The new ‘do

I really enjoyed my experience with Lora Johnson at Papillon Salon. Although it was radically different from the deva experience I was getting used to, it was a welcome change. I came in with my hair styled as usual and Lora took a good amount of time determine the shape of my face: square with a bit of concave to it as my forehead is a bit wider and my high cheekbones make it sink in the middle a bit; it could also have been heart shaped but my widow’s peak isn’t as pronounced and my jaw isn’t pointed. After determining the shape of my face (something no stylist has EVER done outright), Lora decided that my bangs and layers are good idea but that they need to tweaked a bit with more side layers and movement of the part of my bangs to soften my forehead and temples a bit and allow for a more oval look. I also found out that even though I diffuse every day, my hair was in great shape. Lora also determined my hair type: medium/coarse which made much more sense then the ”fine” classification I was previously told. Since my hair can tolerate protein to a certain extent and not daily at that, this definitely rings true.

Lora then took a comb to my waves.

Yes, she combed out my waves. I was a little bit horror-struck at first since I was used to the stylist just start cutting but Lora seemed to know what she was doing. She looked at all sides of my hair and pointed out that the right side was 3 inches longer than the left and that there weren’t as many layers as there should be to allow for better movement and wave enhancement. Lora told me that my hair needed to be slithered to make my waves pop. The technique is a little bit hard to describe but she basically took a section of my hair and ran her scissors vertically down the length. She did this throughout the rest of my hair and also evened out the ends. She washed my hair with re:coil shampoo and conditioner, towel dried a bit with a terry cloth towel, and started diffusing. I know the re:coil conditioner isn’t silicone free and that a terry cloth towel is a no-no, but despite that, I knew I was in capable hands the minute I saw my hair dry.

She let me take over after she scrunched in some re:coil curl activator and liquid fx so I promptly flipped my hair upside down and started diffusing and adding gel as necessary. Once my hair was 75-85% dry, I started arranging my bangs and the rest of my canopy since I didn’t have any clips to kinda “set” things. It was great to hear one of Lora’s coworkers gush over how great my hair looked. It really did.

It’s now two days since the cut and my sisters have seen pics from the day of and one of my coworkers yesterday complimented me and said that looking at my hair made her want to get a perm. Yay! And this despite not using any of my tried-and-true  products (aura gel and cvs curl gel yesterday over kbb milk)!

I’ll post some pictures once the weekend rolls around and my hair has recovered a bit from the shampooing I did today to ensure removal of the silicones from the conditioner.

Today I styled with GoW healthy hair serum and my FSG mixed with some seamollient. I just SOTC and my hair looks all nice and bouncy after last night’s DT.

 

Discovering products too late

Yesterday I tried out GoW’s majik lockes all on its own with my homemade FSG (now with seamollient!) on top and a wee bit of mop top for extra hold after plopping. Despite the freak weather we’ve been having (thunderstorms, occasional drizzle, and dewpoints 50+), my hair was pretty good! One of my sisters even asked if I had recently gotten a trim because my hair looked shorter - yay shrinkage! There was a bit of frizz and I’m more than likely to attribute it to the protein in the majik lockes. It’s something I definitely want to continue experimenting with but the cost makes me think twice about considering it for the long run.

Today’s hair is courtesy of a cowash, kbb milk rinse out, kbb nectar, donna marie honey and aloe curling jelly, and mop top as a finisher. My hair looks great! There isn’t as much shrinkage as Tuesday and Wednesday’s hair, but there is great wave definition, boosting, and hold with a tad less frizz. Unfortunately, the jelly was recently discontinued. More info can be found here and here. It’s a shame because I’m really impressed by the gel. My hair is quite picky when it comes to products containing aloe so finding one that works is like finding a needle in a haystack.

 

Perfecting FSG

I received my most recent GoW order (with seamollient, veggie hair serum, majik lockes in apple blossom and the healthy hair serum amongst other things) yesterday. Yay!

