A Girl and Her Curl

Avacado try this!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Oh I kill me.

So, as I was pursuing naturallycurly.com tonight, I found a post about someone using an Avacado Mask on their hair and having great results. Being that I'm always willing to try something new and the fact that it's natural and I'm able to make it at home just makes it really, entirely too hard for me to resist.

Plus, I'm going to try it as a face mask as well.

Picture this, shower cap with avocado mask for deep conditioning and face covered in avocado mask.

I know, I'm going to have to beat my husband off with a stick.

I'll be trying this concoction this weekend and will, of course, post the results - with pictures - good or bad as they may be!

Miss Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:45:00 +0000

Here I go again!
Yeah, yeah, I know.. it's been a while.

But, as many curly girls have gone through this same cycle of hating their curls vs wanting to go natural, I am going to blame my lack of posting, my lack of curls on one thing... my internal hair-fighting.

Last year, literally almost 1 year ago this month, I started my "Curly Girl" journey. My vow to embrace my curls that were given to me naturally, to cherish and moisturize them. To hold and plop them. And I did! For a while! And then I fell off the wagon and went back to my flat iron.

Well, here I am again and I'm trying the curly thing again. Not because it's in fashion (as it should be damnit!) but because I almost feel like I spend more time fighting my curls than I would embracing them. If I dedicated half the time I did to my curls that I do when I'm straightening, I'm sure something fabulous could come out of it, right? Plus, how many girls can walk around with a head full of curls and say "Why no, I didn't just get a perm, but thanks for asking!"... besides all of the awesome girls on NaturallyCurly.com.

So, read back a few posts about being curly. This time around, I'm not getting caught up in the hype and spending an hour trying to primp my curls though.

This time around I've got a motto.. Keeping it Simple and Keeping it Curly.

That's it.. that's how it's going to be. Let's see how long I last and enjoy the ride while there is one!

Flatiron Showdown: The CHI vs The FHI

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:13:00 +0000

Any girl (or guy) with curly hair knows what a flat iron is. The real problem is, when buying one, what do you want in a flat iron and how much should you pay for one.

I decided to do a showdown between the CHI and the FHI flatirons because as of right now, they are two of the top of the line flat irons. Now, both of these are in the higher end of flat irons and will cost you a little bit more money than some people may be comfortable paying for a hair accessory. However, I will say this much, in comparison to any of the other $10-$20 flat irons, it's totally worth it. With either of these flatirons in comparison to the cheaper ones not only do you get a better result overall, but you'll get a faster result. You can take less time and get a better, less frizzy look. To me, that's worth the money.

Both the CHI and the FHI are ceramic flatirons. They both cost in the range of $60 (on eBay) to $100 (in retail stores).

Let's start with the CHI.
Cermic, 1 inch plates. The first thing I noticed about the CHI (or at least the model that I tried) is that I could not adjust the temperature. Basically it was either off or on. Sometimes with flatirons you feel it snag your hair, the CHI was very smooth. The upside is that is produces very straight, very non-frizzy hair, very quickly. The downside, again I couldn't adjust the temperature. But that's it!

The FHI.
Honestly, I couldn't find much difference between the CHI and the FHI at all! However, the FHI did fill one void - temperture control! Why is this important? Because not all hair is the same and not all hair needs 450 degrees worth of heat. So, it was nice to be able to turn the heat down if need be. I did feel the FHI snag a little, but nothing in comparison to how a $10 drugstore flatiron does. On another plus side, the FHI was slightly cheaper.

So, the conclusion.
I'd go with the FHI just for value. The price is better and your getting the same product with a few more options (temp control!) - so hey.. better value in my book!

There you have it! What's your opinions?

Coming Soon: Battle of the Flat Irons!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Ok, how flat irons work into the curly world... well, they don't.. unless you are like me and you have curly hair that you flat iron. ever. single. day. That is when you aren't trying to pull off the curly girl thing.
But I digress.
So, any curly girl who flat irons their hair knows two things.

1. The type of flat iron you use WILL effect the outcome of your hair.
2. Every flat iron is not the same.

I'm going to be looking at 3 different flat irons, one in each price range - totally affordable, a little splurge, a big splurge so start your saving - and do some comparisons.

