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View Full Version : Help for a curly who's a little lost on what to do with her hair



hazelnut
June 18th, 2009, 03:32 PM
Okay, you guys are probably sick of me by now because I keep on fussing about my hair.:o Lately, I've been a little bit confused on how to actually take care of my hair. I wash my hair every week with Suave Coconut Shampoo (yes, it has sulfates in it. Unfortunantly I didn't realize this when I bought it.:() Herbal Essences Totally Twisted, Organix Shea Butter Conditioner, and I just ran out of my L'Oreal Vive Pro Conditioner for Curly Hair.

What I usually do is I put coconut oil in my hair before I wash it. I leave it in for about 30 mins so it can penetrate my scalp and then I step into the shower. I wet my hair a little bit so I can put the Suave shampoo on my scalp ONLY. I only shampoo once. Then after I rinse out all the shampoo, I put in the Herbal Essences on my length and rinse. Finally I use either my Organix or L'Oreal conditioner as a leave in. While this is in, I comb through my hair with a wide tooth comb (which is a chore in itself, let me tell ya) and then I let my hair air dry.

Sounds easy enough right? What I don't get is by the next day or two, my hair is still pretty dry and curls are pretty much non existant. I know my hair is damaged and all, but I've been doing this for a few months now and I guess I'm worried that maybe my new growth (if I ever get any) is going to be just as unmanageable. That maybe my hair isn't really damaged and THIS IS my hair. I don't know. Maybe I'm being paranoid.:rolleyes:

If anyone can suggest ways to deal with this frizzball hair of mine, please feel free to.

redcelticcurls
June 18th, 2009, 10:21 PM
Since you are m/c, the coconut may be retaining too much protein for you, hence the dryness.

I'm not sure which HE or L'Oreal you are using, so I can't with ingredients there.

Curl type/pattern is less important in curl care than knowing the texture and porosity of your hair. Certain textures do better with certain types of ingredients. This (http://www.livecurlylivefree.com/) website will give you an overview on how your texture can dictate what types of products you need.

The wurly/curly thread and naturallycurly.com are also great resources for curl care

citymorningblue
June 18th, 2009, 10:26 PM
You might try misting your hair on non-wash days with a mixture of water & conditioner. The water will allow the curls to re-form, & the conditioner should help the dryness.

Dars
June 18th, 2009, 10:26 PM
Some members make up a moisture mixture that they spirtz throughout their hair following wash days to achieve "second day hair" and so on to revive their natural curl. There are plenty of different recipes here. I would do a search for you to find some threads on this but my computer is throwing a fit and being slow! :(

Edit: citymorningblue covered it! Lol, it's just not my day today :P

manderly
June 18th, 2009, 11:20 PM
Have you tried the curlygirl method? Do your conditioners have silicones?

I would really look into CG :)

ETA: http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair

Fillette
June 18th, 2009, 11:36 PM
I second Manderly's recommendation, try CG. Definitely try CO and if that doesn't work, try CWC.
Another thing you might be interested in is the method described here: http://www.tightlycurly.com/Welcome.aspx

Just throwing things out there. :) Remember, it's all about trial and error. You have to find the method (or combination of methods) that works for you. Good luck! :flower:

Curlsgirl
June 19th, 2009, 06:12 AM
When I used cones which I hardly every do anymore, my hair also dries out like that in a day or 2. My hair with NO cones still loses some curl every day but is not dry like with the cones. Why don't you check the leave-ins especially, pretty sure they have cones. Try using no-cones for a bit if you can. You could also try diluting the shampoo like 5-1 in a big squirt bottle so it won't be so strong. Have you tried the coconut oil on damp hair isntead of a before-wash treatment? You are probably washing the benefit of it out by using a sulfate shampoo right after the oil. Just my 2 cents from experience.

silver curls
August 9th, 2013, 11:57 AM
[QUOTE=redcelticcurls;638674]Since you are m/c, the coconut may be retaining too much protein for you, hence the dryness.

What is m/c?

Firefox7275
August 12th, 2013, 07:45 AM
Okay, you guys are probably sick of me by now because I keep on fussing about my hair.:o Lately, I've been a little bit confused on how to actually take care of my hair. I wash my hair every week with Suave Coconut Shampoo (yes, it has sulfates in it. Unfortunantly I didn't realize this when I bought it.:() Herbal Essences Totally Twisted, Organix Shea Butter Conditioner, and I just ran out of my L'Oreal Vive Pro Conditioner for Curly Hair.

What I usually do is I put coconut oil in my hair before I wash it. I leave it in for about 30 mins so it can penetrate my scalp and then I step into the shower. I wet my hair a little bit so I can put the Suave shampoo on my scalp ONLY. I only shampoo once. Then after I rinse out all the shampoo, I put in the Herbal Essences on my length and rinse. Finally I use either my Organix or L'Oreal conditioner as a leave in. While this is in, I comb through my hair with a wide tooth comb (which is a chore in itself, let me tell ya) and then I let my hair air dry.

Sounds easy enough right? What I don't get is by the next day or two, my hair is still pretty dry and curls are pretty much non existant. I know my hair is damaged and all, but I've been doing this for a few months now and I guess I'm worried that maybe my new growth (if I ever get any) is going to be just as unmanageable. That maybe my hair isn't really damaged and THIS IS my hair. I don't know. Maybe I'm being paranoid.:rolleyes:

If anyone can suggest ways to deal with this frizzball hair of mine, please feel free to.

Do you know your hair properties (see Live Curly Live Free or have a hair analysis if you are confused) and dew points/ humidity? What porous hair needs is different to low porosity hair and fine is different to coarse. Do you pay attention to your dew points/ humidity? There is a free app if you have a smartphone. Do you have harder water or go swimming/ have you done a chelating wash lately?
http://pedaheh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/goosefootprints-hair-analysis-with-my.html
http://www.naturallycurly.com/mobile

Why are you putting coconut oil on your scalp, do you have a diagnosed scalp disorder? Are you putting it in the rest of your hair? If so and you have low porosity hair you are probably wasting your time, if you have high porosity hair do an overnight to twenty four hour treatment as per the studies on penetration - half an hour is likely not enough for any worthwhile amount of coconut oil to diffuse in. The published research used coconut oil as a pre-wash before shampooing, it looked like the shampoo was enhancing penetration, results were superior to post wash. Heat also enhanced penetration.

IMO properly wet and rinse your hair before washing, the wetting stage helps shift excess product in your hair so helps the shampoo out. Also try finger detangling when your hair is soaking and slathered in piles of a slippy wash out conditioner, then you should not need to detangle/ comb when the leave in has been applied. Brushing and combing breaks up clumps, causes frizz and damage. Shea butter can build up so should be shampoo'd out regularly. If you want to switch to sulphate free (ideally anionic surfactant free) use your current shampoo up as body wash or hand soap.

jeanniet
August 12th, 2013, 01:23 PM
[QUOTE=redcelticcurls;638674]Since you are m/c, the coconut may be retaining too much protein for you, hence the dryness.

What is m/c?

I think they meant texture is medium/coarse (as opposed to fine).

silver curls
August 12th, 2013, 01:53 PM
[QUOTE=silver curls;2489675]

I think they meant texture is medium/coarse (as opposed to fine).

Thank you!!! I better study up on some of the abbreviations!:)