OK, fess up - product for updos? how much? how to use?

[Katze]

Hi there,

As many of you may know, I have some of the world's most unmanageable hair. Not only does it have natural taper and many different lengths (involuntary) but I have about three different hairtypes on my head, and it gets frizzy like mad, when it's not lying like bacon strips. Hard to make it look good at all - VERY hard to get updos that stay, especially at my length - and for all I know, APL-BSL is my terminal length, so I am trying to learn to work with it.

Thus, I am a friend of PRODUCT. Gel or mousse, the former mixed with leave-in. Leave-in conditioners, Fox's shea butter conditioning cream. Oils not at all - they are too heavy.

How many of you have similar tendencies or hair needs? I know there are more of you out there, though many of us non-blessed-with-smooth-or-naturally-pretty-hair often can believe that you blessed ones just throw your hair up into an updo and go (as my sister does...).

I just braided my hair before my nightly shower because my wash (with a Mud and Clay shampoo bar, not sure how I like that) yesterday left it kinda greasy, so I figured I would wear it in braids for sleep, pin them up tomorrow, and have one less thing to deal with in the morning (and vary my look).

I SLATHERED my hair with conditioner in order to be able to have the braids stay. On clean hair, I do have to put quite a bit of gel into it to make it look good and stay this way. If I want a smooth updo, I wait until dirty day (day 3) and put both gel and conditioner into it in order to keep it smooth. This also makes my hair look several shades darker, which can kind of be fun.

So this is a shout out to all of you who also are 'challenged' and rely on (non damaging) product to keep your hair looking presentable! Fess up! Support each other!

[melusine963]

Hi there,

So this is a shout out to all of you who also are 'challenged' and rely on (non damaging) product to keep your hair looking presentable! Fess up! Support each other!

I don't have any recommendations for you, since I haven't got around to trying the first styling product I've bought in years (I only got it two days ago), but I'll be keeping a close watch on this thread. I'm also on the lookout for products that will tame my frizz without drying my hair out too badly.

[lapushka]

I need some styling stuff, like a leave-in, gel, and some serum or a few oil drops, but I only use all of that when it's been freshly washed, otherwise my hair gets way too heavy and sticky (and it tangles like crazy because of product overload).

[spidermom]

Product and I are friends. I have thousands of curly sticky-up hairs that give me a seriously grizzled look without product. Lately I've been using Burts Bees styling gel for men because I like the piney/evergreen scent of it. It works pretty well. I've also used aloe vera gel the same way. If I really want a polished look, I use something like styling wax, pomade, or putty. Tiny dabs of it go a long way; I use it to stick down anything that defies the gel. I really like Natures Gate styling putty but haven't been able to find it since I ran out.

I don't use much product on my ends because they're usually tucked under my bun. Braids work best for me if I bun them, otherwise they're very messy within an hour - like those tools people use to wash baby bottles.

[Hollyfire3]

I use mousse, lots of mousse (well used to be about 9 palmfulls, no kiding, now about 3-4) of my damp hair to give it more volume and curl (it might be thick, but these days for unknown reasons it refuses to be bouncy like it use to be...stupid hair) and i'm not so sure its non-damaging but i figure it is better than the heat styling i used to do, so it is fine in my book. The mousse can cause quite a bit of tangles and since my hair is so fincky already (can't decide if it wants protein or moisture), i might end up using so much product just to have barely wavy, heavy hair that looks unwashed, but when it turns out great, its amazing, too bad it doesnt happen often...I almost never go mousse free, i'm addicted its bad i know. The last time i did this, my hair poofed and had no curl, i just don't understand where my nearly 3b curls went...must be heat damage, oh well, until i have healthy hair, mousse it is.

[Katze]

good to see others use stuff too!

Arctic once gave me the tip that a lot of curlies and wavies do use product on wet hair, but I can only use styling product if I am going to wear it slick...otherwise, I am stuck with the weird kink or bend my hair gets formed into.

Best, for me, is to sleep on damp hair then style it in the morning when it is dry. Putting gel on it wet might be good for fake-marcel waves, on me, or for keeping braids in place (braids without gel don't work for me).

Conditioner I can put on either wet or dry hair, depends on if I CO washed or not, whether I use a leave-in every day or not, but I do tend to use more on dirtier hair and also almost exclusively on the length/ends.

[Long_hair_bear]

I use redkens water wax for flyaways and baby hairs. You only use a very small amount though, just enough to make your index finger shine. Also, nightbloomings panacea makes braiding easier.

[spidermom]

Oh, and rubbing gel between wet palms before applying to my hair gives much better results than starting with dry hands.

By the way, have you tried head-banging a few times after applying gel to damp hair? That's what I do to get good clump separation, which is a necessity since I have curly areas and straight areas, and it's not pretty if they're all stuck together.

[heidi w.]

A lot of people like how Aloe Vera Gel works as a "fixer" for frizzy hair bits popping out of an updo or a braid.

heidi w.

[Diamond.Eyes]

On occasion I will run a small bit of Bed Head's Manipulator through my hair before braiding. When I am trying to do a nicer updo that I plan on wearing for a formal evening, I will use that and half a dime sized amount of Giovanni's Volumizing Styling gel. But, like I said, I only use these on rare occasions .