Oh no….oh no…

I love SheaM; the scent, the texture, how soft my hair is when I use it. BUT, I’m not liking that it may not mesh well with my new routine (courtesy of zigazaga).

Today I used Freeman for a cowash, yes to carrots rinse out, sheam combed in, and aura gel. Usually, and surprisingly even with the GF Bold It!, whenever I put my hair to side to scrunch in the gel my waves are in pretty sizeable clumps that I can see. Today, however, the clumps were skinnier and straighter. When I scrunch gel into my hair with zerran, the clumps easily accordion and are soft; instead, with sheam, the clumps felt as though there was already some holding action.

My hair is still in clips so I’m hoping I end up wrong about SheaM. If I’m not, I may have another bottle up on the swap board.

ETA: I think I might have jumped the gun. My waves are a bit looser, but not as stringy as it looked when wet. Huzzah! I scrunched out the crunch with Oyin burnt sugar pomade (yummy foodie scent!)

 

The scientific method

So the last two days I’ve been using the scientific method to determine which product or combination of products resulted in the good hair day I had on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s concoction:

•  Freeman sea kelp volume conditioner for cowash
•  Yes to Carrots rinse out
•  Zerran Equalizer leave in
•  Aura Flaxseed Aloe sculpting gel

I loved how my hair felt and looked that day; nice, soft waves, no frizz, and good hold. I purchased the Freeman on discount at Ulta ($1.99) because it has cocamidopropyl betaine (a light cleanser that I don’t find to be harsh on my waves) in the ingredients.

 Wednesday’s concoction:

• Shampoo with my SO’s dud, Dudu Osum
• Yes to Carrots rinse out
• Zerran Equalizer leave in
• Aura Flaxseed Aloe sculpting gel

My hair still had nice hold and definition, but there was the frizz associated shampoo days. Granted, it wasn’t horrible, but it was definitely different from Tuesday’s hair.

 Today the melange consists of:

• Freeman seakelp volume condish
• Yes to Carrots
• Zerran Equalizer
• and yes, the mediocre GF Bold It.

My hair isn’t 100% dry but I already know that GF isn’t going to cut it. The waves look stringier and more weighed down. Yes, there is clumping, but there are also the rogue strands. Also, my hair doesn’t feel as soft.

I clipped and diffused pixiecurl style each day. I alternate between these two dryers: Conair Curl Fusion and an Ion Shine (my model is older so it doesn’t fold in). I like the Curl Fusion when I want something lighter. My only gripe is that the diffusing bowl is short so it can’t hold much hair. I like the bowl on the Ion Shine, but it is heavier.

I’m definitely liking the clipping method I learned from Keyonna at Capella. I notice a difference in volume at the roots. It is a bit “labor intensive” since I have to use a mirror to see the back of my head, but I really like the results. I haven’t counted the exact number of clips I use, but it’s two boxes (total) of these curl clips:

 

Aura flaxseed aloe sculpting gel

I like! I did my usual routine of cowashing and using a rinseout but today I sloppily sectioned off, smoothed in zerran equalizer leave-in and scrunched in 2 quarter blobs of aura. The result was nice definition, hardly any frizz, and great waves.

I fear that it’s practically one of the few bottles left in the world. The BSS I found it in only had two bottles left and both were heavily discounted. Hence, my purchase. I get the feeling that my hair likes the lighter, more liquidy gels versus the heavier, viscous, the blob-stays-put-in-your-hand type of gels – HEBE, GF Bold it!, I’m looking at you….

I’m still liking the fine tooth comb method. Save for that odd area to the left where it looks like I didn’t separate that big honking clump, I think it’s pretty good. Not as wavy as zigazaga’s but I realize my wave pattern is much looser than hers.