Proteins

I've read a lot about people who have "protein-sensitive" hair and for a long time I believed that I was not one of them. However, looking back, most of the products I use have little to no protein in them anway. So on Thursday I went and I got my hair dyed (just a demi-permanent to mix it up). Just as the stylist was putting the styling products in my hair she said, "Oh your hair will love you! That dye was just loaded with proteins." It didn't really register to me until today, when after I did my normal routine and my hair was totally dry (and looked and felt like a haystack!) that I might just belong to the aforementioned group... Hmmm... not sure, but I think I will likely avoid proteins in my hair in the future. This sucks, but at least it washes out in 6 weeks!

Curl Mart

Just made my first Curl Mart purchase! Here's what's a-coming:
- Jessicurl Too Shea conditioner (x 2)
- Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper (x 1)
- Curl Junkie CoffeeCoco Curl Creme (x 1)

My week is more fun if I have something to look forward to :)

Of course, I'll post results!

BTW, I'm having a great hair day. Maybe I don't need to try more products?? Ha ha, yeah right!

I am not normal.

One of my very sweet, well intentioned friends asked me the other day if I would ever wear my hair "normal" again, meaning straight. I gently explained to her that I am a former straight-aholic. I cannot, must not, go near a flat iron right now. It has only been a month and a half into my curly hair recovery. Maybe one day I can try it again, but not right now. I know how addicting it can be. I am afraid of a relapse. And, of being normal...

February 2008 Hair

Okay, here are my picture updates as of February 14, 2008:







Top: Doesn't look much different from January, but the curls look healthier, more defined and less voluminous.
Middle: A little dark, but it was the best picture of what my hair looks like from the back.
Bottom: Later that same day, I pulled my hair up for work. I will never bun again! The claw looks cute :)
And, I am heavily contemplating wearing the flower in my hair everyday... So many compliments that day!

I recently added biotin vitamins in addition to my multivitamin, so I decided to measure my hair monthly as well. Seeing as I will probably continue to trim my bangs, I will only measure a dry coil underneath on the right side every month just to track growth progress. I will also measure the coil in two ways: first, the curl in it's natural state and second, the curl pulled out straight.

Curled: 5.5 inches
Straight: 7.75 inches

A little over 2 inch spring factor underneath... My guess is that for the longer pieces the spring factor is closer to 3 inches, though.

Shea Moisture

Just to begin, BeautyofNewYork.com rocks my socks! My package arrived right on time, much to my delight, in spite of the horrific rainy weather. My inner PJ says, "Sweeeeet!!"

I digress, on to more important things... In my humble opinion, Shea Moisture Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioner is the best product in the entire world! As I mentioned before, this product arrived smack-dab in the middle of a monsoon, so I was very curious to see how it would hold up to the inclimate weather. I immediately integrated Shea Moisture into my routine: Vanilla Mint Tea co-wash, Jessicurl Too Shea condish, Shea Moisture, and just for kicks I used only Jessicurl Confident Coils. That's it, nice and simple.

I have had amazing hair days for the past week. And I truly mean amazing. Soft, touchable, crunch-free, frizz-free, bouncy defined ringlets! This routine has happily rendered me silicone and sulfate free. I guess my lil curls were thirsty, is all! One imporant thing I noticed is that my hair has less volume than it did before, so finer/thinner hair that easily gets weighed down might not benefit from this specific item.

So, the product itself is very thick. Hard to squeeze out of the bottle and the consistency reminds me of squeeable butter. I'm not too excited about the smell. It reminds me of homemade playdough. Someone on NaturallyCurly.com suggested the smell is reminiscent of banana cream pie. I can kind of see why she thinks that. The smell is tolerable for two reasons: my hair looks great and it doesn't linger.

I will definitely repurchase this product again!
Rated: 5 curls out of 5

Current Routine

I finally went and purchased the Curly Girl book by Lorraine Massey which is heraleded as the bible for caring for ringlets. It certainly lives up to it's reputation! I learned a lot about the scientific "why's" and "how's" of curly hair and how to care for it. It is an easy read with a lot of good information. Funny, cute and helpful. It was only $10, so I definitely recommend any curly girly picking up a copy. So, from the book and from the unending support and advice from the girls at NaturallyCurly.com, I have created a modified "Curly Girl" (or CG for short) routine:

Daily
- Conditioner wash (Co wash) with V05 Vanilla Mint Tea Clarifying Conditioner (leaves my hair squeaky clean, smells good, and doesn't leave my roots greasy)
- Condition with Jessicurl Too Shea
- Use two quarter sized dollops of Jessicurl Confident Coils and Rockin' Ringlets (in that order) and use my fingers to rake through
- Then I separate my hair down the middle into two sections and then I break up each section into 2 or 3 more little sections and put Garnier Fructis Soft Curl Cream in my hair
- I also take a multivitamin and 2500 mcg of Biotin everyday.
With this routine, I get great curls and neglible frizz. The only problem is the SCC has dimethicone in it. Since I don't use cleansers (shampoos) with detergents, there is potential for build up, but I have experienced very little, if any, so far.

Nightly
I put a little bit of sweet almond oil (found in natural/health food stores) in my hair, concentrating on ends and put my hair into two little piggy tail braids. Oil is absorbed by morning, has yet to stain my sheets, leaves my hair soft and bouncy.

Weekly
- Do a "lemon-aid" rinse (recipe found in "Curly Girl")
- Do a deep treatment with Jessicurl Weekly Deep Treatment
- I do not put anything else in it and sleep with my hair wrapped up in an old tee-shirt

My hair is starting to look really good! The curls look happy and healthy! Yay!!! I am thoroughly enjoying being a curly fry :)

Official Product Junkie

So, now I just ordered Shea Moisture Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioner from Beauty of New York as it has come highly recommended for adding moisture and creating beautiful ringlets with no frizz. I'm excited! My hair responds well to extra heavy moisturizing conditioners, so I can't wait to try it, especially because New England's weather is so erractic: always humid (I'm on the ocean), cold, windy, snowy, rainy... I did the UPS 3 day ground shipping for this one though. It was only$3 more and I learned that I am an impatient person when it comes to caring for my hair! LOL I will definitely update sooner rather than later.

Also on my hair-care-to-order list:
- Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper
- Deva Angell
- Joico Joiwhip Mousse

Hmmm... I'm sure there are more, so I'll get back to you later.