I’m loving this idea of having a diary…
So I thought I ‘d join in..

I’ve been experimenting with products again…since deciding to revamp my journey..
Recently discovered cynthiarf’s regime on youtube and have fallen in love with my hair again..

So ‘brief’ history…

1st BC in 2004 barely half an inch, since then have coloured twice - Once at Aveda- convent garden (nice pleasant experience) and 2nd time Purely Natural - Leytonstone (remember thinking the dye felt and smelt like a relaxer then so won’t be going back)
Have BC twice to get rid of coloured ends when boredom set in.. Considering colouring again this Summer, but will see….maybe just a shock of colour in front…
Anyways..

Current length is between 7-10inches.
Shortest length at the back - (after a deliberate effort to eliminate my mullet/tail of looser ‘3c’ curls around my nape area, but that’s growing back so quickly now..)
Longest in front and around the sides

Decided a massive overhaul of my regime was due, .after snapping out of the denial that my hair had not been breaking but that it should be much MUCH longer than it currently is..

Old regime

Products
Clarifying Shampoo - Elucence moisturising shampoo - great shampoo, but not effective at clarifying
Conditioner - Aubrey Organics GBP/ Honeysuckle rose. Inecto for co-washes, any cheap no-cones condish for co-washes.
Moisturiser - castor oil & aloe vera gel mix, or sheacastor mix.

Observed my hair strands and noticed that my hair had been suffering from severe buildup and was very very fragile. Got fed-up of seeing strands of my broken hair strands all over the place.

New Plan
Clarify
Be diligent with applying some kind of moisture on hair everyday!
Add more protein once every week
Manipulation – Reduce styling?, be gentler, stop tearing through my hair, hide ends? wash and go..?, reduce usage of the comb…

So the new regime begins..- with daily co-washing this winter, if not co- washing, spritz entire hair with leave-in conditioner mix of water, glycerine and castor oil…

Clarifying
The search for a clarifying shampoo
Aussie everyday shampoo - YES
Pantene clarifying shampoo - NO! Oh my! This was brutal, despite doing an oil prep with olive oil, my hair still felt like straw. even the SO felt it also stripped his hair.
Dr Bonner’s Castile soap - Ok in between , but buildup inevitable with several washes.
Tigi Bedhead sulphate free shampoo ‘for massive hair’ - YES, love the way my hair feels, love the smell, love the pink florescent bottle. ;P

Moisture
Attempt daily co-washes/ wash and go, while finger pulling – YES!
NOT raking with fingers! (Raking fingers through wet hair is the devil..!) - NO
Hurrah! - discovered glycerine was my friend in the form of Sta Sof fro. - YES
Purchased a bottle of pure glycerine, combined with shea/aloe/castor mix - softness on wash and go fro all day!! YAY!

Protein
Aubreys GBP still on track, but works best after a good clarify. - YES
Aphogee 2min reconstructor - hmmm not sure about the mineral oil far down ingredients list, though it seems to make hair a wee bit stronger..Still undecided..YES/NO?
HASK Placenta & Henna today - smells like vomit, DISGUSTING! NEVER again. Urgh!!  - NO NO NO!

Manipulation
Wash and go’s.. - so far so good.. must hold out till detangle in a month’s time.
Just purchased tangle teezer, will that beat my trusted jibere shower comb?
Try and keep hands off hair.
Tying some silk scarfs to the pillow – as substitute for satin pillowcases is doing the trick! I will never sleep on cotton again!
Found some silk scrunclhies at Poundland – very good for parting hair during washes, and banding in 2 sections after washes.

Braced for the big detangle, after a month of wash and go’s ending of February.

Wish List

Karen’s Ambrosia Milk
Oyin’s hair dew
Oyin’s honey hemp conditioner
Oyin’s juices & berries
Qhemets Amla & Olive heavy cream - bulk purchase req!
Kinky curly knot today.
Kinky curly pudding

Great start Ketchup! I love Cynthia’s regimen; it’s so simple and her hair is EPIC!

Hi ketchup! Good luck . Hope the routine works for you. I am a 4B type and i realized that my hair did not love too much protein also i did wash and goes for 1 and 1/2 years and my hair did not like it at all. I do proteins once a month and i am fully on protective styles now, that has helped to prevent breakage. Looking forward to following your journey.

Ketchup - 31 January 2011 02:42 PM

So the new regime begins..- with daily co-washing this winter, if not co- washing, spritz entire hair with leave-in conditioner mix of water, glycerine and castor oil…

Clarifying
The search for a clarifying shampoo
Aussie everyday shampoo - YES
Pantene clarifying shampoo - NO! Oh my! This was brutal, despite doing an oil prep with olive oil, my hair still felt like straw. even the SO felt it also stripped his hair.
Dr Bonner’s Castile soap - Ok in between , but buildup inevitable with several washes.
Tigi Bedhead sulphate free shampoo ‘for massive hair’ - YES, love the way my hair feels, love the smell, love the pink florescent bottle. ;P

Moisture
Attempt daily co-washes/ wash and go, while finger pulling – YES!
NOT raking with fingers! (Raking fingers through wet hair is the devil..!) - NO
Hurrah! - discovered glycerine was my friend in the form of Sta Sof fro. - YES
Purchased a bottle of pure glycerine, combined with shea/aloe/castor mix - softness on wash and go fro all day!! YAY!

