Youtube

I'll admit, I spend a good amount of time on youtube during the week. Mostly for music and makeup videos (love Emily's channel!). Every now and then I'll find something hair-related that's relevant to me.

This is one of those times.

I just discovered naturallycurly.com's channel (and yes, it was because the website's down)!!

How cute is this?



Check it out!

Do you have any favorite youtube hair gurus?

KCSS: Take Three

After posting last night, I decided to do wash again and really bring on the moisture. I tried to get overconditioned (which is hard to do with a head of porous hair!). I think I hit the jackpot.

I started off with a good amount of GVP CB after spritzing with water. Then I spritzed with Oyin's Juice & Berries (Found this in my stash on Thursday, more on this later!). After fifteen minutes, I used my usual V05 Raspberry conditioner to co-wash, then applied about a quarter-sized amount of KCKT before detangling. After rinsing upside-down, I scrunched in a nickle-sized amount of GVP CB as my leave-in, followed by two pumps of Kinky-Curly's Spiral Spritz. Blotted as usual, then scrunched in a little more KCCC then usual (which still isn't really much at all). Finished up with Aussie Instant Freeze gel.

I tried to diffuse using cold air only, but after five minutes it didn't seem like it was doing anything. So I switched back to hot. Clipped afterward, but of course that didn't do anything. I waited about four hours before SOTC, and immediately regretted scrunching it out so thoroughly.

My hair had actually curled pretty well, even in the back. It was soft and VERY shiny (thanks, KC products!). And best of all, it was fully moisturized. It was pretty late at this point, so I pineappled and went to bed.

Things looked good when I took it down this morning. All I did was spritz in a little water and smooth. Now it's gone pretty flat. Which is ok. I was going for moisture, not curls. And I definitely got it.


I feel like I'm closer to knowing how to use this product. I think it needs to be paired with a strong-hold gel, which I am in the market for. I don't think my Aussie gel is strong enough anymore. I also feel like it's a product that doesn't need a leave-in. And it's so heavy on my hair that I'll have to rotate it. Hopefully I'll be able to try it again next week sometime.

Biting the Bullet

So I've decided to bite the bullet and order some Curl Junkie products.

I'm really unhappy with how my hair looks and feels right now. I don't think the dryness I'm experiencing right now is related to protein sensitivity, but rather my porosity. And my hair shouldn't be this dry what with washing it consistently and taking advantage of the S&C method. It has to be a product issue. I've done two DTs since my last post, and while it's curling better it doesn't feel moisturized at all.

I'm also reconsidering the CG method. Conditioner-only washing has been great, but what if my hair needs something more? There have been a lot of ingredients that my hair hasn't been able to handle with this method and I've always ended up using a sulfate shampoo to remove them. This is a lot worse than using a milder surfactant.

So I'm about to place an order for:

• Daily Fix conditioner
• Curl Rehab
• Aloe Fix Lite

I priced it out, and aveyou.com has the best deal for these three products. I'm boycotting CurlMart. I absolutely refuse to order from them and pay $13+ in shipping/taxes. They're not far enough away from me to warrant $10 in shipping charges. I have no problem ordering from the CJ site, but I found a great coupon code for AY, and they have $1 shipping for orders of $50+.

Anyway, I'm hoping this solves my recent hair problems. I did a lot of research before settling on these. The price was a lot to swallow for being unemployed, but my hair needs to look good for interviews, right?

Thursday Tidbits

I felt a need to update, so here are some thoughts going through my mind today:

• My scalp is being weird. I've been pretty good about co-washing every-other day lately, but it's started getting greasy. And itchy. I have no idea what's going on. I used to go every three days and be fine (more dry than anything, actually). It started doing this a few weeks ago and I blamed it on the Coconut Curlada conditioner. Now I'm not so sure.

• My hair is not as curly as it was two weeks ago (using my regular techniques). I used a lot of protein that week and have since when back to a moisture-rich routine. My hair is really dry and it feels like protein overload.

• I reread the original Spritz and Condition thread and decided to start using the method as originally described by Del. This means scrunching conditioner in, finger-combing instead of Denman-ing, and doing the entire routine upside-down. Curls got a lot better, but like I said before, it's really dry. I'm interested to see how this goes after the protein damage dies down. It's also interesting because my hair isn't as clumpy as it usually is. No ringlets. Curls are skinnier but more defined? It's definitely a trade-off. I'm not sure which I prefer, and though I've asked for opinions, apparently I'm the only one in this house who notices a difference!
  

• I recently cleaned and reorganized my hair/skincare/makeup area in the bathroom and discovered my other diffusers at the bottom of the pile. I've been experimenting with how I diffuse my hair lately, and I'm thinking about starting a diffusing experiment. My hair's long enough for the Sedusa again, and it would be cool if I could get the DevaFuser to work for me. If nothing else, it gives me something to blog about!
  

• I'm thinking about trying some Curl Junkie products again. I've been reading Marsha's blog and trying to figure out if it's something my hair could do. I'm very weary of oils, especially since the summer oil experiment failure. But I've been reading a lot of great things about the formulation of her products and overall quality. The only other problem with this is my current unemployed status and the expensive nature of those products, especially compared to the ones I'm currently using. Winning today's giveaway would solve that problem, but those winners also won't be announced until next month.

• I lost my Curly Girl book. I really want to reread it since it's been a while and a few discussions on the topic have caught my eye on NC. I know I had it in my last dorm room (spring 2009), but it's not with the other stash of books from that time. I guess I need to spend some time digging in the garage. Fun.

• I think I need a trim. But I really don't want to go back to my stylist. I'm thinking about doing it myself, and that kind of freaks me out, lol. The ends just need to be trimmed and a little shaping wouldn't hurt. I like my long layers, but I need something to help with volume up top. Decisions, decisions...
  

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!

Getting Curlier?

Here are some pics of today's hair (of course, taken with my *great* laptop webcam):


This was the usual routine, with just KCCC & Aussie's Instant Freeze gel for stylers. I also switched my co-wash and S&C conditioner to the Salon Care Honey & Almond conditioner (which has a little protein).

I don't know, maybe I'm bias... but I think my hair's getting curlier (and I realize that these pictures suck and aren't really true to life). This may be TMI, but I did recently go off the pill. I know hormones can play a big part in curl patterns and that six years ago, prior to starting it, my hair was curlier even without CG. So it'll be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.

Denman Dilemma

Ok, so remember how I raved about the Denman brush a few posts back? I had stopped using it in February and fell in love with it again last month. Well, I remember why I stopped using it. Turns out it gives me MAJOR flat top! For someone who is already clipping-challenged, this is a major problem.

So now I'm stuck. I need to use it because my hair tangles easily these days and not using it would be a disaster (even missing one wash means the next one will include a ten minute detangling session). My hair is also clumping well. But this flat top thing is the worst.

I'm thinking about trying out some new clips. I've read through this thread, and while the octopus clips look interesting, I do need to make an order from Sally's soon to stock up on conditioner. So I might as well order some roller clamps, right? I don't know. I hate to waste money on another kind of clip that might not work. I already have three different kinds as it is. I guess I can always use them for pineappling, right?