Soft and NON-GREASY hair - only a dream???

[Kindheart]

Maybe your hair doesn't like glycerin ,I know mine gets dry and crunchy when I use it. I suggest cut out the glycerin and use jojoba oil and almond oil.

 

[Nonie]

Kindheart are you in a dry climate?

 

[Charla]

yeah, there is the sealing problem and I used to wonder the same thing. But I saw some people either mix oil to their leave in or put it underneath, i.e.:
- lovegymnasts in this forum mixes Lustrasilk to wheat germ oil and she doesn't seal
- Kimmaytube on youtube mixes castor and jojoba and avj into her leave in and she doesn't seal
- mllecafeaulait on youtube even puts olive oil under her leave in (and she doesn't seal)

I tried their versions and for some reason the moisture felt sealed in. It is pretty confusing lol but for some people the order seems to matter (Chicoro in this forum uses products with different consistencies, first water based product, then oil based product, then a gum or wax or pomade), and for other people it doesn't.

I think I would only remove the glycerin first, and see what happens. Because AVJ alone doesn't work for me either, not even if I add it to a leave in. But as soon as I add an oil to it or on top of it, MMMMMMOISTURE! lol
since you are indeed applying castor oil and a leave in with it, it may work.

Curlykale -- thank you! You're really helping me think this process thru! I started mixing in the hemp seed oil with the Aussie Moist and skipping sealing based on what you mentioned about Kimmay. But I still ended up with greasiness. I may have to reduce the hemp or skip it all together and stick with castor oil. I honestly don't think my hair likes hemp seed oil the more I think about it.

So I'm going to try a few options
#1. Cut out the glycerin and just spray with avj alone. Then I'll make a mix of Aussie Moist Kimmay-style and skip sealing.
#2. Try using all oils during the washing/prewashing, so prepooing with oil and then cowash with the Tressemme and then just following up with sealing with castor oil (and maybe spritzing with avj before sealing with castor oil.) And skipping the leave in of Aussie Moist.
#3. prepoo or not with oil (I'll test both ways!) and then Kimmay-style leave-in, skip sealing, skip glycerin, skip avj spritz.

I'm going to have a busy week!

 

[Nonie]

Curlykale, what is AVJ? I'm tired and can't process things.

 

[Kindheart]

Nonie no , I ve tried it in every climate it just makes my hair dry and frizzy.

 

[Bublin]

Nonie, i'll get there in the end.

I tell you what, next time i shampoo i will (correct me if i'm wrong, i'm at the back of the classoom and can't see the board so well)
1. braid up hair whilst wet with no product ( oh lawd, i feel the withdrawl symptoms already)

2. When dry spray s-curl and let that dry.

3. Baggy over night and then in the morning re-apply.

Don't me if i've got it wrong again but my brain is suffering from regime and product overload and it's late here in the UK (and i can't scroll up to review what you wrote)

 

[Charla]

.

In short, on my nasty hair:

AVJ alone =
AVJ + leave in =
AVJ + glycerin on wet hair = (it may work on dry hair or the way Nonie uses it though, unfortunately where I live glycerin even alone gets sticky, must be the weather)
AVJ + oil = MMMMMOISTURE! but more like a pre-poo, bit greasy (Chicoro indeed suggests this as a pre-poo)
AVJ + glycerin + oil = sweaty margarine head
AVJ + leave in + castor oil = MMMMMOISTURE! non greasy (the conditioner binds the aloe juice and castor oil with its emulsifiers, I guess the Kimmaytube leave in works this way)

I missed this before. Thanks for this! I was actually working out the combos you mentioned in my head!

 

[Bublin]

@Curlykale -- thank you! You're really helping me think this process thru! I started mixing in the hemp seed oil with the Aussie Moist and skipping sealing based on what you mentioned about Kimmay. But I still ended up with greasiness. I may have to reduce the hemp or skip it all together and stick with castor oil. I honestly don't think my hair likes hemp seed oil the more I think about it.

