DRY HAIR - Please Help!

[Nonie]

Kiki0130 Thanks for the shout out and for taking a chance on my recommendation! :blowkiss:

Do share what product you're thinking of trying out and how it works out when you do try it out. Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 is the only other product I've tried and that I will use when I don't have S Curl. The other day I was reading that most people find it works best on wet hair--which is something I haven't really paid attention to and will be sure to keep an eye out for next time I use it.

Always nice to have an alternative coz you never know when the S Curl god might get mad and stop being so good to us, yanno?

 

[Kiki0130]

Kiki0130 Thanks for the shout out and for taking a chance on my recommendation! :blowkiss:

Do share what product you're thinking of trying out and how it works out when you do try it out. Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 is the only other product I've tried and that I will use when I don't have S Curl. The other day I was reading that most people find it works best on wet hair--which is something I haven't really paid attention to and will be sure to keep an eye out for next time I use it.

Always nice to have an alternative coz you never know when the S Curl god might get mad and stop being so good to us, yanno?

Re the bolded ^^^ I know. Product formulations can change in a
heartbeat, lol

halee_J , a user of S-Curl, gave Sof n Free Curl Activator Moisturizer
a whirl for a while and says it's a keeper.

Her exact words were, and I quote:

Yeah the Sofn'free is a keeper makes my hair very very soft Kiki0130 just don't be too heavy handed, too much can make your hair feel greasy.

My son's fro is about 3 inches since his last visit to the barber
and to maintain it for school, he spritzes with warm water, scrunches in
S-Curl and takes his shower. Plastic cap until he's ready to style at
which time he smooths a nickel to quarter size of oil for sealing.

(Iffin he don't have to take a shower in the A.M. he still spritzes, scrunches, oils and baggy's his hair until ready to style)

Picks it out. Easy peezy lemon squeezy.

Now that the dew point is optimal (thanks EllePixie) , he won't have to use the S-Curl every day. Just spritz water and smooth on some
oil.

We used to pick his hair and we'd have to sweep all the broken
O's off the floor every day. Not aaaannnnyyyymooooore ...

So, yea, thanks

 

[halee_J]

Yeah there are times when S-curl isn't doing it for me so I switch it up with the sof'n'free. Very good alternative IMO, softens the hair very well

 

[Kiki0130]

^^^ Thanks Halee_J


Oh and I can't forget oil-rinsing. This sets us up for good hair days
using the S-Curl.

 

[.:Eden:.]

Now I will tell you this: I know a lot of people say S Curl dries their hair in the winter. I just started to use it on my twists in August and I'm still using it on the ends when I plan to wear my hair out. The one thing I do that those who hate glycerin in the winter might not be doing is: I do not go outside with my head exposed. If I am outdoors, my hair is usually under a baggy and under a hat or scarf. Sometimes I carry S Curl in my handbag so I can "fix my hair" once I get indoors. If it's dry indoors due to the heat, perhaps keep a spritz bottle handy and replenish the moisture. You'll find that it will help to keep your hair feeling OK.

I just had to run to the store a few minutes ago and didn't feel like putting on a hat, so what I did was spritz my hair which previously had S Curl with a dilute solution of ACV and nip to the store. Today is wash day so I didn't feel like applying S Curl to hair that will soon be washed, so I spritz and will wash it in a bit. My hair felt soft and was easy to style. (I'm in twists so there isn't combing going on here. But if I had to comb it out, I'd probably have applied more S Curl to provide slip.)[/QUOTE]

[USER=1333]Nonie THANKKK YOUU FOR THIS! I recently started using Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1, which is yum yum to my strands . I was trying to figure out how to use this year round and avoid the dryness due to the glycerin, but this is super helpful.

Do you think adding a heavy sealant such as shea butter over this or even SCurl will hinder me from remoisturizing with water, due to the heavy barrier?

 

[Nonie]

Kiki0130 and halee_J thanks for endorsing the Sof'n'Free. I got my mom hooked on S Curl but I understand it's not easy to find in Kenya. But SNF apparently is. So I will so encouraged to get it. Thanks guys!

