Curly girls

[Cherie]

I need some tips on controlling curly hair, especially frizzy curly hair (think pubic hair on my head lol).

My routine (which is not working at the moment .. my hair has turned Stevie Wonder on me since I fell pg) is to wash, condition, then put leave-in-conditioner (e.g. Delva solacare) through my wet hair, scrunch to make the curls curlier and let it dry naturally. Hairdryers are my enemy. Sometimes, instead of a leave-in-conditioner, I put handfuls of gel through, which somewhat keeps the curls under control.

What's your curly routine? What works? What doesn't?

[jemima]

Hi Cherie - I too have curly hair and it is such a drama trying to keep the frizzles away!! My hair routine is to wash using any shampoo but I always condition with a conditioner for curly hair. At the moment I am using Matrix curl life which I get from a hairdresser.

When I get out of the shower I immediately put in a leave in conditioner and then the defining ingredient is a defrizzer made by PPS called be bent. It is the greatest invention EVER and without this defrizzer my hair is horrid. I then dry using a diffuser (the diffuser is vital) or let dry naturally.

Good luck.

jem

[*charmalea*]

i agree be bent is a good product ..... also tigi bedhead curls rock is great ... i have the whole range for curly hair .... my hair dryer blew up the other day and i am bummed !! in the winter my hair is sooo bad ,really dry and frizzy ...

after conditioning i rinse my hair with cold wather !! and it leaves my hair soo smooth and silky and curly not frizzy !! its a great trick , in summer my hair is so nice .. if i go to the beach i dont wash my hair for a bit and it looks great !! and i also use surf hair by fructis its a really good putty and doest leave oily bits whic wax can ...

[christy]

I've tried millions of products... my enemies are the mouse ones that are supposed to be for curly hair, I have to put half the contents on my hair & then it stays in a frozen rock hard wet mess.

I'll have to try the PPS bent stuff... on my list.

I use Aveda be curly, but only when I'm going out somewhere nice because it costs $45 a go. Otherwise I wash with good products, I use MOPS (modern organic) and wash my hair once a week, the more washing the more frizz for me. I then use be curly when I wash my hair and then when I head out. Otherwise I use some cheap defrizz gelly type thing I pick up on my way through... yet to find a good one LOL

[LisaBear]

i use the KMS orange range for curly hair.
bit spensive $23 for shampoo and condition each but i only use about enought to cover 5c ps each wash. and the curl enhancing cream and the setting cream aswell. they are about $40 a bottle each but you use tiny amounts and they last ages!!!!
ever since my hair has been curly i use this no residue and no hardness - no neeed for mousses and thigns aswell i reccommend it!!!

[krisp]

The two best products I've found for "good" curls is De Lorenzo Create Curl and Kerastase Elasto Curl. Both are fab and I use them together. The Elasto Curl is a creamy leave in conditioner type product and the Create Curl is more a gel type. I find that they both enhance each other and keep the curls under control!

[Karina]

I use pantene shampoo and conditioner. I have tried some of the other more expensive brands curly hair ones but I dont find them to be any better than regular pantene. After I have washed and conditioned it, I use a leave in conditioner thing, which definately heaps. My hair is still fluffy and fuzzy but not as much so as it is if I forget to use the leave-in stuff. The leave in stuff I use is something I found in the cheapo bin once at Price Attack, called Tame it. In a purple tube. I used to use one called Matthew James or something like that, but I cant find it anywhere anymore, but it was also quite good.

I also find that if I wash my hair less often, it is less frizzy and fuzzy. Lately I have just been washing it once a week which has helped in the frizz department.

[Smoke Jaguar]

If you can find it anywhere, I used to use a product called Paul Brown Hawaii Stay Straight. It was great for use with a blow dryer, and even better to use if just air drying (or using diffuser), because it was all botanical and would just bind the curls together nicely. I stopped trying to source it because it got too hard to find.
I have since found, and stuck to, a product called Moisture Mud, made by a local hairdressing salon called Istashi, in Belgrave South. They can post to anywhere in Australia. 500ml costs me $19 and it lasts me for at least 3 months. You can use it instead of conditioner, or just after washing. I take it to the beach and pool. Same effect as the Stay Straight, just not as botanical...or expensive!
I have extremely thick, curly hair that tends not to bind into defined curls, so I need something like Moisture Mud to help me out there.
Since having Oscar, though, I found that as my hair grew back after the 'falling out' period, it is growing back in a tight curl like never before...it's like a ringlet, which I am quite excited about - at last, some discernible shape! I don't know how long that will last, as my hairdresser says that my normal hair will grown soon. Geez, I hope not...
Also, my hairdresser (different from where I get my MM), has a great technique that he is renowned for locally. Instead of cutting and shaping with scissors, he uses clippers that he designed. On all hair lengths. Particularly effective on my hair because it thins out the bulk of my hair, without leaving short wispy bits underneath, the way that traditional thinning does. This helps with styling my difficult hair like I never thought a haircut could.
I also second Nixonsmama's suggestion of rinsing in cold water, especially in humid conditions!

[Cherie]

Thanks for the ideas girls You reminded me a few products that I have used successfully in the past - the KMS orange curl enhancer one, and a MOP product - water activated conditioner. It was fantastic to put on each curl, then twirl each curl around my finger (sounds weird, but when my hair dried, the curls were curlier and more like thick ringlets). But I might give some of those other products a go too - I'm always on the lookout for the 'perfect' product to turn my hair into Nicole Kidmans' ... or maybe I need a personal hairdresser for that

Mayaness - mine is going through the falling-out period at the moment (DH jokes about the possum I leave in the shower after I wash my hair) - so I'm wondering if it will change at all like yours did.

[Bathsheba]

LOL @ "the possum"!!! Hehe I have wavy hair and also leave a creature on the shower drain because I only wash my hair once a week and it all tends to come out then. I have quite thick hair though, I don't miss it! My DH lovingly scoops it up and perches it on the sink for me with a reprimand to find a more appropriate 'home' for it like the bin! LOL

[Smoke Jaguar]

What is it with boys? DP is forever telling me to get rid of 'that'...it's only hair, that a few hours before was on my head!

[Bathsheba]

Well my DH can't be too critical (but I know what you mean maya) he is losing hair at a MUCH faster rate of knots and HIS isn't growing back! Poor guy... oh and (OT but) it's not fair that his grey hair is apparently good for his career while mine has to be dealt with! My own asessment mind you, DH claims to like the greys...

[Cherie]

My DH lovingly scoops it up and perches it on the sink for me with a reprimand to find a more appropriate 'home' for it like the bin! LOL

PMSL
My DH does the same thing, only he throws it over the shower screen where it splats flat into the bath. Sometimes he refers to it as a merkin too (you know ... the pubic hair wigs lol).

[Bathsheba]

!!! I almost sprayed the screen (with chocolate drinking powder that i'm currently eating on ice-cream) reading your post about merkins!!!!

Is it the full moon tonight? *going off to check astrological calendar* I'm in a very weird mood LOL

[Jesswith6]

Ladies,I have a dilemma with my DD's curly hair atm. She is making her First Communion next Sunday and I want her hair to look at its best. Has anyone got any ideas on how to bring the 'curl' out?