Wurly and Curly thread!!!

[GRU]

Sorry for the crappy phone picture, but I LOLed at my hair today, and I figured only you folks would understand.

Look, my hair made a DNA strand double-helix!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/curl.jpg

When I went into the bathroom, this little fella was draped down my front, hollering, "Look at me! Look what I did all by myself!" :lol:

[Alsatian]

Hi--new long hair person. I'm growing my hair out from a bob (I love the curls and the short but I'm wanting to try something new) and I just wanna start it right from the get-go. I've got really shiny, soft curls and I don't want to sacrifice that for length, you know? So how do I baby my curls as it grows and when it is long? I literally have no idea where to even start.

[lapushka]

Try looking into the curly girl method:
http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair

And above all, read this thread when you have time. :thumbsup:

[kitschy]

Gru that is an awesome helix. I've been wondering if you have any new length shots. Your signature picture is at least a year or two old. Or are you maintaining your length at waist? Anyway, I'd love to see a recent picture if you have one.

[GRU]

Gru that is an awesome helix. I've been wondering if you have any new length shots. Your signature picture is at least a year or two old. Or are you maintaining your length at waist? Anyway, I'd love to see a recent picture if you have one.

I really do need to get some new pics taken, don't I? I need to get an updated passport, so I'll have my kid take some length shots while he's doing the other pics. My actual length is somewhere in the butt crack range, with my "dry" length just past waist, I think. I've been trimming off a few inches a couple times a year, trying to get all my pre-LHC damage off without sacrificing too much length.

[kitschy]

I really do need to get some new pics taken, don't I? I need to get an updated passport, so I'll have my kid take some length shots while he's doing the other pics. My actual length is somewhere in the butt crack range, with my "dry" length just past waist, I think. I've been trimming off a few inches a couple times a year, trying to get all my pre-LHC damage off without sacrificing too much length.
That's about my length too. Can't wait to see pictures!

[SugarPlumDreams]

Hi ladies! Popping in to see what's new in the curly-wurly world...

Gru - love your double helix!!!

Well, for me, I've finally found my HG after 5 years of being CG: CO only. But, not just any conditioner. I'minlovewithcan'tlivewithoutwouldkicksomeoneforab ottle of Mill Creek Botanicals Keratin Conditioner! My hair is soft, frizz-free, perfect amount of volume (ya know, not too much, not too little). Can even get second day hair! Usually I mix in a little dollop of KCKT with a palmful of the Mill Creek and then I'm on my way.

Oh, and a little grapeseed oil at night before bed is nice, too. Just ordered some satin pillowcases, so I think I'm pretty darn close to perfecting my routine :)

[jaine]

Gru, what a nice double helix!
:)

I'm experimenting with roller sets to loosen my curl pattern...has anyone tried that? I know Manderly mentioned it at some point.

Last night I sat in front of a fan for an hour and a half with 3" rollers in my hair, then I took it down, slept with it in a high ponytail, went to work, came home, and this is what it looks like now. It's not that great. I took it down before it was 100% dry and I think that's why it's frizzy. I think my next attempt will be better, though... I'll make sure it's completely dry before I take it down. I actually splurged on a hooded dryer like they have at salons, so when that arrives I'll be able to dry it faster, at any temperature I want.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8050/8403061475_c1ceca23bc_o.jpg

[Annibelle]

Siiiigh, have spent the last 6 months hating my hair. I'm at a loss. I even resorted to trying mousse today-- which I didn't think would work, and I was right. So far, gel-casting has worked best for my hair, but my hair just looks so thin. It's 3"-- so not THAT thin-- but it looks more like 2". There's absolutely nothing wrong with thin hair, but thicker hair would look much more proportionate on me. :( Waaah, I have dreams of BIG hair!

[halfbakedtulip]

LOL.

I typed up a detailed version of my hair routine (900 words) since people have been asking about it, and found that the LHC "About Me" page won't accept all of it (probably too long).

Is there another way to post this type of information on LHC without starting a thread? Maybe as a blog post?

Just looking for recommendations.....

I would definitely do it as a blog post...in fact I went looking to see if you had done that :P

[cmg]

Love that double helix GRU :D

/ CMG

[spirals]

I just got my shipment of apothecary supplies, so I wll be trying a homemade conditioner today. I'm trying to go to natural products. I found a "chemical-free" conditioner online that uses glycerin as a main ingredient. I'm going to build on that. Right now with the single-digit temps my hair is dryyyyy and refuses to curl. So it looks longer, at least.

[jaine]

I got a hard bonnet hair dryer yesterday... did my usual shampoo/conditioner/gel routine... plopped my hair into a mesh cotton bag that I found at Whole Foods (because my hair dryer model has some suction in it and the hair is supposed to be contained)... dried my hair in the hard bonnet hair dryer for 50 minutes (I laid it on its side on my bed and took a nap with my head inside)...

Voila...really frizz-free curls! I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. This is morning-after hair too... I slept with it in a high ponytail.

I think this could make it a lot more practical for me to wear my hair wavy and curly ... air drying time really sucks. It takes 8 hours or more to air dry my hair.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8409027979_4340387f25_o.jpg

[Annibelle]

Looks gorgeous, Jaine! What's this hair bonnet of which you speak??? :)

[jaine]

It's a Pibbs 514 hair dryer...I found it on Craigslist...

It's huge - basically a big egg-shaped thing that's about a 18 inches wide and maybe 2 feet tall. It has some fans that blow air down and others that suck the air upwards...looks like this:
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQcBtj9HchoMmgJq9WwceIS1CdxSIt2G 1qUUxqmOKkyD2_3t-jLgnYfri1z

I had it set to a temperature that felt like getting into a hot car in the summer, but it didn't feel as hot as my regular hair dryer...pretty sweet!

[Annibelle]

It's a Pibbs 514 hair dryer...I found it on Craigslist...

It's huge - basically a big egg-shaped thing that's about a 18 inches wide and maybe 2 feet tall. It has some fans that blow air down and others that suck the air upwards...looks like this:
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQcBtj9HchoMmgJq9WwceIS1CdxSIt2G 1qUUxqmOKkyD2_3t-jLgnYfri1z

I had it set to a temperature that felt like getting into a hot car in the summer, but it didn't feel as hot as my regular hair dryer...pretty sweet!

It's expensive, but that was expected. And really, it's not much more expensive than an expensive hand-held hair dryer-- which I was considering getting, anyway. Does it have a cooler setting than the one you used?

[finzi]

I got a hard bonnet hair dryer yesterday... did my usual shampoo/conditioner/gel routine... plopped my hair into a mesh cotton bag that I found at Whole Foods (because my hair dryer model has some suction in it and the hair is supposed to be contained)... dried my hair in the hard bonnet hair dryer for 50 minutes (I laid it on its side on my bed and took a nap with my head inside)...

Voila...really frizz-free curls! I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. This is morning-after hair too... I slept with it in a high ponytail.


BEAUTIFUL results jaine! Really gorgeous curls.

[jaine]

It's expensive, but that was expected. And really, it's not much more expensive than an expensive hand-held hair dryer-- which I was considering getting, anyway. Does it have a cooler setting than the one you used?

Oh yeah this model has a dial that goes anywhere from cold to hot. I was somewhere in the middle.

I have to get some goggles though because my eyes felt dry if I opened them. I think if I had goggles then I could read a book or read on my iPhone while my hair dries. I'm going to look like such a dork, drying my hair in a 2-foot tall egg-shaped dryer with goggles! :)

I have a pretty nice Sedu handheld dryer with a diffuser but I like this new one a lot better...less frizz and less effort to dry my hair because I don't have to hold anything I can just lie there. And I'm sure it's faster too because the air is all around my head. Not concentrated in one spot. I could never actually finish drying my hair with the handheld one because I would get impatient or my arm would get tired.

[Annibelle]

Oh yeah this model has a dial that goes anywhere from cold to hot. I was somewhere in the middle.

I have to get some goggles though because my eyes felt dry if I opened them. I think if I had goggles then I could read a book or read on my iPhone while my hair dries. I'm going to look like such a dork, drying my hair in a 2-foot tall egg-shaped dryer with goggles! :)

I have a pretty nice Sedu handheld dryer with a diffuser but I like this new one a lot better...less frizz and less effort to dry my hair because I don't have to hold anything I can just lie there. And I'm sure it's faster too because the air is all around my head. Not concentrated in one spot. I could never actually finish drying my hair with the handheld one because I would get impatient or my arm would get tired.

Okay, it's official-- time to begin saving for a head egg! :p

[jaine]

I'm glad I got it...I'm tired of going to work with wet hair or a wet bun because I didn't have time to dry it. and if my boyfriend ever visited me when my hair wasn't fully dry then I had to get it wet again and start the process all over, because he always interferes with the drying process :)
My hair dries so slowly it doesn't even have time to dry on its own while I sleep...not even in the dry winter air... I still wake up with wet hair. So now I can wash and dry my hair completely before I go to sleep and it'll look nice for work the next day.

[finzi]

My hair dries so slowly it doesn't even have time to dry on its own while I sleep...not even in the dry winter air... I still wake up with wet hair.

Sounds like you have lovely thick hair, I'm pea-green with envy! :D

[jaine]

Sounds like you have lovely thick hair, I'm pea-green with envy! :D

Well I can blame at least some of it on an air circulation issue ... I love to sleep with a pillow on top of my head to block out some light. So I'm not sure how much air actually got to my hair.



I made some more pictures of my 2nd Pibbs hair dryer experiment, in case anyone is interested (and for my own reference too, in case I stumble on steps that give me a good hair day)

In the shower I washed with shampoo and conditioner, with the final rinse upside down, using a paddle brush to get it all lined up. For leave-in products: I brushed a quarter-sized amount of conditioner and 2 pumps of gel through my hair, then I scrunched in 3 more pumps of gel. Then I put my soaking wet hair in the cotton mesh bag and wore a turbie towel on top of it for 5-10 minutes to soak up some water.

Then I just relaxed on the sofa in the dryer with my hair in the mesh cotton bag ... I used a warm setting for about 50 minutes, and then the coldest possible setting for about 20 minutes.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8229/8412101185_0d274b9f8b_o.png

This is my hair right after I took it out of the bag ... and this is actually 100% dry hair, believe it or not. I thought it was still wet because of how shiny and clumpy it looked. But I broke up one of the larger clumps to test it ... and yeah it's dry.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8413194950_47a46f5f1b_o.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8354/8413194978_7e5abdd480_o.jpg

Now it's going in a high ponytail, and into my silk sleeping cap, and I'll sleep on it tonight and shake it out in the morning...hopefully another picture tomorrow if it looks OK :)

[jaine]

Ooh, speaking of silk sleeping caps, has anyone tried this one? It looks lovely....I want it!

http://prettyanntoinets.com/category_31/Long-Sleep-Caps.htm

[finzi]

Well I can blame at least some of it on an air circulation issue ... I love to sleep with a pillow on top of my head to block out some light. So I'm not sure how much air actually got to my hair.

Would a sleep mask (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jasmine-Silk-Filled-Sleeping-Sleep/dp/B001UL3BS6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359104789&sr=8-2) be helpful?

[jaine]

Would a sleep mask (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jasmine-Silk-Filled-Sleeping-Sleep/dp/B001UL3BS6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359104789&sr=8-2) be helpful?

I don't think so...the pillow also muffles a lot of noise and I like that too.
But my pibbs hair dryer is working great so I don't think I need to go to bed with wet hair any more! My hair looked great when I shook it out in the morning. I got a picture but haven't been able to upload it yet I think this dryer is working better for me because I can keep my hair totally still for the hour or so while it dries, so there's almost no frizz. I could never keep my hair still and untouched long enough for it to air-dry without frizz...that's a 10 hour process for me

[GRU]

Omigosh, jaine, I can't believe how LONG your hair has gotten! Looking gorgeous AND long, girlfriend! :thumbsup:

[Neecola]

What GRU said, jaine! Your hair looks great and thank you for sharing the pictures. With results like that, the dryer is very tempting...

[jaine]

Aww, thanks! I wish my hair would start to feel long! It's almost BSL when it's wet but shrinks up to above APL.


Well, here's what my hair looked like the next morning after experiment #2 ... all I did was take off the silk sleeping cap, take out the ponytail, and shake my head a little. Definitely better than my typical hair day. It's hard to see in the picture because of the snowy lighting today, but it was really shiny. And soft. I usually have a lot more frizz and a rougher texture - probably from all the hairs that used to escape from their clumps while it was drying.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8050/8415675304_0dba2ae675_o.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8415675312_9507279fd2_o.jpg

The only adjustment I want to make next time is not turning my head upside down for the final rinse...that resulted in a lot of root volume but also some weird root bumpiness, and baby hairs that wanted to stick straight up. I think I'd rather have flat but smooth roots for work.

[lapushka]

Nice results, jaine!

[Annibelle]

:thudpile:

[jaine]

Aww thanks annibelle and lapushka :flower:
pibbs experiment #3, when I didn't rinse upside down, gave me shoulder-length hair last night because of curl shrinkage - lol. I guess that makes sense... the back of my head was straightening half of it when it was upside down.

[Kelikea]

Ooh, speaking of silk sleeping caps, has anyone tried this one? It looks lovely....I want it!

http://prettyanntoinets.com/category_31/Long-Sleep-Caps.htm

I do like the looks of that cap, but it's expensive!

[jaine]

I do like the looks of that cap, but it's expensive!

I ended up getting it anyway...it just looks so useful! I have one of her regular $20ish silk sleeping caps and I love it, but the elastic usually leaves a dent on my forehead...this one looks adjustable with a wider band over the forehead.

[SugarPlumDreams]

Wow Jaine! Your hair does look so lovely! Very shiny and smooth. And, you're right, the band around that silk night cap looks so much more comfortable than a regular one. Let us know how it works out!

[Annibelle]

Does wearing a silk cap to bed help keep curls from flattening, or does it just reduce frizz?

[jaine]

Does wearing a silk cap to bed help keep curls from flattening, or does it just reduce frizz?

I get good root lift and volume the next day if I sleep with it in a ponytail on top of my head. The silk sleeping cap helps reduce frizz. I think my 2nd-day curls are always looser and stretched out though.

[looniac]

Hello all! I have been away for a bit, but I wanted to check in to say that my hair is now APL curly and BSL when stretched! It feels like it took so long! Just got a trim yesterday to clean up the ends and have it up in my regular french braid again today. *sigh* waist length is the goal and I am getting there slowly but surely.

I've never tried the silk cap thing... I think my partner would make fun of me if I wore it to bed :(

[CurlyCap]

I found that wearing any head gear just flattens my curls and that there is no such thing as well defined curls with second day hair.

My best experiences have been to sleep with my hair in a high damp bun with some product in my hair. This gives root lift for volume, and then the hair is damp when I let it down in the morning. The product from the night before allows great curl definition and it's literally 'wake and shake'...and then I'm out the door!

