'No poo' experts / Curly girls - advice for a new curly please

[moogdroog]

Ok, I'm on day 4 (wash 2) of the no-poo method. Most of my hair looks the best it has in years, but jesus, the roots are greasy! I'm a bit embarrassed.

So, am I doing things wrong? Or is this a stage I have to go through, and how long will it last? And, I suppose using dry shampoo will undo all my good work won't it?

The results on the whole are tantalising, but not sure I can live with the oil slick. Any other tips?

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

No dry shampoo, when you wash make sure you really work the 'wash' conditioner into your roots with your fingers you need to do a lot of scrubbing with your finger tips. What are you using to wash? I found Tea Tree and mint condish very good for washing.

I have to admit I did curly girl for just over 18 months and all that time bar the 1/2 inch of hair at the root, my hair was amazing, after 18 months one day I thought sod it I'm just going to wash it once ( I had been doing a maintenance low poo wash every 8 weeks) with real shampoo and omg the relief was positively orgasmic.

I always think I will do it again at some point as it did give me magnificent hair, but a couple of years later and I still haven't quite persuaded myself.

[moogdroog]

Hmmm. Not sure if I can live with the roots long term, but the alternative is my hair looking constantly 'meh'.

I'm using Original Source Almond and Honey to wash and to condition - should I be using something different to condition then? And I can't bear to do the cold rinse. Is this essential?

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

What is your hair like? Unless it is super dry/afro caribbean, that is too rich to 'wash' with (and wouldn't be enough to condition with).

Cold rinse is not essential, it closes your cuticles though and helps to prevent frizz, could you manage a coolish rinse? I found it easier to do the final rinse over the bath so it was just my hair, not all of me in the shower, also then your hair is pointing the right way for plopping.

Are you plopping?

CG has great terminology

[moogdroog]

My hair is very thick (although the post-pg drop out has lessened that somewhat), super course but not especially dry, shoulder length and not consistently curly (I have almost straight, or wavy patches).

Ok, so it seems I'm using the wrong product. Recommend-me-up WildThings! I'm using Boots Curl Creme afterwards.

I am plopping and I love the terminology! Not sure I can spare the entire day it takes for my hair to dry though.. or am I doing that wrong?

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

I would try the Original Source Tea Tree and mint, I got on well with it, then I would use the condish you are using sometimes, but if your hair is coarse then try something stronger as well, I would really reccomend the Boots own stuff that is in round tubs like the curl creme, can't remember what it is called sorry, but there are three flavours and I got on best with the honey one, it is very cheap.

If you arn't that curly I would be mixing the curl creme, with Flirty Curls Scrunching Gelly, from Boots, pink tube, think it is John Freida, whatever you do keep the creme well away from the roots, I used to work the Gelly all through my hair than just a little creme round the front and ends where I am very frizzy.

I also thought you should plop until dry at first but no, just 1/2 an hour ish and then gently unrap (are you using a microfibre towel?) and keeping head upside down, gently diffuse, do not touch hair with fingers until totally dry.

When bone dry and cool scrunch through with your hands to 'scrunch out the crunch'.

Have to add that I think the roots thing might be to do with not having enough curl, more of a wave, I am the same. You might want to consider doing a poo wash every 6-8 weeks to stop you going insane with the grease, if I had done that I might have kept it up. Though talking through all the ritual is making me want to give it another crack.

Btw, does your name usually start with moon? (No matter, just nosey)

[moogdroog]

WildThings - super advice! Thanks so much for talking me through it. Tea Tree and mint is going on my shopping list and will try the stuff from boots.
I have some of that Flirty Curls stuff in my wash bag (mini tube), only normally use it when away, so will give that another go.

Glad the plopping needn't be all day. I'm using a microfibre hair turban thing (thank you Poundland)

No moon, always moog. It's the name of a super furry animals ep, and anglicised Welsh slang for 'naughty smoke'

[saoirse86]

I'm so intrigued by this and I've never heard of it before. I have very curly hair but I find it hard to deal with so end up putting it up or straightening it. I'd love to embrace the curls if this could work.

