Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I can smell the coconuts in the breeze

No, I'm not going on vacation. I sort of wish I was, but I'm not. I have started something new. I started implementing the Curly Girl ideas. Unfortunately, I've also flopped in the process.

I've debated writing about this. To try to keep myself more regular at blogging, I decided I'd write and save...and decide whether to post or not later. Obviously, I decided to post.

Warning, this is long...

So what is the Curly Girl method? Well, you can click on the link in my first paragraph for a pretty thorough explanation. I heard about it from some curly headed gals, and let's face it, I'd pretty much try just about anything for this head of mine. Remember this old picture? I know, try not to be jealous of my poofy, frizzy hair that has a mind all it's own! Oh, yeah, and I know those pj's are quite the deal too. So, I have curly hair that's frizzy and poofy, and controlling it takes lots of product and then still...I'm not usually very satisfied. If the weather cooperates, and I'm going some place "nice," I like to straighten it. Anyway, this new trial recommends (demands?) that I only wash my hair as needed and in the meantime, do rinse washes or conditioner washes. Huh?? Yeah, I wondered the same. I also wondered, won't that make my hair totally nasty and greasy?

Well, a few answers from what I've been told and from my experience so far. (No, I haven't taken before pictures or pictures throughout the process. I guess you could say I didn't care to.) The reason for the fewer shampoos is because the shampoo dries out your hair. If you're a curly girl, your hair needs all the moisture it can get. So, on that preliminary information...I started doing conditioner "washes." I was not ready to let go of any "cleansing." I also had to ditch my hair spray and only use my gel. You can't use anything with silicones or "cones" in the ingredients. Ok, I can try that. Then I had to switch my shampoo for one without any sulfates. (Same sulfates used in harsh dish soap to get the grease off pots and pans...which also dries us out.) So goodbye to my favorite green, "fruity" smelling shampoo, welcome expensive, organic, coconut smelling shampoo. I have washed my hair once in 3 weeks. Eww, I still can't get used to that, but I confess on my public blog anyway. Aren't you glad you decided to read this? I figured that even though this shampoo is a couple more dollars than my old stuff, it would even out since I don't wash my hair everyday anymore.

Anyway, complications arose! First of all, I continued using my old conditioner. I love that green fruity smell! Don't take it away! The problem is my conditioner contains the "awful cones." So, I went out and bought cheap coconut conditioner (without the cones) to match my shampoo. It's sort of a soft, calming scent, but it isn't my old childhood bubble yum smelling shampoo. Sigh. Well, I thought I bought conditioner. I bought shampoo. I even checked it twice in the store, but my brain which was on vacation smelling the coconuts made the mistake. Returned shampoo a few days later (unused). Bought conditioner. Used conditioner. Then I decided to read the labels again on my "good" shampoo since I'm making so many mistakes. My shampoo has cones!! It doesn't have the sulfates, but it has some cones. Ugh. Are you kidding me? For now, I'm sticking with it, and probably messing up my hair...because I spent $5 on that shampoo (I know, whoa, slow down big spender! Hey, I usually buy generic of my green fruity stuff). It will probably be next year before I'm done with it at this rate. So, it's been a little over 3 weeks since I started this whole thing. I was still using the "bad" conditioner for the first 2. So, am I officially only 1 week in? I still have shampoo that's not quite what I'm supposed to have though.

Ok, results? The first few days, my head went crazy. It was itchy. My hair was a frizzy mess. Nice, I know. However, they say, "your hair may get worse before it gets better." The oils may overcompensate for the damage you've done, etc. Well, I must've done some damage to it. Anyway, after a couple days of itchiness, it really felt fine. My hair was softer than ever, and it started to get even curlier. When I asked what he thought, Matt told me it was "a lot curlier." He doesn't usually notice a lot of details. Frizz was still existent, but I could see a little improvement. That's when I switched conditioners. I'm going through greasy and frizzy hair all over again. I'm hoping it will get better soon. I'm supposed to give it maybe 6 weeks? I'm glad I'm a stay at home mom. I still have no idea how often I'm supposed to wash it. I'm supposed to know my hair type and it's needs. Right...all while it's going through this transition...and for a girl that doesn't know much about such things anyway (hey, I thought I needed to wash it everyday), crazyness. I'll give it time, but if I'm not pleased, bring on the sulfates and cones and my fruity shampoo and conditioner!

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