Curly Hair Update: Week Nine

Hey everybody! It's been about nine weeks since I completely cut out sulfates and silicones from my hair routine, and here is what's been happening...

My hair, as I've mentioned before, is still feeling really healthy and soft. I guess that's what to expect with the Curly Girl Method! Maybe I should stop mentioning this in these posts, but I have to admit, I'm still getting used to having such healthy hair. I know a lot of this has to do with my leave in conditioner (Kinky Curly Knot Today), which I am still really loving.

I haven't noticed a ton of change in my curls since my last update. However, I have not been wearing my hair down very often. I'm not back to school yet, so I haven't been taking the time to style it.

I want to mention one major change- I haven't been co-washing. I know, I know. Sounds like I'm abandoning the method, but I'm not! I have been using my sulfate-free shampoo for a couple of reasons. First of all, my hair always feels really dirty. Co-Washing is not leaving my hair as clean as I want it, and I'm frustrated. I think my hair is still going through a transition. I know in one of my previous posts I said I think my hair is used to the change, but I lied. There is no other explanation... I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do! I don't use silicones at all. Half the time I don't apply any product and just put my hair up in a bun. The only thing I can think of is that my hair is still transitioning.

Co-washing was making my hair clean, but I had to really scrub. I already have a lot of hair fallout, and I started to notice a lot more the last few weeks. I think that the scrubbing I had to do from co-washing was causing more hair-fallout than usual, and I certainly do not want that. Furthermore, even when my hair felt clean from co-washing, it never felt clean for very long. Over night my hair would just get gunky again, and I hate that feeling.


So...the only solution I can think of is using my sulfate free shampoo. I'm still technically following the Curly Girl Method, but I've modified it to fit my current needs. I don't need to scrub as hard, and it keeps my hair clean. You gotta do what you gotta do.

That's all for now. What have been your experiences with the transition period? Did you find it difficult?


Much love,
Gianna

Curly Hair Update: Week Six

Hey everybody!

It's been a long time since I've done a curly hair update. I was on vacation and my hair routine was a little off, so now I'm back and in the groove of things again.

Honestly, in the past few weeks, I haven't noticed a whole lot of difference in my hair. It is definitely softer than before I started the Curly Girl Method. I am finding new ways to style my hair that I am really liking. Rather than rake gel through my hair, I simply coat my hair with gel so that my curls are not separated by my fingers. I like plopping, and I leave my hair plopped as long as I can. I find that this makes my curls more defined and voluminous as they dry. I also scrunch the gel into my hair after I do an initial coat of gel, which helps my hair form curls from root to tip, rather than just half way down the length of my hair.


I am noticing that my hair is feeling like it really needs a cleansing every day. I cowash, but the gel I use seems to leave behind a stickyness that I don't like. I also think that my scalp is somewhat oily. It makes sense- I have oily skin in general. When it comes to co-washing, I think the trick is to really scrub. Get down deep and use your fingers to really work the product in. When you rinse it out, do the same thing. Use your fingers to lift up the dirt and conditioner so that you're left with clean hair. Cowashing takes work. Sometimes I am not willing to put in that extra work to get my hair clean. It's a bit of a hassle. However, I am learning slowly but surely. I am going to have to do some experimentation with cowashes and gels to find a combination that really works for me. Because as of now, I'm not really loving how my hair feels at the end of the day.

Overall, I think my hair has completely adjusted to the new system. I didn't really have any major issues during the transition. I like how my hair looks now, and I like the new techniques I have found for styling my hair. My hair is softer, for sure.

Here is what my hair looked like before CG:

And here it is today, six weeks later:

So yeah, definitely more definition.

That's all for now.

Much love!

Gianna

Curly Hair Update: Week 2

Hey everybody. Two weeks has gone by since I started the Curly Girl Method. Last week I was amazed by how soft my hair was feeling. This week I'm sad to say I don't feel as great. My hair is still soft, but I feel like my hair isn't as soft as it was last week. I don't know. Maybe I got used to it. I'm also thinking maybe I'm using too much protein on my hair. I have no idea. Maybe it's just a normal down swing of the transition to gentle products.

Other than that, I'm happy. I'm not missing my old routine, other than my old hair mousse. My current gel (L.A. Looks Sport Gel) is fine, but I am still getting used to how much I need for my hair. There's a fine line between controlled and crunchy, you know?