So I'm going to try a few options
#1. Cut out the glycerin and just spray with avj alone. Then I'll make a mix of Aussie Moist Kimmay-style and skip sealing.
#2. Try using all oils during the washing/prewashing, so prepooing with oil and then cowash with the Tressemme and then just following up with sealing with castor oil (and maybe spritzing with avj before sealing with castor oil.) And skipping the leave in of Aussie Moist.
#3. prepoo or not with oil (I'll test both ways!) and then Kimmay-style leave-in, skip sealing, skip glycerin, skip avj spritz.

I'm going to have a busy week!

OK Charla - our hair seems to be responding the same to everything. This week i came to the conclusion that my hair does not like Hempseed. i went crazy on it and added to everything, even oil rinsed with it and my hair has gone from dry to just plain straw-like.

Yes, YOU are going to have a busy week because you are going to report back on what has worked . Joking, i'm going to try a few things myself and get back to you.

 

[Curlykale]

@Nonie sorry for the cheerleading/rap attack, I meant aloe vera juice

 

[Charla]

Charla, are you using it with something else? That's the only time it would feel greasy. Everyone I know who's done it the way I've suggested has always reported to be pleasantly surprised at how non-greasy it is. I even know someone who switched from Carefree Curl to S Curl and was blown away by how "clean" S Curl felt...and how it didn't stick their hair together.

I kid you not, S Curl makes my hair feel like a baby's hair. I'm talking about a little toddler with a full head that isn't smothered in products but that is just clean and soft. It is why S Curl is the only product I have extra bottles of. I don't buy things in bulk but I do make sure I have at least 2 bottles of S Curl--even though it's over a year since I used it.

Nonie -- I want that soft, baby hair you describe! But no, I used the Scurl only by itself on clean hair. I saw you mentioned up thread about applying it on dry hair, letting it dry completley and harderplexed and then applying again, then baggying? So you do that every night? Is your hair combable? Not joking, but I just imagine having soft yet tangled hair.

As far as the residue I feel after it's dried of dry powder with a greasy underlay, how would that be combated?

 

[Bublin]

Curlykale

AVJ + leave in + castor oil = MMMMMOISTURE! non greasy (the conditioner binds the aloe juice and castor oil with its emulsifiers, I guess the Kimmaytube leave in works this way)

What ratios are you using?
I was thinking of using AOHSR for this mix because quite frankly i don't have any leave-ins that i truly love.

 

[Charla]

OK Charla - our hair seems to be responding the same to everything. This week i came to the conclusion that my hair does not like Hempseed. i went crazy on it and added to everything, even oil rinsed with it and my hair has gone from dry to just plain straw-like.

Yes, YOU are going to have a busy week because you are going to report back on what has worked . Joking, i'm going to try a few things myself and get back to you.

Bublin
No, I will report back! We have to get to the bottom of this!
And I really wanted to like hempseed, but it seems to be a no go! I guess I better start putting it on my salads and in my smoothies!

 

[Bublin]

@Bublin
No, I will report back! We have to get to the bottom of this!
And I really wanted to like hempseed, but it seems to be a no go! I guess I better start putting it on my salads and in my smoothies!

ha ha - yep, it's going to have to be used internally or maybe mix with my body lotion.

Yes, we'll def get to the bottom of this. One thing i know for sure is that my hair loves Castor Oil. If i spritz my hair with water and seal it with castor Oil and then tie it down i really do have that baby soft hair. Wait, maybe we need to use a watery leave-in and just use Castor Oil and nothing else.

First i will give Culykale's avj/leave-in/castor oil mix a try first.

I feel like i thinking out loud whilst i type!!

 

[Curlykale]

@Curlykale

AVJ + leave in + castor oil = MMMMMOISTURE! non greasy (the conditioner binds the aloe juice and castor oil with its emulsifiers, I guess the Kimmaytube leave in works this way)

What ratios are you using?
I was thinking of using AOHSR for this mix because quite frankly i don't have any leave-ins that i truly love.

definitely more leave in than avj and oil (very little of both especially oil, very trial and error), the Kimmaytube leave in's quantities were pretty precise if I can recall so maybe that could be helpful if you are more precise (I'm messy and forget things)? I only like Giovanni 50:50 or Direct Leave in, yeah why is it so difficult to find a conditioner?

