The Results Are In!

I literally just got my LCLF Curl Genie Results and I rushed over (ok, opened a new tab in my browser) to share! And believe me, it's a shocker.

Texture: Medium-Fine

Porosity: Normal

Elasticity: Normal

I haven't read through everything yet (it seems very thorough though, which is good!) and honestly I'm still shocked that my hair has done just about a 180 from where it was a year ago.

It definitely explains why my entire arsenal of products has been failing!

I'm off to finish reading - will probably do a few reviews in the coming weeks of the process, including how well the product suggestions worked and my general experience.

Has anyone else had an analysis done? Or even a drastic change in your hair's properties? How did you deal with the changes?

The Grass Really IS Always Greener...

Coarse. Highly porous. Sounds like every curly's nightmare, right? Hair that is continually dry, with a plethora of ingredients and products available that would just make things worse. Some of these ingredients, like protein, would help in one area (porosity) but hurt in another (straw hair, anyone?). It's like you can't win.

I always thought I had it worse than everyone. I think it was because I was "banned" from using these ingredients and products, and that my "hair idols" at the time all had fine, low-porosity hair (i.e. "All I did was add this product with "banned" ingredients to my routine and my curls are perfect!") Even in the explanations for each texture and porosity, it was always "watch out for this, this, and this. If you have normal hair, congratulations! You can use just about anything!"

It seemed like that would be much easier to deal with. Here I was, unable to get my hair properly moisturized, while so many other people just had to make sure their was protein in their products and they were good to go. I had to lower my standards in the winter months, because moisturized hair (and scalp) wasn't something that was realistic for very long.

Fast forward to now, when my hair has gone into full rebellion. All the rules have changed and I have NO idea what to do anymore. I think I'm still pretty porous. My hair's not really super fine, though sometimes it acts that way. Suddenly none of my product staples are working well, short of KCKT and KCCC. Even my low-poo that worked a few months ago has gone out the window.

Example: I did five protein treatments this week. Yes, you read that right. FIVE. In a WEEK. If you had told me six months ago that this would happen, I would have asked what you were smoking. This is crazy. Nevermind that my hair didn't even get it's protein fill until the fifth one. This whole protein/moisture balance thing is ridiculous.

Right now my hair is responding well to co-washes (albeit one with protein) done more often than I used to. It also likes the KCKT and KCCC combo, both during a routine and for second-day hair. I'm still doing the Spritz & Condition with GVP CB and using it as my rinse-out. I don't know if that's still my HG.

I just don't have the time and money to do this again. It's like starting CG at square one, and I thought I already did that. I almost wish my hair was super coarse again, because at least I'd know how to deal with it.

The grass really is always greener on the other side.

Closing in?

I think (or hope?) I'm closing in on the reason for my hair being un-curly lately. I was home sick all day yesterday and had an opportunity to do a lot of reading on nc.com and through Tiffany's ebook. At first I thought I might need less moisture in this summer heat, but a quick test of that proved me wrong.

Here's what I'm thinking:

1. I need a haircut. It's been nine months. My hair is still relatively healthy (no split or damaged ends), but my layers have all grown too much and it's affecting my volume.

2. I need MORE moisture. I haven't been washing regularly (maybe 2 times a week) for the past month or so, so it makes sense. Plus, I have a history. Read this. And I quote:

Which means my hair isn't getting the extra moisture that it NEEDS because it is porous... I've been burned by this before, so you would think I would know what I'm doing by now...

Seriously? I feel really stupid right now. The entry is even called "lesson learned." Ugh.

I dont' think I've ever been more thankful for my blog. At least this time I have a record of what my hair has done in the past.

3. I need protein. It's been a long time since I used enough of this stuff. My balance is off.

So this is what I will be working on.

Other interesting things I read about:

• Supposedly KCCC doesn't play well with oils?? Someone mentioned it in passing on a post last year and I couldn't really find anything to back this claim up (then again, I was on a different mission so I didn't go looking for it that much), but could this be why I don't handle oils well? I used to be fine with them until last spring, which coincidentally also happened to be when I started using KCCC regularly.
  
  
• I reread (and apparently absorbed the info because I didn't remember this) this article about oils. I do well with coconut oil which is saturated and easily absorbed by hair. So I'm thinking about experimenting with other oils that are similar in structure. It sure would open up my product usage abilities.
  
  
• I gave up Jessicurl's WDT last year because I thought it had a LOT of oils in it. Turns out it doesn't. Huh. Good thing I'm getting back into deep conditioning!
  

More About Coconut Oil

There is a great new post over at The Natural Haven concerning coconut oil!

It got me thinking about trying this as a prewash treatment to prevent excess water from entering the hair - something I definitely have problems with since my hair is highly porous. I've been using another curly's method for a few months (not sure if I can post about it yet) to help with moisture loss, but this has definitely caught my attention. I'll probably try it as soon as I get my Vatika Frosting (it would be nice if it was back in stock!).

I'm also interested in the sealing discussion going on over at nc.com. Once again, Del is saving my hair. I haven't had time to read it carefully, but I know she's on to something good. Another experiment to add to the list!

So I've totally flaked and haven't washed my hair. It was just as well; I walked outside to crazy fog and highhhh humidity! My hair didn't stand a chance. It was back in a flexi-8. Tomorrow I'm doing a double ponytail (hey, my class is at an elementary school!).

Lesson Learned: Porous Hair Needs TLC

So throughout the many weeks of my lazy summer routine, I haven't been washing my hair as often as I used to - usually around 3 times a week. Which means my hair isn't getting the extra moisture that it NEEDS because it is porous.

