How we do my teen daughter's hair

T's hair and how we do it!

So T is 13. If some of you follow her story on naturallycurly.com you'll know her hair was basically a rats nest before we found the CG method. After much experimentation we now have a wonderful routine and products and her hair looks and feels awesome--its moisturized, not frizzy, manageable.

What we do: We have a wash day 1-2 x per week max. No more. Her hair is too dry to handle it more than that. On wash day she gets in the shower and uses shampoo (low poo) or co-wash. I do help her get her hair sectioned--the only way we can effectively do her hair w/o using a whole bottle of poo. We use clips to hold it up (any type that will hold..roller jaw and duckbill work o.k. for her). Then she puts in her rinse out and I do the detangling with a mebco comb (she shuts off the shower) for her as it's hard for her to get her back hair as its so thick. Then she rinses it out and squeezes the water out (hands only) and when she gets out we put in leave in. LOTS of leave in usually. We comb again to get the leave in through her hair (its too thick not to comb it for even distribution), add some Shescentit Gillian Butter to seal and then usually we braid it. She wears a satin sleep cap to bed.

In the morning we take the braid out and her hair is usually still very wet. I'll add in some Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root butter cream (BRBC) and then seal with Shescentit Gillian Butter. We use about 2-3 dime sized amounts of the BRBC and a dime sized of the Gillian--then we will either re braid or leave it out and she wears a head band or similar. She is usually in a braid (s) for 2 days minimum. We follow the same routine every morning.

When we started CG she couldn't do anything with her hair since it was so thick. She needed help to be effective with cleaning and combing and all that. Now she largely does her own low poo or co-wash and I help detangle. She will be starting to do her own detangling here this month now that she feels comfortable with the co-wash or low-poo. She does occasionally braid her own hair as well.

On special occasions instead of braiding we use the leave in and then add Curl Junkie Coffee Coco Curl Creme and then we scrunch and let it air dry for about an hour. We then do some pixie diffusing for about 15 minutes. Her hair in the Pikistrip above is with this method (2 right pic's).

The products we love are:

Co-wash: V05, Suave Strawberry, Curl Junkie Daily Fix Cleansing Conditioner
Low-poo's: Giovanni 50/50, Mop C Hydrating Shampoo, Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Shampoo
Rinse-Outs and Leave-Ins: Curl Junkie Hibiscus and Banana Deep Fix and Honey Butta Leave In, Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition or Sleek and Shine, Yes to Cucumbers, Spiral Solutions Deeply Decadent Deep Treatment, and Lustrasilk Shea Mango or Organic with Argan Oil. Other alternates are the Mop C Hydrating Conditioner (when she needs protein), Hairveda Moist 24/7, Shescentit Avocado and Super Soft Honey Rinse, Curl Junkie Beauticurls (Leave In only) and Curl Junkie Curl Rehab.

So right now she does her own poo/co-wash and I only help detangle.

Spiral Solutions Deeply Decadent Deep Treatment

DDDT

I admit it. I saw how thick this was and thought it would be impossible to get into my daughter's hair. In my hair possible since its so fine and thin I can make anything get in..I don't need slip. Imagine my surprise when not only did it go into T's hair easily but it took just 2 tsp to do one whole section of her hair (1/2 her head). That's amazing. If I told you how much we spend on conditioners for her due to how much we use you'd be flabbergasted. That's how much it takes just to get a comb through T's tangles which are legendary.

The slip on this puppy is just astonishing. The comb glides through like a hot knife through butter--seamlessly, effortlessly. Even my daughter asked what I was using (normally she just rolls her 13 year old eyes and does the teenage sigh that says I in no way could be as cool as she is LOL). Bravo!

This can be used as a rinse out or DT. For my hair it is so moisturizing that I would only need to DT about every 2 weeks (vs. PT every week minimum). For Tahia's hair we would use this weekly especially in dry times like the fall when we get Santa Ana's. It worked just as well as a rinse out with her when we tried that.

This DT is rich, thick, and extremely moisturizing. I think every texture/type of hair would love this stuff--on this we could all agree it's a definite winner! Add that to the chocolate caramel latte scent--pure HEAVEN in your hair! Makes me want to run to Starbucks for a carmel machiatto!