[CurlyCap]

I don't want to study, so I'm procrastinating by posted hair update pics. :p

Hair straightened to waviness with Caruso curlers:
http://i.imgur.com/UgOYJGi.jpg?1

Fancier finish for going out that night:
http://i.imgur.com/kACfu.jpg?1

I need to get a good shot of it curlified. I just need to find someone to be my hair photo buddy who won't think I'm insane. XD

[jaine]

Very nice CurlyCap! :)

I got the big silk sleeping cap from pretty anntoinette last night, used it, liked it...no forehead dent and it's very comfortable. The band is wide and soft.
It's bigger than I thought it would be...it drops all the way to my waist. Maybe it could fit gru's hair :)
I think the smaller silk cap is more versatile because it's smaller, for things like lining a shower cap, or lining a winter hat, or wearing on my commute so my hair doesn't blow around...and it works for sleeping too especially over a bun or ponytail...but I do like the big silk cap better for sleeping because there's no forehead dent.

[SugarPlumDreams]

CurlyCap - Gorgeous!

jaine - it does look quite cumbersome from the photo! It's nice it doesn't leave a dent, though!

[halfbakedtulip]

Well I will introduce myself ...hello! Pic in my siggy. My ridiculous journey in my blog if anyone is interested :)

[jaine]

Welcome! your haircut honestly looks good - I wouldn't have guessed that you did it yourself.


I think I stumbled on a good idea tonight! I dried my hair in my pibbs 514 while I caught up on some work. Then instead of just putting it in a high ponytail right away, I wrapped the ponytail in a silk bonnet and put the scrunchie on top of the silk. It looks like a silk-wrapped bun. it definitely reduced scrunchie drag on my hair...I usually have at least one clump that gets broken apart when I put the scrunchie on.

[LilBoPeep]

http://instagr.am/p/VJuBRiPcLZ/
Here is my crazy curly hair. Please excuse the terrible phone picture, it's all I've got today. I recently did the deed and took of 6 inches of unhealthy hair I was hanging onto for length. It looks way better now. I want to get to classic while wet eventually. Right now I want to get to bsl when dry. Its past bs when wet, but it really scrunches up! You ladies totally have my hair envy in this thread!

[jaine]

http://instagr.am/p/VJuBRiPcLZ/
Here is my crazy curly hair. Please excuse the terrible phone picture, it's all I've got today. I recently did the deed and took of 6 inches of unhealthy hair I was hanging onto for length. It looks way better now. I want to get to classic while wet eventually. Right now I want to get to bsl when dry. Its past bs when wet, but it really scrunches up! You ladies totally have my hair envy in this thread!

Pretty curls! I wish mine were that uniform. It's like I have 2a hair on one side of my head and 3a on the other :)

[veyron]

I just wanted to pop on by and say I absolutely LOVE curly hair because they are so magical & medieval. <3

[LilBoPeep]

Thanks jaine! My curls are pretty uniform when I use a bit of product in them other wise I get nasty frizz. I also have i lock of hair that is almost straight in the middle of head. My sister has straight hair and in the same spot she has one peice of hair that curls! I hated my curls at one time but now I find them so fairytale-ish and love my hair... sometimes.

[finzi]

I'm tempted to try the Caruso rollers. I've seen two sets on Amazon - one comes with 14 rollers, the other with 30. The fact that you can use them on dry hair and have perfect curls/waves in half an hour REALLY appeals! Hmmm....

ETA: Eeeep! Just noticed the shipping costs. Didn't realise these would ship from the US. Doesn't look like they're available here in the UK. :/

[Infinity]

Anyone know why I haven't recioeved an e-mail notification of this thread in almost a year? I thought this thread had ended!!

[SugarPlumDreams]

oops! Double post!

[SugarPlumDreams]

LilBoPeep - your hair is so gorgeous! I'm green with envy at the length and your pretty ringlets!

Ladies, do you rotate your products? I always seem to find my HG, and then after a month or so, my hair seems to reject my new routine and I get frustrated. If you rotate products, how many different products do you have? How often do you rotate?

[Theobroma]

Anyone know why I haven't recioeved an e-mail notification of this thread in almost a year? I thought this thread had ended!!

Could the email notification system be broken? I don't seem to be getting emails for PMs even though I activated the option in my settings.

[stephanie6211]

Hi fellow curlies :waving: I'm fairly new and just wanted to pop in and share my progress. I've finally found a combo of henna, amla, and CO washing that seems to make my hair very happy! Big thanks to everyone on this site!

[Kyaatje]

Hi wurlies and curlies, :)
After I asked for help on my hair, the main idea seemed to be that I had to stop brushing and treating my hair as a wurly/curly
So today was washday anyway so instead of C-W-C followed by vinegar rinse and airdrying and perhaps a bit of oil after that, I did a CO wash, C with a bit of a heavier conditioner, vinegar rinse, a drop of oil scrunched in my hair and then some flax gel scrunched in. I then plopped and let my hair airdry.
I'm not so happy with the results so far, my hair looks oily and stringy. I did do a heavy oiling before I washed, yesterday I didn't know I was going to try this today LOL
Can there be an other reason ?

[stephanie6211]

Hi wurlies and curlies, :)
After I asked for help on my hair, the main idea seemed to be that I had to stop brushing and treating my hair as a wurly/curly
So today was washday anyway so instead of C-W-C followed by vinegar rinse and airdrying and perhaps a bit of oil after that, I did a CO wash, C with a bit of a heavier conditioner, vinegar rinse, a drop of oil scrunched in my hair and then some flax gel scrunched in. I then plopped and let my hair airdry.
I'm not so happy with the results so far, my hair looks oily and stringy. I did do a heavy oiling before I washed, yesterday I didn't know I was going to try this today LOL
Can there be an other reason ?

Plopping always leaves my hair flat and stringy looking for some reason. Same with gel. You might want to try one thing at a time so that you know exactly what's making your hair that way. Maybe just try CO washing and then let it air dry without touching it, and go from there. Hope that helps :)

[Kyaatje]

hmm I plopped before and that never did anything wrong for my hair, so it might be the gel or the CO LOL
You are right, I jumped in with everything I had instead of tiptoeing in ;-) Story of my life !
Ok will take slower steps (or will try to anyways !)

[LilBoPeep]

Curly ladies, I try to wear my hair up every day to keep breakage at a minimum. But I've been having some issues. If i let it dry naturally then finger comb and bun it, I have trouble getting it to look nice. I never dry brush because it just hurts too much and last time I did my lap was covered in little tiny snippets of broken hair, there goes all the growth I've been trying to achieve! So I'm looking for help. Whats you hair routine? Do you braid and let it dry, then comb and bun or do you just sloppy bun. What should I be doing
I want to grow this mess of bird's nest to waist when dry and allowed to curl. Anyone have some advice?

[GRU]

I never dry brush because it just hurts too much and last time I did my lap was covered in little tiny snippets of broken hair, there goes all the growth I've been trying to achieve!

I refer to those little snippets as "dead soldiers".

Have you tried the Tangle Teezer brush? It works a treat for detangling! You can also detangle your hair with a wide-toothed comb (or a Tangle Teezer) while it's wet and covered with conditioner.

Personally, I only brush with the TT or detangle in the shower with conditioner. I'm completely cone-free, so I only CO-wash my hair (I do shampoo once per year). I cannot bun or braid my hair wet or it would never dry. I air-dry with my hair down on a wash day, then bun it (after brushing with the TT) on non-wash days. For those little flyaways when bunned, a touch of aloe vera gel will help to keep them in line.

Hope that helps!

[LilBoPeep]

Thanks so much GRU. I guess I'm going to have to get a tangle teaser. I'm doing everything else right. Just need to stop using a paddle brush for knot and snarl removal. My family keeps telling me I will never be able to grow out to classic, because curly hair just doesn't grow that long. So I've set classic when wet as my goal. I'm sure it will take years but just so I know its possible, have any of you other gorgeous curl girls had success growing this long. I'm sorry I haven't been able to go through all 700 pages to see!

[GRU]

Since adopting my "no regular brush / CO-wash / cone-free" regimen, I've been able to grow my hair to the top of my butt crack when pulled straight. I had never been beyond bra-strap length prior to that at any time in my life, and I'm over 40yo.

Curly hair CAN grow that long, as long as it isn't abused so its life gets shortened in the process!

[kitschy]

Lilbopeep, when I bun or braid, I don't comb or brush my hair, I just do it in a loose and messy way (which is in style now anyway.) Since I have adopted CO wash and no brushing or combing when my hair is dry, like GRU, I have grown to BCL when pulled straight and hip when curly. I don't know if I will try for classic since I'm 56 years old, but I don't doubt for a minute that it would be possible

[Kyaatje]

I feel like a bit of an imposter lurking in this thread ;)
Every time I think I know my hair type it surprises me, I think I should categorize it as 1C going to 2C :rolleyes:
Yesterday I would happily have said 2c, but I did something wrong and it ended up being greasy and stringy and generally not attractive.
So I CO-washed again today, but I omitted the oil and the flaxgel going with just plopping and airdrying as usual, and voila 1c it is ! But it feels great : clean, soft, ....
Now I need to find out a couple of things : will I be able to wash it only once a week as I was used to, how can I get more wavies back and why wasn't I born a real curly or straighty instead of being something inbetween !

[LilBoPeep]

You guys are making me feel much better about this. Thanks!

[Quixii]

I assure you, curly hair can grow long. :)

[LilBoPeep]

I assure you, curly hair can grow long. :)

Wow you are my new hairsperation. Your hair looks amazing! Can I ask how long it took to grow it out?

[Quixii]

Wow you are my new hairsperation. Your hair looks amazing! Can I ask how long it took to grow it out?
Aw, thanks. You can ask, but I don't have a good answer. ^^; I've pretty much been growing it for as long as I can remember. I think I ended up maintaining somewhere between hip and tailbone for a few years (not really consciously, just trimming every so often resulted in that) and then I joined here and have since grown to about fingertip length, and am still growing. :)

[yoni]

Hi there!
When i first started to grow my hair I desperately wanted straight hair (especially when for a guy straight hair is more acceptable here), but after a few years I got used to my hair and learned that straight hair bores me :D so waves all the way!

I have no idea how to "type" my hair, so bare with me on this :smile:
and this is my hair's waves
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87525398@N06/8014678352/in/photostream

but my hair is so much curlier when wet:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8068/8274274957_5bfb66288e_z.jpg

[DarkCurls]

Have you seen this site (http://thecurlyhairproblems.tumblr.com/tagged/curlyhairproblems)? I was linked to it from a French forum and thought it was pretty funny.

[Neecola]

Oh, that's entertaining DarkCurls! There were a few that made me go :agree: Yep.

[DarkCurls]

Some of them just don't apply and I'm not even a big fan of tumblr, but it's good for a laugh.

I like this one (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r8z97Y5h1r665nno1_400.png) and this one (http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r8vqlk8x1r665nno1_400.png).

[rowie]

Just letting anyone in here that want to accentuate their volume know that I got massive volume ("poofyness") using the new Herbal Essences Rose Hips with Jojoba shampoo and conditioner. At least for me it gave me massive volume that I did not want in the first place. Worst, my hair was super bouncy when I walked and I did not like the feeling of it. Ughhhhh I mean I know for some of y'all this is like a dream, but for a guy it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping that the cones would be heavy enough to weigh my hair down, perhaps relax my hair and have it be straighter like what I get using the Pantene line.

Well here are the results:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j277/shyboyfriend/6d1eb105-1842-46f2-b863-d099cdca4456_zpsc9f2af93.jpghttp://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j277/shyboyfriend/af874074-0c61-4464-9a16-6f85a29cde45_zps11df37ba.jpg

I was so embarrassed at how poofy my hair was that I put in in a half up style so that I could use these pictures for the herbal essence thread. Hopefully you can see some of the volume effects this line has on me even though I wanted to control it from poofing up and not bouncing around.

[yoni]

Dammit, rowie, your hair is perfect!
But I totally get what you mean, I didn't really like the feeling of my hair until the length managed to weigh it down :)

[rowie]

Dammit, rowie, your hair is perfect!
But I totally get what you mean, I didn't really like the feeling of my hair until the length managed to weigh it down :)

Thanks Yoni! For some reason I like our hair texture on other people, but not on me. I know I still have a long way to battle with accepting my own texture. I just feel like people with straight hair have it easy, which I know may not be the case, at least they don't have to worry about poofy uncontrollable hair though. hahaha But looking at your hair and all the hairs in this room makes me appreciate my texture....well I still have lots of loving before I can let go of putting so much control on my hair just so that it won't be uncontrollable.

[kitschy]

I cut layers back into the last 6 inches of so of my hair. Pictures coming

[kitschy]

The first picture was taken today showing my new layers in the bottom. The second picture is before. There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference....I'll probably just go ahead and grow out the layers again. Live and learn. Hair grows.

http://images59.fotki.com/v683/photos/0/1803120/9931107/compositlayers-vi.jpg

[lydiajo]

I can see a difference as I like the layers. I wouldn't have known what the difference was but I do like it.

[rowie]

The first picture was taken today showing my new layers in the bottom. The second picture is before. There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference....I'll probably just go ahead and grow out the layers again. Live and learn. Hair grows.

:scissors:

Very beautiful hair kitschy. :flower: I'm so envious of your curls! Definitely thud worthy.

[spirals]

kitschy, I can see a difference and it looks great. I want to be you when I grow up. :lol:

[kitschy]

Thanks lydiajo, rowie, and spirals. I guess I can tell a slight bit of difference and it gave me more of a "U" hemline, but it made the ends a bit thinner. I've not really noticed a difference when I do updo's, but braids get wispy in the ends - I just need to finish a bit higher up.

[GRU]

Just letting anyone in here that want to accentuate their volume know that I got massive volume ("poofyness") using the new Herbal Essences Rose Hips with Jojoba shampoo and conditioner. At least for me it gave me massive volume that I did not want in the first place. Worst, my hair was super bouncy when I walked and I did not like the feeling of it. Ughhhhh I mean I know for some of y'all this is like a dream, but for a guy it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping that the cones would be heavy enough to weigh my hair down, perhaps relax my hair and have it be straighter like what I get using the Pantene line.

Have you tried using any natural oils?

Grapeseed, Jojoba, Coconut... a little of one of those rubbed all over your hands, then drag your hands through your detangled hair to distribute, followed up by a good brushing with a Tangle Teezer or boar bristle brush to further distribute.

I find that oils help to relax the curl and reduce the poof, without resorting to using cones (discovered after going cone-free that the cones were the source of my eye allergy symptoms... my hair is happier AND my eyes are happier since joining LHC!).

To avoid looking greasy, start dragging your oiled hands through about halfway down your length a few times, then after the bulk of the oil is off your hands, go ahead and start at the scalp for a lighter application in that area.

[puddums]

Hello! I think that I belong here!

I always thought my hair was slightly wavy (maybe about 2a) and just really, really frizzy, dry, and uncooperative. I thought it was normal that my hair turned into ringlet curls when it was humid or rained :doh:

This winter has been very drying on my hair and after reading through a whole lot of this thread, I suddenly thought maybe my hair is actually more wavey than I knew. I bought the curly girl book and starting doing CO and using a bit of flax gel and instantly my hair was wurly (I think probably about 2c, although the front is definitely curlier than the rest)! I've only been doing this routine for a bit over a week, but already my hair is so much happier now.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this thread. If not for you, I never would have bought the curly girl book or discovered how to treat my hair! :flowers:

[sweetoak]

I'm a curly wurly who wants to henna her hair! Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[lapushka]

I'm a curly wurly who wants to henna her hair! Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Look at this for a quick tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb1OLc4-oVU

And this is an update on her henna process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlb0R-lFPw

She's really inspiring for curlies & wurlies, I think (and she's on the LHC as well).

