I ordered a hair analysis from Live Curly Live Free several weeks ago and just received my profile. My results:
Texture: coarse
Porosity: normal
Elasticity: low
Shocked the heck out of me. I had my hair properties all wrong. I thought my texture was normal, my porosity was a little higher than normal, and my elasticity was normal to high. Most of the recommendations fit with what I've been doing based on the way my hair responds, but I will be changing a few things.
Since I have coarse hair, I'm supposed to avoid protein. Guess what? I thought my hair liked protein, and I've been doing protein treatments once a month or so! I haven't noticed a drastic difference afterward (good or bad), but my hair does tend to be very dry in general. I haven't experienced that straw-like feeling protein-sensitive curlies talk about, so I'm wondering how much of an issue it really is for me.
After taking inventory of the products I use, it turns out more than half of them are protein-free, and almost all of the ones I use most often are. Unfortunately, a few of my favorites are not, like the Gudonya shampoo and conditioner. At least my most beloved Shea Moisture products (Raw Shea Shampoo and Conditioner, and Curl Enhancing Smoothie) can stay in the rotation. Sadly, I now have two buckets of Eco Styler that are verboten. At least they were cheap.
Most of the results made sense to me: while my hair doesn't seem to conform to all the properties of coarse hair (not being able to hold a style or wet set - my hair holds an artificially-induced curl like nobody's business), most of the descriptions were spot-on.
My hair is dry (but not brittle), very thick and strong, and is somewhat resistant to coloring. I always have marathon salon appointments because it takes longer than usual for color to process, and because my hair is really dense it requires two batches of color to cover it all.
The elasticity thing is more mysterious to me. My hair isn't especially brittle as far as I can tell. I don't experience a lot of breakage, but I treat it gently. Looking at it, it seemed to me like it stretched pretty far before breaking, but I really don't have anything to compare it to. However, it does explain why my hair doesn't always hold its natural curl. I always thought it was strange, because my curls mostly vary between thumb and pencil diameter. You'd think it would hold, wouldn't you? Not so much.
According to the analysis, low elasticity is caused by over-processing and/or excessive heat styling. I color my hair, but I've never thought of it as "over-processed" since it doesn't look damaged. I have a lot of grey, which I'm not ready to embrace, so I have it dyed to match my natural color, which is very dark. I do have a few highlights (like 12). I've straightened my hair maybe five times in my entire life, but I do diffuse it every few days. I guess that and the color must cause more damage than I thought.
I'm definitely glad I ordered the analysis. While it won't cause any drastic changes in my routine, it does give me some explanations for certain things - like why I need to remoisturize between washes and why it's difficult to get my curls to boing. I will make some minor adjustments, like focusing more on emollients and avoiding protein. I'll be interested to see if I notice any changes.
Showing posts with label protein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protein. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Small victories, Part I and a mini-review of Ion Effective Care Treatment
I've had a couple of minor victories recently. One was achieving the best hair day I've had in a while. On second thought, that's a pretty big victory!
I had noticed that my hair was becoming less curly. For me, this is practically a crisis, since my goal is to get tighter curls, not looser ones. My usually 3a/3b hair was looking more 2c/3a. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, particularly since we've had incredibly high dew points. Humidity will generally give me more curl (and frizz), not less.
After reading some posts on NC.com, I started to wonder if maybe my hair was over conditioned and/or had product build up. Someone pointed out that my beloved Shea Moisture is loaded with - you guessed it - shea butter, which isn't the easiest thing to remove with just a gentle lo-poo. This had never occurred to me. I guess I'm a little dim.
So, fortified with this new bit of information, I did a baking soda cleanse in place of my lo-poo. I mixed 2 T of baking soda with 6 T of conditioner and worked it into my hair thoroughly. After rinsing with water, I applied a vinegar rinse of about 2 T of vinegar (apple cider or white are both fine) to 2 c of water. A baking soda cleanse must be followed with a vinegar rinse to close the cuticle. I poured the rinse over my head, squished it around a bit, then rinsed. My hair felt almost squeaky clean - not something I usually want, but in this case I was pleased! I followed up with a quick protein treatment, using Ion Effective Care Treatment.
The mini-review: I discovered the Ion treatment through Healthy Curls (one of my favorite blogs - she's almost got me convinced to go Paleo!). I generally mix up my own DTs and PTs, but she had me interested. Then synchronicity struck: I went to Sally's for some stuff and had to renew my Beauty Club card. Lo and behold, my renewal entitled me to a free Ion product! So of course I picked up the Effective Care Treatment, and I like it a lot.It's very thick and coats well, and I like that I can detangle with it, rather than having to use an extra conditioner. It works in 2 - 3 minutes, and I don't need a DT afterward - always a plus. I still make my own treatments when the mood strikes or I want to use something in particular, but the Ion treatment is convenient and effective. I will probably repurchase.