Even in all these high dew points, my hair gets dry by the end of day one. It's also a little frizzy and tangled - especially on the nape of my neck. These are the types of knots that take a good five minutes to work through with conditioner in the shower.

I've been burned by this before, so you would think I would know what I'm doing by now, but I just had the epiphany today. My hair still feels soft, or at least normal, so it doesn't register to me that it's dry until day two.

And so begins the weekly deep treatments. The last time this happened to me (in winter/early spring), it was hard because all the popular conditioners marketed as DTs contain oils, which we have learned that my hair does NOT like at all. I guess this really is the first time I have to DT without using those conditioners. Maybe I should get some butters?

I'm going to start out with some GVP conditioning balm, maybe sealed with coconut oil? That will be tomorrow's project.

Yay Coconut Oil!

I got a small jar of coconut oil with my order from iherb the other day, so I decided to try it out last night. I used it as a mini-DT before low-pooing with GTTTT shampoo (my scalp has been stubbornly itchy for over a week now, no matter how many brown sugar scrubs I do).

I didn't notice much of a difference last night. I SOTC a little bit before doing a modified pineapple and going to sleep. This morning I scrunched out the rest and used a little bit of pink boots to smooth away frizz. It feels SOOOOOO soft! I really like it.

I was reading a magazine last night while diffusing and it said we should do weekly scalp and/or hair treatments with coconut oil to maintain scalp health and keep it shiny and soft. If these results continue, it may be a new weekly staple for me! Which is awesome because having such a high porosity leads to dry hair at the end of the first day and definitely the second day. I know it hasn't been a full day yet, but hair is still soft and happy! And it seemed to really absorb well. I'm a little weary after just getting over an oil build-up problem, but it does seem to act differently than other oils.

On another note, I updated the previous two posts with picture results. Still experimenting to see what will work best. Summer school starts tomorrow, so now I have to re-adapt to not only living in a dorm, but sharing a ridiculously small room with someone. I had my own bedroom in the dorm I shared during the regular school year... sigh.

Getting Back to Normal

Just a quick update to say that my hair is pretty much back to normal. I had an AWESOME hair day on Sunday, which was even better because it was my sister's confirmation and all of our friends and family were there. I washed on Saturday night and used only KCKT, KCCC, and Aussie. I was worried because it was still a little wet when I pineappled to go to sleep that night, but it worked out in the end! I'd post a picture, but I don't think I have a good close-up. But I had awesome clumps and spirals, with curl all the way to my root!

I've been washing every-other day for the past two weeks. This is when that whole porous thing does not come in handy - my hair has been very dry every second day. They dew points haven't been as high as they were, so I think that has something to do with it.

I got BB's Smoothie conditioner the other day. I've only used it once, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'll use it again today and update later.

* Edit *

I don't usually take pictures with flash because I think it makes my hair look curlier than it really is. I couldn't help it this time though!

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 :)

The Road to Recovery

Just a quick update.

Last night I co-washed with GTTTT conditioner. I figure I need all the moisture I can get, and the tea tree oil is good for the itchiness, which for the most part has gone away. I didn't even think about using this until I read that someone else does this. It's been ok so far. The flakes are starting to disappear. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I then did a DT with a mixture of olive oil, honey, and KBB milk for between an hour and an hour and a half. After rinsing (used more GTTTT to get the olive oil out), I did an ACV rinse and used cold water. I then added a little bit of Suave Cucumber Melon from a bottle that is almost gone and the tiniest amount of FOTE. I started doing the "pump and scrunch" method. Basically I scrunch, hold it, and pump my fist 8 times. I think this mostly just gets rid of water, but it might help spread product. It's working better for me than just regular crazy scrunching and plopping.

I did the usual routine, but used HEBE instead of ASG. Diffused and clipped. When i was ready to go to bed, I just pineappled it loosely. I'm not sure how this works better than adding a scarf, but whatever. I woke up with pretty good curls! My hair feels like it has more moisture, and there was a lot more clumping. Some of my old spirals are back, which was nice to see.

I'm going to do another DT tonight, although probably longer. The temperature dropped considerably overnight. It's 33 (feels like 25) with a dewpoint of 14. Did I mention our weather is crazy?!

I'm glad I figured out this texture/porosity thing. No wonder DTs just didn't seem to matter.

Lightbulb Moment

So I just finished reading through Tiffany's blog and some threads at nc.com, and I think I've figured out my texture/porosity.

I thought a good majority of my hair was fine, but apparently it is coarse. I did several strand tests, and each one is a thick strand with a rough cuticle.

Going the other direction in several strand tests leads me to believe that my hair has a high porosity.

These make sense, because my hair cannot tolerate much protein. Shampoo bars didn't work well for me because of their chemical makeup. My cuticles are already raised, so it's obvious that didn't help.

My hair also sucks up a lot of moisture. My first plop, which only lasts for five minutes at most, leaves the towel soaking. Every time I get my hair cut, I get a comment on how much moisture it holds. But it also can't retain it. Looking at my hair today, you would never know I did a DT the other night. My hair is begging for moisture. I'm not using anything particularly heavy with emollients or humectants (though that one is for obvious reasons), and my hair is reacting to that.

High porosity is also probably a result of my unprotected straightening days. I didn't straighten often, but when I did, I didn't use any heat protection. And I straightened every section multiple times, especially the canopy. And this was all done on the highest setting, which I believe was over 400 degrees (or is that too high? Can't remember).

So with this new information, I'm ready to find what my hair needs. First up is to get some moisture back!