Clipping-Challenged

I have a confession to make: I am clipping-challenged.

That's right. I've been at this for a year and a half now, and I still can't clip well enough to save my life.

I've tried everything. From the square metal clips, to the rounded long clips, to jaw clips, to duckbill clips.


I've tried methods by shellynot, Del, struttswife; you name it, I've failed at it.

Right now I'm using duckbill clips I bought from curlmart. When I finish diffusing, I use two clips on my crown and one on each side in the front. It's sort of a mix between shellynot's and struttswife's methods. If I don't take them out early enough, I end up with weird dents and weird curls.

Oh, and always MAJOR FLAT TOP!

It sucks.

What is your curly downfall?

A Curly Moment

Last night while co-washing I found a bobby pin hidden on the back of my head!

I have no idea how long it was in there (a few days at most).

Ah, to be a curly...

Oops!

And once again, I'm reminded that too much KCCC makes for stringy curls. Pics to follow tomorrow (maybe I can save them!).

On another note, I'm pretty sure my hair has not grown AT ALL in the two months since my cut. So sad! I was looking through old pictures this weekend and missing my length and real curls so much! It needs to hurry up and grow!!!

(yuck!)

Straight Hair

Yes, my hair is straight today. It's been almost 2 years since I've straightened. The last time I did it, I hated how lifeless and flat my hair was. I was definitely right about that!

Here's two years ago:

Yesterday I washed my hair really early and then put it up in a bun for class. This left my hair pretty straight, so I fixed what little wave was there on the top layer. There are some rebellious curls on the bottom layer though!

Del's Spritz & Condition Method

So Del finally got around to creating a thread about this method. I've been using it for about three months now (with the exception of that two-week period where my hair got semi-dry) and I LOVE it. I'm so glad she filled me in on it, because it's made such a difference!

I didn't post anything earlier because it wasn't really my method to be sharing and I wasn't sure if anyone reads this blog regularly.

Here is my version:

1. Spritz hair thoroughly with a water bottle
2. Apply rinse-out conditioner (GVP CB). I tend to concentrate on the lower half of my hair (basically not my roots), where it can get drier
3. Put up in bun, do other things for at least 20 min
4. Step in shower
   - If it's a co-wash day, I'll quickly put my head under the water and then co-wash as normal (like I didn't already have conditioner in my hair)
   - If it's not a co-wash day, I still put my head under the water but go to the next step
   
5. Next I add a little bit of conditioner (skip this if I didn't co-wash) before brushing through with my Denman brush
6. Scrunch upside-down and clip up
7. Later rinse upside-down in cold water while scrunching
8. Turn off water, apply leave-in
9. I still scrunch out water, but I have to be VERY careful not to overdo it. Using this method means absorbing less water, so I have less to scrunch out. It's very easy to take too much water out at this step
10. Scrunch in KCCC and the rest of the routine is the same

I really love this method because it's completely changed my hair. I have very consistent results - my hair stays moisturized and defined for longer periods of time. I've been washing every 2-3 days (so basically I co-wash every time I wash). I always get second day hair and sometimes real third day hair (not just up in a bun or something). It cuts down my drying time by a LOT. As porous curlies know, that is really a feat!

I just started back on this method last week after being off for two or three weeks (mostly due to time; I had forgotten to or didn't have the time to spritz and condition before I had to wash since I do this at night). Remember when my hair got dry? That was really weird to me. I hadn't experienced that since early to mid summer (with the exception of the protein incident, but we all know what caused that).

It's just so effortless. I'm really amazed at how far my hair and routine have come in the last 16 months (has it been that long?). Doing my hair and figuring out what was working and what wasn't used to take up so much time. I barely think about it now. And that's kind of awesome. So big thanks to Del for being a genius!

I Love My Curls

So my hair is in much better condition, made even more awesome by the return of my clumps AND spirals!! It's been almost two months since I've seen them! Guess I figured out the limit of how short I can go.

It makes my heart happy :)

Here is my "regular" routine, for the record:

