Wurly and Curly thread!!!

[witess.writer]

Re: T-shirt

That works for me -- I have some t-shirts lying around. Might test it out tomorrow.

Re: Curlier in the summer

I know that. I am not crazy about the overly curly hair on me. It suits other people but it just looks weird on me. Plus, my hair is stuck in the 'in-between', which means I have really no idea what my natural state is -- it's coil-like curls but it's not wavy. Usually ends up in between if I use the correct products. Ends up insane and wavy-frizzy if I don't use the right products. I agree with letting hair do what it wants, which is my mantra since I am too lazy to do anything. I only comb my hair after I use product then I leave it to do its own thing but I've managed to get large and loose curls with waves in it by doing that but I keep forgetting. D'oh!

Re: LHC

I am finding it overwhelming but very useful. I really like this Coconut Hair Butter recipe I found. I think I am going to do that. I don't like leaving oil per se over night because coconut tends clot in the cold. Plus I have a tendency to overuse when a product comes in liquid form.

I'm going to check out the Live Curly Live Free site once I've posted this. I'll try the CO-washing technique and if doesn't 'feel' clean, then I'll try the other techniques -- so thanks!


The layering seems to be working for me at the moment but there isn't enough length. Have to wait for it to grow out to see how it worked. My hair looked similar to your hair in the 90s when it was all about the same length.


Re: My Routine

I let it air dry after applying product to my hair but it's a long-winded process since you can't go out immediately. At least 30 or so minutes before you can venture out because the wind tends to destroy the curls. Mind you, this was when my hair was about neck-length. You have much longer hair so it might work differently for longer hair because it has weight.

Re: Edit Failure

So much to say -- so little time. I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on. I can't even remember what I was going to ask.

Re: SMT

Looks like something I could definitely try but I think I am going to go for the coconut hair butter first since I have coconut oil. See how that works out and then do this.

Thanks for taking time out to help me!

[GRU]

Thanks for taking time out to help me!

You're VERY welcome! I was a newbie too not so long ago, and everyone here was soooooo helpful!

[mneh]

Yay! I'm so glad that the application bottle worked for you -- it's been a lifesaver for me!

I'm thinking of buying a second bottle just in case something happens to the one I have at the moment lol (and it'll come in handy when my hair grows longer - I can pre-fill two bottles for use instead of having to re-fill the bottle I'm using half-way through the colouring process). Although, the henna mud is much lighter-coloured when mixed with conditioner, it almost looked like I was squirting a bottle of mustard on my hair.

Having the colour application bottle means that I can colour my hair without help, which is great because I feel guilty for asking my DH to take a large chunk out of a weekend to help me colour my hair every 5 weeks

I use the sweatband for after my application, to prevent dripping. I put the band on around my neck (had to stretch it first, it was quite tight!) before applying the henna, then when I'm done and all wrapped up, I wipe up my smudges on my face/ears/etc and then pull the sweatband up and position it around my plastic cap.

So, that's what I was doing wrong. Oops.

Good luck with the bucket-dunking method. Also, if the shower still leaves you feeling gritty, you might be able to do a mermaid soak AFTER the shower part -- at that point, the amount of dye left will be minimal.

Just curious, did you test to see how long it took for the dyes to "stick" to the plastics? I wonder if five minutes would not stain but 20 minutes would, etc.

Give us an update when you get done, and pics are always welcome, too!

GRU, the bucket-dunking method worked really well

I have a 35-litre, flexible-plastic bucket with a nice wide opening:



I put the bucket in the bath, filled it with lukewarm water, and then dunked my head in it a few times. I found that it removed quite a lot of the henna mud. I think the addition of so much conditioner to the henna is what made the mud rinse out so easily (no complaints) I tipped the bucket contents down the plughole of the bath, hopped into the bath, and took a shower. There was very little grit in my hair and it washed out fully with a good CO-wash. I checked the surface of the bath and there was only a slight sheen of henna on the bottom of the bath. It cleaned off easily with bathroom cleaner and my bucket wasn't stained. I think your theory that using the bucket-dunking to limit the time the bath is exposed to the henna rinse-off is a sound one. I feel confident now that I can go ahead and use the bucket-dunking method again.

Here's some pics:

Last night, immediately after glossing


This morning (bit frizzy):


I'm pleased that henna glossing covers up the white hairs visible in my parting, as well as matching my roots with the rest of my hair. I hope that continues to happen, as I honestly think I will continue using henna glosses to colour my hair for the foreseeable future. It's so much easier to apply and rinse out than using straight henna mud.