[MandyBeth]

So my minion wants to lighten her hair. She sun bleaches really easily, so it'd not be that much.

Why I'm considering this for an 8 year old? Simple. She wants River Song's hair, but longer. Seriously, I'm all for anyone who teaches her how awesome her hyper curls are.

[MandyBeth]

Seriously - minion had 7 inches cut off. Her hair looks LONGER dry.

I am never going to understand curly hair.

[GRU]

Seriously - minion had 7 inches cut off. Her hair looks LONGER dry.

I am never going to understand curly hair.

And you never will, my dear. It's a totally different beast....

[CurlyCap]

Lol. Curlies don't get it. Welcome to the tribe.

[Theobroma]

Seriously - minion had 7 inches cut off. Her hair looks LONGER dry.

I am never going to understand curly hair.


And you never will, my dear. It's a totally different beast....

So much this. I've given up trying to understand mine... and I'm nowhere near as curly as some of you ladies! :D

[chen bao jun]

My hair looks WAY longer when its dry.
The minute water gets into it, it shrinks to like, half the length.
I can't imagine trying to get a wet cut.

[Neecola]

My hair is exactly the opposite chen bao jun!

[kitschy]

My hair is exactly the opposite chen bao jun!

I suppose if I straightened my hair either with an iron or even blow drying, THEN it would shrink when it got wet, but otherwise - yeah, I agree with you Neecola, my hair is longer when wet. Oh and BTW I always get my hair trimmed wet.

[Neecola]

I've been trimming mine wet too otherwise some pieces curl more than others (not that you could tell if my hair was cut unevenly!) but I have wondered about the Deva method of cutting the curls dry... seems curlies have mixed experiences with that method.

[CurlyCap]

I have reached an awkward stage where I can't trim my own hair.

I usually get out of the shower with it dripping wet, apply some conditioner, and comb it straight as possible. Then I make a ponytail and twisty it, slide the twisty down and cut off the last inch.

I have a few layers from my original pixie, but for some reason, the above approach always worked fine. Now that most of my hair is long enough to fall over my shoulders, I'm realizing how layered my hair is...and all the layers are within an inch of each other. Last time I tried the twisty ponytail approach my hair just coiled all over the place and I couldn't find a clean place to cut.

Sigh. I think I need to go to a stylist.

[Neecola]

Have you checked out the creaclip, CurlyCap? I've heard good things about it.

[CurlyCap]

Have you checked out the creaclip, CurlyCap? I've heard good things about it.

Maybe if I had someone to help with the cut, it would work. However, it's not something I could use by myself. Also, to cut, someone would have to hold tension on the clip/hair, because my hair still has enough spring when wet to pull that thing into a weird position. Sigh.

[summergame]

Can somebody advise me for a good hair mousse for making curls with my diffuser? I know it is not healthy but it is for my proclamation on school and I want to look good :-). I'm from the EU and my hairtype is 1cFII.

[Sunshineliz]

I like the deva haircutting ideas. I use them on DD7--cut it dry and cut each curl individually and at the end of a "c" each timen (unless I'm just dusting, then take off the tips of each curl.) Works well for her.

I wouldn't do it on myself though, mostly because I'm not as curly as her and it doesn't make as much sense for me. So I brush out and use Feye's self trimming method in a U shape. I do end up slightly lopsided that way though as the wurls are a bit stronger on one side than the other. If I were to do it on myself (and were curlier) I think I'd make sure I had a cut I already liked and would bet that taking around the same amount off of each curl would maintain the cut pretty well (I know some areas grow faster than others so it wouldn't be perfect, but still good enough for me.)

[CurlyCap]

Cut my hair last night. Modified Diva curl. Rather than just cutting curls so they "look right", I went and cut ~1 inch off every dry curl. Took FOREVER. But I'm happy I did it because i can already tell my ends are less tangly and grabby.

Far less was chopped than if I'd gone to a salon, so I'm content.

[kam.pearson]

Hi guys! I've been MIA for a while because of school, but I'm done for the summer so I'm back!!! WOO!

My hair is around 4 inches longer than when I was here earlier, and a lot of my old dye has washed out as well, so it's much closer to the natural color. I am starting C0-washing and using much less heat on my hair. I'm working on slowly trimming off damage now, and want to start wearing my natural waves.


My issue is that the top layer of my hair is much straighter than the rest, and I know that people have different textures to the hair, but I really like the underneath better than the top. Is there anything that could help to encourage my top layers to wave?

I'm going to try to include a picture if I can get it to work! lol



http://i39.tinypic.com/io12sl.jpg

[kam.pearson]

Sorry the picture is so big and sideways! lol I'm having to relearn how to do things! lol

here's a picture of my hair last time i was here, the top layer of my hair is straighter now. :(

http://i43.tinypic.com/20go2gn.jpg

[LadyCelestina]

Hey curlies and wurlies with hair over BSL ... Is there a way to make a sock bun that doesn't turn into fuzz or tangles or fall out? Any help? What seems like the most common method -rolling the hair on the sock-makes my hair a giant tangle :(.

[PinkyCat]

Hey curlies and wurlies with hair over BSL ... Is there a way to make a sock bun that doesn't turn into fuzz or tangles or fall out? Any help? What seems like the most common method -rolling the hair on the sock-makes my hair a giant tangle :(.

A fully rolled one? Flip your hair over upside down.
First I make the pony then put the sock bun on and slide it to the base of my head, then part the pony in half, then slide the sock to the ends (all this while flipped over) then begin rolling. Since you are flipped over, gravity wont make your hair fall all over, and since you already parted the tail, you wont be pulling out little hairs as you roll.

[LadyCelestina]

A fully rolled one? Flip your hair over upside down.
First I make the pony then put the sock bun on and slide it to the base of my head, then part the pony in half, then slide the sock to the ends (all this while flipped over) then begin rolling. Since you are flipped over, gravity wont make your hair fall all over, and since you already parted the tail, you wont be pulling out little hairs as you roll.

I tried it,but I was left with half of hair in the bun and half of hair piled loosely on top of my head and it won't roll any further...Do I need to have a bigger or more stretchy sock?

[PinkyCat]

I tried it,but I was left with half of hair in the bun and half of hair piled loosely on top of my head and it won't roll any further...Do I need to have a bigger or more stretchy sock?

Sounds like it - if it gets too tight to roll you need a bigger looser sock.

[arelrios]

Hi everyone,

I am not a curly (at least I haven't gotten there yet)... I was hair typed as a 2 in another thread and I am trying CO and the curly girl method. I thought maybe you can help or direct me to the right board/thread.

I haven't figured out a 100% my hair properties, so with the old trial/error method I decided to try a protein pack (easier and cheaper I could find). I used this morning the Palmer's Coconut Oil Protein Pack. The results: hair a amazingly shiny, soft? yes, I can say is less rough than usually and smells heavenly.
I also noticed that I still have frizz but my hair is straighter than last week.

After I rinsed out the coconut protein treatment, I didn't put anything else.

My questions are: Does this shine and softness means my hair liked the protein? Does this protein pack has cones? Does this protein pack making my hair straighter means I am not a wurly after all?

Thanks for letting me know your thoughts...

Cheers,

arel

[Poot]

Yet another wurly checking in! I am looking forward to Autumn as this summer has been as hot as hades! lol! My hair acts best in cooler weather. I use Live Clean argan oil shampoo and conditioner, its nice and moistening as my air is very dry, then I use Mixed Chicks Kids leave in on my hair, works great! :) And I cannot live without my tangle teaser.

[Quixii]

The other day I wet my ends before putting my hair up in a ends-out updo, and when I came home I realized they had quite nicely formed ringlets! :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/Hair/P7120065sm_zps742d784f.jpg

[Theobroma]

Love those ringlets, Quixii!

[DarkCurls]

That's beautiful, Quixii.

[arelrios]

Beautiful Quixii... :)

[kitschy]

Your ringlets are perfect.

[CurlyCap]

Best videotaped curly hair routine video I've seen in a long time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LycKEqdJH1I

Warning: The whole twirling thing gets reaaaaaaally tiresome past APL. But she's totally right. It adds insane definition.

Edit: This (adorable) little girl does what I think is a more everyday routine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRlqx-CbhZQ

Note:
1. Coconut oil pre-washes
2. Leave-in conditioner products

Ahhh, the genius of LHC is spreading worldwide. XD

[Firefox7275]

Note:
1. Coconut oil pre-washes
2. Leave-in conditioner products

Ahhh, the genius of LHC is spreading worldwide. XD

Ha ha ha, I suspect non caucasian tighter curlies have been doing both of these since way before LHC or the CG method advocated them!!

[GRU]

I've been wanting to try some sort of twirling thing sometime, just to see what would happen. Someday.....

[Wildcat Diva]

Ravenheather just called me "wurly." What does wurly mean exactly, and do I qualify?
http://imageshack.com/a/img842/5459/o748.jpg

[CurlyCap]

Ha ha ha, I suspect non caucasian tighter curlies have been doing both of these since way before LHC or the CG method advocated them!!

Using products, and using them correctly, are vastly different things.

And I think there there is just more availability of products geared towards curly heads these days. I remember growing up thinking they either marketed towards bone straight or AA hair. Everything in between was trial and error.

[Quixii]

Wildcat Diva, you're definitely wurly. I think of wurly as that spot in between wavy and curly. When the hair definitely has waves, and kind of wants to have curls, and maybe even has a few.

[jaine]

Got haircut today, and I'm claiming BSL (:

I'm happy with it ...I asked her to cut the bare minimum to make it symmetrical, and that is what she did :)
https://sphotos-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/643949_10151569613207898_1871829657_n.jpg

edit: that pic is the way she styled it ... I asked for a low-heat styling method and she did lots of tiny twists and then put me under the hooded dryer. That turned out nice, but no root volume.
I'm restyling it now to see how it looks with my usual styling method. (gel - wet ponytail on top of my head - cotton mesh bag - hard bonnet hair dryer)

[GRU]

Omigosh, jaine, your hair has gotten SO MUCH LONGER!!!! Looking great! :thumbsup:

[Neecola]

Whoa Jaine!! :inlove: Your texture is fab and the new cut looks great.

[CurlyCap]

:wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail:

I've noticed that I was losing more hair than usual during my co-wash. I tend to shed as the weather moves towards fall, so I didn't sweat it.

But then I started this period of INSANE stress at work, and the hair kept falling.

Today I noticed that I can actually see my scalp on the right side of my head when I wear my hair in a bun. I have NEVER been able to see my scalp in an updo.

I've only lost a little on the left:
http://i.imgur.com/GPNs7bs.jpg?2

But the thinning is heartbreaking on the right:
http://i.imgur.com/FPNlfyg.jpg?2

I hate stress. I've lost little quarter size sections before, but never had a major thinning. This is suckage.

ETA: Hair loss with stress runs on my mom's side of the family. So I know it's the stress. That doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

[alyanna]

DAMMIT :(

I wanted to reply because I've been away from LHC for a while but have been getting more into it these days. I've been catching up on this thread as my hair is getting curlier and curlier as it grows towards BSL.

I'm so sorry CurlyCap! I totally know how you feel because my hair was doing so well until last December, when all of a sudden I noticed a patch on my left crown. I've had thinning there before, but since pregnancies and childbirth, this patch had thickened and you couldn't see my scalp anymore. I was doing so well for almost 3 years, then boom! I'm still jumping through hoops trying to get this spot to thicken again, but so far, no luck :(

I think it's stress for me too, but how can I really avoid stress completely?

It's really frustrating. I'm doing scalp massages with Daktarin and castor oil and being very diligent with my vitamins. I went to a dermatologist and after tests found out I was deficient in Iron and Vitamin D, so I'm supplementing. Mind you, I've always been deficient in these, for as long as I can remember.

Hugs!

[Maktub]

I'm so sorry to hear that. :(
Time to focus on stress-management techniques :grouphug:

Stress is evil. I have a permanent "bald spot" the size of a dime near my right temple because of a very stressful period. Never grew back :(

[Lyytikka]

Wow, you girls have inspirational hair! Please keep posting!

I have ona picture to contribute too. Soo, this is wurly isn't it?

http://www.untamedtresses.com/members/lyytikka-2484/albums/hair/18705-untamed.jpg

[Firefox7275]

:wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail: :wail:

I've noticed that I was losing more hair than usual during my co-wash. I tend to shed as the weather moves towards fall, so I didn't sweat it.

But then I started this period of INSANE stress at work, and the hair kept falling.

Today I noticed that I can actually see my scalp on the right side of my head when I wear my hair in a bun. I have NEVER been able to see my scalp in an updo.

I hate stress. I've lost little quarter size sections before, but never had a major thinning. This is suckage.

ETA: Hair loss with stress runs on my mom's side of the family. So I know it's the stress. That doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

Sorry to read this, I struggle with diagnosed stress/ anxiety myself tho luckily never had a big shed with it. Are you getting any support from your family doctor or another medical professional? Low dose beta blockers are just MAGIC, they kill the physical symptoms usually without any side effects, that could potentially translate to holding onto more of your hair in the future. Also review your diet if you have not already, it absolutely is possible to eat to beat stress - long chain omega-3s and magnesium rich foods are particularly important. Also be sure to get your 10,00 steps every day or the equivalent, physical activity is an important stress management technique partly because it 'uses up' the fight-or-flight hormones.

HTH.

[alyanna]

Low dose beta blockers are just MAGIC, they kill the physical symptoms usually without any side effects, that could potentially translate to holding onto more of your hair in the future. Also review your diet if you have not already, it absolutely is possible to eat to beat stress - long chain omega-3s and magnesium rich foods are particularly important.

HTH.

Hey Firefox7275,
Would you please tell me what low dose beta blockers are and how we can get them? Are they in a pill that one can take or are they found in certain foods?

[alyanna]

Sorry double post.

[Neecola]

CurlyCap, I'm so sorry :grouphug: Just went through this myself with a very stressful period which followed a huge shed from CO-washing. Perhaps, as Firefox suggests, there is something you can do to keep stress at bay, be it therapy/exercise/medication.

[leslissocool]

Oh man CurlyCap that really sucks!!!


IS there any way you can do some yoga? even 20 minutes before going to sleep? It might help you stop the hair loss, it releases stress.

[lapushka]

Hey Firefox7275,
Would you please tell me what low dose beta blockers are and how we can get them? Are they in a pill that one can take or are they found in certain foods?

Basically, you would have to go see a doctor! And I don't think it's quite common to prescribe beta blockers for hair loss, or is it?

[CurlyCap]

Thanks for looking out Firefox7275! I appreciate the concern.

BUT I do have to say that I disagree with the use of beta-blockers (or benzodiazepines) for long-term stress management. B-blockers are intended for short-term management of specific situations in people with diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. They're meant to address specific situations, to be used only in those situations, and their prescription should always be in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy to address the underlying anxiety. B-blockers do not make the stress disappear. They just block the sympathetic reaction of your body to stressful stimuli. So you heart rate and blood pressure remain even, but it does not stop other neuro-hormonal responses.