So.. keep your eyes peeled!

Moroccan Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:23:00 +0000

My stylist gave me a sample of MOROCCANOIL when I got my hair colored and trimmed yesterday. It is definitely not curlygirl friendly, it's loaded with silicones but I can say - like most 'cones, it sure makes your hair look pretty!

I used an extremly small amount, smaller than a pea on my just-below-the-shoulder length hair and it added a great deal of shine and softness.

So, for those of you that aren't avoiding silicones, give it a try!

I Fell Off The Curly Bandwagon!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Before I get stoned to death, let me explain.

I take full responsibility for all of my decisions and the results of those decisions. I am all about personal responsibility.

However this time, it wasn’t my fault! I swear! Ok, I take back the swear part because it really was my fault. I got lazy. I got straight-hair envy. I just wanted to style my hair in this really cute way that only works with straight hair.

Plus, I ran out of curlygirl friendly conditioner and because I’m lazy, in a last minute decision while standing soaking wet in my shower, I just reached for the old Pantene shampoo and lathered up.

I lathered like there was no tomorrow. I won’t lie. I loved feeling those bubbles in my hair. It was as close as you can get to one of those older Herbal Essence commercials that you can get. Remember those?

I’ve used my flat iron twice this week. And I have to admit, it’s the first week since I went curly that I’ve gotten multiple days out of my hair – only because it was straight.

BUT!

Does that mean I’m never going curly again? Heck no!

Just not right now!

BUT!

Does that mean I’m going to stop visiting NaturallyCurly.com? Heck no! Does that mean I’m not going to still be talking mad product junkie smack? Heck No!

It just might be a little while before I start talking curlygirl routines and all again…

Because, well, I’m lazy and I hate leaving my house in the morning with wet hair when it’s below 30 degrees and I’m tired of waking up at 5:45.

For now.

What? I mean, was everyone successful on their first try?

Halo Frizz? One Culprit!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:58:00 +0000

One of the first mistakes I made when starting the whole "curly girl revolution" was to concentrate more on product and almost all but ignore technique. Product is important, of course. But technique is KEY!

There are techniques for everything, from scrunching to raking and clipping and drying! If I went into everything in this one blog post, I'm sure most of you would not only want to choke me after reading it all but you'd probably have the little orange boarder lines I have on my page forever burned into your eyeballs.

Many techniques are strictly used to do one thing... avoid frizz! For me, my biggest frizz area is a halo right around the crown of my head. One wrong move and I have just this small layer of frizz instantly. I've managed to control it for the most part when this happens with some extra conditioner and gel.

But what caused it? And why does it only happens every so often? The one thing I've narrowed it down to is.... (wait for it).....Rinsing!

So, let's talk about rinsing!

As I've explained before, the usual routine for the typical curly girl is to wet your hair, either do a co-wash or water wash, then condition, then rinse. I say typical, because there are some such as the most beautifully curly BotticelliBabe who has posted some of her routines on NC.com and let me tell you, this girl is can do some Super Bowl routines of curly girl hair care! Frankly, I don't think I do anything in LIFE that requires as many steps as she does just for her hair! But then again, that's probably why she's accomplished those uber beautiful tendrals she has!

But back to rinsing!

The last thing you do to you hair before getting out of the shower is rinse. I learned very quickly that the length of time you rinse will make a huge difference to your curls. Leave too much conditioner in, curls could get heavy. Rinse too much out, you've got frizz and dryness. Learning how long to rinse just takes practice and with each new conditioner you try, you'll have to experiment.

But today I realized something even more important!

How you rinse can totally effect how much frizz you get. Sure, that includes how long you rinse but recently I've found that my real culprit was HOW I was rinsing. Something so simple as rinsing, really isn't so simple. It's not just a "stand under water" kind of thing.

Let me explain. When you rinse your hair, typically you are standing under a showerhead. Now if you read Lorraine Massey's book "Curly Girl" one of the first things that girls remember from it is to stand under the water "as if you are caught in a surprise rain" (or something of that sort), basically telling you to tilt your head back under the showerhead allowing the water to hit the top of your head roll back down the length of your hair. Now, were you actually caught in a surprise rain burst, the water would be coming from straight up in the air, not one general pipe, so realistically you aren't getting an even spray. Most normally, the majority of the water will be hitting the crown of your head first, then rinsing down the rest of your hair. So what does that mean? That area of your head is going to be losing more conditioner a lot faster than the rest of your hair.

