View Full Version : curly girl progress
TheaLee
October 23rd, 2016, 02:49 AM
Ok I'm so excited. I just did my second SMT and the curls are unreal! I thought I should start recording my wurly-journey while its still fresh in my head. This way I'll have something to look back on, like a "before" photo. (Which I'll add some of at some point!)
Rewind: I've always thought of my hair as pretty straight. Yeah, when it was long it had waves for sure, but I didn't do much with it then. It was usually very messy and frizzy, so any wurls hiding in there blended in with the tangles. And it only ever looked it's best soon after brushing, which kind of kicked any hope of a spiral in the butt.
Fast forward to the big chop: I left one lock long, to braid. It was very dry and damaged from neglect, but that lock had a feisty curl and a mind of it's own! It would go from wavy to double helix in five minutes flat. and after a shower it would form an "s" that was so tight it was almost comical. This, eventually, was my first clue.
Now that I've cut that braid off, I don't see the same amount of wave. I'm 97% sure that once I get past shoulders again, it'll come back, since it was really my ends that would wave the most. So, 1) With length, my wurls will get partying.
2) My mane curls with moisture. Out in the rain and in the shower, viola instant wavy! This is where the SMT comes in. The first time I tried it and after air drying, my waves boinged back up every time I pulled them. They never do that!! Still drying from treatment #2, but after plopping (and I only just learned it had a name! I've been doing it for a while lol, i just thought of it as a turban to keep drips off my neck) i had spirals everywhere. Not type 3 curly spirals, but wavy spirals. When I put a hand under them, they coil up into a circle about 1in diameter. The ends are literally defying gravity XD. And I saw some baby root curl in the mirror. :eek:
3) My hair is very vulnerable to suggestion. If I brush it, bye bye wavies. If I scrunch it, hello spirals! I really need to persuade myself to stop scrunching for one wash so I can type it properly. *sigh* (Or does the scrunching just counteract water weight? I have no idea.)
4) Hair typing--When I joined, I picked 2a. I'll stick to that for now, since that's basically what it tends to look like since it's APL. But, I'm kind of shocked at how drastically the CGM is changing how my hair behaves. (I've always longed for curly hair but I never thought I'd even get at all close.) Also, the description for 2c "distinct S-waves and the odd spiral curl forming here and there" is exactly how my hair behaved when it was longer.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa221/Cheeseistheword/Visual%20hairtyping%20guide/Guide%202013/2CollageFinal.jpg
^Pic 2 here is about right for day 3 or brushed hair. Pic 1 might not be wavy enough for my hair at that length. 3 isn't wavy enough, 4 is pretty close, but 5's waves are a different type than mine. I can't judge the last one either because the wurls themselves are of a much smaller diameter than mine.
After being brushed, APL on me is stick-straight. I remember past-shoulder waves being much more stubborn though.
As for hair typing procedure: I have a tiny bone to pick with the clarifying part. In theory it works, but after clarifying, my hair will be so dry and light that it will poof up like a static monster. As much as I love the science behind the method (no products changing the behavior of the hair) I think there might be a small flaw. The point of hair typing is to get it in it's most natural state, and clarifying removes all the hair's natural oils, which are present when the hair is in it's most natural state. I can see why clarifying is the most practical way to balance the pros and cons (trying to not disturb your hair at all for like 3 days while sebum replenishes itself is very much impossible.) But with my hair specifically, it's extremely obvious because of the crazy poofing that happens if I shampoo and don't condition. (Back when I just used a "2 in 1," for a whole day or two after a shower, every time I brushed it my hair would just start reaching for the sky. It was lunacy!)
So I don't know exactly what I'm gonna decide is the best method. I'll do a clarify, air dry with no disturbance, a gentle sulfate free 'poo, a 'poo and condition, and some co-washes, as well as SMT or whatever else I end up doing. I'll just take a ton of pictures and maybe then I'll have a better idea of what to do. Because I may very well have 1 hair type with just clarifying (so, an "official" one as it were, to compare to others who type in this way,) and a completely different type which might be a more practical one to refer to. The way my hair behaves after a 'poo with no conditioner is very different from how it behaves for the other 95% of my life, so it would be silly to treat my hair like 2a if it's acting like 2c.
