Though challanging, SHRINKAGE is not the enemy!

I hope this post provides contrast to the last one about extreme stretching.  Shrinkage is totally annoying when you know you have long hair and you can't seem to get any hang time.  Completely frustrating when you want to have hair on your shoulders or back, or surrounding your face, but alas, your hair coils up to your ears.  I find that the warm flat iron is the answer for those times, for me.  Using the tension method with a blow dryer works well too, but takes a little longer, and seems more drying. 

Either way, you end up spending more than a day getting your hair "right."  It has to be completely dry before the stretching process.  That takes a full day for my hair!  And you also have to have a very solid shingle set before hand.  Defined, moisturized curls stretch, and stay stretched better.  I don't always have time for that, and the stretched look is also not always what I'm going for.  It's nice when I want a different look, or when I have plenty of time to do it, but there are other times when the shrunken shape of my hair is cute and easier to work with for certain styles.

When I want to wear my hair shrunken up, I just have to beware of tangles, and single-strand knots after the first day.  Here are some other tips for wearing fully shrunken hair for more than a day:

1. Make sure that the hair is fully de-tangled before letting it dry. I like to co-wash, detangle and put my hair in 4 sections by double strand twisting it and rinsing it with the 4 twists still in.  I then open each section one by one, apply my leave in, gel and oil and loosely re-twist.  I usually do this at night and let it partially dry over night.  This helps set the part where you want it and tell the hair what direction to dry in.
2. Keep the ends moisturized.  That means a little spritz and leave in every evening for me. 
3. Protect it at night!!  I sleep on a silk pillow case (better for skin than satin) and I also either pineapple or re-set in the 4 large twists before bed.  If I used gel before letting it dry, retwistsing keeps it smoother, if not, pinappling keeps the roots a little flatter so I don't have a round fro by day 3 :) 
4. Unlike my stretched wash and go, the shrunken version will tangle faster and more completely.  This leads to single strand knots and a heck of a time de-tangling later.  Thus I only recommend wearing loose shrunken hair for 4 or 5 days instead of 7 or longer. This tighter hair is also more difficult to manipulate into a different style later, such as a bun or updo because of the density and tangles, so be careful if you try to do so, and be patient and gentle.

Here are some picts of my BSL hair shrunken into a bob with a side part.  I also have a headband on in these picts. It looks like I had a major haircut!  Fun to throw people off sometimes, though their curiosity can be tiring lol.

Playdough hair

I've talked about this before but it came to light again this week as I discussed my "varying hairstyles" and my pronounced shrinkage with women who have very different hair than mine.

I often find it hard to convey exactly what the differences are when I can't draw comparisons to ordinary things.  Familiar things.

For instance; when we set our natural hair it can hold that set for weeks.  When it gets ruined prematurely its because it shrinks further, frizzes up, or expands.  Yet for very straight hair it "falls." Fast. How on earth do you explain your weekly or 2-3 times a week sets to someone who is only familiar with curls falling??

I struggle for words and resort to 'clay".  Yes.  My hair is like CLAY. When its wet and preparing to dry I can mold it into a variety of styles or sets and it will probably stay that way until some sort of water or moisture hits it again. Thus every time I wet it, I am presented with a very easy way to do something creative. 

A something that must be done to some extent, lest I walk around with a huge shrunken (and dry!) mass on my head once it's any longer that 6".

They wouldn't like or understand that (whatever- it's not fair!). & I wouldn't like that for the health of my hair.  Yes, we have the "wash and go," but is it really that?  a "go"? Not so much.  The clay factor still exists in that we generously apply some sort of sticky or tacky product to hold the curls together as it drys.

I'll get back to wash and go hair in a sec. But for the rest of the styles - twistouts, braid outs, protective updos - They stay. For days. And we can devise one on a whim any time we wet or dampen our hair. In fact, we can use heat to further set it, and even to set it bone straight in a press.

I think that they think that I change it to change it.  That I wet it TO set it. That I feel compelled to make some new thing with my hair, out of boredom primarily.  As in there is no way that they can bet assuredly on how I'll have my hair from day to day.  But in fact, the opposite is more often true.

I had to cleanse it, so I had to re-set it. It got wet, or the humidity got it, so I had to start over. The product was building up, so I had to rinse it out, so I have to do something with it.  For me, that something is highly dependent on how much time I have, the weather, and how close to the weekend it is lol. 