Protein
Aubreys GBP still on track, but works best after a good clarify. - YES
Aphogee 2min reconstructor - hmmm not sure about the mineral oil far down ingredients list, though it seems to make hair a wee bit stronger..Still undecided..YES/NO?
HASK Placenta & Henna today - smells like vomit, DISGUSTING! NEVER again. Urgh!!  - NO NO NO!

Manipulation
Wash and go’s.. - so far so good.. must hold out till detangle in a month’s time.
Just purchased tangle teezer, will that beat my trusted jibere shower comb?
Try and keep hands off hair.
Tying some silk scarfs to the pillow – as substitute for satin pillowcases is doing the trick! I will never sleep on cotton again!
Found some silk scrunclhies at Poundland – very good for parting hair during washes, and banding in 2 sections after washes.

Braced for the big detangle, after a month of wash and go’s ending of February.

Oooh, excited for the Tangle Teezer review (I think I’m trying to persuade myself to buy it!) Where did you get your Jilbere Shower Comb from?

Hey Ketchup x all the best for the up and coming journey

Efuru - 31 January 2011 10:23 PM

Great start Ketchup! I love Cynthia’s regimen; it’s so simple and her hair is EPIC!

@Efuru Thank you..I’ve wondered why it hasn’t caught on…but I guess I shall find that out myself!

@Kadogo26. I know what you mean..when I tried wash and goes a few years back.. I hated it because my hair felt soo dry afterwards.. that was till I re-discovered glycerin again.
I didn’t also realise that combing my hair wet was the death of my hair…
I’ve done protective styles for years despite hating them..I’m frankly bored of them..and seeking an easier quicker simper routine. So far so good.. :D

@angel_sista: I’ve had the Jibere for about 4-5 years now.. I think I must’ve ordered it online..maybe Amazon or Ebay, but not sure which exactly. It’s a wonderful comb. And has never parted my side at a detangling session.
I haven’t used my teezer yet.. but I’ll be sure to let you know when I do.. I got mine from ebay.

Thanks for the welcome Miss Natural..

So still co-washing and trying out some new products along the way..

Co-washing

It’s been over a week and I’m still loving co-washing so far..
No broken hairs all over the place, none in the sink,or in the shower. NONE
Only long strands with bulbs on the end when I finger-pull my hair— My hair is loving me for listening to her this time..

So what makes this bout of co-washing different from the others.

*The elimination of the comb—Life need not be hard, and so it has not been, I used to think that combing my hair wet was key to detangling, yet couldn’t understand just how FRAGILE my poor strands were.. Water made them even weaker, and they would show me this..as they scattered themselves as short,medium varying length of hair strands got strewn all over the place..
Finger-pulling my strands has got me wondering if I may ever consider a comb again (suffice to say this maybe very unlikely,but who knows.)

*Daily moisture—my coils are clumping like crazy, they never did before? I wondered why my hair was always so frizzy then, as I co-washed and ‘smooshed’ my fro all over the my head with my comb and then my hands..
Not understanding that I was ‘disturbing the peace’ of my coils. - after applying leave-in conditioner, leave it ALONE.

And when it dries - shea-butter,castor oil alone, or both combined didn’t seem to keep my coils moist after wash and goes. My hair dried as hard and as dry as brillo. How comes? They kept my twists and braids moist all day, why were my coils acting differently this time.
Then I discovered glycerin—Hello?!!—all day softness and moistness- YES!

Clarifying and adding protein - I thought that co-washing was all I needed then,underestimated the benefits of clarifying, then wondered why old products that had always worked never worked again..
I hardly used protein, then wondered why my hair was so mushy, but still so weak at times..
Now I wash once a week at least with a shampoo and incorporate a protein once weekly. GBP always provides a welcome balance..

I’m loving it so far..

New Products
I tried Taliah’s curling cream for a wash and go… and it did absolutely nothing—just dry frizz, so off to the product graveyard it goes. Maybe I’ll reuse it on some twists mixed with castor oil..
I think it maybe fair to conclude that I’m not too keen on her products.
The healing oil..is been used for everything else but my hair—can’t get past the smell, asides from turning up the sheen, oils never do anything for my hair except castor oil.
The mist bodifier - I’m not too happy with the new ingredients, though it’s possible that the new ingredients list may be stating what she’s ‘always’ used!
- Yes it makes my hair soft, but I can’t get past the smell and tacky feeling (which I put down to glycerin)
If it is the glycerin, I’m better off making my own mixes…
The rest? I’m not even going to bother trying.

Jessiecurls too shea is so light, I doubt it makes a difference. I think I may designate that to leave-in conditioner territory. It’s way too light for co-washing, and gives me no slip.

I love detangling with my fingers It was really easy with the tresemme naturals. Ive been trying some herbs (it takes a bit longer) but I want to keep detangling without a comb. The hairs at the end of my wash has got so much smaller.