 

[Charla]

I don't seal anymore! I gave up oils about 6 months ago. I tried EVCO again maybe twice more during the 6 months and then I was like "TO HECK WITH THIS!" My scalp does not like oils, my forehead does not like oils, my hair barely likes oils so I had to tell the oils to take a walk.

Whatever benefits I got from oils I must be getting from my AO HSR conditioner. I use it everyday in my conditioner/water spritz and my ends have never been softer or retained so much moisture. (I do tuck my ends away daily which also helps the moisture retention.) My brother wears a short fro (4b) tho and he also uses my spritz daily and his hair is so nice and soft!

@curlyninjagirl -- Thank you! I have many questions, but it's dinner time, so I'll be back!

ETA -- if none of my experiments work out, I'm going to check out this option plus what ms-gg suggested.

 

[Charla]

ha ha - yep, it's going to have to be used internally or maybe mix with my body lotion.

Yes, we'll def get to the bottom of this. One thing i know for sure is that my hair loves Castor Oil. If i spritz my hair with water and seal it with castor Oil and then tie it down i really do have that baby soft hair. Wait, maybe we need to use a watery leave-in and just use Castor Oil and nothing else.

First i will give Culykale's avj/leave-in/castor oil mix a try first.

I feel like i thinking out loud whilst i type!!

Bublin
I really think you're on to something! I've said that exact thing about my hair, "my hair loves castor oil." Since that's the simplest, I think I will try first spraying with water and then sealing with castor oil

Scratch that! I need to multitask! I'll divide my hair in 4 sections and try four different experiements and twisting each section and letting it dry overnight and see what happens the next day.

Ok, I gotta think this thru some more to know exactly how I'm going to attack this. In the meantime, my kids are complaining their hungry...gotta go

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie, i'll get there in the end.

I tell you what, next time i shampoo i will (correct me if i'm wrong, i'm at the back of the classoom and can't see the board so well)
1. braid up hair whilst wet with no product ( oh lawd, i feel the withdrawl symptoms already)

2. When dry spray s-curl and let that dry.

3. Baggy over night and then in the morning re-apply.

Don't me if i've got it wrong again but my brain is suffering from regime and product overload and it's late here in the UK (and i can't scroll up to review what you wrote)

Bublin Yes. Or if you feel yourself getting queasy at the thought of braiding your hair, apply S Curl first but expect it to feel rough when it dries then apply again.

The thing I want to mention is S Curl on damp hair causes this sort of shrinkage:

After a night of baggying in braids that is after reapplication of S Curl on dry hair, I get less shrinkage and hair is less compact and fluffier:

Braiding bare hair while wet and airdrying though gets me this sort of stretch:

...which I think would be easier to work with if one doesn't like shrinkage.

So it's really up to you. Go with whatever feels normal to you. In the case of the S Curl on damp hair puff, I let my hair shrink like that first pic coz I had to go to work....but the next day I had a puff like in the second pic because when I got home, fingers to pull out a small section to braid; sprayed it to soften with S Curl; combed through and braided it. Did that to all my hair. Then baggied. Hair was like butter next day and easy to comb and the fluffliness you see in the second pic was soft and not greasy at all. By the end of the day, my hair felt cool, not greasy, not dry, not sticky. And the next day same thing. I wash after 3 days so it was soon time to wash and S Curl washes off with such ease. LOVE IT!

 

[Nonie]

@Bublin, if Castor oil works and leaves your hair soft if used on wet hair, why would you change that? And who says you need a water-based moisturizer?

I think sometimes we just err coz we try to do too much or do what everyone else is doing. If your hair tells you it likes things one way, do things that way and quit doubting yourself.

