, virgin coconut oil, jojoba and olive oils and some shea butter.

I recenty just bought KBB's Hair Milk, so Im using that now. Keeping the hair moisturized daily is crucial until you can achieve the balance that you are looking for. Over more time I believe new TWA's such as myself and others will soon experience if you haven't already and what prods or ingredients work best for your hair type.

Hey Ladies. just wanted to show a picture of my hair today. I am rockin a puff.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Update: I've been using the Giovanni 50/50 conditioner for co-washing, but...eh, I don't like it. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I do like that it's pH balanced, but....it just kinda sits there. And...does nothing. I'll be giving away the bottle I have in the house to a co-worker, and moving on to something else. Most likely, the Yes To Cucumbers.

I've been using a spritz of water, KCKT, and some essential oils (Rosemary, Lavender, Sage, Peppermint) to refresh my hair with for a couple of weeks now, and my hair LOVES it. I'll do a length/progress check at the end of the month.

Have a great day everyone! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

yeah i think thats a good idea an update on June 1st.

@missmoriah, your hair is very cute!

Update: My hair is doing well. I'm in the 30 day product line challenge so here are the products I'm using. They are working very well for my hair. It's moisturized and soft.

Shampoo: Suave Daily Clarifying
DC: Darcy's Botanicals Pumpkin seed moisturizing con
Leave-in: Darcy's Botanicals Lemongrass transitioning cream
Moisturizers: Darcy's Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla styling cream or Organic Coconut & Aloe Moisture pudding
Sealant: Darcy's Botanicals Coconut pomade

I will do an update as well on June 1st.

Thanks ladies. Ok here goes. I co-wash my hair every 3 days. I try to baggy once a week (usually the same day I shampoo with sulfate-free shampoo). The days I co-wash I use HE HH rinse out well then apply a little more as my leave in. I leave my hair dripping as I finish getting ready for work, then I apply the Eco-styler gel and avocado oil as my sealant. I have tried care free curl activator, shea butter, and other products that keep me unsatisfied. Although I love my HE HH and the way it makes my hair feel/look when wet, I don't have the same results when it dries.

I am in baltimoe I should try to join you ladies on June 5th

NKN; how long you wanna keep it in twa mode? i was oh so tempted to keep my amber rose and i still think about goin back to it to this day cuz i miss it sooooo much but im just curious to document my growth for a whole year! short hair is just so chic and enhances our beauty so much so i DEFINITELY understand why u wanna keep the twa! GO GIRL!!! keep droppin in to give our sisters some tips!

tresmom; yes i hope u can join us for the meetup!

@NubieNatty, Hey Girl,
Tempting isn't IT [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Well I plan on keeping my TWA for as long as I can, At some point I'm sure I will want to grow it out, but I'm gonna stick with it for at least 1 year or 2. I'll keep it low enough where i can still enjoy some of my curls though........

June Meet Up, I'm Late- is this the big one in DC, I was told that one was postponed until August or is this something different- HOLLA!

oh naw this meetup is just our normal meetup!

Thanks ladies for your encouragement and advice on the issue of TWA dryness. I will gave an update and pics on June 1st.

Hey everyone, thought I'd give a update. I put boxbraids in my hair 2weeks ago so I had to change my regimine. I decided to just cowash while I have the braids in and to stretch the washes as long as I can but not more than 2wks. I've already washed once. I've been keeping my scalp oiled with olive, coconut, or grapeseed oil thing I brought. I'm hoping to leave the braids in for another 2wks but idk if I can. It feels weird to suddenly have hair, but i know my dh likes it. Anyway thats about it, happy growing!

I am following the bandwagon -- i will do a length check on June 1st as well.

I definitely did a boo-boo, I OD on the oils and my hair did not like it. On Sunday, I wet my hair and I put pretty natural oil conditioner in my hair let it sit in a plastic cap overnight. I rinsed it out in the morning and then used Carol's D Hair milk and mimosa honey, then used the curls creme brulee and goddess curls. Then, I blow-dry because my hair was soaking (duh! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ). It was greasy all day and then itchy. I had to use a clarifying shampoo last night to get everything out and start again. Have to ease up on the oils. And I have always had a problem with oiling my scalp, I would get mad dandruff. So, learning is definitely half the battle!

MissMoriah - my hair is only 2 inches and when I twist it the ends unravel and it curls right up. Also, I don't know how many twists to put in it. I think I really need a video to see twists with short hair (<2 inches). I tried a couple of times and I give up because it does not look right. I twist my daughter's hair all the time, she has like 6 inches + on her hair and it looks great! I think I need more length before I start the twists.

Does anyone have any videos that they saw on the Internet about twisting short hair? I could use all the help I could get! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Welcome Naturally Knotty! I definitely feel you on keeping the TWA short, I have gotten a lot of complements on it and to keep it short, but I am just curious to see how much it can grow. Wow, you cut your hair every two weeks, it must grow pretty fast!

Love this challenge ladies [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ! It is making me really focus on my hair! I don't think I would have paid any attention to it before!