• Co-wash: V05 Sun Kissed Raspberry Balancing Conditioner (less than $1, Kroger)
• Rinse-out: Generic Value Products Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm ($5.99, Sally Beauty Supply)
• Brush through GVP CB with Denman D3 ($9.49, Sally Beauty Supply)
• Scrunch upside-down, clip up for a few minutes
• Turn the water as cold as I can stand it, flip upside-down, gently scrunch conditioner out underneath the water, then turn it off
• Leave-in: quarter-sized amount of Kinky Curly Knot Today ($12, NC.com)
• Scrunch out water once on each side - upside-down, left, and right - with a flour sack towel (Bed Bath & Beyond, $9.99)
• Scoop out dime-sized amount of Kinky Curly Curling Custard (now $30, NC.com; also have bought at Ricky's with discounts)and scrunch in upside down using pump-and-scrunch method (I scrunch 8 times); repeat for left and for right
• Plop for 5 min a most in Curl Ease Towel ($19.99)
• Using pump-and-scrunch method (again, 8 scrunches - I'm OCD apparently), apply Aussie Instant Freeze Sculpting Gel ($3.99??, Target). I'm very thorough in applying gel because it's probably the most essential styling product I use. I apply dime- to nickel-sized amounts upside-down, leaning to the left while upside-down, leaning to the right while upside-down, back left while right-side-up, back right while right-side-up, front right, and front left
• Correct part if needed (usually don't, my hair is pretty good about staying parted throughout the washing process)
• Plop for 5-10 min in another flour sack towel
• Diffuse pixie-curl-style until crunchy and mostly dry. I do this very similarly to the way I scrunch in gel. I do four sections while upside down, just to "set" the curls. Then I lean to the left and diffuse in sections - usually top parts, followed by bottom parts. After everything feels mostly dry on that side, I'll flip to the other side in case I missed something
• Flip head right-side-up and shake gently
• Clip roots (though this is probably in vain) using duckbill clips - I use four; two for back, one for each side in the front ($4, NC.com)
• Spray lightly with Garnier Fructis Curl Shaping Spray Gel ($3.49??, Target)

This takes anywhere from 45min to an hour. Most of my time is spent diffusing, but I pass the time reading books or magazines. I mostly shower at night now, so I usually wait an hour before scrunching a little and putting it up in a modified pineapple - of course I usually shower late; if I am proactive and wash earlier, I wouldn't do this until right before I go to bed.

Modifications:

• If I'm washing during the day, I like to use a very small amount (less than a pea-size) of pink boots curl creme (bought on the swapboards) AFTER KCKT and BEFORE scrunching out water

I've had most of my products for a long time. I bought KCCC over a year ago and still have a third of the jar left. I even bought a second jar in May because I thought I'd be running out soon. So I have backup for the next two years and I didn't spend as much as I would now. And it works out to pennies per use!

Here are the rest:

• KCKT - 6 months
• GVP CB - 2 months
• V05 Raspberry - 1 month
• Aussie Instant Freeze gel - 1-2 months
• Pink Boots - NO IDEA! I bought it almost a year ago and it doesn't even look like it's been used. Pretty sure it'll last forever

Deep Treatments:

• Coconut Oil (just got it for $13 for a BIG jar at whole foods, but you can find cheaper)- I've had the best luck with this. It's the only oil my hair seems to like. I apply to either plain damp hair or damp hair covered thoroughly with GVP CB, leave on for an hour or two. Mostly used during the colder months, when my hair dries out more easily
  

Hair towels are essential for me. I can definitely tell the difference between using a t-shirt and using a hair towel, just by looking at the frizz factor.

I know a lot of curlies have to switch up their products. For whatever reason, I haven't had to. In fact, when I try this I end up with poor results. I had a lot of trouble figuring out what products to use. It wasn't until I knew my texture (coarse) and porosity (high) that I figured out what ingredients my hair likes, what products to use, and what methods to use. I had KCCC for six months before realizing it worked best when I squeezed some water out. My hair absorbs water like crazy, so I have to be aware of that when applying products.

I follow this routine because it works for me. I get at least 2nd day hair, usually 3rd. I sometimes experiment with new products on the weekends when I have nowhere to be, but generally stick to this product routine (always the methods!).

Results & A Shopping Trip

Well, the results of the protein co-wash are pretty even in terms of being good or bad. I had nice curls and clumpage (my spirals are even starting to come back; haven't seen those since the haircut!) and the grease was gone, but yesterday it started to get itchy and flaky. Not sure if I'll do it again, either now or in the future.

I just got back from Whole Foods. I don't go there a lot because even though it's one city over and not that far (my dad actually works in the building across the street from it), it takes about half an hour to get through all the lights and traffic. I got a sugar pie pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie (yum!) and a jar of raw coconut oil. They didn't have that great of a selection. Almost everything was expeller pressed and/or refined. And they only had glass jars, so it was more expensive than I'm used to.

But it will work! I need to make some more homemade deodorant and I'm planning on experimenting with sealing. It's starting to get cooler here, and my porous hair can get very dry during the winter.

I also got some vegetable glycerin. Mostly for my skin and mineral makeup, but I may try it on my hair if we have any more humid rainy days (which has been a lot lately).