Allergic to Suave

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Between school, visiting family, and an underwhelming birthday, I've been busy. In hair news, the repeated use of BB's Smoothie has finally built up on me. My hair is frizzy when wet and not curling as well as I know it can. It only has a small amount of palm oil in it, so I'm now weary of all oils. I was thinking about taking advantage of the 4th of July sales and getting some of the CJ DT, but I really don't want to spend that much on something that might make my hair look worse. Thankfully I have not used any of the samples I got from KM. That would have been a waste.

I'm so in need of conditioner right now, it's crazy. I'm out of V05, so I used Suave Lavendar for yesterday's co-wash. BAD IDEA. I stopped using Suave conditioners a few weeks ago, thinking it was contributing to my allergic reactions after getting out of the shower. I was right. By the time I had finished co-washing yesterday, some hives and red patches had popped up on my back. I'm not sure what it is about those conditioners (maybe a preservative?) but it's bad.

I'm also out of a rinse-out - well technically I have some of BB's Smoothie left, but I don't feel a great need to finish it. I wish I liked it, but unfortunately I don't. I think that about Jessicurl as well. Sigh. But I've been meaning to pick up some GVP Conditioning Balm for a few weeks now (!) and just haven't gotten around to it. Today or tomorrow for sure!

And of course, I'm thisclose to being done with my first bottle of KCKT. It lasted six months - that's a good thing right?

Off to do some shopping - happy 4th, everyone!

Navigating Natural Products

I know I said I would update with pictures, but for I can't find the cord for the camera and the computer isn't reading the chip. So hopefully they will be up at some point. I had some really great clumps, which is actually pretty normal for KCCC.

My problem right now is with volume on top. I diffuse upside-down and to the sides until my hair is crunchy. This method is great for getting lots of curl towards the bottom, but the upper-middle is not as curly, and the top is usually completely dry - and flat - by the time I'm done. I then spray some water around my roots and clip with mini jaw clips. I've tried spraying this with Garnier Fructis' spray gel, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The clips usually fall out and it's just horrible.

Today I decided to try clipping before diffusing. Did not help much. They pretty much fell out (which is what I expected, but I figured I'd try). I think it's the clips. I switched to those about a month ago after trying the longer clips used in the Curlisto video. Last year I tried the square metal clips without much luck - they always fell out. Maybe I'll try the misfitcurls method next, though I need to get those clips.

Plopping doesn't help and wet-pineappling isn't much of an option because when my hair is wet, it needs to be plopped to help with curl formation. Which just gave me the idea of doing a wet plopped pineapple. Maybe I'll try this tomorrow!

Beyond that, I've used Botticelli Botanicals' Smoothie conditioner three or four times now. I have mixed feelings. When I put some in my hands and rub together to apply, it's like my skin absorbs a good amount. Then my hair absorbs the rest - I can't tell that I put anything in. It's not extra-detangling for me like LVPNG was (when I could actually use it...). There have been a few times where I had to use KCKT to help with detangling. I've also started getting bad knots, especially at the nape of my neck. I did an ACV rinse today, so hopefully that will help. However, after I finish detangling, it does have a decent amount of slip. And the scent (orange) is nowhere near as overpowering as the lemongrass scent of my BB FSG. So I don't know. It's pretty light - I actually think it would make a better leave-in conditioner. But it has a little oil in it, and I'm hesitant to leave that in after the recent oil incident. If the knots don't improve, I may switch back to GVP Conditioning Balm and save this for later in the summer when I don't need as much moisture.

I got an order from iherb today, so I finally have everything I need to make my own deodorant and specialized flax seed gel. I just finished making my flax seed gel and am very impressed so far! I hope it works well tomorrow!

I used:
- 2 cups distilled water
- 1/4 cup golden flax seeds
- a little more than 1 tablespoon of agave nectar
- a pinch of citric acid
- a few drops of sweet orange EO (which smells just like the oranges we pick off my grandpa's orange tree in California)

This overfilled my 8oz bottle, which was really surprising to me. With my old FSG, I would use the same amounts of water and brown flax seeds and make just enough to fill a 4oz bottle. Anyway, it seemed a little on the runny side, so hopefully the agave will give me enough hold. I may have to wash twice tomorrow!

I think that's everything. I'll try and update tomorrow with results and pictures.

* Edit *

Here are my results:

As you can see, there wasn't a whole lot of volume. I didn't blot or use a leave-in before applying, so I'm going to experiment with that. I did get some great spirals and clumps, but it was hard to get a picture of it (so I did resort to using the flash!).