 

[Nonie]

.:Eden:. I don't think Shea butter can prevent moisture from being added since it isn't like a 'cone serum. And I think someone shared about sealing their S Curl in dry weather. I just have never used S Curl with any other product, and I am afraid to just coz I hate to mess with perfection, yanno?

 

[Kiki0130]

Kiki0130 and halee_J thanks for endorsing the Sof'n'Free. I got my mom hooked on S Curl but I understand it's not easy to find in Kenya. But SNF apparently is. So I will so encouraged to get it. Thanks guys!

Well, I do declare ... !

My idol's mama actually may benefit from one of my li'l ol' suggestions !!

I am deeply honored and grateful for this opportunity to shine!!

Now I would like to thank my mom, my dad, my son, my sister who
always thought my hair was so beautiful, my best friend Tee who I met
when we were 16, my other best friend Russell who I haven't seen in
minute, halee_J who suggested that I even think about SofNFree ...

Wait, ok, that's it for now

 

[Kiki0130]

Nonie THANKKK YOUU FOR THIS! I recently started using Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1, which is yum yum to my strands . I was trying to figure out how to use this year round and avoid the dryness due to the glycerin, but this is super helpful.

Do you think adding a heavy sealant such as shea butter over this or even SCurl will hinder me from remoisturizing with water, due to the heavy barrier?

.:Eden:. Yep, I haven't used shea butter over S-Curl but thought
about it.

Instead, I found that EVOO and even the coney Proclaim Argan Oil
Treatment stuff is perfect to seal giving bling and what-have-you
during the lower dew points. Optimal dew points for glycerine, I
learned, for my and my son's hair, are between about 30 and 65.

During low dew point times, my son spritz's his fro with warm water,
scrunches in the S-Curl (which has to be applied if he's going anywhere)
and smooths oil in.

He takes his shower, hair uncovered, before or after adding the oil and
his hair gets all soft and big.

Then he puts on plastic cap (we re-use these suckas til the wheels
fall off) for the baggy effect until he's ready to style his hair just before
he leaves.

HTH

 

[.:Eden:.]

Nonie and Kiki0130 Thank you ladies! I will incorporate your tips in my next wash session.

 

[halee_J]

Kiki0130

 

[Meritamen]

Nevermind.

 

[An_gell]

OP is your hair porosity under control? Because if it's not it could be the reason your hair isn't holding moisture that well.

 

[ZkittyKurls]

OH MY GOSH!!! I purchased the scurl yesturday and tried it today. I had a 2 day old twistout that i needed to put back in twists and was dreading the detangling process because i never really had a good moisturizer to aleviate the pulling. But i tried the scurl and my oh my. I used it in my hair at 10am and it is 830pm and my hair has been soft all day. Im guessing because its been raining alllll day, and the humidity just helped my cause.

I sealed with a light oil as well. i think i am officially IN LOVE! i have NEVER found any product that has made my hair this soft. I was almost starting to get depressed because i was tired of my hair always feeling so dry. But now i feel that my life is complete!

Question though...my ends have been crunchy pretty much ever since my bc...for about 5 months. Ive trimmed too. Does anyone think that scurl can help with my ends feeling so crunchy if i use it on a consistent basis? or maybe im expecting for too much.

 

[Kiki0130]

OH MY GOSH!!! I purchased the scurl yesturday and tried it today. I had a 2 day old twistout that i needed to put back in twists and was dreading the detangling process because i never really had a good moisturizer to aleviate the pulling. But i tried the scurl and my oh my. I used it in my hair at 10am and it is 830pm and my hair has been soft all day. Im guessing because its been raining alllll day, and the humidity just helped my cause.

I sealed with a light oil as well. i think i am officially IN LOVE! i have NEVER found any product that has made my hair this soft. I was almost starting to get depressed because i was tired of my hair always feeling so dry. But now i feel that my life is complete!

Question though...my ends have been crunchy pretty much ever since my bc...for about 5 months. Ive trimmed too. Does anyone think that scurl can help with my ends feeling so crunchy if i use it on a consistent basis? or maybe im expecting for too much.

ZkittyKurls

Yay!! I'm so happy you're had a good experience with the 'Juice.'

Now, about the crunchy ends: it's possible that with consistent use,
the S-Curl can help soften rough ends but so can weekly moisturizing
DCs.