This a.m. I added about an oz. of seamollient to my latest batch of FSG and I think it helped a lot with the consistency; I add some oils (Oyin after bath oil), mag sulfate, citric acid, honey and agave nectar, and xanthan gum to my flax seeds (50:50 of brown and golden flax) and while the consistency is akin to that of biotera gel, the seamollient helped thicken it a bit more.

I scrunched in about a half dollar’s worth of the majik lockes and felt a bit concerned since my hair absorbed it so well. I scrunched in some kbb nectar, my fsg + seamollient and topped it off with some mop top after plopping.

When I SOTC I immediately fell in love with how my hair looked. Nicely defined and bouncy waves with great root lift! My wave pattern looks even tighter than in my avatar – something I’ve been noticing when I usee kbb + fsg. My hair feels really soft but the fsg+ seamollient and mop top gave me a good amount of crunch. By the end of the day the wave definition and hold hadn’t decreased but there was a bit of frizz showing. I’ll have to try the combo out tomorrow since today was a co-poo day.

 

I’m addicted

I love me some soap. Seriously. My collection includes soaps from kathymack, chagrin valley, soaptopia, and whole foods. I’ve pretty much been soaping up daily and following with an ACV rinse and my hair has never looked better. Also, I’m finding that my seb derm issue has really calmed down which is a great side effect.

Now that I’m pretty much stocked up foir the next millennium, I don’t plan on making a whole lot of purchases….well, other than the WSP and Donna Marie product samples….and the Sedusa off ebay.

I’ve been experimenting with GVP Paul Mitchell super clean sculpting gel and so far it’s on the “do not repurchase” list.  It’s liquidy texture does allow it to spread easily in my hair but, oddly enough, it weighs it down. I used it over the weekend while at my SO’s mom’s house and whole some of it may be attributed to the different environment, it was enough of a test for me.

Now back to the bars. I’m happy to report that castor oil doesn’t do a number on my hair. I’ve used the carrot milk and honey beer egg CV bars with no adverse effects. A definite “repurchase” lister!

Unfortunately, sheam may lose its spot to KBB hair nectar. Now that I’m nearing the bottom of the bottle, it is increasingly tougher to squeeze some out. Also, I find that while sheam does boost my waves a bit, it also leaves my waves a tad stringy and fluffy.

 

What a difference a rinse makes

I’m still on a shampoo bar kick. Yesterday, I washed with KM’s windblossom bar but regrettably forgot to pour out ACV for my follow up rinse. I figured that I’ve been able to pull off a no ACV rinse before so my hair shouldn’t cause too much grief. I followed up with Curls coconut, 2 dimes of KBB nectar, 2 peas of white boots, and the remainder of the SS hold and shine gel mixed with LA looks wet look. Well, my waves were boosted and I had volume, but I also had frizz. Ick. Something I haven’t dealt with in a long time since using soap bars and KBB nectar. Mind the frizz wasn’t as horrendous as the first day using KMF upper management, but it was unusual for having had to deal with it in a while. I have now learned my lesson, ACV, and I shall not go astray.

Today, I decided to switch things up and I used a different bar. No, not one of my two new KM bars that I received in the mail, but one of my CV samples: honey beer and egg. I’m interested to see if the proteins in the beer and egg yolk will wreak havoc on my hair like regular ol’ hydrolyzed wheat and the like. The lather was surprisingly thick but it didn’t leave my hair as squeaky feeling as KM’s bar.

I followed up with Curls coconut, KBB nectar (2 dimes), white boots (2 peas), and angell mixed with la looks sport. I have already given up on angell. I know that it will never work on my hair on its own and so I mixed it with a harder holding gel. Esp on a rainy day like this, I did NOT want to have to deal with the minimal hold of angell. So far, my hair is holding up and I get the yummy starfruit scent every time I move my hair.

ETA: Ouch. By midday the hold started to dissipate and the “hold” I experience with angell took over…so basically, about 15 hours later, my hair is frizzier than usual. Boo.

