➿ Fantastic Haircare: Making Sense and Science of the Curly Girl Method (thread 2)

[botemp]

Offshoot thread from the Fantastic Skincare threads to document the trials and tribulations in order to make sense and science of the curly girl method. We don't necessarily follow it to the letter and are even critical of it in places. Nor are we especially knowledgeable at this point but we're learning as we go. Feel free to join in as we attempt to approach this with an interest in ingredients and try to not buy everything that promises us magical things…

Useful blogs:

Curly Cailín on the golden triangle of healthy hair
Science-y Hair Blog
The Mestiza Muse
The Beauty Brains (podcast/blog)

Understanding ingredients:

Commonly found ingredients in haircare

Useful information about cosmetic chemistry

Porosity:

(video)

Removing build up:

Shampoos which remove product build up

Cationic compounds (of interest to those with buildup prone and/or fine hair):

Cationic compounds found in cosmetics

Polyquats (of interest to those with buildup prone and/or fine hair):

Polyquat buildup

To polyquats or not

Silicones, polyquats and soap

Another cosmetic ingredient to be afraid of?

Protein/Moisture balance:

(video)

Extract and proteins in CGM, a biochemist explains

(video)

Hygral Fatigue

SPF protection of your hair:

UV protectant ingredients

UV damage of hair (pubmed)

Summers sun and your hair

Rice water rinses:

Rice Water Rinse

Elasticity:

Is it too late to improve your elasticity

Managing elasticity and porosity in hair

Hard and soft water:

(video)

Hard water and your hair

Olaplex:

How does Olaplex hair treatment work

Frizz:

Hair frizz science

What's your frizz type

How to tame your hair based on frizz type

Flash Drying:

Flash Drying

Next level nerdery:

Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair (cosmetic chemists' textbook)

With all the workout talk you're easy to spot

Speaking of Olaplex, I'm mildly intrigued by the new 0 version which is a stronger version of 3. The 0 doesn't contain any quats though, but my hairdresser sells the salon treatments and when I asked after it he didn't think it would do much for me (as not needed).

And speaking of hairdressers randomly popped up and I think it's a good one to reference for looser textures/wet cut. I always know I'm getting a good cut when it resembles this (although never quite had this view so it's quite enlightening) when the hairdresser really gets a real arm workout out of it (which is probably why a lot of hairdressers probably prefer not to do it but it always equals crap hair for me), lots of small snips (if I ever spotted chunks of hairs, even if short, instead of lots of tiny ends all over the place I knew it was bad) and also the positions of the head being directed slightly down to cut the back, etc. Very different than the dry curl by curl cut but I think this is helpful for wet cut reference and what I suspect is European technique.

My diffuser agonies are over 🎉 someone put up the Xtava Black Orchid and the nozzle thingy up for sale on our version of gumtree/eBay and I promptly bought it. She promised to send it out before the weekend so it should be here Saturday at the latest which makes planning to wash my hair difficult. My hair dryer arrives this afternoon which I'll also be eager to use but probably best to wait and see my diffuser actually fits on it first. And my perm rod thingies came in from China (or maybe South Korea) looks like they'll do the job well although the Rahua shampoo is giving me volume by itself so maybe not necessary after all 🤷

I shall have to watch that video, later. Both looking great quirky and bo. I don't mind my waves looser - it's getting my hair feeling soft and stopping it from being horizontal that is my battle.

I experimented with orange marmalade on confident coils, the other day. Dried rather untidy. My hair underneath and at the back was really curly and I had some soft ringlets at the front but my crown hair didn't hold at all. Felt quite soft but felt greasy really quickly, too.

Ponytail day, today. Washed with some shea moisture superfruit complex that I bought at the start of the year. Have had good and dreadful hair days with it. Banana hair food then the giovanni la hold I've been wanting to try.

Everything is wrong with it. It's stiff and feels coated, flat at the back, very little shine and flat on top.

That's how my hairdresser cuts my hair .

That's how my hairdresser cuts mine too. She often does the finger coiling as well. I used to when my hair was shorter, but it's too long to do it all now, I occasionally do the odd front bits. Also, the underneath is much curlier when it's longer , so doesn't need it.