What happens when we lose conditioner? That's right, we get frizz.

So, I've combatted this problem by being extra careful when rinsing. I physicall move under the shower the entire time I'm rinsing to make sure that the water isn't just mainly hitting one area of my head and hair.

Guess what?

Yep. Not as much halo frizz going on. Interesting.

Another experimentation and hypothesis brought to you by Jonna.. the amatuer curly scientist.

Curl Junkie Leave In Conditioner

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:48:00 +0000

A while back, I received almost a full bottle of Curl Junkie Leave In Conditioner, specifically the Hibiscus & Banana Honey Creme Leave In Conditioner. Since receiving it I've really only used it as my secondary leave in, which in Jonna-Speak means, I use it to scrunch my hair with after it's dried to get the crunchy gel out, or I may use it on extra humid days in hopes of less frizz.

Honestly, I never used it as my primary leave in conditioner, that is until today.

I'm not very happy with my results from it either, although I'm not sure if my results are from me being too light handed with it (thinking the thickness of it would cause me to feel all greasy) or if it just generally does not work for me.

One thing I will say here. I absolutely love the smell of this stuff! That's the main reason I use it!

The consistency of it is very thick, like a lotion. The bottles says that it has some hold to it, but I disagree. Unless you have superfine hair this isn't going to hold anything. I'm not really feeling a lot of moisture from it and I'm a little bit frizzy today - but again, I diffused a little more than normal today due to the rain and not wanting to have to go outside in the cold rain with a cold, wet, head.

I'll be using the bottle until I run out, which will take forever I'm sure, but it's not really a product I am thrilled with. Maybe for a tighter curl type, like a 3b or 3c you may get more out of it, but for my 3Aish-bish hair, it doesn't do much in terms of really being moisturizing or making my hair feel softer, but it does smell great and it works really well for scrunching the crunch!

Just another friendly review from your new product junkie!

My opinion on Biosilk Rock Hard Gel

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:13:00 +0000

I picked up my 6oz bottle of Biosilk Rock Hard Gel last week while satisfying my inner product-junkie. I have half a bottle of my current gel but just couldn't help to pick something new up to give it a try.

My first opinion before even getting to the cash register. It's overpriced. But then, most hair products are. I picked mine up for $11.99, which to me was crazy - but I still bought it so who's to say what's crazy, the price or me. Considering L.A. Looks and a few others are running at approximately $4 a bottle you may find this to be a great product but just economically not feasible.

The first day I used this, I was totally not happy. But after the second day I realized that my first day unhappiness was my own fault. The gist of it, this product is not as watery as some gels are and a little goes a long, long, long, long way.

With my current gel I use a large puddle (think silver dollar), well, I used considerably less of the Biosilk (like a quarter) and ended up scrunching the crunch out of my hair until dinner time. Not only that, but the excessive amount I had in my hair and all the scrunching caused the product to flake out of my hair - no seriously, I don't have dandruff. Also, I was a bit touchy because I thought it was the gel that had given me the extra annoying frizz I had to put up with for the rest of the day. More realistically, it had to do with all the extra scrunching I had to do and with my hands being in my hair so much.

My second day using Biosilk, I used a lot less and everyday since then, not only have I gotten better hold in my curls from it but significantly less frizz. Usually, by the end of my work day my hair has a light halo of frizz (yes, I admit, I like to pull on my hair sometimes, but not everyday!), but this week since using Biosilk, I've managed to keep frizz away almost compeltely. Once you figure out how much to use, after scrunching the initial crunch of the dried gel out of your hair, it really does leave your hair soft. More so than I was getting with my previous gel.

Overall, I really do love Biosilk Rock Hard Gel, however my one big gripe, and probably the one reason I will try other products before calling this one my Holy Grail of hair products is, the price. Call me cheap, but I just can't justify paying twice the amount for a smaller bottle of gel!

But to each their own, I would highly suggest trying this gel out for yourself!

