Ginger's Neglect Timeline

Here we are on Day 1 - c. July 2012...

I have been washing with BS/ACV for over a year (no soap at all), and tried some of the curly girl methods, including sleeping on a silk pillowcase, for at least 3 months before I stopped brushing this morning. My hair is silky and healthy, except for some split ends which are a combo of chronic health issues and funky water. BTW, This is "short" hair, for me... I asked for a trim and got a massacre about 6 months prior.

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Beginning of Week 3 ... Fluffy, but no noticeable changes other than sectioning.

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Beginning of Week 4 shows the shine and may give a better idea of the relatively fine texture.

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Jumping ahead to 10 Weeks ...

Blurry shot, but shows the sections starting to hold together a little.

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My first knot - found on my birthday, at 2.5 Months

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4 Months ... Fluffy and bizarre from a bath.

Sections are forming better now, and the length is finally returning from the last hair cuttery butchering.

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5 Months , post wash.

Still sleeping on that silk pillowcase, because there are SO many split ends. The idea is that they will knot up on their own either way, so while the silk may delay progress, it wont stop it.

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6 Months

I think this is a bed-head shot. Some new ones are starting underneath! Osho approves...

I think this is also around the time I hacked off the majority of my split ends, which helped considerably, as the splits were holding hair in place and actually delaying progress. I used the sectioning as a guide... Lift and cut, lift and cut. it came out well, I think.

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7.5 Months

Dry air, static, and wool sweaters are making things happen; but my hair is so flat and flyaway in winter... One of the more mundane reasons for starting this journey!

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8 Months

Today, I feel like I am entering a new era in the process. I have changed, and my hair is taking on new shapes and a life of its own... There are suddenly more babies than I can keep track of in there!

... and stuff like this is showing up, every day:

These days, I am alternating between BC/ACV and the shampoo bars - my water is weird, and if I use the bars too many times in a row, I get buildup. When I wash with BS, I dip my head in the sink, upside down, soak with a shower cap on, and rinse right side up. Occasionally I soak in an epsom/sea salt/BS etc bath, and skip the vinegar rinse - that is a great kickstart. And yes, I am still sleeping on a silk pillowcase!

To be continued...

updated by @gingerrose: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

Hi there Ginger, you have great long hair to go on your journey with. The silk pillowcase may actually be slowing down the progress for you. Try putting a wool blanket or sweater over your pillowcase instead if you really want to use something. It sounds like you have hard water, which many shampoos and soaps will leave a reside with. What soap bar are you using?

How to use the BS wash: Mix 1/2 cup of BS to 5 cups water and pour over wet hair. Leave this on for 10-20 minutes, without a cap....it will exfoliate the scalp without scrubbing and leave the hair nice and clean....after rinsing it out well, you should always use the ACV rinse or eventually your hair WILL dry out. Mix 1-2 capfuls of apple cider vinegar to 5 cups water...pour over head and rinse out right away or within one minute. This is a natural conditioner and will restore the PH in the hair from using the baking soda. I did not use ACV every time and at about the 10 month mark, my hair was very very dry, so yes, it will happen. The only time you do not need to do it every time is if you have extremely oil hair and scalp.

The sea salt soak should be rinsed out within two hours, whether you use a sea salt soak or sea salt spray method. This can also dry out the hair over time if it is continually left on for too long.

How cool that you found your first knot on your birthday, a very special gift to you indeed. Thanks for posting your journey for others to read, learn and follow.....Enjoy the rest of your journey.....Peace

@ Maybreeze - Thanks, and best of luck on your journey.

@ Barrellady - The silk pillowcase is a conscious choice, and has benefits for my skin as well as being super comfortable. No worries about the progress - I know there are lots of things I can do to speed it up, but there is so much stress and high speed in my life already... I also didn't mean to imply that I was using a sea salt soak - I just like to soak my whole self in the epsom and sometimes I dip my hair in because it feels good to be underwater. The BS mixture, even with ACV, dries the ends of my hair out too much (like straw), so I do like to alternate it with the bars. My water is hard, but we have a softener, so that's why I say my water is weird - there is something not working right in the filtration/softening system and I am unwilling to pay the water guy to come out and look at it right now. I appreciate your efforts to steer me in the "right" direction, but there is more going on here than may be apparent from my writing