Using beta-blockers long-term for situational life stress is associated with a high degree of dependence and does not prevent the results of long-term high cortisol (another stress hormone) on your body. And stress-related hair loss, from what we know, is more related to long-term changes associated with the neuro-hormonal axes than the relatively brief changes experienced with flight-or-fight sympathetic responses.

In other words, if you're stressed because life is beating you up (and not because you have a biologic predisposition to anxiety), you shouldn't rely on medications to fix the problem. A person needs to assess their situation, make lifestyle and life choice changes, and let their body adjust to a less stressful environment.

I just bring it up because I don't want people looking for beta-blockers (or benzodiazepines) as a solution to stress-related hair loss. I love my hair, I know others love their hair and want a solution, but I don't think this is a safe and recommended solution when one's primary concern is life circumstances related stress and hair loss.

As for me, I'm working on it. In 10 months I should have a new job, hopefully in a new place, closer to family and a culture I enjoy. It's not an immediate change, but I'm making small decisions every day that help me enjoy my life, even if it isn't the perfect thing to do for my career. Life is such that I can't always do everything that would make my life 100% enjoyable and stress free, but baby steps are better than no steps. I consider accepting this position a life lesson on what I truly enjoy doing for a living, and don't intend to make this particular mistake again.

[Firefox7275]

Thanks for looking out Firefox7275! I appreciate the concern.

BUT I do have to say that I disagree with the use of beta-blockers (or benzodiazepines) for long-term stress management. B-blockers are intended for short-term management of specific situations in people with diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. They're meant to address specific situations, to be used only in those situations, and their prescription should always be in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy to address the underlying anxiety. B-blockers do not make the stress disappear. They just block the sympathetic reaction of your body to stressful stimuli. So you heart rate and blood pressure remain even, but it does not stop other neuro-hormonal responses.

Using beta-blockers long-term for situational life stress is associated with a high degree of dependence and does not prevent the results of long-term high cortisol (another stress hormone) on your body. And stress-related hair loss, from what we know, is more related to long-term changes associated with the neuro-hormonal axes than the relatively brief changes experienced with flight-or-fight sympathetic responses.

In other words, if you're stressed because life is beating you up (and not because you have a biologic predisposition to anxiety), you shouldn't rely on medications to fix the problem. A person needs to assess their situation, make lifestyle and life choice changes, and let their body adjust to a less stressful environment.

I just bring it up because I don't want people looking for beta-blockers (or benzodiazepines) as a solution to stress-related hair loss. I love my hair, I know others love their hair and want a solution, but I don't think this is a safe and recommended solution when one's primary concern is life circumstances related stress and hair loss.


I didn't say anything about using low dose beta blockers for long term stress management and I'm well aware of their therapeutic indications (state and trait/ chronic and acute in this country), the basic pharmacology since my initial training was in pharmacy, tho it's ten years since I have practiced that 'dark art'.

Benzodiazepines are a completely different kettle of fish - they are habit forming, linked to rebound anxiety, have unpleasant side effects like drowsiness and are thankfully prescribed relatively infrequently to new patients these days. Sadly anti depressants are increasingly used for chronic anxiety, they cannot be 'dipped in and out of' as low dose beta blockers can.

Nor did I say anything about relying on medication without addressing the issue via other routes, in fact I specifically referred to nutrition and physical activity since lifestyle healthcare is what I currently do for a living.

[GRU]

Just FYI: You should not take a beta blocker if your heartrate is below 60 bpm, except under the guidance of a healthcare provider.

[Theobroma]

CurlyCap, I'm so sorry! :grouphug:

As an experiment, I'd urge you to try some other washing method just to see what happens. You said the shedding started before the stress kicked in at work, and that sets off my alarm bells because of my own experience with CO. I did it for a year and a half and it was wonderful at first, but the wash-day shed volume started creeping up by tiny increments until I was losing enormous wads of hair in every wash.

Eventually I could no longer talk myself into believing the "it only looks like a lot because it's so much longer than it was a year ago" explanation and stopped doing CO (very reluctantly, because it made my hair feel so great) ... and the shedding stopped, then and there, as though I'd flipped a switch. But by that time I'd lost something like 40% of my thickness. I didn't have bald spots yet, but I'd be close to bald by now if I'd kept on with CO. A year and a half later, I still haven't recovered my former ponytail thickness.

(To be absolutely clear, there was no change in my stress levels, diet, or anything else at all that could have explained the sudden and dramatic decrease in shedding; the only thing that changed was that I was no longer putting conditioner on my scalp.)

So -- since you did say the work stress became insane only after you started noticing increased shedding, I'd strongly suggest you try a different washing method just to see what happens. If your scalp has become intolerant of conditioner the way mine apparently did, you might be able to stop the hair loss despite the stress situation.

[Killahkurlz]

DAMMIT :(

I wanted to reply because I've been away from LHC for a while but have been getting more into it these days. I've been catching up on this thread as my hair is getting curlier and curlier as it grows towards BSL.

I'm so sorry CurlyCap! I totally know how you feel because my hair was doing so well until last December, when all of a sudden I noticed a patch on my left crown. I've had thinning there before, but since pregnancies and childbirth, this patch had thickened and you couldn't see my scalp anymore. I was doing so well for almost 3 years, then boom! I'm still jumping through hoops trying to get this spot to thicken again, but so far, no luck :(

I think it's stress for me too, but how can I really avoid stress completely?

It's really frustrating. I'm doing scalp massages with Daktarin and castor oil and being very diligent with my vitamins. I went to a dermatologist and after tests found out I was deficient in Iron and Vitamin D, so I'm supplementing. Mind you, I've always been deficient in these, for as long as I can remember.

Hugs!

I.do.scalp massages too but with castor oil and tea tree oil mix. I love it but mu roots always tangle :mad:

[CurlyCap]

CurlyCap, I'm so sorry! :grouphug:

As an experiment, I'd urge you to try some other washing method just to see what happens. You said the shedding started before the stress kicked in at work, and that sets off my alarm bells because of my own experience with CO. I did it for a year and a half and it was wonderful at first, but the wash-day shed volume started creeping up by tiny increments until I was losing enormous wads of hair in every wash.

Eventually I could no longer talk myself into believing the "it only looks like a lot because it's so much longer than it was a year ago" explanation and stopped doing CO (very reluctantly, because it made my hair feel so great) ... and the shedding stopped, then and there, as though I'd flipped a switch. But by that time I'd lost something like 40% of my thickness. I didn't have bald spots yet, but I'd be close to bald by now if I'd kept on with CO. A year and a half later, I still haven't recovered my former ponytail thickness.

(To be absolutely clear, there was no change in my stress levels, diet, or anything else at all that could have explained the sudden and dramatic decrease in shedding; the only thing that changed was that I was no longer putting conditioner on my scalp.)

So -- since you did say the work stress became insane only after you started noticing increased shedding, I'd strongly suggest you try a different washing method just to see what happens. If your scalp has become intolerant of conditioner the way mine apparently did, you might be able to stop the hair loss despite the stress situation.

I'm willing to try. Thanks for the idea! Maybe the stress and co-washing is a bad combination.

Thing is, I don't know what to wash my hair with then. I need to wash it when I get home because I work in healthcare and there is grossness all around me every day. Just a water rinse isn't going to get rid of that and I use the co-wash to detangle.

Any ideas?

ETA: I've been co-washing for nearly 7 years. I've been using the same products for almost 3, switching between conditioners fairly regularly. So I don't think it's the co-washing alone. But maybe it's just a bad idea right now....

[Theobroma]

I'm willing to try. Thanks for the idea! Maybe the stress and co-washing is a bad combination.

Thing is, I don't know what to wash my hair with then. I need to wash it when I get home because I work in healthcare and there is grossness all around me every day. Just a water rinse isn't going to get rid of that and I use the co-wash to detangle.

Any ideas?

I switched to soap. Dudu-Osun African Black Soap, in my case, but there are zillions of shampoo bars out there to choose from. You absolutely have to do an acid rinse with dilute vinegar or citric acid after that or your hair will be a grabby uncombable mess, but I find that soap makes my hair almost as soft as CO washing (and allows it to stay on my head!) and doesn't dry it out the way shampoo does.

I find that a drop of EVOO after the vinegar rinse is fantastic as a detangling aid, though the vinegar rinse on its own gives me enough slip not to need anything else. Of course, I'm no more than wurly so this may not work with your texture, but you can probably still use conditioner to detangle as long as you keep it off your scalp. Though I'd try a wash or two with no conditioner at all, if you can possibly manage it, just to be sure that your results aren't being falsified by some conditioner getting on your scalp despite your best efforts.

[LongCurlyTress]

Hi! I have a question... I would like to know what leave-in conditioners my fellow curly girls (3b) use? I am having alot of trouble with frizz after my hair dries. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks! Nice thread!

[kitschy]

When I use a leave-in, I use Sally's GVP Conditioning Balm, which is the cheaper knock-off version of Biolage Conditioning Balm.

[Killahkurlz]

Hi! I have a question... I would like to know what leave-in conditioners my fellow curly girls (3b) use? I am having alot of trouble with frizz after my hair dries. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks! Nice thread!

I heard Giovanni's leave in is good from a lot of people. I have yet to.try it though.

[CurlyCap]

I switched to soap. Dudu-Osun African Black Soap, in my case, but there are zillions of shampoo bars out there to choose from. You absolutely have to do an acid rinse with dilute vinegar or citric acid after that or your hair will be a grabby uncombable mess, but I find that soap makes my hair almost as soft as CO washing (and allows it to stay on my head!) and doesn't dry it out the way shampoo does.

I find that a drop of EVOO after the vinegar rinse is fantastic as a detangling aid, though the vinegar rinse on its own gives me enough slip not to need anything else. Of course, I'm no more than wurly so this may not work with your texture, but you can probably still use conditioner to detangle as long as you keep it off your scalp. Though I'd try a wash or two with no conditioner at all, if you can possibly manage it, just to be sure that your results aren't being falsified by some conditioner getting on your scalp despite your best efforts.

Thanks for your answer.

Yeah, that routine won't provide near enough slip for me to detangle my hair. And I tried the soap routine when I joined LHC. It left my hair a dry, tangled mess. I guess that's the difference between wurly and curly.

I could try going back to more natural conditioners. I gave them up when my hair got longer because they are expensive. It's a thought, though.

[CurlyCap]

Hi! I have a question... I would like to know what leave-in conditioners my fellow curly girls (3b) use? I am having alot of trouble with frizz after my hair dries. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks! Nice thread!

Suave (any type really)
Tresseme Naturals Moisturizing

[Theobroma]

Thanks for your answer.

Yeah, that routine won't provide near enough slip for me to detangle my hair. And I tried the soap routine when I joined LHC. It left my hair a dry, tangled mess. I guess that's the difference between wurly and curly.

I could try going back to more natural conditioners. I gave them up when my hair got longer because they are expensive. It's a thought, though.

Yes, I was afraid that what works for me would be useless for you!

I'm assuming that standard shampoos are death for your curls as well (they're too drying even for me), but maybe some sort of gentle sulphate-free shampoo? If only for the experiment, to see whether you shed less when you don't get conditioner on your scalp? If you don't the whole issue is moot in any case, but if you do, you'll at least know that it's worth looking for a new routine!

[Neecola]

Hi! I have a question... I would like to know what leave-in conditioners my fellow curly girls (3b) use? I am having alot of trouble with frizz after my hair dries. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks! Nice thread!


I find flaxseed gel helps tame the frizzies (and is economical!)

[lapushka]

BUT I do have to say that I disagree with the use of beta-blockers (or benzodiazepines) for long-term stress management. B-blockers are intended for short-term management of specific situations in people with diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. They're meant to address specific situations, to be used only in those situations, and their prescription should always be in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy to address the underlying anxiety. B-blockers do not make the stress disappear. They just block the sympathetic reaction of your body to stressful stimuli. So you heart rate and blood pressure remain even, but it does not stop other neuro-hormonal responses.

Using beta-blockers long-term for situational life stress is associated with a high degree of dependence and does not prevent the results of long-term high cortisol (another stress hormone) on your body. And stress-related hair loss, from what we know, is more related to long-term changes associated with the neuro-hormonal axes than the relatively brief changes experienced with flight-or-fight sympathetic responses.

Wait... since when are beta blockers the same as benzodiazepines? I thought they were two different things altogether!

[CurlyCap]

Wait... since when are beta blockers the same as benzodiazepines? I thought they were two different things altogether!

They're completely different medications. I just mentioned them because they're another drug class people sometimes use to treat anxiety.

[leslissocool]

I sound like a broken record, but how about listening to Brainsync (http://www.brainsync.com/audio-store/subliminals.html) and doing meditation before going to bed? This was suggested to someone by Viscountess and it made a HUGE difference in my stress level even in the same situation. They have a free MP3 track in their site, you should try it.

[PetuniaBlossom]

CurlyCap, I'm so sorry! :grouphug:

As an experiment, I'd urge you to try some other washing method just to see what happens. You said the shedding started before the stress kicked in at work, and that sets off my alarm bells because of my own experience with CO. I did it for a year and a half and it was wonderful at first, but the wash-day shed volume started creeping up by tiny increments until I was losing enormous wads of hair in every wash.

Eventually I could no longer talk myself into believing the "it only looks like a lot because it's so much longer than it was a year ago" explanation and stopped doing CO (very reluctantly, because it made my hair feel so great) ... and the shedding stopped, then and there, as though I'd flipped a switch. But by that time I'd lost something like 40% of my thickness. I didn't have bald spots yet, but I'd be close to bald by now if I'd kept on with CO. A year and a half later, I still haven't recovered my former ponytail thickness.

(To be absolutely clear, there was no change in my stress levels, diet, or anything else at all that could have explained the sudden and dramatic decrease in shedding; the only thing that changed was that I was no longer putting conditioner on my scalp.)

So -- since you did say the work stress became insane only after you started noticing increased shedding, I'd strongly suggest you try a different washing method just to see what happens. If your scalp has become intolerant of conditioner the way mine apparently did, you might be able to stop the hair loss despite the stress situation.

I also experienced a horrendous hairloss while doing CO, and it did stop at once when I quit CO. Now I do CWC but I'm very careful - not a drop of conditioner will ever touch my scalp again.

[CurlyMopTop]

I'm another one that had shedding issues while using CO exclusively. I use a combination of washing methods now. Sometimes CWC, CO (helps when swimming a lot), and plain S&C (I get build up easily). Not a single method works for me on it's own. If the CO was causing the shedding, you'll notice the difference immediately once switched.

[lapushka]

They're completely different medications. I just mentioned them because they're another drug class people sometimes use to treat anxiety.

Oh okay! :flower:

[CurlyCap]

This is an interesting learning experience, having thinning hair.

I've never been self-conscious about my hair. I've wanted it to be longer, or better styled, or shinier...but I've never been self-conscious about it.

Today, I made sure to fluff my hair in the front, just in case people might see my scalp. It was ridiculous since I still have an insane amount of volume. I noticed that when I made "careless" buns, I made sure to pull my hair down before I twirled, covering the sides. It was an almost unconscious decision.

