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View Full Version : How to hold onto my curls???



MAO
December 30th, 2008, 07:06 PM
Okay, so I am trying to do the all natural thing. I washed my hair Sunday with an egg wash followed by an SMT. Well my hair looks and feels pretty good EXCEPT my curls are gone! My hair is clean and full of body but my curls have gone MIA and the only evidence left of them is the fluffy half waves at the bottom. My hair has really nice curls/waves when I use hair gel/mousse. I used Giovanni's gel last week and my hair looked pretty awesome except my hair was super tangly! Everytime I combed, hair was pulled out even if I had just detangled that area! ANYWAYS, to the point does anyone know what would be good to help hold onto my curls? Keep in mind, I want no chemicals and air dry only. You would think that a light touch of oil would bring out some definition, but all it does it pull my fine hair straighter. Please help! TIA!!

maskedrose
December 30th, 2008, 07:12 PM
I have great luck with coconut oil as a leave in, but others swear by aloe gel or a mix of aloe and oil.

lora410
December 30th, 2008, 07:13 PM
I suggest 100% pure aloe vera gel. Its aloe vera and just preservatives so it's quite natural.

Elphie
December 30th, 2008, 07:19 PM
The strangest things have been going on with my hair ever since I started using shea butter. The most recent discover was after using a shea butter shampoo and conditioner yesterday. I was feeling lazy, so after I washed my hair, I put it up in a half ponytail while it was still pretty damp. Liking the way my ends felt, I casually twirled a few pieces before going out. About an hour later I realized I had perfect sausage curls. My hair isn't even curly. That's NEVER happened in the 40 years this hair has been on my head!

So...perhaps shea?

alligatorbaby23
December 30th, 2008, 08:34 PM
Do you comb your hair after it is dry? Curlies prefer not to use combs... Lemme see. Check this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003&highlight=brush+curls)out.
Also there is a thread about "plopping (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=17554&highlight=plopping)" you may find helpful.
Good Luck!

-mao y legs ( hope to help another mao-ist out!!)

jojo
December 31st, 2008, 06:50 PM
CO washes bring out my curl but then again i just tried soapnuts and i got me spirals well worth a try!

Speckla
December 31st, 2008, 06:54 PM
I did an SMT and my hair wasn't as curly when it dried. My curl sprung right back up with my next cowash. Maybe your hair didn't like the protein from the egg and that explains the tangles.
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Debra83
January 1st, 2009, 12:40 AM
I just put this answer in another thread, but I think it applies.

In the morning, I wash/condition or just condition, then leave it wet and put a little coconut oil with my Mixed chicks leave in conditioner (or any conditioner) - I found mixed chicks on an ad box here on this site. Amazing videos on their site on techniques with their product that works with other conditioners too. But I was so happy for the info I ordered a bottle of their stuff. As long as I don't play with it while it is air drying I get amazing spiral curls/wurls/waves and no frizz ALL DAY - depending how heavy handed I am with the leave in. Please see my album for proof!
Because I am NOT a morning person, I do not do this everyday for lack of dry time, but summer will be better cuz I can leave the house with wet hair and not worry about pneumonia or icicles!!!! lol for sure though, check out their video and fyi I am caucasian with frizzy hair and the technique works wonders for me...not just for "mixed chicks". (they tell you in several places on the site that it works for everybody!)

pariate
January 17th, 2009, 12:56 PM
I second the idea that it could have been the protein in the egg. When I do protein-heavy treatments I seem to lose a little curl. I usually stick to light CO washing and a simple AGO mix as my leave-in. Very light coconut oil between washes.

MAO, have you found anything that helps since your original post?

I am very intrigued by Jojo's experience with soapnuts! Might see if there's a soapnut thread and find out if anyone else has had this result.

carloota
January 17th, 2009, 03:36 PM
If you do a search, there are a few soapnut threads. Here's a link to one.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=8449&highlight=soapnu*

As far as holding onto curls, maybe at bedtime try misting your hair then making small braids and securing the ends with curlers. Unbraid your hair and slightly finger comb in the morning. I'm not consistent enough to do this every night, but it does work.

MAO
January 17th, 2009, 03:56 PM
Pariate, no, unfortunately nothing I've tried comes close to what gels/mousses do for my curls. Without some sort of product my curls are just loose, sad waves. Oh well. I did try aloe vera after my last wash in an effort to use it like a hair gel but all I got from it was smoothness. I tried to scrunch it but it looked like my hair was threatening to frizz, so I wound up trying to twirl it around and around while it was drying. The back of my hair looks quite nice, but the front is looking rather flat and straight. I regret to report that straight hair is not a good look on me which is why I'm so obsessed with finding something to support curl formation. Oh yeah, and my siggy picture is after using soapnuts. As you see, there are still no curls.

pariate
January 17th, 2009, 04:13 PM
Hmmm... Have you tried the flaxseed gel recipe? If you search the boards it will come up. I seem to remember some people raving about that.

Sorry I can't offer anything more useful! Wurly hair is so blasted temperamental, isn't it?! It's hard to know how it will look from one day to the next. :rolleyes:

spidermom
January 17th, 2009, 06:47 PM
If I apply product and plop my hair up over my pillow overnight, I get my curls back. Otherwise the length/weight drags them right out. I really shouldn't claim 2C anymore, but that's how it used to be. There are some disadvantages to extra length; this is one. (not that the same is true in your case; I'm just relating)

manderly
January 17th, 2009, 09:26 PM
Please look at my soft curl link in my siggy, this will help your curls form as your hair dries.

And I use tons of coconut oil! I use about a quarter-half dollar size glob of giovanni direct leave in and 5-7 drops of coconut oil in my hair. Then I do my twisting.

