note to self: protein sprays are not leave-ins.
that being said… I think with the last Komaza deal I might have gone over the protein intake allowed by my hair, so today, only moisture.
Nizoral and nioxin and then I tried the deep treatment masque by SheaMoisture for dry hair.
Might need more though.
Styled with CJ Beauticulrs leave-in, Monoi oil (sprayed this time) and finished with HB aloe vera gel.

Not bad at all, Aloe might be a good way to go for me.
Monoi smells devine, I would probably use it just to have my hair smell like that.

I really like your curl pattern.  I know you didn’t like the effect of your last cut taking some of the length/bulk, and I do sympathise, but once you feel that’s growing back to what you’re more comfortable, with, I think you’ll be so pleased.  It is definitely really reaping the rewards of your attention.

Lucy: thanks so much for your kind words! I can’t tell you how much they meant to me and ow hopeful they make me!

Emma: that’s good to know! I have switched now usin g a few drops in my DT but rinsing it away. seems to give a nice result!

Back on today’s result, this is quite a good curly day.
I see Monoi as a style is not the way to go for me (makes my hair too oliy right away) so I tried adding some to my DT along with SheaMoisture for dry hair and some Aphogee 2 step treatment, mixed them all together and left it all on 50% dryied hair for an hour.
I rinsed it all first with some warm water then cold enough to give me a tad bit of headache (ouch!)
styled as of lately with CJ beauticulrs leave in and some HB aloe vera gel.
Since they felt so goof already I had no heart to comb through to spread the products so I just went thoroughly with my fingers and then scrunched with the curls like us towel.

I am happy (as happy as I can be with my loose curls)

so I went and did something quite naughty to my hair, in a way…
I won’t try and justify myself, it just so happens I am rather pink at the moment.

I discovered that yes, it is true that when you colour (colour, NOT BLEACH) your hair get all curlier all of a sudden, although with all the proteins I usually give my hair I was sorry to see how much the colour improved them, I nurture them better than let them be so happy about some colour added.
anyway, this was the first day. I dyed with Directions colour in Carnation pink. Did a coconut oil mask for 2 hours before that and left the colour on for 30 minutes.
washed and style as usual, here’s the result

Finally turned full CG. At the end of my Nioxin supply I am just really concerned about my curl patter rather than thickness anymore, so I have given that up i favour of a full CG regime.

Did my last sulphate shampoo with Aussie’s miracle moist, then shea moisture shampoo, mop protein treatment for an hour and sheamoisture deep treatment masque overnight.

At the moment my curls are not bad, although a bit looser compared to when I dyed them pink.
On that account I wonder why protein treatments can’t seem to compare to the dye in terms of filling my hair and so making it easier for it to curl… ideas?

At the moment, at least in the TKMaxx near me, they have some of the Michael diCesare Thicken copper peptide masks, for about £5.99, which as far as I can see are CG.  I must admit I used it and noticed no real difference but I was really just using it as a conditioner and it was ok at that job so might be worth a try.

Re. the dye versus protein I really don’t know, I have found that bleach has made my curl a lot looser but non bleach dyes might be very different and have some special effect.

Hey Lucy! Thanks for the heads up on the Thicken mask! I’ll try and get one on my next visit to tkmaxx
The dye I used was in fact just a semi-permanent and wasn’t bleaching at all. I just used on my already bleached hair and I guess that’s what did the magic.

Anyway, on the bright side, I finally see hope for my curls to come back to me. I noticed today how the last 3 months growth is enough for me to notice now how my hair naturally curls again at the roots, getting looser on the older bleached part. It’s going to be a long journey but I am strangely feeling better because I see it will make sense

Hi Sheentylla,

Really enjoying reading your blog. You’re getting some lovely curl action there.

If you do want more “volume” and less clumping have you thought about trying a mousse ? I’ve got a paul mitchell extra volume foam (which is cg)in my stash and that gives bigger but less defined curls than using a gel. Using a lighter styler has the same effect. CJ CIAB is kinda like a serum and I used that at one point on its own.

My hair goes through phases every few years. When I was really young it was curly, poker straight up to my teens, ringlets up to my late teens/early twenties and then it went straight for a year or so. The curls have come back to 2c/3a now. I googled it and it seems to happen alot. The thought is that it’s hormonal. Who knows- but persevere with it !

Cheers Cupcake Queen! I am getting some great product advices from your signature alone Mousse is interesting though, I will look into it.