It's been....different. My mom has very thin hair and I always wondered why she always messed with it.

A life lesson I guess.

[Beborani]

Curlycap that is how I lived for 30 years but I shouldnt have had to. If you get hair back within a couple of years, great, otherwise do look into options such as minoxidil (I dont know your age but you said above that you work in medical field so you will be aware of all contraindications so will use it judiciously) or maybe there are/will be other options. I got back so much of my hair (my first post here has that story), it is unbelievable. I still style as it I need to cover up as there are a couple of areas but overall I love this new freedom.

[lapushka]

CurlyCap, please have some blood drawn, and make sure, doubly so, that it isn't anything other than stress. I think it's very important to get a check up at this point! Don't just assume it's stress. Make sure!

[puddums]

I was hoping someone here could recommend a good leave-in conditioner. My hair is 2c (but definitely on the extremely wurly side of 2c), fine, but decently thick. I've tried a bunch of different leave-ins as well as just leaving in some of my rinse out conditioner. The result is always still dry/unmoisturized, but relatively sticky hair.

I was thinking of trying the one by Darcy's botanicals, so if anyone has tried it I would love to hear experiences. However, I would certainly enjoy other suggestions too!

Thank you in advance!

[Firefox7275]

I was hoping someone here could recommend a good leave-in conditioner. My hair is 2c (but definitely on the extremely wurly side of 2c), fine, but decently thick. I've tried a bunch of different leave-ins as well as just leaving in some of my rinse out conditioner. The result is always still dry/unmoisturized, but relatively sticky hair.

I was thinking of trying the one by Darcy's botanicals, so if anyone has tried it I would love to hear experiences. However, I would certainly enjoy other suggestions too!

Thank you in advance!

What are your hair properties (see Live Curly Live Free) and dew points/ humidity? That will help tell you what ingredients to look for to improve the texture of your hair, hair feeling 'dry' doesn't necessarily mean it is lacking is moisture (=water) or that using humectants is the solution, it can means the cuticle is not lying flat, can be build up, can be old damage, can just be the natural kinks in your hair and so on.

Are you applying the leave ins to dripping wet or damp towel dried hair? I find that makes a huge difference to the end result. Do bear in mind many leave ins are not 'true' conditioners (not rich in fatty alcohols or cationic surfactants), they are detanglers or moisturisers or even closer to pomades/ serums. That might or might not be what you want.

[puddums]

Thanks for the response Firefox7275! Your answers are always so informative!

I went and figured out my other hair properties (and learned a whole lot, I might add). Assuming I did everything correctly, I think my hair is low elasticity and low porosity. The dew points here at this time of the year seem to be in high 50s to low 60s range and humidity tends to be in the mid 60s to high 70s (although the humidity is slightly lower right now since there were thunderstorms yesterday, knocking a bunch of the humidity out).

I think I will start by clarifying just in case build up is the issue. I don't think I've clarified for awhile, so it can't hurt.

ETA: I forgot to add in that my density would be medium.

Also, I always put leave-in in when my hair is dripping wet.

Now that I have clarified, it does feel a bit better, so part of the issue was probably build up. Feel free to impart your wisdom to me though! I would still appreciate it! :flower:

[ludwig20]

I haven't had the chance to look through all the pages, but I was wondering how common is "triangle" hair for wurlies?

I haven't been CO washing lately -- I went back to sulfate-free shampoos although this time I dilute some in water. I use a generous amount of cone-free conditioner, focusing on my ends. And while my hair is still damp, I like to apply coconut oil and a bit of shea butter. But my hair is still wide! Especially on wash-day. I like my routine because it's gentle and leaves my length feeling soft and relatively tangle-free. I'm just not sure what to do about the 'triangle' or 'pyramid' look? I really don't like layers. I don't know... I'm starting to suspect my hair might be wavier than it shows. The canopy is more of a 1c, but the underlayers can range from 2a to 2c. On top of that, I have a combination of fine, medium, and coarse strands. lol it's quite complicated having such mixed hair. (つд｀)

[lilliemer]

I heard Giovanni's leave in is good from a lot of people. I have yet to.try it though.
I just got it, the first time I used it I loved it, but my hair has been dry and cranky lately, and hasn't been doing well regardless of whether or not I use the leave in. I think an ACV rinse may have angered it. Gonna keep playing with my routine until I find something my hair likes.

[Neecola]

I find that I have to switch up my routine and products. Something that works great for me for a few weeks/months will suddenly not work anymore, even after clarifying. But if I switch it up, I tend to have better results.

How long is your hair ludwig? I'm somewhere between SL & APL and I am prone to triangle hair... but I don't think it will be a problem once its longer. Also, my hair naturally grows in a "V" shape which seems to keep the triangle to a minimum.

[jeanniet]

Thanks for the response Firefox7275! Your answers are always so informative!

I went and figured out my other hair properties (and learned a whole lot, I might add). Assuming I did everything correctly, I think my hair is low elasticity and low porosity. The dew points here at this time of the year seem to be in high 50s to low 60s range and humidity tends to be in the mid 60s to high 70s (although the humidity is slightly lower right now since there were thunderstorms yesterday, knocking a bunch of the humidity out).

I think I will start by clarifying just in case build up is the issue. I don't think I've clarified for awhile, so it can't hurt.

ETA: I forgot to add in that my density would be medium.

Also, I always put leave-in in when my hair is dripping wet.

Now that I have clarified, it does feel a bit better, so part of the issue was probably build up. Feel free to impart your wisdom to me though! I would still appreciate it! :flower:

I don't know what porosity test you did, but the water one is pretty unreliable. You can get a good estimate of porosity just by observation. If your hair takes a long time to wet down, is hard to moisturize but holds the moisture once it gets there, and takes a long time to dry, you're low porosity. If your hair is damaged due to bleaching or a lot of heat, dries very fast, and loses moisture quickly, you're high porosity. Somewhere in between is normal.

I'm searching for the perfect leave-in myself. The Darcy's pumpkin seed conditioner is very nice, although not necessarily meant as a leave in, and glycerin-free. My hair will take a certain amount of glycerin but not too much. I haven't tried the actual leave in (the peach kernel, I think it is). I'm testing out some Curl Junkie as well as Spiral Solutions. I have a bunch of samples to go through. I was using Tresemme Naturals, but they seem to want to keep changing formulations. Whenever possible, I also prefer to support smaller businesses.

[pili]

I don't know what porosity test you did, but the water one is pretty unreliable. You can get a good estimate of porosity just by observation. If your hair takes a long time to wet down, is hard to moisturize but holds the moisture once it gets there, and takes a long time to dry, you're low porosity. If your hair is damaged due to bleaching or a lot of heat, dries very fast, and loses moisture quickly, you're high porosity. Somewhere in between is normal.

See, I am now very confused. I used to think I was high porosity because my hair was exactly as you described here, but then I moved away from FL for thirteen years and my hair got to the point where it was acting like low porosity hair (GA, SD, PA). Now I am back in FL and my hair is turning brittle, drying fast and behaving as it did when I was a kid.

[ludwig20]

I find that I have to switch up my routine and products. Something that works great for me for a few weeks/months will suddenly not work anymore, even after clarifying. But if I switch it up, I tend to have better results.

How long is your hair ludwig? I'm somewhere between SL & APL and I am prone to triangle hair... but I don't think it will be a problem once its longer. Also, my hair naturally grows in a "V" shape which seems to keep the triangle to a minimum.

I'm right at SL right now, so you can imagine how odd it looks. I've noticed my hair seems to grow at the same length... I don't develop a natural "V" or "U" shaped hemline.

[ludwig20]

I was using Tresemme Naturals, but they seem to want to keep changing formulations.

Currently I'm using the new Tresemme Naturals (Aloe Vera & Avocado Oil) with a black top. I don't dislike it, but I think the old one was better. Not sure, but it felt richer / more moisturizing for my hair.

[jeanniet]

See, I am now very confused. I used to think I was high porosity because my hair was exactly as you described here, but then I moved away from FL for thirteen years and my hair got to the point where it was acting like low porosity hair (GA, SD, PA). Now I am back in FL and my hair is turning brittle, drying fast and behaving as it did when I was a kid.

I wonder if it's a water hardness issue rather than porosity? Or could be the constant sun, too--sun can be pretty damaging just by itself.

I still have a few bottles of the old formula Tresemme Naturals conditioner, but I don't think I'll try out the new one. It really bugs me when they mess with a good thing. I'm really liking the Darcy's pumpkin seed. It's more expensive than the Tresemme by quite a bit, but hey, it works. My hair feels really nice today.

[GRU]

I haven't had the chance to look through all the pages, but I was wondering how common is "triangle" hair for wurlies?

I haven't been CO washing lately -- I went back to sulfate-free shampoos although this time I dilute some in water. I use a generous amount of cone-free conditioner, focusing on my ends. And while my hair is still damp, I like to apply coconut oil and a bit of shea butter. But my hair is still wide! Especially on wash-day. I like my routine because it's gentle and leaves my length feeling soft and relatively tangle-free. I'm just not sure what to do about the 'triangle' or 'pyramid' look? I really don't like layers. I don't know... I'm starting to suspect my hair might be wavier than it shows. The canopy is more of a 1c, but the underlayers can range from 2a to 2c. On top of that, I have a combination of fine, medium, and coarse strands. lol it's quite complicated having such mixed hair. (つд｀)

DO NOT DO LAYERS ... it will get even wider! Trust me on this one!

I'm always frustrated when I see people with long spirals going straight down their back... how do they do that? I think that "wide load" is just the way my hair wants to be. It's on the coarse side, which probably doesn't help the situation any, either.

[pili]

Currently I'm using the new Tresemme Naturals (Aloe Vera & Avocado Oil) with a black top. I don't dislike it, but I think the old one was better. Not sure, but it felt richer / more moisturizing for my hair.

This. I am on the hunt for a new conditioner. I'll let you know if I find anything.

[pili]

I wonder if it's a water hardness issue rather than porosity? Or could be the constant sun, too--sun can be pretty damaging just by itself.

I still have a few bottles of the old formula Tresemme Naturals conditioner, but I don't think I'll try out the new one. It really bugs me when they mess with a good thing. I'm really liking the Darcy's pumpkin seed. It's more expensive than the Tresemme by quite a bit, but hey, it works. My hair feels really nice today.

It can't be the sun. I've only been here a week! (I grew up here, remember, I KNOW to stay out of the sun.)

But doesn't the hard water only affect highly porous hair? Mine is really course to medium, mostly course. The pic in my sig. is from back in Feb. It looks nothing like that now. :(

[jeanniet]

DO NOT DO LAYERS ... it will get even wider! Trust me on this one!

Not necessarily. A stylist who knows how to do a good curly cut can give you layers and volume without triangle head. I have a lot of hair and need layers to take some weight off the curl. I have a lot of lift and movement, but no triangle. Triangles are bad! :p

[Neecola]

I'm right at SL right now, so you can imagine how odd it looks. I've noticed my hair seems to grow at the same length... I don't develop a natural "V" or "U" shaped hemline.

Ah yes, SL was especially bad for me too. I'm now at the point that when my hair is down, I can push it behind my shoulders and it stays pretty well so from the front, it doesn't look too triangle-y. Also, I see you have thick hair so that makes a big difference too. The old standby advice of "put it up and forget about it" helped me through that stage of growth.

[pili]

Ah yes, SL was especially bad for me too...The old standby advice of "put it up and forget about it" helped me through that stage of growth.

*Sigh* I actually can't wait for that stage. :p

[trandafir]

Hi Ladies (and possible Gents),

I was wondering if I could get some advice from fellow wurly/curly people. I've always considered hair wavy/curly... it would air dry into ringlets and then relax here and there to a wave. Lately though it doesn't hold much of the curl at all, it still air drys into ringlets but the next day it has very little curl left. The only thing I can think of is that I'm currently growing out an asymmetrical hair cut and trimming it myself.

I'm 2c/3a, F/M, and ii, shoulder length and virgin.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. I really miss my curls.

[trandafir]

Hi Ladies (and possible Gents),

I was wondering if I could get some advice from fellow wurly/curly people. I've always considered hair wavy/curly... it would air dry into ringlets and then relax here and there to a wave. Lately though it doesn't hold much of the curl at all, it still air drys into ringlets but the next day it has very little curl left. The only thing I can think of is that I'm currently growing out an asymmetrical hair cut and trimming it myself.

I'm 2c/3a, F/M, and ii, shoulder length and virgin.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. I really miss my curls.

[ludwig20]

DO NOT DO LAYERS ... it will get even wider! Trust me on this one!

I'm always frustrated when I see people with long spirals going straight down their back... how do they do that? I think that "wide load" is just the way my hair wants to be. It's on the coarse side, which probably doesn't help the situation any, either.

Yeah, I'm avoiding layers at all cost. Last time I had shoulder-length hair with layers I didn't notice much of a difference in terms of my hair's width.

[ludwig20]

Ah yes, SL was especially bad for me too. I'm now at the point that when my hair is down, I can push it behind my shoulders and it stays pretty well so from the front, it doesn't look too triangle-y. Also, I see you have thick hair so that makes a big difference too. The old standby advice of "put it up and forget about it" helped me through that stage of growth.

I'm a bit self-conscious about wearing my hair up since I have such an uneven hairline. Otherwise, I would gladly tie it up. I don't know, I guess the best I can do for now is wait for it to grow out. My triangle-hair isn't so bad -- it's not nearly as wide as Rosanna Rosannadanna lol. But it's still 'out' there enough to bother me.

[silver curls]

Hi Ladies (and possible Gents),

I was wondering if I could get some advice from fellow wurly/curly people. I've always considered hair wavy/curly... it would air dry into ringlets and then relax here and there to a wave. Lately though it doesn't hold much of the curl at all, it still air drys into ringlets but the next day it has very little curl left. The only thing I can think of is that I'm currently growing out an asymmetrical hair cut and trimming it myself.

I'm 2c/3a, F/M, and ii, shoulder length and virgin.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. I really miss my curls.

Have you tried the CurlyGirl Method?

[trandafir]

Silver Curls, I haven't given it an honest try yet. There's no particular reason though. I'm not afraid of greasies or anything. I only wash my hair every 4 or 5 days so my hair manages oil pretty well. Maybe I should give it a try.

[leslissocool]

It can't be the sun. I've only been here a week! (I grew up here, remember, I KNOW to stay out of the sun.)

But doesn't the hard water only affect highly porous hair? Mine is really course to medium, mostly course. The pic in my sig. is from back in Feb. It looks nothing like that now. :(


Do you know what highly porous hair really is? It's usually damaged hair, it's very rare to have it as a natural property in coarse hair, on average the coarser the hair the lower the porosity. Now, if you have damage (chemical for example, or if you use heat) then coarse hair tends to become very porous.


If you have porous hair (Damaged, dry, brittle) , you want a lower PH in your products.

There is a "test" you can do, it's on the curly girl website:


Hair Analysis for Porosity:
You can check porosity on dry hair by taking a strand of several hairs from four different areas of the head (the front hairline, the temple, the crown, and the nape).

Hold the strand securely with one hand while sliding the thumb and forefinger of the other hand from the end of the scalp.