This is actually a video (http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/astrauser/?action=view&current=444b2d86.flv)of my gibson twist but it shows my curls pretty well :)

Honey39
January 18th, 2009, 02:14 AM
Leave-in conditioner and lots of water gets my curl boing-ing back up! Air drying and absolutely no touching works as well, but for me, I need to saturate the bottom half of my hair with water and scrunch back up, and it dries in amazing ringlets and curls.

I never found oil or AVG helped that much, or misting - I tend to get a bit of a frizzy flyaway mess, but conditioner and loads of water is my ultra reliable trick, that always guarantees curls!

(I do this on second day hair, btw - co-wash day one, nice curls; day two leave-in conditioner and loads of water).

good luck, your hair is lovely!

Debra83
January 18th, 2009, 02:45 AM
Leave-in conditioner and lots of water gets my curl boing-ing back up! Air drying and absolutely no touching works as well, but for me, I need to saturate the bottom half of my hair with water and scrunch back up, and it dries in amazing ringlets and curls.

I never found oil or AVG helped that much, or misting - I tend to get a bit of a frizzy flyaway mess, but conditioner and loads of water is my ultra reliable trick, that always guarantees curls!

(I do this on second day hair, btw - co-wash day one, nice curls; day two leave-in conditioner and loads of water).

good luck, your hair is lovely!

Is your technique the same as the videos in mixed chicks ad?

Leave your hair soaking wet after shampoo and conditioner and then put the leave in cream in, just scrunching as it dries?

MAO
January 18th, 2009, 11:10 AM
Leave-in conditioner and lots of water gets my curl boing-ing back up! Air drying and absolutely no touching works as well, but for me, I need to saturate the bottom half of my hair with water and scrunch back up, and it dries in amazing ringlets and curls.

I never found oil or AVG helped that much, or misting - I tend to get a bit of a frizzy flyaway mess, but conditioner and loads of water is my ultra reliable trick, that always guarantees curls!

(I do this on second day hair, btw - co-wash day one, nice curls; day two leave-in conditioner and loads of water).

good luck, your hair is lovely!

Thank you Honey:) I have tried putting a tiny bit of conditioner as leave in before but it pulled my fine hair straight:( I did manage to make it curl back up by putting some Giovanni gel in afterwards, but that is what I am trying to avoid. The gel makes my hair tangly and hard to comb. Plus, since I really like the indian herbs I don't want to use anything in my hair that might be too hard for the herbs to get out.

Thank you ladies for all your comments. I tried to make the flaxseed gel last night and it is still a bit runny this morning. I guess I didn't boil it long enough?I put about 4 tbsp of ground flaxseed in a stocking and swirled it around in one cup of boiling water for about 5 minutes, I think. I wasn't timing but the water was getting pretty cloudy and the stocking felt pretty slimy when I took it out. Guess I'll try again tonight!

pariate
January 18th, 2009, 11:46 AM
I tried making the flaxseed gel and a few times, and I can testify to the fact that boiling longer makes it stickier! The longer you boil it, the more mucilage is released from the seeds, and that's the stuff you're after. I looks pretty gross, but it does hold. :p

rhubarbarin
January 18th, 2009, 11:56 AM
I have 2c hair type (can even be 3a sometimes) and using moisturizing products and combing makes my hair very straight. The only way for me to keep my curls is to leave them be.

A'eorryn
January 31st, 2009, 08:07 AM
Amla (indian gooseberry) is supposed to be a good curl booster, done in a treatment like henna-ing - I have some and plan on trying it soon (I'm still thinking about it because amla is also supposed to darken hair and tone red down to brown, and mine is already quite dark and hennaed so I don't want to mute the red :p) I'll repost with my results when/if I get around to it doing it :) Also, if you're doing the all-natural thing, check out this thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10246 - there are so few of us, we could use the rank boost - naturalies unite! ;)

~A'eorryn

Curlsgirl
January 31st, 2009, 10:59 AM
I pretty much have to use some kind of curl cream to make my curls form very well anymore I am also thinking due to the weight of it as opposed to shorter lengths. I use either Boot's Curl cream, AG re:coil, Kinky Curly Curling Custard and today am trying Mop-c that I got at Ulta last time I was there. I let it totally dry and then scrunch lightly all around and the curls are great. I do NOT comb it or it just is like a frizz-bomb so if you are doing that I would expect your curls would totally fall as well even if you don't get the frizz-bomb effect. I don't know any curlies who can comb their hair and get too results. I only comb in the shower with a lot of conditioner on my hair. Then I blot with a towel and scrunch in my products i.e. leave in conditioner and curl cream. I usually add some coconut oil after to scrunch it out and in between washes.

liseling
January 31st, 2009, 11:30 AM
I agree with curlsgirl and the others here who have said this... try not combing your hair. if you get results you like with the gel and the only reason you dont want to use gel is because you cant comb your hair after you've put it in, try not combing it until you take a shower and you've rinsed the gel out and you have conditioner in your hair to give it more slip.
I used to use gel all the time (before I started using conditioner - but it looks like that wont work for your hair), and I never tried combing my hair after I put it in - that's just asking for problems. In fact, since I figured this out around the age of 15, I never comb (nor especially brush) my hair while it's dry. Only in the shower with conditioner in it.
Maybe you should try this too, then there would be no reason why you couldnt use gel, right?

Lady Lilya
January 31st, 2009, 01:25 PM
I have 2c hair type (can even be 3a sometimes) and using moisturizing products and combing makes my hair very straight. The only way for me to keep my curls is to leave them be.

Yeah. If there is ANYTHING on my hair, it harms the curls. I know everyone says curls like moisture, and mine did a decade ago, but now I wash with shampoo and rinse everything out well and get the best curls that way.