ETA: my henna gloss was made with:
1Tbsp Logona Henna Red
2 Tbsp Logona Flame Red
1/2 cup (125ml) Aubrey Organics White Camelia conditioner

I mixed the Logona herbal dyes with some water to make a paste, added the conditioner, poured the mix into the applicator bottle using a funnel (the mix filled a 7oz (200ml) applicator bottle), applied the mud to my roots in sections and then to the rest of my hair, wrapped it in a plastic cap/towel, and left it for 3 hours.

[rachelily]

I'm thinking of buying a second bottle just in case something happens to the one I have at the moment lol (and it'll come in handy when my hair grows longer - I can pre-fill two bottles for use instead of having to re-fill the bottle I'm using half-way through the colouring process). Although, the henna mud is much lighter-coloured when mixed with conditioner, it almost looked like I was squirting a bottle of mustard on my hair.

Having the colour application bottle means that I can colour my hair without help, which is great because I feel guilty for asking my DH to take a large chunk out of a weekend to help me colour my hair every 5 weeks



So, that's what I was doing wrong. Oops.



GRU, the bucket-dunking method worked really well

I have a 35-litre, flexible-plastic bucket with a nice wide opening:



I put the bucket in the bath, filled it with lukewarm water, and then dunked my head in it a few times. I found that it removed quite a lot of the henna mud. I think the addition of so much conditioner to the henna is what made the mud rinse out so easily (no complaints) I tipped the bucket contents down the plughole of the bath, hopped into the bath, and took a shower. There was very little grit in my hair and it washed out fully with a good CO-wash. I checked the surface of the bath and there was only a slight sheen of henna on the bottom of the bath. It cleaned off easily with bathroom cleaner and my bucket wasn't stained. I think your theory that using the bucket-dunking to limit the time the bath is exposed to the henna rinse-off is a sound one. I feel confident now that I can go ahead and use the bucket-dunking method again.

Here's some pics:

Last night, immediately after glossing


This morning (bit frizzy):


I'm pleased that henna glossing covers up the white hairs visible in my parting, as well as matching my roots with the rest of my hair. I hope that continues to happen, as I honestly think I will continue using henna glosses to colour my hair for the foreseeable future. It's so much easier to apply and rinse out than using straight henna mud.

ETA: my henna gloss was made with:
1Tbsp Logona Henna Red
2 Tbsp Logona Flame Red
1/2 cup (125ml) Aubrey Organics White Camelia conditioner

I mixed the Logona herbal dyes with some water to make a paste, added the conditioner, poured the mix into the applicator bottle using a funnel (the mix filled a 7oz (200ml) applicator bottle), applied the mud to my roots in sections and then to the rest of my hair, wrapped it in a plastic cap/towel, and left it for 3 hours.

Your hair looks absolutely AMAZING.

[RadiantNeedle]

@_@
Absolutely divine, mneh! I think I might do a henna gloss for my first try, rather than a full application. Gorgeous!

[Anywhere]

Mneh your hair is lovely.

I'm getting to a point where I realize I can either have volume and frizzy hard to see curls, or no volume and defined curls. I'm hoping it's just this way until my damage grows out.

[OperaTeacherMom]

Mneh I think I have a new hair idol! I want your hair, it is so beautiful!

I co-washed yesterday for the first time in a long while, I had been testing out ktani's movie star oil shampoo. I loved the shine, softness, and lack of tangles, but getting good curls beyond day 1 proved quite difficult. Today, with leave-in conditioner and gel, my hair is making me happier than it has in quite a while

On a sad note, DS lost my tangle teezer, I can't seem to find it. I'm sure it'll turn up in some ridiculous place later, but I want it back!

[squintinschool]

Mneh, your hair looks brilliant!

In other news, I got my PrettyWrap. And I'm not quite loving it. It barely fits all my hair, and is quite good at squashing my canopy. However, since I've been ill with sinusitis for most of the time since it arrived, I've not really used it on my freshly washed/plopped hair to see how it protects my wave, as I couldn't be arsed to wash my hair because it takes so long to dry. Will have to see how it does on that count later. It does stay on, and does a good job of stopping frizz formation.

