111 degrees

I don't know what it's like where you are, but it is hot here! It has been over 100 degrees every day for over a month. There's no end in sight.

I took this picture last night after being out in the 111 degree heat (a new record high, woohoo). My hair hasn't been holding up (as you can see), which makes product testing very difficult. This picture was my first time using CJ CCCC Lite. I showered the night before and when I woke up, my hair was great! Bouncy and curly everywhere. Then this. Bleh.

The worst part is that I can't get my hair to clump like normal because I can't do a cold rinse at the end of my showers. I usually scrunch my rinse-out upside-down under cold water to promote clumps and get rid of frizz. It's been luke-warm for the past month, which is definitely not the same as cold. I never thought I'd miss a cold shower!

Another Lesson on Protein

Just when I thought I knew everything there was to know about how to care for my hair, I'm thrown a curveball. Here's what I've been dealing with for the past two weeks and how I fixed it.

Approximately two weeks ago, but hair started acting up. It presented with these symptoms:

• Became stringy and frizzy as I rinsed out my conditioner
• Stayed stringy and frizzy even with the addition of Pink Boots (aka clump-maker)
• Shrinkage shrank to just 1/2 inch
• Volume disappeared
• Hair was as dry as the Sahara

This continued for several washes.

I initially thought that my hair was just really thirsty. I did two DTs with CJ Curl Rehab, added plenty of GVP Conditioning Balm during the wash process, and even replaced KCKT with generous amounts of GVP CB for my leave-in. My hair lost the dry, frazzled feeling, but was still frizzy, stringy, and limp.

At this point, I figured I needed some protein. Usually I'll add it to my co-wash, since I have so few products with protein in them. I use protein regularly enough so that I don't ever have to do a Protein Treatment. Nothing changed after the protein co-wash; still frizzy and stringy, barely making waves.

My next thought was overconditioning. I'd somehow overdone it and killed my hair with conditioner. An ACV rinse did nothing. Meanwhile, my hair went back to being dry and frazzled.

This was the point where my mind started turning to more drastic decisions: shampooing to remove possible build-up or cutting my hair. The last time I used shampoo was in December when my brother was home for the holidays. I stole his low-poo since it was the only one in the house that did not contain oils (since I shampoo so infrequently, I haven't felt the need to spend the $$ on an oil-free low-poo). A build-up problem seemed unlikely since I have been really good about co-washing regularly and meticulously. I think my last cut was in October. I've loved the way my hair has looked (before this incident of course) and really didn't want to have to cut it.

Wednesday was my last ditch effort at saving my hair. I have been doing a lot of reading at NC trying to figure out my problem. This post was ultimately the answer. I had used protein in my co-wash, but what if that wasn't enough? I have a small bottle of Nexxus Emergencee, a potent PT I picked up at the very beginning of my CG journey (before I discovered my protein sensitivity). I used a nickle-sized amount for the length of my hair. I left it on for probably only 30 seconds; it started to feel weird and I was scared. I followed it up with my usual rinse-out and routine. The results? Better curl! A few clumps! Some shrinkage!

It still wasn't up to usual standards, so I used it again this morning for about a minute and a half. Et voila! Clumps and spirals (which are probably closer to the corkicelli curl type described in the new CG book)! Consistent curl everywhere! Insane shrinkage! Which all adds up to one happy curly girl :)

So I am now convinced of the need to do regular PTs (because co-washes aren't enough) like some of my fellow protein-sensitive curlies. Finding the right protein-moisture balance is harder than it looks!

Winter Blues

I was originally going to do a post on dry scalp issues in this winter weather, but then my hair decided to not cooperate today, and it has now turned into a general suck-age type post. Enjoy.

For the past few months (really since it's gotten colder), my scalp has been having a lot of issues. One day without a co-wash and it's flaky. Two days, and it's itchy. I was having great multiple-hair days but having to wash because of my scalp. Brown sugar scrubs haven't done anything and are a pain to deal with, so I've stopped.

It wasn't like this last year. The only difference is that the weather has been a LOT colder and drier than it was last year (It usually snows once a year, maybe an inch or two. It's already snowed like six times for a total of more than 18 inches). And I really haven't been handling it well. Not sure what to do. Guess I'll just have to wait it out (hello, spring? where are you?).