The Ups and Downs of Curly Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Being born with curly hair isn’t a choice. Choosing to embrace your curls is. Reading Lorraine Massey’s book The Curly Girl Handbook makes the whole process of being a curly girl seemingly very easy. In some aspects, it is and in others, not so much.

The Ups

Humidity isn’t so scary
I don’t burn my fingers on my flat iron any more
I feel like I’m being true to my hair
I don’t have to pack my blow dryer
My curls look better than ever
I’ve gotten to experiment with natural products

The Downs

I never leave the house feeling “done” (and now cold because wet hair + 30 degrees is cold!)
I have a lot more bad hair days than I did when I flat ironed
I use way more products
I can’t straighten my hair without fear of damage
I don’t like my length when curly

So, this list is small, but there are some huge issues on there. The humidity thing is nice, not only does it apply to humidity but working out or raining – however, there is one small down side to it – although it doesn’t affect me as much, it still messes up the curls to the point where I have to put my hair up.

My biggest gripe so far is that I never know what my hair is going to look like. When I straightened my hair I knew walking out of the door what my hair was doing – good or bad. Sure, a little humidity may cause some curl or fly away strays but at least I knew almost immediately. Now, it’s literally a guessing game because I don’t have enough time in the morning to wait until my hair is completely dry. I already get up at 5:45, I refuse to wake up any earlier.

Also, I like change. Even when I flat ironed my hair, there were days I'd go curly (although they never looked this good!), but now, I can't go straight! If I do, I ruin the progress I've made.

Oh, and did I mention coloring my hair? I usually color every 6 weeks, but I'm a little scared to now because of the damage I may cause.

I have a shelf full of products that has been fun to try but it's entirely more product than I've ever had to use. I thought I could just be a "wash and run" kind of curly - but I'm not thinking that will work. There are girls who can get multiple days out of their curls but I'm just not one of them, sadly.

I'm not going to lie, it’s hard. I can’t say I will stick with it. Maybe during the summer? Maybe with my hair longer? I’m not sure, but for now I will stick with it for another month – I’m only my first month in – and then make a decision.

Battle of the drugstore conditioners Suave vs. V05

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:09:00 +0000

Ok, anyone who’s up-to-date with the whole “Curly Girl” method should know that two of the most popular drugstore conditioners that are “Curly Girl Approved” (meaning they are sulfate free and have no silicone's) are Suave and VO5. For purpose of this discussion I’ll reference the only two I’ve tried which is Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut conditioner and now VO5 Tea Therapy Vanilla Mint Tea conditioner.

Let’s talk Suave first.

Right off the bat Suave is noticeably the thicker of the two conditioners. Whether that’s good or not is really up to you. The one thing I liked about the thickness of Suave is that when I used it as a co-wash it really felt almost like shampoo in a way that I could feel where I was spreading it on my scalp and I could feel it under my fingertips. On the downside of the thickness, it makes it very difficult to use just a little because it doesn’t distribute very easily. So, I found that I was using a lot more of it just to cover the same area. Which this, I think was helping to lend to my over-conditioning since I was using so much just to feel as though I had covered all of my hair. Suave smells great if you like that coconut smell (yum, which I do!), however my husband doesn’t so he wasn’t a big fan. Although honestly I’m not sure how he actually smelled my conditioner unless I decided to use my Suave as my leave-in as well that day – considering the rest of my products I use have bigger smells in my opinion.

Moving on to VO5.
Like I mentioned before, VO5 is noticeably thinner than the Suave. It's more watery like and it spreads very easily. You can distribute more over more hair, which I love. Also, I'm not sure if it's because of the consistency or what, but it seems to give my hair a much nicer "slip" to it. My fingers slide through my hair much easier than when I used Suave, also I don't have nearly as many tangles. On the downside, you don't get that real "condition" feel that I've grown to like about Suave. That thick, fluffy feel isn't there, it's more of a slick feeling. The smell isn't overpowering, in fact in comparison to Sauve I barely notice the VO5 smell at all. Also, I can use VO5 as my co-wash, rinse out and leave in conditioner, where as with Suave I couldn't because it tended to leave my hair greasy when used as a leave in.

So, in my battle of the conditioners, I'd have to say VO5 is winning the "Jonna's Favorite" belt. I just like the result much better and the fact that it goes a lot further than Suave does, is just an added perk.

