Question for 2c/3a's - what's your favourite curl leave-in?

[Dierna]

I'm so happy that my hair has become so wavy. Until a couple of years ago, I was a 1b, but after having kids, it started to go wavy.

Here's my hair:
http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af209/pricklythistle/vanity/Picture-090.jpg
I'm 2c/3a now that the length isn't pulling the waves out anymore, and I'm looking for a good leave-in. I do NOT want crunchy hair, but I'm fine with silicones. I'd also prefer something that is readily available in Canada/USA, since ordering things and having them shipped all over the place is expensive and inconvenient.

I haven't really tried much, but I don't like to buy new products if I haven't had feedback on them.

So far, I've tried Sexy Pumpkin Potion leave in, which doesn't do much of anything for me. I've also tried Clairol's Totally Twisted mousse, which turns my hair stiff and stringy.

Thanks in advance!

[AprilElf]

I've yet to find a favourite curl leave-in ... or any curl leave-in for that matter (aside from watery conditioner) ...
So I'll be watching this thread! :drama:

[GermanCurl]

I don't know about any good leave-in conditioners. My routine consists of shampoo and condition hair. Then I either use Aubrey Organics Mandarin Magic with Ginko (gel) or Redken Ringlet 07 Curl Perfector (curling cream) for light hold and curl definition in towel dry hair. Comb thru with wide tooth comb and then lightly diffuse hair upside-down. Neither Redken Ringlet nor AO Mandarin Magic make my curls crunchy. Either product gives me soft bouncy curls.

[rhubarbarin]

I don't use any cones and I never comb through freshly washed hair as it will make my hair stick to my head with a poofy length - all leave-ins get gently sqeezed into wet hair.

I use Burt's Bees conditioner as my main leave-in, with some sort of gel smoothed over my canopy. Lately I have been using a Garnier Fructise cone-free gel which is crunchy until I scrunch it out, but works great for eliminating frizz without overmoisturizing.

My favorite gel is Aubrey Organics B5 Design gel but I'm out at the moment.

ETA: If my hair feels dry I oil with extra-virgin olive oil which gives me incredible softness and shine- coconut oil doesn't work very well for me.

[Chamomile betty]

Your hair is beautiful.

For leave in I use:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil in the warm/hot months
Sally's Generic Conditioning Balm compare to Matrix
Infusium 23 Leave In (once in awhile, if I have a serious knot or something, as it has cones)
I've tried Lustrasilk but it made my hair kind of dry over time. It's very inexpensive if you want to try it though.

I conditioner wash with Suave Juicy Green Apple and use Garnier Triple Moisture conditoner.

HTH

[Xandergrammy]

How does that AO Mandarin Magic smell? It sounds heavenly!

[GermanCurl]

Surprisingly, it doesn't have much of a smell to it. It is with ginko, flaxseed and some other natural products and smells more "earthy" (very neutral).

[Dierna]

Mandarin Magic sounds interesting. I'm very fussy about smell.

I don't have a diffuser though. I wonder if it would work nicely on airdried hair, since that's what I'm doing...

I usually oil with coconut & jojoba the night before washing. Oil as a leave-in makes my waves limp, so I don't do it anymore. It was fine when my hair was tailbone length, but now that I've got it shorter and layered to bring out the waves, I don't use it as much.

[Neddy]

I use a combination of three to give me moisture, curl definition, and hold. I like any old VO5 or Suave as a leave in, maybe a dime's worth. Then for curls I like either Alagio Crazy Curl Curl Balm or L'Oreal Out of Bed texturizer. I finish it up with LA Looks Sport gel over it all, maybe a quarter's worth. These are all scrunched into sopping wet hair while I am in the shower.

And a note about curls-- if your hair is not moisturized, it will not curl nicely, no matter what you do to it. I'd try to DT weekly and reduce or cut out shampoo from your routine. When I started doing that, BOOM, awesome curls.

[KateMcC]

I'm also a new curly---my hair fell out a couple years ago due to medical complications, and when it grew back in it was curly. So, I have finally found a plan that works. I'm constantly shocked with the curls, and friends and family keep asking who did my perm (my hair used to be a 1b and now I think it might actually be a 3a).

CO, cone-free. Dry with a micro-fiber doggy towel. With hair just damp, I put a dime-size, or maybe a touch less, of Giovanni no-frizz serum (there may be a little dimethacone in it--I don't remember for sure). I only apply it to the canopy, however, I use a wide-tooth comb to comb the serum through. Then I use two pumps of "Fruit of the Earth" aloe vera gel that I work through. I scrunch the curls and ringlets back in, and then leave it alone. As it dries, the curls become more defined.

Good luck!