And then of course, beyond typing… I'm just super happy to have discovered that there are spiral waves just waiting to be encouraged! Type is more a tool than a rule, so I'm not bothered at what I conclude. I'm just really really excited because I can have curls that are 100% my own natural pattern (not made by braids or rolls.) If all my dreams come true I'll end up a secret curlie (moisture is a heck of a thing from what i've seen on here!) Even if I stay more in 2a territory as far as clarify-typing goes, I'll still be a happy camper.
Updates to come. Anyone feel free to chime in with your thoughts/experiences/whatever you like! I never thought a forum could bring me so much fun, not to mention the self-love! <3
OhSuzi
October 23rd, 2016, 03:27 AM
I have never under stood why curls need moisture. For me lots of conditioner just tends to make my hair heavier and greasy very quickly. My hair has a wave and I discovered it had ringletty curls when I moved to uni. 1. Because I started bleaching and dying and playing with my hair a lot more 2. Living by the sea
Conversely it seems the more damaged and dry my hair was and full of salt the curlier and spiralllier it became all over.
I'd dunk my bleach blond head in the sea even in winter scrunch and let it dry naturally it took a long time to dry and probably smelled a bit of musty sea, but the curls were amazing.
When I moved away from the sea I took a bottle of sea water with me for my hair - it got smelly pretty quickly and got chucked away. Instead I'd twist large sections of my hair into tight medusa spiral ringlets when wet, so I'd have like 10 drops spiral snakes on my head, again they took ages to air dry, then I'd run my fingers through them. Nearly the same effect and it lasted all day because of the natural wave in my hair.
Also doing intense exercise to the point my whole head was sweating magically turned even ghd straightened hair back into ringlets! Apparently it has similar ingredients to the sea e.g. Salt. Usually my ringlets are like fat marker pens in width. But I remember one time after my hair had been bleached and dyed lilac it went into loads of little pencil width ringlets instead.
I just wonder if part the reason you got such a good curl on you braid was because you said it was a bit dry and damaged.
Currently I am growing out virgin pixie hair and there is a big wave in it, possibly from how the hair dresser chopped in lots of layers, but my hair is being looked after better than ever, but there are no ringletty curls yet.
lapushka
October 23rd, 2016, 03:58 AM
Maybe you can start a blog on here to record your hair journey? There are blogs here, and they are great for that purpose. It would be awesome. :) I think there's even a button on your post that says "blog this post" (to the left, under your post).
Kat-Rinnč Naido
October 23rd, 2016, 09:19 AM
Thank you for sharing TheaLee
All I can say is for me if I use shampoo my hair poofs.
Which I only found out a month after no shampoo and when I reintroduced shampoo.
My hair loves water
Also when I started to bbb my hair after a wash my spiral curls were more defined. I don't bbb any more as I heard this is not good for curls, yet brushing with a bbb brought out my curls after wash.
Kat-Rinnč Naido
October 23rd, 2016, 09:25 AM
NB I meant I used to brush my dry hair and this brought out my curls when my hair got wet on wash day
littlestarface
October 23rd, 2016, 11:45 AM
I have never under stood why curls need moisture. For me lots of conditioner just tends to make my hair heavier and greasy very quickly. My hair has a wave and I discovered it had ringletty curls when I moved to uni. 1. Because I started bleaching and dying and playing with my hair a lot more 2. Living by the sea
Conversely it seems the more damaged and dry my hair was and full of salt the curlier and spiralllier it became all over.
I'd dunk my bleach blond head in the sea even in winter scrunch and let it dry naturally it took a long time to dry and probably smelled a bit of musty sea, but the curls were amazing.
