THIS IS LONG…
I have been lurking for nearly a year, and am finally posting something, because it works for me and I wanted to share, and I am a complete dud with my hair.
I recently went from having 8 years of natural hair to 4a/b relaxed, and have been experimenting with healthier ways of styling my hair. I have figured out an air-drying method that dries my hair straight, like I-don't-need-a-flat-iron straight.
I will preface this with 4 things:
1.[FONT="] [/FONT] I am, at best, decent with a flat iron. I still can’t wrap my hair worth a damn(wet or dry)
, and can’t blowdry that well either
2.[FONT="] [/FONT]It might be my haircut; I have a slightly angled chin length bob, with long bangs in the front. My stylist did a great job, and I think that really helps it
3.[FONT="] [/FONT]I used to use a couple of tricks from biracialhair.org . Teri, the owner of the site, recommends a few things for curly hair that I do as habit now with my straight hair
a.[FONT="] [/FONT]Leave the conditioner in your hair
b.[FONT="] [/FONT]Smooth and define the hair while wet, and “reinforce” the straightness by clumping the hairs together so that they don’t frizz
c.[FONT="] [/FONT]Once this is done, DO NOT TOUCH IT. AT ALL. EVEN WHEN IT FEELS CRUNCHY…WHICH IT WILL
4.[FONT="] [/FONT]It looks really long, but the whole process takes about 20 minutes total, including washing
WASH
I only wash my hair at night; I either co-wash, do a protein rinse, or shampoo, then either rinse my hair in freezing cold water or do an ACV rinse and then rinse in freezing cold water. I towel blot…it’s hard to describe, but I like it to be much drier before I add the products. It is wet anyway once I add the mousse, so I feel like leaving it dripping just makes it harder to dry
ADD PRODUCTS
1.[FONT="] [/FONT] I use a tiny, dime sized, amount of Phytocitrus Restructuring Mask (it’s really expensive, but I need so little of it, and it works beautifully, so I don’t mind the expense); I put it in, rake it through with my hands, and then detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb (DON”T WASH IT OUT)
2.[FONT="] [/FONT]Put a little bit of Moroccan oil or EVOO on the ends to seal (I’m still debating whether this helps)
3.[FONT="] [/FONT]Add a tiny bit of John Freida Frizz Ease, all over (less than one half a pump)
4.[FONT="] [/FONT]Paul Mitchell Conditioning Mousse. Slightly more than a large egg amount, flip my hair over, and apply it well (don’t worry that your hair feels really wet, you need it)
PREPARE TO DRY
Once all the products are in, comb your hair down. I part my hair the way that I wear it, because this is how it will dry. I then part ear to ear, start with the bottom layer (working towards the crown) and comb a 1” x 2” section of hair, smoothing it. I smooth it down. It looks ridiculous, like my hairs are stuck together, but that’s the point. I then repeat this all over my head. I comb all the hair above my ears (except for the crown)so it falls in front of my ears and towards my face.
DRYING
If you look like you have a helmet on your head, then you did a great job. Don’t sweat if it looks kinda fuzzy on top. This goes away while you sleep. I pat it down so that the hair flaps point down. It will start to get crunchy from the mousse; don’t touch it, don’t touch it, and resist the urge to un-crunch. Once it gets crunchy, I go to bed. I don’t wrap my hair, but I also sleep like a rock and barely move…I think it’s enough to just make sure you don’t tussle it when you initially put your head on the pillow.
When I wake up, most of the crunch is gone, and I just finger comb it and go!
Can anyone try it and verify why it works and if it works on long hair??? If it doesn’t, I guess I’ll be rocking this bob forever!
Thanks,
-Cdee
I have been lurking for nearly a year, and am finally posting something, because it works for me and I wanted to share, and I am a complete dud with my hair.
I recently went from having 8 years of natural hair to 4a/b relaxed, and have been experimenting with healthier ways of styling my hair. I have figured out an air-drying method that dries my hair straight, like I-don't-need-a-flat-iron straight.
I will preface this with 4 things:
1.[FONT="] [/FONT] I am, at best, decent with a flat iron. I still can’t wrap my hair worth a damn(wet or dry)
, and can’t blowdry that well either2.[FONT="] [/FONT]It might be my haircut; I have a slightly angled chin length bob, with long bangs in the front. My stylist did a great job, and I think that really helps it
3.[FONT="] [/FONT]I used to use a couple of tricks from biracialhair.org . Teri, the owner of the site, recommends a few things for curly hair that I do as habit now with my straight hair
a.[FONT="] [/FONT]Leave the conditioner in your hair
b.[FONT="] [/FONT]Smooth and define the hair while wet, and “reinforce” the straightness by clumping the hairs together so that they don’t frizz
c.[FONT="] [/FONT]Once this is done, DO NOT TOUCH IT. AT ALL. EVEN WHEN IT FEELS CRUNCHY…WHICH IT WILL
4.[FONT="] [/FONT]It looks really long, but the whole process takes about 20 minutes total, including washing
WASH
I only wash my hair at night; I either co-wash, do a protein rinse, or shampoo, then either rinse my hair in freezing cold water or do an ACV rinse and then rinse in freezing cold water. I towel blot…it’s hard to describe, but I like it to be much drier before I add the products. It is wet anyway once I add the mousse, so I feel like leaving it dripping just makes it harder to dry
ADD PRODUCTS
1.[FONT="] [/FONT] I use a tiny, dime sized, amount of Phytocitrus Restructuring Mask (it’s really expensive, but I need so little of it, and it works beautifully, so I don’t mind the expense); I put it in, rake it through with my hands, and then detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb (DON”T WASH IT OUT)
2.[FONT="] [/FONT]Put a little bit of Moroccan oil or EVOO on the ends to seal (I’m still debating whether this helps)
3.[FONT="] [/FONT]Add a tiny bit of John Freida Frizz Ease, all over (less than one half a pump)
4.[FONT="] [/FONT]Paul Mitchell Conditioning Mousse. Slightly more than a large egg amount, flip my hair over, and apply it well (don’t worry that your hair feels really wet, you need it)
PREPARE TO DRY
Once all the products are in, comb your hair down. I part my hair the way that I wear it, because this is how it will dry. I then part ear to ear, start with the bottom layer (working towards the crown) and comb a 1” x 2” section of hair, smoothing it. I smooth it down. It looks ridiculous, like my hairs are stuck together, but that’s the point. I then repeat this all over my head. I comb all the hair above my ears (except for the crown)so it falls in front of my ears and towards my face.
DRYING
If you look like you have a helmet on your head, then you did a great job. Don’t sweat if it looks kinda fuzzy on top. This goes away while you sleep. I pat it down so that the hair flaps point down. It will start to get crunchy from the mousse; don’t touch it, don’t touch it, and resist the urge to un-crunch. Once it gets crunchy, I go to bed. I don’t wrap my hair, but I also sleep like a rock and barely move…I think it’s enough to just make sure you don’t tussle it when you initially put your head on the pillow.
When I wake up, most of the crunch is gone, and I just finger comb it and go!
Can anyone try it and verify why it works and if it works on long hair??? If it doesn’t, I guess I’ll be rocking this bob forever!
Thanks,
-Cdee
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