I know some women have a tried and true routine or set, like a braid and curl.  I on the other hand don't like to ever change my schedule for my hair. I definitely work my hair into my schedule.  If I suddenly need to be somewhere in an hour, I WILL figure out something to do with my hair- even if u just caught me with sopping wet naked hair! What that does is cause a chain reaction where I may have to start over again sooner than I wanted to, or change my look to work with it.  But "It's Just Hair."

SO I work with it.  Yes it shrinks, and tangles and poofs and frizzes, and breaks off, and ties itself into tiny fairy knots -_____-

BUT, like clay, I can fix it, change and set it pretty easily.

So here is my point and a picture.  I washed my hair this weekend and ran out of time to fully diffuse it to then stretch it into the look I was going for.  I was already stuck with a wash and go type of deal with little weekend downtime to do more. & now had to run to an event and it was going to be what it was going to be.  And damnit, that meant full shrinkage. So I had to think. I'll let it dry and shrink so I can get there on time, but I'll put a hard part right here, extra gel on top, and then tomorrow I can mold the front into a hump. yesssss. I'm outta here.

So I did that. and then I made the hump the next day. Then I went to work the following day with my hair formed into a cute bob shape...

that came to my chin.  lol. 

Sure enough someone asked if I'd cut it.  And at this point me and my shrinkage were having a good ole time. I never even stretched it in the subsequent days. I just rolled and pinned and tucked and made a few shapes with my shrunken clay hair.  And when fully shrunken the texture is everywhere and super velcrowy I can totally make things that stay put  :-)

I do like it longer recently, as I am growing it out again (I think) and that hang time is different and new for now. But a shrunken week or two, or a frozen week-long bun, or a twistout that won't die just comes with the territory.

And I embrace it.

Even though the shape of my embrace might get stuck in my hair for a few days.

Shrunken. With LOTS of gel. KMF gel mixed with Sheamoisture curling soufflé. Interesting, but crunchy combo.  More to come later on that.

Fluffy hair follow up

Remember this post about bigger hair?
So the first pic kinda accurately projects how it feels 2-3 days later :-(
And the rest convey how it looks.

SO I ended up putting it in a puff after the very first day.  It felt DRY and tangled and I did not feel I could wear it down without risking a lot of single strand knots and snags.

Today I wore it like this because even the puff was rubbing my shoulders and I worried about my ends.  It looks ok but the cream of nature leave in is not so much a leave in as it is a sealant.  Great shine, but that's it.  Like for relaxed hair.

But look at my little curlies :-) I love them so. I just have to protect them and this product combo is not the way!

Rebooting with a co-wash tonight!

Bigger hair with lighter product

I talked about hair texture in my last post and subsequently developed a desire to wear my hair bigger this weekend. I was headed out to watch the games and made this video before I left. I used the same smoothing and co-washing methods I usually use, and applied the gel the same way I usually do. But it's a much lighter hold gel so I get very different results.
I used Ouidad Climate Control Gel and Creame of Nature Lemongrass & Rosemary leave in.
Neither of these are favorites of mine, so I am just using what I have left! The leave-in has petroleum as the second ingredient, so I am keeping a close eye on my face/acne and tying it away from my skin at night. The Gel has great slip and gives a shiny light hold. It was expensive but I get much better results with less expensive gels.
Let's consider this operation "don't buy anything else" lol.

Resting in a field of Flowers...I love this stuff on my head.

Blog post interlude...

I washed my hair without shingling it the other day.  While still in the shower and soaking wet I liberally applied Shea moisture milk, then some Hairsickle by Safi Hair, and then my KMF gel.  I never raked it through- I just kinda smooshed it all in.  I wrapped it in a turbie towel for 15 min and I shook it down then left the house.  Later that night when it was all dry I put a layer of castor oil over it.  Today, two days later, I used the Hairveda almond glaze to re-moisturize.  I have been sleeping with it in a high ponytail.

Treating it this way has allowed the curls, and whatever the heck these shapes are, to clump and form on their own as big or as small as they desire. 

Just now I was in a meeting (a standing room only meeting where I was crammed against the back wall) and I leaned back into my hair.  It was like a pillow.  I felt like blissfully twisting my head back and forth like I was in a field of daises lol.  The sounds in the room got muffled and I was in my own little world for a few seconds.

Doesn't hurt that the almond glaze smells divine either. 

I love this stuff on my head!! 

Texture shots:

And, btw, this is just two weeks after successfully pressing my hair!!  Who gon hair type me??

Product review: NEW! Royal Curl™ Curl Shaping Crème

You all know I give all these products a fair shot right?

