Ketchup - 25 March 2011 05:24 PM

OK I got yanked out of my hair nirvana quick after suffering a temporary setback..

I got heat damage.

Yup some of my precious coils.. would not revert despite an
-overnight deep conditioning
-clarifying
-steaming
-‘aphogeeing’
-steaming again

and yes it happened in that order, as I panicked.

What about the cut? The cut didn’t seem so great with the straight strands.
They were mainly around my left front temple.
They just stayed there, limp, straight, laughing in my face, but breaking off at the faintest touch.
Which brings me to mention.

Fingercombing is my friend for life..
Even when my hair was straight.. I could not believe how weak it seemed…yes my hair has always been weak..but it was ‘weaker’ , and my precious strands even finer
So I only fingercombed when straight as well..

When reverting my hair back to it’s coily state.. I could not imagine even putting a comb or brush through my hair, just a simple touch was enough to break the damaged strands when wet..

I’m not gonna lie, I was so sad and demotivated about it..but decided to give it some time and continue with my daily wash n go’s focusing on protein-rich conditioners.

2-3days after.. I noticed the straight strands curling up in a manner remiscent to a twistout curl, and it seems that all hope is not lost.
The root to about 3/4 of each straight clump (yes they still clumped despite being straight) would curl but the ends would still be stick straight, so I took a scissors to the straight strands..to retain my sanity.

The overall cut makes better sense now..yes the curls are returning.. but I don’t think they will ever be as tight and coily as they were before, it’s like my looser 3c curls around my nape are now present around my left temple.

I think they may coil even more, as time goes.. they are not as weak as they used to be initially since I’ve been doing daily co-washes with Aubreys GPB.
So I’m eager to see what they will be like in a month or so after frequent co-washing and another aphogee treatment.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Fast forward to today

I’m wearing what folks call the ‘pineapple’ as my style today, as I didn’t feel like having my hair over my face, in my typical wash and go style..

I co-washed with my Gosh damage control conditioner (boohoo, my last lot, I don’t think Superdrug stocks this anymore :’(  )
Rubbed some vatika oil on my wet strands (hate the stench of this oil, it still managed to override the scented oil I had added to it previously! ugh!)
Emulsified some boots pink curl creme between my hands and layered that over the oil.
Pulled my hair up to the top of my head to let it dry- but decided to leave it up there.

My hair still feels damp in the middle of the puff down at the roots, but the ends feel ‘quite’ soft, with some hold.

I’m so sorry to hear about the heat damage but yay for some of the curl coming back. I’m really interested in the boots curl cream, what is it like? I tried the one from Naked Naturals and was really disappointed.

i have heat damage sorry you had to experience it but the good thing is your curl is coming back

do you have pics of your hair with the boots curl cream….

Honeychild - 26 March 2011 03:06 AM

i have heat damage sorry you had to experience it but the good thing is your curl is coming back

do you have pics of your hair with the boots curl cream….

Sorry I didn’t take any.. :(
I wasn’t that crazy about this combo anyways
My hair took ages to dry and it left white bits in my hair despite how sparingly I used it.
Also I must admit that my hair only seems to like coconut oil when dry.

Ok my hair loves scurl lite activator gel.
It stays soft for ages!

I know a product leaves lasting moisture for me when I wake up next day will soft hair ESP around the coarser regions like my crown.

And this is what activator gel does for me alone. To get extra hold, it forms a perfect companion with Eco gel or KCC

I recently did an experiment on my head with olive Eco + castor oil on one half of my head and olive Eco + activator on the other
Observations

Castor Oil + gel = dried quicker, crispier,crunchy, immediately got frizzy as coils dispersed haphazardly when I touched them.  Next day paper dry hair.

Activator gel + gel = longer to dry/ Stayed moist longer, coils looked ‘juicer’, crunch factor reduced, less frizz as coils very moisturised even when I played with them. Next day hair felt ok - not dry but not moist. A quick spritz or exposure to shower steam rejuvenated the coils.

I don’t know whether to be happy about the headaches I’ve been getting..

Been wearing my hair in wash n go, pulled up into a pineapple.
But I’ve just realized that the band I’ve been using all this while is suddenly feeling tighter and tighter.
Could this really be because my coils are getting tighter/thicker..
Possibly

Yesterday did a wash n go and moisturised with only a few dollops of the sample of Komaza Califia moisturising leave in conditioner..
Love Love Love the caramel/coffee/maple syrupy kinda scent (summary of all the scents perceived by myself and folks around me..). It is a very vey strong scent!
Plus my hair stayed nice and soft all day, but wasn’t greasy at all.
Softness/moisture rating of 3.8/5

Efuru - 25 March 2011 05:35 PM

I’m so sorry to hear about the heat damage but yay for some of the curl coming back. I’m really interested in the boots curl cream, what is it like? I tried the one from Naked Naturals and was really disappointed.

I’m so confused about this product..I really don’t know.