But remember, what's right for my hair isn't always right for your hair! That's part of the fun of doing Curly Girl, you get to experiment with some great products. So if you know of any other drug store conditioners that you feel should be put "up to the challenge" let me know!

Gotcha! A List of "To-Do's" and "Not-To-Do's"

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:44:00 +0000

During this transition into curliness, I've found a few "gotchas" that I'm sure I read prior to all of this but for some reason, they never sunk in.

Do not dry your hair with a regular towel, especially microfiber towels.
These towels cause frizz galore! It took me exactly one time of drying my hair with a T-shirt to realize the difference! You'll notice it immediately. Sure, the towel feels like it's drying faster, because it is, but quick drying does not mean better hair!

Do not move the diffuser around while drying.
If you are going to use a blow dryer, first make sure it has a diffuser. If you use a diffuser, gather small sections of hair in the bowl, scrunch to your scalp and dry on low heat for a little bit, then TURN IT OFF before moving it. It will help defeat frizz!

Think you can get away with not learning how to Scrunch, Rake, and Smooth?
Think again! How you apply your product does make a huge difference! Whatever you do, make sure you apply it all over.

Don't forget to document!
My biggest mistake was getting beautiful curls one day and totally forgetting what I did to get them! Document daily until you get the hang of it all! That way when you see one day that you get great results you can not only see your products and routine, but you see what you did the day before that may affect it too!

Curly hair is a series of trial and errors. I documented my errors so you don't have to!

Curly Girl Day 5 and then Day 6 Fabulous Curls!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:34:00 +0000

I was really beginning to wonder if any of this new curly girl system was going to have an effect. I mean a real effect. I know it had a positive effect almost immediately as far as getting more curls but I was just having a seriously hard time product wise and not looking like a crunchy poodle everyday.

Saturday got much better.
I ventured out and tried a few home made brews. I co-washed with my Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner, then before actually conditioning my hair I used an ACV rinse. ACV stands for Apple Cider Vinegar and basically it's a mixture of the Vinegar and water. It's supposed to be something like 2 tablespoons for 2 cups of water. I read wrong and did 2oz of vinegar for 8 oz of water. Didn't seem to cause any damage but I won't make it that strong again, especially since when I poured it over my head (slowly), I somehow managed to get some in my eye. Can you say burning pain? So, anyway, after pouring the ACV slowly over my hair letting it penetrate to the scalp, I let it sit for a few minutes while I washed my face. Then I rinsed and conditioned with my Suave again, bu this time I added a teaspoon of honey to my conditioner. I let this sit for a while (I'm not accurate on time due to the lack of clock or crappy sense of time).
After rinsing out the conditioner I hopped out, towel tried (patted) my hair and added some Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner and then some Giovanni Fattening Gel. I think everything would have been fine had I not decided to try to diffuse my roots or if I used more leave in conditioner because my roots got really frizzy today.
But, curls looked a lot better! Not perfect but better!

Then Sunday happened!

My routine:
Shower, co-wash, conditioner, used a t-shirt to dry today. Added leave in directly in the shower after I was done on sopping wet hair, scrunched like crazy. Added gel and scrunched like crazy. Clipped for a little while to try to get some volume on top. Diffused pixiecurl style.
Guess what... AWESOME BEAUTIFUL RINGLETS EVERYWHERE!
See!

From CurlyGirl

So it's working!! Today much better looking but since I had to be to work I didn't have time to dry again fully but it's looking so much better!

There is light at the end of the tunnel. They say it can take 4-6 weeks for your hair to adjust. If this is what it's looking like after only one week, I'm sold! I'll be as curly as they come!

Curly Girl Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:08:00 +0000

Huge difference today in my curls. I have much better definition and clumpage (eww, why do I hate that word) today than I did yesterday. Or ever.

On the downside, my hair looks... I don't know... not greasy, but just dull. I think I may have over conditioned a little this morning or maybe it's because the gel was so freakin' hard.

This morning in the shower I co-washed with my Suave Coconut Conditioner, dabbed some of the water off and added my Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner. Plopped for a few minutes while getting dressed. Added Giovanni Fattening Gel and scrunched, scrunched, scrunched! I clipped my top for a bit to add some volume but it just didn't dry fast enough before I had to leave, so I took the clips out and just hoped for the best.