MSA's regimen used to be Castor oil on wet hair. The oil was a sealant for the moisturizer that water was. I did try it once when trying to find out if it'd work with Curlformers and make separation of curls easy. I found it too greasy...but maybe it takes some getting used to. :scratchch

The reason water-based moisturizer use water is because it is MOISTURE. The reason you can't use water alone is it'd evaporate. So moisturizers throw in oil and other products to make the moisturizer that is water stay on YOUR hair. If you're applying oil over water, you're basically doing what moisturizers are supposed to do: keep water in your hair. So why in the name of all that is sane do you need to add anymore crap if that leaves your hair how you want it to be?

To further convince you not to doubt what your senses tell you is right for you even if no one else is doing it, let me tell you my story. When I joined the forum and tried to be "good" and do what the gurus were doing, I ended up losing 2 inches of my hair in a span of 4 months. I went back to what I knew and did right by my hair...going out on a limb and using no products--even though I do know products are good--and you know, I couldn't be happier. I think I have the easiest to manage hair. I don't spend more than an hour on my hair a week--usually it's a total of 30 mins.

So Bublin, listen to your hair and stop the madness. Don't even do my S Curl thang. Go back to your water and Castor oil. MSA's hair progressed nicely and she was a source of info and advice because she listened to her hair.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie -- I want that soft, baby hair you describe! But no, I used the Scurl only by itself on clean hair. I saw you mentioned up thread about applying it on dry hair, letting it dry completley and harderplexed and then applying again, then baggying? So you do that every night? Is your hair combable? Not joking, but I just imagine having soft yet tangled hair.

As far as the residue I feel after it's dried of dry powder with a greasy underlay, how would that be combated?

@Charla That's the thing. I do not have to do that any other time except on wash day. I do not have to moisturize my hair again, until wash day. I just need to braid my hair at night, put on a baggy and I have soft baby hair the next day. All day. Repeat the braiding and baggy every night and never add moisture to my hair until I wash it again.

The hard hair only happens on wash day because I work with damp hair. The soft hair stays from the moment I apply S Curl to dry hair and when I baggy it penetrates the strands and just conditions my hair beautifully. In the AM my hair feels damp and combs easily as if like butter. I comb, style and the moisture from baggying goes...but the softness stays. My hair doesn't feel dry again. If feels cool to touch and soft like a baby's. It's not greasy. I can lean on furniture and not leave marks. But it is not dry at all. It's fluffy and soft.

@Charla ETA I don't really understand what you are asking in your question at the end. I've never had that "dry powder with greasy underlay" feel so not even sure what it means... I'm trying to imagine it. Is there anything you can compare it to, so I can try to reproduce that feel and understand?

 

[ms-gg]

Yep, with worlds of curls curl activator gel, I only have to use it once, and then MAYBE once a week I will spritz the worlds of curl regular formula spray on my hair. Hair is soft all week long and then some.

Keep on sleeping on it. Me and Nonie are trying to school ya'll! The bus is leaving!

 

[Bublin]

Curlykale and Charla

I confess i am soo impatient i just had to quickly mix up some avj/castor/AOHSR...but this was before i saw Curlykale's ratios! I put more Aloe Juice than the rest and put it into a small travel sized spray bottle so it was very watery. I sprayed my hair and i instantly knew i was onto a winner as my hair was instantly softer. No tangles at all whilst i put into two big braids and i've now tied it down for the night. I do already have
alot of crap in my hair so i'm not expecting miracles in the morning.Tomorrow i will find the exact Kimmay mix and apply to freshly poo'd/conditoned hair....then i'll beable to judge the results better.

Charla - go feed your children, mine are already in bed!!!!

 

[Nonie]

Yep, with worlds of curls curl activator gel, I only have to use it once, and then MAYBE once a week I will spritz the worlds of curl regular formula spray on my hair. Hair is soft all week long and then some.

Keep on sleeping on it. Me and @Nonie are trying to school ya'll! The bus is leaving!