It’s consistency is wierd, u rub a little between your hands and foams up 3X.
It’s really concentrated. If you’ve tried Giovanni leave -in conditioner, it’s foaming abilities could be likened to that.
I’ve tried it for a braidout on wet hair moisturised with castor oil and it have me satisfactory extra soft hold. (Though my hair could do that by itself, if braided from wet.)
In a wash n go, combined with coconut oil.. I wasn’t so happy, hair had white bits for a long time and when it dried it, my hair was left crispy.
On dry hair - forget it, extra extra crispy.
I’m going to try it one more time on wash n go hair with just castor oil and make up my mind from there.

I tend to judge a products moisturising capabilities by how well/long it can keep my wash n go fros moist/soft after my hair is dry.
If my hair gets crispy by the time it’s dry - the product is a fail.
I usually apply most products on wet freshly co-washed hair.

Awesome hair day!!!!

Co-washed with garner fructis conditioner
Then applied lite scurl+castor oil+ blue ecostyler mix to hair.
Squished or pumped each section of hair with the product mix, as I tried to soak each section thoroughly especially around ends.
Pulled up into a pineapple with band then shook.
Put on microfibre towel over pineapple lightly.
15mins later ,took off band.
Put hands under bulk of hair to pull at roots and pull hair downwards!
And presto! Perfect coilies! Perfect shape!
I wonder if I can stretch this for two days.
Will attempt to preserve with 2 vertical ponytails

NB. Elasta qp feels like silk and sof n free gel activator gives great hold, but looks too jerry curlish and stinks like hell!!

Ketchup - 31 March 2011 01:03 PM

Awesome hair day!!!!

Co-washed with garner fructis conditioner
Then applied lite scurl+castor oil+ blue ecostyler mix to hair.
Squished or pumped each section of hair with the product mix, as I tried to soak each section thoroughly especially around ends.
Pulled up into a pineapple with band then shook.
Put on microfibre towel over pineapple lightly.
15mins later ,took off band.
Put hands under bulk of hair to pull at roots and pull hair downwards!
And presto! Perfect coilies! Perfect shape!
I wonder if I can stretch this for two days.
Will attempt to preserve with 2 vertical ponytails

NB. Elasta qp feels like silk and sof n free gel activator gives great hold, but looks too jerry curlish and stinks like hell!!

Glad the hair is going well! Do u mean u r doing a wash and go?

Yep!

Today was a braidout using Elasta QP feels like silk gel + Garnier FRS condish mix only.
On a damp wash n go.. (that I had suddenly wanted to switch)
Hair wasn’t completely dry when I took out the braids but it still held up quite well.
My hair had shine & hold w/out being rock hard!
Will try and make this last till the weekend by putting in two satin scrunchies at night.
My refresher?
Shower steam &
Oyins Frank Juice or Sta Sof Fro (scent covered up with personal fragrance oil)

Ohh wow.. it has been a while..
It’s quite interesting reading over my experiences 8 months after. So what’s happening now?

Routine
Finger-combing with conditioner under the shower is still my friend. My fragile strands love it and it shortens my shower routine duration tremendously. I can shower and wash my hair together in 45mins tops.
Tend to wash hair twice a week, once with shampoo, the other with conditioner. Other times I just rinse.
I can’t sing praises of finger combing enough. Hardly get fairy knots. My ends are still thick & full and not thin and wispy (despite having had a trim over 6 months ago). They always clump together at every opportunity they get. I shall do a quick length check soon. I think I have finally gotten over that shoulder/armpit length hurdle (6-7inch) hump that we 4B coily heads seem to go through.

Hairstyles
Usually a pin up with the ends tucked or a bun held with a banana clip - also with the ends tucked in.

Heat damage
Some strands are still straight but have been growing out, so the straight ends are around the tip.
The damage is not apparent with styles like twistouts, braid outs. The only time the damage may be really noticeable is if I tried to rock a shrunken round fro. Which I haven’t had the desire to rock in ages..

Products
Less is always more.
I still lust after certain products, plus switch over to other products just for variety. But in all honesty I have and know what works for me. I am also very pleased that I can easily acquire all my hair products I need off the high street.

Absolute favourite staples.

1.) Shampoo - Swarzkopf oil nutritive/Poundland

2.) Conditioner - Inecto/Savers, Dabur Hair mask/Asian hair shop, EO conditioners or TIGI curls rock/TK MAXX (Have amassed quite a few to last a very long time :p)

3.) Leave in/Moisturiser - Castor oil & AV gel/Asian hair shop & H&B

Done.

Long time no read!
I’m happy to hear that most of the heat damage is gone and fingercombing is still the business for you. Unfortunately TK Maxx no longer do the litre size Giovanni stuff.

Hi! Efuru!

I dunno how I missed this!
Yes, TK Maxx no long stock the Giovanni, but who knows.. they might soon again..
I notice they stock certain conditioners time and time again…so even if it’s not there today, in 3-4months time it maybe again.