If the hair feels smooth and the cuticle is compact, dense, and hard, it is considered resistant.

If you can feel a slight roughness, it is considered porous.

If the hair feels very rough, dry, or breaks, it is considered overly porous.

So IMO (no, I'm no stylist nor medic nor anything FYI) you are going to want to go for a lower PH (not as acidic).

Here's (http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/02/ph-of-shampoo-ultimate-list.html) a list of PH in shampoos, you want a 4. something. I would not attempt any acidic rinses, rather try an aloe vera rinse, PH 4.

ETA: Do you have a filter for the hard water? Yes, minerals could over time slash your hair and increase porosity by creating damage, but as far as I know, it would take a long time (like, more than a couple of months depending on how often you wash). You could try a chelating shampoo.

[silver curls]

Silver Curls, I haven't given it an honest try yet. There's no particular reason though. I'm not afraid of greasies or anything. I only wash my hair every 4 or 5 days so my hair manages oil pretty well. Maybe I should give it a try.

I don't know how much you know about the CurlyGirl Method but I would start with the book "The Curly Girl Method" by Lorraine Massey. There is so much info on the internet on curly hair but alot of it is confusing and I find it conflicting. Get the basics down from the book and then go from there and modify it to make it work for your hair type! Hope this Helps!

[Renaissance]

Hi curly girlies! New here!

I just wanted to reach out to CurlyCap with love. I've read through almost this whole thread and was loving her hair all the way through, and was so sad to read the recent posts that she is struggling with some hair loss and thinning.

This is such a tremendous bummer. I went through something similar over the last two years. I believe my thinning was related to my diagnosis of Celiac disease, where the lining of the intestine is damaged by an autoimmune response to specific foods (most commonly wheat) and the body cannot absorb sufficient nutrients.

I lost probably 60% of my hair overall and have come to this site for inspiration and support as I try to restore my hair to health and length.

So I'm with you, girl. I feel for you and know the anguish hair loss can cause. Keep letting us know what you're observing and how you're feeling. <3

[Firefox7275]

Hi Ladies (and possible Gents),

I was wondering if I could get some advice from fellow wurly/curly people. I've always considered hair wavy/curly... it would air dry into ringlets and then relax here and there to a wave. Lately though it doesn't hold much of the curl at all, it still air drys into ringlets but the next day it has very little curl left. The only thing I can think of is that I'm currently growing out an asymmetrical hair cut and trimming it myself.

I'm 2c/3a, F/M, and ii, shoulder length and virgin.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. I really miss my curls.

Do you have build up - hard water, products - have you clarified or chelated lately? Are you using too many 'moisturising' or conditioning products for your hair properties/ dew points/ humidity?

Ingredients that can help boost waves/ curls include hydrolysed protein, magnesium sulphate (epsom salts, but can be drying), coconut oil, honey - not all at once, select the ones that your hair needs. Excessive use of many humectants (water attracting) can make hair limp. Techniques can also make a huge difference, example scrunching products into dripping wet hair, plopping instead of towel turbanning, avoiding brushing and combing.

[CurlyCap]

Lol. Tried my organic lotion in my hair tonight instead of conditioner to see what would happen. It's not dry yet, but it looks like it's a no-go because this stuff is drying more like a gel. Sadness.

BUT

I got to pretend for an hour or so that my hair was BSL! lol That's like 3 years away...

http://i.imgur.com/cXpSRm7.jpg?1

[silver curls]

Love your curls CurlyCap!!! Really like the length!!! I wish my hair would grow faster!

[Totty]

Hello everyone, I'm joining you and because I don't have an avatar right now, here is me

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/tottyspics/Hair%202013/DSC_4396.jpg (http://s7.photobucket.com/user/tottyspics/media/Hair%202013/DSC_4396.jpg.html)

BTW, is this 3a or 3b hair?

[GRU]

Welcome! Looks 3B to me!

[kitschy]

Totty, I would say 3b also. Nice curls.

[Aingeal]

How often do you keep your hair in a protective style such as a bun? How often do you let your curls out to play?


I've been keeping my hair up for a couple of weeks and have been sleeping in a sleep cap, so my curls haven't seen much play time...I kind of miss them!

Also, do you follow the cg routines?

[CurlyCap]

I put my hair up into a bun if that's how I want it that day, but it's not to protectively style it.

I also never sleep with a cap on. It really bothers me and I usually pull it off.

[sandigrl117]

I leave my hair down when I can. I'm constantly fixing my ponytails or buns or messing with my braids or hair clips, and I've found when I leave my hair down I mess with it less. My "protective" styles are up in a swim cap when I'm teaching in the pool, and up for when plopping, usually an hour or so depending on free time. I know it's not necessary to leave it up that long, but I enjoy having EVERYTHING up and out of the way. Plus, I think I look darn cute when plopping!

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt325/sandigrl117/f614e0bd-8fcf-4826-8ac1-e69eecefee4a_zps4dbca0fb.jpg

Curls after plopping today:

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt325/sandigrl117/786d67fb-d23d-4c9f-95a3-27ae157673f6_zpscd93655b.jpg

[Totty]

How often do you keep your hair in a protective style such as a bun?
It could be more, but sometimes my hair just want to rule. And when I have it in a bun or braided updo, my hair tends to stick out.


How often do you let your curls out to play?
About 80% of the time



I've been keeping my hair up for a couple of weeks and have been sleeping in a sleep cap, so my curls haven't seen much play time...I kind of miss them!
I only braid it in a side braid


Also, do you follow the cg routines?
My adaption of CG, once a week low-poo, lots of conditioner, tangle teezer (or a wide tooth comb if I can't find my TT, but both only in wet hair), I oil. Come to think of it maybe is more of a perverted version of CG :confused:

Anyway, it works for me

[arelrios]

Don't know if had happened to you, but when I do an vinegar rinse, my waves tend to last longer. I wash my hair on Saturday morning and did everything as usual, at 10 pm we had dinner and DH took a picture, I was amazed how wavy my hair looked ....

[Upside Down]

Help! Humid season is here.

I am in great need of ideas for how to stop frizzzz. Help, curly friends, share ideas! :silly:

[GRU]

Leave-in conditioner, don't touch your hair, oil....

[Upside Down]

Hello GRU :) , do you put leave in above ears? Cause this is most of my frizz there.

Does glycerine in any form help?

[GRU]

I put leave-in everywhere.

Glycerine might be counterproductive. Try blending in a bit of oil with your leave-in.

[Upside Down]

Mm good idea, will try that thanks!

[biogirl87]

Ladies (and gentlemen if any of you decide to read this thread), if you use or if you do the curly girl method on your hair, how do you deal with tangles? Last week, I washed my hair with a sulfate-free shampoo and used a bit more conditioner than normally (since I used a wide-tooth comb in the shower to comb the tangles out) and woke-up the following day with quite a few curls. While most of those curls began disappear by the end of the day, I decided to try to continue the parts of curly girl method I could continue (didn't have leave-in conditioners or styling products yet) as I hadn't combed my hair when it was dry. On about day 4, since I had to be outside, I put some Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Gel in my hair after wetting in the shower (couldn't bring myself to wash my hair after only 3 days). That evening, I felt my hair becoming really tangled and knotty, to the point where it didn't feel how my hair normally feels. So, after four days of using parts of the curly girl method, I had to comb my hair that evening to detangle it, which took 40 minutes to an hour on my BSL, medium-thick hair. If you comb your hair only when it is wet and has conditioner in it, do you detangle your hair when it is dry or how do you work through tangles?

Also, while doing all this, I noticed my hair starting to itch pretty bad by the middle of day 3 when normally it takes 4 or even 5 days for it to start itching. I think the itchininess was because I wasn't combing my hair in the morning and in the evening, which I normally to do. Again, if you comb your hair only it is wet and has conditioner in it, how do you deal with the itchiness if you get it? Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Please help. Thank you.

[kitschy]

I don't try to stretch my washes that long since my curls look better on first day of wash. If my hair starts feeling matted and tangled after day two or three, I just CO wash again, or I put it up in a messy bun so I don't have to think about, or deal with the tangles. I always CO wash by day 4.

[biogirl87]

kitschy, thank you for your reply. I find that it's really easy for me to weigh my hair down with products (only about a quarter-sized dollop of gel made my hair stringy like it hasn't been washed for a week), so using conditioner to wash my hair might be enough to weight my hair down. I may actually have finer hair than I thought I did. So, for now at least I'm using sulfate-free shampoo (slightly diluted) on my scalp and cone-free conditioner from about ears down. The reason why I stretch my washes as long as I do is my little dilemma/conundrum with why my hair would need to be washed twice a week in my adult years when in my teenage years when I was going through puberty I could easily go five days before washing my hair and usually was okay washing my hair every seven days. Shouldn't I be able to stretch my washes longer now that my hormones have settled down than when they're all wacky?

[kitschy]

Well, my hair is quite a bit more curly than yours so I don't think I'm the one to be giving you advise. I CO wash exclusively every 2 or 3 days, not so much because my hair is dirty, but because it revives my curls. I only detangle in the shower, when my hair is drenched with conditioner, with a wide toothed comb. Since I'm not using sulfates I don't see a need, and I don't desire to stretch washing. So maybe someone else who has more wavy, fine hair can answer your question about washing. I was just giving you my two cents on detangling.

[biogirl87]

kitschy, thank you. I don't use sulfates now either but I used them before. I know you were just giving advice on detangling and I appreciate it. I don't really know my potential curl type as my mom has kept her hair short for the past ten years at leaast and I don't really remember if my grandma has curls or waves in her hair. It could be that my hair can be a type 3 but all the combing and brushing (used to brush my hair for the most part until this July) and how I used sulfates until a few weeks ago and no conditioner until I joined LHC could have loosened some of the curls that could potentially be in my hair. I'm thinking of drenching my hair in coditioner next time I wash (wash my hair as normal, then put some more conditioner into my hair and squeeze/scrunch out the excess - a method of discovering your true potential curl type I've read about online at one time) to see how curly my hair can potentially be. This could be useful in determining if the curly girl method is something worth doing. Again, thank you for your help.

[lilliemer]

Ladies (and gentlemen if any of you decide to read this thread), if you use or if you do the curly girl method on your hair, how do you deal with tangles? Last week, I washed my hair with a sulfate-free shampoo and used a bit more conditioner than normally (since I used a wide-tooth comb in the shower to comb the tangles out) and woke-up the following day with quite a few curls. While most of those curls began disappear by the end of the day, I decided to try to continue the parts of curly girl method I could continue (didn't have leave-in conditioners or styling products yet) as I hadn't combed my hair when it was dry. On about day 4, since I had to be outside, I put some Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Gel in my hair after wetting in the shower (couldn't bring myself to wash my hair after only 3 days). That evening, I felt my hair becoming really tangled and knotty, to the point where it didn't feel how my hair normally feels. So, after four days of using parts of the curly girl method, I had to comb my hair that evening to detangle it, which took 40 minutes to an hour on my BSL, medium-thick hair. If you comb your hair only when it is wet and has conditioner in it, do you detangle your hair when it is dry or how do you work through tangles?

Also, while doing all this, I noticed my hair starting to itch pretty bad by the middle of day 3 when normally it takes 4 or even 5 days for it to start itching. I think the itchininess was because I wasn't combing my hair in the morning and in the evening, which I normally to do. Again, if you comb your hair only it is wet and has conditioner in it, how do you deal with the itchiness if you get it? Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Please help. Thank you.
I am not CG but like you i have wavy to borderline curly hair. I think the culprit for you may not necessarily be CG method itself but the Garnier Pure Clean Gel. I tried that stuff too - It was like glue for my hair and left it really crispy, dry, and tangled. I would clarify and do a deep treatment to try to reset things...then you can try CG again but with a different gel. Maybe try a curl cream instead of a gel...I am not a finey and the gels weigh even my coarse hair down and make it feel terrible. The creams are lighter and, I am trying to think of the right word here...softer? They don't leave as much crunch in the hair once dried. Garnier does a nice one, as does Shea Moisture.

[Quixii]

For me I feel like I kind of have to choose either ease of detangling or stretching washes. Or detangle while dry.
Most often I just wait and then try to be extra-careful while detangling. Sometimes I regret that choice.

[biogirl87]

I am not CG but like you i have wavy to borderline curly hair. I think the culprit for you may not necessarily be CG method itself but the Garnier Pure Clean Gel. I tried that stuff too - It was like glue for my hair and left it really crispy, dry, and tangled. I would clarify and do a deep treatment to try to reset things...then you can try CG again but with a different gel. Maybe try a curl cream instead of a gel...I am not a finey and the gels weigh even my coarse hair down and make it feel terrible. The creams are lighter and, I am trying to think of the right word here...softer? They don't leave as much crunch in the hair once dried. Garnier does a nice one, as does Shea Moisture.liliemer, thank you. For some reason, though, once my hair dried with the Pure Clean Gel, it wasn't crunchy. My hair didn't feel sticky either and if it wasn't for the tangles I could have probably continued to use this gel. If I remember correctly the canopy was fine but the underlayer felt like a bird's nest by the time I detangled. In the past the few times I've tried mousses they seemed to be okay for my hair. Do you think they would be worth trying? With mousses I am thinking of trying Herbal Essences Totally Twisted or Tousle Me Softly mousses. Would they be okay?

[Aingeal]

I detangle in the shower only. If its dry, it isn't happening.

[biogirl87]

Quixii and Aingeal, thank you ladies. I am feeling like I want to give the curly girl method another try, since it may have been the gel I used last time that made my hair tangle. I may make a trip to a grocery store tomorrow and pick up a cone-free mousse. While my next wash would normally be middle to end of the next work week (just washed my hair yesterday), I could either try wetting my hair in the shower Sunday before trying the mousse on my hair or wait until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week before I would wash my hair to try the mousse as waiting to try the mousse until my next wash day would give better indication if it was really the Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Gel that made my hair tangle. I'll report back on what happens when I try it.

[Totty]

Leave-in conditioner, don't touch your hair, oil....

Doing that, but still the new growth strands are standing vertically from my head. My hairs on top are coarse. And my hair soaks up alot of oil. 3-4 hands of coconut oil. Once my hair is dry, you can't tell I'd oiled them.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

And when cutting your hair, are you snipping dry or wet? At this moment I'm cutting wet because I have a big taper due to postpartum.

[GRU]

Ladies (and gentlemen if any of you decide to read this thread), if you use or if you do the curly girl method on your hair, how do you deal with tangles?

I use a Tangle Teezer brush to detangle when dry. Amazing little creation, the TT!

Of course, my curls are then just poofy frizz, but the tangles are gone. I can either wet my hair to re-curl it, or just put it up with a hairstick.

[Quixii]

Yes, like GRU, I occasionally detangle when dry. I then take that opportunity to do a braided hairstyle, most often. Or just any other bun. Usually I give up on the curls until its next wash, which isn't that long away.

[biogirl87]

GRU and Quixii, thank you ladies. That helps a bit. I think I'm going to try co-washing as the sulfate-free shampoo I am using may be making my scalp itch a bit and I would prefer to not go back to sulfates as my ends were being dried out when I was using sulfates. I'm thinking of picking up curling mousse or creme next time in the shopping area and will give it a try. We'll see how it goes for me and if my hair and scalp like it.

