Grow-Out Challenge 2005

Well, it took me a full day to do it, but I've finally constructed my regimen for the challenge. It's insanely long, but I'm taking this super-serious!

The products listed in parentheses are the ones I'll be using. Most of them are ones I've never used before, so I will report back on the effects of those.

Every other day,
Rinse hair and scalp with warm water while massaging scalp to remove buildup.
Apply a moisturizing deep conditioner to damp hair. Rinse hair well, and towel blot. (Phytospecific Vital Force Crème Bath; Salerm Wheat Germ Oil Hair Mask; Kan Kanechomn Jaborandi Deep Conditioning Cream)
Apply leave-in conditioner, and comb through gently to detangle. (Salerm 21)
Apply setting lotion and wrap hair (Star Lacio Lacio), or apply heat protective straightening balm and blow dry (Phytodefrisant Relaxing Baum).
Apply moisturizer to hair; massage into scalp and distribute to ends. (Jane Carter Solution Nourish & Shine)
Finger style hair, or bump ends under with a flat iron. (Phytolisse-for heat protection)
At night, wrap hair and tie on a silk or satin scarf.

Once a week,
Apply a moisturizing pre-shampoo treatment, with or without heat. Rinse hair and scalp well with warm water. (Phytospecific Revitalizing Scalp Treatment; Home Health Castor Oil; Ojon Restorative Treatment)
Shampoo hair, rinse well, and towel blot. (Phytospecific Vital Force Shampoo)
Apply a protein reconstructor. (Queen Helene Cholesterol Cream; KerapHix Restorative Protein Creme Reconstructor)
Rinse thoroughly, and apply a moisturizing instant conditioner. (Capilo Honey & Milk Rinse)
Apply leave-in conditioner, and comb through gently to detangle. (Salerm 21)
Apply setting lotion and wrap hair (Star Lacio Lacio), or apply heat protective straightening balm and blow dry. (Phytodefrisant Relaxing Baum)
Apply moisturizer to hair; massage into scalp and distribute to ends. (Jane Carter Solution Nourish & Shine)
Finger style hair, or bump ends under with a flat iron. (Phytolisse)
At night, wrap hair and tie on a silk or satin scarf.

Every 4 weeks, go to the salon for a professional wash, deep conditioning treatment, and style.

Every 8 weeks,
Get a relaxer touch-up at a salon. (Phytospecific Relaxer Index 2 Kit)
Get ends trimmed.
Apply a protein reconstructor treatment 1 week before touch-ups. (ApHogee Treatment for Damaged Hair)

Exercise Regimen

Five days a week go running for 30 minutes in the morning.
Three days a week do bodybuilding exercises: Mondays-Chest & Shoulders; Wednesdays-Back & Arms; Fridays-Legs & Core
Stretch daily after exercise

Diet & Supplementation

Every day, take 2 Vitamin Shoppe Ultimate Woman multivitamins, 2 Vitamin Shoppe Omega 3-6-9, 2 Exotic Allure hair growth vitamins, and 4 TrimSpa X32 tablets.

wow jade you have really given this some mega thought. let me know how you come along with the new products. I have heard good things about the many of them. I actually have used Salerm 21 and find I love the smell and the results are great. I just rec'd to day from sickbay the lacio lacio. I haven't used it yet. I am tempted to wash my hair tonight, but it is kinda late and I am feeling kinda lazy so maybe it will have to wait til tomorrow....oh yeah welcome jade

My hair has been coming along greatly I am going natural and had to cut all of my hair off and start over I am pleased with the outcome. I have been washing my hair weekly and doig a deep conditoner and leave in . I love the Pantene Prov for African Americans and I use Rx as my deep contioner and Profective for me Leave in i take straight Silica pills , multivitmin and flaxseed oil capsule. plus I drink plenty of water. My hair has really improved.

well jade,

I have seen results. As a matter of fact, I submitted my testimonial back to the company yesterday and as a token of appreciation, they're sending me a free month supply so...

after you've been taking it for a while, send in a testimonial about the product and they'll give you a free 1 month bottle.

Back to your question...

I HAVE SEEN RESULTS. My hair is in braids so I don't wash it everyday. In fact, I wash it every month or 5 weeks when I get the braids redone.

I know that washing and conditioning is important to hair health but as Kathy Howse says, "Braiding gives every strand a chance". When their is no tugging, pulling, combing brushing etc., you give your hair a chance to be powerful.

I'm getting off the topic...

anyway, I have seen growth- primarily in my nails-- your nails start to grow really, really, long and really fast. You will also see changes in your skin (especially if your drink at least 8 glasses a day along with taking Exotic Allure).

You will see gradual growth in your hair as well. It's only been about 30 days for me and they say at least wait for 45 days to see the true results.

Truthfully, in my opinion, if you want to assess your hair growth, you should do so after about 3-4 months.

You can't really watch your hair grow-- if you think about it, you can't really watch your nails grow. You just look up and one day, the nail that you thought was chipped is long again.

Hair is the same way- 4,5, even 6 monnths go by and you notice that you can put it in a longer ponytail or whatever....

I'm not worried about the vitamins working though because I am very aware of how vitamins work. I have children and with each pregnancy, I took prenatal vitamins daily for 9 months at least and your hair does grow from habitual use of vitamins.

How did you hear about Exotic Allure?

Do you know anyone else who has taken it?

I want to talk to people who have taken it for like 6 months to a year or even more.....

Jade Goddess, Good God!! Now THATS a regimen! Sounds like a good one too. I'm about to invest in an elliptical trainer (Walmart, $214.00). I had a knee injury so this is the best machine for me. I have pilates tapes which I do time to time, but I get so bored with it. And I have Taebo tapes but I can't look at the instructor for a long time. He gets annoying. I love Taebo though.

What I did start doing again was the baggie method on my ends and they look good today. My mom noticed that my hair is longer than it was about 2 months ago. I'm on the right track. My younger sister has brastrap length and my older sister has midback length.

vickyd wrote: Hey everybody, I just took some photos of my beginning length. You can check them out at http://public.fotki.com/VickiD/

Your hair is looking good.

vickyd wrote: Hey everybody, I just took some photos of my beginning length. You can check them out at http://public.fotki.com/VickiD/

Vickyd, your hair does look nice a shiny. Did you flatiron it? I just trimmed my ends yesterday and it's amazing what a dusting can do for the overall look. Nice pics though.

I own Cathy Howse's book "Ultra Black Hair Growth II". Most of the advice she gives is quite good, like frequent shampooing and deep conditioning is good for hair growth, brushing can cause breakage and pull your hair out, and relaxers should be applied as infrequently as possible. However, her tone is a bit militant, particularly when she talks about other brands' products. Also, for all her talk about how great no-lye relaxers are for growing Black hair long, she now says on her website that they are bad for the hair and that she will no longer use them. I would take her advice with a grain of salt; she's not a trained cosmetologist or hair specialist, so all of her "expert" advice is really just anecdotal evidence based on the results she saw in HER hair alone. A much better, much more thorough book is "Hair Rules!" by A. @#$%ey, or "Beautiful Black Hair" by Shamboosie. Both books are written by licensed hair stylists with many years of salon hair experience. What I like is that, unlike most Black hair care books, they don't try to convince you that relaxers are evil; they just tell you how to apply and maintain relaxers to have the healthiest hair possible.

I saw Cathy Howse the other day, at the Black Womens Expo in Chicago. Her hair is pretty long, she wore it like the picture on her site, but I saw on her site that she was transitioining to natural now.

Caramel, can u make shealoe at home with a mixture of aloe
and shea butter?