I would try both.

 

[ZkittyKurls]

Thanx! Im going to start dcing more frequently.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Long Hair Care Forum App

 

[Nonie]

ZkittyKurls, I don't have crunchy ends. Have you tried baggying with S Curl? You may also need to seal your ends with something heavy. Some people use Castor oil, others some grease or Vaseline. The idea is to protect your ends and stop moisture loss. If you think of hair strands as cylinders, the ends are open and even internal moisture is easily lost from that open end. So a heavy product at the ends help lock in the moisture. I found baggying seems to help that a lot. As your hair gets longer, you will find sealing and protective styling (meaning keeping your end hidden and from rubbing against your clothes) will help A LOT with retention.

 

[ZkittyKurls]

Nonie thanks i will be trying that soon!!

 

[nisemac]

bumping because i just tried the S Curl.

and yes, I shall testify.

every day is a battle against dryness here. dry skin, dry hair--its so dry here, i've seen folks stop wearing their contacts because they can't use enough solution to keep their eyes from drying out. and, to top it off, one has to be careful with humidifiers because of the poor air quality (in-and outdoors)--very easy for mold to form and cause respiratory problems. and don't get me started on the hard water. let it dry on something and it literally looks like salt water.

so what do you do?

I ordered some S curl and Carefree curl moisturizers for 2 reasons--my mom mentioned it to me when i last visited her. she's been using it on her hair for years--but mom lives in florida, where there's more moisture in the air. the second reason was LHCF. lots of folks touting the praises (led by HP (Hair Pastor) Nonie.

so i co-washed with VO5 Tea Therapy Clarifying Conditioner (scent, vanilla mint tea--worked really well without stripping) and applied the S Curl to my wet hair and then put my braids in. the first thing i noticed is that it felt like a leave in and not greasy. secondly, it took my hair a while to dry. normally, i have to spritz my hair with water as i braid or twist because its just that dry here. but my hair stayed wet the entire time.
even when i went to bed--4 hours after braiding, i could tell my hair was still damp. this morning, it was completely dry, so i melted a bit of coconut oil in my hands, smoothed it on my hair to undo the braids to put my hair in a puff.

BIG DIFFERENCE. it feels really softer. softer than any other method i've tried so far. i plan to rebraid tonight and will keep seeing how well this goes. I think sealing with a light oil is best given the cold dry weather. i can already tell this will be awesome in the spring and summer when its more humid.

\o/

 

[Nonie]

LOL @nisemac you know for a Harry Potter fan like me, the title HP had me grinning like the Cheshire cat.

 

[nisemac]

Nonie I knew you'd get it! And I understand HP fans well. I have a friend back home that would often requested knitted items in the various house colors.


but seriously, you just might be responsible for getting me and my hair thru the winter here. i may do braid extensions, as the combination of hard water/dry air/manipulation has cost me some growth this month--and after i retained all growth the 2 inches in 4 months Challenge. not to mention the rampid ssks and hair latching on to them.

something interesting that i noticed with the S Curl...it seemed to minimize my shrinkage. i get pretty tight shinkage but this seemed to relax my curls a bit--before braiding. at this stage for me, drying my hair without twisting or braiding has become a no-no, so i don't know how much of a difference there is between air drying and stretching with braids.

oh, and i should've added \o/ ~~\o/~~~ \o/~~~~\o/~~~~~\o/ at the end to represent the hallelujah hair dance.

 

[Nonie]

^^ nisemac I love the dance. Way too cute!

The only time I let my hair airdry without braiding is if I need to be some place like on the day I wore this puff, I needed to go to work, so after washing my hair, I applied S Curl and combed out my hair and put it in a puff. As you can see, my shrinkage was to the max (so for me S Curl doesn't prevent shrinkage):

At the end of the day, my hair feels hard coz I applied S Curl to damp hair and usually after the water dries it feels hard. I simply apply more S Curl to soften the hair, braid it for the night and the next day I still have shrinkage just that it's not as compact as it becomes if I apply S Curl to damp hair:

Thanks for the feedback on how S Curl worked for you.

 

[MissTripleChoc]

Hi

As a fellow 4b, i think your regime contains too much protein. Apparently 4b doesn't need as much protein due to the chemical structure of our hair. Since i reduced my protein usuage, i have felt a big turnaround in my hair.

