Help with Kinky/Curly Hair

[Oldive]

My husband has hair thats think, foofy, and somewhere between kinky and curly. Here's a picture:
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5961/dsc03170nk1.jpg




His routine is shampoo and condition every 2-3 days, and its tied back in a ponytail the rest of the time. He only combs his hair in the shower, with conditioner.

Can any one give some advice on how to take care of hair like that?

[spidermom]

Interesting. This picture looks like he combed/brushed all the curl out. To emphasize the curl and cut down on the fluff, he might try finger-combing some aloe vera gel or over-the-counter styling gel through his wet, freshly washed hair. Then do not touch it again until it needs to be tied back.

[midnighttrain]

My hair looked just like that when it was about that length. It really helps to grow it longer, to keep the poof weighed down (unless you like poof). I've had some luck getting curls to form rather than poof out with CO. Sorry I can't be of more help, but my poof has diminished with the weight of my longer hair.

[GlassEyes]

Uh.

How about not brushing it. XD And trying CO?

[Oldive]

For that picture yes, he did brush it. People didn't believe how big it got. But it shows off the texture decently well.

Does CO help better with curls? I can't really help him all that much, as i have straight straight hair.

[Strongnlong]

More CO less poo and perhaps some aloe gel will reveal a definite curl pattern and more manageable hair! HTH and let's see some after pics!

[Speedbump]

Does he brush his hair often? If he does, that's definitely part of his problem. It would be great if we could see a photo of him with combed-only hair, because it looks totally different when you don't brush and would show the extent of his true problem. For curlies, a brushed-out photo is really not that telling because a lot of the clues are in the curl formation.

Also, he has a great color and it's obviously healthy! He may just need it to be longer to weigh down the poof (ask me how I know) and he also might be using too much shampoo. When I use too much my hair gets very poofy (relatively speaking).

I would suggest the following things:

1) Take a photo of what his hair looks like when it's not brushed out for future reference.

2) Do ONE hair experiment at a time so that you can tell which things are giving great results. This can be frustrating because that means you can only do about 12 a year, but it's worth it in the sense that you know exactly what is doing what. Writing down results as you go is also invaluable. The scientific way of doing things is perfect for hair experiments. :)

3) Yes, CO can do miracles for curlies. Good cheap CO conditioners include Suave and V05 products. Most people have a transition period on this method, especially if they were using lots of shampoo, so he might want to go to diluted shampoo first and then moving down the detergent agent ladder to conditioner washing. The transition can last as long as a month, so if you are going to do CO, it's best to commit to doing it for at least two months and to gird yourself for bad hair for a while. :lol:

4) He can try using a leave-in. That can dramatically reduce the frizz/poof factor of many curlies if moisture/oil is what is really needed. It could take as long as a month to see dramatic results if this is the problem. I suggest naturallycurly.com's Curlmart for good choices.

5) He can try diluting his shampoo down. Most curlies don't need full-strength shampoo, and it's tempting to use WAY too much if you use it undiluted. The salon stuff especially is higher concentrated and needs to be diluted. The salons, when they wash your hair, use very little shampoo because they know how strong it is.

6) If he is using products with cones, he may want to consider going no-cone or doing a clarifying wash and then a deep conditioning to "reboot" his hair. Silicones over time can build up and not allow moisture to get into the hair. I can attest to the weird texture and poofy result you get from that.

And finally, your DH should join LHC and start reading hair journals and anything on curly hair routines he can get his hands on. Some method is surely going to "speak" to him and he can start experimenting to his heart's content. :)

Good luck!

Speedy

[Oldive]

Thanks Speedbumb. His hair is generally still poofy even when he doesn't brush it. He gets a halo of frizzies every day, and I think that is what he'd really like to fix.

The other day he was talking of cutting it short because when he does his normal routine when its long it looks rather unkempt. But he's decided to take care of it and see how that goes, so i'm trying to get as much advice as possible. From what everyone has said CO is a good place to start.

I'm crossing my fingers!

[ChatoyantLocks]

Thanks Speedbumb. His hair is generally still poofy even when he doesn't brush it. He gets a halo of frizzies every day, and I think that is what he'd really like to fix.


When he gets the frizzies do they feel sort of oddly bristly? I had that happen recently, and coconut oil helped a lot! Just apply some to the length of the hair, after washing it and squeezing most of the water out, and let the hair air dry.

[whisper]

1) CO - my personal favorites are to use VO5 Champagne Kisses for CO1 and Free Me Freesia for CO2

2) Kimberlillies defrizzer recipe with a little extra jojoba

3) a thick layer of coconut oil to top it off

Steps 2 and 3 are done within 5 minutes of coming out of the shower - otherwise hair needs to be dampened again.

Good luck!

[manderly]

Slather on 5+ drops of oil when he gets out of the shower, hair nice and wet. Scrunch and squeeze the oil in while you squeeze the excess water out. Wrap up in a towel until it's tolerably (not drippy) damp.

Finger comb and DO NOT TOUCH again until it's dry. DON'T do it!

Once dry, he may find he wants to add a couple more drops of oil or it may be a tad greasy, you'll have to experiment with the coconut oil amount, but don't be afraid to overdo it at first, especially if he normally ties it back.

I was never terribly impressed with oiling my hair until I discovered I was really UNDER oiling. Once I doubled the amount of oil I was adding to my wet hair I started getting lovely waves and no frizz.

And stay away from the hairbrush.

[Oldive]

I've oiled it before when it was dry, and it didn't seem to make any difference at all, and I was slathering coconut oil all over the place.

Would doing the oiling when his hair is wet make a difference?

[whisper]

Oh definitely! The oil doesn't add moisture, it seals it in. So, the hair should be wet/damp when the oil is applied to seal in the water.

[manderly]

Yes. Oiling dry is completely different from oiling wet.

Give it a try :)

[Oldive]

Now i'm torn... Do i convince him to go CO or try oilings, or do both at once!

... I don't think he knows just how much he's getting into in getting my help with his hair!

[whisper]

If you are only doing one, I'd start with CO.

The leave ins won't work as well if he is using cone-y products anyway.

That reminds me, you may want to clarify before doing anything so you are working with a blank slate. Since that might be drying, keep the CO2 on longer for extra conditioning.

[GlassEyes]

Doesn't really matter. Start with CO if you want, but you can do both at the same time.

I do both. XD

[manderly]

Yes, I'd do both.

Cones & oils don't have any problems working together.

CO his hair tonight, leave a dab of conditioner in his hair, then use a healthy amount of oil before or after you towel dry. Don't be afraid to overdo it because he can always ponytail it. The key is to find the right amounts to use to give him the results he's looking for :)

[Shelacious]

ITA with the other posters--I think doing a clarifying shampoo, and then starting a conditioner only regimen would be helpful. After doing CO and then applying a leave-in (or leaving in a little conditioner after rinsing), adding a little styling product like that by Jessicurl, or Re:coil, or Curl Keeper or a gel, and then plopping for about 10 minutes (drying the hair a certain way using a microfiber towel or t-shirt) would make his hair look great.

[whisper]

So...when do we get to find out how his hair is liking the changes?