When I moved away from the sea I took a bottle of sea water with me for my hair - it got smelly pretty quickly and got chucked away. Instead I'd twist large sections of my hair into tight medusa spiral ringlets when wet, so I'd have like 10 drops spiral snakes on my head, again they took ages to air dry, then I'd run my fingers through them. Nearly the same effect and it lasted all day because of the natural wave in my hair.
Also doing intense exercise to the point my whole head was sweating magically turned even ghd straightened hair back into ringlets! Apparently it has similar ingredients to the sea e.g. Salt. Usually my ringlets are like fat marker pens in width. But I remember one time after my hair had been bleached and dyed lilac it went into loads of little pencil width ringlets instead.
I just wonder if part the reason you got such a good curl on you braid was because you said it was a bit dry and damaged.
Currently I am growing out virgin pixie hair and there is a big wave in it, possibly from how the hair dresser chopped in lots of layers, but my hair is being looked after better than ever, but there are no ringletty curls yet.
Hey mine too, my hair has so much wave and wurl in it when it's dried out abit like after I use my chelator, or on a henna rinse out day and don't put any conditioner after, my hair is very wavy.
calmyogi
October 23rd, 2016, 01:34 PM
My hair also curls like crazy when I have been swimming and let it air dry. I think the idea that curls love moisture is that curly hair dries out. So unless you want hair that is prone to splits and dryness you should moisturize, the weighing it down. I also feel like (this is my own theory) that people that have "wurls" or "curls" probably have had some kind of liniage that links them to very very curly hair. Maybe going as far back as the Stone Age. I feel like so many of us are mutts now that it's hard to tell what kind of hair texture someone is going to end up with.
TheaLee
October 24th, 2016, 01:50 PM
Maybe you can start a blog on here to record your hair journey? There are blogs here, and they are great for that purpose. It would be awesome. :) I think there's even a button on your post that says "blog this post" (to the left, under your post).
:O ooooh that's a great idea! I didn't think of that, I just sort of assumed that I was too new to have a blog lol. I think so much that my writing tends to get away from me, so a blog will likely be a good outlet for me haha.
TheaLee
October 24th, 2016, 01:56 PM
I have never under stood why curls need moisture. For me lots of conditioner just tends to make my hair heavier and greasy very quickly. My hair has a wave and I discovered it had ringletty curls when I moved to uni. 1. Because I started bleaching and dying and playing with my hair a lot more 2. Living by the sea
Conversely it seems the more damaged and dry my hair was and full of salt the curlier and spiralllier it became all over.
I'd dunk my bleach blond head in the sea even in winter scrunch and let it dry naturally it took a long time to dry and probably smelled a bit of musty sea, but the curls were amazing.
When I moved away from the sea I took a bottle of sea water with me for my hair - it got smelly pretty quickly and got chucked away. Instead I'd twist large sections of my hair into tight medusa spiral ringlets when wet, so I'd have like 10 drops spiral snakes on my head, again they took ages to air dry, then I'd run my fingers through them. Nearly the same effect and it lasted all day because of the natural wave in my hair.
Also doing intense exercise to the point my whole head was sweating magically turned even ghd straightened hair back into ringlets! Apparently it has similar ingredients to the sea e.g. Salt. Usually my ringlets are like fat marker pens in width. But I remember one time after my hair had been bleached and dyed lilac it went into loads of little pencil width ringlets instead.
I just wonder if part the reason you got such a good curl on you braid was because you said it was a bit dry and damaged.
Currently I am growing out virgin pixie hair and there is a big wave in it, possibly from how the hair dresser chopped in lots of layers, but my hair is being looked after better than ever, but there are no ringletty curls yet.
Ooooh, I'd love to live by the sea! That sounds amazing, and dunking my hair in the ocean to make it curly and musty is exactly what I would do lol.
That's an interesting theory about damage and curl! I'll have to observe my own as I grow longer and see if I get those spirals back now that I'm taking care of it. I wonder if you'll get your ringlets?