Charla, if S Curl spray alone doesn't work, maybe try World of Curls Gel and spray the way ms-gg uses it.

 

[ms-gg]

IF you try the spray, make sure it is the regular formula in the blue bottle. The dry hair formula for the spray has collagen in it which will leave your hair feeling like straw!

 

[Successfulmiss]

I'm a natural. I feel DCing/steaming(or dcing overnite) is MAJOR. Once you get that down your texture changes from the inside out, you will not use so much product. I use Silk Elements OO and Silk protein Mega silk's shampoo and dc (green bottles). I have been using it for 6 months with amazing results. My dh even uses it and it eliminated his severe dandruff, it was sorta nasty before SE(I am not trying to sell their product but this is just a staple for us and we can get large amounts as far as the bottled product for great sale prices from Sally's). I recently began using their deep treatment creme as a moisturizer. Dh "touches" my hair with no problem or residue

 

[Bublin]

Nonie
I hear you, i really do and this product swapping madness has got to stop. I put so much in my hair at once and chop and change i have no clue what is going on. I agree that i feel like i'm losing hair being on lhcf because of all the suggestions.....it's info overload.

God you sound like my Mother and she tells me the same thing.

Without a doubt Castor Oil is a keeper.
MSA - i'll do a search tomorrow.

 

[Bublin]

Curlykale and Charla

I confess i am soo impatient i just had to quickly mix up some avj/castor/AOHSR...but this was before i saw Curlykale's ratios! I put more Aloe Juice than the rest and put it into a small travel sized spray bottle so it was very watery. I sprayed my hair and i instantly knew i was onto a winner as my hair was instantly softer. No tangles at all whilst i put into two big braids and i've now tied it down for the night. I do already have
alot of crap in my hair so i'm not expecting miracles in the morning.Tomorrow i will find the exact Kimmay mix and apply to freshly poo'd/conditoned hair....then i'll beable to judge the results better.

Charla - go feed your children, mine are already in bed!!!!

 

[Curlykale]

@Bublin yay, fingers crossed! I tend prefer a creamier mix (more conditioner) on wash days, light liquid stuff (flax gel + little castor or a spray like yours) in between. But yeah the simpler the better, if I could get along with one thing like Scurl or castor oil or shea butter I surely would, I agree with always going for the simplest solution for you.

 

[PJaye]

Ladies, just a little FYI...

When using the ceramide oils, it is important to adjust your hair’s protein intake accordingly. If you continue to apply the same amount of protein along while using a ceramide oil, it will result in increased dryness and usher you in the direction of protein overload.

Since this is a lesson I learned the hard way, I wanted to give you ladies a heads up.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

[/QUOTE]
Thank you, FoxxyLocs -- while reading these posts, I actually started thinking of just what you suggested, like if I do my prepooing with oil and then cowash with the Tressemme and then just following up with sealing with castor oil (and maybe spritzing with avj before sealing with castor oil. Ph balance is in my mind with the avj.) Do you add oil to your shampoo/cowash?[/QUOTE]

I mostly use shampoo bars, but if I use liquid shampoo I do add oils. I use oils in my prepoo and in my DC. I do spritz with AVJ before sealing.

ETA: You may want to use less glycerine in your spritz too. Not sure if someone mentioned that already. I use castor oil in mine but I found that a very small amount is all it takes. Too much will make my hair greasy.

Sent from my HTC Evo

 

[Charla]

@Charla
@Charla ETA I don't really understand what you are asking in your question at the end. I've never had that "dry powder with greasy underlay" feel so not even sure what it means... I'm trying to imagine it. Is there anything you can compare it to, so I can try to reproduce that feel and understand?

Nonie
Imagine you're cooking some homemade fried chicken. After everybody's eaten and you're cleaning the kitchen, the cabinet has some residue of the flour you dipped your chicken in PLUS a few grease splatterings from it frying. So that very light dusting of flour on the cabinet sprinkled with grease splattering is the feeling I have in my hair from SCurl!

Lord, I'm cracking myself up typing this, but it's the truth!