Normally I wash my hair every 3-4 days to stop it getting dry and it doesn't get that greasy really. If I did this would I have to wash it more often to stop the grease?

Also, can you do something like wash it one day but then straighten it the following day or would that mess the whole thing up?

[LongGoneBeforeDaylight]

Can't you just invest in a really good quality salon shampoo rather than not washing it?

I asked my hair dresser about this method. He said in brief, shampoo opens up the hair cuticle/shaft or something so you can get the dirt out and conditioner (and also cold water) closes it again giving the sheen. So he said if you almost never shampoo it your hair WILL be greasy.

Wouldn't it be better to wash it less often - you can train your hair to go longer between washes - but still actually wash the dirt out! Why not just get a shampoo which doesn't use silicones etc?

[JosieRosie]

Hi ladies, another coarse curly here! Just to throw another suggestion in the mix, I have never done the CG method but have recently started using Tresemme Naturals (no silicones) poo and cond and my hair is loving both! I shampoo about twice a week and I use the cond as both a rinse out and a leave-in (plenty of it). I also use a squeeze or two of 'Flirty Curls' gel although I have to say I'm not too crazy about it. I prefer 'Curl Queen' or 'Curls in a Bottle' - both available through the British Curlies website. I 'plop' for about 15 mins then let hair dry naturally - which takes a mere 10 hours . I must try drying with diffuser but I reckon it would take forever.
Anyway, enough rambling - I can't recommend Tresemme Naturals highly enough, and it's cheap as chips! Boots pink Curl Creme also excellent. I have tried the Aveda Curl Creme which is far from cheap but think that TS and Curl Creme are much much better - happy days!

[FoofFighters]

Make sure your wash condish doesn't have any silicones or mineral oils in it, as these coat your hair and won't clean it properly.

I'm using Fructis strength and shine conditioner, it has neither and it is brilliant.

Dry shampoo is your friend! Obviously you shouldn't have to use this the day after washing but it is great for stretching washes.

This might be a silly question but are you curly? If not, a boar bristle brush can really help oil distribution. I do conditioner washing and use a boar bristle brush to move oil down the hair shaft, like a natural conditioner.

Clarify every few washes, with a SLS-free shampoo.

Loads of great advice on this thread (and the whole forum) forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898&page=439

[SoyYo]

As a curly (who has never ever renegued on her curls, and I am old enough to remember all the hair fashions from 70's onwards) and I have tried just about every method.
I have to say the nopoo method is too extreme for me. I could only ever stick it out for 2 wks max and I personally found my curls did not feel or look better and that a gentle silicon free shampoo once a week is best for me.

Shampoo has to be very gentle of course, and I condition wash every 2-3 days in between shampooing.
I recommend:
Weekly Shampoo with Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo, followed by generous lashings of BS Rainforest Hair Butter, leave on 10 mins while you shower, then rinse and a little Boots pink creme, UG flirty curls hair gel (I do this with wet hair straight out of shower). I tend to comb through my hair when it is drenched in conditioner and this is the only time I mess around with a (very wide tooth) comb with it.

Plop with old T shirt to take worst of moisture out.
Put a clip on top of hair to give roots a lift.
Go about your business, get dressed, etc for 40 mins leaving it to airdry, longer if you can.
Dry with diffuser on warm not hot till 80% dry, head upside down.
Drive to work and by the time I get there (admittedly another hour) curls lovely, frizz free and dry.

In between shampoos I follow same routine but just condition wash. I like Holland & Barretts Vitamin E conditioner and Garniers Repair and Shine.

In my twenties/thirties I had masses of wringlets, now as I get older curls have relaxed a bit but I still get a very good curl, and if anything my naturally dry hair has gone a bit dryer. Length is past my shoulders and I have no intention of sporting a short mumsy haircut just because I am nearing my fiftieth birthday! The British Curlies website is a good source of tips, info.
I hope this helps. :-)

[SoyYo]

BTW is it just me or do other curlies also cringe when they see a curly being "made over" on the Gok style TV shows, and suddently she appears with the same identikit straightened hairstyle? I like straight hair when it belongs to a straighthaired person, but always wish they wouldnt iron out all those lovely waves and curls and her individuality in the process.