Ketchup - 02 February 2011 08:48 AM

Efuru - 31 January 2011 10:23 PM

Great start Ketchup! I love Cynthia’s regimen; it’s so simple and her hair is EPIC!

@Efuru Thank you..I’ve wondered why it hasn’t caught on…but I guess I shall find that out myself!

She is one of my two favourite big hair idols (the other is Esperanza Spalding), she does wash and goes all year round and still retains length.

I feel you on the Taliah W. products don’t work for me (I believe the ingredients have always been the same in the bodifier), I’ve only just stopped detangling sopping wet hair so I cringe when I think about it. I use the Too Shea as a leave-in (in goes on clear) and I love it for that. When I cowash I use conditioners the consistency of the Tresemme Naturals or the Nature’s gate ones.

Miss Natural - 02 February 2011 10:56 AM

I love detangling with my fingers It was really easy with the tresemme naturals. Ive been trying some herbs (it takes a bit longer) but I want to keep detangling without a comb. The hairs at the end of my wash has got so much smaller.

It’s so relieving not to see so much hairs breaking off around the place isn’t it?
I’m seriously trying to consider sticking to this no-comb routine..
But the fact is, I feel I may have to use a comb to detangle properly if I wish to try another style like braids or twists or even a blow out?! (Boredom will inevitably set in soon, and I’ll need to try something new to scratch that itch)
Tresemme naturals is not bad.. but I still feel it could be more moisturising, it’s just that it’s so freely available and decently priced.

Efuru - 02 February 2011 12:27 PM

Ketchup - 02 February 2011 08:48 AM

Efuru - 31 January 2011 10:23 PM

Great start Ketchup! I love Cynthia’s regimen; it’s so simple and her hair is EPIC!

@Efuru Thank you..I’ve wondered why it hasn’t caught on…but I guess I shall find that out myself!

She is one of my two favourite big hair idols (the other is Esperanza Spalding), she does wash and goes all year round and still retains length.

I feel you on the Taliah W. products don’t work for me (I believe the ingredients have always been the same in the bodifier), I’ve only just stopped detangling sopping wet hair so I cringe when I think about it. I use the Too Shea as a leave-in (in goes on clear) and I love it for that. When I cowash I use conditioners the consistency of the Tresemme Naturals or the Nature’s gate ones.

Spalding just claims to wash her hair with natural ‘soaps’ and comb it. Can you believe that?, seriously this natural hair thing has got to be much simple, and my aim is to make it just that.. without spending hours twisting, braiding etc
Where do you get Nature’s gate from?
I still have to mix Jessiecurls Too shea with some glycerin and/or castor oil, as my hair still dries crispy if I use it alone and I hate that!
I definitely won’t be re-purchasing it.

Current fave co-washes..
I recently picked up a big bottle of Elasta QP Intense Fortifying Conditioner from the black hair shop about 7 quid..
Smells like bananas, very thick, suds just as well as Tresemme if not more…
The natural goodies it claims to have are more at the bottom of the ingredients list, though it’s packed with a lot..

I’m loving GOSH’s damage control conditioner, slips and suds for days ..and has shea butter and wheat protein amongst it’s top ingredients! Found it at superdrug for 99p! On the clearance aisle, so figure it’s been discontinued, because I haven’t found it again since…. *sigh*

Aubrey’s Honey suckle rose and GBP always win hands down for slip,smell,feel and after effects on my hair. It is indeed a staple so I shall keep bulk purchasing.
I still don’t understand the 2 different ingredients list. Has anyone been using Aubreys’s for years and noticed a difference in the conditioners distributed in the UK. I hope not, I want to think my observations are purely placebo-like. These conditioners are not as creamy as they used to be.. but I’m still hooked!

Ketchup - 02 February 2011 04:06 PM

Efuru - 02 February 2011 12:27 PM

Ketchup - 02 February 2011 08:48 AM

Efuru - 31 January 2011 10:23 PM

Great start Ketchup! I love Cynthia’s regimen; it’s so simple and her hair is EPIC!

@Efuru Thank you..I’ve wondered why it hasn’t caught on…but I guess I shall find that out myself!

She is one of my two favourite big hair idols (the other is Esperanza Spalding), she does wash and goes all year round and still retains length.

I feel you on the Taliah W. products don’t work for me (I believe the ingredients have always been the same in the bodifier), I’ve only just stopped detangling sopping wet hair so I cringe when I think about it. I use the Too Shea as a leave-in (in goes on clear) and I love it for that. When I cowash I use conditioners the consistency of the Tresemme Naturals or the Nature’s gate ones.

 

Spalding just claims to wash her hair with natural ‘soaps’ and comb it. Can you believe that?, seriously this natural hair thing has got to be much simple, and my aim is to make it just that.. without spending hours twisting, braiding etc
Where do you get Nature’s gate from?
I still have to mix Jessiecurls Too shea with some glycerin and/or castor oil, as my hair still dries crispy if I use it alone and I hate that!
I definitely won’t be re-purchasing it.

I know, I love simple regimens. I get my Nature’s gate from Revital (there is one just opposite London Victoria station). I tend to apply a styler on the top so maybe thats why it dries soft for me.