Not sure I quite followed all that Bo (in particular the impact of innersense foam) but your hair looks good.

Your hair is very curlier for air drying Quirky. Mine tends to be a bit less curly without diffusing. Do you ever diffuse?

I thought there was a new person on the thread Ninny - but one chatting away like she'd been on the thread for ages 😂 I find it hard coordinating exercise with washing my hair. Now I do hardcore exercise (running or HIIT) on wash day and yoga or strength on day 2 - something else which needs planning in my life!!!

So do you think the orange marmalade caused the problem pickachew? Or the confident coils or the combination?

Sophie, once autumn sets in I will definitely be diffusing more! Usually it's less curly when air dried but I think the wetter for LIC, less plopping, more gel seems to have helped. Or just weird random curliness.

sophie I think they must have been too oily in combination. I've got such a mixture of textures on my head that it's never going to all be perfect. The curly bits never really dropped but you couldn't see them because they were hidden underneath! I'll go bck to using up the orange marmalade in small amounts.

As for today's disaster, it doesn't even look nice tied back. And I have horrible scalp flakes.

I'm using ear drops, at the moment, so will probably just keep my hair tied back for a few days, anyhow, because yuck! Good opportunity for another styling product break.

Sophie, the Innersense foam has protein and I've noticed sometimes it adds to a 'too much protein' feeling that reads as kinky frizz on me (like I have coarse hair) but the shampoo and conditioner also contain clay and salt and those could be potentially be the cause of that kinky frizz.

This time I used the same products and technique minus the Innersense foam (plus diffusing with my old diffuser, Xtava still hasn't arrived, she forgot 😖 but my new blow dryer is fantastic 👍 then again anything was probably going to be fantastic since my old basic hair dryer was down from three heating elements to one) and I don't have the protein kinky frizz feel to it now.

Overall very pleased with my latest wash day and so happy I could be done with it after a diffuse session at night and SOTC in the morning. So much less stress and not having to plan life around when to wash. Not so happy about the total price when I add up all the products of this wash day, but not surprised my hair has expensive taste 😑

I really like the conditioner, the shampoo I still need to see if it's doing anything aside from cleaning. I've yet to come across a hydrating product that actually hydrates until trying these (I am hopeful that continued use will eliminate the need for the rice rinses, thus saving me more time). My hair feels fuller and thicker and that's something I've yet to find anywhere and makes a world of difference to me, much more so than enviable perfect blogger curls. Also really impressed with the shine.

You have lots of shine there, too, bo.

I have my first good hair day in ages. Cantu shampoo, jessicurl aloeba conditioner and confident coils, which is very moisturising, and a bucket of instant freeze. Still a bit damp when I went to bed (7 hours after washing it) do I was worried and then I was out in the rain, this morning. It's not pristine and defined but it's hanging and moving well - and shiny.

I've given up with my hair atm. Seem to be going backwards and not got the energy to research why exactly. I think a cut will help. Going to ask for more layers and more shaping. It's grown like crazy since the last cut.

Hair looks really good there Pick.

I'm getting CGM fatigue too (even though I've never really followed it). I sort of bought into it for more predictable consistent hair results with the stylers as not as time consuming (not counting the research investment, that's been useful to me regardless) but the time thing is getting out of hand lately and interfering with living life like a normal person.

Anyhow, I received my new diffuser today, thankfully in one piece, and I do hope this cuts the drying time somewhat but I'm a bit sick of all the variations and I'm really not sure if it all matters that much...

Yes your hair is looking much fuller Bo. Very lovely. Thanks for explanation re innersense foam. I actually tried it for first time the other day and noticed I had some hairs at the halo/root which dried/frizzed? while the rest of my hair was still wet. I wonder if it was the protein as I think I have tipped a bit too far in that direction.

Basically my curls are holding and no wet frizz or softness (so I'm not over moisturised) but I am getting a lot more frizz on day 1 and day 2. I have ruled out most things except protein overload so will focus on moisture for a bit.