So I got this about 1.5 months ago from a local store - Yes Organics I think it was.  And OH, it sounded so lovely! 

In a hive, there’s only one queen whose diet is only Royal Jelly, a nutrient packed super-food with 17 amino acids, vitamins A, C, D, K and multiple B-vitamins. We use the Queen Bee’s Royal Jelly in Curl Shaping Créme to naturally tame frizz, define curls and smooth waves with silky hold. Pure Aloe Vera Gel and Agave Nectar quench your hair’s thirst without the grease, while powerful Green Tea antioxidants and intense moisturizers defend against damaging heat and humidity.

All natural: No harsh, or drying chemicals like alcohol, sulfates, petrolatum, parabens or phthalates.

Transforms Kinks To Defined Curls and Soft Waves

I tried it right away on a wash and go- following the directions, forsaking all other products and using my fingers to distribute it.  That was not good.  It dried frizzy and a bit crunchy, lacked sheen, and was clearly not going to yield me day 2 hair.  I also felt there was a slight residue by the time it dried- making it look a bit dull all over.  FAIL.

But I was not ready to give up.  The ingredients seemed so good!  and maybe it just needed some oil?

Just this weekend I tried it again.  This time I took the cream and some oil in the tub with me and applied it liberally to wet hair with oil added to help with dryness and residue, I hoped.  It is very thin and does not have inherent slip.  So though it was not clumping I was still like- "well maybe I will get a more shrunken and piecy wash and go."  That's not always bad- my lil curlies are dope.  I finished applying it and it looked quite alright soaking wet.  I sat under a hair dryer for an hour, since I was just home chilling on a weekend evening, and let it just dry without touching it.  Even still- I had a shrunken shiny wash and go.  No ringlets and a bit frizzy but it seemed like the helixy shape of the "inner hair" was intact and I would have a few days of nice textured hair.  I did multiple bantu pineapple knots and went to bed.

The next morning.....  FLAKES.  Flakes galore!  they spawned over night and were everywhere!!  root to tip.  what sucked worse- it was like flakes on top of sheeny zig zaggy hair that would have otherwise been fabulous, if not a bit velcro like. I did some yard work but eventually knew I had to wash it out and start all over.  sigh.

So my conclusion is, you can't use much of this product before you get flakes, yet if you don't use a lot you will NOT get definition on anything crookeder than curly hair.  My hair is spongy and fluffy, but it will coil and curl with the right product.  THIS is not it.  This is totally false and misleading: "Transforms Kinks To Defined Curls and Soft Waves."

I am not amused.

I still have half a jug left- it comes in a large 15 oz jar, like kinky curly. Maybe I will try it on a twist or braid out this winter, but I have a stronger suspicion that this jar will collect dust unless someone wants it! Who has time for potential fails on cold weather hair?

I didn't take picts because I never even got to a styled head of hair with this mess. By the time I finished my yard work and really began pulling my hair apart I had already turned on the water in the shower lol.

(oh hell- I just noticed the pic of the girls' hair on their website! What kinks??? smh.) 
ZERO out of 5!

Racks on racks on racks of curls

I got some good shots the other day of what my hair was doing at work.  It "does things" on its own quite often lol. Sometimes defying me, sometimes just being itself and this was one of those days where I checked on it in the mirror later in the day and was like "OH! why hello there :-*  ♥ "

In it I had the In-Kind leave in, some Kiss My Face gel and some of Safi Haircare's Avacado shea butter that I got last year.  You can see in the picts the differing curl sizes, differing definition areas, and different types of curls.  The shape of my old hair cut looks ok here, mostly shrunken, but trust me, most of the time it looks crazy and I am desperately waiting to get a hair cut next month.

The shape of the grown-out cut from the side:

Back of my head

Close-up of the back of my head

Shrinkage is a Beast with a Pretty Face

Natural Hair Length Shrinkage. Gotta love it! Cause if you hate it, you are doomed...

This is what happened when I tried using the curly primer method- leaving the conditioner in, and not much else. ( I could not resist adding a little shea butter to the ends). Welllll... My hair loved it. It was so soft and fluffy- and appreciated the light hold so much that it just curled ALL the way up. Tight, small, fuzzy coils, that were impossible to smooth one by one in any less than half a night. I gave up on the smoothing and ended up mostly running my fingers through. It did not take super long to dry like I thought it would, but the shrinkage factor was not something I'd seen since many an old product junkie day. I need my gel or custard for elongation!