[Wildcat Diva]

I use a Tangle Teezer brush to detangle when dry. Amazing little creation, the TT!

Of course, my curls are then just poofy frizz, but the tangles are gone. I can either wet my hair to re-curl it, or just put it up with a hairstick.


Yes, like GRU, I occasionally detangle when dry. I then take that opportunity to do a braided hairstyle, most often. Or just any other bun. Usually I give up on the curls until its next wash, which isn't that long away.

See, this is good information. I've been struggling with lack of knowledge as to how you ladies deal with bunning or braiding with your curly hair. Now I know your deep, dark secrets, bwahahaha.

Also, I just made up some flaxseed gel and scrunched/ wiped my hands through my hair (dry hair). I hate how stringy my ends look! I gotta fingercomb this out some. Looks like someone took thinning shears to my ends. Maybe I should have misted my hair first?

http://imageshack.com/a/img706/4978/mxw1.jpg

[Quixii]

See, this is good information. I've been struggling with lack of knowledge as to how you ladies deal with bunning or braiding with your curly hair. Now I know your deep, dark secrets, bwahahaha.
My deep dark secrets? :lol:
Here's another - I detangle with a brush! A nice wood bristled one, but still. I tried combs and just finger combing when I first joined LHC, but I found they didn't combat the tangles like I wanted them to.

[Wildcat Diva]

Quixii, you are surprising me. Everyone always talks about how brush = horrible frizz! I have been going the other way, trying to fingercomb more, but if I try to stretch washes past day four, I give in and use my TT to detangle "dry" if you can all it that, it's often pretty sebumy by then, especially after I use the TT.

[Quixii]

Quixii, you are surprising me. Everyone always talks about how brush = horrible frizz! I have been going the other way, trying to fingercomb more, but if I try to stretch washes past day four, I give in and use my TT to detangle "dry" if you can all it that, it's often pretty sebumy by then, especially after I use the TT.
Well, I mean, brushing does equal horrible frizz. That's why after I detangle, I either immediately wash it or immediately put it up. But I don't see a need to fear the frizz when it can be put away, you know?

[Wildcat Diva]

I get it.

I have recently found out that I do not HAVE to detangle in order to bun. So I am loving that for day 1 and 2, at least.

[Neecola]

I use a Tangle Teezer brush to detangle when dry. Amazing little creation, the TT!

Of course, my curls are then just poofy frizz, but the tangles are gone. I can either wet my hair to re-curl it, or just put it up with a hairstick.

This is what I do. I have to detangle every night (even when I wear my hair up!). I use a BBB on my hair the night before a wash, after detangling.

[Upside Down]

Gru, blending some oil (actually Niightshade's salve)with leave in has helped a lot. Small things make aworld of difference.
I also decided to go back to egg washing since it helps with the frizziness.
Looks under control now :)

As for detangling ... I detangle (brush with a .. brush :) ) once a week when I wash.

I think buns and braids look great on curly hair - messy look is great.
So when curls stop being presentable (day 3 most of the time) I wear protective styles till the next wash.

Tangles do build up so I need to be very careful when brushing. Use a lot of conditioner, section hair, arm with patience.

It's too much work to do more than once a week anyway! :lol:

[lilliemer]

@biogirl

Mousse is probably worth a try if you've used it in the past and liked it. Not sure if anyone can corroborate this but I always think of mousse as a more volumizing product and curl cream as a more taming/smoothing product...I tend to need more taming than pouffing so I am not a mousse user! but if one doesn't work you can always try the other...keep us updated as to how things turn out!

[Aingeal]

I tens to be naughty and bun my hair when it is still damp after I've detangled and used my leave in.

[biogirl87]

lilimer, thank you for your reply. I think that at least in the beginning mousse may work better if my hair decides to have less volume with the curly girl method. I will certainly keep you all updated.

[Quixii]

I tens to be naughty and bun my hair when it is still damp after I've detangled and used my leave in.
Is that naughty? :hmm: I guess I'm naughty too.

[GRU]

Well, I mean, brushing does equal horrible frizz. That's why after I detangle, I either immediately wash it or immediately put it up. But I don't see a need to fear the frizz when it can be put away, you know?

^THIS^

One thing I hate about the Curly Girl book is that it acts as if curls are delicate little orchids that can be destroyed by brushing/touching. Sorry, but I have CURLS OF STEEL -- I can brush it into the biggest ball of frizz you ever did see, then wet it to re-clump and have spirals again.

Frizz simply means curls that aren't grouped nicely alongside their siblings. Detangle them and wet them and they'll find their family group again. Frizz doesn't have to mean "damaged" (although it can) and frizz isn't something that has to be avoided at all costs. Frizz is just un-clumped curls. Re-clump them and get on with your life!

And I feel like I would be remiss in not mentioning The Boom Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003)... a lot of the photo links are broken now, but there are still plenty of examples of what happens when a curly brushes their hair. (And of course the curls are back the next time the hair gets wetted down again...)

[CurlyCap]

^THIS^

One thing I hate about the Curly Girl book is that it acts as if curls are delicate little orchids that can be destroyed by brushing/touching. Sorry, but I have CURLS OF STEEL -- I can brush it into the biggest ball of frizz you ever did see, then wet it to re-clump and have spirals again.

Frizz simply means curls that aren't grouped nicely alongside their siblings. Detangle them and wet them and they'll find their family group again. Frizz doesn't have to mean "damaged" (although it can) and frizz isn't something that has to be avoided at all costs. Frizz is just un-clumped curls. Re-clump them and get on with your life!

And I feel like I would be remiss in not mentioning The Boom Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003)... a lot of the photo links are broken now, but there are still plenty of examples of what happens when a curly brushes their hair. (And of course the curls are back the next time the hair gets wetted down again...)

The Great GRU speaks the truth. The curls will always recover and return...

[Quixii]

^THIS^

One thing I hate about the Curly Girl book is that it acts as if curls are delicate little orchids that can be destroyed by brushing/touching. Sorry, but I have CURLS OF STEEL -- I can brush it into the biggest ball of frizz you ever did see, then wet it to re-clump and have spirals again.

Frizz simply means curls that aren't grouped nicely alongside their siblings. Detangle them and wet them and they'll find their family group again. Frizz doesn't have to mean "damaged" (although it can) and frizz isn't something that has to be avoided at all costs. Frizz is just un-clumped curls. Re-clump them and get on with your life!

And I feel like I would be remiss in not mentioning The Boom Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003)... a lot of the photo links are broken now, but there are still plenty of examples of what happens when a curly brushes their hair. (And of course the curls are back the next time the hair gets wetted down again...)
Yes! I usually don't talk about it because some people make it sound so taboo, but I'm glad I'm not alone here. :)

[CurlyCap]

Lovely Curlies!

I'm going about the Curly People threads and reposting the call for hair type pictures! The moderators are redoing the Hair Typing Guide for LHC and there is a terrible dearth of curly head pictures. From being in the curly threads, I know pics are posted here all the time. Please consider contributing a picture! Please see the text below for more information.

****
Seeking for help with The NEW Visual Hairtyping Guide! :flower:

Everybody who likes can take part, all lengths and colors, blunt ends, U or V-shape or fairy tale. The picture does not need to be a recent one either. All are welcome to participate and the moderator-team will choose the most representative pictures to compile a new visual hairtyping article out of them.

We are aiming to include pictures of a big range of different heads of hair to illustrate the appearance of hairtypes with various lengths/colors/etc..

Picture requirements are:
It must be you and a "proper" hair-typing picture, aka air dried and uncombed please. (Edit for The Curly People: Many very curly peeps CANNOT do a typical hair typing routine because it may mat their hair, lead to unwanted knots, or to undefined madness. So a picture of your hair in its finished, air dried state with minimal handling or product will be sufficient.)

Please pay attention to picture dimensions to make photo-editing easier for the team. Pre-cropped to 600 h x 450 w pixels and resized to 90KB max.

Fully dressed only, please and don't forget to clean up your room

Please DO NOT enter mirror pictures, blurry ones, pictures with bad lighting (too dark/light/flash glare), low contrast, low resolution, etc.

No watermarking please out of safety reasons. If the pictures get stolen and "shared", it would be unfortunate to guide extended "admirers" to your online persona.

The entered pictures will be included into an article and uploaded anonymously without screenname to the staff-account photobucket album to make it visible for all newbies. Which also makes it visible to the entire Internet, please be aware that we can not guarantee for their safety (unfortunately).

To participate and send us your picture, press the report-button of this post and include the following things into the message box:
1. A link to ONE picture you would like to contribute to the article (uploaded to the internet via private account, imgur, photobucket, etc)
2. Your full hair classifier. For example: 1d/f/ii

[Quixii]

Hmm.. Trying to think if my hair has any chance of looking decent for a hair typing photo...

[Firefox7275]

^THIS^

One thing I hate about the Curly Girl book is that it acts as if curls are delicate little orchids that can be destroyed by brushing/touching. Sorry, but I have CURLS OF STEEL -- I can brush it into the biggest ball of frizz you ever did see, then wet it to re-clump and have spirals again.

Frizz simply means curls that aren't grouped nicely alongside their siblings. Detangle them and wet them and they'll find their family group again. Frizz doesn't have to mean "damaged" (although it can) and frizz isn't something that has to be avoided at all costs. Frizz is just un-clumped curls. Re-clump them and get on with your life!


I see the Curly Girl Handbook as a troubleshooting guide, most of the time people come to the method because they are unhappy with their frizz or tangling. Ditto the 'warnings' on LHC, NC and other forums not to brush wavy or curly hair: these are mostly on troubleshooting threads not aimed at those who are happy with their gorgeous voluminous hair.

[Aingeal]

^THIS^

One thing I hate about the Curly Girl book is that it acts as if curls are delicate little orchids that can be destroyed by brushing/touching. Sorry, but I have CURLS OF STEEL -- I can brush it into the biggest ball of frizz you ever did see, then wet it to re-clump and have spirals again.

Frizz simply means curls that aren't grouped nicely alongside their siblings. Detangle them and wet them and they'll find their family group again. Frizz doesn't have to mean "damaged" (although it can) and frizz isn't something that has to be avoided at all costs. Frizz is just un-clumped curls. Re-clump them and get on with your life!

And I feel like I would be remiss in not mentioning The Boom Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003)... a lot of the photo links are broken now, but there are still plenty of examples of what happens when a curly brushes their hair. (And of course the curls are back the next time the hair gets wetted down again...)

After all, what's the fun in having curls if you can't have fun with it!?

[kitschy]

^THIS^

One thing I hate about the Curly Girl book is that it acts as if curls are delicate little orchids that can be destroyed by brushing/touching. Sorry, but I have CURLS OF STEEL -- I can brush it into the biggest ball of frizz you ever did see, then wet it to re-clump and have spirals again.

Frizz simply means curls that aren't grouped nicely alongside their siblings. Detangle them and wet them and they'll find their family group again. Frizz doesn't have to mean "damaged" (although it can) and frizz isn't something that has to be avoided at all costs. Frizz is just un-clumped curls. Re-clump them and get on with your life!

And I feel like I would be remiss in not mentioning The Boom Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003)... a lot of the photo links are broken now, but there are still plenty of examples of what happens when a curly brushes their hair. (And of course the curls are back the next time the hair gets wetted down again...)

Oh yes, I remember reading the book and it telling me that during CO wash I was supposed to gently squeeze the conditioner through my hair so as not to disturb the curl pattern. Good hell, I could wash my hair with a power washer and my curls would go right back to their pre-recorded pattern as long as I don't touch it while it's drying. Combing, brushing or undue touching while drying, or after drying, leads to frizzy mess.

[bunzfan]

Do you know what i hate about my wavy hair that it poufs out everywhere and literately floats sometimes, and when i take pictures it never behaves even with a smidgen of oil in it:steam

[Neecola]

bunzfan, my curls turn to waves by day three after washing and it does exactly the same thing! My avatar pic is of the floaty-ness. Your waves look very well behaved in your avatar picture. So pretty!

[Upside Down]

I do not know of the curly girl handbook, but I always thought that "no brushing" relates to dry hair - IF you want your curls.

As for hairtyping pictures, I'd rather not do one because my hair is at 130% tanleness now - but if you accept egg washed, conditioner on wet in order to comb out, air dried - I can contribute :)

[CurlyCap]

I do not know of the curly girl handbook, but I always thought that "no brushing" relates to dry hair - IF you want your curls.

As for hairtyping pictures, I'd rather not do one because my hair is at 130% tanleness now - but if you accept egg washed, conditioner on wet in order to comb out, air dried - I can contribute :)

Yep. As I put in the post, it's much harder for most curlies to just leave their hair "as is" until it dries. Not only does this sometimes lead to the LOSS of curl pattern, but in the end it may lead to hair damage as they try to wash or detangle hair that has no product in it.

The goal is to get a picture of your hair with it's natural curl pattern, minimally altered by product. Ie, no 3cs taking pictures with so much gel in their hair that it looks like 2c. Because then things would just get confusing.

[lilliemer]

Yep. As I put in the post, it's much harder for most curlies to just leave their hair "as is" until it dries. Not only does this sometimes lead to the LOSS of curl pattern, but in the end it may lead to hair damage as they try to wash or detangle hair that has no product in it.

The goal is to get a picture of your hair with it's natural curl pattern, minimally altered by product. Ie, no 3cs taking pictures with so much gel in their hair that it looks like 2c. Because then things would just get confusing.
Sigh..Hairtyping Things are confusing anyway! This particular head of spirals when wet to nearly straight third day hair can't wait to see updated pics of the "classic" types.

[MidnightSunlite]

Wheee :D I found my curly hair thread home~
Sorry to say though.. I don't leave my curls on because it gets tangled so much, though I've seen like products that have "curl" in the name, what do those products do could any of you tell me?

[biogirl87]

Ladies (and gentlemen, if any of you decide to read this thread), I just wanted to update you on how my curls/wurls have been doing. This week after washing my hair with my usual sulfate-free shampoo and conditioning with my current cone-free conditioner (L'oreal Eversleek Sulfate-free Intense Smoothing Shampoo and VO5 Extra Body Volumizing Conditioner), I applied curl boosting mousse to my damp hair (used Garnier Fructis Curl Construct Mousse, which has a cone low in the ingredients list). While my hair was more defined when it was damp (right after I put the mousse in and scrunched my hair), I don't recall seeing a lot of curls in my hair, maybe only in my bangs. After my hair was dry with the mousse in it, it was crunchy so I scrunched my hair again to scrunch the crunch out. At this point my curls/wurls became fuzzy and a lot more frizzy. Not sure what went wrong, if anything? Do you think my hair is just more wavy than curly and there's not a whole lot I can do to get it to be curly? Also, do you think it would be worth trying a curl defining creme?

On another note, this week, after combing my hair in the shower when I put conditioner into my hair I haven't combed my hair at all and I'm starting to notice more tangles in my hair. I am feeling like wanting to detangle my hair using my wide-tooth comb (though will probably start with my using my fingers to detangle first) as normally when I detangle, I do not notice a difference in how my waves/wurls/curls look when I use a wide-tooth comb or when I use my fingers (I feel like I loosen the waves/wurls/curls in my hair with my fingers just as easily as with a wide-tooth comb). Do you think detangling my hair with a wide-tooth comb would be a good idea or how do you suggest I detangle my hair? I would appreciate any replies. Thank you.

