The Hair Growth Challenge will have three main components:

1.       Bi-weekly (or monthly) Video posts to the YouTube group;

2.       Knowledge building/sharing via posts to the discussion group or listserv (this list); and

3.       Product trials and reviews.

The Hair Growth Challenge is not just another group; it is a competition! Can you grow long, strong, healthy natural hair and contribute to the knowledge community so that others can too? Would you make a good ‘hair growth’ representative for Naptural Roots Magazine? We think you would!  The top three participants will receive wonderful prizes ranging from (Naptural Roots apparel and gift sets to a professional cover photo shoot for a 2011 Issue of Naptural Roots). Selection will be based on the following criteria:

·         Overall hair improvement (health, growth)

·         Video Contributions (number of video posts, quality of video posts, originality of posts)

·         Knowledge Base contributions (posting hair product recipes, questions, topics, and responses to other questions)

1.     Minimum commitment for  participation

·         Commit to participating for the full 1.5 years of the challenge

·         Post an introduction video or post on the YouTube Challenge Group

·         Post vlog (required) and blog (optional) at least monthly to the site (bi-weekly recommended)

·         Join in on the discussions (on Facebook page or via this email list) to help the knowledge transfer between participants

·         Digitally sign the voluntary participation agreement (include hyperlink)

2.     Starting the Challenge

We will begin the hair growth challenge on July 3, 2010 and it will continue until December 2011.  Growing long, strong hair takes time and we are looking for people that can be committed to staying the course and continuing until the end of the challenge. Together, we can do it! 

We recommend starting the challenge with a fresh trim to cut off any unhealthy ends. We aren’t saying you must do a big chop, just cut off the unhealthy ends on your hair. This will encourage healthy hair growth and start you out on the right path! Take photos of your hair at the start and write about your feelings and your goals. This will be your first post in your journal (blog, vlog, and/or written journal).

As we are also testing out products during this challenge, we will rotate the products/regimens in three month cycles.  We have and continue to establish partnerships with product vendors who will provide us with samples of their products as well as discounts to purchase products. The samples will be sent to the ‘official’ testers for those products so that everyone in the challenge has an opportunity to test and review the products in the challenge

Once or twice a month, participants are required to post their journal entry videos (preferred) or blog posts to the YouTube group (url listed below). We also ask that you participate in the knowledge base by posting contents, discussion topics, etc. to the discussion list on facebook (url listed below) also. In order to be successful, we need to support each other and share the wealth of information that we are gaining during this process.

Naptural Roots Magazine staff will be posting hair care tips and techniques provided by natural hair care professionals throughout the challenge to encourage and keep you on the right track.

The important urls/email addresses to bookmark are:

3.1.          Video Posts to YouTube Group

Each participant is required to make at least one video entry per month to the YouTube group, although the recommended number of entries per month is 2. At least one video per month is required to discuss (review of products used, hair growth measurement/update).  The following guidelines should be kept in mind when creating your video post.

·         Include the starting length for your hair growth

·         Once per month include a hair length measurement (show it and tell us how much it has grown)

·         Include a review of the product(s) you have used

o   Show the product clearly in the camera (testing products for three month intervals)

o   Include what you like or don’t like about the product

o   How it worked (or didn’t work) on your hair

o   Would you continue to use the product

o   Did the product do what it claims?

o   Do you think the product is worth the retail price?

o   The primary ingredients in the product

·         What your hair maintenance routine has been including styling choices

·         How you are feeling about your hair and its growth progression

·         Other supplemental information (amount of water drinking, vitamins, eating habits) that you feel are relevant to your hair growth process/ritual

·         Optional: How to videos (how to do a rod set, bantu knots, natural product recipes, etc.) for styles you have used. These videos will be counted as extra for the competition!

3.2.          Knowledge Base Contributions

Each member is expected to also contribute to the knowledge base on growing long and strong natural hair.

·         Each member is asked to do an introduction video (or blog post) on the YouTube group that includes:

o   Tell us about yourself and you natural journey

§  Your name and location

§  What type of hair you have (kinky, curly, mixed textures, etc.)

§  What made you go natural

§  How long you have been natural

§  What you love about your hair

§  The current health of your hair

§  What challenges you have had or continue to have with your hair

o   What your hair growth goal is for the next 1-2 years

o   Try to make your video interesting and creative by:

§  Using photos of your hair transformation

§  Music that suits the mood of your video and your personality

·         Members are asked to contribute ‘How-To’ videos or blog posts

o   Styling videos or blog posts

o   Natural product recipes

o   Healthy eating recipes

·         Members are asked to join in discussions (ask questions and respond to other user questions)  on the discussion list posted on the Facebook page

·         We strongly recommend keeping a natural hair journal. This can be on a blog, written journal, or video journal. We ask that you post your journal entries to the YouTube group to share with others!

3.3.          Product Trials and Reviews

A big part of the hair growth challenge is to find products that really do help grow long, strong, healthy natural hair. Participants are required to do reviews of the products that they are using during the hair growth challenge. These reviews will be used by the judges (in conjunction with other scoring criteria) to select the top three natural hair care products that really work! We are still finalizing the products that will be used, but so please check back often to see the updated list of products to choose from. Our goal is to have 6-8 products that we will test during the competition. We feel that this is a nice sample size to allow participants to try a product for 3 month intervals to see how their hair is affected. Please note that we will be posting the ingredients for the products selected and have asked product vendors to provide certification that their products are safe for use.  As we roll on new product vendors, we will be sending trials of the products to participants and all participants will get discounted prices on ordering the products.

But you can also choose to use your own products/remedies/recipes in the challenge. We just ask that you share your recipes and routines with us and the results of your trials!

Remember that Together we can grow long, strong, natural hair! Happy Hair Growing!