P.S. This stuff comes in a jar. NO WAY for this to be bottled...way too thick. Think Aubrey Organics products times 5!

Spiral Solutions Repairing Protein Treatment

"The PT"

So as a fine haired wavy/curly I spend A LOT of time looking for good products with lots o protein. My hair lurves it..just lurves it. Sometimes I cannot get enough. I will often use it in low poo, conditioner, leave in and curl enhancer or gel. My hair does not seem to get overloaded (it got overloaded recently with Panthenol but not protein).

This protein treatment feels like a conditioner and smells like fresh natural ingredients. Once again the fragrances used are not overwhelming. It is pretty thin for a conditioner but that does make it spread easily. I give all of my DT/PT's the drip test--first time I use them I see how long it takes for them to drip through my plastic shower cap under my R2D2 hard hat Ionic dryer. This one: Just over 3 minutes. PASS!

The reason I do a drip test is because products where there is mostly water will start dripping like crazy right away. I've found that they tend not to work as well as a DT/PT..they might work fine for conditioning but NOT for the sit under R2 type. I left this one for about 20 minutes on low heat. I will say it did itch--I am not sure why except it is thinner maybe? None of the ingredients show up on my watch list (I'm allergic to papaya and sensitive to a few other things--although they rarely show up in hair products!). In any case it wasn't that bad and it went away within about 10 minutes.

When I took the cap off I found all the product had absorbed and nothing was left in the cap. Yippee!

After rinsing I did the stretch test and noticed my hair had noticably more elasticity (what I was going for) so I declare this PT to work awesomely!

The nice thing about this one is that it doesn't leave your hair hard like some other Protein Treatments--so it's more pleasing in the feeling department.

If you have a need to do a PT then this one should be placed at the top of your list.

Spiral Solutions Curl Enhancing Jelly

Curl Enhancing Jelly

This stuff is the BOMB DIGGITY. MAC DADDY O. The BEST STUFF EVER!

Although not long on ingredients this jelly is long on greatness! It is one of the best curl enhancers I've ever used. It's not sticky and doesn't leave residue on your hands. You can use it with a leave in or without (my preference: with a leave in). You can use it on top of other curl enhancers mixed with a hard or medium hold gel AND if you add a bit of water (dollop in the hand + bit of water..not much!) you can scrunch it in and have a shot at 2nd day hair. Keep in mind I rarely get 2nd day hair but this *almost* did it!

It's not heavy and will not weigh down fine haired folks. It is very enhancing--giving a nice boost to your waves, wurls, or curls and also providing for a bit of definition as well. My hair is left shiny with very even curls.

Love it! Those who like jellies or gels instead of curl creme's will love this but for those of you that use cream's only you really ought to try this---I think you'll like it--since cream's are heavier just either mix it with a leave in or add it over a leave in.

Smells good as well. A TOP choice for enhancing your curls!

Spiral Solutions Emollience Hair Butter

Emollience

This is a fabulous butter - it works great to Scrunch Out the Crunch (SOTC) or to scrunch in mid day for a pick up. It's a butter so you'll need to emulsify it in your hands a bit. Your hands will thank you!

It is not heavy and oily - it sinks into your hair and hands without residue-leaving soft skin and hair with a healthy sheen without frizz! I use it after I've diffused and SOTC to get rid of the few flyaway and frizzy pieces. Just rub between your fingers or palms (depends on how much you need!) and then gently scrunch it in.

As a body product this stuff rocks. I rarely find a butter that immediately absorbs into my skin--most tend to sit for a while and I end up being ultra careful of my clothes and bedding so as not to get oil stains on them. With Emollience I don't have to worry--it's all in right away. This stuff also works good on your cuticles!

I used this on my daughter's ends and my son's coarser hair on his nape -- worked great for both of them.

As with most butters a little dab will do ya' but don't worry if you go a bit overboard..just rub it into your hands or body!

Enjoy!

Spiral Solutions Products

Spiral Solutions is the brainchild of naturallycurly.com Runnerchicki. She has been part of our community for some time and saw a need to create products that would work great and be based on natural ingredients full of things that are good for your hair.