I had a great week with my great FSG routine... until today. It's still pretty curly, but more stringy than my usually clumpy. Not sure what to make of that. I haven't been using a leave-in, so I guess it's not getting as much moisture as it's used to. I know FSG acts as an emollient, but it must not be enough. I don't know how to add that into my routine since it doesn't work well with leave-ins. I'm thinking about starting weekly coconut oil treatments again.

The one bright spot is that my hair FINALLY seems to have gotten a little longer. My spiral clumps that are usually in the back have started show up again. It's been six months since my last cut. I wouldn't have gotten it that short if I had known it would take this long to grow anywhere close to being long!

* Edit *

So I just looked in the mirror for the first time since it dried. It doesn't look too bad. And it should last tomorrow. It just feels bad, and that throws me off.

It's Back...

So my hair has looked pretty gross since Monday. It falls flat easily, is mostly wavy, and just generally not pretty.

I'm not 100% positive, but I think it's oil build-up from my one-time use of Lustrasilk Shea Mango. I thought it may have been over-kill from gel (I used it to SOTC on Tuesday night), but the frizzy-when-wet issue began before then and has gotten progressively worse. And that's especially discouraging because I thought my hair was getting better with oils. Sigh.

Now I know it's time to cleanse, but I'm really hesitant to use shampoo. Clarifying shampoo is never pretty and the only low-poos I have also contain oils. I'm kind of kicking myself for not ordering Curl Junkie's cleansing conditioner the other day when Curlmart had a 20% off code.

Would it be horrible to order it now and just bun it until it arrives?

Pictures

Here are some pictures of the new cut!

It doesn't look too short, does it? It doesn't quite fit into a pineapple, so by morning I had a few pieces that had fallen out (and of course, some frizz). It does fit in a ponytail; not quite into a bun. But I'm really liking it! I think it feels shorter because it's just on the shoulders in the front, whereas it's a little longer in the back.

I actually had a hair conversation with my stylist. I told her my hair was super dry because of a protein overdose and she said "oh, well your hair is so healthy that you don't need much protein at all!" True - but no mention of my texture. It's a step though. I just had her rinse and use KCKT to detangle, which she really liked.

And if you ever needed to see a visual of why we need styling products...

I will say it dried in less than an hour with no product in it! I'm not sure how long it takes when actually styled, and I'm hoping my curls come out to play when I don't have to sleep on them!

And Once Again, I'm Reminded...

of how much my hair HATES sulfates! I cannot believe I used to do this on a tri-weekly basis! My poor hair!

I shampooed yesterday to get rid of oil build-up.

Not pretty.

At.

All.

It's actually embarrassing. My hair will be in a bun for the next few days (perhaps with a secret DT) until it recovers.

Thankfully my new bottle of KCKT and some duckbill clips will be here by then. I have a new bottle of V05 for my co-wash - blackberry sage tea - but have still not made it to sally's. Part of me is embarrassed to go in there with hair like this (ok, most of me). I may cave and order online... is that sad?

On a more positive note, this is my LAST WEEK living in a dorm! From now on, I'll be home with a regular bathroom with a regular electrical outlet strategically placed near a mirror. Finally.

Done!

Yeah, I know, it's been forever. But the semester is finally over! It was a rough last three weeks, so it's definitely a relief. And as my brain and sleep suffered, so did my hair. I had so many issues, from regular frizz, to being super soft on day 1 and super dry on day 2, to frizzy when wet. My scalp was dry and itchy. It seemed to take forever to do my hair, and when I did it just sucked. Low-poos, vinegar rinses, and baking soda didn't help. I had no idea what was going on.

So I got some help from the boards and discovered that it was most likely oils building up on me. It makes sense that it would be super soft on the first day and then dry on the second, since moisture couldn't get through. I did a sulfate on Wed night and slept overnight with some Suave in. Didn't get around to washing again until today (checking out of my dorm yesterday was a PAIN). It doesn't look great, but that's to be expected with sulfates.

I don't know what I'm going to do product-wise. I'm pretty much out of AOHR anyway, so nothing will be wasted there. I may go back to what I did last summer, which was just Suave, Aussie gel, and sometimes CK or FOTE. That's what I used in my profile pic at the top. The dews are in the 70s and I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to do. I know CK and FOTE worked great last summer, but all this "don't use humectants in high dew points" or "use anti-humectants" is boggling my brain (which is still in recovery, lol).