[Firefox7275]

Ladies (and gentlemen, if any of you decide to read this thread), I just wanted to update you on how my curls/wurls have been doing. This week after washing my hair with my usual sulfate-free shampoo and conditioning with my current cone-free conditioner (L'oreal Eversleek Sulfate-free Intense Smoothing Shampoo and VO5 Extra Body Volumizing Conditioner), I applied curl boosting mousse to my damp hair (used Garnier Fructis Curl Construct Mousse, which has a cone low in the ingredients list). While my hair was more defined when it was damp (right after I put the mousse in and scrunched my hair), I don't recall seeing a lot of curls in my hair, maybe only in my bangs. After my hair was dry with the mousse in it, it was crunchy so I scrunched my hair again to scrunch the crunch out. At this point my curls/wurls became fuzzy and a lot more frizzy. Not sure what went wrong, if anything? Do you think my hair is just more wavy than curly and there's not a whole lot I can do to get it to be curly? Also, do you think it would be worth trying a curl defining creme?

On another note, this week, after combing my hair in the shower when I put conditioner into my hair I haven't combed my hair at all and I'm starting to notice more tangles in my hair. I am feeling like wanting to detangle my hair using my wide-tooth comb (though will probably start with my using my fingers to detangle first) as normally when I detangle, I do not notice a difference in how my waves/wurls/curls look when I use a wide-tooth comb or when I use my fingers (I feel like I loosen the waves/wurls/curls in my hair with my fingers just as easily as with a wide-tooth comb). Do you think detangling my hair with a wide-tooth comb would be a good idea or how do you suggest I detangle my hair? I would appreciate any replies. Thank you.

Are they tangles in the sense you simply cannot run your fingers through but detangle fine in the shower with conditioner on (normal for wavy/ curly hair) or proper knots/ mats/ threatening to damage your hair? When are they forming, in the day or overnight, if overnight what is your night time routine?

Personally I find leave in conditioner is largely what forms the defined clumps of waves/ curls and reduces or prevents frizz, styling product is to hold only. Too much styler in contact with hair that is not 'protected' and 'hydrated' by leave in conditioner leaves it feeling and looking 'dry' and poofy. Enough leave in conditioner also tends to reduce crunch and aid detangling when I initially wet under the shower. If I don't have good definition and frizz control when wet and products just applied I definitely won't have it when dry.

[bunzfan]

bunzfan, my curls turn to waves by day three after washing and it does exactly the same thing! My avatar pic is of the floaty-ness. Your waves look very well behaved in your avatar picture. So pretty!

Thank you :D that was a very rare well behaving day probably because it needed washing and had a lot of oil on it .

[Suze2012]

Ladies (and gentlemen, if any of you decide to read this thread), I just wanted to update you on how my curls/wurls have been doing. This week after washing my hair with my usual sulfate-free shampoo and conditioning with my current cone-free conditioner (L'oreal Eversleek Sulfate-free Intense Smoothing Shampoo and VO5 Extra Body Volumizing Conditioner), I applied curl boosting mousse to my damp hair (used Garnier Fructis Curl Construct Mousse, which has a cone low in the ingredients list). While my hair was more defined when it was damp (right after I put the mousse in and scrunched my hair), I don't recall seeing a lot of curls in my hair, maybe only in my bangs. After my hair was dry with the mousse in it, it was crunchy so I scrunched my hair again to scrunch the crunch out. At this point my curls/wurls became fuzzy and a lot more frizzy. Not sure what went wrong, if anything? Do you think my hair is just more wavy than curly and there's not a whole lot I can do to get it to be curly? Also, do you think it would be worth trying a curl defining creme?

On another note, this week, after combing my hair in the shower when I put conditioner into my hair I haven't combed my hair at all and I'm starting to notice more tangles in my hair. I am feeling like wanting to detangle my hair using my wide-tooth comb (though will probably start with my using my fingers to detangle first) as normally when I detangle, I do not notice a difference in how my waves/wurls/curls look when I use a wide-tooth comb or when I use my fingers (I feel like I loosen the waves/wurls/curls in my hair with my fingers just as easily as with a wide-tooth comb). Do you think detangling my hair with a wide-tooth comb would be a good idea or how do you suggest I detangle my hair? I would appreciate any replies. Thank you.

My hair doesn't like mousse at all as it goes far too crunchy for me even with just using a small amount.
The result is that I have to scrunch a lot to get the cast out and then it's pretty much left with no product in it (or feels like that) and is frizzy/fluffy too.

I use a light curl creme on mine which looks like a gel but turns to cream when rubbed between my hands.
I use it on totally soaking wet hair and then scrunch some of the wetness and some of the product out with a microfibre towel or t-shirt.
As it dries I do 'a little' scrunching just to get the cast out but I don't have much to do to get to that point.
Many people say the less you fiddle with it the less frizzy it goes.
I used to have a good frizz free day very occasionally maybe 4-6 times a year.
Now I get a bad hair day about 4-6 times a year! Lol!

I never ever use a comb and haven't done for about a year and a half now. I only ever finger comb when co washing and then finger comb again to put leave in conditioner through it.

My curls seem to form when scrunching with my fingers and with my microfibre towel.
I don't and wouldn't ever try to get my fingers all through it nor comb it when it's dry. It's not 'tangled' as such though for me - it's just curls happily sitting together snuggled up :)

I always wear my hair down too but the only time my hair will get actually tangled is if it is battered about my strong winds. But that's pretty rare.

[Bambi]

Double-post.....;)

[Bambi]

My hair is behaving both texture-wise and I'm actually liking the color...sorry for the pic, was just happy:).

http://i43.tinypic.com/314rnma.jpg

[GRU]

Wheee :D I found my curly hair thread home~
Sorry to say though.. I don't leave my curls on because it gets tangled so much, though I've seen like products that have "curl" in the name, what do those products do could any of you tell me?

Goodness only knows what those products do. A name is just a name -- you have to read the ingredients and the directions to find out what the product is SUPPOSED to do and how your hair will react to it.

Some "curl" products are actually intended to straighten your hair (or "relax/defrizz" the curl). Some "curl" products are full of silicones intended to prevent your hair from tangling. Some "curl" products are intended to hold your curls in place. The word "curl" means nothing in a product's name.



I recommend that ALL curlies and wurlies read this website (go through ALL the different sections of Curly Hair Basics): http://livecurlylivefree.com/curly-hair-basics/ It will make the things you read in this thread and others (like the CO-washing thread) so much easier to understand!

[biogirl87]

Are they tangles in the sense you simply cannot run your fingers through but detangle fine in the shower with conditioner on (normal for wavy/ curly hair) or proper knots/ mats/ threatening to damage your hair? When are they forming, in the day or overnight, if overnight what is your night time routine?

Personally I find leave in conditioner is largely what forms the defined clumps of waves/ curls and reduces or prevents frizz, styling product is to hold only. Too much styler in contact with hair that is not 'protected' and 'hydrated' by leave in conditioner leaves it feeling and looking 'dry' and poofy. Enough leave in conditioner also tends to reduce crunch and aid detangling when I initially wet under the shower. If I don't have good definition and frizz control when wet and products just applied I definitely won't have it when dry.Firefox, at the moment they're still tangles but I think they could still turn into knots/mats in the next day or two if I don't try to detangle my hair before then (I think this is what happened when I used the Garnier Fructis Pure Clean gel last time I tried curly girl method).

I think my hair just likes to tangle a lot and will tangle pretty much anytime, anywhere. Typically if I'm at home I tend to leave my hair down and put it in my satin sleep cap if I'm planning to wear my hair down the next day. If the next day I plan on putting my hair up, I will leave it loose during the night so that I don't stress the same follicles the same way every single night or every single time.

I find that with my easily-weighed down hair, I can do a little to it after I get out of the shower in terms of products before it looks like it hasn't been washed for days. I haven't tried any leave-in conditioners yet since I thought they would weigh my hair down and when it comes to styling products I can only put maybe half a handful at the most into my hair before it feels like it's too much.

I don't know why my hair is this way, but I have found over the years that when we get into the fall months with the lower humidity and dew points, the frizz I get in the summer tends to not be there in the fall months and then when we get into the hat season (especially during winter) my biggest hair problem becomes that my hair gets really flat after I take the hat off. Maybe my hair is weird but could it be possible that with lower humidity and lower dew points now I need to start treating my hair more like straight/wavy hair rather than like wurly/wavy hair, that is to be detangling with a comb more rather than less (if that makes sense)? I also tend to find (this has happened for the second time now) that when I try to follow curly girl method, my scalp starts itching on day 3 and I think it's because I don't let a comb or my fingers get to my scalp and remove the sebum, dirt, massage my scalp (or other things that happen when we (general we) use wide-tooth combs to detangle our hair). Do you think it's possible that my hair is telling that all it wants after I wash and condition it and get out of the shower is to be detangled and combed every day (or twice a day if I'm wearing my hair down)?


My hair doesn't like mousse at all as it goes far too crunchy for me even with just using a small amount.
The result is that I have to scrunch a lot to get the cast out and then it's pretty much left with no product in it (or feels like that) and is frizzy/fluffy too.

I use a light curl creme on mine which looks like a gel but turns to cream when rubbed between my hands.
I use it on totally soaking wet hair and then scrunch some of the wetness and some of the product out with a microfibre towel or t-shirt.
As it dries I do 'a little' scrunching just to get the cast out but I don't have much to do to get to that point.
Many people say the less you fiddle with it the less frizzy it goes.
I used to have a good frizz free day very occasionally maybe 4-6 times a year.
Now I get a bad hair day about 4-6 times a year! Lol!

I never ever use a comb and haven't done for about a year and a half now. I only ever finger comb when co washing and then finger comb again to put leave in conditioner through it.

My curls seem to form when scrunching with my fingers and with my microfibre towel.
I don't and wouldn't ever try to get my fingers all through it nor comb it when it's dry. It's not 'tangled' as such though for me - it's just curls happily sitting together snuggled up :)

I always wear my hair down too but the only time my hair will get actually tangled is if it is battered about my strong winds. But that's pretty rare.Suze2012, thank you for your reply. I think my hair just likes to tangle more other people's hair and with it being finer than I thought initially, I find that the most I can put on it before I start to weigh it down is maybe two or three handfulls of conditioner when I wash my hair, and then about half a handful of styling product or leave in (if I tried using both a leave-in conditioner and styling products, my hair would be really weighed down I think). I have layers in my hair also so that may contribute to it wanting to tangle pretty much anytime, anywhere (except for maybe the few times during the night when I don't toss and turn while wearing my sleep cap.

[GRU]

Curly hair tangles. Period.

I don't have "second day hair" in the sense of curls that I can wear down -- my second day hair HAS to be put up, because the curls just do NOT work after the first day unless I detangle and wet/clump them again. Fortunately, I have a gazillion hairsticks now, and I can pop my hair up in under ten seconds. :D

[CurlyCap]

Curly hair tangles. Period.

I don't have "second day hair" in the sense of curls that I can wear down -- my second day hair HAS to be put up, because the curls just do NOT work after the first day unless I detangle and wet/clump them again. Fortunately, I have a gazillion hairsticks now, and I can pop my hair up in under ten seconds. :D


Listen to the GRU. She speaks truth.

If you want perfectly curled hair all the time without frizz or broken curls,then that means wetting and allowing your hair to recurl untouched all the time. And never messing with, disturbing, or laying on the curls. That sounds like being slave to a hairdo to me, and like many others, on days 2-x, I just put it up.

I co-wash every night, but that's because I work in a nasty work place and need to rinse it anyway.

I've never met a tangle-free curly. The only ones who come close are those that can brush their hair relatively straight (low 3s, high 2s).

[biogirl87]

Ladies, I think I am going to have to leave this thread alone. It seems to me that my hair just wants to behave like wavy hair and not like curly hair. I just detangled my hair with a wide-tooth comb maybe an hour ago after putting some baby oil on the very ends (couldn't really get my comb through my hair otherwise and without putting baby oil on the ends of my hair it felt like I was ripping through tangles and knots in my hair when trying to detangle) and my hair felt the way it normally feels and the uniform waves were back in my hair. As much as I admire those have curly hair and the patience you all have to deal with it on a daily/weekly basis, I don't think I'm meant to have curly hair unless humidity in the air just does it naturally.

[CurlyCap]

Are they tangles in the sense you simply cannot run your fingers through but detangle fine in the shower with conditioner on (normal for wavy/ curly hair) or proper knots/ mats/ threatening to damage your hair? When are they forming, in the day or overnight, if overnight what is your night time routine?

This is a great question.

I can NEVER run my fingers through my hair. Not only is my "tangled", but the act of trying to run my fingers through it is guaranteed to make more tangles.

However, it is rarely "tangled" in the sense that, if I wet it, I can't easily separate the curls with my fingers or a wide tooth comb.

[GRU]

Ladies, I think I am going to have to leave this thread alone. It seems to me that my hair just wants to behave like wavy hair and not like curly hair. I just detangled my hair with a wide-tooth comb maybe an hour ago after putting some baby oil on the very ends (couldn't really get my comb through my hair otherwise and without putting baby oil on the ends of my hair it felt like I was ripping through tangles and knots in my hair when trying to detangle) and my hair felt the way it normally feels and the uniform waves were back in my hair. As much as I admire those have curly hair and the patience you all have to deal with it on a daily/weekly basis, I don't think I'm meant to have curly hair unless humidity in the air just does it naturally.

Well, this thread is the wurly and curly thread, not just the curly thread...

And for what it's worth, I get better slip from wetting and conditioning my hair, NOT from just oiling it. (And that's using pretty much any oil... although I don't do mineral oil anymore because it's all but impossible to get out of my hair.)

But everyone has to do what is best for their own head of hair, and every head of hair seems to act differently. In my case, I only go curly if I'm going to wet my hair -- I just put it up otherwise. I spend less time on my hair now than I ever have in my life! (Thank goodness for LHC!)

[Quixii]

GRU, how long is your hair these days? I don't think we've seen a new picture in ages. :)

[MidnightSunlite]

Goodness only knows what those products do. A name is just a name -- you have to read the ingredients and the directions to find out what the product is SUPPOSED to do and how your hair will react to it.

Some "curl" products are actually intended to straighten your hair (or "relax/defrizz" the curl). Some "curl" products are full of silicones intended to prevent your hair from tangling. Some "curl" products are intended to hold your curls in place. The word "curl" means nothing in a product's name.



I recommend that ALL curlies and wurlies read this website (go through ALL the different sections of Curly Hair Basics): http://livecurlylivefree.com/curly-hair-basics/ It will make the things you read in this thread and others (like the CO-washing thread) so much easier to understand!

Oh okay, thanks for the link to website. Hey guys what picture would be best for the visual hair typing guide? Back to camera ? Or Bent over so your hair hangs down (just a pic of the hair) so you can see the curls/waves better?

[MidnightSunlite]

I have pictures of both, I'm going to crop them to size, and when I get opinions on the best hair photo I'll send one in CurlyCap!