Super-Soaker Method: Take One

After all the raves of rudee's Super-Soaker method, I decided to try it last Friday night. I don't really have a problem with clumps, but I do have a problem with consistent and uniform clumps in the back. I thought this might fix it. Here are my results:



Unfortunately there were a lot of issues that led to these results.

1. These pictures were taken on Saturday afternoon after sleeping with a Re-Modified pineapple (this reminds me, I still need to do an entry about this) and a four-hour shopping trip that required trying on clothes. So probably not the best to begin with.

2. I'm not really sure I did this right. I was trying to be really careful about getting water everywhere, and it was really hard to soak my entire head. I'm not sure I got everything in the back.

3. I used pink boots as one of my bases, and this always leads to soft hair. Good thing when washed in the morning; bad thing when done at night when you need "stable" hair in order to last through the night.

4. Brushing ruins my curl pattern. As soon as I got that Denman through my curls, they were gone. I had stringlets everywhere. Soaking them with water did not help. I did get some curls back after scrunching gel in at the end, but some were gone for good.

5. I ended up using the Got2b gel because I was (at the time) pretty much out of Aussie (as of tonight, I'm all out). From the experiment last week, I know this may not have the hold that I am used to/NEED.

6. I didn't use my clump-guaranteed product (KCCC) because it only works in hair that isn't that wet. It seemed stupid to go through the whole process and then scrunch water out. I may do it at some point, but thought the first test-run should be as close to the original method as possible.

So, a good number of things to take into consideration. I plan on doing this again at some point, but I'm waiting for the video to make sure I'm doing it right.

And it may be that my hair is just too porous for this method to work that well. My hair soaks up a lot of water to begin with.

I do still have some tricks up my sleeve in the methods department, so everything is not totally back to normal.

One of which is a new diffuser bowl. I got my mom a new dryer for her birthday because her's was so worn down I was afraid it would start a small electrical fire. The lettering had completely rubbed off, so I don't even know who made it (though she thinks it was Conair). Anyway, I got her a VS dryer for fine hair that is supposed to boost volume (which she needs - her wavy hair is fine and so short that it is straight).

Anyway, it came with a couple attachments and she gave the diffuser one to me. It doesn't fit on my Revlon dryer, but it DOES fit on the Deva adapter, which then fits on my dryer! So I had an interesting-looking dryer tonight. I have high hopes for it. The fingers are longer, like my first diffuser that died in October. I had amazing curls with that diffuser (see picture to right!) that I haven't been able to get since. Here's to trying again!

Interesting Hair Day

Just a quick update - I know I've spent most of the last year working hard to coax spirals and ringlets from my hair, but imagine my surprise when I took down my hair this morning and discovered glamorous old Hollywood waves!

I had volume in all the right places, with a few ringlets strategically placed in the front. Of course it only lasted maybe an hour - it was SO hot out today. I really wish I had taken a picture, because I've never seen it like that, ever! It was a little curlier than Rita Hayworth here, but still glamorous all the same!

And then, for some odd reason, it morphed into an almost Farrah Fawcett-like style. Everything in the front flipped to curl towards the back. It really confused me. But I'll take it!

My Stash(es): In Pictures

Last week my aunt and her family came over for dinner. Two out of three of my cousins are curlies and sort of follow their own version of CG (I did a boot camp for them last summer!). Anyway, I asked if they wanted anything from my stash, and we went upstairs to look. I had totally forgotten how big my stash was! I only showed them two of my stashes, but was amazed and sort of embarrassed at the sheer amount of product I have.

So I thought I would share! Here are my stashes, in pictures - taken on my cell, so forgive the quality!

The Closet Stash (formerly known as The Dorm Room Stash)

The Bathroom #1 Stash
(I share this bathroom with my sister, but I don't do my hair here - way too small!)
This used to be my soap bar cabinet, but I've managed to bring down the collection a lot. The middle shelf used to be almost completely full of soap bar samples! Very bad for porous hair!

The Perpetual Shower Stash
(My staples: V05 Raspberry, GVP CB, & KCKT)

The Bathroom #2 Stash
(More Frequently Used Products & Makeup/Skincare)

Sedusa, Deva, and Revlon Diffusers are all stashed here - seriously confused my cousins

Blurry close-up of my organized makeup (relatively new) -
I love my bamboo brush holder ($10 at Target!!)

The Dining Room Stash
(Things I might need on the way out the door and my KM samples that haven't made it upstairs)

There it is - wasn't too bad was it? How big is your stash?

Got2b Spiked Up Gel

I know I said I wasn't that into testing new products anymore, but I was almost out of gel and I didn't pay for this one.

I used this last night with V05 raspberry (co-wash), GVP CB (rinse-out), KCKT (leave-in), and KCCC. I tried to use the same amount that I usually use with Aussie, but I wasn't sure if I was using too much. It didn't feel like I put anything in my hair, honestly. It did not look pretty when I un-plopped to diffuse. And was not that crunchy when I was done.

I had to sleep on it. While this wouldn't have been the true test of a product in the old days, now that I will most likely be showering at night it will be necessary. It didn't look too bad this morning. I used some CJ Curl Fuel and that helped with some frizz. There are a few spirals, but it's mostly wavy, and not uniform.

Overall, I'm not liking it much based on this one time. I'll use it a few more times, with varying amounts, before giving an overall verdict. Sad, I had read this was comparable to BRHG (which I still have not tried...).

The Miracle of Protein

Yes, I did just write that. No, I don't believe it either.

Last night I used a few shots of Suave Coconut mixed with my GVP CB as a rinse-out, based on the advice of Del. Literally as soon as I applied it, the tangles were falling out of my hair! It was so weird! They're pretty much non-existent today AND my hair isn't dry at all!

In fact, it's in pretty good condition moisture-wise, following the coconut oil DT I did on Sunday. Will definitely keep that up every week to prevent dryness!

Confirmation

Tonya's new Curl Chemist article on nc.com has confirmed why my hair does not like most oils. Not only does it go more in depth, but apparently porosity can have a big effect on using oils in our hair - nice to know! It's also cool because we learned about lipids and the structure of saturated/unsaturated fats a couple weeks ago in my biology class (and today, we learned about parasitic round worms in apple cider vinegar - oh joy!).

On Sunday, I did a DT with coconut oil, then washed as normal. I didn't want to throw any protein into the mix for fear of the coconut oil making the effects more intense. Because I am super paranoid like that. My tangles were a little better.

I went through my stash and discovered a whole host of protein products I had forgottten about! So now I won't have to dig up the dreaded LVPNG to get my small shot of protein.

Not much else going on in my hair life. I'm hoping to do some product testing this weekend with the untouched samples I got two months ago.

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.