Change your Regimen, Change your Life

So, the thing about switching regimen's, is that YOUR WHOLE LIFE CHANGES.  Before using the Curly Girl Method (from here on known as CGM), I washed my hair once, maybe twice a week.  The first wash I clarified, did a deep conditioner, washed out w/ a conditioner, applied leave in, coconut oil, Curl Enhancing Smoothie or Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugary Pomade, and styled in twist, bantu knots, braids or a fro.  I did not stray from this regimen.  If I had to do a mid week wash, I co-washed only or did a deep conditioner overnight and co-washed in the morning.  

Now, with CGM, I am washing my hair almost every other or every third day, or whenever my curls start to look... Blah.  It isn't really a regimen, I just co-wash my hair when it's looking rough, add some leave in conditioner, coconut oil, gel and go.  So what is the problem?  Because I am washing my hair so often, I forget to deep condition.  I have not deep conditioned in two weeks, and it feels like my hair is missing something.  I usually deep condition with My Shea Butter Whip + Tresemee Naturals Conditioner (a dollup) + EVOO + EVCO + Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque.  Sometimes I add melted honey too.  From here on out, I will be DC'ing twice a week, overnight Tuesday and overnight Saturday. I am wondering if I need a protein in there somewhere, so I am considering adding coconut milk to my DC.  I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, I did an overnight deep condition last night and man oh man.  I was definitely missing something... the baby softness.  My hair is like butter!  It is so soft that I couldn't bring myself to gel it this morning, so I just put some coconut oil in it, put a head band on and went about my business.  My curls are there, they just aren't as defined.  Any guess what?  My hair is dry.  I washed it at 730, its now noon and my hair is dry already!  I'm loving life.  I'll get back on my gel grind... eventually.  But for now, I'm really enjoying touching my hair.

On the bright side, my hair is starting to curl.  Like... curl.  Can you see the curls??  I am kinda giddy right now.  Don't mind me.

Do you do CGM?  When do you deep condition?

                                                                                                                                             -- Seven

The 30 Day Curly Girl Challenge - Week One

So I have been using the Curly Girl Method for about a week now.

The curly girl method was pioneered by Lorraine Massey in her book, THE CURLY GIRL HANDBOOK.  In a nutshell, you are co-washing frequently with sulfate and silicone free conditioners. Only finger detangling is allowed (no combs or brushes).  Your styler is normally gel.  You must allow your hair it air dry and keep your fingers out of it until it is dry in order to keep the hair super hydrated, and keep your curls frizz free and springy.

My thoughts so far?  I like it.  I enjoy washing my hair.  I find finger detangling very easy and I am losing much less hair now then I lost combing.  After just seven days I find that my curls are becoming more defined and they are clumping together better.  My hair is less fro-y and more curly.  My hair feels moisturized and touchable.  I am able to squeeze an extra day out of my washes by doing a twist out on day 3 and washing my hair on day 4.  Can I just say that my twist outs are coming out amazing because I still have eco styler gel in my hair and the hold is awesome!

There are some cons though.  My hair takes a full 24 hours to dry, and not touching my hair is driving me a little nuts.  I don't like how the gel makes my hair crunchy (though oil and a little more conditioner takes care of most of that on my second day).  I am used to my hair being super soft and in bantu knot outs, so this is a change.  Speaking of gel, I am using a lot of it.  Sure, its alcohol free, but it's still a lot of gel.  Its not adversely effecting my hair in any way, I just am not used to using that much gel personally.  And i think that because gel is getting on my face from shaking my hair, its making my face break out.

All in all, I am using a lot less products using this method and my hair is really changing.  

Catch up with me on week 2 for more results!

                                                                                                                                       -- Seven 

30 Day Curly Girl Challenge - Wash Day Routine

Here is my entire wash day routine.  

I start off with a hair mask made up of Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Mask and coconut oil (Hot Tip From Curly Nikki).  I let that sit for 15 minutes under a shower cap.  After that, I hopped in the shower and co-washed and detangled with Tresemee Naturals Conditioner.  I squeezed out the excess water with an old T-Shirt and applied a small amount of Tresemee Naturals as a leave in.  I know that I said that I didn't like to leave regular conditioner in my hair, but I thought that this would weigh down my hair and give me more hang time (IT DID!)  I then coated my hair with coconut oil.  I roughly sectioned my hair and shingled with Eco Styler Gel.  I set my curls by shaking and fluffing vigorously.

Enjoy the video!   

                                                                                                                                            -- Seven

30 Day Curly Girl Method Challenge -- Achieving Second Day Hair

Hi Guys! Its Seven again.  

I'm still doing my 30 day Curly Girl Method Challenge.  Its day 2 and I have a long way to go.

This is a brief video on how I achieve second day hair.

Enjoy!

--Seven