GRU thank you so much for reminding me about leave in conditioner. My hair is behaving so much better for it. One day this week I even put a small amount on totally dry hair one morning because the frizzies were so bad, and it calmed right down. Hurrah for moisture!

[mneh]

Your hair looks absolutely AMAZING.

Thank you, rachelily

@_@
Absolutely divine, mneh! I think I might do a henna gloss for my first try, rather than a full application. Gorgeous!

Thank you :-) The hair colours I use aren't 100% henna (there are other herbal colourants added to the henna and cassia) but they are mixed and applied as mud in the same way as henna, and, having done 5 henna mud applications vs 1 henna gloss, I am wholeheartedly in favour of the gloss method. The addition of conditioner to the mud makes it easier to ensure even coverage of the mud on the hair and it makes rinsing a complete doddle (45-55 mins rinsing henna mud vs 15 mins rinsing henna gloss). I really feel that colouring my hair will be much less of a chore now. Plus, GRU's advice to use an applicator bottle was a great help; as much fun as it can be to squash henna mud into my hair and scalp it's not tidy, an applicator bottle (or squeezy condiment bottle) ensures much less mess.

I can also recommend the logona hair colors as being kind to a very sensitive scalp - I get little or no itching after using, particularly with the gloss method.

Mneh your hair is lovely.

I'm getting to a point where I realize I can either have volume and frizzy hard to see curls, or no volume and defined curls. I'm hoping it's just this way until my damage grows out.

Thank you, Anywhere I too had to make that decision regarding my hair. It doesn't seem that my wave type allows for volume + defined curl. Looking at all the different types of wave and curl here at LHC helped me to decide to go for definition over volume. Whereas, when I looked at hair on sites devoted to curly hair, I felt I was failing as a wurly if I couldn't achieve both volume and defined/stronger curl pattern - I was ashamed because my hair seemed to fall into the category of, 'dreaded flat top', no matter how much I tried to stop it. I think LHC has helped me to better accept what my hair is capable of. However, as the condition of my hair has improved, along with my styling techniques, I'm getting a bit more volume-with-clumping than I used to get, so hang on in there!

Mneh I think I have a new hair idol! I want your hair, it is so beautiful!

I co-washed yesterday for the first time in a long while, I had been testing out ktani's movie star oil shampoo. I loved the shine, softness, and lack of tangles, but getting good curls beyond day 1 proved quite difficult. Today, with leave-in conditioner and gel, my hair is making me happier than it has in quite a while

On a sad note, DS lost my tangle teezer, I can't seem to find it. I'm sure it'll turn up in some ridiculous place later, but I want it back!

Thanks, OTM - I'm really chuffed by your nice words :-) My hair is looking so much better since I joined LHC.

I tried the oil shampoo for a while, felt I was getting nowhere, I went back to CO-washing but didn't like results as much, so I returned to a modified oil shampoo routine ie I use a non-optimal poo, use conditioner for combing tangles out of ends, use leave-in and gel for styling. Ktani has explained that I'm achieving surface conditioning rather than the full benefits of her oil poo; I'm happy with the results of that and think I'll use Ktani's other method for getting the lauric acid from coconut oil into my hair (in combination with the oil poo). I think perhaps the oil poo works better for me because I'm a wavy rather than a full curly?

I hope your tangle teezer turns up soon - it's disconcerting to lose hair tools one has come to rely on.

Mneh, your hair looks brilliant!

In other news, I got my PrettyWrap. And I'm not quite loving it. It barely fits all my hair, and is quite good at squashing my canopy. However, since I've been ill with sinusitis for most of the time since it arrived, I've not really used it on my freshly washed/plopped hair to see how it protects my wave, as I couldn't be arsed to wash my hair because it takes so long to dry. Will have to see how it does on that count later. It does stay on, and does a good job of stopping frizz formation.

Thank you, squintinschool :-) I'm very sorry to hear that you're not finding maximum benefit in the PrettyWrap. I protect my canopy by pineappling/piling my hair on the crown of my head before putting on the wrap, but I suppose you tried that without success Also, when I use the wrap, I usually haven't broken the hard hair gel cast on my hair, so I think that also helps my canopy. I really do hope you find a way to make it work for you; it took me a few tries to get the benefits from it. I hate to think I recommended something that didn't work as well for you as it did for me. I hope you feel better soon!

[jessie58]

Mneh: One of my favorite things on this thread is to be able to look at other curly hairs. Your hair is lovely and your curl formation looks so soft and romantic.