A Confession

I have a confession to make.

I've slowly become addicted to a low-poo.

I know, I'm ashamed.

It started out pretty innocently. I had some issue with an ingredient in January - maybe oils? I needed to remove it. My brother was visiting and his newly-acquired low-poo was the only one in the house. It felt nice on my scalp, and it removed everything. My hair wasn't that dry afterward. In fact, my curls perked up some.

Fast forward to February. The weather went CRAZY and was wreaking havoc on my hair. I needed to remove some build-up, and what do you know? The same shampoo was on sale that week. Huh. So I picked up a bottle of Organix Pomegranate Green Tea. At this point I decided to try that root-lift trick Lorraine Massey talked about in the 2nd edition of the CG Handbook. I added some Ecostyler gel to the shampoo and carefully massaged it into my scalp. Not only did it remove build-up, but it really gave my roots some lift!

The next wash, I added the Ecostyler to my V05 conditioner. No bueno.

I went back to my usual routine with V05 conditioner. I started getting build-up on my scalp again. Not serious build-up, but it just didn't seem clean.

So I tried the Organix/Ecostyler combination again. Et voila! Clean scalp and root lift! I was sold.

And I feel like I've sold out.

Don't get me wrong. I know that lots of curlies have been using low-poo regularly for years. And that Massey even re-defined the CG label to include sulfate-free cleansers. So technically, I'm still CG.

But being shampoo-free was something special for me. It was almost like a bragging right. I'm the curl "expert" in my family and when asked, I could say "I don't use shampoo!" "I now only use a sulfate-free cleanser!" doesn't have the same ring.

When I started CG almost three years ago, going shampoo-free was something to be proud of. I remember being in awe of a member on NC who had gone a whole year without shampoo. Even before this little addiction, I still had to clarify every now and then, so I never achieved this. But it was something to aspire to.

I'm at the point where I low-poo about once a week. And my scalp doesn't feel very clean on the days I co-wash. It's not oily or anything; it just feels like I didn't get all the conditioner off, even though I scrub pretty well. Meh.

I really do love the root lift I'm getting from the added Ecostyler though. I'm not sure why it doesn't work with the conditioner on co-wash days. Just the low-poo. It's gotten even better since my hair-cut. I haven't tried another gel.

Anyway, I thought it was time to come clean (ha). I'm not sure if this will be a permanent fixture in my routine, or if I'll switch it up when summer rolls around. I had a really good summer last year with co-washing, so it may be a weather thing. I guess we'll see.

Short Update

So I'm really liking this stronger curl pattern. I hope this experiment goes well so I can stay off the meds and keep these curls! I was even asked the other day if I use a curling iron - though I'm not sure that's a compliment...

First, it's nice to have a consistent canopy, especially in the back. That has always been the hardest place to get to curl. Scrunching in extra gel there helped a little, but nothing like this!

Multiple-day hair is also easier. Saturday night I put my hair up in a bun directly on the top of my head using a regular hair band. It looked great in the morning - just as if I had gone to all the trouble of doing a modified pineapple!

I've also come up with a new solution to getting rid of mild surface frizz in the morning. First I spritz with a mixture of water and the CURLS coconut conditioner (small amounts are ok), but any conditioner would do. Then I mix a pea-sized amount of the clear Ecostyler gel with a nickel-sized amount of Curl Keeper. I've used it about three times now and it's been great!

The Denman Brush

Since it's been a while since I've reviewed something, and I just happened to start using this brush again, I thought I'd post one here.

My background story: I started using this brush maybe six months into CG? Probably a few months earlier than that. I originally got it after reading about all the amazing clumps it could give you. Unfortunately, all the tips and tricks I read about didn't do anything for me. In fact, it made my hair look worse because any kind of raking action, even if followed by scrunching, pulls out curls.

In the end, I just used it for detangling in the shower. And for those times when a sugar scrub isn't enough to get rid of the random itch that's been bothering me for a week. Then the denman is like heaven on my scalp!

I've always used it off and on, usually preferring to just use my fingers to detangle. I think the last time I had used it was in February? I don't know. It's been a while. I think I stopped because it was doing something weird to my hair.

I decided to use this again yesterday. It removes much more hair than finger-detangling does, which also means less knots. My hair has been so dry lately, and a lot of knots were developing on the nape of my neck. I spent about five or ten minutes detangling (even breaking out the KCKT to get the job done!). I didn't use any special techniques or anything; just brushed to detangle. Imagine my surprise when I had lots of great clumps afterward! I'm talking "it looks like I used pink boots" -type clumps.

For full disclosure, I did use the Ecostyler gel instead of KCCC. I've used this before with not great results, so I'm attributing this to the Denman. The clumps were also noticeable after rinsing out my conditioner and before applying the gel.

My hair held up well through the night and the clumps lasted through the 100 degree weather while I was out shopping for a car this morning. I will definitely be using this every wash from now on!