Back onto the diary itself, still in my first CG week, yesterday I tried a new combination of product for masque: 3/4 shea mositure yucca & baobab strenghtening masque mixed with 1/4 of apoghee 2-steps.
I left it on for a few hours, rinsed it just with cold water and styled as usual with CJ Beauticurls leave in- a bit of SM C&H milk and HB aloe vera to seal it all. First time I also tried to clip a bit on the very top of my head, I think I got extremely good results. The picture are from this morning, so after sleeping over the style hair, although in a satin bonnet. I think I am the most satisfied about my curls today than I have been in months. Thinking about switching to SM Yucca & baobab line also for shampoo and conditioner if that’s how good it is on my hair. Using Aphogee mixed with other deep conditioning like the deva curl heaven on hair or the shea moisture raw shea butter masque never gave me these outstanding results!
So yucca & baobab and clipping with tiny hair claws is definitely a good way to go for me

little nice new discovery today.
the Shea Moisture C&H milk is a bit too rich for me and tended to make my hair feel greasy even before I had the chance to get to second day.
In the spur of a moment I took a 150ml empty spray bottle, filled it to its half with water and filled the rest with 2/3 C&H milk and 1/3 aloe vera gel. It’s a great spray to revive curls!!!

I have a terrible memory for details so a couple of washes ago I promised myself to remember I did really good, just cowashing with SheaM ABS conditioner and then styling with KCKT, PMRT and AVG.
Since that I have slept for 2 consecutive nights with a DT, first with SheaM ORSB Masque, then with the ABS, because a bit of dermatitis/psoriasis was coming back, well wow. did really good.

I also tried with some natural remedies such as last wash with beer (did it with guinness, some experience I’d say, similar result to acv rinse to me) some clarifying soda+acv and then a scrub made of demerara sugar, manuka honey and olive oil… did not see much difference with the scrub to be honest.

Also tried a bentonite clay hair masque.. but despite of all moisturising things I read about it left my hair very dry, so it’s better for a face than hair masque to me.

Reading through the ingredients of the SheaM ABS shampoo I see it is good enough to make me wonder if it could be used for face as well… has salicyd acid so high i the list it’s tempting, since I do love my anti-acne cleanser from mario badescu, but I should just go for ingredients, iroically the Shea M ABS shampoo is better!

Got around to try Botticelli Botanicals famous Flax Seeds Gelee yesterday and I must admit, it’s something else!
I used nothing but KCKT as a leave in with it and the way it curled and put in place my hair, and kept their volume and definition nonetheless is something I did not hope to achieve! I even got compliments today and that’s pretty unprecedented.
I personally had a lot of mag sulfate and silk amino acids added to it as I know my hair likes proteins and heard great things about shrinkage provided by epson salt, but wow. this is a keeper indeed! Leaves the curls a bit hard and probably second hair day are better even than first day because sleeping in my silk bonnet I really scrunched off all the scrunch there was, but what way to curl and keep style that is!

been fighting to see my locks grow in the last few months (I had them cut in may 2012 last), then finally, about a month ago, I felt ready for the closets thing I could get to a big chop, so I finally went and saw Thomas McMillan.
As much as I know he really listened and clearly knows his way around curls, I didn’t quite get my hair were I was hoping to.
Funnily enough, as I pester my flatmate constantly about either good things or frustration about my hair, one evening she just couldn’t take it anymore, and she offered to cut my hair herself. Now, I had been bothering her with descriptions of just the exact perfect haircut I wanted, and living with me I guess she sorts of learnt about my hair, so even if she’s not a hairdresser or anything, I trusted her and let her try.
She clearly had listened to every tiny little thing I had lamented about my hair in the last year, cause she got it spot on! She felt comfortable herself to ask me not to wash my hair and leave her to cut it dry (I told her afterwards that’s exactly what curl-experts do! she was so good! a natural I must say!)

So, found and sticking with my personal hair styler, I am just trying to grow out of the lighter ends of my hair now, which are still pink at the moment (once in a while I go through a directions pot, which has an incredibly nice ingredients lists I must say, it’s like pouring pigment and conditioner basically on your head)

As I was protein obsessed last summer, I am now DC obsessed, I guess it’s only natural with colder weather.
Have been trying the (sadly discontinued) Burt’s Bees Avocado Butter Pre Shampoo treatment but a the moment I still fail to see a difference, so I went full throttle tonight with a few hours of Monoi coconut and avocado oil masque on. I must say I expected softness to come in a different way, but as I got to dry them I saw the point, though I am afraid I will get greasy hair quickly this time around. happy about the curl/volume ratio though.