I'll have to try my sea salt spray on my waves. I just hope it won't be too drying. hmmm...
TheaLee
October 24th, 2016, 02:05 PM
Kat-Rinnč Naido Thank you for replying! I've yet to find a balance of moisturizing and avoiding buildup, which is especially noticeable on my fine hair. I'm thinking about using a sulfate free shampoo every couple of washes, as I recall that seemed to work well.
I used my boar bristle right before washing today, so we'll see how that goes. After a wash, my hair is a tangly mess so the whole 'not brushing to save curls' thing isn't very effective. I thought about giving up my bbb too as I'm going Curly Girl right now. But I just love the darn thing and what it does for my hair. It makes it presentable and not stringy which can happen after washing. (maybe I shouldn't condition the roots?perhaps I should leave some conditioner in? idk.) Unfortunately it does straighten out everything above the ends, which seem to be much more stubbornly wavy than the rest.
TheaLee
October 24th, 2016, 02:20 PM
My hair also curls like crazy when I have been swimming and let it air dry. I think the idea that curls love moisture is that curly hair dries out. So unless you want hair that is prone to splits and dryness you should moisturize, the weighing it down. I also feel like (this is my own theory) that people that have "wurls" or "curls" probably have had some kind of liniage that links them to very very curly hair. Maybe going as far back as the Stone Age. I feel like so many of us are mutts now that it's hard to tell what kind of hair texture someone is going to end up with.
Yup! As far as I can tell, my hair adores moisture. The real tricky part is trying to avoid weighing it down, especially as my hair is very fine so volume is a struggle to begin with. I've read that curly hair is very porous, and it makes sense that it would lose water easily if that's the case. I know my old damaged hair was more porous than my healthy hair, and it was quite dry and straw-like, though it certainly kept it's curl.
I guess it's a length thing. Once I get to WL, everything below my shoulders will probably keep a stubborn wave even with brushing. That's what it used to do. I won't let it get as dry and frayed and porous either, which I don't know how it will affect it, but I hope that the curl will be more pronounced rather than less. As for everything above my shoulders, there is a spiral/"s" pattern all the way up, which is stronger at the back and sides. But it's not a stubborn pattern like the ends. It can be encouraged but it likely won't ever boing into anything stronger than a gentle wave on it's own, except when wet. (I wonder, if a hair curls when wet, does that mean it's "true structure" is being revealed so to speak? I would guess it's more a matter of enhancement but idk...Does my hair want to be that moist all the time? That doesn't seem practical but then again, there's a pretty significant gap between "survival needs" and "ideal needs.")
I imagine one day humans are going to know exactly which gene does what to hair. It's a complete mystery to me, especially as there are so so many different combinations of hair characteristics. The diversity is fun, though!
Kajzh
October 24th, 2016, 03:17 PM
Wow, what a huge difference in texture throughout your timeline! Very cool. Since your hair is vulnerable to suggestion and also likes moisture, have you ever done heatless curls with flexi-rods or the like?
TheaLee
October 24th, 2016, 03:41 PM
Wow, what a huge difference in texture throughout your timeline! Very cool. Since your hair is vulnerable to suggestion and also likes moisture, have you ever done heatless curls with flexi-rods or the like?
Oh my gosh, thank you!! I haven't used flexi-rods specifically, but my hair takes pretty well to heatless curls. I braided my whole head once (like cornrows but I don't know if I should call them that as I'm white) and had all these tiny curls from root to tip! NicoleSkies did some heatless tutorials that I'm dying to try, and I've been thinking about making rollers out of tin foil. You've just given me a great idea actually. I should try heatless curls but spritz them with water as well. *rubs hands together*
I washed my hair this morning, and then pinned it up in sections following the natural curl, so I'll post to say how that goes once it's dried and I can take them out.
