Statistically 65% of the world has curly hair. Only about 11% know it. Here in the US we have grown up watching commercials that teach us that oil is BAD and must be destroyed, only they don't tell you that in order to destroy this horrendous oil you must torture your hair with harsh chemicals! The same chemicals that are found in...laundry detergent and dishwasher soap! They realized how this dried the hair and came up with conditioner that would fix all that, only they use silicone which naturally clogs up the pores in your scalp and it can only be removed by the harsh chemicals. Chemicals by the name of Sulfate! Oil is not bad!! Overly oily hair is not desirable but overly oily hair is 1. nearly impossible for curly headed people to have and 2. only caused by drying your hair out with these harsh chemicals. Your hair must over compensate for the lack of natural moisture in it but over producing natural oil, making it gross and oily after about 1 day of washing it. So what and how can we fix this? Here are some simple steps!
The Curly Girl Method1. Grab your commercialized shampoo that has sulfate and wash your hair FOR THE LAST TIME! After your shower throw it away and vow to never ever pick up another bottle as long as you live. Plus once you see the results you won't think twice about it!
1b. Here is where you will start every day after Day 1 of your new hair life :) Wet your hair with cold water and don't touch it. If you have strong water pressure shield the powerful spray with your hand. hair is more fragile when wet, which means it's more prone to breakage and will lead to frizz; a curly girls nightmare!
2. Use a lighter non silicone conditioner to cleanse your scalp. Believe it or not the Suave naturals collection is silicone/-cone free and all natural :) Pour a generous amount into the palm of your hand and massage into your scalp with your finger tips. Never touch your precious and fragile scalp with your fingernails! Ever!
3. Rinse again in cold water only! You may use your finger tips to massage the dirt and grime away.Hot and warm water rips your hair of it's natural oils and will leave it dry and dull. Cold water closes the hair shaft keeping it from build up and leaves your hair more shiny and lustrous!
4. Next you should apply a thicker moisture and protein rich condition to your hair that is also silicone/-cone free. Garnier Fructis Fortifying Triple Nutrition conditioner happens to be silicone free and all natural :) Love! Apply this generously to your hair and comb hair out from the bottom upwards using a wide tooth comb that doesn't have the little caps on the end of the teeth (those pull hair out :/ ) This is the only time you will ever ever ever comb your hair out.....ever! Never ever when dry!
5. If your hair tends to frizz once combed out apply more garnier to the top layer of your hair. From here you should not touch your hair until you are out of the shower. Continue with your shower routine and let the conditioner soak into your hair
6. Do not touch your hair and rinse it LIGHTLY with as cold of water as you can handle. A generous amount of the conditioner should remain in your hair.
7. Scrunch hair in an upward motion softly to ring the water out
8. Scrunch a small amount of Burts Bees Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Natural conditioner into your hair.
9. Scrunch Herbal Essences Totally Twisted hair gel into your curls. It is the only alcohol free hair gel on the market and doesn't hurt your hair one it. Over Christmas break I am going to experiment with making my own natural hair gel. I do love this gel though!
10. Use a 100% cotton t-shirt to crunch dry your hair. Never ever use a terry cloth towel on your curly air again! This is the main cause of frizz for curly haired people believe it or not! This alone make a huge difference in any hair type!
You may use a diffuser to dry your hair if you can't stand it air drying, but air drying it is best!
I know it seems like an awful lot of conditioner and I know that you think it's going to weigh your hair down and make it greasy and truthfully.... it might for about 1-3 weeks. In these weeks your hair is learning to trust you. Learning to trust that you won't torture it again with harsh chemicals that will rid it of it's natural oil. It is still probably going to over produce oil for at least a week maybe a week and a half. After that it should return to it's normal and natural state and you will reap the amazing benefits of having manageable hair that will never ever have a bad hair day again!!
About every month you should clarify your hair. Despite our best efforts, some things that we do not want in our hair find their way in. To get rid of these things that weigh down hair and cause it to become dull here are a couple of things you can do...
Baking Soda Rinse - This is your best friend :)
Mix some baking soda with warm water and rinse throughout your hair. Let it sit for a little bit and rinse, then proceed with the rest of the routine.
Brown Sugar Scrub
Mix two parts Brown sugar with 1 part of the suave coconut conditioner.
Massage your scalp to exfoliate and remove any excess dirt, grime and build up. This does not leave your hair sticky or make you more attracted to sweet loving bugs. It rinses out completely and leaves your hair soft and wonderfully bouncy!
Lemon Aide
Mix lemon juice in with the coconut conditioner. Massage your scalp and distribute through the rest of your hair. This removes any chlorine and restores your hair to it's natural pH levels.
Ultra Moisturizer
Mix olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or shea butter with a few drops of any nice smelling essential oil.
Finger comb this through wet curls and wrap your hair in plastic wrap. Leave in for a few hours or over night. Rinse and resume the rest of the routine. You can do this to your entire head or just the ends.
Glistening Spray
Mix 1T. of vegetable glycerin with 1 1/2 C. of water and a few drops of nice smelling essential oil together in a spray bottle.
Moisturizes curls and makes them shine! A little goes a long way!
Protein Boost
Beat 1 to 2 eggs together with coconut conditioner.
Pour onto hair and let it soak in a set before rinsing and resuming the rest of the routine. This will make your hair very strong and shiny! I normally do this between steps 3 and 4.
Lavender Mist - I use this every day!
Boil 1/2 of a gallon of water for 1 hour. then add 5 drops of pure lavender essential oil. Put in a spray bottle and use it for touch up or to smooth any fly aways or random frizzies.
If you have straight hair I would not suggest cutting the shampoo out all together. However you should cut out sulfate shampoos. Loreal makes a sulfate free shampoo and it is currently the only one on the commercial market! I've used it to clarify my hair when silicone has gotten into my curls. It works great and keeps your hair from drying out and also prevents oil overproduction for straight haired people that want healthier and sulfate free hair! For straight hair follow the same steps only replace washing your scalp with sulfate free shampoo instead of the light conditioner. Also eliminate using the gel to scrunch and keep curls in place. Do however use a 100% cotton shirt or microfiber towel to dry your hair. Terry cloth is bad for any hair type!
Here are some before and after pics for proof!!
This woman thought she had straight hair! But her after results are incredible!!
Before and After. Another person who thought she had unmanageable straight hair!
There is hope for you all with curly hair and for those of you with straight you can increase your hair health!! Don't hair your curly hair and don't think you will have bad hair days! Learn to love your curly and embrace them!
Happy Conditioning!
~Hayden Lorraine
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love comments and even prayer requests! Just remember to keep your comments appropriate for all ages please :)