Long term relationship leave in - contains protein and ORS conditioner is also a protein, not sure if suave conditioner contains proteins because we don't have that line of products here in the uk.

Secondly i would say clarify your hair, co washing and using conditioner with cones, can make the hair dry. With my hair that's definitely the case. Every month i use a sulphate shampoo to remove the cones from my hair, and that makes my conditioner far more effective.

For a leave in, try a protein free glycerine type product like the s-curl spray being recommended would be a good choice.

I also find castor oil and shea butter are amazing for sealing hair that's already, moisturised with a leave in.

Vitamins, i would up your essential fatty acids too, maybe take a fish oil to help lubricate the scalp which will in turn help grow hair that's less dry.

Good luck

 

[Monaleezza]

Give me time, Girls, give me time! I was just getting warmed up....

Truth is, I'm waiting for OP to answer my questions coz methinks that's the main place where she screws up. Once we get that part fixed, I'ma get on the pulpit and this is what will ensue:

• I will start a charismatic preaching of the gospel of S Curl, punctuated with the condemnation all products that are not it, damning them to hell.

• To drive the message home, I will be presenting props of before/after pics of my mom's hair as an demonstration of the glory that can be found in the blessed juice.

• In conclusion of my sermon, I will beseech ye all to take a moment of silence as we behold the sacred bottle of this wonder we call S Curl.

So now you have the agenda for today's lesson; come one, come all and prepare to be blessed.

Please note that service will begin as soon as I am aware of OP's return to answer my questions. Until then, @tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT will lead you all in song...

Peace be with you all, my children.

Nonie Are you still using s-curl in the winter? I read that ladies don't use it year round. I wasn't sure why, but I'd love to know if it's a worthwhile investment in Nov.

 

[bhndbrwneyes]

Thanks Nonie. So, how do you use it?

Ok Nonie, I'm a believer. So does S-Curl work best on wet or dry hair?

 

[Anne26]

I read the formulation changed now. Is it just as good/are you guys still using it? Very entertaining thread by the way... I have to order from abroad so it's a bigger expense to me, but I'm very curious.

 

[Nonie]

Ok @Nonie, I'm a believer. So does S-Curl work best on wet or dry hair?

bhndbrwneyes Girl don't make me hafta type up stuff I've written already in this thread. I thought I explained all o' that. Maybe this post?

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie Are you still using s-curl in the winter? I read that ladies don't use it year round. I wasn't sure why, but I'd love to know if it's a worthwhile investment in Nov.

Monaleezza, I only use S Curl when wearing my hair loose. I haven't worn it loose in the winter. I live in twists or braids and have only worn my hair loose in the summer. Somewhere in this thread, someone shares a suggestion of using it with something else in the winter.

If you're a place where there's moisture (like living by water or in a place where it rains a lot) or have a humidifier and not just dry heat in your home, I don't think winter will make a difference. Because S Curl has glycerin (a humectant) there needs to be moisture in the air around your hair since humectants draw water into themselves. If you're in a dry place like AZ, the humectant will draw water from your hair and leave it dry. And in the winter, with people heating up their homes all the time, the air can get dry which may be why S Curl ends up making their hair feel dry. I've never tried it so I dunno, but it would make sense if that's the case.

 

[Nonie]

I read the formulation changed now. Is it just as good/are you guys still using it? Very entertaining thread by the way... I have to order from abroad so it's a bigger expense to me, but I'm very curious.

@Anne26, I understand Sta-So-Fro Activator works just as well. Can you get that? (I haven't noticed any difference in the way S Curl works on my hair; wouldn't know if the formula changed coz I just don't check labels of things I've been using for a long time... )

Or if you read this whole thread, Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 is also good. Even I will use that if I don't have S Curl.

 

[Harina]

I've been doing this for the past couple of weeks and my hair stays soft. Cowash with Suave Natural Shea Butter Conditioner. Moisturize with Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie, lightly spritz with aloe vera gel/water mist (equal parts), and seal with castor oil (sometimes castor oil and olive oil mixed together). My hair is like soft cotton with little coils popping up everywhere. Love it!!