Two things to note.
First, I didn't use my diffuser at all today. Which on the upside has left my hair a lot less frizzy. However, downside to that is I couldn't leave the clips in my hair long enough for it to dry properly so I have no volume up top. I may need to diffuse just the top to get volume for now. Especially since it's cold outside!
Second, I do love the Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner. I notice a big difference between it and the Karen's Beautiful Body Milk I used yesterday. The Giovanni is much lighter.

However, I did have to scrunch a little in the car because the Giovanni Fattening Gel is a little (okay a lot!) hard and my hair was crunchy!

Also, I'm realizing now how much I want my highlights back in my hair. They made my curls look much more defined than they look now. I may do that in the near future. Or maybe if I get on the honey kick, that will lighten things up a little.

So far, so good. I'm excited to see how tomorrow goes!

Curly Girl Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Wow, what a difference 1 shower can make! (Ok, 1 shower, a great book, some advice from NaturallyCurly.com and products!)

I started this morning off as I do every other morning by hopping in the shower.

I'll spare you all the details of how I got woken up early this morning by my kid who then came and kicked the crap out of me while going back to sleep until I had to wake up again 30 minutes later. Or maybe I won't! HAH!

Anyway, in the shower I started my curly girl routine. Drenching my hair with water, not tussling it around like I normally do, I let my soak through and get completely wet. I used Suave Clarifying Shampoo for my final shampoo use (or at least what I hope will be!) and then conditioned with Suave Naturals Coconut Conditioner. I actually did a co-wash with it to practice. Remember kids, co-wash stands for conditioner-wash, which will hopefully be the only washing I do from this point out. After washing I went through sections of my hair trying to rake in conditioner. I'm not very good with raking and need to figure this whole thing out, but my hair felt really slimy (or like seaweed as the Curly Girl book more eloquently states it) and let it sit in my hair while I finished up the rest of my showering stuff. I only rinsed for about 15 seconds but actually I think that was a little too long. We'll see tomorrow when I don't rinse as much.

After turning off the water, I did dab my hair dry (like scrunching but not so hard) a little before applying any product. I started with Karens Beautiful Body Milk that I got from Kathymack from CurlTalk, which smelled incredible! I scrunched this in for the most part and then plopped for about 10 minutes while I picked out my clothes to wear. Pulling my hair down I already noticed a difference in my curls, which was surprising because I had straightened my hair all weekend long and was anticipating some bad curls for these first few days. But in fact, I actually had some clumping of my curls and great spirals already forming. I scrunched in Giovanni Direct Leave In, put a few clips in to hopefully add some volume and then realized that I probably would need to use my defuser unless I wanted to go out this morning in the cold with wet hair. So I diffused for about 5 minutes in various spots but noticed that I was getting a little frizzy so I stopped.

My hair is now completely dry and it looks really good! I have great spirals of curls around my face where the curls used to just form "s" shapes. Initially, when I first joined the boards on NaturallyCurly.com and asked about my hair type, I was under the impression my hair was a Type 3A. However, now I'm thinking I have some 3A but a lot more 3B - but we'll see as my curls become more defined.

Also, I have a little frizz in the back of my crown and I'm pretty sure it's because I have a hard time scrunching in product back there and I have a terrible habit of playing with that hair. But I'm really impressed. I forgot to bring the lavender mist I made last night with me in my travel bottle or else I'd spritz that back area and see if I can get it to settle down a little.

I'm planning on pineappling tonight to see if I can skip the wash tomorrow morning! I wanted to take some pictures today but just ran out of time, maybe I'll get some in tonight when I get home and I'll start posting!

Going Curly, No Stopping Now!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:49:00 +0000

Tonight starts the transformation.
I'm going to start making some lavender mist and hit the shower! Lavender mist is supposedly a great way to refresh your curls and leave your hair smelling great! So far most of the girls that I've read about using it on the NaturallyCurly.com boards seem to like it, so I may as well give it a shot!

