Wurly and Curly thread!!!

[TrudieCat]

Yeah, I thought that paranoia about losing curl structure seemed weird. I get the exact same 2b wave pattern whether I wet brush/comb or not. But if I don't comb wet, then I get twice as much frizz when dry. LM seems to suggest more scrunching than my hair likes, too. I scrunch a lot, my waves look tighter for about 3 seconds and then return to their natural pattern, but with more frizz.

I like LM but wavy hair isn't the fragile younger sister of curly hair - it doesn't need the overprotective parenting she describes in that book.

[MinderMutsig]

I'll have to check my spring factor but since my hair is very heavily oiled tonight it will have to wait. I know I'm at BSL when wet and only APL when dry and curly so I guess I'm in the 4-5" range but I'd have to check to be sure.

About the curl structure, I seem to recall reading somewhere that the protein bonds in straight hair are somewhat straight but in curly and wavy hair these bonds are angled and more delicate. By pulling the hair straight, especially when it's wet, you could break some of these bonds and damage your hair and curl pattern beyond repair. The only thing to do then would be to baby it and treat the curls very gently to not to disturb the remaining intact bonds and prevent damage to new growth in the future.

I'm not sure if this is true and haven't given it much thought to be honest. I do know if I look through the before and after pics thread on NC that it seems a lot of people get a stronger curl pattern the longer they are on the curly girl method. It could be the result of better technique and products or there might be something to that protein bond theory.

[CurlyMopTop]

My spring factor is anywhere from 4 to 6 inches depending on which curl you pull down. Lol. I've found that my hair loves CO! I have to use diluted (sulfate free) shampoo a couple times a week on the scalp only. When I feel the need to do that I CWC. If I try to skip the diluted shampoo, I've found that I get pimples on my scalp, which is very weird (First time that had ever happened to me). My curl pattern/structure never changes no matter what I do to it, or what I put in it!

C.H. Thanks for the tips on the twist outs. I'm going to experiment a little bit over the next couple of weeks to see if I can make them work for me.

[cmg]

I was also disappointed that the "spring factor" didn't take into account the length of the hair.

Someone with 3c hair that is APL is not going to have the same length of spring as a 3c with TBL hair.

Why? What about measuring in %? Or what did you mean? Curles for a 3C would not change character much between on top of the head and at the lenghts. Or perhaps it does for some

I also thought it put way too much emphasis on "not destroying the curl structure" -- that business about "sprinkling" your hair to rinse it, so you didn't harm the curls? Seriously? How on earth is "sprinkling" going to rinse CURLY hair? I realize I'm a full-on curly instead of a wavy, but I think most curly/wurly hair is going to re-curl on its own if it gets wet -- I know that I can comb through mine with a three-row comb when it's wet and the curls come right back, so I really think that if someone rinses their hair under the shower, it won't straighten their curls. (If that's all it takes, why is there such a high demand for flat irons?).

Yeah, I thought so too.

Yeah, I thought that paranoia about losing curl structure seemed weird. I get the exact same 2b wave pattern whether I wet brush/comb or not. But if I don't comb wet, then I get twice as much frizz when dry. LM seems to suggest more scrunching than my hair likes, too. I scrunch a lot, my waves look tighter for about 3 seconds and then return to their natural pattern, but with more frizz.

Same here, it stays the same. But on areas that are severely damaged, it looks and feels like spun sugar regardless what I do. No curls. Looks somewhat presentable after an overnight oiling and with some sheabutter and/or gel, but not for more than half a day. So I would say that damage can destroy curl pattern. But washing and sprinkling the wrong way?

[jaine]

Hmmm...yeah. Sprinkling. That's really puzzling...

I'm actively trying to destroy my curls with damp-bunning. I can blast the water all I want!

[Lianna]

Why? What about measuring in %? Or what did you mean? Curles for a 3C would not change character much between on top of the head and at the lenghts. Or perhaps it does for some

I think most people loosen the curl pattern by getting a lot of length. Sometimes even a short 4a/b cut can become 3c on reallly long hair like TBL or classic.

Some people resort to layers to prevent some loss of curl. Usually right on top stays much straighter due to the weight of the hair.

[cmg]

I think most people loosen the curl pattern by getting a lot of length. Sometimes even a short 4a/b cut can become 3c on reallly long hair like TBL or classic.

Some people resort to layers to prevent some loss of curl. Usually right on top stays much straighter due to the weight of the hair.

Yes of course the weight makes the shape of the curls change eventually. But I thought they meant the spring factor. I thought the "springiness" of the hair stays the same regardless of distance from the root for the most people. Except perhaps at the ends where the hair strands would be more damaged. I thought this was not something you measured when the weight was on the hanging hair, but in relaxed state. Didnt make sense to me

[GRU]

Why? What about measuring in %? Or what did you mean? Curles for a 3C would not change character much between on top of the head and at the lenghts. Or perhaps it does for some

Let me give a visual. You've got two people with 3a hair, only one of them is at shoulder length and one of them is at waist. If you were going to portray this graphically, it might look something like this (think of the < and > as wurls):

Shoulder:
<
>
<
>

Waist:
<
>
<
>
<
>
<
>
<
>

If these two people are standing side-by-side and you stretched each of those curls out, would they both stretch (straighten) out the same distance? As in, would they both get three inches of "spring factor", or would the Waist Length person gain twice as much "stretch length" as the Shoulder Length person?

Because that's what the Curly Girl book says -- stretch out a lock and see how far it comes down and springs back. Comparing apples and oranges doesn't give you a decent comparison. Someone with short 3c hair would have less "stretch/spring factor" than someone with long 3a hair, simply b/c the person with long hair HAS more hair.

[TrudieCat]

I like the idea of spring factor and have said so here before, because it gives you kind of a better idea of the strength and tightness of the curl pattern. For example, a lot of people see loose spirally ends on wavy hair and go "Oh! There's some 3a there!" when really these are just what waves look like when they're not weighed down - and the shorter spring factor of wavy hair is testament to that.

But, GRU I gotta say you are totally right. Spring factor as a concept only makes sense in conjunction with other things, like spiral diameter, hair coarseness, and I'm sure a million other hair properties I'm not thinking of. Like C.H. said - she's clearly got 3b, strongly defined curls but a low spring factor. So, this factor by itself probably isn't as important as LM made it seem in the book.

Also, I definitely agree with GRU that it's stupid to give length measurements to define spring factor - it should really have to do with proportion of overall hair length, like a ratio of stretched:not stretched.

I did like the descriptions of the different curl types because they seemed to include more variables than I often see in curl-typing systems. But there are plenty of curly/wavy hair types out there that don't fit into the CG II categories so it is quite limited in that regard.

[09robiha]

Hmmm...yeah. Sprinkling. That's really puzzling...

I'm actively trying to destroy my curls with damp-bunning. I can blast the water all I want!

I follow the whole GC method for most of the time (even using gel) and it generally works for me...but i never got the whole 'sprinkling' nonsense. Not matter how much water i put or dont put on my hair its still going to end up with the same structer right? i mean thats the way it growns out of my head! this whole sprinkling thing seems like a really moot point to me