I co-washed with Suave Green Apple (which I'm beginning to think I'm allergic too...), GVP Conditioning Balm as a rinse-out, homemade FSG, and Aussie Sculpting gel.

Clarifying (Again)

So after discovering the oil build-up problem last week, I clarified with a sulfate shampoo. Things were kind of weird Sunday and yesterday, so I clarified again today. Then I co-washed with Suave Green Apple, conditioned with GVP Conditioning Balm, scrunched in BB's FSG, blotted, and scrunched in some KCCC. I haven't used BB's FSG in a long time, way before the dews went up. I figured it was worth a shot, especially since my hair doesn't look it's best after shampooing.

I was actually really surprised. I had some nice ringlets while diffusing. It didn't last as long as I would have liked, but that could be because it took a long time to dry and I didn't use a super-hard-holding gel (crazy, I know!). So here's how it turned out:


I know it's not my best, but this is really good for hair that was just shampooed! I have tons of clumps and very minimal frizz. My roots are pretty flat - I'm wayyy overdue for a new clipping method. I ordered some of BB's Smoothie conditioner, and if that doesn't come in tomorrow I'm heading to Sally's to get some more GVP Conditioning Balm and new clips.

I'm also making my way into the world of homemade products. I haven't had time to do Jess' routine, and I'll be moving back into a dorm in three weeks (soo not cool!), so I need something that's easy to travel with, meets my skincare needs, but also is non-commercial. I ordered a book that also included haircare recipes, so we'll see how that goes! With the success I had today with FSG (the first since... the end of February?) I'm going to make my own FSG concoction as well. I'm pretty excited. And who knows, maybe I'll be the next BB (hey, I can dream. Especially with the year of student-teaching - and no income - I'm about to embark on!).

The Law of Curly Hair - Reversed?

So as you curlies already know, there are a few laws of nature concerning curls.

These include:

• Taking a picture of your hair to document it and realizing it looks much better in person
• Showering at night, only to have it turn out amazing (and you know it won't last to morning!)
• Finally getting the "it" product that EVERYONE has been raving about, only to find your hair HATES it!
• Leaving the house with a good feeling, only to come home that night and realize it looks horrible - and with no way of knowing how long they lasted

These are just a few, and I'm sure you have many more to add to the list.

But today I've experienced one of these laws in reverse - something that rarely happens.

I pretty much left the dorm feeling horrible about my hair. I hadn't had time to wash it last night or this morning, and it was in a gross-looking pony tail. Luckily one of my classes got out early, so I rushed back to wash before my next class. It looked ok as I was leaving, but nothing special. I was acutely aware of it during my last class, feeling it was more wavy than curly.

Then I got back and took this picture:

Are those CURLS? Here's what it currently feels like:

I'm not kidding. I don't understand. I co-washed with Suave Ocean Breeze (whom, by the way, has NOT sent me a coupon for a free bottle!), rinsed with KBB Nectar, applied BB's FSG, my FSG, some Aussie SG, and at the very end BB's butter. There were some ploppings in there somewhere. I clipped a little differently, so the curls around my part are reminiscent of pin curls. Not sure how that happened either.

It got up to 77 today with a dew point of 49.

BB's Flax Seed Gelee Experiment Day 1

Today's experiment was supposed to be my flax seed gel and pink boots, but my plan changed. I got my order from Boticelli Babe (on nc.com)!! I got: flax seed gelee with agave nectar in lemongrass, brulee in cupcake, and the hair/body butter!

Since it's Saturday and I have no where to go tonight, I decided to use the FSG all by itself. I've never done that before, and had no idea what the hold would be like. I water-washed, used GVP Conditoning Balm as my rinse-out, and then used a BUNCH of FSG. I think all in all I used about an inch out of the bottle. I scrunched for a while, plopped for about ten minutes, scrunched in some more, and then plopped for five minutes. I noticed more frizz than usual while diffusing. After I clipped I let it airdry for about an hour.

Results:

I was really surprised! I had a LOT of crunch. I don't have the volume I'd like, but it's been like that for a while. I think that's mostly a weather/hair cut thing. But overall I really like this stuff. I definitely have some more experimenting to do!

For the record, today's temps were in the fifties, and the dew point is currently FIVE. I haven't been outside yet, but I'll definitely update this if that has any effect.

*Later*

Just got back from dinner. Before I could even order my food, I got "You have GORGEOUS hair!" ... Definitely not a bad hair day!

(That's the end of a telescope behind my head, lol)