[KatyMac]

WhereTheWildThingsWere, DD is mixed race and has terribly dry curly hair

We have been not washing for months now & it works really really well - we use herbal essences several colours and alternate between a washing conditioner & a leave in conditioner

But could there be something better to use do you know?

[SoyYo]

KatyMac try the british curlies website for lots of advice, you can identify products/advice depending on your DD curly hair type www.britishcurlies.co.uk/articles/categories/category/curl_types/
and also post in the forums, there is great advice there!

Sorry if link doesnt work, but copy and paste onto your browser.
I dont post here often (but lurk from time to time...)

[GastroTurf]

I've had mixed success with diffusers, some let too much air through, and then it's a fluffy mess, rather than defined curls. My hair loved the CG routine, but my scalp and roots never felt nice.

[saoirse86]

I find that I can make my curls look good the day I wash it but what do you all do in between washes? I always find the next day that it's got messy from sleeping on it and I can put more product on it but it just doesn't look very good. Do you put it up at night? Or use certain products that aren't as heavy?

SoyYo I do hate that method of making a curly look good by straightening their hair, it seems lazy. However, having said that, I am lazy and that's just what I do too!

[KatyMac]

saoirse DD is the same - day 1 is lovely, then it goes downhill

[SoyYo]

saoirse, KayMac it's true curls always look best on wash day, mine is Ok on day 2-sometimes if I am lucky day 3 but then it goes frizzy, I lose the curl and end up looking like the wicked witch from the East with big frizzy mess! So quick con-wash in between shampoos is the only way (for me). I dont like big pillows, so I sleep on smallish feather pillow which I can mould round my neck and drape curls over it when I sleep. It kind of works as big pillows and sleeping on curls turns them frizzy and tangled. I use diffuser on low/cool setting, it doesnt blow much air so not a problem for me, I could not sit around for hours waiting for my hair to dry. Life is too short! One of my friends used a straightening iron on my curls a while ago (for a laugh) and I just looked SO WEIRD. My curl type is "corkicelli" in the link I posted in previous post, quite similar to the lady's picture and it kind of does it own thing, sometimes I get perfect frizz free spirals, other times less so depending on how products I use and weather. BTW did anyone see Kelly Hoppen in her new channel 5 program? I thought he curls looked truly stunning, wish I knew her secrets...(and stylist)

[JosieRosie]

SoyYo, I'm another corkicelli! Which hairdryer do you use? I use a little rubbish travel-size one which takes AGES to dry - I need one with a great big diffuser to dry my hair in under 3 hours!

[KatyMac]

There is no way you could dry DD's hair with a dryer;it would be impossible

[SoyYo]

JoseRosie I have ancient Clairol Big Shot, googled it as I have had it for years and not sure if it is still available, but here is an Amazon link
www.amazon.co.uk/Clairol-SHOT-HAIR-DRYER-1500/dp/B005GSPZ5G?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
It has a HUGE diffuser but it is very gentle (or maybe it is because it is so old?), anyway a few weeks ago I got tempted by a Vidal Sasson one which was on offer at Asda, the diffuser was nowhere near as big and it actually blew AIR as opposed to gentle heat through the big diffuser so I ended up giving it to my son as a normal hairdryer with the normal nozzle.
I guess the trick is HUGE diffuser, so the heat is dissipated and you do not get too much air. Hope this helps?

[SoyYo]

OMG! I think I have owned my diffuser for over 20 years!

[SoyYo]

JoseRosie thanks for the comments on TS I will give it a try now I know we have similar curl/hair type. Recommend Body Shop, it has been a revelation for me too! Specially loving the hair butter, thinking about giving their natural styling spray for curly hair a go next...

[saoirse86]

I have this Vidal Sassoon dryer which I really like. It has variable temp and speed, but I think most have that. It means I can have it on low heat and slow blowing when diffusing, or high heat and speed when straightening.

I can't really work out which of those hair types I am. I might have another look. And definitely going to get all some of these products that have been suggested.

[saoirse86]

Right I think I'm a botticelli curly girl, I think! I'm going to have a look on there to see if there are particular products that are good for me. Thanks for the link SoyYo.