I know exactly what you mean Ninny - I too am getting fed up and feel like I'm gong backwards.... and everyone says patience, patience, patience but I cannot be spending so many hours on caring for my hair and styling and researching.... I've decided to give myself another 2 months (so that will be 6 months following a modified CGM) and then will consider a curl consultation with curly Cailin. I know, I know.... it's expensive and all the rest but I just want nice hair and reliable wash days and struggling at the moment and want a hair fairy godmother to sort it all out .... (of course I may well change my mind in 2 months).

Saying all that your hair looks great pickachew.! You can definitely see how it is improving. Do you live in a humid place if it takes so long to dry?

I think I started CGM ages ago and after a while, found a combination that worked. Then my hormones changed, I stopped dyeing it and the stuff I'd used for years stopped working so well. I also needed to use products that helped the silver colour. I think I'm just slowly trying new things to help (I still seem stuck on shampoo stage and haven't even started on styling products!).

I patch tested the Gallinee serum, to see if it discolours, so far so good. Felt soothing too.

I wouldn't mind the time, effort and money if I got some consistent results. I've got completely left of field tonight. Clarified* with the Phyto, used the Amino Acid mask but as a conditioner so just put it on semi-dripping wet hair and worked it in for around 3 minutes. Then a little Giovanni LIC and a little ICV. Then I diffused it using the hover method for 5-10 minutes (never used that method before) then added a pump of watered down ICH. This was inspired by Welsh Curly Girl's post today. No idea what it's going to turn out like and tbh I don't much care.

• I love how my hair feels after clarifying. I do it every 10 days or so. I don't use a lot of product either in number of and amounts. I think I got my best results early on when I used hardly anything.

@SophieLion

Yes your hair is looking much fuller Bo. Very lovely. Thanks for explanation re innersense foam. I actually tried it for first time the other day and noticed I had some hairs at the halo/root which dried/frizzed? while the rest of my hair was still wet. I wonder if it was the protein as I think I have tipped a bit too far in that direction.

Basically my curls are holding and no wet frizz or softness (so I'm not over moisturised) but I am getting a lot more frizz on day 1 and day 2. I have ruled out most things except protein overload so will focus on moisture for a bit.

I know exactly what you mean Ninny - I too am getting fed up and feel like I'm gong backwards.... and everyone says patience, patience, patience but I cannot be spending so many hours on caring for my hair and styling and researching.... I've decided to give myself another 2 months (so that will be 6 months following a modified CGM) and then will consider a curl consultation with curly Cailin. I know, I know.... it's expensive and all the rest but I just want nice hair and reliable wash days and struggling at the moment and want a hair fairy godmother to sort it all out .... (of course I may well change my mind in 2 months).

Saying all that your hair looks great pickachew.! You can definitely see how it is improving. Do you live in a humid place if it takes so long to dry?

I got another respectable day out of it, too, Sophie. It's very thick and has never dried quickly but the air does default to damp, where I live and it was raining on Sunday night. I've done the same routine, today, and it's almost dry, after 4 hours. It'll probably look rubbish, tomorrow!

I'm going to try styling with my head the right way up next wash day and see how that looks I'm having lots of rubbish wash days but I still hate my cut which is probably why!

Oh yes. I applied the post-diffusing gel the right way up.

Well shut the front door. I had a cast and it was still there this morning.

I wonder if this confirms it's has a tendency to be over moisturised. As it was half dry I applied watered down gel.

Definitely needs reshaping and more layers.

That's a pretty fabulous mane you have there, ninny. Taking some weight off should work wonders.

Still a bit of a cast but sweet! Some of those underneath curls are doing their type 3 thing.

Thanks Pick. I have some crazy underneath stuff going on. How to get the top layer to do the same?!

I have lots of different curl patterns, I think I just accept that but try to encourage the curl, generally. My hair underneath is really curly, certainly type 3.

Actually, ninny, would finger coiling work?

Yes I have thought about that quirky but I have so much hair and I can never be bothered with the sectioning it. But actually it bottom layers really don't need it so perhaps I just do it to the top layers. Does it only last until next wash day or is it supposed to have longer term 'retraining' effects?

Yy, I know what you mean. I used to do it ages ago when I had shorter hair, but yes, maybe on the top less curly layers.