Had so much stuff to say that I thought I’d start my own thread or I’d be all over the place trying to cover all topics!
A bit of background!
I feel that I only really started to understand my hair when I got to my mid 20’s. Up until that point I fought my hair, and anyone who has done that will realise it’s a losing battle!
When I was young my hair was frizzy, and I earned the nickname Crystaltipps at school - especially after I got into henna and got that purpley tinge! It was only when I was far older I realised that brushes were a no-no, conditioner was non-negotiable and that leaving my hair to dry naturally was the only way to go.
These days I’ve discovered that my hair is at it’s best fresh washed, finger combed through with conditioner to remove tangles, then wide toothed combed to spread conditioner, rinsed and then gel added while soaking, then left to dry. This results in large loose ringlets and virtually no frizz.
My fling with henna was on and off over the last 25 years. In the last 5 years I’ve been battling the greys. Last year I realised that henna wasn’t covering them anymore, and my greys are totally unrepentant, wiry white hairs which not only throw off any hair dye within 2 weeks, but stand proudly and wave at passers-by.
After seeing a video of myself 3 months ago I realised my naturally very dark hair was making me look older. Coupled with the grey hair problem I decided to do something I hadn’t done before but had always had a bit of a fancy for. I went blonde.
I had highlights put through my hair. I didn’t want a block colour, I wanted shades and tones. While I had in mind golden browns, caramels and pale chocolates, due to the henna I got varients of reds and ginger! Fortunately, I rather liked it!
After a month of getting used to the lighter shades (I wanted to go lighter by stages so it wasn’t a shock to my system!) I had lighter blonde streaks in the front. Now, after seeing the video of me looking old(to my eyes) I had wanted to look younger, and considering that I got ID’d at 2 supermarkets a month after getting my hair done I guess I got what I asked for!
While I love the colour, my hair has of course suffered. What used to be smooth and incredibly shiny locks became rather strawlike. After the highlights were put in I had abandoned my CG regime, deciding that the ‘salon formula’ products were the best way forward for me as they were designed for hair that had been processed.
WRONG!
My last visit to the hairdressers my hair was SO dry that she refused to colour it! I don’t blame her one bit! I tried yet more salon formulas, deep treatments etc to no avail. So I decided to go back CG and see what happened.
Gave my hair a last wash with sulphate shampoo to remove allthe cruddy silicone products I’d been shovelling on, bought myself a nice big bottle of Body Shop’s Rainforest Shine shampoo (my fav!), stocked up on Naked conditioners and brought back the Coconoil coconut oil and Umberto Giannini gel.
That was 2 weeks ago - what a difference already! Hair is already far far smoother and virtually no frizz.
Because my hair was so dry I coat my hair in conditioner, finger comb and then comb it through, then melt some cococnut oil in my hands and smooth this through. I’ve found that it adds smoothness but no sticky coating like it does when I use it alone. Just the right amount for me! The next day I sometimes need to redifine my hair. If I just add the gel, even watered down it makes my hair crispy. So I discovered a little trick last week.
I melt a bit of coconut oil in my hands, add some gell and mix the 2 together. This makes a ‘creme’ that isn’t too heavy for my hair, but conditions, adds shine and gets rid of stary frizzies brilliantly. Perfect!
So, I was lost, but after going back non-CG I really cann see what a difference the regime has on my hair.
Amazing!
I enjoyed reading your story.