Here's the recipe for the lavender mist from Curly Girl

1/2 gallon water
5 drops pure (not synthetic) lavender essential oil
3 empty spray bottles

1. Fill a large pot with a half gallon of water.
2. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for an hour to get rid of impurities. (Check occasionally to make sure water isn't boiling away.)
3. Remove from the heat, add lavender oil, stir, and replace lid.
4. Let steep until cool, then pour into empty spritz bottles

Ok, here my routine plan to start out with:
Tonight I'll clarify with Suave Clarifying shampoo to remove all the 'cones (silicones), this will be (hopefully) the last time I use shampoo! Although, I am already thinking of cheating by trying out some great shampoo bars from a NaturallyCurly.com user.

Next comes the Suave Naturals Coconut it's sulfate free and 'cone free. I'll be using it as a co-wash, which is short for conditioner wash, basically using it as my shampoo on my scalp as well as conditioner on the rest of my hair. I'm sticking with Suave for right now because it's cheap. Also, V05 is a big favorite, so I may try those just to keep things fresh.

After the conditioner I have a couple of options for a leave-in conditioner. I can use a little more Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner, I can use my Giovanni Leave-In or my Curl Junkie Leave-In.

Then comes style time. I'm going to start off with trying my Herbal Essences Set Me Up Spray Gel but I have a few others to try that I bought from a NaturallyCurly.com user.

I may cheap just a bit and use my diffuser at first but I do plan to ween myself off of the diffuser and the blow dryer all together.

So, tonight the process begins! Let's see how it works!

Who Dedicates a Blog to Curls?

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:43:00 +0000

Someone who has been fighting them for their entire life, well ok, at least since puberty, that’s who. Someone who still doesn’t understand how to feel comfortable in her own hair and who denied her wild hair for that of flat-ironed and straight hair instead, that’s who. Someone who is going through what feels like a big change in life, from conforming to a look, to setting her hair free, that’s who.

It wasn’t just a freak accident that brought me to where I am in my hair-tales. Most of the thanks goes to @jill_erin on twitter and her suggestion to visit a website called Naturally Curly. It took 2 hours on the CurlTalk forums and a trip to Barnes & Nobel to pick up Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey and I was more than well on my way in my journey to freeing my curls.

Yes, it’s cheesy, I know. But unless you are curly and you can think about all the days your almost cried because of humidity or rain or remember all of the hours you spent with products and brushes and hair dryers and flat-irons trying to push your hair into submission, then you just wouldn’t understand. And if you’re straight haired and laugh while reading this, well, welcome to our little secret.

This is who dedicates a blog to curls.

Hopefully, it will be another venue of help for those others out there (girl or boy) who is afraid to let their curly hair be curly hair!

So, stay tuned.. more details on Curly Girl to come!

It's a Curl Revolution!

noreply@blogger.com (Jonna) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:06:00 +0000

There is a revolution out there. Girls are giving away their flat irons, banning their blow dryers, and letting their curls fly free! Contrary to popular fashion trends, Curly Girls everywhere are coming out of the closet, or should I say, bathrooms with their hair the way it was meant to be. Curly.

I recently found a website which talked about this “Curly Girl” and they talked of blasphemous things, such as giving up shampoo, doing conditioner washes and treating your curls as you would a cashmere sweater. The pictures of beautiful springy curls were so entrancing. I longed to have curls like some of these girls had. I read thread after thread and finally realized, I needed to go buy this book, I needed to understand what they were talking about. So I did. I read it all in one sitting and I was hooked. I too wanted to have springy curls with shine and life, I didn’t want to spend 20 minutes every morning flat ironing my hair. I didn’t want to worry about what the humidity level was or god forbid it rain!

I too, wanted to revolt against the straight hair that was on my head that wasn’t even really mine!

But, doing this isn’t just an overnight decision. It’s going to take a tad bit of prep work and a lot of courage. See, I’m vain. What? Yes, I know it’s weird to finally hear someone admit it. But I am. Curls always made me more self conscious instead of empowering. But now I realize that my hair is an extension of me, literally. My hair matches my personality, it’s kinky, it’s quirky and it’s a little wild. So, be damned the flat iron! I will not be tempted straighten again!

Wait, that is, after October 20^th. Because I’m vain remember? And we’re having a photo shoot for a family picture.

So, I started this blog to talk about curly hair, the Curly Girl method, if it works for me or not and basically curly girl culture (because, yes, it is a culture!).

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