I need curly hair help!

[alisonh916]

Ok curly haired ladies I need some help! I have semi-curly to wavy hair that tends to become frizzy and horrible looking if I don't use some sort of "product" i.e. gel, moose, etc. But I don't want a whole lot of chemicals sitting in my hair! so what should I do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[MamaKye]

I went through THE SAME THING! They have some newer threads on no-poo and all that stuff. I don't think its related to curly hair but I want to try it and see how it holds up to my own regime.
This is what I have been doing prior to my knowledge of no-poo.

I was recommended two products at a whole food store - one called Burts Bees More Moisture with Raspberry & Brazil Nut Shampoo and Conditioner. The helpful lady there also suggested a book called Curly Girl. I have yet to get it but she mentioned some things I could do from it. One thing was not to wash my hair everyday and I guess depending on how oily or sweaty you might get day to day, you would have to play around with that to see what works for you. Also, if I need to wash more often then once or twice a week, I concentrate on the scalp and try not to lather up my ends as they tend to be dry. Once I get out of the shower, I use a drop of Jojoba oil - rub it in my hands and while my hair is very wet, I work it from ends to scalp. Too much on the scalp weighs my hair down and irritates a scalp condition that I have so I try to apply it mostly away from the scalp but still leave a little bit for my roots to suppress the frizzies. Also, I apply some of that Burts Bees Conditioner the same way. If it is still frizzy once its dried, I dampen my hair a little more and apply more of the Conditioner (only dimed sized drops per application). It usually only takes one or two applications. Two if I've thoroghly washed my hair. But my hair is at its best when I've left it alone for the most part for a couple of days.
I do try to rinse my hair thoroughly to try to avoid losing all the oils which allow the curls to stick together nicely. But again, because of my scalp issues, I can't allow my scalp to go unwashed for long.

Once I've applied the jojoba and conditioner, its good to use a wide toothed comb to comb your hair. From my experience, smaller tooths or brushes break the curls apart more making it frizzier and not so calm. I do that while its still wet - maybe even dripping wet.
Since my hair is heavy on the bottom and I get that christmas tree effect, I put in one of those french twist clips (kwim?) at the top of my head evenly at the part. It grabs the top hair at the roots and give it more lift without needing product or a hair dryer. That works for me because I usually don't leave the house for a little while after my hair is done - at least an hour. That give it time to set in that position. It it starts to flop again, while I'm driving somewhere, I'll put it back it and then take it out b-4 I get out of the car. To give it more fluff or height at the root, you could flip your head over and slip my fingertips into the top of the scalp so as not to disturb the top layer of curls and just give a little shake or light scratch concentrating on the scalp where the top of your hair is. Doing it elsewhere will fluff your entire head and you'll have wild poofy hair and just reverse all the work you've done. However, a little water and gently pulling your hair down in a subtle raking manner will calm it. But its usually never as good as the first time. But that's my hair.
Btw, I have mid back dark brown medium to tight curly hair (shakira like curls). It tends to be on the dry side and eventhough I have not had it trimmed in almost a year, the stuff I mentioned calms those dead ends and fly-aways for the most part.

Now most of that is just my personal experience - nothing perfessional. But its worked for me thus far. I'm still trying to perfect my hair care regime. I will be exploring the no-poo with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, I guess. But I am partial to the burts bees conditioner & jojoba that I apply to calm the frizzies and wild hair.
I know it all seems like a lot, but once you figure out what works for you, it just comes natural. And personally, I would rather that over sticky hair products that cause me to break out around my face and back where it touches.

And one more thing. I won't promise that it will give you perfect shiney ringlets of curly hair, but given my more casual to sometimes slightly dressy style, it works for me. Its natural looking but its MUCH CALMER and neater than nothing at all.

If you have any other questions on what I do since I left out some details here and there (the post is long enough), feel free to post or PM me! Have fun!

[alisonh916]

Thanks so much for your reply. I'm going to try the jojoba oil and burts bees conditioner. I do find that if I just rinse my hair and not wash it every day that it does do better. I'll also hadn't thought of the clip thingys because I so get the christmas tree effect thing going on too! I will be trying that as well! Thanks!

[MamaKye]

No problem! I hope something there works for you and if I find something new, I'll share that too!

[jyurina]

I don't have curly hair but I have been trying out a bunch of stuff from Oyin. They makje funk butter which I love and have a ton of products for curly, frizzy hair. It is all handmade and free of nasty gunk. Not to mention they use EO to fragrance it.

[crocus]

I have fairly curly hair and I use products from Giovani. http://www.giovannihaircare.co.nz/products.htm

I use the Tea Tree shampoo and conditioners. When my hair is still wet, I put on a tiny bit of Sunset Styling Lotion. In the summer when the weather gets really humid here, I use Frizz Be Gone on my dry hair. It all works great for me! I can find it in both the local organic store and the organic section of our grocer.

[rhubarbarin]

First of all I recommend you check out the forums at naturallycurly.com and also the long hair community.. forums.longhaircommunity.com. They have a wealth of information.

If you want a great book with a technique to follow for amazing curls, buy Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. I pretty much follow her method with a few changes.

I used to use a lot of chemicals on my hair too, including products with silicones (most commerical products have silicones in them) which ended up making my hair so dry and brittle it was breaking off.

Now I use only all-natural or mostly natural products.. Whole Foods has a big selection. I wash my hair with conditioner, not shampoo.. either Burt's Bees or Aubrey Organics. After I wash I do a rinse with apple cider vinergar diluted in water.. makes my hair super-shiny. I also use conditioner as a leave-in, as well as coconut oil (on wet hair), vegetable glycerin and aloe gel. Twice a week I do a deep treatment, usually with extra-virgin olive oil.

And I never brush or comb my hair anymore.