So that's that. I'll be updating more often now and I have some experimenting to do, so things will be better!

Porosity: Where Products Come Into Play

Last week was very frustrating for my hair. After two straight weekends of success with KCCC, I couldn't understand why I kept getting crappy hair during the week. I live on campus during the week and return home on weekends because I'm tutoring a family friend's son for a reading assessment class I'm taking.

I was so ready to post a blog on Thursday about how my hair hated my dorm for some reason, and how it wasn't fair that it didn't look good for the majority of the week. Then I washed my hair on Friday. It was gross. I was at home; why didn't look beautiful and clumpy like normal "at home" hair?

Then I realized what I had done wrong. The first weekend I had success with this product, I blotted my hair before applying KCCC. Yes, I've been doing this every time since, so why was this time special? Because I had blotted more water out. I remember the panic of that first time because I thought I had taken too much water out. So each time after that, I didn't blot out as much. BIG MISTAKE, as I found out Friday.

So for me, blotting a lot = awesome hair with KCCC. Anything else is gross. There was a thread posted recently on nc.com about KCCC where people could post their tips. After posting about my experience with blotting, some others seemed very surprised that this worked. For those people, they need the extra water in their hair for KCCC to work it's magic.

This got me to thinking... Why does the amount of water in your hair with this product matter so much?

My theory: Porosity.

I have coarse and highly porous hair. My hair soaks up soo much water it's ridiculous. I plop twice just to get most of the water out (and my first towel is usually soaked!). When I do a DT and leave it in for a while, it will literally disappear in my hair. I had a crazy experience with coconut oil a few weeks ago that did this almost immediately. It really freaked me out - I had never seen porosity in action like that.

So for some reason, something in KCCC needs to be applied to hair that is less wet, but more moisturized, if that makes sense. I have to use more of a leave-in than I normally would, but also have to take out way more water than I do with anything else. My first thought is that this is because of the aloe. That first time I had success, my hair soaked it up. It felt dry, just like aloe had started doing to me. I'm going to experiment with this after the "less is more" experiment.

I think that for people with normal to low porosity, they need what they can get. Or really, their hair soaks up the perfect about of water for KCCC success. Then it's just a matter of how much to use. They don't have to worry about blotting at all.

I'm wondering how this would work with other products. Would I get much better hair days if I did this with all my products? Or is KCCC just special? Something to experiment with.

Some other happenings:

I'm really liking Curl Junkie Curl Fuel Spray. It's awesome for revitalizing my clumps the day after using KCCC (admittedly the only thing I've tried it with so far!). It doesn't work all the time - my hair was in a bun or a flexi-8 all week. But as long as the hair was good to begin with (a good first day as opposed to a crappy one), it works out well.

Today my hair was not looking good. I washed last night and then did an extra modified pineapple (much different from what I posted a few months ago - it's been modified for shorter hair). It really looked like it was going to be a flexi-8 day when I took it down. I sprayed CJ and scrunched, but it wasn't up to par. So I remembered something someone on nc.com had said about what she does with frizz and multiple day hair. She uses a "spritz, smooth, and scrunch" method with CK. I had nothing to lose, so I tried it. I'm so glad I did! My clumps are revitalized and my frizz is minimal. Of course I'm about to head out into the 30 mph wind (we had 54 mph on Thursday! Like my curls had a chance!), so it may not last. But thanks to whatsercurl for the suggestion!

More to come this week. I'm thinking about trying out a secret DT should my hair decide to not cooperate. Sounds exiciting, huh?

And thanks for the compliments :)

Lesson Learned: Protein Overload

So in my last post I wrote about the state of my hair after using LVPNG. Yesterday was much, much worse! It's still hard to believe that my hair reacted that violently to the small amount of protein in that conditioner. I mean, I know I'm protein sensitive, but I've never had that severe of a reaction.

I had to get up early to go to tutoring for one of my education classes, so I didn't have time to shower. My hair still looked pretty good from the night before, but it was definitely very poofy. I have thick hair to begin with, but the width of my ponytail doubled in size! I think I got one good picture before things went downhill, and it's on my other computer (which is still at home; I really need to send it away to be fixed).