Back to my treatment. I put it in, used it to detangle, then left it on while I did the rest of my shower stuff. My hair felt conditioned after I rinsed it out, so I didn't bother to follow with a rinse-out.
I decided to go with the less-is-more approach and use as few products as possible, and nothing heavy. I put in a little Biotera LI, which is positively watery. Then I added Organic Root Stimulator Lock &Twist Gel (all on soaking we hair). The second ingredient in the L&T gel is coconut milk, so I figured it would give me enough moisture without overdoing it. I sectioned my hair into about six parts and applied it sparingly to each one. Then I scrunched in a little more all over before scrunching out the excess water with a flour sack. I diffused until my hair was about 85 - 90% dry, and I was really pleased with the results. My curls were tighter and bouncier, and I even had curls in the back (it's usually stubborn, and at times downright wavy. Bugs the crap out of me). In spite of the fact that I was outside a fair amount and the dews were in the high 60s, my hair held up well. A little frizzy, but I accept that as part of curly hair in high dew points.
I'll write a little review of ORS Lock & Twist Gel after I've used it a few more times. So far, though, it gets a reserved thumbs up. While I liked the initial results a lot, my second day hair left something to be desired....
I had noticed that my hair was becoming less curly. For me, this is practically a crisis, since my goal is to get tighter curls, not looser ones. My usually 3a/3b hair was looking more 2c/3a. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, particularly since we've had incredibly high dew points. Humidity will generally give me more curl (and frizz), not less.
After reading some posts on NC.com, I started to wonder if maybe my hair was over conditioned and/or had product build up. Someone pointed out that my beloved Shea Moisture is loaded with - you guessed it - shea butter, which isn't the easiest thing to remove with just a gentle lo-poo. This had never occurred to me. I guess I'm a little dim.
So, fortified with this new bit of information, I did a baking soda cleanse in place of my lo-poo. I mixed 2 T of baking soda with 6 T of conditioner and worked it into my hair thoroughly. After rinsing with water, I applied a vinegar rinse of about 2 T of vinegar (apple cider or white are both fine) to 2 c of water. A baking soda cleanse must be followed with a vinegar rinse to close the cuticle. I poured the rinse over my head, squished it around a bit, then rinsed. My hair felt almost squeaky clean - not something I usually want, but in this case I was pleased! I followed up with a quick protein treatment, using Ion Effective Care Treatment.
The mini-review: I discovered the Ion treatment through Healthy Curls (one of my favorite blogs - she's almost got me convinced to go Paleo!). I generally mix up my own DTs and PTs, but she had me interested. Then synchronicity struck: I went to Sally's for some stuff and had to renew my Beauty Club card. Lo and behold, my renewal entitled me to a free Ion product! So of course I picked up the Effective Care Treatment, and I like it a lot.It's very thick and coats well, and I like that I can detangle with it, rather than having to use an extra conditioner. It works in 2 - 3 minutes, and I don't need a DT afterward - always a plus. I still make my own treatments when the mood strikes or I want to use something in particular, but the Ion treatment is convenient and effective. I will probably repurchase.
Back to my treatment. I put it in, used it to detangle, then left it on while I did the rest of my shower stuff. My hair felt conditioned after I rinsed it out, so I didn't bother to follow with a rinse-out.
I decided to go with the less-is-more approach and use as few products as possible, and nothing heavy. I put in a little Biotera LI, which is positively watery. Then I added Organic Root Stimulator Lock &Twist Gel (all on soaking we hair). The second ingredient in the L&T gel is coconut milk, so I figured it would give me enough moisture without overdoing it. I sectioned my hair into about six parts and applied it sparingly to each one. Then I scrunched in a little more all over before scrunching out the excess water with a flour sack. I diffused until my hair was about 85 - 90% dry, and I was really pleased with the results. My curls were tighter and bouncier, and I even had curls in the back (it's usually stubborn, and at times downright wavy. Bugs the crap out of me). In spite of the fact that I was outside a fair amount and the dews were in the high 60s, my hair held up well. A little frizzy, but I accept that as part of curly hair in high dew points.
I'll write a little review of ORS Lock & Twist Gel after I've used it a few more times. So far, though, it gets a reserved thumbs up. While I liked the initial results a lot, my second day hair left something to be desired....
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