Kajzh
October 24th, 2016, 03:52 PM
They're cornrows, regardless of whether you're white, black, Asian, indigenous, or anything else! Take it from a black hair stylist, hehe! ;)
Braidouts and twistouts are great fun. My hair is very responsive to them, like yours. What works amazingly is when I put aloe vera in a spray bottle, dampen my hair with water, then spritz my hair thoroughly with the aloe vera, wrap my hair around flexi-rods, then let it dry completely. The aloe works as a holding gel, and it's also a water-based humectant, so it keeps your hair amazingly hydrated without weighing it down.
Here is a photo of my heatless curls with flexi-rods. (http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/gZiZB7.jpg) :)
Doing heatless curls with water makes the waves/curls much more defined and also makes them last longer. This is because of the way water can temporarily rearrange the disulfide bonds linking the keratin proteins in your hair together. Wet hair destabilizes the bonds, and lets them be rearranged slightly. That's why dampened hair wrapped around a rod and left to dry will hold its curl better — the keratin itself is supporting the curl. But this is just a temporary arrangement, because — as you know — your hair will revert back to normal once you get it wet again. However, this is how a perm works! You temporarily rearrange the bonds while the hair is wrapped around a rod, then you permanently FREEZE the keratin proteins in that configuration so it stays permanently curly (and therefore won't revert back to your natural state if you get it wet again).
TheaLee
October 24th, 2016, 08:22 PM
They're cornrows, regardless of whether you're white, black, Asian, indigenous, or anything else! Take it from a black hair stylist, hehe! ;)
Braidouts and twistouts are great fun. My hair is very responsive to them, like yours. What works amazingly is when I put aloe vera in a spray bottle, dampen my hair with water, then spritz my hair thoroughly with the aloe vera, wrap my hair around flexi-rods, then let it dry completely. The aloe works as a holding gel, and it's also a water-based humectant, so it keeps your hair amazingly hydrated without weighing it down.
Here is a photo of my heatless curls with flexi-rods. (http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/gZiZB7.jpg) :)
Doing heatless curls with water makes the waves/curls much more defined and also makes them last longer. This is because of the way water can temporarily rearrange the disulfide bonds linking the keratin proteins in your hair together. Wet hair destabilizes the bonds, and lets them be rearranged slightly. That's why dampened hair wrapped around a rod and left to dry will hold its curl better — the keratin itself is supporting the curl. But this is just a temporary arrangement, because — as you know — your hair will revert back to normal once you get it wet again. However, this is how a perm works! You temporarily rearrange the bonds while the hair is wrapped around a rod, then you permanently FREEZE the keratin proteins in that configuration so it stays permanently curly (and therefore won't revert back to your natural state if you get it wet again).
This is probably the coolest info dump I have ever read omg! I should talk to hairstylists more often, I'm really interested in cosmetology. Thank you for sharing, I can't wait to do as you suggest!! I put aloe in my hair this morning before pinning :D (Speaking of which, is still not dry partially because I was out in the rain today. Ah well, I'll take 'em out after dinner.)
Also your hair is gor-geous. Looks lovely and well-maintained. I'm continually amazed that hair can do that! Well, some hair locks more easily than other hair of course but still. And you've curled them! Ugh excuse me while I bask :p That hairstyle would stop me on the street from sheer amazingness.
May I ask, what's a twistout? I've heard of twists but I don't actually know what they are.
(And thanks for the tip! I try to be respectful as I can to other cultures so it's great to know. Cornrows are going to save my hair's life honestly ;) my hair is soooo happy and shiny after I take them out! I think it's because the hair is so close to the scalp and oil glands, as well as being largely protected from the elements. And I love the wind on my scalp too.)
Kat-Rinnč Naido
October 25th, 2016, 03:32 AM
Thank you TheaLee for the update.
Kajzh
October 25th, 2016, 10:35 AM
A twistout is like a braidout, but you use twists to make the waves instead of braids. Rope twist or flat twist your hair while it's damp, then take it out when it's dry. Tah-dah!
Also, thank you! I don't really maintain my hair; it just kinda takes care of itself!
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