 

Current routine

I’m still on a soap bar kick. My hair is drying faster with more volume and wave than ever. I even see more random spirals! Today I used the windblossom bar, an ACV rinse, and since I ran out if the pear KBB milk sample, I rinsed out Curls Coconut Sublime (still really liking this). I scrunched in two dimes of KBB nectar and followed up with a half dollar of Salon Selectives gel mixed with a quarter of LA looks wet look gel. The mix of the two gels is interesting as the LA looks provides the hold and the SS gel enhances curl and softens the crunch of the LA Looks.

I am feeling a bit ambivalent with the KBB milk. When I use it as a rinse out, my hair still feels squeaky. It could be a matter of my not using enough(?) as a rinse out or it really doesn’t provide enough moisture for my hair. I’ll have to see. I probably may purchase a full bottle when I finally make a KBB order (after I’ve used up everything else) just to better judge any benefit.

I definitely do like the KBB nectar. I don’t have to use a lot and my hair feels soft and moisturized. This is going on the “hits” list.

And now for a good hair day picture:

 

More bar experiments, KBB, hairdryer steal, Curls Coconut Sublime condish, and Salon Selectives hold and shine sculpting gel

I’ve been using the shampoo bars daily for about a week now, sometimes without an ACV/honey rinse follow up and I’m still really liking the results. I’m getting more body, softness, less frizz and seemingly better wave formation. I’ve been using the KBB hair milks and nectars on and off and I actually quite like them. Today I used the windflower soap bar (getting used to the granny smell) followed by an ACV/honey rinse, KBB milk rinse out in cherry (don’t like the scent), and two pea sizes of KBB hair nectar (in white tea) mixed with KY. I applied 2 palm-sized gobs of SS hold and shine gel over it all and scrunched. After plopping I diffused, sprayed some Suave healthy curl spray gel, and diffused a bit more.

I’m feeling a bit ambivalent towards the KBB hair milk. Granted I don’t have to use so much to get moisture, but I don’t feel like I get nearly enough slip as I’m used to and I think the oil content may be causing a straighter crown area. I do like the nectar because it provides just the right amount of moisture, doesn’t weigh my hair down, and I’m sure it’s good for my hair. I’m EXTREMELY tempted to purchase some KBB nectar due to the “buy 2 get one free” deal going on at the website, but I have so many other items I need to weed through that even the great deal can’t be justified (I keep telling myself that).

I’m not a fan of the SS gel. Yes, the ingredients list (which I wish I could find online) is small and contains a good amount of natural ingredients, but there really isn’t any hold to speak of. It has a pleasant scent and I suspect that it contributes more to frizz control and possible wave enhancement (akin to my thoughts on MopTop anti-frizz gel) but even with a stronger holding gel mixed in, it doesn’t do the job. I’ll use it until it’s finished but I definitely won’t be repurchasing it.

When I’m not experimenting with the KBB hair milk samples, I’m using and enjoying the Curls coconut sublime conditioner. It has a heavenly scent, gives a good amount of slip and moisture, and it doesn’t suffocate my hair like I thought such a thick conditioner would. Would I repurchase? Time will tell but it’s definitely something I’m going to consider.

I’ve been on the hunter for the perfect travel dryer since a plain old dryer with the Hot Sock isn’t cutting it for me. Neither is the Conair pancake dryer I was using when my hair was shorter. I found the perfect solution at Marhsall’s of all places. A X5 Superlite travel dryer that folds in and comes with a bowl diffuser attachment! It was a steal at $40.00. I’ve seen it online for $80+ so I’m quite happy with the price.

On another note, I was pretty upset to see Healthy Sexy Hair products at Marshall’s, paricularly the pumpkin potion and chocolate milk sulfate free shampoo. Both items were less than $7, almost 1/2 of the price I paid for each at a mom and pop beauty supply store. Grrr….