I've been working out a lot this week. Pretty much every day (leaving for vacation in two days- gotta be ready!). I've been noticing that my hair doesn't feel completely clean when I co-wash after my workouts. Obviously, I'm sweating and my hair is a hot mess when I hop into the shower after some cardio. I just feel like my co-wash isn't getting my hair totally clean. Perhaps I'm not using enough product and I need to adjust the amount of Suave Naturals I use according to how dirty my hair is. I don't know! Anyways, I shampoo'ed today with my Shea Moisture shampoo and I feel fine again. It's not like my hair was greasy before or anything- the co-wash was doing an okay job -I just felt like my hair was a little weighed down. I would run my fingers through it and it felt clean enough, but there was just a little bit of residue that was bothering me.

I don't know, people; trial and error!

Anyways, I've been experimenting with plopping and I decided I like it. It defines my curls nicely. I also helps keep my hair from getting crunchy. Not mention it adds volume. It's good, I like it.

Overall, I guess it was an okay week.

Here is my hair before CG:

And here it is today:

My curls are certainly more defined, and I have more volume.

Okay, seeing the pictures side by side has made me feel better about this week.

Much love to you curly heads out there!

Gianna

Curly Girl Method Update: Week One

Hey guys! So it's been exactly one week since I did my last wash with a sulfate shampoo and started co-washing. It's been a really interesting week.

Here are a few things that I've noticed so far...

First of all, my hair is way softer than it was before. I did trim my hair last Sunday, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. But my hair actually feels more hydrated. It's also a lot easier to de-tangle than it ever was before. I love it. Even my best friend noticed, and let's just say if he notices something, it must be drastically different.

He said that my hair is at least ten times softer to the touch than it was before. I'm not sure if it's actually ten times softer, but it certainly feels smoother and more hydrated.

I'm not entirely sure where all this hydration is coming from, but I have a few guesses as to which products are doing it for me. My rinse-out, the Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner, makes my hair so silky soft. My leave-in, the Kinky Curly Knot Today Natural Leave-In is also lovely. I'll do a full review on the products I chose for my Curly Girl Starter Kit in another post, probably tomorrow.

Anyways, on to a little bit about what happened this week. So on Sunday I washed with my last sulfate shampoo and deep conditioned with my Shea Moisture masque. The next day, I did not wash at all, I just had my hair up. The following day, my hair felt really greasy, and I was concerned. I thought it would take my new sulfate-free shampoo to get it cleared out. But, instead, I decided to give co-washing a shot to see if it could do the job. Turns out that co-washing with the Suave Naturals conditioner was perfect. My hair felt clean and moisturized.

Here is my tip for the week: if you're afraid of co-washing, just give it a shot. I was so pleasantly surprised at how clean my hair felt. I gave my scalp a good massage with my conditioner, and it came clean, I swear.

I'm not sure why my hair felt so greasy that day. It might just be adjusting to my new routine, or perhaps I just didn't rinse my masque out well enough. Either way, it's fine now.

I also noticed that my curls seem more defined. I have no idea why. Maybe they're more moisturized, or maybe it's my new gel. It's probably a little bit of both. But seriously, my curls look nice. My best friend noticed this too. I asked him how my hair looked, and he said it looked "more curly" and, amazingly enough, he said my curls looked more "clumped together." Little did he know that he used the exact word us curlies use when we describe nice hair! I know in my last post I said I don't like my curls to be too clumped, but I think I lied.


As far as styling, it's been hit and miss. Sometimes I feel like I get the exact right amount of gel that I need, and other times I'm concerned about too much or too little.

I know I've been celebrating in this post so far, but as life goes, good is often accompanied with bad. Not every day has been a good hair day this week. Honestly, I haven't even attempted second day hair yet, other than just throwing my hair in a bun. But right now I'm just happy about the moisturization and definition that I'm starting to see.

Plopping has been a strange experience. I tried it earlier this week, and I didn't love the results. But I tried it again today, and I'm kind of really liking it. My hair isn't fully dry yet, so we'll see.


Anyways, I think that's all for my curly hair updates this week.

Here is a picture of my hair before the curly girl method:

Here is my hair today, one week into the curly girl method:

My hair isn't entirely dry in this picture. But I think the picture shows that my ends look healthier and more defined.

I'll be back next week for another update.

Wishing you all a good hair day!

Gianna