By way of introduction here's some info from the owner of Spiral Solutions:

"Something that I haven't mentioned before, but I think it is important for people to know: I DO NOT use pre-made bases. Ever. I created each and every formula myself and I mix them myself. I even make my own version of Seamollient (it's a trademarked product) so I can get the exact texture and consistency that I want. I select my own herbs, mix to my own ratios, infuse my own oils...you get the idea. I even make my own labels, although I am not sure I will continue to do that for much longer!"

It's also important to know that, like most small businesses, it's going to take a little while to work out all the kinks. Because her products are so awesome we all descended like a swarm of grasshoppers devouring everything in our way (what can I say..we curly girls/guys are SERIOUS about our product! LOL). So the products sold out within hours -- while that is a great testament to the quality and efficacy of the products it can be a bit of a bummer for those of us who need to wait a bit. However, like the most fine wine you have to wait a while but when you get the goods -- OO LA LA!

Here's the skinny on the recent shortage:

"I am very sorry to make people wait for product. I know that is frustrating, so I am going to make it my priority to keep my out of stocks to a minimum. HOWEVER, this will not happen overnight. I'm not sitting on my tail...it just takes time for a single woman operation. It will happen...Today, I am keeping it simple: turn an amazing blend of herbs and jojoba oil into a blissful concoction. I love doing this because it is relaxing. It takes me most of the day because I infuse very slowly, but it makes my house smell heavenly!"

As you can imagine a one woman operation (she has a little help from Rambo her adorable super cute little doggie! Pic above!) takes some time to coordinate and set up--so please put on your patience cap. I PROMISE the end result will be worth it!

You will be getting products designed from scratch by another curly -- no base, no hastily thrown together product, no marketing hype. Just honest to goodness outstanding products that will quickly become your HG go-to's!

Patience is a virtue grasshopper!

Products reviews are next so stay tuned! Here is her etsy website which you should go right away to and bookmark! http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpiralSolutions

May I have a word?

RE: Hair companies and bases

So there has been quite the furor lately over on the nc.com hair boards regarding certain companies use of bases for their hair care line. Here is my take on it.

I got two leave in conditioner sprays from two different companies -- turned out they had the exact same ingredients. I was not happy -- in effect I bought the same leave in spray twice. I wanted to try 2 leave in's that were distinct -- not just differently scented. I'm out the money (product plus shipping) and that doesn't sit right with me. Especially when the companies advertise as if they are mixing stuff up in the kitchen and everything is an original product. Now can I prove they were the same? Well if it looks like a rose and smells like a rose -- and works the same way as the OTHER rose then I say: It's a rose. (Of course, not being a chemist nor pretending to be one, I can't say anything with 100% certainty and I certainly would never provide the company name -- I'm a curly girl not an idiot girl. No legal problems wanted here!)

So I learned a couple of things: One is that there are fabulous wholesale sites out there that can provide a great service for us curly girls and guys-- if you've a mind you can order items yourself or take part in the co-op that is being organized on the naturallycurly.com boards. It's your choice. The other is, unfortunately, that I will likely chose to give my business to well established companies who, by word of mouth, I know are authentic with their products. IMHO if you use a base then either SAY SO or don't put it out there that you are slaving away in some tiny kitchen somewhere when what you are really doing is not mixing but pouring (from one gallon bottles to 8 oz ones!).

I can't tell you how much this pains me. I am very committed to helping my fellow females have successful businesses. Capitalism is what drives this economy-- and that's how it works. However when capitalism or the pursuit of the almighty dollar leads someone to pretend to be something they are not I don't like it. That's a personal view point. YMMV.

Flatly I don't have the time, nor do I want to, go looking all over the internet and exhausting my google finger trying to find all the bases that companies use to make sure I didn't already buy the same product from someone else. Sorry. No.

From a business point of view I get it..I really do. It's a business and businesses exist to make money. You can certainly make some good money repackaging base products and adding just some scent or EO/FO. That's fine. So if you advertise or explain that you wanted to find natural products and good ingredients and then you offer some products that meet that up for sale..hey that's great. Please just do NOT take the detour that states you were mixing stuff up like Brunhilda in the stock pot on your tiny kitchen stove.

Karma's a bitch.