Lately it's been very bright outside, so I've taken to wearing my sunglasses a lot. I don't take them off when I go inside, just perch them on top of my head. For some reason, this loosens things up a bit. Add that to the fact that my hair was becoming increasingly dry and tangly, and things start to not look so great. Last night I decided to scrunch in some FOTE for moisture. BAD IDEA!! My "curls" immediately got crunchy and even more tangled. We're talking rat's nest, which I haven't had since seventh grade (funny story, but I'll tell it later).

To make a long story short, I came back to school/work today with shorter hair that looked horrible. I had it half-up in my flexi-8, but I'm pretty sure there was some damage/breakage as I had to rip tangles apart just to get it up. I spent about ten minutes in the shower tonight detangling. KCKT alone doesn't cut it anymore, so I added GVP CB and brushed through with my Denman. I'm really hoping tomorrow works out better.

I really think this was just a combination of using protein with the icequeen clumping method. Doing everything upside results in curls in weird places - they don't lie down as they normally do and catch on each other. Would things have been better if I had only used one of these? I have no idea. Not sure I'll be finding out any time soon, either.

So bottom line: whether this was because I had used it after so many harsh shampoos, or just because my hair really doesn't like it, I'm not using protein for a long time! Lesson learned!

The Honeymoon's Over

It seems my love affair with FSG has come to an end. My curls are loose (barely wavy in the back), hair is dry, and I have never-ending frizz. It's been this way for at least a week.

I have two theories:

1. Weather. This stuff was working well for me in lower temps and dew points. Recently temps have been in the 70s and 80s with dew points in the 50s. Maybe I need more hold then? If it's humid out, forget about it.
   
   
2. My hair is satiated. A week or two after I started using FSG, I realized I had better curl formation and hold when I used more FSG. Now I'm finding the opposite to be true. Clumps don't form or hold much at all anymore. Taking my hair out of a plop has become depressing! It's also started taking a lot longer to dry, which is weird. It's almost like I'm airdrying, when I've been sitting with a diffuser on for ten minutes!

My hair is deflated before I even leave the dorm/house, which makes me think it's not really weather-related. Luckily (or unluckily?) I'll be able to test this out this weekend. Check out these numbers:

Yesterday: 80 degrees, dew point of 58
Today: 34 degrees, dew point of 36 (it's raining)!!!!!!!!

Ridiculous. It's supposed to stay cold until Sunday. My hair's feeling kind of gross, so I think tomorrow I'll low-poo and do a DT. I've DTed 3 out of the last 4 days. My hair is dry in some places, and gunky in others. I'm SO over it. I think part of it is I really really really need a cut. My hair is soo long. Luckily I'm scheduled for Tuesday.

I guess that's all I needed to update on. I'm working on a new clipping method (which was working well until this stuff happened) that I'll post about soon.

Lesson Learned: FSG + Leave-ins

Honey Flax Seed Gel + leave-in (in this case KBB nectar) = BAD.

80 degrees with a dew point of 58 (it was so humid today!) might seem like a good time to pile on the humectants. At least, that's what I thought. But man, it did not work well at all!

As soon as I undid my first plop, I knew I was in trouble. My curl-ease had literally soaked up all the water in my hair. Even when I had frizzy when wet issues, I didn't experience drying to that extent. I had to squirt it down with water just to scrunch in Aussie gel! What the heck? It wasn't too bad after I diffused. There was a little hold here and there, but I could tell it wouldn't be a good hair day. Or an ok hair day. I took it down from a pineapple this morning and it was very frizzy. I didn't feel like dealing with it, so I just left it down. I did spray some Deva Set It Free in though (which seriously smells like skittles!). Don't think it helped.

I'm on my old computer (which feels really small, even though it's a 15 inch notebook...), so I have no pics. But it was frizzy and barely wavy today. It also feels dry, but greasy in some places. Not sure if that has to do with the weather or not (it was threatening to rain all day).

I was talking to the dean of the Honors College and she said "your hair looks different." Not in a good way, either. I knew it wasn't normal, but I didn't think it was that bad! I was caught off guard, so I said "um, yeah..." Oh well. Good thing that was my last class. I'm super exhausted, so I'm going to take a nap before showering. Not sure what I'll end up using.