When Shrinkage Goes Bad

For some reason, I've got kind of a Victoria Beckham thing going on in the front. You can actually see my ear! This is why curly hair should not be cut wet.

This is my first attempt to use Spiral Solutions Firm Hold Gel. I wasn't sure how much to use, so I ended up using very very little amounts and in the same manner I use CJ Aloe Fix Lite (3x on wet hair, 2x blotted, all before gel). I'm doing my research, but suggestions are appreciated. I do love the way my hair smells though.

Co-wash: V05 Champagne Kiss

Rinse-out: GVP Conditioning Balm (still dry from a PT)

Stylers: Spiral Solutions Firm Hold Gel, BRHG

I'm Melting!

Hi everyone! I know I haven't been posting very often. I've been product testing but I feel like I can't report any of the results because they would be inaccurate due to the conditions these past few months. It has been over 100 degrees every day for 59 of the past 60 days. The dews have been all over the place. Most importantly, I haven't been able to do the cold water rinses at the end of my showers that promote clumps and eliminate frizz.

Oh, and my gel has NOT been holding up. And when I say gel, I mean gels. Because I've been testing some new ones. Hey, that's a great post idea. Testing gels inextreme heat. Ok, it's on my to-do list.

Anyway, consider this post a continuation of the previous one, but with pictures. I received some very nice compliments and while I appreciate that my hair is probably the in the best condition it's been in the past year (since changing hair properties and all that), it's definitely got a problem with "melting" during the day.

Case in point:

7 am

7 pm

7 am

7 pm

What you can't tell in the 7 pm pictures is how frizzy and soft my hair was (or maybe you can). I have it up in a modified pineapple now, but I'm not sure that I will be able to save it tomorrow. Which is really sad because I LOVE how my hair looked this morning. It's what I've always wanted my hair to look like, especially in the back. (I started trimming my ends - first time I've ever done this - and the top layer in the back was the first place I cut!)

For the record, here is what I used:

(last night)

• V05 Champagne Kiss conditioner (co-wash and rinse-out)
• Curl Junkie Aloe Fix Lite (scrunched into wet hair and then blotted hair)
• Aussie Instant Freeze
• a little Garnier Fructis Spray Gel (after clipping)

(this morning)

• spritzed hair with a little water and let sit for five minutes
• Curl Junkie Aloe Fix Lite (scrunched into sides and back)
• Curl Junkie Curls in a Bottle! (mixed with water and smoothed over curls)

Flax Seed Gel Experiments

Over the past week, I've experimented a few different times with my FSG batch with some interesting results. It's funny, because I definitely use a lot of this stuff and yet it doesn't look like I've used very much from looking at the bottle. That's a plus in my book!

1. So the first time I used this, I was able to get third-day hair. I don't mean that I wore it down for a day and then bun-ed it for the rest. I mean three solid days of great-looking curls.
Application & Usage:

• Applied three quarter-sized amounts to dripping wet hair
• Blotted upside-down and on each side
• Applied two more quarter-sized amounts upside-down
• Scrunched in a nickel-sized amount at about 50% dry during diffusing
• Scrunched in a dime-sized amount each morning I wore it down

This method gave me the best-looking curls, but they were also kind of dry. And the next time I washed, it was frizzy while wet. Not cool.

2. The second time I used this during a wash, I got so-so results. Mostly waves with ringlet-y ends. Definitely not what it had been the first time.
Application & Usage:

• Did not apply anything before blotting
• Applied a couple quarter-sized amounts before moving on to normal towel routine
• Did not apply any more throughout routine
• Scrunched in some pink boots the next morning, which led to a collapse of volume and curls throughout the day.
  

My hair still looked ok the next day. I got a lot of comments and compliments, but I didn't feel it lived up to what it had last Monday (figures, right? Always get the compliments when you think it looks bad!). This only lasted one day, and barely that.

3. The third time I used this during a wash, I got blah results. Mostly waves again. It was very stringy when wet but not as bad when it dried (but still pretty bad). With all the crunch and frizz of the previous two times, I thought it might be good to get some
Application & Usage:

• Applied a quarter-sized amount of KCKT to dripping wet hair
• Blotted hair
• Applied three quarter-sized amounts of FSG
• Did not apply more throughout rest of routine
• Applied some to hair the next morning (this wash was done during the afternoon)

This turned out ok as well. It outlasted wash #2, but was nowhere near wash #1. Curls were elongated (previously called normal!). Not particularly dry or soft. Lasted two and a half days, with the last day in a bun.

4. Tonight I decided to do it exactly as I had in wash #1 and ended up with the same great curls (and shrinkage)!

Results:

1. FSG needs to be applied to dripping wet hair that has not been coated with product
2. Blotting is allowed, along as it is followed with more FSG
3. Scrunching in FSG while diffusing allows me to rework the curls and minimize frizz
4. FSG, when done correctly, leads to multiple-day hair

I'm hoping this lasts as well as it did last week, since I washed later this time. I've been contemplating buying some of the new PJ favorites, but I can't beat the great results I'm having from something I can make at home for much cheaper.

No Damage Here!

Wow, I just got done diffusing and have to share - my hair definitely did not suffer from the sulfates on Saturday. Quite the opposite in fact! I have so much shrinkage, I did a double-take when I flipped my hair over! It looks like I got a cut!

I'm going to attribute this to the batch of flax seed gel I made this morning. Here's the background:

About this time last year, I was having a love affair with my homemade FSG. I even tried BB's FSG after reading all the rave reviews, but came straight back to my stuff. This lasted most of the month of February in 2009. Since my hair's been blah lately, I decided I would go back to what worked this time last year and went back to read the posts.

Early last March, my love affair with FSG ended abruptly. I had no idea what had caused it and figured it was a cold-weather product that I should save for winter. Here's the thing; I went back and looked at the products I was using with it - all full of oils! So now I'm thinking that FSG was not the problem; it was all the other products I was using. I even stated that it worked better with GVP Conditioning Balm than any of the other oil-filled products I had used.

So yesterday afternoon I decided to make a new batch of FSG. I have some agave nectar and seamollient, so I searched around NC.com to figure out how much to use of each. Then I stumbled upon this thread. Since I wasn't in a rush, I decided to give it a try. I put 1/4 cup flax seeds in about 1 cup of distilled water and let it soak for 18 hours, adding more water every so often. This morning I made a batch, adding 1/2 tbsp agave nectar and 1/2 tsp seamollient (have never used this before!). It didn't make a lot; in fact it was way less than I usually get. And it didn't seem that much thicker either.

I did the Spritz & Condition method with GVP Conditioning Balm, co-washed with V05 Raspberry, and rinsed-out with some more GVP CB. Then I scrunched in about three tablespoon-sized puddles of FSG, blotted with a flour sack towel, scrunched in a few more blobs, and plopped. After plopping, I scrunched in some Aussie Instant Freeze, plopped again, and started diffusing. About halfway through diffusing, things were getting crunchy. I scrunched in a little more FSG (still not sure if I like this method) and diffused a little longer.

It was when I finished that I noticed how much it had shrunk! In all my days of being a curly, let alone CG, I have never experienced shrinkage like this before. I wasn't expecting much, especially after just using sulfates on Saturday. It's clipped right now. I'll try and take some pics after it dries completely.

Edit -

Just SOTC. Here's a horrible picture. I really need to find an actual camera.